The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1873 1873: Not the Spies

With unwavering confidence, Shadow stepped into the empty realm.

Committing a kill inside Larta City carries substantial danger. Even though he was fully prepared for such an act, the odds of getting captured and executed right then and there were too high, making him reluctant to risk it except in dire need.

Moreover, once a criminal gets apprehended, their background gets thoroughly traced.

Soul examined. Memories scanned. Links verified.

All individuals connected to the offender would face interrogation, and based on the crime's gravity, they might suffer punishment—or even execution—beside the culprit. The group backing Shadow seeks to steer clear of that.

Thus, his strategy involved merely injecting the target with a serum to render them unconscious and calling it finished.

However, with the target located in an isolated realm, the danger drops to virtually zero.

Whether dead or alive held no importance. Securing the target's corpse would fulfill the mission.

'Hmm, those two aren't mere mortals. From their weak divinity, they're scarcely Demigods. I can disregard them,' Shadow stationed himself next to the portal, arms folded, scheming. 'The serum offers the neat method. A stab to the heart proves easier. Yet perhaps… I disable him initially. Then employ those women to extract his secrets. Inflict agony before the finish.'

'I'm certain the organization will value it,' A smile crept across his face as he settled on his course of action.

Shadow unsheathed the two blades strapped to his back.

He rolled his neck with a crack and pressed a button on the sword's hilt, releasing a measured stream of greenish fluid from it that enveloped the whole blade. A deadly toxin designed to paralyze the victim completely from head to toe.

Even if the target lost speech ability, Shadow possessed ways to communicate.

Provided the target's consciousness remained unharmed, dialogue could still occur.

Yet just as he prepared to advance, the target's head swiveled gradually.

And astonishingly, against all odds, his gaze fixed straight on Shadow.

Crimson eyes gleamed, mirroring a vast sea of blood capable of overwhelming with a mere glance. At that instant, his Stealth Oustification remained engaged, bestowing flawless invisibility. No aura. No odor. No noise. Zilch.

Regardless of Shadow's attempts to shift position, those crimson eyes remained locked on him.

Fifteen hundred verified kills under his belt. Among them, one hundred Pale Defenders, including three officers.

Within the organization's ranks, Shadow and Jessie held third-class assassin status—a rank they earned from scratch across millennia, taking on missions so perilous they evaded death countless times.

But right then, beneath that piercing crimson gaze, icy fear crept along Shadow's spine.

'I'm supposed to be completely invisible,' his mind raced, gulping hard. 'How is he spotting me?!'

On pure reflex, he pulled out a golden coin etched with a skull and tossed it into the air.

He observed the coin shift to red before dissolving into blood.

That vision chilled his blood utterly, 'He's damaged a God previously…? What in the—?!'

Aware now that Rex posed a vastly greater threat than expected, Shadow spun back toward the portal to flee. He had entered via the portal anticipating the role of predator, yet reality proved otherwise.

He held no position as the predator.

Rex claimed that role.

Bam—!

A powerful strike smashed into the side of his face, hurling him through the air. He slammed into the shallow water and rebounded.

Shadow regained control immediately—his form pulsed with a force beyond Rex's detection. He was invoking something. Rex couldn't confirm it precisely, but instinct and Shadow's arm motions suggested as much.

Rex refused to allow Shadow to finish his action.

In a flash, swifter than an eye's flicker, Rex closed the gap effortlessly.

Claws pierced Shadow's abdomen and emerged from behind, arching his frame.

A gush of blood erupted from his mouth, soaking the purple shawl.

The world blurred into red. Shadow seized Rex's arm and thrust both legs forward, expelling the claws while flipping backward in a somersault. Upon landing, his figure fragmented into ten clones formed entirely of violet smoke.

They scattered in various paths, yet Rex's form flickered once more.

Engaging Primordial Step skill alongside Voidal Moonflow Acceleration boosted his velocity over twice the usual. He surged even quicker, halving all clones before they could react.

Shadow took another hit and plummeted like a shooting star.

His fall shattered the terrain.

Rex offered no respite for thought or breath. Before Shadow could collect himself and rise, Rex was upon him, within arm's length—unleashing a barrage of strikes. Shadow struggled to counter Rex but failed.

Despite his human shape, Shadow couldn't match the pace.

Once he shifted into his werewolf form, the power gap widened immensely.

A fist broke through defenses, smashing his ribs. A ruthless low kick sliced in accurately, cracking his shin.

Over ten seconds, hundreds of strikes flew back and forth, but only Rex's blows truly connected.

Clang—!

Shadow thrust forward, his blade targeting Rex's throat. Rex deflected the sword skyward, sending it whirling from Shadow's grasp. He seized it mid-flight and rammed it hilt-deep into Shadow's belly. Let him savor his own venom.

He shoved it harder, gazing deep into Shadow's eyes like he could pierce to the spirit within.

"I tolerated you people for keeping watch over me," He drove the sword in further. "But you crossed the line."

Exploiting Rex's fixed stare, Shadow drew his second sword and slashed at Rex's neck. Yet at that very moment, Rex's eyes darted right. A red energy—utterly undetectable to Shadow—froze the blade just an inch from Rex's skin.

