I Hate Systems

"You die when you are killed. How can a human go against that?" Compass Carburettor was confused, failing to understand just how something like this was possible.

"This was a flaw in the revival method that we hadn't expected. As he was the first one that we tried it upon, everything had been unexpected. And, Mellatico abused it, sprinkling the dust of his Darble Horn in the air to be inhaled by others. Through this, a fragment of him would remain within the body of others like a parasite, grow in strength, and accumulate enough energy over time." His face was pale as Meharb spoke.

Removing his spectacles, he consoled himself, living through the trauma as the scenes of the incident flashed behind him, "Once a fragment gathered enough energy, it would condense his figure once again, allowing him to pop out of a human."

"Using this ability, he constantly preyed on the people, devouring them day in and day out. And every time he appeared, he was slightly stronger. To prevent news of this from leaking out, we closed off our borders, intending to wipe him out completely. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done." He sighed.

"As a Transcendent, he was stronger than all our Transcendents. His Darlac had a property of evolving on its own, due to whatever he had done with it. This was why our Ancestors had paid a heavy price to deal with him and erased all records about his existence. Unfortunately, we went and revieved him."

"Only later did we find out that his ability to revive wasn't unlimited. After all, when he first sprinkled the powder of his Darble Horn, many of the citizens had inhaled it. But, he only popped out from some of their bodies." Meharb clenched his hand into a fist, trembling in rage as he said, "When we researched about it, it was proven that he was only able to revive through the bodies of those that possess royal blood."

"And, our Great Empire had existed for many millennia, having ensured its integrity without ever conquering other places or being conquered even once. And with a general estimate, around thirty percent of our population had a tinge of royal blood in them. Anyone with a bit of aptitude towards becoming a Warrior or a Puppeteer had a trace of the royal blood in them." He sighed, "And this meant, the entire military might of the Great Megwest Empire was vulnerable to his ability. He would be able to revive from all of us."

"I personally killed him seven times. But, there was simply no end to him. And, as there didn't exist any records, we were unable to find out just how he was killed in the first place." Sporting a wry smile, Meharb said, "Left with no other option, we initiated the Warble Project. You must know what a Warble does, right?"

Seeing Compass Carburettor nod, he continued, "This was just to hide within the bodies of Dungeon Monsters and put an end to him once and for all."

"But, only then did we realise that we played into his hands." Sighing, Meharb continued, "It seems Warble had already been completed many centuries ago. And, that was precisely the method used by our Ancestors to get rid of him. And, the revival method existed then too. Rather, Mellatico was the one to create it."

"Before his demise, he had hidden records about the revival method in numerous places, allowing for the dispersed knowledge to accumulate over time. And, the one charged with executing it was a certain Spirit possessing the ability of longevity. So, once every able Puppeteer used the Warble and became a Dungeon Monster, Mellatico began to rapidly revive one after another, creating a pile of corpses everywhere using which he revived instantly every single time."

"He went after the helpless citizens that didn't have an affinity to become a Puppeteer. Moreover, he began to revive as numerous individuals—clones—instead, each with a minor change in personality." Meharb shuddered, "This change was probably brought about because his Darble Horn absorbed the variant genetics from countless people. Overnight, Mellatico had formed an army of himself."

"We, using our stronger Dungeon Monster forms clashed with him, an army of Transcendents." Meharb said, concluding, "Basically, that was the civil war that ended our Great Empire. Even though we succeeded in annihilating him, our Great Empire was no more. The rest of our lives could only be spent moping about as the monster in us slowly surfaced."

"As people lost their sanity one after another, a second war ensued as numerous Dungeon Monsters clashed." Meharb smiled wryly, "Basically, that was how one mistake led to our Great Empire's demise. Now, I have no reason to return. But,"

He smiled a little, "My Warble is different. Basically, what had once been the goal of the Warble Project has been achieved by me. And that is to become a Dungeon Monster while remaining yourself."

"What…does that mean?" Compass Carburettor was shocked, seeing a multitude of images flicker behind Meharb.

"Once you defeat me here, my Warble would become yours. And immediately, you'll stop being human and would begin to turn into a Haggon. After all, I have refined my Warble while remaining a Haggon, so the genetic material forming its core is that of a Haggon too. This is the core of the Warble Project." Meharb grinned, "After spotting the strongest Dungeon Monster species, we would use the Warble to become them. And, once we refine our Darble while remaining that way, we can transplant our Warble in any other organism and morph it into our monster species."

"Since I refined it using a Haggon, you'll start to turn into a Haggon yourself soon after this battle of the mind concludes. And, no matter which species you implant this Warble into, you'll end up as a Haggon after inhabiting their body." Meharb concluded, "It's been long enough already. Let's end it now."

"Why don't you try to fight me? If you win against me, you can still revive your Empire yourself." Compass Carburettor frowned.

"No chance," Meharb laughed helplessly, gazing at the colossal projections of the Earth and his world silently hovering behind Compass Carburettor, "I cannot win against two whole worlds by myself."