The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1824: Hideout

Swoosh—!

Linthia gazed forward.

Not far in the distance, Amanir soared at top speed. He navigated the Black Rift while carrying Devo. With Kraken dwelling within him, his flight was swifter than usual, aided by the Black Rift's pull that allowed smooth gliding against the opposing winds with minimal hindrance.

Yet, that pace fell far short of what was needed.

She turned her head back and spotted a radiant lava stream barreling right at them.

It belonged to one of the Gatekeepers, Dorn.

A protective barrier shielded him from the Black Rift's effects—luxurious artifacts meant solely for the elite.

"I need to distract him."

Linthia's body transformed into a swirling shadow display. She channeled mysterious dark power along her arms as she rose into the air, and once prepared, she plummeted like a falling boulder—crashing her palms into the soil.

A ferocious whirlwind erupted and spread swiftly; its ripples extended several miles outward.

The turmoil drew in the Black Rift's shadowy fumes, stirring up a turbulent clash of forces.

Dorn halted suddenly and glanced upward.

His luminous eyes examined the surging whirlwind and creased in concern.

"Only voidal monarchs could influence the Black Rift like this," He thought aloud, stunned that Linthia possessed such ability. "I don’t know what she really is, but she’s not a Spirit. Not anymore. She’s something else entirely."

Dorn considered shattering this whirlwind for good.

But he held back.

Though simple with his power, unleashing his life energy might attract fiercer voidal beasts.

And should a voidal lord detect him, serious issues would arise.

Not due to any weakness against a mere voidal lord, but because such a lord links directly to the voidal prince. Word would swiftly reach the voidal monarch that a Gatekeeper had entered the Black Rift.

An opportunity for them to seize valuable prey.

"I have to go through it!’

Boom—!

Dorn dashed forward at blinding velocity, morphing into a blazing lava trail as he plunged into the whirlwind.

Within its depths, he extended his awareness, locking onto Linthia's aura.

But a scowl formed when he sensed three matching auras diverging in separate directions.

"Spirit Genesis: Lava Golem!"

In a flash, molten lava bubbled up from below and shaped into three molten forms that solidified into Dorn's duplicates. Each pursued a single aura, while the true Dorn vaulted into the air, bursting free of the whirlwind and suspending himself to observe which was genuine.

Meanwhile, Linthia peered back and tsked in frustration.

Her effort hadn't delayed Dorn by even a moment.

’That’s a Gatekeeper for you.’ She accelerated and merged into the ground as if it were liquid.

Like an underwater beast, she burrowed through the soil, submerging and emerging repeatedly to boost her speed beyond its previous limit. She overtook Amanir and Devo in the heavens and came to a halt. "I’ve never done this before," She thought aloud, manipulating her peculiar energy that resembled dark, viscous slime in her grasp. "I’m really not sure, but here goes nothing."

Splash—!

Linthia launched the black viscous slime upward.

When it ascended sufficiently high, she clenched her fist, halting its motion.

The upper end seemed to cling to an invisible anchor amid the empty sky.

With a yank, she ripped through the fabric of space, forming a gateway.

"Amanir!" She bellowed. "Get into the portal!"

"I don’t want to!" Amanir shot back, eyeing the rubbery blackness beyond the opening.

"Do it, or you’ll be captured!"

"Fine!"

Amanir beat his ears and dove into the portal with Devo in tow.

The gateway connected directly to the shallower depths of the Well of the Untold.

She held sway there, so no dangers should arise.

Barely an instant after the portal sealed behind Amanir and Devo, Dorn slammed down from above. He targeted the pair but missed by a split second. The collision carved a massive pit into the terrain, yet it left Dorn unscathed.

Linthia had already conjured her own escape portal, but a surging lava barrier obstructed it and hurled her backward.

A sharp exhale slipped from her as she rose, finding Dorn mere steps away.

"Don’t run," He said, advancing at a measured pace. "I’m only here to talk."

"As if I’d believe you," Linthia sneered. Her feet lifted off the surface, power surging around her clenched hands and flowing locks. "Know that if you harm me, the next time he comes, there will be no more Sky People. Consider this your only warning. Let me go, and do no test him again."

"I’m not," Dorn raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. "I really came to talk."

"Speak," Linthia said sternly.

Despite her arrogant tone, Dorn didn’t seem to be troubled by it.

He has the entire realm’s longevity on his back, so his pride doesn’t matter at all.

"I need to know his location. He asked me to be a Spirit Adjudicator, and I’m going to do it," Dorn said, being as straightforward as possible. "I can’t bring the materials and do the work without his presence. So, tell me his location."

"What about earlier?" Linthia tilted her head. "You tried to catch them."

"Okay, that’s my fault," Dorn surrendered, admitting that it looked bad. "I thought capturing them would guarantee me a meeting with him. That’s completely my fault."

Seeing that he’s being cooperative, Linthia lowered her energy, but not her alertness.

"I don’t know where he is, but I can bring a message to him," She answered truthfully.

After the Sky Judgment drew the sky white, she couldn’t sense Rex anywhere. He was likely wounded and was now hiding somewhere deep to recuperate. Until he announced himself, she had no idea where he might be.

