The meteor crashed directly onto the Sky City.

It detonated in a corona of silent, white light, a second sun blooming against the dark. The sound arrived a heartbeat later like the loudest thunder, as if the world was torn into two parts. Every soul in the Solmara Continent must have felt it.

No doubt about it.

The ground convulsed. Mountains reduced to ash. In distant villages, plates shattered on tables.

Every part of the continent felt the meteor’s reach.

Even the Sky City’s fabled dome—known to be impenetrable across the realm, stronger than a citadel-class Obelisk of Life, held for less than a breath. It shattered like fragile glass. Then came the shockwave of pure force.

It flattened the gleaming marble quays. It vaporized crystal spires where ancient histories were etched. Millennia of culture, governance, and arrogance were scoured from the sky in a fleeting instant. Nothing the city possessed could even slow it.

No defensive mechanism could pose any real success against the meteor.

From the scarred earth underneath, as glistening debris joined the Black Rain, Emperor Dominar looked at this scene in horror. His eyes could see what happened clearly, but his mind refused to believe it. The eternal Sky City, the unassailable heart of his world for countless millennia, was simply… gone.

Shattered. Broken. Swallowed by an expanding fire nebula that devoured the sky.

All that remained was the glaring Blood Moon that was revelling on the blood spilled tonight.

Not even the Divine Saintess could be this daring.

Heck, an entity of this caliber shouldn’t be siding with someone like Rex.

It took the entire continent hundreds of years to convince the Divine Saintess to be a part of them, and yet, a month in the Spirit Realm, Rex already got a backer that is equal, if not stronger than her. Emperor Dominar couldn’t accept this.

And at that moment, he realized a chilling fact that he could no longer deny.

He had doomed his empire.

About a mile away, Rex climbed out of the crater, cackling like a madman.

“Fucking hell, System. You want me to beat… that?” He thought aloud, laughing at the ridiculous power he needed to achieve to rise in the Scion ranks—and be closer to Invincibility. “He basically nuked the Sky City from afar, and the realm’s will couldn’t even stop him.”

Though it was surprising, Rex found it fitting.

Ignatius referred Kaiser as a mere God, so this level of power was normal.

As insane as this was, it’s fitting.

“Hope he didn’t kill all of them, or else that’d defeat the point.” Rex climbed up to his feet, cracking his neck as the broken bones and wounds regenerated rapidly. He looked aside. The serpent was also recovering from being slammed into the earth from the force. “Devo have to be fine, too.”

Rex specifically asked Ignatius to render the Sky City’s defenses and the Sky People powerless.

He doesn’t want to destroy the Sky City. And that meteor looked excessive to him.

Rex leaped onto the serpent’s head again.

It hissed in protest. Even thrashed around to knock Rex away, but he held on.

“Climb back up again, we still have to feast!” Rex howled and stabbed his claws into the serpent’s head, forcing it to fly up again. As he climbed, he got a better look at the aftermath and couldn’t help but shake his head.

All Sky Paladins littered the ground. Most have their bodies broken, burned, and twisted unnaturally.

Of course, his black wolves were also in the same state. Dead.

The royal bubble remained. Surprising, but it is. It was now a fragile sphere of preserved energy. Inside, it was a complete ruin, gutted by the unrestrained power of Emperor Dominar rather than the aftermath of Ignatius’ attack.

Outside its border, the world had ended.

The land was not scarred, and practically unmade. Continent-wide fissures wept rivers of molten stone, and ancient forests were now fields of ash—and glass. Every ecosystem for a thousand miles had been erased in a single, seismic breath.

Even the Black Rift was thinner. Ignatius’ power was simply unthinkable.

Rex would feel a little bit bad, normally.

Most of the people out there are innocents who aren’t a part of this, but the all-consuming rage and the genuine thirst to spill blood clouded his mind to feel nothing but excitement. He summoned the Blood Moon Echo.

His Spiritual Veins throbbed from only summoning it.

Not because he was weak or exhausted, but because the air was charged with Ignatius’ power.

Probably the way Ignatius made sure the Sky People are suppressed still.

At least those who are still alive.

Rex summoned a wolf of ink-black. It was the last one he could summon; the rest died. It descended, a swift dark blur against the scarred earth, and returned with the empire’s banner clutched in its maw. It was a flag in an okayish condition.

Most were charred or broken, but this one was still intact.

He took it and continued to ascend.

Just minutes earlier, this same stretch of sky had been choked with paladins and the glittering spines of the Sky City’s defenses. Now, there was only wind, smoke, and silence. It was smooth sailing until Rex reached the Sky City.

As expected, even in its ruin, there are still standing marbles and statues that give a hint of how grand and heavenly the Sky City was. Everything was shaded crimson by the Blood Moon, but these marble spires littering the ground were still sparkling.

