The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1980: Purgation Duel Law

Vadyn thought they were doomed.

As much as she was thankful for Rex’s help, refusing to bow his head was a fatal mistake.

One that would also impact others around him.

But death did not come for them tonight.

To her surprise, she felt the cold weight of the Cluster Custodian’s gaze lift from their direction—sliding away like a receding tide. She dared to raise her head enough to look—and a gasp escaped her lips. She saw his back going further away, continuing on his approach to the source of the trouble.

No punishment for Rex, who dared to meet him in the eyes without permission.

’How...?’ Vadyn looked at Rex again, and in her eyes, he became a full stranger again. ’Anyone would be killed on the spot for staring at any of the Cluster Custodians brazenly, and yet, he was unharmed. Is his background that powerful? Who are you, Sir Rex?’

Davina and Lilliana were also surprised.

Only when the Cluster Custodian averted his gaze could the two finally breathe easily again.

Being demanded to stand their ground against such an entity was hard to fulfil.

In fact, the sisters were quite angry that Rex would even demand such an impossible task of them—as the other party was so much stronger than they were. Both of them knew that Rex was the chosen one that the Divine Saintess was talking about.

But this was no Spirit Realm—this was the God Realm. The Primordial Meadow.

Rex shouldn’t feel any special in a far bigger world than this.

Yet, they stood corrected.

Even in the face of such a powerful entity, Rex still remained someone who couldn’t be trifled with.

It was still shocking for them as Rex should only be an emperor from the Mortal Realm.

Now, they once again felt like they didn’t know Rex at all, and that left a bad taste in their mouths.

Like the personification of a phantom, the Cluster Custodian stood at the heart of the hall. His cold gaze settled on the bowing High Lord Ursa—lingering with an almost as if he were determining something in his mind.

"Are you the one who owns this place?"

The voice that emerged was surprisingly high-pitched and unstable, yet still astral.

It resonated through the ballroom like a bell struck in another dimension.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down High Lord Ursa’s face, and his back began to be drenched in sweat.

"Yes, this is my humble home."

"You should’ve opened an entrance for me to enter..."

Crack—!

An unbelievable amount of pressure weighed down on High Lord Ursa, slamming him to his knees.

Even the ground cracked open under the pressure.

But the crushing pressure was extremely selective—unbelievable in its intensity for it to be able to put High Lord Ursa on his knees, yet utterly invisible to everyone else in the ballroom. Even as High Lord Ursa gasped for breath and resisted being crushed, the other guests stood untouched.

Such a level of power control from the Cluster Custodian was scary.

For the other guests not to feel even the tremor in the air showed that they were completely outclassed.

"I shouldn’t have needed to open up a way to enter this dimension."

"I-I didn’t know you were coming!"

"You didn’t know I was coming? I passed your enforcers, and you didn’t know I was coming?"

High Lord Usa gritted his teeth.

He was too focused on High Lord Rashal that he may have missed any report from the enforcers about the Cluster Custodian approaching his pocket dimension. But inside, he still cursed his enforcers as they should find a way to inform him if it was a Cluster Custodian.

"I was wrong. I will make sure not to do it again!"

"For an old High Lord, you should know a transgression against me costs dearly."

Of course, High Lord Ursa knows.

But he was hoping that the Cluster Custodian would be in a good mood and let it slide.

Since it came to this, he had no other choice.

"I’m sorry, son."

"Hmm?!"

Slash—!

In the blink of an eye, High Lord Ursa coated his hand with immortal energy and hacked it towards his eldest son kneeling beside him. His hand cuts through flesh, muscle, and bones without much difficulty, like cutting through butter with a freshly sharpened knife.

Even though it was his eldest son, the one he was proud of the most, he did it without hesitation.

A scream rang from behind—High Lord Ursa’s wife screamed in horror at the sight.

Ignoring the agony of his wife, he grabbed his eldest son’s head and offered it to the Cluster Custodian.

"Decisive as always. I’m starting to understand why you’re around for so long." The Cluster Custodian accepted the head and made it vanish. A portal spiraled open across his palm—and swallowed it from the bottom until nothing remained.

His gaze then swept the ruined hall—the broken tables, the cracked walls, the tableware, everything.

It was obvious that there had been a fight.

"Now. Tell me what transpired here. What was this banquet, and why does it lie in ruins?"

"I hosted this banquet to commemorate our great work in service to the Overseer." High Lord Ursa’s voice came quickly once the pressure was lifted from his shoulders, but he didn’t rise. He stayed on his knees, head bowed. "High Lord Rashal attacked me unprovoked. Everyone in this hall can attest to it."

"High Lord Rashal?"

"Yes..."

"He’s the one I’m going to evaluate."

High Lord Ursa clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

This confirmed that High Lord Rashal had postponed the evaluation, but it’s still a half-baked trap.

If played correctly, this could blow up in his face.

Slowly—the Cluster Custodian swept his gaze again until he met another figure who was standing near the wall with blood coating his chest. He stared at where High Lord Ursa’s wife was crying, seemingly determining something, and then moved to High Lord Rashal.

