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

"Eh...?"

The sensation hit him like the earth giving way beneath his feet, sending his heart plummeting into an endless abyss.

Haxel blinked in disbelief, his gaze following the contours of the enigmatic woman's shadowy form.

He racked his brain for any recollection of her identity, yet nothing surfaced from his past.

Throughout all his years, he'd never crossed paths with someone of her formidable nature as a foe. This encounter marked their initial face-to-face clash, yet her eyes burned with a venomous hatred that forced him to doubt his own certainty.

"I don't get it..." He croaked out, sweat streaming across his forehead. "I've never met you before."

The instinct to bolt surged within him, but the well at his back left no path for retreat.

Escape seemed utterly impossible.

"You might not recognize me, but I'm well aware of your crimes," the woman replied deliberately. Her tone quivered, as if barely containing a storm of fury. The mere sight of Haxel ignited her wrath—though the reason eluded him. "Who do you think you are... Sir Haxel?"

Rumble...

The whole structure trembled violently.

Her locks whipped wildly like animated shadows as her aura erupted, enveloping her frame in an abyss of obscurity, then spreading to taint the walls, floor, and ceiling with an overwhelming wave of pure blackness. It resembled devouring rather than mere release.

As though her essence was devouring the surrounding area itself.

Yet the most chilling aspect was the total lack of any recognizable energy emanating from her.

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

This immense strength originated solely from her core.

In a burst of fury, she hurled Arran's lifeless form against the wall, transforming him into a mere silhouette.

Flesh, skeleton, and vital fluid morphed into darkness in a flash.

A demonstration of unearthly might.

Desperate to avoid battling this unknown adversary, Haxel infused his body with life energy and lunged toward the wall. His force rippled on collision, but his eyes bulged in shock. The barrier held firm.

The woman's power had engulfed the entire dwelling, severing his link to the world beyond.

Haxel clenched his jaw and called forth his Soul Artifact.

A massive greatsword appeared in his grasp as he fixed a fierce stare on the woman, prepared to battle until his end.

With no other choice, he vowed to resist with every ounce of his being.

"I have no idea who you might be," he declared, clenching the hilt harder. "Nor do I recall offending you in any way, but I won't fall without a fight. Actually," he ran his tongue along the edge—his eyes gleaming with a dark, unhinged fire. "Whatever wrong I caused, I wish I'd made it even graver!"

"Graver...?" The woman grinned with wicked intent. "You're fortunate. You get the opportunity to make it far worse."

"Hmm...?" Haxel's eyebrows knit in bewilderment.

Suddenly, a chill raced along his spine as he detected another presence beyond the walls.

It radiated overwhelming dominance, and it felt... recognizable.

An energy he could never erase from memory.

"Understand this: I'm merely the hound sent to track you down," the woman went on. She lifted her index finger to indicate the door at Haxel's rear. Her grin widened at the terror etching the disgraced knight's features. "He's the true harbinger of your doom."

Haxel's pulse faltered.

In a frenzy, he dashed to the closest window to peer out.

And true to his dread, a sturdy-built man advanced toward the building.

Rex traversed the dusty path with measured, purposeful strides.

Shadows cloaked his visage in gloom, casting him as the embodiment of mortality's end. Every footfall vibrated the earth—or so it seemed to Haxel, as the realm quaked with Rex's unhurried approach. No rush in his demeanor.

Confident that his quarry had no means of flight.

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

He bolted for the rear entrance next.

It was sealed tight.

Shoving Linthia aside, 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 remains and attempted to shatter the window. The overhead beam. The partition. All efforts failed.

Brak—!

Haxel jerked at the resounding crash of the front entrance bursting inward.

He scanned wildly, perspiration already slicking his skin in his hunt for an exit, but realization dawned that no avenue remained. Desperation seized him as he flattened against the alcove's edge, silently pleading for the structure to engulf him.

Thud...

A resounding bootfall echoed.

Followed by utter quiet.

They say moments stretch when death looms near.

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

The mounting dread and suspense threatened to trigger cardiac failure.

Then, his sight wavered.

The floor consumed him, and briefly, it mimicked freefall. Moments later, air whipped past him, the home's innards streaking by in a haze until he slammed into the barrier with force.

Unlike his prior try, the surface fractured under the blow.

It unfolded so swiftly that awareness struck only as his ribs shuddered from the collision.

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

His hearing buzzed, vision swam with crimson from a gash on his brow tracing over his sight. He observed Linthia dip in deference and murmur to the beastly form in human guise, igniting a crimson glow in its eyes.

Rex's stare locked onto Haxel's.

He cocked his head while his mouth twisted into a sinister smirk, then advanced.

Gasping for air, Haxel stretched toward his greatsword, lying nearby.

