The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1820: Recuperating with Blood

<Sudden Quest finished!>

<Rewards are being calculated...>

<Alert: the user faces a dire situation!>

<Sky Judgment has overpowered Regeneration>

<Life and voidal energy scatter from the leftover power of the Sky Judgment>

<Every Soul Artifact shows cracks!>

<To leverage the Blood Moon’s influence, spill blood, bask in the moonlight, and consume flesh to boost regeneration and speed up recovery>

<Alert: the user’s Spirit Body will perish in four hours>

Rex forced his eyes open and stared fiercely at the ground above. Blood bubbled in his throat as he struggled to shift his body, but nothing responded except his right hand; the rest stayed completely numb.

Agony surged through him, yet it merely fueled his fury by challenging his pride.

He scanned the system alerts and gripped a fistful of soil tightly.

His claws sliced into the dirt effortlessly, as if it were soft, and the pressure shattered the stones without effort.

Everything unfolded in a blur.

Having bellowed in victory to declare his success, he had etched the mark on Sky City according to the sudden quest. The task proved straightforward. He simply triggered his Blank form and drew forth an inner force, unleashing it toward the earth.

Rex sustained the effort briefly, forming the Invincibility Symbol.

A furious, star-like eye emblem. He believed it served as the Invincibility Symbol for the Anger Stratum, recalling its appearance on Ignatius’ form. With that, the sudden quest concluded, and he sensed the Highseat of Invincibility stirring.

Not through touch, but in his mind.

As if something bloomed within his mental realm.

Then came the system’s warning.

He failed to dodge the strike in time, though the White Mask reacted swiftly. It protected them just before the beam hit. Without that shield, Rex—and the serpent too—would have been erased entirely by now.

Undeniably, the beam traveled at light’s velocity.

Far too swift to follow.

"Huaarkh!"

His organs compressed inside, forcing blood up his throat and out through his lips.

Rex gasped for air before chuckling.

A rough, raspy chuckle lacking true amusement. Just a savage thrill at the Sky Cities’ quick response. He knew five such cities dotted the vast realm. Given the Spirit Realm’s likely expanse beyond the Mortal Realm, he figured aid from others would arrive slowly.

Particularly with their immense distances apart.

He misjudged.

The Sky Judgment resembled a devastating erasure beam, dissolving all in its path. Even presently, the spot it had brushed on his skin buzzed with unrelenting torment. His innate regeneration waged a futile battle against it, prompting the system’s advice to assist.

Yet movement eluded him.

Luckily, fortune favored him.

Rex stretched toward the slain voidal knight and ripped into its meat with his claws.

Next, he crammed the bitter flesh past his teeth and chewed vigorously.

"See what I mean?" Rex murmured with a wicked smirk, thinking back to his words for Dorn. Sensation returned to his limbs gradually, "It’s always tough to make the defeated grasp reality without utter destruction."

Over five minutes passed before he managed to rise to a sitting position.

To be honest, Rex anticipated the other Gatekeepers hunting him down to confirm his demise.

Their absence suggested either they hadn’t followed, or the blast had hurled him so distant that pursuit continued. Rex’s eyes drifted sideways. The serpent rested still; its form coiled protectively around him like a dark barrier.

No pulse reached his ears. Not the slightest quiver. It had perished.

Yet revival awaited it, undoubtedly.

As Rex rose to his feet, a shadow descended upon him, topped by a pale mask.

"Our... deal... is... done."

"Hmm, the night hasn’t ended yet."

Rex tilted his head upward at the White Mask and snarled.

He had surrendered the Crown Embryo to the White Mask, yet slipped something extra inside.

A safeguard from the Shop designed to detonate should the White Mask act slyly.

Evidently, it detected the trap and now insisted on its removal.

"Sky... is... destroyed."

"Our deal ends when... I declare it done."

"Sky... is... destroyed."

Again, the White Mask uttered those exact words. This time, it advanced nearer.

Rex tsked, realizing escalation meant combat.

Time pressed urgently. Four hours remained to strengthen his regeneration ere his Spirit Body crumbled, yanking his soul back to the Mortal Realm. Return was impossible for now. Thus, yielding seemed the only option.

Though the White Mask’s company offered advantages, its departure worked.

No fool would challenge him post his feat, and for the rest, his alliance with the White Mask sufficed. That standing allowed safe travels without constant vigilance.

At minimum, until the Sky People mustered true force against him.

Rex thrust his arm forward and plunged his hand into the White Mask’s torso.

He extracted a silver pearl from the Crown Embryo before flicking his wrist.

Feeling the change, the White Mask faded into mist and darted into the cavern wall, fleeing the site and abandoning the serpent without hesitation. Rex shook his head; a bitter snort escaped at the display.

He pivoted toward the crater’s inclined edge.

