I Hate Systems

Once the hooded man entered the prayer hall, he casually sauntered into a private room, removing his facial cover once the priest followed him in, observing the shock in the other party's expression as he asked, "So, what do you wish to know about?"

"Who are you?" The priest seemed somewhat experienced as he quickly regained his bearings and asked, "Quite a few people have expressed their fear towards you."

"Your appearance isn't the most pleasing, after all."

"Well, what they say is the truth." In his even hoarser voice than before, the hooded man covered his face and spoke, "I suppose they would be happy if the threat that consumes them looks kind and pleasant to the eye, huh?"

"What do you mean?" The priest frowned in response when suddenly, the hooded man took out an envelope and placed it on the table nearby, "This is for the person monitoring us. Once you see this, you'll understand what I'm talking about."

Saying so, he turned around and exited the room, casually making his way toward the exit.

"Wait!" The priest shouted in response when suddenly, a hand rested on his shoulder, surprising him, "L-Lord Apostle?"

"He's not our enemy. Don't waste his limited time for your lack of awareness." The one speaking was a middle-aged man with glazed eyes. He seemed blind at first glance but had a comfortable time moving around as he pleased.

He was an Apostle representing the God of Rain, having been watching their actions from the start. The Apostle stared at the envelope that he had opened, gazing at the string of photos within, muttering in shock, "A mysterious power that can capture a moment into a piece of paper, something like this is only possible for the God of Humanity."

"Then he is...?" The priest asked, noticing that the hooded man had vanished by now.

"An Aggressor." The Apostle said in all seriousness, "That's what a group of people following the God of Humanity came to call themselves. They are fanatics that oppose every existence that seeks to exploit humanity, whether it be Deities or Devils."

"He's one of them and a rather powerful one at that." The Apostle sighed, "If we actually fought, both of us might have died as a result."

"H-How is that possible?" The priest was stunned at his words, "Lord Apostle, you possess a tenth of our Deity's divine powers. Someone like him can't defeat you. The power of faith I felt in him was pretty weak."

"Yes, the faith in him was weak indeed. But," The Apostle shook his head, "His knowledge of the human body far surpasses us. He's a walking think tank of a weapon capable of exploiting our weakness in an instant. Besides, he's the one that had killed the one we had been pursuing recently."

Only then did the priest focus on the pictures taken out of the envelope, staring at the images that showed the Spirit from the Essencer Guild that had died the day before, his abilities in action, especially the lightning and rain-related power.

Upon staring at that, the priest's face paled, "Isn't that the power of our faith?"

"Yes," The Apostle was serious now as he went through the photos, "It seems the Essencer Guild is far more capable than we had assumed. They can absorb and store the faith generated by our believers. No wonder our God was feeling weaker recently."

He stared at the exit, "If not for that man, we would have still been sitting like blind ducks."

"I'll alert everyone, Lord Apostle." The priest gritted his teeth in rage, "These bastards from the Essencer Guild will pay for harming our people."

"No need," The Apostle placed his hands together in prayer as a suffocating power emanated from him, "I've already informed our God about this. The message would be transmitted to all our believers once she makes a plan of action."

"I see," The Apostle muttered after a minute as he stopped praying and stared at the priest, "It seems there's just one from the Essencer Guild left within our domain. And she's already being targeted by the Aggressor. We only need to make preparations to wage war against the Essencer Guild after this."

...

At the peak of a mountain that experienced rainfall throughout the year, seated underneath the canopy of a large tree were two people, using a rock each. The canopy was thick enough to prevent any rain from seeping through the foliage, keeping the place underneath dry.

On one side was a girl in her teens, sipping hot tea in relish as she stared at the kid before her, "Is this fine with you, Pnolli?"

"Isn't that Aggressor of yours having a hard time living? Why put him through such misery?"

She was the God of Rain, in her abode, speaking to her guest, Pnolli.

"This tea is great." Pnolli commented once he finished emptying the cup, stating contently, "Give me a batch to take home. It has been ages since I had something this good."

"Can't you just come to the point?" The God of Rain snorted in annoyance, "Old man, can't you be less annoying?"

"You see, what my believers do is entirely up to them." Pnolli spoke slowly, "I never interfere with them. And if they ask for a blessing, I give them that. Fuelling humanity's greed for knowledge is my essence."

"Since he wishes to hunt the Essencer Guild, he can do as he pleases."

"Such arrogance." The God of Rain smiled cutely when suddenly, the rain stopped pouring, blanketing the region with absolute chillness. The flashes of lightning suddenly increased, from one to two, two to four, four to eight, and so on, until the sky was bright, as if it were daytime.

Her expression wasn't chill anymore, her emotion one of utter wrath, staring at Pnolli with the intent to kill, "Does that arrogance stem from the fact that you created this world?"

"Is that it? To be one of the absolute six? Does that put the rest of us Deities under you? Is that why you're feeding me such crap?"

Like arms inching forth, resembling branches, the flashes of lightning gradually extended towards Pnolli, intending to kill him as they almost touched him. Just the emitted light was blinding enough to permanently destroy one's sight.

But in this state, Pnolli opened his mouth to state slowly, "It seems you aren't smart enough."

"Pray to me more, will you?"

"I'll bless you wisdom."