The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1799: We’d Be Friends

"Huh...?"

The earth seemed to crumble beneath him, sending his heart plummeting into an endless abyss.

Haxel blinked rapidly, his gaze following the contours of the enigmatic woman's silhouette.

He strained to recall her identity, yet his mind drew a complete blank.

Throughout all his years, he'd never crossed paths with a foe of such magnitude. Absolutely never. This ought to mark their initial direct confrontation, yet her eyes burned with a venomous loathing that forced him to doubt his own recollections.

"I just don't get it..." he croaked out. Rivulets of perspiration slid across his forehead. "I have no idea who you are."

The impulse to run surged within him fiercely, though his retreat was blocked by the unyielding well.

Escape appeared utterly impossible.

"You might not recognize me, but I'm fully aware of your actions," the woman replied deliberately. Her tone quivered, as if barely containing a storm of fury. The mere view of Haxel ignited her wrath—though the reason eluded him entirely. "What makes you think you're so superior... Sir Haxel?"

Rumble...

Tremors started rippling through the whole structure.

Her locks whipped wildly like animated shades as her energy erupted, enveloping her form in an abyss of obscurity, before it spread to taint the walls, ground, and roof in waves of utter blackness. Rather than a mere release, it acted like a devouring force.

Her essence was literally consuming the surrounding area.

Yet what chilled him deepest was the total lack of any recognizable force emanating from her.

No vital essence. No Echo. Not a trace of a Soul Artifact's presence.

This immense strength originated solely from within her.

Driven by fury, she hurled Arran’s remains against the barrier, transforming him into a mere shade upon collision.

In a flash, muscle, skeleton, and vital fluid morphed into darkness.

A demonstration of freakish might.

Desperate to avoid clashing with this unknown adversary, Haxel infused his frame with vital essence and lunged toward the barrier. Energy burst on contact, yet his stare grew wide in shock. The barrier held firm.

Her dominion had engulfed the entire dwelling, severing all links to the world beyond.

Clenching his jaw, Haxel called forth his Soul Artifact.

A massive blade appeared in his grasp while he fixed a steely glare on the woman, prepared to battle until the end.

With things reaching this point, he resolved to resist with every ounce of his vitality.

"I have no clue about your identity," he declared, clutching the hilt more firmly. "I'm clueless about whatever offense I caused you, but I won't fall without a fight. Actually," He ran his tongue along the edge—his gaze sparking with a dark, insane gleam. "Whatever it was, I wish I'd made it even more severe!"

"More severe...?" the woman grinned wickedly. "How fortunate for you. You get the opportunity to escalate it."

"What...?" Haxel’s forehead creased in bewilderment.

At that moment, a chill raced along his back as he detected yet another presence beyond.

This one radiated overwhelming authority, and it felt... recognizable.

An energy he could never erase from memory.

"Understand, I'm merely the hound sent to track you," the woman went on. She extended her forefinger toward the entrance behind Haxel. Her grin broadened at the terror etching the disgraced knight’s expression. "He's the true harbinger of your doom."

Haxel’s pulse faltered.

In a panic, he dashed to the closest pane to peer outward.

And true to the nightmare, a sturdy-built figure advanced toward the building.

Rex advanced along the dusty path with measured, purposeful strides.

Shadows cloaked his visage in the gloom, casting him as the embodiment of mortality's end. Every footfall vibrated the terrain. Or so it seemed to Haxel, as if the realm itself quaked with Rex’s nearing approach, unhurried in the least.

Confident that the target had no path to flee.

Haxel spun back. Cornered like a trapped beast, he bolted from the chamber and barreled into the kitchen barrier, brushing by Linthia who made no move to halt him. Still, the outcome stayed unchanged. Shadowy force absorbed his assault, leaving the barrier unscathed.

Next, he bolted for the rear exit.

It was secured.

Shoving by Linthia once more, he ascended to the upper level and spotted additional corpses scattered about.

But concern for them was the last thing on his mind. He trampled over the forms and attempted to shatter the pane. The overhead. The side. All efforts proved futile.

Brak—!

Haxel jerked back at the crash of the main entrance bursting inward.

He scanned desperately, perspiration already sheening his flesh in his hunt for an exit, but realization dawned that no options remained. Hopelessness seized him as he flattened against the alcove, silently pleading for the barrier to engulf him whole.

Thud...

A weighty boot echoed through.

Followed by utter quiet.

They say moments stretch when death looms near.

Haxel had dismissed such notions before, but now those mere five seconds of stillness dragged on forever.

The strain and dread peaked so intensely it seemed a cardiac rupture might claim him first.

Suddenly, his sight blurred.

The floor engulfed him, and briefly, descent gripped him. Moments later, air whipped his form, the dwelling’s insides streaking by in a haze until he slammed into the barrier with force.

Contrary to his prior try, fissures spiderwebbed across the surface from the blow.

The event unfolded so swiftly that awareness hit only as his torso shuddered from the collision.

Amid his hazy sight, a figure loomed opposite, positioned next to Linthia.

Ears buzzed relentlessly, vision swam as crimson trailed from his brow and over his sight. He observed Linthia incline deferentially and utter words to the beast housed in human guise, making those scarlet orbs flare.

Rex’s stare locked onto Haxel’s.

He cocked his head while his mouth twisted into a sinister smirk prior to advancing.

Gasping raggedly, Haxel stretched toward his massive blade, lying nearby.

Lifting his arm ached terribly, yet he required his Soul Artifact.

Mere breaths from grasping it, a boot crushed down.