"A new High Lord attacking a senior one." The Cluster Custodian looked down at High Lord Rashal. "I must say, you are quite brave. So—what made you do it? Understand that if you do not give me a good reason, the price will be much steeper for you."

High Lord Rashal cupped his fist and bowed, "I request a Purgation Duel."

Almost instantly, the entire ballroom burst into a heated discourse.

His request was so shocking that the guests momentarily forgot that the Cluster Custodian was present.

A Purgation Duel was an ancient law that still exists within the Parliament. It was born—back when the Overseer of Realms was still shaping society, back when the Overseer fervently believed that having a society was unnecessary.

Everything was new then, and the Primordial Meadow was still under a monarchical government.

It was a really old law that dated from the very first rulebook that served as guidelines until now.

Since it has never been used, the rule was never changed.

And High Lord Rashal, a young and new High Lord, was demanding it.

The Purgation Duel was created to address situations where two nobles have a blood feud that could not be settled through mediation. As the God Realm back then was still in an era of war, the Overseer wanted to avoid losing too many of his people.

Even though he was opposed to creating a society, when the era of war started, he realized he was wrong.

It was good that his closest convinced him to create one, as manpower was needed during the era of war.

Naturally, friction is inevitable in any society.

To prevent excessive bloodshed within his realm, the Overseer established the Purgation Duel Law—a sanctioned outlet for noble grudges. When grievances could not be resolved through words, warnings, or mediations, they were settled through violence, fought between the nobles themselves and those they chose to stand beside them.

Back then, this law was relevant.

Now, not so much.

In fact, nobody had ever needed to use this law for eons, so everyone was surprised to hear it brought up.

"Preposterous!" High Lord Ursa rose in anger.

"Silence!" The Cluster Custodian’s voice swept across the ballroom, silencing the noises. He then turned to focus on High Lord Rashal again. "You ask for a Purgation Duel? Do you know the requirements for that law to be treated seriously?"

"Yes."

"Oh? Then what is the blood feud?"

High Lord Ursa sneered when he heard the question.

’What will he claim?’ A condescending chuckle escaped his lips. ’That I attacked the Cavity? A flimsy excuse—for a blood feud. He’d need proof. Proof he doesn’t possess.’ He sneered at High Lord Rashal for even attempting this. ’You’re only digging your own grave deeper, brat.’

"Because..." High Lord Rashal raised his gaze to look at High Lord Ursa. "He threatened to harm my family."

Before anyone could say anything, he took out a grey crystal and presented it to the Cluster Custodian.

It was a military-grade recording crystal that was hard to detect.

And the sight of it made High Lord Ursa pale as a sheet of paper.

Amused, the Cluster Custodian accepted the recording crystal. He crushed it in his palm, then drew the liquid essence across his forehead in a slow, deliberate smear. The crystal was designed for a single use only—its destruction was not violence, but a safeguard.

Of course, it could be duplicated, but High Lord Rashal didn’t need to.

For a moment, the ballroom held its breath.

None of them knew what was contained inside the recording crystal, but it must be damning.

On the other hand, the Cluster Custodian could see High Lord Rashal standing inside an office, standing across a desk that belonged to High Lord Rashal. And there, as stated, he threatened High Lord Rashal to make his head into a decoration, enslave his people, and make whores of his women.

It was precisely as High Lord Rashal claimed.

"Sufficient." The Cluster Custodian nodded, and the word caught the guests off guard.

He deemed the reason to be acceptable enough to be considered a blood feud.

"Next, a physical confrontation must have already taken place on both sides. Has one occurred?"

"Yes. The proof is right before your eyes, Cluster Custodian."

"Oh...?"

Slowly, the Cluster Custodian inspected High Lord Rashal’s battered form, then shifted his gaze to High Lord Ursa—who was also wounded. Both bore wounds. Both had struck back. The implication settled cold: High Lord Rashal had planned this meticulously.

"And your witnesses?"

"Witnesses?"

High Lord Rashal paused, surprised at the question.

He had read the Purgation Duel Law, and there are only two requirements. No mention of witnesses.

"It’s an old law," the Cluster Custodian explained with a cynical chuckle. "It’s not perfect. Some people in the past had harmed themselves to check the second requirement, so it has always been a well-known additional requirement for the accuser to also provide witnesses to the attack. At least two people who are willing to be soul-searched."

Almost instantly, High Lord Rashal’s body tensed up.

Since it was not a written requirement, he had no idea that it even existed.

The law was made way before he was even born, so there’s no way for him to know about that.

Naturally, he hadn’t prepared any witnesses.

In hindsight, all the guests in the ballroom should’ve witnessed the altercation between them—as it had only happened earlier. But nobody was on High Lord Rashal’s side. Nobody was going to volunteer to be a witness.

As it needs to be voluntary, High Lord Rashal couldn’t force them either.

Seeing him stunned in shock, High Lord Ursa grinned.

Even though High Lord Rashal’s eyes remained forward, he could feel the guests around him grinning as his plan was unravelled by a single blunder. Most of them were worried earlier. Now, things seemed to be against High Lord Rashal again.

"Let me ask you again." The Cluster Custodian leaned forward. "Where are your witnesses?"