856 Four steps To Nullity
Brangara was currently at the 8-Life Stage. He had two intact Astral Worlds while the rest had sustained severe damage thanks to the efforts of everyone who faced him. Compared to before the fight, even though Brangara had lost a lot of Minor Treasures and Tangible Natures, he was stronger overall now.
That was because he had gained significant experience and insight into using his State of Unity, especially by using the pillar of lights of two more Major Treasures to derive the power of Mould and Counterbalance.
Virala was dead, crippled mentally, similar to Orakha. Even if he is revived, he would be out of the picture for a long time. That was Brangara's confidence. By now, he understood the dangers of using Unlimited Predator and how it would consume any target that came into contact with it.
That meant everyone who faced him at the Kalahatra Desert was bound to die. It was what he had concluded after some of the gaps in his knowledge were filled by the Bolts of Transcendence. Beyond that, even the Transcendents had no idea, so Brangara didn't gain much from the whole ordeal.
Standing close by was the Infinite Divine Soldier, still going strong as Yahard Tusk had enough lifespan to be killed tens of thousands of times. Deep in the ground, something resembling the Influenced Region of Armoury existed.
However, it didn't feel like the real deal. After Brangara consumed Harrala for some strange reason, the sand vortex collapsed. 'That action of mine wasn't my own. It must have been the influence of those Biome Bombs. The previous time, they made me insane. And this time, they spiked my hunger and made me consume Harrala.'
'Why did he make me consume Harrala though?' Brangara frowned as he inspected his Astral World. All four bodies of Harrala had been fully digested by now, leaving nothing behind. So, it wasn't a trap. 'Was it to make Yennda mad?'
He remembered his conversation with Yennda at the Zahara Kingdom, 'Even if it's to make him mad, I don't see how he's a threat. He's already been hit by Unlimited Predator at point blank. With his Gold Grade strength, he'll die shortly even if he's revived by Blola.'
His eyes darted to the side and observed Pet dragging Boul Brimgan away, hurriedly burrowing into the sand to evade his detection, 'What's the use of that? Both of you will be dying shortly too.'
Swoosh!
The Infinite Divine Soldier rushed at him and hacked his body. However, Brangara's figure flickered and slightly evaded the attack, watching a gash appear on his shoulder. He jumped lightly and unleashed a pillar of light to stop the Infinite Divine Soldier's approach.
Following that, he used Shredded Lunge and Prana Shock to leap away, exiting Yahard Tusk's Sprit Weapon range, "Haha!"
Grrr!
Crunching sounds resounded from the Infinite Divine Soldier that stood at the end of its Spirit Weapon Range and helplessly glared at Brangara.
"Your State of Harmony is absurdly powerful. Even I will be exhausted by the time I get rid of you." Brangara chuckled, "However, that doesn't mean anything if I stay beyond your range."
"The Mammoth Clan made a mistake in choosing you to inherit the power of the Mystic Tentacle." Brangara mocked in ridicule, "Had it been either of the other two, they would have managed to keep me within their range."
The previous Chief of the Mammoth Clan, Raaha, managed to successfully keep the Empyrean Boar King Brangara at bay with only the power of the Gold Empyrean Tentacle for many centuries.
Following that was Orakha, the first one to destroy a Celestial Boar body. But his most impressive feat was killing Yarsha Zahara, 'That's where things took a nosedive for her.'
Had she been a Free Human, then she could have casualy used her Spirit Weapon to spontaneously transform the largest strike of Inala's Attributed Water projectiles into her own and use them against her enemies.
A touch with her Human Avatar, and she could have stolen Boul Brimgan's Spirit Weapons and Minor Treasures, rendering his Deity Fusion state incomplete. She could even absorb Astral Puncture without issues.
Even the Major Treasure version of Yarsha Zahara was able to wield his Unlimited Predator. And she was infinitely weaker as compared to her Free Human version. If not for Orakha, she wouldn't have died.
'Maybe by the end, after we destroyed the Mammoth Clan, she could have reached the peak of the Body Stage.' Brangara lamented in thought for a moment before shaking his head, 'She's dead now.'
'Barla is currently under Blola's control. I can bring her back eventually. It's not an issue.' He stood right beyond the Infinite Divine Soldier's range, purposefully sticking his neck out to agitate the latter while thinking in a daze.
"I guess…" He muttered as a pillar of light slammed into the ground and caused a storm, "Only you are a threat now,"
"Inala!"
State of Unity—Four Steps To Nullity!
The Royal Zinger stood in all its glory, emitting crunching sounds as the bones in its arms merged, the muscles stacking while the tendons rearranged themselves to suit the new look. In real-time, the 10-Life Stage stack of the Royal Zinger was being merged into one.
Cracks covered the skin, out of which leaked the pillar of light, resulting in a sea of aurora that covered the Kalahatra Desert. It wasn't a show of power. Rather, it was a leak of his State of Unity.
