"As long as you’re alive, their Deity won’t appear. So, to them, you’re an absolute bother."
"Bullshit," Inala snorted, "I made the Quip Clan."
"Yeah, but you have to understand something here, Dad." Gannala eyed Inala and said in concern, "The reason you became the Royal Zinger was thanks to the connection you had with the Empyrean Zingers back then through the Nature of Spatial Immune System."
"That’s a Mammoth Clan Nature mimicking the relationship between Mammoth Clansmen and their Empyrean Tusk." She placed her hand on her lap and tapped once, causing a stone table to appear. Her finger danced on its surface once and carved out the image of the Royal Zinger, "You merely modified that characteristic."
"When you changed your Race, whether it was me or Asaeya, we were disappointed with you. That’s the natural response, due to the nature of these genetic biases." She eyed Inala, "Even though you’re the same, Dad, you are not the Royal Zinger."
"Inala and the Royal Zinger are the same, that’s a fact on Sumatra." She concluded, eyeing Inala, "However, you’re merely Inala. To the Quip Clan, you’re a remnant that’s blocking the return of the Royal Zinger Inala."
"Dad, you must have been aware, right?" She asked next, speaking upon seeing Inala sigh, "Indeed, I would have been surprised if you hadn’t thought of it."
’That’s exactly why I built the grey tower in my mind space.’ Inala turned silent, frowning for a few minutes before asking, "What exactly do the Quip Clan intend to do now?"
"They’ve put a bounty on you," Gannala shrugged, "Eight million Parute Fruits!"
"What? That’s insane!" Inala shouted in shock.
"That’s how much they want you dead." Gannala said, "That’s why I took action and brought you here. Every single force is gunning to kill you, since the rewards are exorbitantly high."
Eight million Parute Fruits were a whopping sum, enough to raise an army to the peak of the Body Stage easily. It was a level of liquid capital only the likes of the Brimgan Empire could dish out without worries.
Therefore, every force other than the two Empires would go all out in their attempt to kill Inala. There might even be private groups from the two Empires who would conduct Raids to chase after Inala. After all, the promised wealth was alluring enough.
"Come with me, Dad." Gannala said in anger, "I have been accumulating a lot of resources. We only need to prepare a little before we can destroy all our enemies..."
"No, it’s alright," Inala shook his head, "If Free Humans and Pranic Beasts want to chase me, it’s their choice. I will only be on the evasive."
"You mean..." Gannala stared at Inala in shock, wondering if he truly was her father, "You won’t fight back?"
"I will fight, but not with the intent to kill." Inala shook his head, shielding his face when Gannala shattered the stone table in rage.
"Are you truly my dad?" She growled, "This isn’t like you! You’re behaving like a plant!"
"This is the real me, Gannala." Inala relaxed and spoke, "The real me only wishes to have fun exploring Sumatra, with neither a purpose nor baggage."
"Dad, tell me the truth." Gannala calmed down, eyed Inala with a blank stare and asked, "Even if I was wrong about you on some occasions, I truly believe I understand you well enough. And I can vouch for this,"
"You love Asaeya," She observed Inala’s expression, clicking her tongue upon seeing the latter nod, "then why have you never enquired about her wellbeing?"
"She’s with you, so I know she’s safe," Inala replied without hesitation.
"I’m not talking about her safety!" Gannala growled in irritation, shouting a moment later, "Why have you never expressed any intention to see her?"
"Because I don’t want to." Inala said and stared at Gannala, "I’m living on borrowed time and in the time I have left, I want to have fun. The moment I become tied down, I’ll have responsibilities."
"And those responsibilities include..." He trailed off and let out a forlorn sigh, "...preparing for the Continental Invasion."
If he had people to protect, he would make plans and preparations for their benefit, eventually causing a downward spiral similar to his previous life, "For once, I want to live for myself, that’s all."
"Then, suppose my life was at risk," Gannala patted herself, "Will you try to save me?"
"I will," Inala said.
"Then what’s the issue?" She asked, "You won’t be living any differently with her by your side, right?"
"Even after reading my memories since birth, you still fail to understand my character." Inala groaned as he slumped on the chair. He closed his eyes, pondered for a moment and then spoke, "Your mother grasped it overnight."
As Gannala listened with silence, Inala let out a long exhale, "On that night, if Oyo expressed mild interest in sleeping with me, I would have happily obliged. You know what would have changed if that happened?"
"Do you want to know how your life would have been if you were born out of love?" Inala asked, answering before Gannala could respond, "You would have been like Brangara, overpowered, but ill-fit for survival, since you would have lived a sheltered life."
"I would have been overprotective of you, which would have crippled your mental development. If you faced an issue, I would have given my all to solve it firsthand. That’s the type of person I am." Inala said honestly, "However, because of the cause that resulted in your birth, I didn’t cherish you all the time. Whenever there was an option, I left you to fend for yourself after logical reasoning that you had the means to survive."
"I would still give my everything for you, but I won’t be overprotective." He stared at Gannala, "That’s why you matured and can easily hold your own on Sumatra now."
"That’s why, when Oyo interrogated me and grasped my character, she forced herself on me." He concluded, covering his eyes with his hand, remaining silent for a few minutes. "Do you understand what I’m getting at now?"
"I...do," Gannala nodded, a tad sullen as she got up, "Then, I’ll take my leave..."
"Why?" Inala tilted his head in confusion.
"Didn’t you JUST SAY?" Gannala snapped, "You said you wanted to be free, unfettered, without any obligations. Isn’t my existence something that will take away your freedom?"
