The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1838: Not His Friend

Previously on The Invincible Full-Moon System...

Rex faced Void, the Dark Archangel and brother to the slain Stelios, who accused him of supporting rebellions, allying with Demons, stealing lands, and tarnishing angelic reputation through fratricide. As Morgana attempted a stealthy assault on Rex from behind, he countered fiercely, revealing he had consumed Stelios's flesh to heal and displaying the fallen angel's wings. Using his empowered Inevitable Death, Rex severed Morgana's Angel bloodline, transforming her completely into a Spirit and weakening her profoundly. He then threatened Void with the annihilation of the entire Dark Angel lineage, intensifying their blood feud before Void vanished, leaving Rex wary of further dangers.

Morgana longed to utter a few words, yet forcing them past her lips proved incredibly difficult.

Intense struggle gripped her.

The dilution and erasure of the Angel blood within her represented no easy ordeal. Visibly, her looks and abilities had diminished greatly. Yet during this ordeal, the mental pressure inflicted upon her was immense.

It seemed as though her skull was being squeezed from every direction, teetering on the verge of bursting apart.

She yearned to plead with Rex to halt the agony. To banish this torment entirely.

Since he had triggered this suffering in her, he ought to possess the power to reverse it at his discretion.

Indeed, she would grovel if begging was required to earn his compassion.

At this juncture, pride offered no salvation, so she saw no reason to cling to it fiercely. It held no value.

Deep within, Morgana sensed the truth. Long before death could seize her, her sanity would shatter under the strain, leaving her as a vacant, breathing shell. That fate repulsed her. She refused to let it define her conclusion.

Unable to voice anything, she fixed her gaze on Rex, desperate to draw his focus.

In that instant, she caught the mutterings escaping Rex's lips.

Morgana overheard his incredulous grumbling about how everyone sought his demise. It ignited a urge in her to shout that his stubborn desire for control caused all this. But then a detail caught her eye.

Though Rex shook his head and let out a sigh, his expression betrayed no distress.

Rather, it revealed compassion.

'Could he truly pity his foes? Does he genuinely believe himself unbeatable?!'

Unaware of Morgana's inner turmoil, Rex moved toward the lingering portal fragment. "Hmm, this could prove useful for Dorn in crafting the portal. Yet the technique belongs solely to the Angels—I'm skeptical. Surely the Sky People employ a superior approach."

Rex resolved to dismantle it.

Should it fail to aid his goals, the portal had no right to persist.

Admittedly, its energy was fully depleted, and construction remained in its infancy, but Rex refused to bear the risk of leaving it unattended. Someone else might exploit it, sparking further complications.

Elimination stood as the optimal solution for such an item.

Clang—!

"Fuck!" Rex grunted while shaking his hand, discovering the portal's toughness surpassed any prior strike from his fist. "Last I knew, my strength attribute far exceeds its former level. Just how durable is this?"

He anticipated expending extra force to shatter it, but not to such a degree.

Finally, he rested his palm against it. "System, what's the way to demolish it?"

<Scanning...>

<Notice: the incomplete portal links to the Light Tunnel, the convergence point of energies from the Spirit Realm and Mortal Realm. This fusion yields a structure tougher than any material in either realm>

Upon the System's response, Rex's form pivoted gradually.

His features hardened as his stare settled on Morgana's ashen visage.

Noticing she had captured Rex's regard at last, Morgana summoned all her remaining strength to articulate.

"Spare me," she implored through her constricted throat. "Grant me mercy now, and my life belongs to you." Crimson liquid trickled from her mouth as the torment surged. "I'll preserve the empire. I'll rally the dispersed nobles and render the empire a subordinate to yours."

Rex advanced toward her deliberately.

One deliberate step after another.

Each footfall appeared to rattle the entire world.

Morgana desired to flee, to halt it all, yet events had inevitably progressed to their end.

Her destiny now rested solely in Rex's grasp.

Rex softly raised her chin. For a fleeting moment, she imagined a possibility. Regardless of a man's might, the drive to expand dominion persists eternally. Even divine beings fall prey to this impulse.

A thriving empire in the Spirit Realm presented an opportunity too tempting to ignore.

And Morgana's assessment proved accurate.

Only shortly before, Rex had no intention of ending her, viewing her as a vital element for the empire. A figure capable of consolidating the nobles, at minimum until a successor emerged. Naturally, the Crown Prince might serve as an alternative.

Yet Rex understood Morgana far better than the Crown Prince.

Her placement upon the throne offered greater security overall.

Linking the Clarentium Empire to the Haeltara Empire aligned with his ambitions.

The Spirit Realm, ravaged by the Black Right, bore undeniable scars across its expanse. Nevertheless, its bounties eclipsed those of the homeland—or would, pending the Mortal Realm's full awakening and restoration to past splendor.

Rex aimed to leverage the Spirit Realm strategically.

A domain for gathering resources, accelerating his allied nation's progress beyond previous limits.

However, his resolve shifted now.

Fortune favored the Crown Prince, it seemed.

Bam—!

Rex's fist collided brutally with Morgana's face, hurling her aside in stunned disbelief.

She skidded along the floor, desperately gulping air.

One cheek ballooned immediately, while her mouth's inner tissues fractured, flooding it with blood. The loss of her Angel bloodline left her frail, amplifying every blow's impact beyond the ordinary.