'He's not at the Transcendence Stage, but it's like he has entered that realm of existence.' Brangara thought as he watched the Royal Zinger enter a combat pose. An instant of admiration later, his mouth curled up wide until the ends almost reached his ears, "Come, Inala!"
"Let's see if you finally have enough strength to face me head-on and not scurry around like a scheming rat!" He roared and assumed Celestial Boar form, clenched the fists once and unleashed a pillar of light.
The pillar of light slammed into the Royal Zinger and sent it flying, much to the Celestial Boar's surprise, "What the…?"
The Royal Zinger crashed into a dune far away and formed a deep trench for a few kilometres before arriving at a stop. There was a gaping wound on its chest as the muscles within squirmed, unable to heal fast enough.
The eyes of the Royal Zinger were blank, devoid of any reason as it lay on the ivory sand, as if dead.
"That's it?" The Celestial Boar caused a tremor as it landed beside the Royal Zinger and stared at the latter's immobile state, "After making such a show of power, you can't even take a single hit from me?"
"Pathetic…" Saying so, he blasted a pillar of light on the Royal Zinger's face.
'It…hurts!' Barely retaining any semblance of consciousness, Inala thought as the Celestial Boar's attack landed on his face, 'Attaining a State of Unity through such a faulty method results in such…unbearable pain…even for me.'
22:14
He was someone who could endure ripping his organs out without anaesthesia and had repeatedly done that on countless occasions. However, even for him, the pain was too much, to the extent he momentarily blanked out.
'Get up, Inala!' He urged himself, 'Don't screw up towards the end!'
"Hahaha…" As the Celestial Boar blasted another pillar of light onto the Royal Zinger's face in excitement, its laughs were cut short as suddenly, the two pillars of light flickered and rapidly dimmed out.
Ka-boom!
A powerful force slammed into the Celestial Boar and sent it flying, almost into the Infinite Divine Soldier's range.
'That was close!' Barely stopping a couple dozen metres before the range of the Infinite Divine Soldier, the Celestial Boar stared at its chest and noticed a patch of the Unlimited Predator armour covering it was missing, 'What had happened at that moment?'
"Urgh!" An almost headless Royal Zinger got up and wriggled its body once. All the injuries on its body had vanished, replacing a pristine Royal Zinger, one that was completely different from before.
Followed by the appearance of a glowing line, the head and limbs were separated from the body. That didn't result in its death. Rather, it seemed to be in its natural state as the six body parts maintained themselves in the same position as the body.
But they were tougher, stronger, denser, and most of all, didn't seem to belong to a cultivator. In terms of physical state, it had been elevated to that of a Transcendent. The aurora vanished across the Kalahatra Desert as finally, the Royal Zinger had stabilised its State of Unity.
"That was a trial attempt." The Royal Zinger head hovered 200 metres above the head, propped up by psychokinesis. Its eyes had regained clarity as its mouth moved a little, "Now, I'll be coming at you for real."
In response, the two arms began to move in the Celestial Boar's direction.
"Great!" The Celestial Boar roared and unleashed a pillar of light, targeting the left arm. However, once it closed in on the latter, it dimmed down and suddenly…
Bang!
The left arm slapped and caused the pillar of light to swerve to the side and slam into a sand dune nearby.
Step One—Sound!
"You needn't be shocked, Brangara." The Royal Zinger's voice resounded across the region, "This is something that can be witnessed only once. So, enjoy it during your demise."
State of Unity—Four Steps To Nullity!
It was based on the Royal Zinger's Mystic Royalty which allowed it to change grades. Therefore, it resulted in a total of four states, unleashed sequentially…if Inala could manage to endure pain until the end.
The first step exhibited the Royal Zinger's capability of using sound and stitching capabilities. Upon activation, it fused the body into a singular entity, kind of like entering the Transcendence Stage through the body alone.
Inala no longer had the 10-Life Stage stack. If he is killed once, he will die. Of course, the power he could output at this level was vastly superior to stitching his stack into one through Prana Stitch alone.
When the pillar of light approached the Royal Zinger's arm, the energy forming it was absorbed rapidly, which caused it to dim. Prana, influence, Lifespan, whatever it might be, the Royal Zinger could absorb it in its state of Unity. And upon contact, Perfect Biome Domination was stitched onto the remainder of the pillar of light, which redirected it towards the ground.
With the body on the same level as a Transcendent now, the speed at which the Royal Zinger could harness its abilities was unparalleled. A mere thought from it was enough to spontaneously execute the ability, which was how it could result in such a scary feat of swatting away the pillar of light.
'Strong!' Brangara frowned, 'And he has three more states after this?'
He unleashed two pillars of light and watched them be swatted to the side casually by the Royal Zinger's arms, 'Scary bastard!'
"Let's see you parry this!" He uttered and condensed an Unlimited Predator Sword and rushed into close combat.