The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1814: Chilling Combination

Rumble—!

Blackness poured down relentlessly.

Lightning boomed every few moments from behind the heavy clouds.

Screams echoed through the chaos. Agonized cries from the dying victims. Howls of torment from those being slain. And wild whoops from the killers themselves. Devastation raged across the area. Within just five minutes, nearly all structures lay in ruins or flames.

Blood soaked the roads and walls. So much of it flowed that the atmosphere thickened with its metallic tang.

Breathing grew difficult for ordinary folks not thrilled by the carnage.

Dorn, the Lava Gatekeeper, scanned the surroundings in despair. Only moments before, Sky City had stood as an unassailable haven of calm. Now, it crumbled into debris. Deep concern gripped him for his comrades. He fretted intensely.

Numerous allies still fought to endure out there.

Yet Rex remained utterly unmoved. Though Dorn hadn't truly hoped otherwise.

In every world, survival of the fittest reigned supreme.

This ruin stemmed from their oversight of those below.

Such a reckoning had long been inevitable.

Rex lounged atop a macabre seat fashioned from bodies, utterly at ease. His stance exuded relaxation. Even coziness.

His shoulders hung slack. Elbows rested on bent knees. Fingers laced together.

"Could you have them pause for now?" Dorn pleaded. "Sky City has fallen. We understand. We truly do—"

"If you were in my shoes, would you halt?" Rex queried, arching an eyebrow. The reply came swiftly through Dorn's quiet. "Losers can't dictate to victors. I've tasted both triumph and defeat—and trust me, it's simple to earn sympathy. But keeping it... that's the real challenge.

"Back to your query... You must sense what I seek. One among you seized someone dear to me," Rex halted. His quiet amplified the strain, thick enough to strangle. "Where is he?"

"I don't know," Dorn gritted his teeth. "But I'll uncover it. Allow me to att—"

Rex burst into laughter as if amused.

Dorn felt baffled. This also dawned on him that he faced a madman.

The Blood Moon intensified Rex's craving for bloodshed. His talons tingled restlessly. Pulsed with need. Yet surrounded by gore, he discovered his rage amplified his delight in the aroma of terror. It lured him, akin to Evelyn's fragrance.

Maybe surpassing her allure. Especially now, with the Blood Moon looming directly above.

Watching Dorn desperately seek a way out for his kin brought Rex joy.

"I already know his location." Rex flicked a casual hand, dismissing the notion as humorous. His sweep of the devastated Sky City finished. Devo lurked not within, but higher up, and the culprit neared swiftly. "Relax. My true desire lies elsewhere."

"What? Tell me what you seek! I'll handle it, no matter what!"

"Do you possess the power to serve as a Spirit Adjudicator?"

Dorn reeled from the unexpected query.

Yet he regained composure fast. He ought to have foreseen this as Rex's goal.

Coming from the Mortal Realm, after all.

"It hinges on your intent," Dorn replied, his voice steady with assurance.

"Shouldn't tax you much, I figure," Rex shrugged, glancing back. Amanir had finally arrived at Sky City. About time. "I aim to boost my Spirits' aptitude. Can you manage that? Or have I the wrong contact?"

"Provided the sacrifice doesn't outmatch me, yes," Dorn confirmed.

To elevate a Spirit's aptitude requires a sacrifice. The ritual demands precision. But if the power gap between sacrifice and catalyst stays manageable, success follows. Dorn had performed it several times. Not expertly, but sufficiently for basics.

"Excellent," Rex opened his arms in invitation. His grin broadened. "The sacrifice... You recognize whom."

Dorn's brow furrowed deeply.

He pondered briefly before grasping Rex's meaning.

"It's tough solo, but with help from the rest, it works." He nodded. A feasible bargain for a hint of leniency. "And...? The catalyst? Who receives the drawn essence?"

Rex gestured sideways without twisting, thumb jabbing rearward. "This fellow here."

From the sky, Amanir descended next to Varya. He heaved labored breaths, bearing minor injuries.

His complexion had grown ashen since before.

"You're tardy," Rex eyed him. "I figured Kraken stuck with you. You appear rougher than anticipated."

"Haah... Haah..." Amanir perked an ear. Exhaustion choked his words.

This embarrassed Rex before Dorn, so he slammed Amanir forcefully.

Amanir flew into a nearby dwelling, smashing through its cooking area.

"What was that for?!" Amanir emerged, enraged.

"Ah, speech returns," Rex smirked, shifting focus to Dorn.

"That flight was brutal, you know?" Amanir rejoined his spot, ear against Rex's shoulder. Fatigue lingered heavily. He bumped Rex, then scratched his snout, "Gratitude's in order. I rescued your lady unscathed. Vibrant and whole. Reward me, or it's unpaid toil."

"I intended to," Rex tilted his chin at Dorn.

Only then did Amanir notice the direct stare at Dorn.

"Oh, Sir Dorn," Amanir dipped in a graceful bow. "A wonder to meet you face-to-face, ever so." He whispered near Rex's ear, utterly puzzled by the scene. "He's among the mighty Gatekeepers. You've outdone yourself, haven't you?"

