The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1803: In and Out of Darkness

Rex emerged from the shadows.

Agony tore through his frame.

It resembled a horde of fire ants brutally parading along his veins.

He attempted to shift his legs—without success.

He tried his arms—with identical failure.

His limbs stayed whole, yet an invisible barrier halted their response to his will.

The final recollection in his mind was the savage thrashing from the royal knights. The burning aches across his face and gut proved the ordeal was no illusion, meaning he'd been struck senseless. What his eyes captured presently formed a jumbled haze.

Those relentless blows must have damaged his sight pathways.

Yet the system alerts remained sharp and vivid.

Blindness wouldn't hide the system's mocking messages, so the haze posed no issue.

<Warning: the user is in a critical condition!>

<Archaic Scorpion Venom has been detected inside the user’s bloodstream!>

<All healing or regeneration effects are blocked, and the user’s body is suffering from paralysis.>

<Dark Silver has been detected inside the user’s bloodstream!>

<The user is now suffering from the Curse of Veil.>

<It’s a curse that trapped the user in a limbo between Human and Werewolf, leaving the user too weak to fight and too beastly to have a clear mind.>

<Curse Resistance passive skill is activated!>

<Curse of Veil is being repelled...>

Evidently, the venom caused his immobility.

Beneath the surface, he spotted jagged vines piercing his arms and legs, anchoring him firmly. A pink flower bloomed directly between his thighs, draining every bit of natural vitality his form generated.

It rendered him feeble and vulnerable.

However, voidal energy evaded the flower's detection.

Rex sensed it might not if he dared to summon it.

Blood coated his lips. Sounds began filtering back into his awareness. Voices reached him, distant and unclear, but one stood out swiftly. April entered his fuzzy sight before he lifted his head. She clutched at him, nearly scratching in desperation.

Tears soaked her cheeks, and her mouth twisted as if shouting urgently.

Rex failed to discern her words.

Not via his hearing, nor his clouded eyes.

Only as his foe yanked April away did the royal knights come into focus.

Imposing fiends with demonic expressions. The plumed royal knight knelt low. He caressed Rex's head while leaning aside, ensuring April's view remained unobscured as she was forced face-down with a knee digging into her spine and a palm shoving her skull.

She fought back wildly. Rejecting the cuffs and chains.

The largest royal knight, shoulders as broad as Rex's own, lost patience.

He seized April's head and smashed it against the earth.

Instantly, her struggles ceased. Unconsciousness claimed her—or perhaps the agony overwhelmed her senses. Regardless, the spectacle jolted Rex into full awareness. He strained desperately to break free. His gaze locked onto the broad-shouldered knight with feral intensity.

Etching the name from the nearby status display into his memory.

For laying hands on April this way, mercy would be absent.

The plumed royal knight shoved his armored palm onto Rex's shoulder.

It pressed weakly yet held him pinned.

All Rex managed was futile writhing.

"I heard you’re an emperor down there," he remarked to Rex. The source of that intel remained a mystery. He leaned near Rex's ear—close enough for each syllable to ring true. "Then you must know the punishment for traitors, right? It’s bad."

Even beneath the helmet, Rex sensed his malicious smirk.

"Death," he whispered like a serpent's hiss. "She’s going to die young, and guess whose fault is that?"

The plumed knight held back his final words.

A sinister smile spread over his features. He allowed Rex to supply the answer in his thoughts, then tapped his cheek with mocking gentleness.

Just then, the royal knight jerked back.

Rex fixed him with a sudden glare.

His pupils widened fully, holding a frozen calm that chilled to the core.

"Leave her alone, or your entire family dies, Woody Lingkrona."

His voice carried an icy evenness.

Not a warning, but a simple declaration of truth.

Utter certainty laced his tone and stare.

The plumed royal knight, Woody, gaped at Rex in disbelief. How had Rex learned his name? No clue. That ignorance amplified the terror of the words. Rex's eyes seemed to pierce his heavy plating.

As if exposed bare, every secret laid open for Rex's judgment.

Rex had no time to lose. He interpreted Woody's pause as defiance.

Slaying Haxel had yielded an Invincible II item.

He'd intended to save it longer. Such rarity made early use seem wasteful.

Yet some duties overrode all else.

Safeguarding April topped that list.

<Notice: the use of the Invincible II item cannot proceed.>

Rex froze at the alert blocking his vital activation of the Invincible II item. Such denial was unprecedented. He couldn't fathom fate's harshness in withholding this lifeline for someone so dear.

Bam—!

Yet another fist crashed into his jaw.

"You still can’t understand your situation?" Woody growled, then smacked the rear of Rex's skull. "It’s a shame that I couldn’t kill you myself, especially after acting cocky when you’re like this. But remember this... your end is not going to be pretty."

That's when the snake slithered in.

"What’s the meaning of this?!" Ethan gazed at the chaos in horror.

