"I intend to kill you either way."
'That…isn't surprising.' Torq thought, considering his predicament for a couple seconds. 'There's zero chance I can kill him with my existing strength.'
'However, I believe he's reached a level where I can safely unleash my trump card on him without worries.' With that thought in mind, Torq smirked, "I wonder how much you've figured out about my trump card."
"Not much," While Runthral observed in silence, Raurau began speaking, "But I know for a fact it's related to the Silver Empyrean Tentacle. Only then do your actions make sense."
Expert Silver Grade Pranic Beast–Silver Empyrean Tentacle!
With a Prana capacity of 3600 and a lifespan of 600 years, the Silver Empyrean Tentacle was one of the most influential Pranic Beasts on Sumatra, for it was the Sumatra Continent's Blessed Race.
It was called a Blessed Race for two reasons: Only one of its kind could exist on Sumatra at a time. And secondly, it didn't follow any conventional style of birthing.
When there was a necessity, Sumatra spawned the Pranic Beast at a location of its choice.
"I heard its power occasionally appears in Free Humans. But this is the first time I think it appeared in a Cooter Clansman." Raurau spoke.
'Silver Empyrean Tentacle?' Runthral immediately recalled the silver humanoid that was forming in the monochromatic dome unleashed by Torq, 'Was it that?'
'But, even if it's the Blessed Race, it's only a Silver Grade Pranic Beast. It shouldn't have terrified me as much as it did.' Runthral frowned the more he thought, feeling like even though his father's words made sense, something was still missing from the explanation.
"I'll leave it to your imagination." Torq didn't seem threatened by the situation at hand. Instead, he coolly shrugged, "Tell me, father."
He eyed Raurau and asked in seriousness, "Why should I use it now?"
"Is your death not enough of a reason?" Raurau snorted in disdain, "Why do you have to be so difficult? Just show it to me once. And once I figure out a method to transfer that power to Runthral, you can die for all I care."
"You're not going to kill me, father." Torq said, flinching for a moment upon seeing Raurau condense a blade of water and plunge it straight into his eye, showing zero intent to stop. 'Let's not trigger him too much then.'
"The Boar King…" Torq uttered in a hurry, mentally prepared to unleash his trump the moment Raurau pierces his brain. Thankfully, the attack stopped. And two seconds later, Torq was internally relieved.
Sweat pierced through the pores on his back and drenched his clothes as he felt Raurau's unbridled attention focused solely on him. He had at most a second or two before his head was splattered.
His recovery means, at the moment, hadn't reached a level where he could regenerate through a splattered head. Hence, he squeezed out the next set of words in a hurry, "Aren't you familiar with him?"
There was absolute silence following that as Raurau's heartbeats audibly thumped, loud enough for even Torq's senses.
Runthral, on the other hand, was a bundle of confusion, failing to comprehend the sequence of events anymore, 'Why has father gone silent all of a sudden?'
"How…who…" His expressions changed every moment, his cheeks morphing from red to white to purple as Raurau opened his mouth, barely muttering under his breath, "Who else knows this?"
'Good, his reaction tells me everything I need to find out. He's concerned and that's my ticket to survival.'Now confident he wasn't getting killed today, Torq replied with confidence, "As long as I'm alive, only me."
He was subtly threatening Raurau, stating he had plans to leak the other party's secret, which would take effect the moment he dies.
'How did he come to realise this?" Raurau frowned, visibly shook. But upon noticing Runthral was standing nearby, he promptly adjusted his expression and reverted into calmness. Then, he observed Torq from top to bottom and patted the other party on the shoulder, "You've grown."
"Head outside, my son." Raurau eyed Runthral, "I'm afraid you'll need to wait until his graduation time to kill him."
"Father…" Runthral expressed his worry at the progress of the situation, "What is happening here? What about the Boar King…?"
"You'll know everything once you assume your Deity form." Raurau pointed at Runthral, "All the information is already ingrained into you. As you grow in age, you'll unlock more and more of it gradually."
"It's just," He glared at Torq, "I'm not sure how he came to know about it."
"So, please leave, my son." Raurau expressed firmly, "I'll join you shortly after."
"...okay," Unconvinced, but unable to refuse his father's words, Runthral could only nod and walk away, 'I'm not sure what is happening here. Just what did Boiboi mean there? And why did father change his mind once he heard it?'
'I need information.' Grunting in annoyance, Runthral walked out of the Dorm, 'Silver Empyrean Tentacle…I need to understand its power better. Maybe that might give me some clues.'
Raurau maintained silence, arms crossed, tapping his index finger rhythmically. After some time had passed, he broke the silence, "Runthral has walked out of hearing range."
"Now," He eyed Torq, "Tell me how much you know and from where you learnt this."
"No need to worry, father." Torq waved his hands casually, "Everything will make sense once you hear this."
"I learnt it from you." Torq smiled cheerfully.
"What?" Raurau's expressions collapsed, "From…me?"
"Well, technically speaking…" Torq purposefully trailed his words and stared in the direction Runthral had walked out, "It is information he inherited from you, and you should know what that is possible."
"And as has been made apparent," Torq spread his arms wide helplessly, "I stole his talent, which also ended up helping you, father."
"Because I also stole from Runthral memories that would implicate you." He ended his answer and blinked with mild awkwardness. 'Well, I don't think I've nailed my explanation, judging by his expression.'
'Then…' He considered a couple of things and then began speaking, "If Runthral consumes me, he'll regain his original talent and competence."
"But he'll also reclaim my memories." Slowly, Torq inched his hand towards head and tapped his forehead, "You will have to mentally prepare yourself for that day, father."
"T-That's…" Raurau was at a loss for words, his knees buckling under him as he collapsed to the floor, panting in exhaustion as goosebumps had burst across his skin.
"You can always get rid of me. However," With purpose, mimicking the tone of a second-rate villain, Torq inched his mouth towards Raurau's ear and whispered, "You can't bring yourself to kill your Deity, right?"
Thump! Thump!
His heartrate began to accelerate as Raurau felt his head spin, out of breath and gradually feeling suffocated, "I…I…I didn't…That wasn't…no…"
"Relax, father." Torq clapped with force, jolting awake Raurau's body, "I don't intend to die. So, your secret will never be discovered."
"You…won't die?" Raurau despaired at the words, "Why…damn it! Why?"
He slowly inched his hand towards Torq and grabbed the neck, "I can…with just a tinge of force, crush you for good."
"My life…is inconsequential." He uttered, coming to terms with himself, "If it means Runthral can recover his talent, then…"
"I don't mind giving up on my trashful self." With that, he exerted force through his hands, pressing upon Torq's neck. "Everything's for the Cooter Clan!"