The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1838: Not His Friend

Morgana desired to utter a word, but forcing the speech past her lips proved immensely difficult.

She fought against the torment.

The dilution and erasure of the Angel blood within her was no easy ordeal. Visibly, her looks and abilities had diminished greatly. However, the mental toll during this transformation was overwhelming.

It was as if her skull was being squeezed from every direction, teetering on the edge of bursting apart.

She yearned to plead with Rex to halt the agony. To banish this suffering.

Since he had inflicted this upon her, surely he could reverse it at his whim.

She'd even grovel if begging would earn his compassion.

At this point, pride offered no salvation, so she saw no reason to cling to it fiercely. It held no value.

Deep within, Morgana sensed the truth. Long before death could seize her, her sanity would shatter, leaving her as a hollow, breathing shell. That fate terrified her. She refused to let it define her demise.

Unable to voice anything, she fixed her gaze on Rex, desperate to draw his focus.

In that instant, she caught the words Rex was murmuring.

Morgana overheard him muttering about how everyone sought his demise, his tone laced with disbelief. It sparked an urge in her to yell that his own insistence on control had led to this. But then her eyes caught a glimpse.

Though Rex shook his head and let out a sigh, his expression bore no trace of worry.

Rather, it revealed sympathy.

'Is he truly pitying his foes? Does he genuinely believe himself unbeatable?!'

Unaware of Morgana's inner thoughts, Rex moved toward the remaining portal fragment. "Hmm, this could prove useful for Dorn in crafting the portal. Yet the technique is exclusive to Angels—I doubt it. The Sky People surely possess superior ways than this."

Rex resolved to dismantle it.

If it held no benefit for him, the portal had no right to remain.

Admittedly, its energy was fully depleted, and it lingered in the initial phases of creation, but Rex refused to risk leaving it unattended. Someone else might exploit it, inviting further complications.

Elimination stood as the optimal solution for such an item.

Clang—!

"Fuck!" Rex grunted, shaking his hand after realizing the portal resisted his punch more than any foe before. "Last I knew, my strength attribute had multiplied several times over. Just how durable is this?"

He anticipated needing extra force to shatter it, but not to such a degree.

In time, he rested his palm against it. "System, what's the way to demolish it?"

<Scanning...>

<Notice: the incomplete portal links to the Light Tunnel, the convergence point of energies from both the Spirit Realm and the Mortal Realm. This forms an unbreakable framework tougher than anything in either domain>

<Destruction requires slaying the creator.>

Upon the System's response, Rex's form pivoted gradually.

His features hardened as his stare settled on Morgana's ashen visage.

Noticing she had finally captured Rex's notice, Morgana summoned all her remaining strength to form words.

"Spare me," she implored through her raspy voice. "Grant me mercy now, and my existence belongs to you." Crimson liquid trickled from her mouth as the torment surged. "I can preserve the empire. I can rally the dispersed nobles and turn the empire into your subordinate state."

Rex advanced toward her deliberately.

One step after another.

Each footfall appeared to rattle the entire realm.

Morgana longed to flee, to halt the chaos, but events had inevitably led to this climax.

Her destiny now rested solely in Rex's grasp.

Rex softly raised her chin. For a fleeting moment, she dared hope for possibility. No matter a man's might, the drive to expand dominion always lingers. Even deities fall prey to this instinct.

A thriving empire in the Spirit Realm represented an opportunity too tempting to ignore.

And Morgana proved correct.

Only shortly before, Rex had no intention of ending her, viewing her as a vital element for the empire. She could consolidate the nobles, at least until a successor emerged. Naturally, the Crown Prince might serve as an alternative.

Yet he understood Morgana far better than the Crown Prince.

Placing her on the throne generally ensured greater stability.

Linking the Clarentium Empire to the Haeltara Empire aligned with his ambitions.

The Spirit Realm lay ravaged by the Black Right, undeniably marred beyond repair. Still, its riches outshone those of his homeworld, at least until the Mortal Realm fully revived its ancient splendor.

Rex planned to leverage the Spirit Realm strategically.

A domain for gathering resources to accelerate his allied realm's growth beyond previous limits.

Yet now, his resolve shifted.

It seemed fortune favored the Crown Prince.

Bam—!

Rex's fist collided with Morgana's face, hurling her away in stunned disbelief.

She skidded along the floor, gulping for breath.

One cheek ballooned immediately, while her inner mouth's tissues fractured, flooding it with blood. The loss of her Angel bloodline had left her frail, amplifying every blow's devastation.

Had Dominar survived, she might have countered with the Reap and Sow Echo.

Absent him, she remained exposed and powerless.

"No, wait!" Morgana cried out. Terror now clouded her gaze, stripping away all elegance and majesty. "You doubt my loyalty? Fine. I'll have Marquess Raka bind me with his Slave Echo to serve you! Just grant mercy!"

