I Hate Systems

Boom!

Explosions resounded in a Birdmen City as hundreds of metallic shells were dropped from the sky. Each shell only spanned the size of one's fist but weights in the tens of tonnes, packing explosive power that formed large craters upon impact.

Flying high up in the sky was an alite unit of Mages that wielded both the Wind and Metal Attributes. They flew at terrifying speeds, exhibiting their powers as Grandmaster Mages while dropping the metal shells onto every city and battlefield they came across.

Swoosh!

Curses flashed as anywhere one saw, glass shattered intermittently, collapsing as shards as the Birdmen collapsed one after another, taking down their enemies to the afterlife.

Violent battles had erupted in many locations between Xetuka and Burnak Kingdoms, too late to stop anymore.

After all, once Lelumi Xetuka had been framed regarding the destruction of Buhan City, public opinion in the Burnak Kingdom had shifted against the Xetuka Kingdom, sparking a massive war.

And shockingly, Boznan Burnak, the Guardian Saint of the Burnak Kingdom had disappeared once again.

Kaboom!

Lightning flashed throughout a battlefield as hundreds of Birdmen died, with at least a dozen among them being Grandmasters, causing startling losses.

"Damn you, stop!" A birdmen Pseudo-Saint bellowed in rage as he chased after the lightning bolt, failing to catch up to the other party no matter what he did. The multitude of curses he unleashed were casually destroyed by a flash of lightning.

Horan Fawnker wielded his Magic Tool, targeting the Grandmasters among the enemies, this way crippling them first.

And even if their opponents wished to do the same, their speed paled in comparison to the Pseudo-Saint Warrior cum Mage of the lighting element—Horan.

Three Pseudo-Saint Birdmen chased after Horan in an effort to subdue him but failed to do anything until now. In contrast, not only did Horan continue to kill any Master and Grandmaster Birdmen he came across, he also attacked the three Pseudo-Saints to constantly keep them on his tail.

"Retreat!" A Grandmaster Wind Mage shouted as his voice echoed throughout the battlefield, causing the human army to retreat immediately.

Upon seeing their actions, after being stumped for a moment, the Birdmen took to the skies and began to retreat too.

"Are you alright?" Lelumi Xetuka asked upon seeing Horan cough out blood the moment he stopped moving. Blackened face, arms oozing out pus, and a multitude of ailments covering his body. Horan had been afflicted with a variety of curses that were now taking a toll on his condition.

He had been persisting until now just to injure their enemies as much as possible.

"Bring the potions!" Lelumi Xetuka shouted, grabbing the potions that a couple of people in charge of the same had brought. She poured them on Horan, watching the curses vanish one after another, sighing as she muttered, "This war shouldn't have erupted."

"But it did," Horan said, turning silent for a moment as he recalled the scene when Teto was kidnapped mysteriously, "Someone is instigating everything. All we're doing is to dance in the palm of their hands."

He said in all seriousness, "They seem to have an objective."

…

"Ugh!" Boznan Burnak groaned as he got up, his cloudy vision settling down after a couple of seconds had passed. He tried to get up, noticing that he had been chained to a pillar, startled because he was unable to rile up his mana. Shockingly, he wasn't even able to sense the Witch and Doctor Professions that were always with him.

"What…just happened…" He was stunned, blinking his eyes in shock once he lifted his head, staring at the entity chained before him. "Am I…dreaming?"

He didn't wish to believe what he was seeing to be reality, unwilling to accept it. "No, this isn't possible. Impossible!"

"Nothing's impossible. And that's how things operate, whether in this world or the myriad worlds out there." A voice, calm and collected resounded as a figure entered the room, only sparing a glance at Boznan Burnak before looking at the entity chained before him. "So, what's your opinion on this,"

"Witch Apostle."

'No, that's impossible!" Boznan Burnak screamed in disbelief, "The Witch Apostle is omnipotent. They cannot be captured."

"Your plans contain plenty of risks, Gilthru." A raspy voice resounded as all of a sudden, the room felt as if it was a den of the most powerful of curses, an instant later, it felt like heaven, the path of all healing.

The one that spoke was the Witch Apostle who had also become an Apostle of the Doctor Profession. He was sealed, his powers restricted to a grand extent that he was no different to a Saint now.

Of course, the culprit that had captured both was as addressed by the Witch Apostle, Gilthru—Slayer.

"It has been ages since someone last called me by that name." Slayer shrug off the nostalgia before kneeling before the Witch Apostle, "I believe your time has come."

"Please surrender your powers to me."

"Not yet, Gilthru." Even though he was sealed, the Witch Apostle was the one that had full say over what the Witch and Doctor Professions did and functioned towards. His eyes spun with dense mana as he made eye contact with Slayer, "You've yet to complete the Plague Doctor Profession."

"I'll bestow all my powers to you once you complete the Plague Doctor Profession. That's our deal." The Witch Apostle said.

"Which is why I captured and brought Boznan Burnak here." Slayer said, pointing at the latter as he addressed the Witch Apostle, "I believe you need to tell this child. He'll listen if it's from you."

The Witch Apostle stared at Slayer in silence for a minute before closing his eyes, letting out a subtle sigh, "Alright."

He then stared at Boznan Burnak, "March your Kingdom into ruin, Guardian Saint of the Burnak Kingdom. That's my order."

"But…why?" Boznan Burnak said, "Plenty of Saints have failed to create the Plague Doctor Profession in the past. Why now? Why must I destroy my Kingdom for such a useless endeavour?"

"No, it'll work this time." The Witch Apostle said in assurance, eyeing Slayer as he asked the latter, "How long do we have?"

"Two years, and ten months." Slayer said, "That's how long Conjurer asked Zaira to cut off our world from the System World. And that's what the Main Character prophesised for his return."