"This is the Death Hour?" Yoribu was in a daze as she observed the terrifying phenomenon happening before her.
A layer of heat rose up from the sea bed, absorbing the heat present n the layer of water right above it. So on, and so forth, the layer absorbed all the heat from the above layers and continued to move up the water level.
Partway, it had absorbed enough heat to spark into life, becoming plasma. This plasma layer was extremely dangerous, capable of killing even Gold Grade Pranic Beasts.
The strongest among the Dralh Sea had long since gathered at the sea bed. The heat at the start of the Death Hour wasn’t dangerous to them. Only as the layer progressed upward did it become progressively more dangerous.
Before that happened, these powerful Pranic Beasts crammed themselves into the available space. When the layer turned into plasma, no one could cross it anymore. The remaining Pranic Beasts promptly fled to the islands scattered across the Dralh Sea.
As the plasma layer formed, the water above it began to vaporise, forming a wall of steam in the sky. The steam turned more and more intense as flashes of lighting began to form.
Boom!
There was a thunderclap, loud enough to make it seem as if the sky itself had shattered.
"Kya!" Yoribu screamed in fright at the sound, having never heard such a sound until now. Her heartrate accelerated as she shouted shrilly, "Are you sure we’ll be safe here?"
"Yes," Councilman Hyak nodded, pausing for a few seconds as he observed the lightning flashes and then uttered, "If you think the Empyrean Snapper you faced at the Varahan Empire was strong, you’re wrong."
"If you were to ever fight one here, at the Dralh Sea, especially at the Death Hour, you’ll change your mind." He uttered solemnly, "During the Death Hour, with three Natures to reinforce their strength, the Empyrean Snappers could fight and even kill a Mystic Grade existence."
"The more dangerous the terrain becomes, the stronger they get."
"No wonder my Ancestor always chased after two Natures." Yoribu’s horizons were broadened. Internal Inertial Gravity and Subtle Terrain Domination. These two Natures still remained the best of the best.
’If KalTara had one of each, he would have been able to fight Danhral.’ She concluded, shivering as she watched the Death Hour become increasingly dangerous. "The name’s fitting."
"You’ll literally die at this hour if you were within that...region." She uttered.
"Yes," Councilman Hyak nodded, "Even with the defensive strength of your build at full power, you’ll die out there. Either you need to have Mystic Grade strength, or..."
He stated solemnly, "You need to be an Empyrean Snapper to survive the Death Hour."
At the same time, arriving at the border of the Dralh Sea through the Brask Channel, which connected the Dralh Sea to the Red-Draft River, was the Empyrean Snapper group.
Leading the group was Wally, his expression nostalgic as he eyed the Death Hour.
"It’s...no longer our home." Danhral said from the side, his voice tinged with defeat, "The Mystic Humans have made it theirs now."
"Say..." Wally hesitated for a bit before asking, "What do you think will happen if we were to...reclaim our home?"
"We have the strength to do so, and no one can question us otherwise." Danhral said as he stared at Wally, feeling a clear strength difference between the two, "Especially since we have you with us now."
"Do you think I am strong?" Wally asked, eyes rising in surprise to see every Empyrean Snapper nod without hesitation.
"We can all perceive it instinctively." Danhral stepped forward to speak, performing a mild bow, "We have pledged to follow your orders without question. And we intended to see through with our pledge."
"You are the hope that can bring the Cooter Clan into the future."
"I see," Wally nodded, feeling the weight of expectations placed on his shoulders. A vein popped on his arm as he clenched his hand into a fist and set aside personal intentions to state honestly, "If I had the choice, I would pressure the Mystic Humans into vacating from this place. I really, really intend to do so. After all, the Mystic Humans have built their empire using our foundation. Every Mystic Human was once a Free Human we reared."
"But if we were to touch them, the Brimgan Empire will consider us an enemy." Wally sighed, "And I hope to avoid that possibility."
"Are they still a threat?" Danhral asked, expressing his opinion, "Our Secondary Nature is derived from the Brimgan Royalty’s Kinesis Deity. We have made their power ours, and adding our physical might, we can easily take on the Brimgan Empire."
"They surpass us in range, but their Spirit Weapons have to hit us to damage us." He continued, "But the moment they enter our range, we can use our power on them and even gain control over them."
"You’re right." Wally nodded, "Thanks to the Secondary Nature you’ve all gained from Gannala, you’re able to easily counter a Brimgan Royal. But they aren’t my worry."
"I only worry about making one Brimgan Royal my enemy," Wally said in terror.
"There’s a Brimgan Royal who can be a threat to even you?" Danhral asked in shock, "Who is it?"