In an instant, the Soul Artifact fragmented alongside the grimy pale flooring.

"RAARGHKK!!"

Agony ripped from his throat like inferno flames. The torment of his Soul Artifact’s destruction was unbearable. Beyond mere physical assault, it ravaged his essence, unleashing jolts that convulsed his frame in spasms.

Every Spirit understood this suffering defied description.

Far worse than oblivion.

Shattering a Soul Artifact, even inferior ones, proved incredibly arduous.

For Rex to pulverize his with such ease bordered on the impossible.

Rex seized a fistful of Haxel’s locks and yanked him upward from the debris, slamming him into the barrier.

Bam—!

His knuckles connected solidly with Haxel’s features.

Cheek and mandible bones shattered, while the barrier behind fractured too.

Rex’s eyes slitted. He angled his head, scrutinizing the savage harm he’d wrought on Haxel’s countenance, and the subsequent head shake signaled dissatisfaction before a second strike burrowed into the marred visage.

Crack!

Merely a pair of blows, and Haxel’s countenance lay ruined.

Nasal bridge snapped. Right facial half demolished. Mandible hung slack.

"You ought to have finished me off when opportunity allowed." Rex’s murmur chilled like frost on Haxel’s lobe. His mouth nearly grazed the flesh. "Did you truly believe I perished?" His large palm twisted Haxel’s skull level, compelling attention. "Given all you witnessed from me... you're an idiot for assuming my demise. That safety enveloped you."

Rex released his hold and retreated a pace.

He observed Haxel’s frail form slump downward, folding into a supplicant’s pose.

"P-Please..." His words scraped hoarsely, mangled by the slack mandible. He lifted his functional arm toward Rex. Pleading. "Have mercy."

"Did my pleas for aid in fleeing the rift alter anything? No. Zero shift." Rex clamped one hand on his wrist and the other on his frame. Effort was minimal on his part. Yet Haxel’s resistance amounted to nothing.

His fingers clawed toward Rex’s visage in a futile shove, but it availed naught.

"I vowed pursuit, and fulfill it I shall."

Linthia winced at the gradual crunch of fracturing bone and rending flesh in a deliberate tug.

With a sharp crack, Rex wrenched Haxel’s primary limb free from its socket.

Splash—!

Crimson arced across the surface, drenching it in scarlet.

A faint moan was all Haxel mustered, strength for cries long depleted.

"Ironically, your rescue would have forged alliance by now." Rex rose fully and snatched a cloth nearby to cleanse his gore-smeared palms. He glanced through the pane at the tranquil evening. "The lady you cherish turned against me. I'd have eagerly aided in her downfall, yet pettiness gripped you.

"April never wronged you," He wagged his head and sneered. "What a pity."

Back then, his sole request involved Haxel escorting April away.

Absent that, friction with Haxel would have been minimal.

Countless had plotted his end, and by now, such malice barely stirred him. Yet threats to his circle always ignited fury—he made no secret of it.

He invited attempts on himself.

Regrettably, arrogance blinded many, leading them to overstep as Haxel had.

Rex pivoted and noted Haxel weeping.

For a berserker, this display stunned.

Berserkers grinned defiantly at demise’s stare, not sniveling like a forsaken child.

Maybe the blame lay with him.

Shattering Haxel’s Soul Artifact had also fractured the Berserker of Skartold’s Echo, severing its hold and reducing the bold knight to this broken shell. "Cease the tears," Rex instructed, crouching once more. "It's beneficial. Morgana will pursue you, allowing a fresh beginning alongside her."

"Best wishes," Rex plunged his palm into Haxel’s torso and extracted the vital core.

In a heartbeat, Haxel’s frame slackened utterly.

<Super Berserk Quest has been completed!>

Rex exhaled in ease.

The lingering Super Berserk Quest had gnawed at his peace constantly, like a persistent bind constricting his core and barring true calm. Completion lifted that burden entirely.

Even from distance, Rex detected the seething animosity and malice radiating from Haxel.

It manifested as a distinct scent his senses captured, alongside a remote shimmer his vision discerned. Rex had queried the System on this before, learning it stemmed from attaining the Blank of the Anger Stratum.

Eagerness burned to explore the Absolute Effect, yet duties demanded precedence.

Tasks only he could handle delayed his review of the guide.

Rex tucked the pulsing core between his teeth, savoring the burst of crimson across his palate. Delight at Haxel’s core’s flavor caught him off guard, but he soon registered Linthia’s stare.

"What is it?" He queried, arching an eyebrow. "Something on my face?"

"Forgive my inquisitiveness, but does it taste that good?" Linthia inquired, fixated on the stains.

Rex typically concealed such acts in solitude, especially during Mortal Realm days, but that inhibition had vanished. Transformation had reshaped him, and now curiosity tempted her to probe.

"To my palate, it matches roasted flesh. The core stands as the prime portion," Rex dismissed with a shoulder lift as he moved toward the exit. "Seems revolting, right?"

"No, Your Majesty. Quite the opposite," Linthia denied, shaking her head.

Monstrous devouring appeared grotesque, but not when Rex partook.

So her thoughts ran.

"Your Majesty," She hailed as Rex departed. "You should inspect the upper level."

Rex gestured at the steps, eyeing Linthia as if confirming it meant this dwelling’s upper floor, then climbed. Immediately, his focus snagged on several forms clad in superior plating littering the space.

Each reached Master Immortal Spirit tier, impressively potent for such a confined realm.

"Who might these be?"