Even now, she was only going to try to go where the Sky Judgment went and search for him.

Or maybe she’ll go with the Shade Crawlers, who already went on ahead.

"Okay," Dorn nodded, deciding not to press further. "Tell him that I wanted to meet about what he asked me to do. Also, I want to talk to him about chaos. It’s really important, and I’m sure he’d want to know about what I have to say."

Linthia mentally noted what he said and nodded.

She slowly seeped into the ground, starting from her feet.

Frankly, she was still expecting Dorn to be tailing her in silence, but he didn’t make a move even after there were only her eyes left. Once she entered the Well of the Untold, her presence disappeared entirely. And Dorn was left alone in the middle of nowhere.

...

Princess Davina combed her wet hair back and waited.

She had already shot a beam of starlight skyward to notify Rex and Lilliana of her location.

Not too far from the waterfall, she found a grotto that was perfect as a temporary shelter.

Its location and curves blocked the dark smoke, so the Black Rift’s influence was less inside.

"Hmm?" She looked up at where the waterfall should be. "What’s taking them so long? It’s been more than thirty minutes already." As she was about to check, she heard the sound of wet footsteps coming down the stone wall.

Rex landed before her and stretched his arms.

He looked noticeably better than earlier.

"What took you so long?" Princess Davina asked. "I already signaled to come half an hour ago. I even cleared out some voidal monsters around."

"I thought you only marked where you are so that we knew," Rex replied. "So, we took our time."

"And where’s Lilliana?" Princess Davina looked up, seeing no sign of her coming down.

Considering that her internal energy flow was still a mess, Princess Davina was worried.

She might not be able to protect herself.

"Ah, she said she was going to stay a bit longer," Rex waved his hand dismissively, and then walked past Princess Davina, bending down to look into a small cave mouth with water flowing in. "Have you checked inside?"

"Yes. It’ll fit us perfectly," Princess Davina looked up again. "Are you sure she’s going to be fine?"

"I already cleaned most of the voidal monsters up there—she’ll be fine," Rex nudged his head towards the cave mouth. "Come on, let’s head inside. I want to show you something. I can block the Black Rift, so we don’t need to worry about Voidal Metamorphosis."

Since Rex sounded confident, Princess Davina decided to trust him.

No strong voidal monsters around, anyway, so it should be fine.

Moments later.

Two charms glowed with a golden glow on each side of the entrance.

Once they were activated, a golden veil covered the entire body of water, splitting the small chamber and blocking any of the Black Rift’s influence from entering. Princess Davina stared at it in surprise, "It really worked... How can you make that charm?"

"I can teach you," Rex smiled. "It’s not that hard. Just a bit taxing, that’s all."

Of course, he purchased the blueprint from the System—the Golden Veil Charm.

His body is adapted to the Black Rift, but right now, his cracked Soul Artifacts needed a moment to heal properly with his life energy. It was one of the reasons why he purchased this blueprint. Rex turned to look at the place he’s going to use.

It was a small cavern chamber split at the center by a body of water.

Rex purchased comfortable beds from the System and placed them on either side.

"Only two beds?" Princess Davina looked at Rex, not even caring that the beds appeared from thin air.

"Yes?" Rex raised a brow. "You and your sister could sleep together, and I’m alone. Are you not used to sleeping together with your own sister?"

"No," Princess Davina shook her head, but when Rex was about to place another bed, she stopped him. "It’s fine. I will sleep together with you. But don’t think of even trying anything funny, even though we now have a bed."

Rex wasn’t expecting her to offer that kind of setup.

But then again, he wasn’t complaining.

"You’ve had enough, right...?" Princess Davina asked hesitantly.

Rex instantly knew what she meant and offered a smile, "It’s fine. I can manage it."

Once they settled down on their temporary hideout, Rex sat cross-legged on the ground and meditated. He was focusing on healing his Soul Artifacts, while Princess Davina loitered around on the bed. It was already morning, but after last night’s events, she was extremely sleepy.

Although she wasn’t as busy as Rex, she went to war with the royal bubble.

It’s pretty taxing even for her.

Soon after, Lilliana also emerged from the water.

She looked around, meeting with Rex’s gaze for a second longer, and then with Princess Davina.

"You haven’t gone to sleep, sister?" She asked and climbed out of the water.

"I was waiting for you in case you got into trouble," Princess Davina clasped her hands above her belly and closed her eyes, sleeping like a corpse. "Now that you’re back, I’ll be getting some sleep. Wake me up if something happened."

"Such a cutey," Lilliana giggled and went over to her own bed.

"Go sleep, too," Rex instructed; his eyes were already shut. "I’ll be waking you two up later since I need to know the situation out there."

"Commanding already?" Lilliana cast him a smile, but did as she was told.

A few hours later.

Rex opened his eyes.

"Still a long way to go until the cracks are mended," He clicked his tongue and raised his gaze.

Both sisters were still asleep.

Rex didn’t wake them.

Instead, he walked to the side to head out of the grotto. He could feel Nivellen’s presence in his mind. She is calling for him, so he needs to find a more private area.