The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1773: Almost Going Bad

It was more than a statement; it was a declaration.

At least, that was Alana’s initial impression.

Rex held the title of Scion, a legitimate status reserved exclusively for those forged in the fires of devastating trauma. It was a role for those possessed by a drive so fierce it could propel them toward invincibility, and she did not doubt his conviction.

If he claimed to have navigated the boundary of life and death more frequently than Spirits—entities that endured for millennia—Alana would have believed him. After all, how else could he have earned recognition and ascended to the rank of Scion?

Yet, in this very moment, her instincts screamed the opposite.

Rex possessed the means to survive this ordeal.

However, survival was no longer his primary motivation.

His current momentum was fueled by pure spite.

"You’re... You’re grieving," Alana murmured under her breath.

Despite Rex showing no outward vulnerability—his posture and gestures remaining firm—she could sense his mourning. He was demanding she leave so he could plunge himself into a more dire situation, using the chaos of battle to drown out the shadows in his mind.

Alana had been unable to witness the full extent of the combat from her position outside the trial arena.

Nevertheless, the aftermath was painfully clear to her.

Because Empress Morgana had intervened and cast him out here, he had essentially failed to secure his objective.

That failure was the source of the grief consuming him now.

Growl—!

The snarls of approaching Voidal Monsters echoed through the air, their presence less than three hundred meters away.

Within moments, the area would be completely overrun.

"Just leave," Rex commanded once more.

His shoulders trembled as he raised his hands, bracing for the onslaught of the Voidal horde.

Using the System, Rex began scanning the monsters closing in on their position.

...

<Long-limbed Void Ghouls>

Race: Voidal Knight

Power: Immortal Spirit 4 (Second Circle)

Soul Artifact: Shadow Claws - B-grade (Attack)

...

Data windows flickered into existence one after another, confirming that most of these creatures were Voidal Knights at the Immortal Spirit rank. Under normal circumstances, they were mere fodder compared to Rex, but in his current state, they posed a lethal threat.

He was like a bison being circled by a pack of wolves.

A healthy bison would be nearly impossible for the pack to bring down.

But a bison that was exhausted and bleeding... that was a different story entirely.

Swish—!

A Long-limbed Void Ghoul lunged from the gloom, its massive frame the size of a rhinoceros. These creatures possessed limbs far longer than the Ghouls found in the Mortal Realm, featuring tiny, pale white eyes, a gaping maw, and an elongated tail.

Before Rex could intercept it, the creature's claws slammed into his flank.

The blow failed to break his skin.

Even in his weakened state, the Ghoul lacked the power to penetrate his physical defense.

Still, the sheer force of the impact caused Rex to gnash his teeth in agony.

"Raaargh—!"

Rex plunged his hand into the chest of the Long-limbed Voidal Ghoul, forcing a whimper from the beast.

Boiling, purplish blood coated his arm.

He didn't give the monster a chance to recover.

Grabbing its upper and lower jaws, he wrenched them apart with raw strength, splitting the creature in half.

<Killed a Voidal Knight: Obtained 11,000 Gold!>

The effort of that single kill caused Rex to falter; his balance failed as his body swayed unsteadily.

He sucked in desperate, ragged breaths, gasping for air.

More shapes emerged from the darkness.

One leaped from the front while another attacked from the rear in a coordinated pincer movement.

Slash!

Both monsters were carved into pieces before they could reach their target.

"Stop being so stubborn and accept my help," Alana declared, moving to stand at Rex’s side while wielding a great sword forged of pure sunlight. "Someone needs to remind you to stay alive. Grieving while fighting will only lead you to an early grave."

"I don’t care..." Rex muttered, shoving Alana away.

She stumbled back a few paces, but the exertion caused Rex to collapse onto his knees.

Alana straightened herself and looked down at him.

Though he refused to speak honestly about his emotions, the aura of suffering radiating from him was palpable. He was consumed by rage, yet his utter exhaustion made it impossible to channel that anger effectively.

Growl—!

A fresh wave of Long-limbed Void Ghouls surged forward.

Alana intercepted them with her great sword, hacking them into remnants, though each swing visibly drained her remaining stamina.

It was clear she was reaching her limit.

After finishing off the immediate attackers, she drove her blade into the earth, leaning on it to keep from collapsing. Her breathing was heavy and uneven as she turned a tired, heavy-eyed stare toward Rex.

'I can't pull him out of this on my own,' she realized. 'I need him to want to be saved.'

Like Rex, she was battered beyond measure.

The relentless arrival of the Voidal horde had robbed her of any chance to properly heal her wounds.

"There is no one else here, Sir Rex," Alana panted, resting her chin on the pommel of her sword as she watched him. "Vent your frustrations. I know you need to. Since I am a stranger, you don’t have to maintain your pride for me. Do whatever you must. Just help me get you out of here alive."

It was often simpler to be vulnerable with a stranger than with those close to you.

Alana knew this well; as the High Priestess of the Sun Ecclesia, there were few people she could truly confide in.

A stranger was the perfect confidant.

