The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1774: A War of Wills

Desolation. Emptiness.

It had been an eternity since the world appeared so devoid of color, reduced to mere shades of gray.

Every companion lost felt like a fragment of his own soul being torn away, dragging him toward the brink of oblivion.

Gaining power, ascending as a Scion, or reaching the pinnacle of invincibility—none of these titles mattered to him. Shrouded in failure, his original purpose to protect his allies had crumbled, leaving his world trapped in a monochrome nightmare.

Yet, for the first time, fate seemed to gaze upon him with a shred of compassion.

That pity manifested as a radiant, celestial bird, emitting a brilliance capable of tearing through the suffocating gloom of the Black Rift.

The fire of a Phoenix is eternal; its splendor cannot be suppressed by any darkness.

As the blaze erupted with a breathtaking, cinematic grandeur—undoubtedly the most stunning sight Rex had ever beheld—vibrancy flooded back into his reality. A rhythmic pulse of fire surged outward in ripples of gold and crimson, its searing warmth calling back the vivid colors of life.

Fury. Vengeance. Bitterness. Every toxic emotion was instantly cleansed from his spirit.

Rex felt as though his entire being had been submerged in holy, purifying waters.

With this cleansing came a spark of vitality, allowing him to straighten his slumped posture just a fraction.

"You’re finally useful for once."

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

<She will die in four minutes.>

Growl—!

Several Long-limbed Void Ghouls lunged from the murk, throwing themselves forward like starving predators.

They were driven by a frenzied hunger for the energy-rich flesh standing before them.

"Rex!" Alana cried out, her hand extended as she instinctively rushed toward his side.

The remnants of her Qi swirled around her legs, gathering for a final effort.

Rex caught her hand just as five Long-limbed Void Ghouls closed in, their jagged teeth and lethal talons inches from his skin.

Boom—!

At the critical moment, the second Alana’s grip tightened around Rex’s wrist, a violent eruption of solar energy propelled them backward like a launched projectile. Both narrowly escaped the clutches of the Long-limbed Void Ghouls.

A single second of hesitation would have seen them overwhelmed.

There were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of these abominations.

Soaring through the air at sonic speeds, Rex and Alana looked down to see a literal tide of monsters—a dark river of distorted limbs flowing across the jagged earth, all scrambling toward the spot they had just vacated.

It wasn't just that they had entered a dangerous zone within the Black Rift.

They had plummeted into the very center of a hive, a subterranean maze absolute crawling with these fiends.

A direct confrontation would be nothing short of a death sentence.

Flight was impossible for two people so battered and drained of Cultivation.

A desperate leap was their only remaining gambit.

Channeled through her final reserves of strength, Alana launched them in a high, desperate arc toward the distant glow of the Phoenix Feather. Amanir was at least two miles away, and Alana sought to cross as much of that treacherous gap as possible with this single jump.

She was well aware that on the ground, their pace would be agonizingly slow.

Swoosh—!

"I can’t cushion the landing! Get ready!" Alana screamed.

The leap had drained her completely, meaning their return to earth would be violent.

Rex’s obscured vision scanned the landing zone, relieved to find it temporarily clear of voidal threats. However, this clarity also allowed him to see the deep gash on Alana’s abdomen, which was hemorrhaging a terrifying amount of blood.

Her life force was fading rapidly.

Her complexion had turned a ghostly, sickly white.

Just before they hit the ground, Rex threw his arm around her waist, pulling her into a protective embrace.

Crash—!

"Huarghk!!"

Rex coughed up a spray of crimson.

The impact carved a massive crater into the earth, sending a cloud of grit and stone into the air.

Alana blinked, pulling herself upright.

Strangely, the collision hadn't been as devastating as she anticipated.

Plummeting from the clouds to the hard earth without a protective barrier should have pulverized her skeleton. Instead, the impact was manageable, merely knocking the wind out of her without causing permanent injury.

When she turned, however, the reason became clear.

Rex had acted as a shield, using his more resilient physique to take the brunt of the fall for her.

"W-Why did you do that?!" Alana shouted, grabbing his collar. "You shouldn’t have taken the hit for me!"

<Warning!>

<Warning: the user is in a critical condition!>

<It’s recommended to bathe under the moonlight to quicken the user’s recovery!>

Rex remained on the ground, his strength failing.

He tried to focus on Alana, but his sight was failing him.

Not only was everything a blur, but the persistent System notifications were flashing right over her face.

She was speaking to him.

Yelling at him.

But her voice was lost to Rex, replaced by a high-pitched ringing in his ears.

Disregarding her protests, Rex accessed the System Shop, hunting for any medicine to stabilize them. Since the Shop was supposed to contain everything, a solution had to exist, but navigating the interface in his state was grueling. He managed to sort for potions by rank, reaching out with a blood-stained hand to swipe through the listings.

He scrolled through each item slowly.

Rex wanted to ask the System for guidance, but he couldn't piece together a single logical thought.

Trying to focus only triggered a stabbing migraine.

Meanwhile, Alana’s teeth ground together as the earth began to vibrate.

