"Father...why?" Brana screamed in despair, "Why did you kill them all? They were the hope of our Clan!"
"Brother Yamahara worked incredibly hard to elevate them into Boar Kings." Powerless, he slopped to the ground, chuckling in helplessness, "I had rushed here with all my might to stop Virala, only to see my respected Father being the one squishing everyone like bugs."
"That...my son..." Brangara intended to make an excuse, but words failed to come out of his mouth, "They were trying to become the Empyrean Boar King. So...I..."
"It's alright, Father," Brana said and slowly got up, his voice choking as he wiped the tears off his face. As a dozen chains approached his position, he used the skill of Prana Flash to avoid them and slowly clenched his hands into fists before raising them.
"Don't do this...son." His eyes were red in regret as Brangara shook his head slowly, understanding exactly what Brana was getting at, "You don't have to do this."
"You might have created the Wean Clan, but who do you think actually birthed the Wean Clansmen?" Brana uttered as his fists trembled, "A quarter of the Boar Kings that you squished just now were..."
"My children."
"My son..." Brangara tried to speak but felt words failing to form in his mouth.
"Raise your fists, Father." Brana uttered as his voice gradually hardened, "I will avenge my kids, even if it's against you."
"We are family!" Brangara said, controlling his urge to cry upon seeing Brana ready to fight him to the death, "I don't want to kill my Son!"
"But you readily squished my son." Prana surged out of his being as Brana's presence continued to build up to its zenith, displaying what a Boar King was actually capable of.
"What...what is happening?" Baga arrived right at that moment, stunned to see Brana in a standoff against Brangara, "Brother, why are you glaring at Father like that?"
"He...killed them all." Brana muttered, "It wasn't Virala."
"The culprit was our Father all along."
"That's...impossible!" Baga shouted in a fluster as he swerved to face Brangara, "Tell me that isn't true, please!"
"W-Where are the Boar Kings? They are just away, right?" Baga stared at the blood dripping down the fists of the Celestial Boar and mashed flesh paste littering the ground, "Right? Please, tell me this is a lie!"
"Virala...! Right, he must have ambushed us! That bastard is very well capable of such shit!" Baga muttered as he clutched his head, "Father...tell me. It was Virala, right?"
"My son..." Brangara felt suffocated, stressed to see his sons in pain, 'If only Yarsha was here, she could have placated them better. I feel everything I do will only make things worse.'
"Please...please deny it, even if it's true." His body trembled as blood dripped out of his nose as Baga clutched his head with greater force, "Otherwise, this...this is too cruel to be true. Let...let me just hate Virala."
He stared at Brangara, "Please! Say you didn't do it, DAMN IT!"
"Brother, get up." Brana uttered as he glared at Baga, "No matter how much you wish to deny, the reality is cruel."
"You're staring at the man who murdered our kids!"
"Is that true?" Braga, the last of the trio of brothers arrived, immediately grasping the situation as he clenched his hands into a fist and raised them in Brangara's direction, "Why did you do it, Father?"
"They were eating each other, dammit!" Brangara bellowed in rageful regret, "They didn't listen to me, no matter what. They assumed I was Virala and no matter what I did, I couldn't clear up their misunderstanding. In the end, they began eating each other up!"
"I had no other choice!" Brangara huffed sharply, "Death is a better alternative than the birth of another vengeful Empyrean Boar King."
"This is a nightmare." Baga cried while Brana glared at Brangara while shedding tears.
Braga's expression straight up turned into one of peace, praying softly as he stared at Brangara, "I know this will be nothing other than us three charging into our deaths. But, it's the price we have to pay for being useless Fathers."
"From one useless Father to another, let's end it here." Baga uttered as he raised his hands and assumed a fighting stance, "Give me a chance to avenge my children!"
"No..." Brangara collapsed to the ground, lowering the strength of the air barrier erected by Subtle Terrain Domination, "I can't fight against my sons! No, I can't! I will not!"
"Actions have consequences. You taught me that, Father." Braga's eyes focused as his presence began to build up, "I am just upholding myself with the values you've instilled into me. Even if it means I'll be dying today, it's justified."
"After all, I failed to avenge the death of my kids!"
Swoosh!
There was silence between the two groups, with the background filled with a rain of Spirit Weapons as the Influenced Region of Armoury was almost upon them, about to target them with strongest attacks.
The Boar Kings only had two choices; either they get killed by the Armoury or die to the hands
of Brangara.
"Promise me this, Father." Brana pleaded, "As your son, I'm holding you accountable for your actions. Even if I die, it doesn't change anything. This is a family affair. However,"
He pointed at Armoury, "Please ensure that it doesn't get to claim our corpses. Will you fulfil at least that one wish?"
"I won't kill you, no matter what." Brangara shook his head vehemently, "You can punch me for as long as you need, but no matter what, I won't raise my hand against the three of you. And I will continue to protect you from Armoury."
The trio could speak freely with Brangara as at some point in time, a barrier of air appeared and actively protected them against the rain of Spirit Weapons. Irrespective of what he felt, he would protect his children, for that was one of his stronger driving forces.
"Please get up, Father." Brana raged as he stood before Brangara, "You have a dignity to maintain. Don't insult me by avoiding my actions. Face them! Even if my attacks cannot put a dent on your skin, face them!"
"I am currently your enemy! So, treat me as such!" He growled.
"Just...hit me, as much as you want." Brangara sobbed, "I already have nightmares every day
of the time I was forced to swallow my brethren. And now, I have killed the Boar Kings too. So, please. I beg of you."
"I can't handle killing the three of you too." He kneeled helplessly, crawling towards Brana as he stared up at the standing figure of the latter, "My mind cannot handle it. I beg you, Brana."