His focus lingered on April, crushed beneath their hold.

"Good work, kid," Woody clapped his shoulder. "If you keep this up, one day, you’ll be a knight."

The other royal knights chuckled quietly at Woody's remark.

No way a rural fool like Ethan could rise to knighthood, though fantasies weren't banned.

"April... or any other nobles involved are not to be touched, that’s the deal!" Ethan finally asserted himself. His bargain covered only Rex. "Free her this instant! Lord Kaine already gave me his words. I’ve made a deal with him! She’s not a part of th—"

Pah—!

A brutal backhanded strike hurled Ethan several paces away.

Several teeth scattered as he tumbled and wailed in torment.

"Who do you think you’re talking to, worm?" Woody ground his boot into Ethan's chest, trapping him. "Make a deal? Lord Kaine gave his words? All traitors are to be publicly shamed and executed." He bore down fiercer, nearly splintering Ethan's ribs. "Do yourself a favor and step aside. You’ve done well. Don’t ruin it by doing something stupid."

Woody signaled the rest with a gesture, "Take them away."

A single tear traced Ethan's face as he watched April hoisted over a royal knight's shoulder and carted off.

Her form dangled lifelessly, offering no resistance.

Ethan tracked the sway of her head until it vanished into the bubble.

Only then did he grasp the city's vista outside the bubble as mere deception. Beyond its edge lurked a vast army of hundreds of formidable troops, backups for the royal knights, ready to surge if tensions boiled over.

Following closely came Rex.

Three royal knights bore him aloft, ensnared by their life energy.

Thorny vines now swaddled his body in a tight sheath, baring just his face.

His head drooped, locks veiling his features.

But Ethan swallowed hard upon spotting Rex's crimson eyes piercing through the dark tresses, staring silently.

A seal of doom.

...

Within the profound gloom of his mental realm, Rex lingered solitary amid tormenting recollections.

Bright moments did occur. Witnessing his pack's progress, the empire's rise, races uniting for harmony, or the thrill of surging strength. But now, suffering shrouded them all.

By this point, his form should have reached the royal bubble.

Whenever his presence wavered from the mind space, enemy chatter echoed.

Woody discussed the need for covert transfer.

For injecting extra doses before silence returned.

Then came mentions of the shadow, which Rex deduced as Linthia.

Bound to the Well of the Untold, she alone might evade and flee the trap.

Rex overheard their complaints of delay.

Weeks ought to have passed. Weeks of journeying—yet for Rex, time stretched like unbroken slumber. The void evoked the Ghoul’s Den quest. Shadows enveloped him solely. Corpse reek filled his nostrils—he inhaled. Death's icy grip clung like a worn, ragged cloak.

Yet in that void, sprawled nearby on the soil, lay April.

Unlike Edward or Kyle, her gaze aimed upward. Ennui dulled her eyes.

Rex glanced to discover her focus.

A stunning night canopy. Pristine as never before. Full moon and stars wove a heavenly tapestry.

Back then, rage clouded his thoughts, blinding him to the night's splendor.

To imagine such beauty bored her.

Next, her soft hazel eyes shifted to him, brimming with affection.

A glint of curiosity widened them beyond usual. As if he alone stirred her emotions. She extended her arm and tenderly brushed back his hair locks, unwilling to let them obscure any portion of Rex's visage.

Rex stretched his hand forth, only for darkness to swallow her shape corruptly.

His psyche proved ever ruthless.

There, April cherished him, but upon stirring, he recalled her current loathing. Worse still, peril engulfed her. Urban clamor assaulted his ears. He found himself in a narrow alley bordered by shabby peasant dwellings.

Commoners and outcasts crowded the path.

He pieced together the environment in hazy fragments, summoning resolve through sheer grit.

<Scanning...>

Rex forged a clear intent at last, invoking the System.

"His body is a physical marvel. He’s already awake again."

"Shame that we won’t see it reach its full-potential."

Before the scan concluded, a prick stabbed his neck, and oblivion seized him once more.

Splash—!

Reality returned through torment.

It coursed his bloodstream. A stark, crackling surge leaped from nerve to nerve without mercy, hauling him from oblivion via raw brutality. His frame bowed like a strained bow, muscles seizing in stiff spasms.

For ten agonizing seconds, his thoughts escaped his control.

Paralyzed.

Then, quiet. The surge faded, its echo thrumming faintly in his bones.

Rex's chest rose and fell sharply. Breaths rasped harshly through his lungs.

Moisture clung to his flesh—a chill, slick layer.

Battling the harsh glare's remnants, he surveyed the area. Not urban sprawl, but a vast, hushed cavern hewn from underground rock. Dimness reigned. Torches ringing the dais provided the sole illumination.

As his dazed eyes lifted, a woman appeared before him.

She gripped a pail, motionless as stone, observing his revival.

Rex knew this woman.

But her stare held no kindness or recognition now. Just piercing frost.