Danhral’s Empyrean Mist Deity form didn’t exist just to attack. The moment it appeared, it had begun to morph the terrain. First, it generated winds, causing a pressure difference between two adjacent regions.
It targeted the volatile substances in the soil and combusted them, infusing power from some of its Spirit Pools to create a lava. This caused the air to vaporise and gather in the clouds, which the Empyrean Mist Deity controlled and turned into a thundercloud.
The more dangerous the terrain, the stronger the Empyrean Snapper controlling it. And hence, even as he fought, Danhral was constantly upgrading his surroundings.
KalTara came to understand it a tad late, shrieking in a fluster as cloudy mist spikes jutted out of the Empyrean Mist Deity’s body and targeted him. He was constantly relying on Shredded Lunge and Bloody Affection to evade and recover his Prana.
That was already his limit. He couldn’t afford to switch to a more offensive set of Natures, which meant compromising his evasive capabilities. One solid hit from Danhral, and he would lose a life.
’How did Grandfather face an army of these creatures?’ He grunted in frustration and swallowed another large mouthful of Empyrean Snapper blood before lunging to a faraway spot, watching lightning bolts strike his previous spot.
Deity!
The more Danhral displayed his might, the more this word resounded in the minds of everyone. By now, the army of Wean Clansmen and Free Humans were already bombarding attacks. However, a wave from Danhral, and hordes lost their lives.
Thankfully, those in the army were all in the Life Stage. Hence, they could afford to die a few times.
"Those who have dropped to the Body Stage, retreat!" Mesupoh groaned, activated his stored Nature of Empyrean Boar Transformation and rushed towards Danhral. He unleashed a flurry of attacks, switching from one Blessed Influence to another.
A dozen seconds later, his corpse crashed into the Free Human army, the Human Avatar crumbling to pieces. Dropping by one life, Mesupoh grumbled as he recovered, getting up promptly to roar, "Don’t let up the attacks!"
He had already dropped to the 2-Life Stage, and hence had to be careful. He was a State of Harmony user, currently a valuable existence of strategic importance to the Varahan Empire. Therefore, if he were to fall to the Body Stage, he would have to flee from the battlefield.
"Urgh!" Right as he was about to lead another charge, his legs gave out as Mesupoh fell to the ground, "Dammit!"
His limbs trembled in fear from the sheer, voracious presence Danhral released. Even though Mesupoh was able to fight at the start, as his Prana levels dropped, his defences against the external presence weakened. ’I can’t afford to stay like this! Dammit!’
"Get up, Mesupoh!" As he lamented, Mesupoh suddenly felt strength return to his limbs. He turned around and saw that Yoribu had arrived.
"Is this alright, Your Majesty?" Mesupoh asked in a fluster, "Isn’t this already your third body? There’s only one left in the palace, right?"
"Yes, but we don’t have a choice, right?" Yoribu grumbled, "We need to fight."
"I’ll hold my resistance back." Saying so, she assumed Boar King form and extended her two tusks in his direction, "Load them up with the Blessed Influence of Manoeuvre and Ring Blade."
"Alright!" Mesupoh charged the two tusks with a Blessed Influence each and expressed caution, "Please don’t be reckless. This body of yours hasn’t reached maturity, so you won’t be as strong as before."
"I’m aware," Yoribu nodded before bellowing with all her might, "My Soldiers! Those that can transform, do it now."
"Become an Empyrean Boar!"
Her words resounded throughout the battlefield as the despairing soldiers recovered some of their strength.
"Her Majesty is back!"
"Follow Her Majesty’s will!" One after another, the soldiers roared as their leaders, with Gold Grade strength and the Nature of Empyrean Boar Transformation, activated them.
"KalTara!" She roared next as a few seconds later KalTara detached himself from Danhral and landed next to her, panting in exhaustion. "He’s gaining dominion over this region. The more he does this, the stronger he grows."
"Worst of all," Yoribu glared at a spot far away from the Empyrean Mist Deity, "The rest of the Empyrean Snappers are simply staring at us. Once they all take action, we’re doomed."
"So, we need to rebuild the aurora!" She expressed in a hurry, "That’s the only way we can resist."
One after another, various Natures were activated as the skies turned colourful, bombarding the Empyrean Mist Deity with a flurry of attacks. However, the latter’s upper half was protected by a thick thundercloud while waves of cascading lava protected the lower half.
A stomp by its foot, the earth rumbled, disorienting the armies. A second later, lightning descended from the skies, each strike killing a Free Human, specifically targeting the ones with a powerful presence.
’I guess I have displayed my might enough. Now, to actually fight!’ Danhral thought and broke into a sprint, charging straight at the two armies.
"...Run!"
It was unknown who said that first, but within a second, everyone at the scene came to the same consensus, whether it be a Free Human or a Wean Clansman.
’They lost morale!’ Kenka Echo observed the situation in a fluster, ’At this rate, they’ll all be destroyed!
"Do it!" He unleashed a Zinger Shriek, as immediately, the Quip Tower he was standing upon shone. A moment later, it released the Zinger Roar, accurately directing it towards the Empyrean Mist Deity.
Ka-BOOM!
It was as if the sky had exploded, the sound overwhelmingly fierce, so much so the fleeing army stopped and turned around. And what they witnessed came as another level of shock.
The Empyrean Mist Deity that seemed unstoppable now stood still, losing most of the right side of its body. There was a rippling cluster of blank spaces on the right half, with the remainder liking like a mangled spring, dripping blood as the flesh pieces snapped and began to fall to the ground.
’Zhya wasn’t here! Then how?’ Danhral gawked in a fluster and hurriedly swapped his bodies before his damaged body could die. Around half his Spirit Pools were destroyed, and his Prana reserves stored in the remainder were running low now.
