"This level of heat is insane!" Inala peeked out of the Sumatra Ship and saw mist cover the entirety of the region beyond the island's confines.
Every second, dozens of thunderous sounds reverberated as pockets of mist exploded. With enough temperature and pressure buildup, not to mention charge being built up in the mist, the water molecules split into hydrogen and oxygen, carried by the billowing waves to later fuse once again, resulting in massive explosions.
Boom! Boom! Kaboom!
Shockwaves travelled across the region, with some of them even reaching Inala. Thankfully, by the time they reached him, they were merely loud sounds, having expended most of their destructiveness.
Crack! Crackle!
There was nonstop thunder as the mist ionised, creating a spectacle of colours as energy waves in various frequencies were radiated. It was a spectacle of sound and light, breathtaking to view from afar and would literally take his breath away if he were to come in contact.
It felt like the world came crashing down. There was an explosive wall of mist with ionised spectrums acting like a wall to surround the island, causing him to feel claustrophobic. The once massive world had now shrunk to the size of this tiny island, six square kilometres in area.
Inala stared at the ground from his vantage point on the mound, observing large bodies leap out time and again from the mist—unleashed by Ralral—covering the island ground. The bodies piled up as Iron Grade Pranic Beasts climbed over each other, trying their everything to make space on the island for more.
Hordes upon hordes of Pranic Beasts continued to rush into the island as the plasma layer in the Dralh Sea gradually approached the surface. It would take exactly an hour for this layer to reach the surface. This explosive spectacle of light and sound would continue until then.
The mound was the only safe region on Leh Island now, thanks to its altitude of a hundred metres. Of course, many Pranic Beasts noticed the existence of more space and began to rush towards it using the helical flight of stairs.
The forerunners were a group of Pranic Beasts with amphibian characteristics, sporting bouncy flippers that allowed them to hop four metres with every jump. Their tail and fins acted to aerodynamically control their jump trajectory, allowing them to even make sharp turns in the air.
They observed the Sumatra Ship, opened their mouths and spat out tiny spheres that arched towards the target and exploded upon contact. Waves of Prana spread around the area, affecting Inala as he was still peeking out.
His body became numb in response as a powerful sense of lethargy enveloped him. He stared lazily as one of the hopping Pranic Beasts parted its jaws four ways, revealing a dozen rows of sharp teeth and clamped upon him.
"Get lost!" Gannala's shout reverberated in anger as a powerful gust of air slammed out, knocking all the hopping Pranic Beasts out of the mound.
"Dad, are you alright?" Gannala pulled Inala inside the Sumatra Ship in a hurry and closed the hatch.
"I'll…tell later," Inala replied while yawning, frustratingly dallying in his response. Two seconds later, he recovered, trembling, "That was a messed-up ability."
A thought from him and four Prana Hands flew out to grab a hopping Pranic Beast from the batch that started to climb up the helical flight of stairs. It screamed and shot multiple energy spheres, but the Prana Hands dexterously evaded them.
Its Prana was depleted quickly as its weak body was pulled into the Sumatra Ship. Touching it, Inala activated his Empyrean Extraction Prime Skill. He fished out its skull and accessed some of its data, quickly surfing through its memories from every time it came to the island.
It fled to a different part of the island daily, heading wherever there was free space. Inala captured a few more Pranic Beasts and fished out their skull, surfing through their memories through the safety of the Sumatra Ship.
His five Empyrean Zingers took charge of defence. Ten minutes later, his eyes glinted, "Found it!"
He zeroed in on the location where Ralral had fled, "Let's head there immediately."
"Can't we wait until the Death Hour ends?" Asaeya asked.
"It's too risky," Inala said and explained the situation at play, "Currently, there are plenty of Pranic Beasts on the island, piling upon each other. Their skeletons are a reserve strength for us. Gannala can use them to create favourable terrain for us mid-battle. Hence, if we fought now, the advantage lies with us."
But once the Death Hour ends," Inala shook his head and stared up, "There would be a cold shower. The Dralh Sea will begin to freeze in parts. The intense rain creates a perfect environment for the Cooter Clan. Just like we control bone, they can control fluids. Moreover,"
He said in seriousness, "We are confined by the distinct shape and size of our Spirit Weapon. They are not."
Basically, water and mist could act as their Spirit Weapons. Best of all, they didn't need to be of a fixed mass, volume, or shape. As long as they mix a refined drop—Spirit Weapon equivalent—with a large volume of water, they can control the entire pool of water like a Spirit Weapon.
Its shape could vary freely, allowing them to dextrously control them and fight with added advantages. 'Resha's Secondary Nature of Mystic Bone in Sumatra Chronicles was derived from this ability of the Cooter Clan. It allows him to freely control streams of bone like a Spirit Weapon.'
"Basically," Inala concluded, "When it rains, the sky and ground become their Spirit Weapon. They can use the rain to rain bullets on us."
"I understand now," Asaeya expressed her shock, "They are probably waiting to kill us once it starts to rain."
"Yup," Inala nodded, "We'll definitely die when that happens. My Sumatra Canon can kill them, but as long as I am careless for a moment, a drop of rain will penetrate my head."
"We need to kill them before the Death Hour ends," Saying so, Inala created a bunch of Prana Bombs, flattened them, and stuck them like scales on his Sumatra Ship. Air gushed out of its vents as the Sumatra Ship glided in the air, making a beeline towards the hidden cave used by Ralral and group as their stronghold.
He peeked out from a hatch at its top, watching the Sumatra Ship glide towards a cave entrance hidden amidst mist. He took out his Sumatra Canon and loaded it with ten Prana Bombs, "Let's give them an explosive greeting."
One after another, the Sumatra Canon shot out ten Prana Bombs, generating ten, densely interlinked shockwaves layered upon each other, almost mixing. The ten-layered shockwave spread out for almost a hundred metres radially as ten Prana Bombs flew in a single file, right behind each other, sporting a gap of less than two centimetres between each other.
There was a barrier of mist covering the cave's entrance, thick in nature, strong enough to tank a full-powered hit from even four Centingers. And with its recovery means, the damage would be mended before a second artillery strike could arrive.
It would be even more difficult for regular Silver Grade Pranic Beasts to dent the mist barrier. But now, the very same barrier made a subtle plopping sound as it burst like a bubble. The ten Prana Bombs slammed dead centre, causing the cave to come crashing down.
"Here comes the thunder!"