"That Demon Spirit as catalyst...?" Dorn cut in, indicating Amanir. "Him?"

"He comes off as patronizing," Amanir tsked irritably.

But if Amanir knew Rex's demand of Dorn, his own shock would match Dorn's inflection.

"I assumed you capable," Rex lifted a brow.

"Indeed, but reason must prevail!" Flames surged fiercer beneath Dorn's flesh, illuminating him amid the gloom. "That Demon Spirit ranks as Eternal, while the sacrifice is Primordial! How could I possibly manage?"

"Hmm," Rex stroked his chin, anticipating that retort. "What of two Spirits?"

Amanir eyed Rex.

In that moment, clarity struck him on two fronts. He fathomed the discussion between Rex and Dorn, and sensed Rex's deranged state. The Blood Moon still swayed him, "I believed Full Moons no longer affected him, yet this one's unique.'

"Throw in ten extra Eternal Spirits; it changes nothing!" Dorn bellowed.

"So, impossible?" Rex swiveled casually toward Varya. "Take another life for me, if you would."

"Yes." Varya obeyed without delay.

She advanced with deliberate strides.

"Hold on, that's not your prior stance!" Dorn objected. His paladins gazed at him; their looks urged action. Yet he recognized force would spell their doom. "Understand me. This isn't refusal! It's just imp—"

"Impossible here. Impossible there. Yada, yada, yada~" Rex cleaned his ear. The word wearied him from overuse. He gazed skyward in a specific bearing, "I lack endless time. You exuded confidence before."

"True, but only because—"

Splash—!

Varya ripped off yet another's head, mercilessly.

Dorn fell speechless. He gaped at the spilling blood and limbless form.

"Varya, every three seconds, claim one more," Rex pressed on.

"As commanded," Varya faced the cluster. Her mouth silently tallied the ticks.

At this, the huddled survivors shuddered, and paladins clutched their arms firmer.

All yearned to strike, yet awaited Dorn's word.

"This ends only when you provide a viable method," Rex went on, observing as if enthralled by a gripping tale. "Otherwise, seconds keep slipping. And given their numbers, your window shrinks fast."

His smile turned fiendish.

Dorn recalled werewolves as thralls to wrath. More beastly than any Mortal Realm kin. He'd braced for a frenzied beast, but Rex diverged. His rage sharpened like a blade, evoking dread.

He blended a werewolf's inferno with human cunning. A harrowing mix.

The ensuing moments twisted into mental torment.

Dorn proposed alternatives as Varya hauled victims one by one—dispatching them like mere animals. Eventually, she succumbed to the allure of meat and gore, devouring portions.

Rex, naturally, permitted it. The snaps of fracturing bone and rips of muscle heightened the strain on Dorn.

For each idea from Dorn, Rex consulted the System for success odds.

Any under fifty percent earned instant rejection.

The System indicated a near-perfect path existed, so Rex rejected anything shy of eighty percent viability. Lacking a solid plan from Dorn, deaths mounted.

Rex had shelled out five hundred million gold for the White Mask pact.

Five hundred million gold. He'd be cursed before spending more on System insights here. That load fell to Dorn. A being of millennia should hold deeper knowledge than admitted.

At the fifteenth slaying, a paladin lunged at Varya.

But mere steps from her, he crumpled.

Rex had pulverized his heart via Inevitable Death Spirit Genesis.

At last, Dorn devised the solution.

"I can prepare an additional sacrifice to fortify the Demon Spirits' forms, letting them endure the Primordial Spirit's vital surge," he stated, eyes fixed on Rex hopefully. "That ought to render the ritual feasible."

<Analyzing...>

<Notice: the method mentioned is a part of the Dark Tribute Ritual with an 85% success chance!>

"Halt," Rex lifted his palm, halting Varya mid-act.

The assembly, once nearing a hundred, dwindled to scarcely over fifty. Bodies strewed around Dorn. Fresh crimson lapped his armored feet. Its heat evaded touch, yet pierced his soul.

"Proceed as required," Rex rose from his grim perch, rolling his neck. "For the empire, I welcome your gracious support for one of its knights."

He'd rested mere minutes, yet stiffness urged him toward fresh violence.

Nearby, the White Mask and serpent concluded their tasks, drawing close.

Rex vaulted high. Simultaneously, the serpent seized him, ascending. Varya latched effortlessly to the serpent's tail, abandoning Amanir below. He could soar independently, but riding proved wiser.

Yet he lagged.

Meanwhile, a storm of thunderclouds ascended toward the third level's edge. Blood and gashes marred his form. Rezar struggled to process the sight. Devo's warnings echoed in his thoughts, branding Devo's master as a sheer abomination.

But originating from the Mortal Realm, how vile could he truly be?

That had been Rezar's early assumption.

This night, however, unveiled Rex Silverstar's staggering monstrosity.

"I must reach Devo without delay," he resolved inwardly.