The beam’s angled impact created an exit path without scaling.

A sharp, upward incline, yet navigable. Vastly preferable to clambering with a frail frame.

After an arduous trek, Rex emerged topside and surveyed the surroundings. Unfamiliar landscape enveloped him. Massive stone pillars thrust toward the heavens around him. Gentle fog swirled at their waists, adhering to outcrops and gathering in the depths below.

Undoubtedly, distance separated him from his prior location.

This might lie beyond the empire’s borders entirely.

From afar, the steady murmur of cascading waters reached him.

Rex drew a deep breath, channeling the lingering vigor from consuming the voidal knight to invoke the Blood Moon Echo. Fresh blood trickled from his mouth, but he pressed on until the crimson artifact materialized.

He aimed the Blood Moon Echo toward the sky, gradually splitting the clouds.

Beyond lay the Blood Moon, now free to bathe him in its glow.

Gatekeepers probably trailed him still. Cleaving the clouds for the Blood Moon’s blessing ranked as utter folly by all accounts. Yet the system’s scan confirmed no elite Spirits within ten miles.

Risk proved acceptable.

A brief exposure to the Blood Moon would restore mobility.

Once upright fully, Rex headed toward the waterfalls.

Water typically signaled vitality. Voidal monsters, however, fed on life force, so the falls could stand barren.

Nevertheless, Rex chose to investigate and tempt fate.

Blood must spill to harness the Blood Moon ere it faded.

For nearly four hours, Rex recovered.

Recovery involved bloodshed and feasting on remains.

Voidal monsters lurked at the waterfall and its vast lake, submerged within. He attempted to exploit them, but aquatic speed outpaced his. Though he felled several, the pace fell short of sufficient healing.

He ascended the falls and, to his surprise, discovered a cavern concealed behind.

Within stretched a vast, twisting maze of passages teeming with diverse voidal monsters.

Predominantly voidal knights, interspersed with voidal lords.

Rex could initiate carnage there, but tight confines hindered him. Open ground beneath the Blood Moon suited better. Thus, he prowled stealthily, aura suppressed, slipping through the cave’s winding paths.

Hunted within their lair for the first time, no doubt.

Uncertain of voidal reproduction, he sought their offspring. None appeared.

Instead, a bigger female emerged, a ghoul resembling his earlier kill, slightly reduced in size but throbbing faintly. System analysis marked her as a brood-carrier.

She birthed parasitic voidal spiders for reconnaissance.

Rex judged her vital and lunged from the dark.

He snapped her limbs and crushed them underfoot, eliciting a wretched cry.

In the tunnel, her wail reverberated, drawing the pack.

Rex dashed outward, hauling her along as the walls shook. Dozens of heartbeats thundered nearby. A backward glance revealed countless luminous eyes.

A sly grin spread across his features as he vaulted from the cave and pierced the waterfall.

Enraged voidal monsters trailed, incensed by the theft.

His inner fury lingered, the Blood Moon persisting.

Proper regeneration remained elusive, though.

Every injury added strain to his healing. Upon landing, he reverted to human shape, binding his wrath into a steely core. He faced the swarm not with talons, but honed techniques.

Swordplay, steps, and punches.

Each action aimed to conserve energy and evade contact.

Rex ensured lethal blows in single hits.

Wielding the Maw of Oblivion, that came easily.

Battle clamor lured more voidal beasts from the cave. He had dispatched most pursuers, but a new wave charging only broadened his smile.

His canines sharpened as he bellowed at the approaching mass, primed for renewed combat.

The carnage raged intensely.

Rex dodged and countered lesser foes. Encircled completely, victory stayed his. Fallen bodies mounted around him, impeding motion. Ultimately, he stood heaving, soaked in gore.

Observers might mistake him for a voidal beast himself.

No moment for delay.

Exhaustion notwithstanding, he consumed the cadavers sequentially beneath the Blood Moon.

By the four-hour close, he scarcely purged the Sky Judgment’s remnants.

Now, he cleansed his grimy form in a minor lake adjacent to the larger. The Blood Moon concluded peacefully, sans Kaiser’s interference via those crystals. "It’s surprising that he didn’t hammer me with a vicious backlash from those Blood Moon Crystals. Maybe he’s ashamed?"

Remembering Kaiser’s aid to a Half-Angel through his might, Rex figured shame fit.

Peer Lunirich Gods could mock such an act.

"No matter," Rex tilted back and immersed to his neck. "This is really nice..."

Suddenly, the atmosphere altered.

He snapped his eyes open, peering about for changes.

Guided by gut feeling, he rescanned via the system, eyes bulging.

<Alert: starlight barrier detected.>

"Starlight?" Rex froze briefly, then dread sank in. "Fuck... How did she find me?"