A second later, he glared in the direction of the attack, bellowing in rage, "Does the Quip Clan intend to make us its enemy?"
"The Quip Clan has to look at the big picture!" Kenka Echo roared in response, but couldn’t reveal the Continental Invasion as the reason. Only the higher-ups of the large forces became aware of this. If the common populace were to hear about it, Sumatra itself would descend into absolute mayhem.
"Bigger picture?" Danhral snorted, "Was the slaughter of my kind in favour of that big picture of yours?"
"Oh, come on!" Kenka Echo groaned, "We didn’t even exist back then."
"Then, you better stay put." Danhral argued, "Don’t interfere in something that predates you."
"I’m afraid..." Kenka Echo grumbled as his Quip Tower glowed once again, "I’m afraid I can’t do that!"
A second Zinger Roar was released, targeting Danhral, resulting in another sky-shattering sound. But unlike he first time, Danhral remained standing without injuries.
’They have taken action!’ Kenka Echo thought as he observed the Empyrean Snappers standing in human form at various locations of Danhral’s body. They were dispersed as smaller groups, but that was enough to tank the weaker Zinger Roars released by the Quip Towers.
Only against Zhya’s Zinger Roars in close range were they all forced to combine their strength. Of course, they didn’t plan to simply tank the attacks this time.
Danhral’s serpentine head moved through the thundercloud as lightning bolts bombarded the Quip Tower. However, they were all absorbed by a Prison Bomb that had suddenly appeared overhead, created by pulling in metallic particles from the region.
Kenka Echo stood atop the Quip Tower and waved his hand, discarding the Prison Bomb that was mostly destroyed by the attack. He assumed his Zinger Prince form and condensed two Prison Bombs, "I can do this for as long as you want to."
"I’m aware. You can, but I can’t." The serpentine head’s voice reverberated amidst thunderclaps, "As I said before, unlike the time we faced your leader, we came prepared."
’Wait!’ Only then did Kenka Echo realise as his pupils contracted, hurriedly doing a headcount of the Empyrean Snappers on the Empyrean Mist Deity, ’Five’s missing...!’
"Shit!" He clenched hard as his Prison Bomb spontaneously wrapped around the Quip Clansmen in the vicinity. His quick reaction saved them, as an instant later, the Quip Tower was shredded to bits, with its fragments sent into the sky as an Empyrean Most Deity emerged from the ground.
The respective Empyrean Snapper moved through the ground, arrived underneath the Quip tower, and assumed Empyrean Snapper form after activating its Secondary Nature of Empyrean Mist Deity.
"Urgh!" His Prison Bomb shattered as Kenka Echo assumed Zinger Prince form and unfurled his wings, protecting the rest of the Quip Clansmen who latched on his back in support. They had been sent flying for four kilometres in the sky.
If not for the space within the Prison Bomb being separate from the outside, the shockwaves would have coursed inside and simply shredded through their bodies. Kenka Echo had ensured the Prison Bomb tanked all the damage, which was why it shattered so quickly.
"Is everyone alright?" He asked, knowing the answer already. From the sky, he saw, emerging from underneath the other Quip Towers were Empyrean Mist Deities, one per each.
’Did they know about our preparations beforehand?’ Kenka Echo thought in a fluster before calming down upon observing the faces of all the Empyrean Mist Deities that had appeared, ’They were afraid of Zhya’s power. The ones who moved against the Quip Towers appear prepared to die.’
"They were just more resolved than us in this situation." Kenka Echo let out a forlorn sigh as he addressed the Quip Clansmen on his back, "Fly away on your own. Since our closest Quip Towers were taken out, I have no other choice but to take action personally."
His figure began to free fall as he reverted to human form and stared at the Zinger Aristocrat that had hugged him, tears streaking down her eyes, "Remember to extort the Wean Clan and the Varahan Empire for as long as they exist after this,"
"Since I’m doing them a whopping favour."
"I will," The Zinger Aristocrat nodded and spread her wings to be carried away, allowing Kenka Echo to resume his free fall.
Advanced Gold Grade Pranic Beast—Zinger Prince!
As he fell, his Natures began to harmonise with each other, "Ah...!"
Primary Nature—Prison Bomb!
Secondary Nature—Accel Hurl!
Tertiary Nature—Prana Stitch!
"Urgh!" Suddenly, Danhral felt a heavy presence slam into him from the skies, causing his Empyrean Mist Deity form to kneel on the ground. In horror, he lifted his head while multiple layers of mist alongside his body’s shell appeared spontaneously to cover the rest of the Empyrean Snappers, "W-What is this...overwhelming presence?"
"My...goodness!" Gannala stared agape as she eyed Kenka Echo from afar, feeling the familiar presence that she simultaneously loved and despised, ’No, it’s not him. The version that cared about me is already long dead.’
"Urgh! Gaaah!" Having been watching the sequence of events like an unconcerned bystander was Inala, suddenly screaming in pain as veins popped all over his body. His mind space began to fracture as the grey tower in it suddenly sported cracks, ’That’s...impossible!’
’What in the cosmic horrors have you created, Zhya?’ He thought in horror and fell unconscious.
"In the name of the Quip Clan, I declare the Empyrean Snappers’ hatred," Kenka Echo’s voice reverberated with a regal authority, enough to shun every other voice of descent as his presence continued to climb up until it reached the pinnacle, "...void!"
The skies brightened as his three Natures finished harmonising, the sheer pain resulting from the process making him wish he were dead instead, ’But it’s alright. I’ll now reunite with you, my creator, My Deity!’
State of Harmony—Deity Summon!