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

Just shy of reaching it, a boot crushed down.

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

"RAARGHKK!!"

An agonized cry ripped from his throat like blistering flames. The torment of his Soul Artifact's destruction was unbearable. It assailed not just the flesh, but the spirit too, unleashing jolts that convulsed his frame in seizure-like spasms.

Every Spirit understood this agony defied description.

Worse than oblivion itself.

Annihilating a Soul Artifact, even lesser ones, proved immensely challenging.

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

Rex seized a fistful of Haxel's locks and yanked him upward, slamming him into the wall.

Bam—!

His knuckles connected solidly with Haxel's features.

It shattered cheek and mandible bones, even fissuring the surface behind.

Rex's eyes narrowed. He angled his head, scrutinizing the savage harm he'd wrought, and the subsequent head shake signaled dissatisfaction as another blow hammered into Haxel's countenance.

Crack!

Merely two strikes, and Haxel's visage lay ruined.

His nasal bridge snapped. The right flank of his face demolished. His mandible hung slack.

"You should've ended me when you could." Rex's murmur chilled like frost against Haxel's outer ear. His mouth nearly grazed the flesh. "Did you really believe I perished?" His massive grip twisted Haxel's skull level, compelling attention. "After witnessing all I've accomplished... you're an idiot for thinking I'm gone. That you're secure."

Rex released his hold and retreated a step.

He observed Haxel's frail form slump to the floor, dropping into a supplicant pose.

"P-Please..." His words rasped and garbled from the slack jaw. He lifted his functional arm toward Rex. Imploring. "Have mercy."

"Did my pleas for aid to flee the rift alter anything? No. Not a thing." Rex clamped one hand on his wrist and the other on his shoulder. He applied minimal force. Yet Haxel's resistance proved futile regardless.

His fingers clawed toward Rex's face in a vain shove, but it amounted to nothing.

"I swore I'd pursue you, and here I am."

Linthia winced at the gradual crunch of fracturing bone and the deliberate rip of skin.

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

Splash—!

Crimson fluid arced onto the wall, drenching it in scarlet.

Only a feeble moan slipped from Haxel's lips, his vigor too depleted for cries.

"Ironically, if you'd rescued me, we'd stand as allies today." Rex straightened and snatched a nearby cloth to cleanse his stained palms. He glanced out the pane at the tranquil evening. "The woman you cherished turned on me. I'd have eagerly aided in her downfall, but you chose spite.

"April never wronged you," He denied with a shake and derisive snort. "What a pity."

All he'd sought then was for Haxel to escort April away.

He'd have held little grudge against Haxel under those circumstances.

Countless had plotted his demise, and by now, such malice barely stirred him. Yet he tolerated no threats to his companions. He made no secret of it.

He invited attempts on his own life.

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

Rex pivoted and noted Haxel's tears.

For a berserker, this display stunned.

Berserkers grinned and chuckled in death's shadow, not wept like a forsaken child.

Maybe he bore some blame.

By demolishing Haxel's Soul Artifact, the Berserker of Skartold’s Echo lay broken too, its hold on the knight severed, reducing the bold warrior to this broken shell. "No tears," Rex instructed, crouching before him once more. "It's for the best. I'll dispatch Morgana to claim you, letting you rebuild from nothing alongside her."

"Best wishes," Rex plunged his hand into Haxel's torso and extracted the vital organ.

Nearly at once, Haxel's frame slackened.

<Super Berserk Quest has been completed!>

Rex exhaled in ease.

The lingering Super Berserk Quest had gnawed at him constantly, like a persistent tightness in his core preventing true calm. Its completion lifted that burden.

Even from a distance, Rex detected the fury and loathing 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 it previously, learning it stemmed from attaining the Blank of the Anger Stratum.

Rex yearned to delve into the Absolute Effect promptly, but duties awaited.

Tasks only he could handle, so the guide remained unchecked.

Rex popped the pulsing heart between his lips, munching as fluid flooded his palate. The flavor of Haxel's core delighted him unexpectedly, but he soon caught Linthia's stare.

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

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

Rex had always concealed such acts in solitude, at least in the Mortal Realm, but that caution had vanished. He'd evolved, and now she sought to quench her wonder.

"To my palate, it's akin to roasted flesh. The core's the prime portion," Rex dismissed with a shrug en route to the exit. "Seems revolting, right?"

"No, Your Majesty. It doesn't," Linthia refuted, shaking her head.

Monsters made it grotesque, but not Rex.

Or so it appeared to her.

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

Rex gestured toward the stairs, eyeing Linthia as if confirming it was this home's second story, then climbed. His attention snapped to several forms in fine armor strewn across the floor.

Both reached Master Immortal Spirit rank, impressively potent for such a confined realm.

"Who are they?"