"I entered this realm to gain the power necessary to protect others. Nivellen was the whole reason I came," Rex whispered, his fingers digging so deep into the dirt they disappeared. "But I’ve failed."

Rex was disoriented, unsure of his exact location.

However, he knew it would take at least a day to return to the Tomb of Heroes.

That was assuming Empress Morgana hadn't already seized the Phoenix Feather and the Maw of Oblivion.

By the time he could return, it would be far too late.

Nivellen would be lost.

As if to twist the knife, a System notification flashed before his eyes.

<Notice: the Countess of the Banished Dark Moon is vanishing!>

<She will die in eight minutes.>

<It’s advised to quickly gather the materials and use the cure on her!>

Alana continued to shield Rex from the monsters, circling him to keep him protected.

She would buy him the time he needed to let his emotions out.

"I didn't realize the laws of this realm were different, or that Kaiser would be completely unhindered here," Rex continued, his voice growing numb as despair took hold. "Breaking my word to her is bad enough—but I couldn't save April either. I have no idea where she is. She’s likely dead, and it’s my fault for involving her."

"Again and again and again!" Rex shouted in fury. "Someone always has to stand in my way!"

"So what if I'm a Scion? What does it matter if I'm nearly invincible? Who cares about any of that?!"

"I only ever wanted the power to protect."

A drop of sweat fell from his chin, soaking into the dry earth.

Rex’s trembling eyes remained fixed on the ground for a moment before he looked up at Alana, who was gasping for breath in front of him.

"Look at these hands," Rex said, holding up his stained palms as if they represented the sum of his existence. "I have soaked them in blood, and I would do it again to keep what belongs to me safe. All I wanted was to keep those I care about away from the slaughter. But no one listened."

Alana stared at his blood-red hands.

Suddenly—perhaps due to her own fatigue—her perception shifted.

The world around her seemed to dissolve, replaced by a silent, infinite plane where a shallow sea of blood reached the horizon. It wasn't water, but a stagnant, crimson lake, littered with the bones and remains of the fallen.

And there, at the center, Rex was on his knees.

A massive, bloated Blood Moon hung above, bathing the landscape in a deep scarlet hue.

The light turned Rex into a mere silhouette, a shadow against the darkness. Only his hands remained vivid, dripping with blood that glowed like liquid rubies as it fell into the crimson pool below.

"Every brutal, heartless act I commit... it serves as a warning. It's meant to make my enemies understand. To protect..." Rex’s voice turned cold, emphasizing his final words. "...what is mine. To force them to target me instead of those near me. But they chose to attack them anyway."

A thick, red mist of killing intent began to pour from his body.

The pressure was suffocating, sending a chill down Alana’s spine.

"And so, here I am," Rex said as his fangs grew long and predatory. His frame shook with a rage so intense it seemed to vibrate the very air. "Everything I valued was attacked. I failed to protect it. My very reason for being... they took that from me."

"Now, there is only one path left," Rex said, slowly standing up.

Alana swallowed hard.

Even though they were allies, she instinctively backed away.

Every sense she possessed signaled extreme danger.

'Oh no...' Alana gritted her teeth, realizing Rex was on the brink of a total mental break. 'This is going to be a disaster!'

<Notice: the Countess of the Banished Dark Moon is vanishing!>

<She will die in five minutes.>

"I will burn this empire to the ground for what it has taken, and with this power, I will wash this realm in blood," Rex vowed in a trembling voice. "Every soul here will learn the agony of losing... what they love."

Alana moved toward him, hoping to snap him out of his spiraling madness.

She had to intervene, or a tragedy on the scale of 'Mirza' would repeat itself—a catastrophe the realm might not survive a second time.

Suddenly, her head whipped to the side.

She felt a massive surge of energy erupting miles away in the distance.

A vortex of brilliant flames shot into the sky. The fire burned with a strange, unnatural clarity, radiating a warmth that felt oddly comforting. It spiraled upward like a pillar of light, piercing through the gloom of the Black Rift.

A high-pitched, piercing cry, like that of a legendary bird, echoed through the air.

The flames then shifted, taking the form of a massive, glowing bird with outstretched wings.

Rex saw it too; he felt the sudden explosion of power and watched the fiery display in the sky.

"A Phoenix Feather?" Alana muttered, her head tilted in confusion.

"Amanir?!" Rex’s eyes widened with shock. "Amanir actually got it?!"

Rex suddenly remembered searching for the treasure chests earlier and finding them gone.

He had assumed his line of sight was blocked, but he had been mistaken.

Instead of trying to open them there, Amanir had taken them and fled.

This dramatic signal in the sky was his way of telling Rex that the Phoenix Feather was secured.

Just as Rex had resigned himself to failing Nivellen and letting her perish in sorrow, hope returned at the final moment. It was a bitter realization, especially since he had convinced Nivellen to give up her divinity by promising she would still need it.

He had been too ashamed to even consider returning to the Banished Realm.

But Amanir had appeared at the eleventh hour to restore his hope.

He had given Rex a final chance to fulfill his promise to Nivellen.

"You useless bastard," Rex cursed, though a grin spread across his face. "You’re finally good for something."