I Hate Systems

"Why don't you reveal your identity before your demise? That's the least respect I can give to an old monster like you." Peika said as her Invoked Spirit clenched its scythe harder. The blade of the scythe was made out of water, one that could flexibly alter its shape.

It was this water that had extended in length before, using which Peika slashed the ship into two. It seemed that just like how Pilkan obtained the power of the mysterious mist, Peika similarly obtained the power of a mysterious form of water, one that seemed an impossible mix between water and oil.

Compass Carburettor felt the part of the ship he was upon sink into the waters at a decent pace, sighing as suddenly, mist gushed out of him in torrents, blanketing his figure. A flash of blue later, the mist was parted in two, but Compass Carburettor was nowhere to be found within the parted section.

Moreover, the mist covered the parted section immediately after, following which an arrow flew out, aiming for Peika.

Peika erected a film of water around her, watching the arrow slam into the water film before bursting into mist that enveloped the film, surprising her for a second as her Invoked Spirit failed to move.

The water film covered both her and her Invoked Spirit, and upon coming into contact with the mist, it was unable to move.

At the Ascender Stage, the human body was just a flesh housing to recover Mental Strength, nothing else. Whether it was the mind or the soul, both resided within the Invoked Spirit instead. So, it was like Peika was simultaneously controlling two bodies, one the fleshly body while the other was the Invoked Spirit.

After consuming part of her Mental Strength, Peika observed the mist dissipate in response, her expression serious as she thought, 'As I suspected, this Ascender is strong.'

'That Human Conjurer's grave will open in less than two years. So, all these old monsters are returning one after another.' Peika frowned. The moment she heard news of Runka's death, Peika had an inkling of suspicion already.

And upon failing to find Pilkan's corpse alone, she investigated his traces, heading to the Bottomless Mist Valley where one of her subordinates with a tracking ability informed her that Pilkan had indeed fallen into the Bottomless Mist Valley, a place where no one could survive.

But the fact that Pilkan survived that without sustaining any injuries itself was a cause for concern. As she hadn't known of this fact before, she only assumed Pilkan had escaped from his pursuers before finding his way to Hitlawn.

And upon interrogating the middle-aged man that had brought him to her, she came to know that even when confronting him, Pilkan seemed to have a powerful Human Invoked Spirit, just by the fact that the spear he threw was dense enough to pass off as a Common Invoker at the very least.

Tallying up everything made little sense as to how Pilkan could do this unless he wasn't Pilkan anymore but an old monster taking up residence in his body. It was entirely possible as that's how Ascenders exchanged bodies and lived for long.

Upon understanding that her brother's body had been taken over by someone else, Peika summoned the entire force stationed within Wakttark City's Hitlawn, using them to track Pilkan's traces.

Moreover, she even covertly contacted the Lan Clan Head, striking a deal with him to join hands and avert this disaster—of multiple Ascenders pressuring the Lan Clan.

As she was from the Lan Clan too, the Lan Clan Head was rather happy in cooperating with her. After all, she was an Ascender, a Human Ascender at that. Just this fact ensured the Lan Clan had two Ascenders to guard its interests. This only meant increased benefits for the two Ascenders heading it.

With that, both Hitlawn and the Lan Clan joined hands, with one of their goals being Pilkan and Duketace. She wanted to find Pilkan for personal reasons while the Lan Clan Head wished to find Duketace for obvious reasons, since the other party had stolen a lot of the Lan Clan's valuables.

And upon seeing the traces of both proceed together, Peika understood that Duketace had probably allied himself with the old monster controlling Pilkan. That was why she took matters into her own hands, bringing her royal guard with her.

They were the trio of assassins that formed the top three of Wakttark City's Hitlawn, someone she shared her powers with. That was why, to prevent them from revealing any info, she had stitched their mouths, also cutting off their tongues.

Moreover, even the nerves of their hands had been damaged to prevent them from writing anything, all measures taken to keep her secret safe. And of course, the trio were brainwashed from long ago and turned into the most loyal of assassins that moved for her and her alone.

And, they were enough to take down a group of Superior Invokers, with each capable of killing down a dozen Superior Invokers alone. With them chasing after Duketace and Kowla, it was pretty much a done deal.

Similarly, the one facing the boss of this clique was Peika, leader of Wakttark City's Hitlawn, an Ascender with the title of Sapphire Executive.

Swoosh!

The water blade on her scythe expanded like a whip as the gigantic Human Invoked Spirit slashed at the ship, rending it into multiple pieces, almost dissipating the entire mist. Peika stared at the scene, failing to find any traces of Pilkan.

She noticed a spot in the water that was a shade of red, hacking in the direction instantly, frowning upon seeing the resultant spike in blood be a lot less than she expected. A couple of seconds later, the severed pieces of a leg surfaced.

Compass Carburettor had used them to throw off her aim to escape deeper into the sea. Normally, that would have been enough to throw off most enemies, but against Peika, it meant nothing as the film of water covering them strengthened before her Invoked Spirit dived into the water, beginning to run as if it was on land.

This happened at a depth twenty metres under the surface, treating every spot it set foot as flat land as its mysterious power was at play, allowing the Human Invoked Spirit to chase after Compass Carburettor, albeit at a pace mildly slower than on land.

Kata-kata-kata!

Rhythmic noises resounded from the entity far away from her as Peika stared at what seemed to be a submarine traversing at a potent speed.