Had Dominar survived, she might have countered with the Reap and Sow Echo.

Absent his aid, vulnerability defined her completely.

"No, wait!" Morgana cried out. Terror now clouded her gaze, stripping away all traces of elegance or majesty. "You doubt my word? Fine. I'll request Marquess Raka to apply his Slave Echo, binding me as your servant! Simply extend mercy!"

"Morgana, Morgana, Morgana..." Rex chuckled derisively as he closed in once more. "You truly embody a marionette unfit for empress duties. You ought to grasp the protocol. When the emperor falls, his circle follows. The empress perishes first.

"That's the toll for your opulent existence."

Grasping her slim chances, Morgana attempted to scramble backward, but her pace lagged.

Rex had already arrived, seizing her by the locks.

A powerful punch burrowed into her torso, fracturing ribs and roiling her organs as she soared back, crashing against rock. Blood mingled with spittle erupted from her mouth. In that split instant, every regrettable decision replayed vividly in her mind.

It all traced back to trusting Stelios against Rex.

Her aspiration had always been ascension to Angel status.

That dream ignited from the day her adoptive parents welcomed her.

When Stelios reached out, she viewed it as her path to fulfillment. Yet it proved a catastrophic error. Refraining from involvement might have spared her this doom.

Morgana inched away on hands and knees.

The precipice loomed nearer now.

Plunging over and triggering her laid traps could still afford her escape.

Yet that fleeting optimism crumbled as Rex clutched her hair anew.

"Mer-Mercy..." She pleaded once more, pressing palms together in supplication while tears streamed.

"You betrayed me to the Archangel of Knives. You ambushed me post-battle, when wounds already plagued me. And this betrayal—to curry favor with a lord who abandoned you in crisis," Rex drew her visage near, drawing in the scent of blood staining her features.

He grinned. "After such deeds, do you still claim deserving of mercy?"

Though survival burned within her, no retort came.

Any who wronged her thus would have met swift ends long prior.

"Figured as much," Rex scoffed amid the quiet.

"B-But you're better than me..." Morgana uttered in desperation. "I sense it—you surpass me at your core."

Rex met her stare head-on. His demeanor evolved from threatening to sheer bewilderment. Her assertion baffled him truly. "What makes you say that?" he queried, cocking his head. "I've never claimed to be the hero type."

"Kahkk!"

Without pity, Rex clamped her throat, hoisted her aloft, and tightened his grip.

With the System deeming this the sole path, he committed fully.

For several agonizing seconds, she thrashed and resisted. Fists struck his features, feet lashed his frame, teeth sank into his limbs, all in frantic bids for release. Such efforts left Rex unscathed. He averted his gaze—not from unease, but to pinpoint the Shade Crawlers' positions.

Rex reflected on his Race Evolution Quest.

While pondering subsequent actions, a searing warmth scorched his hands.

He glanced back at Morgana, startled to note her veins pulsing purple.

Not due to suffocation, but another force.

"Chaos?!"

Rex jerked back instinctively, then steadied to avoid yielding ground. Rather than withdraw, he intensified the pressure. The Red Dawn of Kaiser flared in his free hand. He attuned his senses—and located her heartbeat, binding it via the Law of Inevitability.

Acting on impulse, he thrust his talons forward.

Yet his strike halted mere inches from piercing her torso, then her vital organ.

A memory surfaced.

The wish that his comrade fared well beyond.

"Edward..." Rex peered into Morgana's eyes, hunting for a sign. A presence. "Is that you?"

Despite his relentless pursuit of strength to breach the Chaos Realm, Rex recognized Edward's steeper path. Tormented by that monstrosity. Unmade. Potentially twisted irreparably. Beyond the Fifthborn's worst.

Should Edward truly connect from afar, Rex refused to squander the moment.

He craved guidance from Edward on next steps.

Insights for hastening entry to the Chaos Realm and effecting his salvation.

Morgana's form seized violently, purple veins now cloaking her from crown to sole. Dark violet patterns etched beneath her eyes. Her once-pallid lips bore a purple tint.

Suddenly, the spasms ceased completely.

Morgana's entire being fell motionless.

Rex continued scrutinizing her eyes, alternating between left and right. Shock gripped him upon glimpsing an infinite chaos mirrored within. A domain of utter disorder. In that revelation, Rex realized the entity beholding him transcended Morgana.

It wasn't Edward either.

Something alien. Incomprehensible to his psyche.

Every instinct blared warnings in harmony.

<Warning!>

<Notice: the user possesses no prospect of vanquishing the entity inhabiting Morgana's form>

<Run!>

Myriad alerts inundated his sight, each pulsing crimson.

All urged immediate flight.

Rex had braced for Morgana's ordeal to conclude, leaving him utterly unprepared for the barrage. Swiftly, he shook off the stupor and plunged his claws into her chest, pulverizing the heart.

His razor-sharp talons sliced through tissue and skeleton effortlessly, emerging from the rear.

The barrier behind fractured under the force.

Yet Morgana's eyes remained locked on him. No indication of demise claiming her essence.

"If your heart refuses to pulse for existence," Her voice rang guttural and ethereal, layering as if a chorus of ten intoned together. "Gaze into my eyes."