I Hate Systems

"Nice work, Compass." Ahjar entered a Grade 2 System fragment's Host and observed the shifting universes, sensing the location of the System World.

Upon sensing Technocraft make his arrival known, Ahjar immediately caused a Quest to appear for his Host. And in a matter of seconds, the Host was holding a bag of popcorn, his actions controlled by Ahjar who observed the fight, "Let there be more chaos."

The more chaotic things become, the easier it was for them to take action without alerting the Fate System and the remaining entities that served as Zaira's senses. One of their modes of operation was to create so much chaos that even they couldn't make sense of it.

Following that, they would fish in troubled waters to reach their objective. It was also why he and Hazen were making things chaotic among the Grade 2 and Grade 3 Systems.

The Grade 4 Systems would have their hands full facing the three Genre Representatives. As to why all three Genre Representatives would fight the Grade 4 Systems? One person was acting behind the scenes to make it a reality.

Knock! Knock!

Arriving at the entrance to a universe, Compass Carburettor knocked on the bubble, sensing its toughness. This world served as Mascot's headquarters, the world she had reinforced the growth the most of.

Of course, its defences were also the highest. No System had been able to set foot here in the past. Forget the world, no outsider would be able to even enter the universe.

"Well, it's an impregnable fortress." Compass Carburettor muttered as he clenched his right hand into a fist, causing the glove to glow as he slammed into the universe boundary, turning it fragile. Before the effect waned, he kicked with his boot and opened a hole.

Transforming into a ray of energy, he seeped through the hole and entered the universe, alerting Mascot who manifested before him in a fluster, "Who dares intrude upon my world…"

She stared at Compass Carburettor and tilted her head in confusion, "Who the heck are you?"

"Guess?" Compass Carburettor wore a monocle on his eyes as his body radiated an eerie energy, most of which exuded out of his monocle.

"Why have you come here, Mystique?" Mascot asked nervously, wondering which crackhead collective consciousness manned him. She would be relieved if he was someone that had allied with her.

If not, things would just turn shitty for her.

"How dare you intrude upon our sanctum…" A cultivator that was once part of Immortal's army glared at Compass Carburettor before gawking blankly, forgetting what he was about to say, "Eh? What is happening?"

He lost his recent memories. It wasn't just him as every entity that expressed the mildest negative emotion towards Compass Carburettor lost their recent memories, staring with stupefied faces.

"All of you, retreat," Mascot shouted in a hurry and punched forth, sending them reeling into a world so that they wouldn't interfere with their conversation. She feared their recklessness would trigger Mystique.

'Making them only face weaklings among Systems simply added to their ego.' She thought as sweat dripped from her forehead as she stared at the person before her.

The moment her underlings lost their memory, she was assured that the entity before her was Mystique. She couldn't be further away from the truth though.

Of course, the monocle was created using one of Mystique's worlds, so it carried his aura. It was not to mention Compass Carburettor emulating Mystique's nature based on his recent fight. He obtained plenty of valuable experience during his fight against Mystique.

To fool others, you must first fool yourself.

In his current state where his Psyche Stars were at their lowest amount, his mental state was no different from a Genre Representative. So, his disguise as Mystique was perfect, fooling even Mascot.

"I'm bored, so let's fight." Compass Carburettor announced calmly as he consumed one unit of his power and activated it through Dreamcraft.

Psyche Star—Clear Confusion!

"W-W-What do you mean by that?" Mascot shouted in a fluster, confused by his declaration, not knowing that her emotional state was being influenced by him.

Though of course, Mystique was always capable of something like this. Every time they met in the past, many Genre Representatives had been emotionally influenced by him, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.

Therefore, Mascot thought she was truly in a state of confusion. Of course, Compass Carburettor's declaration sent her into a fluster. The Psyche Star only solidified it further.

Compass Carburettor didn't end to stop there as he spoke, "Do you not know why I'm doing this?"

Psyche star—Blissful Ignorance!

Mascot felt dumb, unable to offer an answer. She couldn't understand what Mystique was going on about, her fluster only growing as a result. She eventually prostrated in the void, apologising, "Please tell me the answer. My head will explode otherwise."

"Forget it," Compass Carburettor groaned in exhaustion, "Maybe you'll learn once I strengthen a couple dozen worlds of yours."

Despair!

Mascot felt a chill as she trembled like a leaf caught in a storm, recalling a memory that she wished to bury deep within her. More than half the collective consciousnesses in her became terrified at that statement.

After all, the previous time Mystique uttered that statement, he made a hundred worlds go insane. It was only thanks to Immortal and Magister's combined efforts that it stopped with just a hundred words.

But now, Immortal was no more while Magister had been weakened tremendously. In contrast, Mystique was only growing stronger as a few more of his worlds had awakened.

If he went on an insane spree now, none would be able to stop him, including Zaira. To date, there was a section of the System World that had been quarantined. The Systems sealed there were still struggling from madness, all because they became a victim of Mystique's actions.

"P-Please, spare me!" Mascot hugged Compass Carburettor's legs, tearing up profusely as she pleaded desperately, "I'll do whatever you tell me to. Please, not my worlds. Spare them!"

"Then, put on a show for me." Compass Carburettor let out a cheerful smile, "Join Technocraft in his fight against the Systems. Take Immortal's army with you. They have been pretty useless in recent times."

"It has been a while since I last surfaced, but I'll be staying for some time." Compass Carburettor said spiritedly, "I want to watch a decent display of carnage. Can you do it?"

"Y-Y-Yes! Yes! Yes, I'll do it." Mascot hurriedly nodded like a chicken that had just escaped the slaughter.