I Hate Systems

Bzzz!

Lightning Mana flashed out like a torrent, casting a net throughout the caravan, destroying all the approaching curses. Lightning slammed into the horses and those that were affected by the curses, shocking them a little in the process before purifying their bodies.

Lightning was the most overbearing in nature, unable to be controlled. And as curses focused on subjecting the targets under a certain mode of control, they were of conflicting nature.

And even though both were Lightning Mana, the one harnessed by a Mage was different from that of a Warrior. As Horan was both, his lightning was different from the rest of the humans that used this element.

Swoosh!

In a matter of seconds, all the curses in the surroundings were destroyed as Horan stepped out of his carriage, watching a sea of mana clashing in the sky, resounding with vibrant colours, of which red and orange were the most vibrant, originating from Fire Mana.

Horan only planned to observe the situation first when suddenly, he noticed the familiar mana signature from the Fire Mana, his eyes widening in shock as he muttered, "Impossible, why is she here? Shouldn't she be in the north?"

Boom!

A figure flew out of a cloud, clad in a fiery dress made out of Fire Mana, defending herself against a myriad of curses that constantly slammed into her. The fiery dress helped her resist the curses while the whip in her hand targeted the enemies, killing one with every hit.

But, her enemies continued to stream in large numbers, causing her to be overwhelmed from the start.

"Dammit!" Lelumi Xetuka grunted, almost losing consciousness as she was hit by a curse, one that served to rupture her internal organs. She held on with sheer strength, causing her fiery dress to absorb all the damage, tattering it further.

This fiery dress was a spell used to defend against curses. But, it had a limit on how much it could withstand. And now that she was being bombarded by more than a thousand Witches, her condition was in dire straits.

"Lelumi Xetuka, you bloodthirsty murderer! For the crime of razing Buhan City, die!" Granak Burnak shouted, clenching a doll in his hands that was her lookalike, snapping it in half as immediately, the fiery dress protecting her vanished into embers, destroyed.

Following that, he grinned, aware that the next hit would either kill her or end up critically wounding her as his thumb rested upon the head of the doll, applying pressure on it before snapping its neck.

Bang!

The sound akin to glass shattering resounded as suddenly, the eyes of Lelumi Xetuka blanked.

'Success!' Granak Burnak grinned happily, thinking that he managed to kill the opponent. With that, war was guaranteed to erupt between the two kingdoms which would lead to their annihilation in the hands of the Giants and Lizardmen.

"You dare?" Suddenly, an angry voice suffusing arrogance resounded as a lightning cloak covered Lelumi Xetuka, tanking the curse, allowing her to survive as immediately, lightning rained down from the sky.

Boom!

A sea of lightning covered the skies, slamming into the Birdmen as a net was cast, causing them all to scream in pain as immediately, a figure appeared before them, oozing killing intent as he thrust his spear forward, turning the target into ash in an instant.

"Gah!" Granak Burnak grunted in pain as he too was hit by the attack. But unlike others, he wasn't dead as the sounds of glass shattering multiplied around him as almost a quarter of his feathers fell off, burning up in response.

He glared at the third party that had grabbed Lelumi Xetuka and took her to safety on the ground, sensing his sharp aura as a Pseudo-Saint, "Who the heck are you?"

"H-Horan?" Lelumi Xetuka was pleasantly surprised, 'You actually bothered to save me?'

Theirs was a political engagement. And it was a known fact that the reason Horan was interested in her was only because of her family's Relic—Starfall. So, the fact that Horan risked his status to interfere in this battle surprised her, especially since involving himself in this mess might make things difficult for him back home.

"Are you alright?" Horan looked at her, surprised at himself for acting this way. He was never such an emotional person, at least never harbouring any emotion towards this fiancé of his. But here he was, instantly taking her side.

"Tch!" For some reason, Stencil clicked her tongue, making an expression as if she had tasted a fly.

"I almost lost my life in my own Kingdom, how ironic." Lelumi Xetuka smiled in embarrassment before glaring at the thousands of Birdmen in the sky, "They've already invaded us."

"What about peace talks? Did it fail?" Horan frowned, "I've already sent letters explaining the situation to you, right? Why hasn't anything been done?"

"We failed, that's all." Lelumi Xetuka said solemnly, "We've already dispatched a Saint as an envoy to the Burnak Kingdom. And even after exerting control over the troops, we couldn't prevent this. I fell into a trap and was used to change the people's opinion."

She glared at Granak Burnak, "This is his fault."

Staring at the curses being prepared by the Witches, Horan's face paled a little, "They're creating a region curse. Can you ask for reinforcements?"

"I can't." Lelumi Xetuka said in worry, noticing that her communication Magic Tool was busted, failing to connect to the other side, "I'm afraid things similar to this are cropping up everywhere."

"Teto, can you bring us away?" Horan looked at Compass Carburettor, hoping for his last resort to work. After all, he had indeed brought them to Tentuna City from the Talon Secret Organisation's base.

'I don't have any useful Mental Energy streams to ride on.' Compass Carburettor looked around, failing to sense anything useful. His first option was to bring them to Tentuna City, for he could send a Mental Energy stream to some of the people he was familiar with there. But, that would mean they would return to the centre of the upcoming battlefield once again.

The second option was to bring them to Aronaut, but he didn't wish for his existence to be revealed so soon, especially since he could feel that there were members of the Talon Secret Organisation hidden amongst their group too—thanks to the fluctuations in Stencil's Happy-Go-Lucky Luck.

There were also further complications that he had to worry about as Compass Carburettor shook his head, "I can't."