"Pfft!" Inala burst into laughter, "Brat, that would have only been the case if I was stronger than you."
"I’m not," He clutched his stomach, roaring in laughter, "And besides, nothing on Sumatra can truly harm you at present. Before truly dangerous opponents appear, you would have already entered the Mystic Grade."
"You’re the one who needs to support your old man, brat."
"Ahh..." It took a few seconds for Gannala to come to terms with the reality that she was stronger, way stronger than Inala at present. And as he had said, there really was nothing that could harm her.
So, even if she were with Inala, the latter didn’t have to worry about protecting her. That’s why Inala wasn’t concerned about her staying. Even if she accompanied him, Inala could still live free without worries.
"Then, will you ever see her?" Gannala asked.
"Will she be happy to see me?" Inala asked back. Seeing Gannala’s silence, he chuckled, "Thought so."
"I’m not even a Clansman now, but a Pranic Beast. So, it’ll be impossible for her to truly come to terms with me." Inala said, patting Gannala on the shoulder, "Asaeya cannot break free of her mould. I can easily do that, since I lived on Earth."
"To a certain extent, you can try to do the same," Inala made eye contact with his daughter, "Since you grew while reading my memories and have been mildly influenced by my experience on Earth."
"But for someone like Asaeya, her identity is that of a Mammoth Clansman. She cannot think past that." Inala clapped once, "So, it’s not whether I want to meet her or not. It’s better not to since it’ll be hard for us to see eye-to-eye."
"Hard, but not impossible, right?" Gannala said.
"Well, you’re right." Inala nodded, "For the time being, I want to be by myself. If I were to change my mind in the future, I’ll think about it."
"Leaving that aside," He stared at Gannala, "Tell me everything that happened from when Kenka unleashed his State of Harmony."
"I want to grasp the Quip Clan’s current thoughts."
"Well, if I were to explain it in short," Gannala tapped her chin, thought for a couple of seconds and then complained, "It’s all because you thought the Quip Clan wouldn’t develop as fast without you. That was your mistake."
"What do you mean by that?" Inala frowned.
"Well, you wanted for there to be a decent level of conflict so that the Quip Clan doesn’t grow lax, right?" Gannala said, continuing once Inala nodded, "The only mistake with that thought process was the person you left in charge to turn the wheels of the Quip Clan."
"Zhya, you mean?" Inala asked.
"Yes, or in short, Wittral." Gannala said, "He’s the Cooter Clan’s version of Resha, blessed with the highest level of talent and capability on Sumatra. Even Yarsha was only born with the talent part and not their genetic accumulation."
"Just like Resha, Wittral is capable of fusing with more than one Major Treasures." She said snarkily, "You were so blinded by Wittral’s sheer potential that you didn’t consider the consequences. No, I’m sure you considered everything, but you still underestimated Wittral’s capabilities."
"To the individual blessed with unreasonable levels of potential, you gifted him with that one dangerous weapon that allows him to tap into every inch of his potential," She stared at Inala solemnly, "Your mind."
"Zhya is Wittral armed with your mind." Gannala complained, "So, Dad, even you cannot predict the actions of someone on par with your intellect."
"Actually, you exercise all your capabilities under duress." Gannala said, eyeing Inala, "In the current situation, you are lax and haven’t begun to think or scheme at levels you were forced to do in the past."
"Thereby, at the current point in time," She concluded, "You’re simply incapable of grasping Zhya’s thought processes, especially since she has already accumulated enough Royal Zinger Genes to become one."
"...Already?" Inala blurted out in shock, "That shouldn’t have been possible."
"Just Nectar alone is a cheat, but you even created Minor Treasures of Royal Nectar, right?" Gannala chortled, "I have been constantly tapping into their information network to extract news of the Quip Clan’s actions. Do you know what they did moments after your death?"
She sighed, "They did two things primarily. Second was to prepare a State of Harmony for all four Gold Grade variants of the Quip Clan. But with top priority, they focused on one thing,"
"It was to have Quip Clansmen with enough genetic accumulation to evolve into the Royal Zinger when necessary." Gannala continued to speak upon seeing Inala’s shock, "They didn’t take any chances."
"There was no need for the Royal Zinger, as the Quip Clan wasn’t in danger. However, in a situation where the need arises, they made preparations for the revival of the Royal Zinger, whether it be to summon one through the Zinger Prince or to evolve into one." She concluded.
"The more Royal Zinger genes they accumulate, the closer they resemble the Royal Zinger Inala." Gannala glared at Inala, "That’s the monster you have created, Dad. So, there’s no way the higher-ups of the Quip Clan won’t prepare for a bunch of situations."
"How many..." Inala hesitated before asking, "How many Quip Clansmen have enough genes to become the Royal Zinger now?"
"From what I found out, the Quip Clan currently has eight Zinger Representatives. Of them, three have reached the requirements." Gannala said, "And they plan to increase this number to as high as possible."
"That’s...horrifying!" When he was the Royal Zinger, Inala had planned for it. But now, when observing it as a Brully, the notion was scary, not only because the Royal Zinger could already return, but that there were many to take its place.
It meant that when necessary, the second-generation Royal Zinger could freely unleash its State of Unity without worries. Because, the moment it dies, another Zinger Representative would evolve to become the third-generation Royal Zinger.
The exact threat that Inala gave to the Transcendents from the other Continents, one when he threatened to unleash Root on them, the Quip Clan was now capable of doing the same, the only difference being...
Their nuke was the Royal Zinger.