Divine Beast Ascension

Abruptly, scathing earth essence erupted out of Ania. Despite being only a perennial, Brak flinched seeing her explosive aura and her death-bringing glare.

Treeda glanced at Inka, getting a nod from the stand-in lord. “Ania... please hit him, for the both of us.”

“I’m permitted?! Without consequence?” Ania roared, unable to contain herself.

“It’s better this way. I’m not allowed to kill him at the moment, and I would fail to control myself if I were to punish him,” stated Treeda, offering Ania a motherly grin. “For both of us, please punish him with all your strength.”

“I only need to keep him alive?”

Everyone around was startled to hear Ania say that. Inka laughed and Treeda nodded, retracting her pressuring energy. Brak quietly scoffed, thinking to himself, You, kill me? Pathetic...

.....

Seeing Brak’s confidence to take the beating, Treeda squinted and scoffed, “Was it not your fight with Dioro that left you critically injured, bedridden for nearly an equinox? ... No response? Then it must be true. And I look forward to seeing each injury she will inflict upon you. For each broken bone Brak receives, I’ll make an offering to the gorilla clan of ten thousand gold.”

Blinking, Inka laughed and stared sadistically at Brak. “Very well... However, as we’re in debt to Toxic-shadow and must pay recompense, it will be Brak and his region paying for each of his broken bones.”

“WHAT-”

“No complaining!” Inka bellowed, silencing the irked dragon king. “And should your treasury run dry, then Tempest Prefecture will pay the remaining sum.”

“If I may,” Vloz chimed in with a bow, “can I also attack him?”

Finally, Brak’s confidence wavered as he looked at the assassin. After hearing the praise the leopard received from Lord Treeda, how could Brak not tense up?

Chuckling, Treeda asked, “You won’t kill him?”

“As an assassin, I know what kills and doesn’t kill. And I-”

“Vloz, please leave this to me,” Ania insisted. Her essence was growing more rampant with each passing second. “I know he nearly killed you, but please...”

Nodding, Vloz stepped back. “Of course, Ania. Then, please, hit him for me and Rathe as well.”

“... How many hits am I allowed?”

Inka looked to Brak, noticing how he relaxed after Vloz bowed out. “I think Vloz would’ve done more damage, but there’s no telling how hard it is to injure Brak. Even in human form, it’s unthinkable for you, an early-perennial, to break through his impeccable defenses. That being the case... Brak, how confident are you in your natural defenses?”

Glaring at Ania and Treeda, Brak answered honestly, “She could hit me a hundred times and nothing would happen.”

“Ten hits,” Ania claimed, catching them all off-guard. “I want ten hits. Unblocked.”

“Are you sure? You only want ten?” Treeda questioned, a little disappointed with Ania’s statement.

“Ten for me, and ten for Treeda,” Ania added, letting her essence explode yet again.

“Low-perennial... You broke through, just for him?” Inka laughed, giving a resounding nod. “Brak will not block or evade. Brak, will you use essence to defend, or are you confident in yourself?”

“I’ll do no such thing!” Brak yelled, refusing to tarnish his pride further.

Nodding, Inka added, “Then, should you use any essence during your punishment, Lord Treeda will be allowed to strike you once, without reservation.”

Brak glanced at Treeda but quickly turned his attention to Ania without a word.

“... May I begin?” Ania asked, taking a single step forward.

“You may,” Inka replied, eager to see why Ania was so confident.

Snarling, Ania retrieved her war hammer. It put a smile on Inka’s face but Treeda was unfazed seeing it. However, when Ania put the hammer down and walked up unarmed, it left everyone in suspense.

Ania growled, “You deserve more pain than a perennial weapon could ever provide... So I’ll give you the special attention you merit.”

A war hammer came into existence in Ania’s grip, pieced together by her raging essence. Then, a new energy began to pulsate through the hammer and around Ania’s body. The cloudy, ethereal energy caught the lords off guard. Brak, however, felt a tinge of fear and painful memories flash through his mind.

Ania stood still as the hammer’s head changed shapes. It formed a point a dull point, making sure to not pierce but offer incredible blunt damage.

“Mid-perennial?” Treeda mumbled and smiled. “This, this is a soul art, correct?”

Vloz answered with a nod, “Yes. This is something Dioro shared with the clan, to an extent. But to Ania and Rathe, he left them the full soul art.”

Hearing that, Brak swallowed the nerves lodged in his throat. But he had no time to recall his words or his confident statements. Ania’s first strike was already crashing down on his collarbone.

Crackle...

Everyone was startled to hear that. Brak fell to his knees, lessening the force as best he could.

“Well... I stand corrected,” Inka laughed. “Your strikes deal internal damage?”

Ania didn’t answer. Instead, she bolted behind Brak for her next swing. “You recognized that my husband had a backbone. You failed to break his, so I’ll prove who really has one!”

Crackle...

It was small and minimal, but a break was a break.

Unable to absorb any of the blow, Brak was sent flying. But Treeda made sure to catch him as roughly as possible. “Here, Ania. I’ll hold him down. Go ahead and let everything loose.”

Without a word, Ania clobbered Brack’s face, breaking his nose. Next was Brak’s side, cracking a rib. Then, a rib on the other side.

The pain wasn’t overwhelming to the dragon king. But each swing shattered his pride, again and again. He stood there, held down, forced to endure such humiliation at the hands of a perennial.

“And these are for Trada!” Ania shouted, leaving Treeda speechless.

... Twenty strikes. Twenty fractures. It wasn’t enough to stop Brak from moving, and it wasn’t too difficult to heal. But Brak’s pride would never recover while the Iron-body gorillas were still living.

“Huh... Huh...” exhausted, Ania dispersed her essence and leaned onto Vloz for support. “I... will never... forgive you... pathetic... coward of a king.”