Roar!
Hearing a guttural roar followed by a burst of energy that rattled the entire apocalyptic setting, Slayer frowned with a solemn expression, "It seems Immortal fell victim to their schemes."
"What are your thoughts on this, master?" Arnark asked.
"What do you think?" Slayer asked in response, making eye contact with Arnark.
"I...am not sure." Arnark stated his thoughts, "Honestly, I would be happy once Compass is dead. As long as he's alive, I cannot say for certain that he cannot steal my power in the future. He's capable of that."
"But, I don't want to antagonise him any further." He sighed, "I'm conflicted between the choices, as both have adverse consequences."
"Me too," Slayer sighed in response, "This was why I could never put my mind to dealing with him before. Whether to make him an ally or enemy, I wasn't sure."
"But, I feel like this is our opportunity." Slayer said, eyeing the camps created by the Grade 2 Systems, "If we trap Compass to a suitable extent, he'll be the perfect bait to lure in the Grade 2 Systems. Their resultant clash would weaken a lot of them. And, as long as all your Core Skills are active, there's a good possibility of us profiting from this ordeal."
He stared at the gigantic Regression System, "We need to do something to send that bastard away from our universe temporarily. I'll be able to bar his entry beyond that, at least for a few years, during which we can strengthen ourselves better."
"It seems we have no other choice but to take a risk." Arnark sighed in response before asking Mascot, "To what extent are you willing to cooperate with me?"
"Depends on what you do for us." Mascot said in response, "You should know that we abandoned Compass for you. So, you'll have to clean up at least a hundred of my worlds after this."
"Consider it done." Arnark nodded, "Those Systems are fuel for my world anyway..."
"Also," Mascot stared at Slayer, pointing three fingers, "Allow me to reincarnate three kids into your world and promise that you wouldn't interfere with their growth."
"What?" Slayer was stunned before refusing immediately, "Impossible! Having such Cheat-possessing individuals in my world would only weaken it long term. Systems are a different thing as my world can work around their powers."
"Then..." Mascot eyed the Realm, "Maybe I should reconsider my choices."
"Fine!" Slayer stated instantly, "I'll allow it! But you must chase Regression away from this universe!"
"That wouldn't be easy. Regression's hold over the timeline is stronger than mine." Mascot said, "So, kicking it out of this universe is impossible."
"Kicking is impossible," Arnark said, letting out a wry smile, "But luring it away is possible."
"What are you getting at?" Mascot frowned, noticing Magister eye her from the side.
"Let's get back to my first question." Arnark stared at her eyes, asking with utmost seriousness, "To what extent are you willing to cooperate with me?"
"Just name it," Mascot snorted in irritation.
"We'll orchestrate Immortal's death and cause him to take out at least a dozen Grade 2 Systems while banning Regression from this universe," Arnark said.
"You...fucker." Veins popped all over her forehead as Mascot grabbed hold of his neck, choking him in anger, "Do you realise what you're scheming? This is Immortal, someone that could once go against all the Systems by himself."
"But he cannot anymore," Arnark gasped for breath, tapping on her hands as a show of defeat, "Times have changed. Didn't you see Immortal struggling against the Grade 3 Systems? Even a Grade 2 System managed to injure him."
"He's way past his prime." Arnark coughed as Mascot threw him to the ground, propping himself up to continue, "Besides, the genre he represents is known for its vicious lack of intelligence. If not for his brute strength, Immortal would have been nothing. Even now, his power is still a thousand times mine, but the effectiveness of his abilities is a mere half of mine."
"He doesn't exercise his abilities smartly." Arnark massaged his throat to say, "If I had his current strength, I would be able to kill even Apocalypse. Mortally injuring Regression wouldn't be impossible anymore."
He turned silent after that, simply staring at the Realm from which Immortal's screams resounded.
"He's losing his sentience." Magister commented all of a sudden, clicking his tongue, "Damn that Martial. I feared this day might come. His actions amplified the presence of the mindless beasts in the cultivation worlds and reduced that of the sentient races."
"So, he stole a lot of Immortal's worlds." Mascot facepalmed, "Martial could contest for the top position in terms of being a retard."
"Mascot, this is our chance." Magister whispered all of a sudden, "With Zaira currently occupied, we can target the Tell-Tale System. As long as we injure it enough, we'll buy enough time to use Arnark and clean up our worlds."
'But, it would mean sacrificing Immortal.' At this point, Mascot hesitated. As a Genre Representative, having conflicting thoughts was their primary nature. And indeed, she didn't wish to lose a major Genre Representative like Immortal, especially one that took the forefront in going against the Systems all along.
"Why are you hesitating?" Magister stated coldly, "The current Immortal is a liability. Don't we need to do everything in our power to save our worlds..."
"Alright," Mascot faced Arnark, "State your plan."
"It's pretty simple." Arnark said, "Immortal has hidden his army of Gods that form the majority of his power. Convert them into your Cheat-Wielding Braves. This will cripple Immortal. Following that..."
Upon hearing the plan, Mascot took in a deep breath and stared at the Realm that was being invaded by hunters, "The moment we do this, all bridges for future cooperation would be burnt."
Boom!
Followed by a snap of her finger, a sword-wielding Hero teleported into the universe, kneeling on the ground before her.
"Hold the fort until my return, alright?" Mascot stared at the blonde Hero whose radiance glistened under the sun.
"Yup, no worries." The blonde Hero nodded in confidence as he got up and stared at the apocalyptic monsters, ones that suddenly collapsed into chopped portions under his gaze.
"He's one of the strongest Heroes under me. He should suffice for the time being." Saying so, Mascot vanished.
"Where did she go?" Regression was alarmed before letting out a subtle smile, "I see, so we're all ganging up on Immortal this time."
"Fine by me, there's just benefits for us in this."
