Gong!
The destructive beam reverberated a rhythmic sizzling sound as it created a large canyon across the Kalahatra Desert before Ruvva stopped releasing any more of it.
"Gah!" Most of the trunk of Ruvva's Empyrean Tusk form melted, unable to form a barrel strong enough to contain and focus the destructive beam. She hurriedly reverted to human form and collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.
"What the heck was that?" Gannala shouted as she flickered before Ruvva and grabbed the latter by the neck to prop up in anger, "You shouldn't have been able to unleash something like that."
"Turns out, I can. It's just..." A thin trail of blood trickled down her nose as Ruvva grinned, "The toll is a bit too much for the current me. If I had been at the Life Stage, you would have lost a life from that exchange."
"Please, don't think something like that can kill me." Gannala chuckled and flicked her arm, throwing Ruvva away with force, uttering upon hearing the latter form a crater upon impact.
Slowly, Gannala walked towards Ruvva, "I hadn't even begun to use a fraction of my strength."
"Neither have I," Ruvva got up and wiped the blood trickling down her nose. She judged the distance between the two as her figure spun spontaneously, and in response, an Eddy Blade materialised and aimed at Gannala's neck.
Ruvva's expression morphed from focus to surprise, before turning into a fluster as the Eddy Blade clearly severed through Gannala's neck. She watched in horror as Gannala's body fell to the ground and slid down an ivory sand dune, leaking out blood in response.
However, after the initial shock factor wore off, Ruvva patted her chest in relief, snorting a moment later to bellow in irritation, "Stop playing dead. You think I can't see through a paltry trick?"
"It was fast enough that even you were fooled." A Nature Weapon jumped out of the severed corpse's chest and reverted to Gannala's figure. The severed corpse was merely an Iron Grade Pranic Beast made to look like her.
Prime Skill-Gannala!
It was a Skill created by Virala, which Gannala obtained after touching the former and gaining information on all his secrets. She simply modified it to suit her needs. Originally, this Prime Skill could only be used on a Mammoth Clansman.
However, by combining the Prime Skill with her Tertiary Nature of Cultivator, Gannala could apply the effects on Pranic Beasts too. She kept a reserve of Pranic Beasts who had been modified to look like her and stored them as Nature Weapons.
When the Eddy Blade was about to make contact with her, Gannala spat out the respective Nature Weapon, and made it assume human form while simultaneously equipping herself onto its Secondary Nature slot.
She had kept the Nature Weapon ready in her mouth to succeed in such a trick, which was how she could execute it with such speed that even Ruvva was fooled for a moment.
"Why do you have to make it difficult, Ruvva?" Gannala said as a bone hilt appeared in her hand, perfectly clasped in her palm. The moment the hilt appeared, her demeanour changed. She had become serious.
Spirit Weapon-Weaponised Staff!
Primary Nature-Weaponisation!
It was a Mammoth Clansman who had reached the 2-Life Stage with the Primary Nature of Weaponisation. Since a baby, the Mammoth Clansman didn't live a normal life, taken control over and nurtured by Gannala.
She occupied the Secondary Nature slot and controlled the Mammoth Clansman after unleashing the Prime Skill of Gannala on the latter almost daily, this way making the body more and more attuned to her.
Moreover, the Mammoth Clansman was part of her immune system in the first place. And with a Primary Nature of Weaponisation, she was extremely susceptible to Gannala's influence. The one who was cultivating on her behalf was none other than Gannala.
Currently, the Mammoth Clansman's first body was stored in Gannala's stomach biome as a Nature Weapon. The second body was what she had taken out, after equipping its remaining Nature slots.
Nature Weapon-Bloody Affection!
Nature Weapon-Kinesis Deity!
The hilt was made from tusk bone powder and refined over time using Mystic Bone Art for maximum strength. Secured at its front was the Nature Weapon, covered by a tough layer of tusk bone powder for safety.
This was the Weaponised Staff, a Spirit Weapon that Gannala had created to face the Celestial Boar and even made it effective. It was effective against the undeveloped version of the Celestial Boar, but even that was a huge accomplishment.
Prana surged into the Weaponised Staff and influenced the Nature Weapon that burst with its own reserve. Weaponisation was a Gold Grade Nature, so the Mammoth Clansman's Prana was pretty high level in terms of quality.
Adding onto it was Kinesis Deity, another Gold Grade Nature. Gannala didn't target any Brimgan Royals, for that was too dangerous. However, that didn't mean she didn't have the means to procure the Nature of Kinesis Deity.
To gain the Nature of Kinesis Deity, a Free Human should build a Human Avatar out of Rutham. And to obtain Rutham, the Iron Grade mineral-Kirenal—and Gold Kinesis Art was
necessary.
Gannala had information about Mystic Kinesis Art thanks to Orakha. It wasn't the version perfected by Boul Brimgan after entering the Mystic Grade, but it was still leagues above Gold Kinesis Art in terms of function.
