Seized by the System

The world was shaking. Vigilante A, Zhi Nan, and Black Robe had taken to the air by the time the earthquake took place.

The stone house beneath them held up for a while afore it crumbled, evoking a keen sense of sadness.

The once verdant and breathing wilderness now reeked of death and destruction.

Molten lava sprung from beneath, gobbling up everything in its wake.

The sky-high torrent of a tsunami swept over mountains and land.

Those lucky greenskins who survived were tossed about on the great waters.

“Look at how swift destruction wipes out development. May the compassionate Buddha bless the newborns. I wonder how many would survive in such a catastrophe.” Zhi Nan joined his palms together, his eyes imbued with poignancy.

“Be grateful that it didn’t happen on Earth, or more people will die,” Fang Ning mumbled.

He said this within the System Space, of course. Zhi Nan did not hear it.

The trio parked themselves in the middle of the atmosphere, waiting for the avatar of the Spirit Lord to show up.

The tremors stopped after some time.

Everything fell into absolute stillness, like the calm before a storm.

Fang Ning wanted to hold his breath but his body was controlled by Sir System, hence he could not do so.

Without warning, a colossal red hand emerged from the land now covered in magma and came down at the trio in an intemperate outburst.

The sanguine red hand was so vast its shadow could swallow the land whole. Fang Ning’s bare sight could not determine the sheer mass of it.

He asked his two companion gods post-haste.

“Judging from its ratio from the land to the mountains it should be one hundred and eight thousand miles long,” Death estimated.

Fang Ning breathed in fretfully by reflex.

The avatar of the Spirit Lord was indeed terrifying.

The swiftness of the hand was unhindered by its massive length. With a movement that was akin to the speed of light, it defied the laws of physics and dashed against the trio.

They split up in opposite directions with differing responses.

Vigilante A transformed into a thousand-meter long black sword and jabbed into the center of the palm.

From Fang Ning’s perspective, what he saw was a whale pricked by a tiny barb.

Black Robe and Zhi Nan, on the other hand, reached into space and spectated the battle from a distance.

“I pray that the Venerable One will triumph,” the monk let out a long sigh.

“The Venerable One may be strong, but he hasn’t the strength of the gods. If he hadn’t invoked the goodness in master back when you were a Demon Saint, he would be defeated. He proved weak enough to best you, master, even at your weakest. How then could he defeat the avatar of the Spirit Lord at its strongest?” Black Robe could not resist.

“Indeed. The hand must be from the Vigorous Spirit Lord, the strongest among the Five Great Spirit Lords. It would seem that preparations must be made.” Within the monk’s eyes, there were suddenly a pair of dark whirlpools.

As expected, the black sword was deflected by a red blotch chock-full of essence, which suddenly materialized on the palm.

Fang Ning could also hear a deafening thump, leaving him shaking in his shoes.

“If it were not for the Mythical level of my sword we would be dead meat,” Sir System abruptly spoke to Fang Ning.

“Well, I assume everything hasn’t gone south since you can still talk.” Fang Ning seemed relieved.

“I was busy chopping heads the last time. Right now I am buying time, hence the luxury to chat,” Sir System reasoned.

The hand came down again like a battering ram concomitantly.

The black sword scintillated continuously. Before they knew it the sword was already many thousand miles away, giving the gargantuan hand a once-over from afar.

The hand attempted to grab hold, but the black sword whizzed away too quickly.

“I am glad that the Soaring Dragon has the teleportation buff or we would be phenomenally screwed,” Fang Ning spoke in consolation.

“You bet. Can a game even be a game without teleportation?” the System said gaily.

Unexpectedly, the red hand aimed at the black sword in space and rocketed all of its fingers.

The five fingers seemed to be familiar with the secrets of teleportation. They surrounded the black sword without giving it a moment to rest, like a sheep surrounded by wolves.

“Houston, we have a problem,” Fang Ning uttered.

“Not so fast, I’m calling for help too.” Sir System reorganized.

The black sword quivered. Six dragons flew out of its body.

Each dragon was assigned against each finger and the last remaining dragon stood guard beside the black sword.

The fingers pierced through their opponents in unison, and the dragons burst easily like bubbles.

Fang Ning exhaled when he saw this. Truly this was divine power! Rarely did he see Sir System’s back against the wall.

“We really can’t play hardball on this. Time for plan B,” Sir System whispered.

The black sword recalled the last dragon and made another attempt at teleportation.

However, the five fingers swung across at one fell swoop.

They were stuck. Teleportation went haywire.

“Oh, sh*t! Now what?” Fang Ning was unnerved.

“Stop panicking, I am trying to focus here,” Sir System rebuked.

An obedient Fang Ning stood back in silence.

“Summon your Two Divine Monuments, I’ll hold them off for a bit,” Sir System instructed.

Fang Ning sent for the green-skinned frog and the macaw forthwith.

Instantly, the black sword let out a cyan flash and glittered in the color of the heavens and the earth.

The five fingers fiercely snapped as they were powering up.

The clangor of a hefty thwack reverberated all around them.

Sound waves could not travel in space. However, the vibrations were felt on a spiritual level and they spread in all directions.

Fang Ning could feel the impact in his mind. The attacks were nullified since he was in the System Space. Nevertheless, he believed that the vibrations could shake the soul out of him if they had a chance.

Fortunately, he was controlled by the System. The vibrations had no effect on the latter.

“You okay?” Fang Ning asked.

“Don’t sweat it. This sword, however, is in a bad shape. It will cost me an arm and a leg to make it work again,” Sir System bemoaned.

“And I thought this flying sword was Mythical-grade.” Fang Ning was once again flabbergasted.

“The damage dealt to us was Supreme-God-level. The fact that we held up until now means that my craftsmanship is quite something, unlike the dreck that your human manufacturers are so accustomed to making,” Sir System smirked in confidence.

“How about you make it ‘Unbreakable’? I thought I saw this attribute in the Heavenly Book,” Fang Ning suggested.

“I forgot to mention that it has limits though. You can’t expect that it would still be in one piece like Kirby after the Big Bang,” Sir System came clean, “Any harm caused by a Supreme-God-level cannot be stopped.”

“Got it, so what happens now?” Fang Ning asked in a low voice.

“Ask Death for any protective measures maybe?” Sir System prompted.

Fang Ning immediately queried.

“I know only offense and destruction, defensive skills are not my forte.” Death shook his head.

The Culinary God spoke before Fang Ning had the chance to be disappointed.

“I think my black pot would be of some use here.”

“Then I would like to rent that pot from Your Excellency,” Fang Ning beseeched.

“Of course, I am the one who is bugging you all this while by staying here anyway.” Albeit he was no saint, the Culinary God was indubitably much benign than the likes of Death. As a God, he thought that he must at least have some virtue, and should never think of looting a burning house.

After he spoke, a puff of white smoke rose from the handle of his black pot and wandered across the entertainment room.

Apparently, he knew that he was invulnerable inside the entertainment room. Not even Death could harm him.

If it were not for that, he would not have lent anybody his black pot.

Fang Ning took the black pot and said to Sir System, “Take this. This is a genuine artifact, not your ordinary ‘pay-to-win’ item.”

“I know I know, quit yapping,” Sir System scoffed, and the black pot was gone.

At the same time outside, the black sword curled itself into position and the black pot was there shielding it before the next fusillade.

The fingers snapped again.

“Bang!”

Another Spiritual Fluctuation ensued, and the black pot emerged unscathed.