From the bottom of the impact zone, she looked up at the rim of the crater; she couldn't see them yet, but she knew the Long-limbed Void Ghouls were closing in. With no other options, Alana placed her palm against Rex’s chest.

"Stay with me, I’ll transfer my vitality to you. I’ll give my soul if that's what it takes. Just don't die..."

As her hand began to shimmer with light, Rex caught her wrist.

The sudden movement startled her.

Alana looked at him, seeing him slowly shake his head in refusal.

He reached out with his other hand, and a shimmering object appeared in his palm.

A small bottle, glowing with the soft light of a high-grade potion.

"What is this?" she whispered, but Rex gestured urgently for her to consume it. "You want me to take this?"

Alana didn't hesitate.

She snatched the vial, ripped off the cork, and swallowed the contents in a single gulp.

Almost instantly, a wave of vigor washed through her—restoring her stamina rather than her life energy. It wasn't a total recovery; she was still winded and exhausted, but significantly better than she had been moments before.

After finishing the potion, Alana saw Rex struggling to his hands and knees.

He was forcing himself up despite a shoulder that was clearly dislocated and ribs that were visibly protruding through his mangled clothes and skin. Given the trauma he had suffered, it was sheer madness that he was even conscious, let alone attempting to move.

Alana realized she had never met anyone with such terrifying endurance and will.

Not even the Divine Saintess could compare.

"Come on," she said, pulling his arm over her shoulder to hoist him up. "I’ve got you."

The two of them fought for every inch as they climbed out of the crater.

Upon reaching the surface, Alana looked around frantically, realizing she had lost her bearings in the chaos.

As if sensing her confusion, Rex pointed a trembling finger in a specific direction.

Alana immediately turned that way, supporting Rex’s weight as they moved.

She tried to hurry, but a brisk walk was the absolute limit of her current strength.

Amanir was still a distant speck in the gloom—at least half a mile away.

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

<She will die in three minutes.>

"Move, move, move!" Alana pleaded with her own legs, but she was already at her breaking point. She glanced at the sky, seeing no light through the thick clouds of the rift.

Still, she cried out for help, "Divine Saintess... Please, look down on us. Hear my voice. We need help!"

Even if it seemed hopeless, she continued to pray for Kei Xun’s intervention.

The density of the Black Rift likely blinded Kei Xun to their location, but Alana clung to that hope.

Roar—!

Alana looked back sharply as a thunderous howl ripped through the air.

It was dangerously close.

Meanwhile, Rex gathered the last scraps of his Qi, absorbing a few Nightfall Stars in his hand. He used their power to patch his failing life energy, while the Aegis of Moon Sentinel flickered in front of him, its form barely stable.

Maintaining the shield required a constant drain of Qi.

Even that minimal amount was almost more than he could bear.

ROAR—!

A Long-limbed Void Ghoul sprinted from the darkness like a wild animal—snarling and drooling as it leapt, claws extended for the kill.

Clang!

Alana spun around to intercept the strike.

The force of the blow rattled her insides, but she recovered instantly, cleaving the monster in two with her great sword. Not waiting for the rest of the pack, she took a sharp breath and jumped again.

This leap was a shadow of the first one.

However, it still threw them forward another hundred meters.

"Arrghk..." Alana groaned, clutching her midsection as tears blurred her vision.

The injury inflicted by Empress Morgana was agonizing whenever she pushed herself.

Blood soaked her clothes as she squeezed her eyes shut and bit her own arm to suppress a scream.

"Let me..." Rex’s raspy voice reached her. "I... I can still use my right arm."

Alana looked at him through her tears and nodded solemnly.

While she had more mobility, her body was too fragile for another direct hit. Conversely, Rex was too exhausted to move well, but his physical Foundation was far more durable and could soak up more damage.

Gallop—!

Alana stood and helped Rex up once more.

The moment they found their footing, another beast was upon them.

This time, Alana shifted her position, letting Rex take the brunt of the assault.

The impact sent them both skidding across the dirt.

A Long-limbed Void Ghoul sank its teeth into Rex’s right arm, but his skin barely broke.

In one fluid, weary motion, he grabbed the beast’s tongue and ripped it out.

The creature let out a pained shriek before Alana ended it with a decapitating swing. They pressed on, parrying wave after wave of attacks that grew more desperate as the main horde closed the distance.

Rex acted as the shield with his right arm, and Alana acted as the sword.

His left arm hung uselessly, but he used his left hand to press against Alana’s bleeding stomach.

The blood loss was severe; she was on the verge of collapse.

This was a brutal war of attrition.

"A-Amanir..." Alana called out, her voice barely a whisper. She raised her great sword, making it flicker with sunlight as a signal to Amanir, who had to be close by now. "Amanir!!"

Through the swirling black smoke, a silhouette finally emerged.

The sight gave Alana a final surge of adrenaline.

Just a few more meters, and Amanir would surely hear her.

"Amanir!!"

The figure shifted at her shout, confirming it wasn't just a rock formation.

It really was Amanir.

Swoosh—!

Alana’s eyes went wide as the silhouette vanished into thin air.

She feared she was losing her mind until a cold chill raced down her spine.

She looked up instinctively and saw the figure plummeting toward her like a falling star.

"Amanir...?"