"Can't you transmigrate us to another world?" Hazen asked Truck-Kun after glancing into Compass Carburettor's thoughts, his eyes lighting up in comprehension, 'I see, so that was why they never took any drastic steps to prevent the rise of the Systems. As expected, even though I'm his derivative, Compass Carburettor is still a step faster than me in understanding the reason.'
He then glanced at Stencil, understanding the cause, 'So, in his worry about her well-being, he's more perceptive and susceptive to the truth. Maybe I'll grow once I have a child too?'
"It's not safe, as I said before." Truck-Kun said, "Regression would be able to influence any transmigration routes I pick and can instantly arrive at the targeted world to regress your existence into nothing."
"We'll have to pick a moment when it's unable to pay attention to the four of you. That way, it wouldn't be able to track down the destination."
"I see," Hazen muttered, worried upon seeing the Systems gradually circle them, showing no stance of backing off from capturing Stencil and Gehera.
The situation was worse now that Mascot and Magister have expressed their stance, siding with Arnark instead. This meant that the sole Genre Representative they could rely upon was the weakened Immortal.
"Um...dad?" Stencil said, staring at the vicious insects she and Gehera created being casually consumed by a Grade 2 System, "Can we survive this?"
"Definitely," Compass Carburettor said, morphing his blob form to take on a human form, one that stood before the two ladies, "We'll just have to fight our way out."
He then whispered to Stencil, "I'll supply you with the necessary Mental Energy to fight."
He then stared at Gehera, "I'll steal some body parts of our enemies. Can you accelerate the pace at which you steal their power?"
"It's possible, but I wouldn't be able to do it for long. The connection would snap from the overload." Gehera said.
"That's fine," Compass Carburettor nodded, "I'll find you enough Systems to steal from."
Compass Carburettor faced Truck-Kun, asking, "Can you fight?"
"Are you joking?" Truck-Kun said, "I'm not a combat type. The most I can do is ram my opponents. I'll do my best to stall all the Grade 2 Systems. The rest will rely on Immortal."
"You've been talking a lot from the start, Compass Carburettor." The Waning Essence System said in irritation as it glared at him, "Did you forget that you're no longer the Main Character?"
"You can disappear from the picture now."
Boom!
The moment its words were conveyed, Compass Carburettor collapsed to the ground, rapidly losing all the Mental Energy he had amassed until now, staring in shock as the effect was instantaneous.
Even Immortal noticed a sharp reduction in his energy levels after being hit by its powers, not to mention him who was a fledgling in comparison.
"Gah!" Compass Carburettor turned helpless in an instant, no longer able to use any of his abilities, bereft of any energy to use. Thankfully, the power Waning Essence used wasn't anything offensive, otherwise, he would have died instantly.
"Dammit!" Immortal shouted in alarm, intending to defend him when Apocalypse came and interfered, pressuring him further. He had to resist nine Grade 3 Systems, so his options were limited.
Boom!
A truck manifested out of nowhere and slammed into Apocalypse, sending its celestial body--the size of a planet--flying. Trucks manifested in the hundreds, with each targeting an opponent as the moment it crashed into them, their figures were teleported away.
A couple of Grade 2 Systems weren't able to defend completely and were transmigrated into a random world. Though, it wouldn't damage them much, as using the Astral Network, they would return to the System World instantly, and from there, jump back into the battlefield.
But, just this action bought them a precious few seconds, reducing the pressure on Immortal as even the Grade 3 Systems were teleported to all corners of this universe. They needed to spend a lot of time flying back. Or if they wished to save time, they could return to the System World and jump back to the battle location.
"Dad!" Stencil shouted in alarm and placed her hand on his back, seeping in some Mental Energy. But, whatever Mental Energy she poured into him vanished instantly, shocking her.
"It's fine," Compass Carburettor said, "The effect of Waning Essence is still prevalent in me. So, don't waste your Mental Energy."
"Instead, keep your Skill-Breaker ready. It'll come in handy."
Suddenly, Stencil, Gehera, Hazen, and Compass Carburettor noticed that they had appeared in a truck, seated as in the driving seat was Truck-Kun.
Staring at them, he said, "This will defend you against their abilities. As long as you unleash an attack through the glass, it will land on the location you target. Fight safely like this."
Vroom!
Whirring sounds resounded from the truck, as if it was a regular truck used on Earth as Truck-Kun turned the steering wheel, causing the truck to make sharp turns and evade the attacks launched by a couple of Grade 2 Systems.
Stencil noticed the truck travelling thousands of kilometres within a second, but despite that, she didn't even feel any inertia, as if everything happening outside was relayed through a film.
Boom!
A Grade 2 System crashed into the side of the truck, sending it flying away as Truck-Kun grunted in response, noticing a small dent as he bellowed in anger, "Curse you! I got it fixed just last week!"
Stencil aimed her power of Skill-Breaker at the Grade 2 System that just crashed into the truck, despairing when it didn't even manage to budge her opponent. Gehera unleashed a Magic Beast whose powers failed to even scratch her opponent.
"Not like that." Hazen advised Stencil, extending his hand to place it on the window of the truck as he stared at the opponent, "Don't just activate your Skill. You're not a System. Channel Immortal's power through the Skill-Breaker System and charge up the energy. As a Coordinate, you should be able to bear the energy."
"Keuk!" Stencil used Spiritual Energy to seep through the Skill, watching it transform into an energy form carrying the skill's effect. But, it was like pouring a tank's worth of water through a tiny funnel, as the amount created was barely a trickle.
And in a matter of seconds, veins popped on her forehead as she was unable to handle the load.
"Endure." Hazen said, glancing at Compass Carburettor to see the other party reverting to a blob form as from time to time, lightning sparked across the surface, "Store up the energy to the limit."