"Get up..." Brana uttered as Prana gathered in his fists, following which he condensed as Eddy Blade and raised his hand high, his expression twisted as he roared, "Get Up!"
"GET UP!"
Astral Chart-Eddy Blade x8!
It was the limit to what Brana could stack using Astral Chart. At the Gold Grade, Astral Chart
could at most stack ten Natures. But the load on the Spirit Container was too much. And hence, the Boar Kings generally stacked the same number of Natures as their Life Stage cultivation.
Brana was currently operating at his optimal capacity. He truly intended to give his all before getting killed by his overpowered father.
"FIGHT ME!" Followed by a roar, he brought down the Eddy Blade, watching the blade crumble into bits before it could slam into Brangara's neck. Even if the latter wasn't resisting, the Tangible Nature Major Treasure of Subtle Terrain Domination was different.
It was alive, fully consumed by the influence generated by the Celestial Boar's Astral World.
As a result, it operated on its own, even without his input. This was the reason Brangara was confident in killing the Mystic Seven.
His Astral World had developed enough that all the Tangible Natures living in it could project their power into the outside world on their own. And they would fully behave according to
Brangara's interests.
Brana was Brangara's son. So, Subtle Terrain Domination didn't target him offensively. Instead, it only focused on defence, protecting Brangara from all attacks. It wasn't alone in it. The Tangible Nature Major Treasure of Internal Inertial Gravity had already reinforced Brangara's body to the limit, to the extent that even an Eddy Blade stacked twenty times would barely scratch Brangara's skin.
With Brana's attack serving as a signal, the other two Boar Kings too began to bombard Brangara. However, even though their attacks were significantly stronger than the other Boar Kings, it didn't matter much.
The Celestial Boar remained uninjured. Moreover, it continued to protect them from Armoury's attacks. A minute of nonstop attacks later, the trio stopped, realising that they couldn't avenge their fallen children.
At least, if they were killed while fighting, it would at least mean they tried. However, Brangara never raised his hand. No, he didn't even stare at them and instead focused on the
ground, even closing his eyes.
"This won't do," Brana muttered after a while, his expression twisted in fury, "If you can't
even respect my anger, then I have no other choice but to hurt you, Father. Since you don't respect my wishes, I too won't respect yours."
Crunch!
The sound of bone being chewed resounded strongly, causing Brangara to flinch instinctively.
He raised his head in fear, watching Brana crunching upon the head of Baga, followed by Braga. "No!"
"I will force you to fight me, father." Brana uttered, "Either by the same reason that forced
you to kill the other Boar Kings or by gaining enough strength to hurt you..."
"As the Empyrean Boar King."
"That will never happen!" Brangara got up as his figure flickered forth, cleanly severing the
heads of the trio as he arrived at a stop twenty metres behind them. His figure flickered seven more times, targeting the bodies of the trio right as they appeared next to their corpses.
He severed the trio at the same time, ensuring no Boar King was alive towards the end, for that would achieve the condition necessary to turn them into the Empyrean Boar King.
"Ha....hahaha...this is indeed a nightmare!" Brangara roared in laughter, his expression one of happiness, one of sadness, one of terror, one of grief, one of confusion, one of peace...
His emotional quotient had shattered as he hugged the severed heads of his three sons, "In
the end, I brought upon their tragedy."
"I have a question," Not even giving him a moment to grieve, a Mystic Ewworm popped out of the ground and uttered sarcastically while it mockingly wagged its ugly mouth before his face, "Throughout all your family drama, you forgot a small, almost continental-size fact."
"You killed the Boar Kings instantly to avoid birthing the Empyrean Boar King. However, isn't there still one Boar King alive?"
"What?" His lips quivered as Brangara stared at the Mystic Ewworm dumbfounded. And then,
as if enacting the most gruesome of sordid fates, one even the devil would shy away from creating, came a dust cloud.
It was approaching him at hypersonic speeds, significantly faster than what Brangara could currently achieve. And even before it was evident on the horizon, a brutally suffocating presence slammed into him like a tsunami, powerful enough even the hairs on his body stood on end, alerting all his senses.
His survival instincts were kicked in as all his Tangible Natures revved up. However, Brangara
only felt an urge to die. After all, he understood the gravest of mistakes he had committed. It
was a math problem.
There was one more Boar King child of his that was alive, the oldest in fact. And now, the condition had been achieved. "This...haha...is...hehe...hehehehe...a...NIGHTMARE!"
Beginner Mystic Grade Pranic Beast-Empyrean Boar King!
And rushing towards him, with tears streaming out of her eyes was none other than his oldest
daughter, Barla. Emanating from her was a presence significantly stronger than what he was touted to possess by the climax of Sumatra Chronicles.
With a 10-Life Stage cultivation, Barla rapidly closed in on him, "I'LL KILL YOU!!!!!!!"
Even if he wanted to accept his death, his survival instincts overpowered him. Prana circulated through his body spontaneously as his heart pumped the blood faster. Over a dozen Tangible Nature Minor Treasures were activated in his Astral World, as even without his will, his body was preparing itself to face Barla, without holding back, ready to go in for the kill.
"Of course, I expected as such. Your desire to survive overpowers your every instinct." Right
as Brangara got up, ready to receive Barla's charge, a voice resounded from above him. His head swerved upward to see Resha in closeup, right outside his Spirit weapon range, having
fallen from the sky, weighing more than a mountain range and having built up a terrifying
momentum.
Empyrean 100-Royal Zinger!
With all his might, Resha stretched his Royal Zinger arms and then swiped at the Celestial
Boar's face, "Die!"