Rex lunged for the sword.

He pulverized Shadow's hands until the weapon clattered to the ground with a shrill clang.

"Do you think you can stroll in here and tamper with my business as if you own me?" Rex whispered in frosty tones. His fangs clamped onto Shadow's hand, piercing flesh brutally as the assassin's howl ripped through the realm. "Tell the High Lord my patience isn't endless. I'll represent him according to our pact. But respect is non-negotiable."

"Do you hear me?" His grasp clenched tighter, forcing blood to gush out. "Can you deliver?"

Right then, he glimpsed Shadow's face hidden behind the purple shawl.

He tore the shawl away, discovering Shadow's features were completely unknown.

This wasn't one of the spies. He should've scanned the stat window name tag from the beginning, but fury had temporarily clouded his mind. The sheer nerve of this trespasser, the sheer disrespect, had smothered his rationality. Now, with fresh blood drying on his palms, he understood it wasn't a spy.

"Who are you?" Rex demanded, confusion evident.

"I'd rather die," Shadow snarled in response, spewing blood onto Rex's face. "You won't get anything from me."

Rex showed no reaction.

He merely brushed the blood from his face and glared at Shadow.

The instant Shadow invaded the realm harboring ill intent, Rex had already resolved to end his life unconditionally. Evelyn and Gistella had been rattled badly, so no mercy for anyone who terrified them this way.

Furthermore, his blank realm's secret couldn't leak out. Not at this stage.

Shadow must die.

On top of that, he needed additional Godlings to consume for his impromptu quest.

Shadow's secrecy about his background changed nothing. Death was certain.

Rex's eyes roamed over Shadow, probing for any escape from the brink of doom. Divine-rank treasures littered the Primordial Meadow, rendering most things protective; assuming the assassin lacked backup would be idiotic.

Astonishingly, no such lifesaver turned up, yet a curious trinket did.

Hanging around his neck was a necklace featuring a purple pendant boasting a peculiar power.

It released a covert signal beacon, notifying whoever else donned a matching necklace.

"Oh…" Rex regarded the heaving Shadow and flashed a vicious grin.

Abruptly, he ripped off the necklace and scrutinized it.

"Give that back!" Shadow bellowed, his cry feeble. "Give that back to me!"

"A necklace sending signals to its twin wearer, meaning you're not solo…" Rex's finger prodded the pendant. Shadow's complexion drained as the gem started pulsing, its constant light faltering into erratic flashes. Activated. "If you refuse my questions, I'll track down your partner instead."

"Huh, try it if you can," Shadow scoffed.

Endless missions alongside Jessie ensured safeguards against every contingency.

Exclusively they knew their gadgets' communication protocol.

Shadow eyed the stuttering pendant with a derisive smirk.

'Skip the fifth pulse without another tap, and it'll fake an alert to Jessie,' Shadow relished inwardly. He was convinced Rex grasped only its basic signaling, clueless to the full operation.

Numerous necklaces offered comparable capabilities.

However, this particular one was customized solely for him and Jessie. No outsider could wield it.

Right when the fifth flicker struck, Shadow observed Rex pressing the pendant once more, stripping all color from his face. "What?" Rex cocked his head slightly. His lips curved up into a menacing crescent grin. "Do you think I can't use it? Unfortunately for you, I know everything."

Only then did Shadow genuinely regret ignoring Zev's warning to him and Jessie.

Rex wasn't some ordinary visitor from the lower realms.

He was freakishly perilous.

Drinking in the dread plastered across Shadow's face, Rex inched forward.

"Now…" He hissed threateningly. "While we wait for your friend to come rescue you, let's talk about how you can be invisible like that? Is it an Oustification? If it is, how did you even use it inside Larta City without being detected? I want to know.

"I suggest you answer me," Rex jabbed a finger at the portal. "Because your actions will decide what happens to that friend of yours…"

Meanwhile, just beyond the building's exterior.

Jessie loitered near the apartment structure, far from anxious. She'd paused at the ice cream vendor for a cone. Compared to the myriad missions she and Shadow had pulled off through the years, this one felt downright ordinary.

Scarcely hazardous in the least.

Eliminating a lower-realms visitor was routine work for them.

Apart from the irritation of handling it within Larta City, all was smooth.

Sure, she couldn't shake the nagging worry entirely, but that was expected.

This contract held high stakes for their standing in the organization—life or death.

Her brows knit in concern as her necklace started flickering, a dire omen. The fifth flicker confirmed it, drawing a sharp gasp from her. "Shadow needs backup…?" Fresh anxiety washed over her. "Is the mark truly that lethal?"

Shaking her head, she ducked into a quiet alley.

Once alone, she activated the pendant and vanished in a teleport.

She materialized in what appeared to be an emergency stairwell. The device sent her to the closest secure location near its twin, designed to avoid instant doom. Guided by the pendant's pull, she reached a door shortly.

The door stood unlocked.

Jessie eased inside and spotted the portal.

She drew a steel hilt, flicked it open, and a shimmering blue energy blade ignited.

In a flash, she dashed through the portal, scanning the area.

Before she could fully take in the scene, rough hands seized her head from behind.

With a brutal twist, those hands broke her neck.