Tribe Ritual

The Paru wasted no time leaving the spaceship. He had spent enough time in there to recover his Endurance Points.

'Alright. I'll go back to where I fought the Alpha and the Wizzos. From there, I'll trace back the path that the Granilith took to find us.'

Despite wanting to rush there, the Paru walked, as moving fast through the forest and tall grass would just result in noises produced and unwanted attention.

'There are small creatures here and there… Insects too. They run away, even from me. So I doubt there's anything special about them. Plus, since they're so small, I'd need a very high quantity to get anything out of it...'

The Paru walked for a bit, before chuckling at his previous thought.

'Even from ME? I defeated the Alpha! The strongest Wizzo! Of course, they should run away. Though I can't get cocky…' The Paru smiled internally. 'Not yet anyways.'

It didn't take long to find the area where the Wizzos and Alpha had been fought.

'That Granilith sure was useful. With a body like that, I would be able to fight on my own, but I can't forget about this fight. Using other creatures is useful, and could save me a lot of trouble.' 

As the Paru walked further and further away, sounds started resonating.

'Sounds like someone smashing stones together. Guess this is the right place.'

Unlike what the Paru had expected, the Graniliths he found weren't inside the forest-like ecosystem, but just outside of it.

'An area without trees or grass, just like where we landed. We got lucky that we didn't stumble in a place like that filled with Graniliths… Though I guess it's not as much luck as it is Rea doing her job perfectly as the Navigator.'

While remaining hidden behind the tall grass and trees, the Paru peeked at the situation, and it was more perfect than he could have expected.

Clang- Clang- Clang-

'They're fighting each other? No… Huh. I did think that one was smart but I didn't think they were this smart!'

Unlike how it was with the Wizzos, the Paru could gaze at the Alpha right away.

'Taller, bigger muscles, and its skin isn't just rocky… It almost looks like its whole body is made of rocks.'

Ironically, the Alpha was seated on a large rock, the only one in the area. 

Seated on the ground, on each side of the Alpha were…

'Female Graniliths? Holy fuck… That rocky aspect is completely nonexistent in the females. Since they're humanoids…' The Paru felt a tingle. 'They look pretty hot. Twelve of them in total? Their bodies look… No! I am not touching that. They're dumb aliens. I can't… But if my body becomes like theirs then… No! Not touching that!' The Paru repeated to himself as he shook his head. 

The females were seated on the right side and on the left side of the Alpha, forming a large arc. 

Two dozen steps away from them were male Graniliths.

Nine of them.

'Looks like some kind of pack or tribe ritual…'

Two Graniliths were facing off, throwing devilish punches and kicks at one another. Their rocky and jagged skin coming into contact made sparks flicker in the air each time.

'Pretty cool…'

While the two male Graniliths were fighting, the seven others were standing around them with their arms crossed.

'Are they all going to fight or…?'

A second later, a deadly uppercut was landed. The hit Granilith's feet left the ground, and its unconscious body fell.

'The one that won is facing the Alpha… Though they are far away. No one is standing behind him. Could it be that…?'

Out of the seven Graniliths, six started stepping closer to the fighting.

The victor roared while banging its chest.

The loser was grabbed by the six, lifted off the ground, and taken away.

'Mm.' The Paru's eyes shone. 'Where they're taking him is the condition to winning.'

They walked about three dozen steps, before throwing the loser's body, and… Its body disappeared!

'Oho! Some kind of hole or rift in the ground? I can't see it from here, but that must be it! Except if… He was swallowed by the ground…'

The Paru watched for a bit longer as the seventh male Granilith who had been standing around stepped closer to the "Ring" once the six were back.

'So he's supposed to beat all of them to gain the right to fight the Alpha and take over the tribe? Pretty cool. He probably comes from another tribe… Those thrown away are close to the forest. Does that mean they were kicked out from the tribe? If so, then eating them makes even less of an issue.'

The Paru smiled widely as it walked closer and closer to the rift while remaining within the forest.

'They probably won't be able to see me once I'm down there. I'll still use Invisibility just in case.'

The Paru left the shade and trees.

'They're all unconscious…' The Paru noted after descending into the rift in the ground and upon the unconscious Graniliths. 'There must be like seven of them…'

The Paru's invisible pincers and sharp limbs did their job beautifully, aiming for weak spots such as the heart and throat.

'Since they've been fighting it out, plenty of them were hit on those spots, so the protective rocks that cover them are weak and cracked there!'

The Paru ended all the unconscious Graniliths, before finally getting to the Devouring!