"Morgana, Morgana, Morgana..." Rex chuckled derisively as he neared her once more. "You're truly unfit for the empress role, like a marionette in over her head. You know the drill. When the emperor falls, his circle follows. The empress perishes first.

"That's the cost of your opulent existence."

Grasping no escape remained, Morgana attempted to scramble back, but her pace faltered.

Rex had already closed in, seizing her by the locks.

A punch burrowed into her torso, cracking ribs and roiling her organs as she soared rearward, crashing against rock. Blood mixed with spittle erupted from her mouth. In that split instant, every regrettable decision replayed vividly.

It all began when she trusted Stelios to overcome Rex.

She craved ascension to Angelhood.

That dream had consumed her since her adoptive family welcomed her.

When Stelios reached out, she viewed it as her path to fulfillment. But it proved a catastrophic error. She never should have aligned to assist. Remaining neutral might have spared her this doom.

Morgana inched backward.

The precipice drew nearer.

Should she tumble over and trigger her laid traps, survival might yet be possible.

But that faint aspiration crumbled as Rex yanked her hair once more.

"Mer-Mercy..." She pleaded anew, pressing palms together in supplication while tears streamed.

"You betrayed me to the Archangel of Knives. You ambushed me post-battle when I was already injured. And this betrayal—to placate a lord who abandoned you in your hour of need," Rex drew her visage near, drawing in the scent of blood on her flesh.

He grinned. "Now, after all that treachery, do you truly think mercy is yours?"

Though survival burned within her, she found no retort.

Any who wronged her so gravely would have met death ages ago.

"Figured as much," Rex scoffed at her muteness.

"B-But you're superior to me..." Morgana uttered in desperation. "I sense it inside—you're far nobler than I."

Rex met her stare head-on. His demeanor evolved from threatening to sheer bewilderment. Her claim baffled him truly. "What makes you say that?" he queried, cocking his head. "I've never claimed to be the hero type."

"Kahkk!"

Without pity, Rex clamped her throat, hoisted her airborne, and tightened his grip.

With the System declaring this the sole path, he'd follow through precisely.

For a brief spell, she thrashed and resisted. Blows landed on his features, feet struck his frame, teeth sank into his limbs—all in frantic bids for release. Such efforts barely registered on Rex. He averted his gaze—not from unease, but to pinpoint the Shade Crawlers' location.

Rex reflected on his Race Evolution Quest.

Yet amid his deliberations on future actions, a searing warmth scorched his hands.

He glanced back at Morgana, startled to see her veins pulsing violet.

Not due to choking, but another cause.

"Chaos?!"

Rex jerked back, then steadied himself to avoid yielding ground. Rather than withdraw, he intensified the pressure. The Red Dawn of Kaiser flared in his free hand. He attuned his senses—and isolated her heartbeat, binding it via the Law of Inevitability.

Without hesitation, he thrust his talons forward.

Yet his strike halted mere inches from piercing her chest, then her core.

A memory surfaced.

The wish that his companion fared well beyond.

"Edward..." Rex peered into Morgana's eyes, probing for a hint. A presence. "Is that you?"

Despite his relentless push toward the Chaos Realm, he recognized Edward's steeper path. Plagued by that monstrosity. Unmade. Possibly twisted irreparably. Far beyond the Fifthborn's corruptions.

If Edward truly reached out from within, Rex refused to squander the moment.

He craved dialogue, guidance on proceeding.

Instructions for hastening to the Chaos Realm and extracting him.

Morgana's frame seized more violently, the violet veins now blanketing her from crown to sole. Indigo patterns etched beneath her eyes. Even her ashen lips tinted purple.

Suddenly, the spasms ceased completely.

Morgana's entire being froze.

Rex continued scrutinizing her eyes. Left, then right. But shock gripped him as he perceived a boundless chaos mirroring back. A domain of utter disorder. In that revelation, Rex understood the entity beholding him was no longer Morgana.

Nor was it Edward.

It embodied something alien. Something beyond. Something his psyche struggled to grasp.

His every instinct howled in alarm.

<Warning!>

<Warning!>

<Notice: the user possesses no possibility of vanquishing the entity inhabiting Morgana’s form>

<Run!>

<Run!>

A barrage of alerts swarmed his sight, each pulsing crimson.

All urged flight.

Rex had braced for Morgana's end, leaving him utterly unprepared for the onslaught of warnings. Swiftly, he snapped from stupor and plunged his claws into her torso, pulverizing the heart.

His keen talons sliced through sinew and skeleton effortlessly, emerging from behind.

Even the barrier in rear fragmented on contact.

Yet Morgana's eyes remained locked on him. Unfazed, her essence lingered untouched by demise.

"If your heart refuses to pulse for existence," Her tone echoed otherworldly and layered, as if a chorus of ten intoned together. "Gaze into my eyes."