"Keuk!" The Fate System felt a searing headache, as if his body was about to explode from within. he hurriedly distanced himself from Slayer and Gehera and sat behind a mountain that formed one of the Serpent Universe's teeth.
He drilled a hole into its centre and hid the entrance. This area was relatively less affected. It would take some time for the element of chaos to infiltrate the mountain's centre, giving him enough room to treat himself.
It had to be noted that this mountain was at a size couple dozen times a world. So, it was very massive. After all, unlike the body that was just 1000 kilometres in diameter, the serpent's head was pretty massive, for it needed to be of that size to swallow other worlds and even smaller universes when necessary.
So, this mountain forming one of the serpent's teeth was massive. The Fate System had also selected the sturdiest of them all through the ordains of fate, camping within one that seemed like it would be the last to be fully infected in the head.
Once he was in safety, the Fate System barely managed to set aside a portion of its focus to command all of the Invader System's forces, "Don't try to treat the insanity growing in you. Embrace it and rush the enemy! Consider it my ultimatum!"
Immediately in response, the invaders rushed towards the tail end, roaring manically as they stopped resisting the effects. The insanity seemed infectious as the more they behaved insanely, the more pronounced the effects got for everyone.
"D-Defend!" A dragon plushie shouted in alarm as it created a new race, forcing them to fight. Even it was facing struggles to think, not to mention command its forces. Everyone was still reeling from the effects of Mystique's shouts, not to mention the stream of insanity that had already pervaded their beings.
Upon seeing the invaders rush them, the dragon plushie at the vanguard could no longer focus on itself as it took the charge to attack the enemies. And in a matter of minutes, its smile widened until its ears and its teeth were fully revealed. Drool spilled out of its mouth while veins popped alarmingly through its eyes.
Rwarrr!
The dragon plushie had gone insane while fighting the invaders, no longer able to think as it mechanically tore through the bodies of the invaders and gobbled them up. By ingesting their bodies, it further absorbed the element of chaos in them, turning madder.
As a result of the first dragon plushie getting infected, the rest of the collective consciousness manning the dragon plushies too was steadily growing insane, alarming Stencil. She couldn't even make a move currently, stretched thin as she was defending two worlds against the chaos while also mending the damage sustained by the countless collective consciousnesses in her.
"Shit! Why did Gehera have to leave now?" Stencil screamed as she stared at Rhizen, "Can you bring her back?"
"The teleportation circles on the enemy's side have gone off. It'll take me years to reach Gehera the traditional way since she's at the mouth of the serpent now." Rhizen said in worry, "Isn't the key with her? Can't you contact her to do something so that I can reinforce her immediately?"
"I've been trying to do that but she's not responding." Stencil said when suddenly, her eyes widened in realisation, her face paling in response, "I was wondering why the element of chaos is growing stronger even after we shed off that world's fragments."
Stencil stared up and observed the scene, cursing the Fate System, "I'll rip that fucking bastard to shreds!"
Seated in the safety of the mountain in the head region, taking advantage of the insane state of Gehera, the Fate System was controlling the Universe Serpent. It had returned to the Mystique's universe and was looping through it with its lower body, causing the fragments of the world to slowly but surely latch onto the tail of the Serpent Universe.
This was why the element of chaos was only growing stronger over time, tying up the hands of Stencil, Rhizen, and Earth Star, preventing them from reinforcing Gehera, and allowing her to face Slayer alone.
"Shit! If only Hazen was here!" Stencil closed her eyes and focused on a certain System that she had created, a weak System, but one meant for emergencies, left in the Cultivation World where Hazen was, transmitting her message through it, "Hazen! We need your help!"
"…Stencil?" A reply came from the other side, the voice weak, languid even, offering an apology immediately, "I'm…sorry."
"I am in danger myself."
…
"Grandpa…?" A middle-aged man stared at the sky, mouth agape as he asked, tethering on the verge of despair, "What…the heck is that?"
"It has finally come to this…" Hazen stared helplessly at the void in his universe, observing the individuals that had arrived. Usually, the Systems that came to this universe disappeared mysteriously.
And hence, over time, it was labelled as a graveyard of the Systems and was no longer visited by the Systems. The inherent energy that the universe was producing too counteracted the existence of Systems, further reinforcing this belief.
Even the Grade 2 System fragments that arrived were all captured by Hazen. He used them as resources to fuel the Cultivation World's development. But it wasn't possible anymore, not against the current enemy.
Grade 3 System—Monarch (Level 242)!
Grade 3 System—Absolute Progression (Level 299)!
Grade 3 System—Primordial Cultivator (Level 299)!
Grade 3 System—Bullshit (Level 278)!
Grade 3 System—Virtual Reality (Level 231)!
Grade 3 System—Alternate Reality (Level 207)!
Grade 4 System—Regression (Level 340)!
System World—Zaira!
This was the lineup that had arrived at the Cultivation World to capture Hazen. Just a single Grade 3 System would have proven to be a troublesome, life-threatening opponent. But here, there wasn't one or two Grade 3 Systems, but six in total. This was not to mention the Grade 4 System, Regression helming the group.
And standing at the forefront was the energy-condensed form of Zaira. With Mascot retreating, they had more than enough reserve forces to take action.
And the first they targeted was none other than the Main Character that had split off from Compass Carburettor and survived to date—Hazen!