That was more than enough, as Gannala wanted the Nature more than the Human Avatar. As for Kirenal, it was pretty commonly available, though mostly in smaller deposits. However, Gannala knew of a place where there was a rich deposit of Kirenal.
Sanrey Plains!
It was the first region she had witnessed as a baby, and was also the most secure. While searching for Harrala, Gannala had spent the past eight years running all across the place, which was when she entered the Sanrey Plains and gained control over this secluded region.
She created a territory there to suit her needs, bringing with her a large number of Free Humans for the purpose from an unfortunate Free Human Kingdom that was recently destroyed by a Pranic Beast invasion.
'I don't need to reveal my actual trump cards to her.' Gannala thought as blood sprouted out of the hilt and turned into a sword, its speed reinforced by the Kinesis Deity that enhanced
psychokinesis.
Bloody Affection was a Gold Grade Nature Weapon, one of Virala's prized creations that Inala stole at the Brimgan Empire and later gave Gannala. Unlike its Silver Grade version which could only absorb blood upon physical contact, the Gold Grade version could absorb blood from within the Spirit Weapon range.
At a thought from her, the blood sword behaved like a whip and slammed into Ruvva, splattering upon impact as the latter erected multiple shields of Prana. However, the blood splatter was well within the Spirit Weapon range of the Weaponised Staff, since it had been boosted ten times by Kinesis Deity.
The splatter recondensed into four whips and bombarded Ruvva's defences, forcing the latter to take out a Minor Treasure in the shape of a gun, aim at Gannala and shoot multiple bullets.
The bullets turned into spherical figures, miniature forms—partial transformation—of an Apogee Bludder. They spun at terrifying speeds and created a cone of Prana around them behaving like a drill as they targeted Gannala.
Minor Treasure-Spirit Puppet!
They were too fast to evade normally. But with two Natures of Internal Inertial Gravity,
Gannala could react. As long as she evaded, Ruvva's plan would work, as some of the bullets were able to assume Empyrean Tusk form for a short few seconds before they ran out of Prana.
But that itself was enough power to destroy Gannala, 'These Minor Treasures are significantly stronger in my hands!'
As she had predicted, Gannala evaded the bullets when Ruvva seeped larger volumes of Prana into the Minor Treasure, taking out a second one to rapid fire. Blades of Prana formed around
the bullets to form a groove, using the wind resistance to increase their spin.
Boom!
One of the bullets slammed into Gannala and pierced party way into the latter's exoskeleton armour. An instant later, the bullet expanded into an Empyrean Tusk, its sheer expansion no different from a bomb as even Gannala's heavy figure was sent skidding away.
The Empyrean Tusk's transformation stopped partway as its Prana reserves were expended. The expansion, impact, and brittle bones caused it to explode like a sludge. The brittle bones behaved as shrapnel, covered by faint edges of Prana, lacerating Gannala's skin.
Her armour was shaved off as Gannala's figure was sent flying in multiple directions by the explosive attacks. Even if Gannala absorbed the blood forming these Spirit Puppets, Ruvva could regain control over them, thanks to Mystic Human characteristics of controlling their body as a Spirit Weapon.
It seemed as though Gannala couldn't retaliate. However, she had only sustained minor
injuries until now, calmly using her dense body to tank the attacks as she observed Ruvva's arsenal of abilities, 'She's indeed strong. And it seems she gained a lot of benefits from both Yahard Tusk and Boul Brimgan. Once she digests those gains, she'll be on a whole other level.'
"Of course, if both our builds grow strong according to our accumulations, then it's never a contest in the first place." Gannala muttered as she calmly switched her Weaponised Staff, holding four of them now, "The one who had lived longer will obviously win."
Mystic Bone Art-Puppetry!
"I've seen enough," Gannala muttered calmly as suddenly, the bullets seemed to hit layers of
air behaving as shields. None of the attacks reached her anymore, much to Ruvva's horrors, "You've prepared well, Ruvva. But it pales in comparison to me, since our status is different."
First Weaponised Staff-Kinesis Deity, Bloody Affection! Second Weaponised Staff-Kinesis Deity, Subtle Terrain Domination!
Third Weaponised Staff-Imprison, Prana Bomb!
Fourth Weaponised staff-Imprison, Rocky Intimidation!
"I am Gannala!" She proclaimed as suddenly, Ruvva's attacks were blocked by a series of
shields of air. A layer of Prana Bomb began to layer Ruvva's body, stripping her of all her
Prana, intimidating her, and also causing all her Spirit Weapons to drop, unable to move anymore, "The Mystic Seven are my immune system."
"What...is this?" Ruvva transformed, but the layer forming over her only expanded in
response to adapt. No matter what she did, she was well within the range of Gannala's attacks, staring helplessly as she was fully sealed.
"You're twenty years too late to be my match," Gannala uttered as she arrived before an imprisoned sculpture form of Ruvva and uttered calmly while placing her hand on the latter's head, "Give me what I seek, and I'll let you keep your life intact."
"Or I'll make you experience the pain of Empyrean Extraction."