"The world has changed drastically, and at present, even I am treated no different to a monster." Compass Carburettor, in his Haggon form, said, pointing at the growing horn on his forehead, "So, do your best to survive."
"Lord," The leader shouted suddenly upon noticing that Compass Carburettor was about to leave, "Will you protect us?"
"Maybe," Compass Carburettor said casually, "Only if the prayers move me would I take action."
Saying so, he walked behind the altar, returning to his human form as he expertly wore a pair of clothes that Grisha had given him, condensing a pair of wings as he carried Grisha with him and began to fly towards the exit.
All along, the humans of the fort kneeled on the ground as the leader gritted his teeth, turning around to ask, "Lord, how may we address you?"
"Follow the mural, as those living on this land had first done." Saying his piece, Compass Carburettor flew away, leaving the fort as he began to fly towards their home.
"Follow the mural…" The leader was confused when one of his comrades shouted suddenly.
"Look at that, something is written underneath the symbol on the altar."
The leader hurriedly arrived before the altar and gazed at the symbol of Secret Society, noticing a word inscribed below in tiny font.
Gahrat!
"Lord Gahrat…" The leader nodded solemnly, joining his palms as he prayed in all seriousness. For a couple of minutes, he remained in prayer, opening his eyes to see that he was feeling peaceful.
Moreover, once he turned around, he noticed that most of the people in the praying hall were now sporting expressions of relief, having the hope to continue their survival. Moreover, they constantly went through the mural, reading it once, twice, thrice.
"The heavens haven't abandoned us yet." The leader controlled his tears from bursting out as he sighed in relief, kowtowing once before walking out of the place, entering the central tower as he began to make arrangements for their stay.
"Of course, around 10,000 people can live here comfortably. At present, we are only a third of that." Nodding, he firmed himself, "There should be other survivors that are struggling. If we bring them all here, our survival would become easier with more manpower."
Upon reaching this line of thought, he smiled wryly, "For some reason, I am getting excited."
…
"Wipe out that grin," Grisha said, controlling her brows from twitching as she gazed at the wide grin plastered on Compass Carburettor's face.
"I'm not smiling," Compass Carburettor laughed, lying through his teeth even though his tone itself was a bit high-pitched. The reason he was feeling pleased was not only because of the thick stream of Mental Energy gushing into him, he had also placed quite the traps throughout the fort.
They weren't any physical traps though, harmless towards a normal human. But towards a System Host, they were pretty effective.
Of course, now that Rhizen had returned to his home at the edge of the city, situated on the other side, the System Hosts would begin to make a move. And, as this fort was conspicuously located along the way to Feora City, situated only 15 kilometres away, at least a couple of System Hosts would arrive there.
And that was all he needed.
As for the External Items he had given to the people in the fort, they too had been calculated. These External Items, though impressive, were slightly insufficient for their needs. That means, they would have to hunt mutated beasts, grow crops, etc.
So, that means, even though their lives won't be threatened as much as before, they would still have to work hard; and to go about with that life, they would pray towards him for mental support. That meant a consistent supply of Mental Energy for him.
With that, one of his primary needs were fulfilled. It was not to mention the fact that anything of value would be told to him through prayers, hoping that he would arrive at the fort once again to support them.
At least, that was the effect he had created through the murals. And, seeking spiritual support in such times of chaos, the people there would pray at least a few times daily. And during all such times, they would look at the murals, recalling his Haggon figure.
Compass Carburettor planned to make visits there occasionally, only when the emotions he sensed from their Mental Energy streams tilted towards suffering. Until then, he just planned to ignore them.
All the help he gave them were for selfish needs. And of course, the profit was greater than his investment.
"You know, you are only a step away from establishing a cult." Grisha said all of a sudden, "Why stop at this point? Why no go all the way?"
"Well," Compass Carburettor switched to telepathy, saying, "Most System Hosts do have a sense of justice, no matter how strange. And, cults are always their targets. For some reason, the two never mesh together. So, the moment they see that a cult had been established here, they would destroy the fort."
"I don't want my trap to be destroyed." He concluded.
"Even though I modified the fortress according to your desires, I still cannot understand what trap you have placed there. Would a System Host even be affected by a simple trap?" Grisha frowned.
"Do you know which is the strongest weapon against a System Host?" Compass Carburettor gazed afar, relying on the light from the moon to fly forth.
"A System Fragment?" Grisha said.
"To be accurate, it's a Personal Fragment and not a System Fragment." He said, smiling, "But, do you know that there is an even greater weapon that can damn a System into oblivion?"
"How is that possible?" Grisha was shocked, feeling as if her heart had skipped a beat, sensing a foreboding sensation, 'Is this what caused me to feel fear before?'
"There's one," Compass Carburettor nodded, "And, this is what is the most effective against them. I realised once I saw your distress after remembering everything from your previous loops."
"And…a certain terrifying individual commented about the same in the System World too." Compass Carburettor muttered in all seriousness, "The strongest attack on a System is one that targets…"
"Its mind!"