He stared at Wally’s enclosed fist, "There’s someone who can threaten you despite what you’re capable of unleashing with that?"
"Yes," Wally nodded.
"Who?" Nancral hesitated to express himself from the crowd of Empyrean Snappers.
"Boul Brimgan." Wally said solemnly, "That man is dangerous."
"Isn’t he already dying?" Danhral frowned, "How can a dying man be your opponent?"
"Dying?" Wally burst into laughter, "Do you...seriously believe that?"
"Is that not the truth?" Danhral asked, "Wasn’t he hit by the Celestial Boar’s Unlimited Predator?"
"Yes, he was hit by it. Yes, he is indeed dying because of it." Wally nodded, "And that’s exactly why he is dangerous."
"His Human Avatar is filled with the power of Unlimited Predator." Wally stared at the Empyrean Snappers to say, "All he needs to do is touch us with his Spirit Weapon once, and we’ll be affected by Unlimited Predator too."
"He has a lot of Celestial Boar lifeforce left behind by the Royal Zinger. So, he’s not dying anytime soon as long as he doesn’t revert to human form." Wally said, "That means he is still a threat, for as long as he wants to be alive."
’Besides, with the refinement capabilities of Mystic Kinesis Art, I refuse to believe someone as capable as Boul Brimgan would just lie down and accept his death.’ Wally thought in all seriousness, "I...had the opportunity to interact with the Mystic Seven. Let us not interfere with their arrangements."
"Only then can I continue to receive benefits from them." He said as the group landed on the Dralh Sea’s edge and began to speed across the water surface.
"Danhral," Wally stared at the man in question to ask, "What did my sister tell the lot of you?"
"That was indeed Wittral?" Danhral gasped.
"You were still doubting her claims?" Wally asked.
"Yes," Danhral nodded, "to be honest, it’s the Quip Clan. We can never be sure if what they show us is the truth or not."
"That’s actually reasonable. That’s my opinion of the Quip Clan too." Wally accepted the reasoning, "The moment you show the slightest lack of knowledge, they’ll make an absolute fool out of you."
"However, I know for a fact that this piece of information is the truth." Wally said, "Zhya indeed was Wittral."
"I see," Danhral nodded in understanding and then said after a while, "Wittral...I mean, Zhya told us to abandon the Tertiary Nature of Cultivator and instead get the Nature of Subtle Imprison. That would help us attain a State of Harmony, whose effects will be on par with our 10-Life Stage strength."
"In terms of strength, you’ll indeed be stronger with a State of Harmony." Wally nodded and then stared at Danhral, "However, you won’t be as versatile, since you cannot take advantage of a human form."
Switching between human and Pranic Beast forms generated tremendous amounts of force during both the space expansion and space contraction. That itself was on par with a powerful Gold Grade Nature.
After all, Empyrean Snappers were massive. So, the space expansion during their transformation could pretty much clench victory, even without the usage of any other Natures.
"In your fight," Wally stared at Danhral to ask, "KalTara and Yoribu unleashed their transformation repeatedly and pierced through your Subtle Terrain Domination, right?"
"Yes, they did do that." Danhral nodded.
"You have the answer." Wally nodded, "Cultivator gives us Pranic Beasts unimaginable advantages. And having multiple lives allows us to survive through extremely dangerous situations."
"Even the Celestial Boar lost many lives." Wally expressed, "Even at the 9-Life Stage, the Celestial Boar’s body was repeatedly destroyed."
"Then, what should we do?" Danhral asked.
"The talented ones will aim for a State of Harmony build." Wally announced, "The rest will progress through the Life Stage. We need to take advantage of both capabilities. Only then can our future enemies not prepare countermeasures against us."
As they spoke, their speeds broke through the sound barrier. The Death Hour presented the absolute domain of the Empyrean Snappers, an unlimited terrain that was extremely concentrated and energy-dense.
With limited Prana usage, they propelled themselves at sonic speeds, heading towards the Kappeet Channel.
The Kappeet Channel extended from the Dralh Sea and led into Tsloch Sea, the region were the Cooter Clan’s headquarters had been established.
"Since everyone has vented enough, we have two priorities to focus upon," Wally said as the group continued to accelerate, "First, we must figure out a way to naturally attain the Natures of Empyrean Mist Deity, Cultivator, and Subtle Imprison."
"And second," He declared, "It’s high time we elevate the Cooter Clan into a Gold Grade Clan."
"Is that...possible?" Danhral asked.
"Yes," Wally nodded and revealed the grey sand in his hand, "With this, it’s possible. I have a solution in this regard."