I Hate Systems

<Ding>

[Signing in to the Serpent Universe]

"Eh?" Stencil flinched in surprise, looking around in a fluster, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Rhizen tilted his head in confusion.

"You didn't sense it?" Stencil frowned, placing her hand on her chest, "I…felt a pulsating sensation."

"It was strangely nerve-wracking."

"I'm not sure about what you're feeling." Rhizen closed his eyes and felt the streams of luck swerving into him, "I don't see any fluctuations in luck, whether on me or you."

"What about your people?" Stencil asked, "Is everyone there…safe?"

By safe, she wasn't asking about their wellbeing but whether or not they were truly his people and not some other external beings disguised there as spies.

"It's not possible for anyone to infiltrate my world without alerting me." Rhizen said in confidence, "But anyways, let me check just to be sure."

Rhizen entered his world and began to focus on the luck values of everyone, failing to find anything suspicious. But, after thinking for a moment, he decided otherwise, 'Stencil is the Dragon of Systems. If she felt something, there must be something. I shouldn't be careless at this point.'

Phew!

He exhaled softly and retracted the vast surge of his luck into his being, focusing its entirety on the luck that would always work in unknown situations.

Coincidental Luck!

His eyes shot open as he coincidentally stared in a particular direction, observing the luck of an eight-year-old child. It wasn't anything special, appearing no different from other children his age.

But the fact that his Coincidental Luck pointed here meant otherwise as Rhizen focused and alternated his powers.

Destiny Luck!

There wasn't any change, 'Still nothing?'

Rhizen didn't mind that and added the power of Lucky Bastard atop that, still failing to observe any changes, but for some reason, his back was drenched with sweat, coincidentally. That was enough affirmation as he hurriedly activated two more powers.

Protagonist Luck! Critical Luck!

Boom!

There was a torrent as Rhizen was almost blinded by the sheer, solid luck that burst out of the eight-year-old boy, "So, Stencil's senses weren't lying."

He didn't hesitate and attacked immediately.

Bad Luck! Luck Siphon! Perfect Timing!

Tch!

The Fate System clicked his teeth as he leaped out of the shelter and covered himself with a dome of fate, using that to resist the luck intending to affect his situation.

"That's a pretty solid barrier…" Rhizen spoke and began preparing a stronger attack when the Fate System's figure exited the shelter, allowing him to gaze at the latter, in shock, in disbelief, "…A-Arnark?"

"Sup!" The Fate System took advantage of Rhizen's momentary fluster to flash past him and exit the Apocalypse World through the portal and arrived within the serpent.

Though, the moment he exited the portal, a choker flew his way, sparkling with lightning that latched onto his body and began to drill its way in.

"Humph!" The Fate System snorted as he strengthened the fate shield, preventing the lightning from actually reaching his body.

"A System actually infiltrated us, huh?" A voice suddenly resounded behind him, causing chills to creep up his spine as the Fate System gasped in shock, watching his fate shield vanish.

Gehera swiped her hand, scratching his cheek with her nails. The portions of his body shredded by the scratch were instantly absorbed by her who muttered a second later, "Fate System, Level 203, the progeny of Zaira and Mystique. Also incorporates some of Arnark's core essence."

"A child between Zaira and Mystique?" For a moment, everyone was stunned, "What in the frightening combination is that?"

But that didn't mean they dallied with their attacks as Earth Star came into the picture, clenching his hand into a fist.

"Keuk!" The Fate System felt a suffocating pressure gripping his body from everywhere. But, it wasn't just an external pressure as he felt something like a black hole form within his body, exerting pressure internally too, locking him in place.

"You won't trap me here…" The Fate System roared and unleashed a beam attack toward Earth Star, one capable of penetrating through all his abilities.

"Shit!" Earth Star was surprised when the star he erected as a shield was destroyed by the beam casually. But right before it was about to slam into his body, Gehera jumped into the fray and grabbed the beam, and grunted once before clenching her hand into a fist. She devoured it a moment later.

"You can take it back." She said and swooped in on him, condensing the same energy in the palm of her hands as she combined the abilities of a couple more totems to knead it to her desire and slammed her palm into his chest, causing it to cave in and cause a million ripples in an instant.

Crack!

The Fate System's Coordinate cracked from the attack as he immediately lost two levels. It pushed him into a state of momentary weakness. Using the chance, Stencil's choker slipped over his neck, erupting with billions of lightning serpents that drilled into his body, rapidly beginning to subdue him.

The Fate System unleashed a multitude of attacks in retaliation, intending to preserve the solidarity of his fate. But of course, with Rhizen at the side, it was difficult, especially since he could expend his luck to manipulate cause and effect and nullify his fate attacks.

'No! At this rate, I'll fall under Stencil's control!' He realised in alarm, observing the lightning serpents drill deeper into his body with the passage of every second.

There was Rhizen to counter his fate, Gehera to devour and redirect his attacks back at him, Earth Star to target and keep his physical body in check, and finally, Stencil who seemed capable of seeing through his very being, for she had been focusing on the core that he had wrapped around with the identity as the 'Fate System'.

She had been gradually reaching for that core through her lightning serpents.

Fate System stared at her cold, almost expressionless eyes, 'No, she isn't human. She is another System World!'

It truly made him realise the extent of the powers his enemies possessed, the reason they had survived brutal wars and grew stronger after that. He had underestimated them a lot, 'These four have long since escaped the ordains of fate?'

The lightning snakes continued to reach deeper into his body as the Fate System no longer had the room to escape from the situation, "Then, I'll drag everyone into hell!"

Boom!

A beam of energy pulsed out of his forehead, startling Gehera who shouted shrilly in response, "How the heck do you have that power?"

"Heh, I gained it the moment I signed in to this Serpent Universe." The Fate System laughed mockingly, hiding his nervousness, "Consider this my gift."

The Serpent Universe that was traversing the void in its usual route suddenly curved wider, causing its tail to slam into a nearby universe and break through its boundary. The force was strong enough to lash out within that universe and cleave everything into two, including the world that formed its core.

"You…madman!" Gehera screamed in despair, for the world that had been destroyed by the Serpent Universe's tail was none other than Mystique's. After all, they were roaming along the border of Mystique's worlds as a safety net.

Immediately, a guttural scream resounded throughout the Serpent Universe, causing every creature within to froth at the mouth and let out maddened screeches, "Noooo!"

Mystique had been successfully triggered.