Even from the direct impact, there are marbles that still stood strong.

Rex leaped down from the serpent.

His land created a heavy thudding sound from how big he was right now.

Perhaps the Blood Moon made him bigger than normal, or maybe this was the effect of accepting his werewolf side. Either way, that doesn’t concern Rex at all right now. Rather, he was quite pleased to be looking down on most things at this height.

Rex sniffed the air. And then exhaled through his mouth.

“Haah… I love the smell of blood.” His lips curled. Fragrant scent of mystical flowers and milk filled the air. He then turned to a wounded paladin, sprawled on the floor. One of his legs was broken. “And fear.”

Fear was prominent in the area. It meant there were still a lot of people alive.

Good.

<Notice: the suppression from Ignatius will last twenty minutes.>

Rex looked at the notification and shrugged. Though fifteen minutes is not a long time, it was more than enough to do what he came here to do and more. He could probably slaughter everyone in this particular area in a minute. This is fine.

He turned to the serpent, raised an index finger, and paused.

“Havoc,” Rex said with a devilish grin. “Have as much fun in this place. You guys got east and south.”

Likewise, the serpent grinned and immediately slithered away, crushing and knocking everything that got in its way. Voidal Monsters grew stronger through devouring life energy. Spirits in the Sky City were akin to prime meat.

Both the serpent and the White Mask wouldn’t waste this opportunity.

Rex, on the other hand, leaped to the tallest peak nearby.

He landed on the golden dome at an angle and grabbed hold of the needle-like spire. Under the cloudy sky, the black rain, and the occasional purple lightning—that crackled thunderously, he looked like the bringer of death in the flesh, scanning the feeding ground.

First and foremost, Rex stabbed the banner of the empire into the needle-like spire.

Now, the banner whipped overbearingly.

A conqueror’s mark that would certainly make the vendetta against the Sky People deeper.

Just as the name implies, the Sky City is a city in the sky.

It was floating and was normally hidden by the clouds.

From this high vantage point, the city stretched as far as the eye can see.

And the life energy in this place is at least five times stronger than even the royal bubble. The disparity was outright ridiculous. Normally, finding someone in this massive city would be hard. But Rex has the System with him.

He only needed to make one command, and a holographic blue swept the entire city.

Before the scan could finish, a quest was issued.

…

<Sudden Quest!>

Objective: A Tribute for the Highseat of Invincibility.

Description: A newly crowned emperor needed a crowning achievement to earn the trust of the people. It’s the same for Scions. Mark the Sky City with the Invincibility Symbol!

Time Limit: 19 minutes 45 seconds.

Reward: Will be calculated depending on the user’s performance.

Penalty: –

…

Rex reads through the quest and then turns to the invincibility symbol manual on another screen. He wasn’t planning on doing anything regarding being a Scion, but he wouldn’t mind doing this. This is possible thanks to Ignatius, so why not?

“I can already tell,” He smirked. “Tonight is going to be a good night.”

Moments later.

A group of Sun Paladins numbering around two dozen scoured through the empty street. They followed the screams and commotions. They are the protector of the Sky City, and right now, the people need them more than ever.

Upon nearing a junction, the group halted.

People poured from the right, screaming and running frantically.

Despite the reputation, the Sky City isn’t only filled with warriors. There are civilians who were born in the sky, and thus, lived here. For thousands of years, none of them has ever felt the horror of what the Spirits on the surface felt.

But that ended tonight.

Swoosh—!

A weapon spun through the air with the violent sound of the wind.

It hacked through the flesh of seven bodies in a single, impossible line. A perfect geometry of carnage. Its momentum died only when the axe-head buried itself with a wet crack in the back of an eighth man’s skull brutally.

All eyes locked onto the weapon.

A one-handed axe, now painted in a slick, fresh crimson.

Even as it seemed to settle there, it kept vibrating and emanated a palpable bloodlust as if the steel itself were alive and hungry for more blood. Blood wetted the ground. And with a tremble, the blood flew to the right like steel being pulled by a strong magnet.

The Sun Paladins got into formation, slamming their iron shields together.

Bred to protect, they used a unique learnable Spirit Genesis to create a half-dome of sunlight.

“Run to us!” One of them shouted.

Like rabbits being chased by a wolf, the people turned and ran straight to the Sun Paladins. Their bodies phased through the half-dome of sunlight, phased through safety. Those who were wounded and couldn’t run begged them to help.

None moved from their spots.

Helping the wounded meant breaking formation. And that’s a risk they couldn’t take.

“Steady!” The command cut through the choking silence.

It came from a helmetless Sun Paladin. His blond hair matted with sweat—and one golden eye burned with a fierce light. The devastation from the meteor shattered their ranks completely. He is not even a captain, but he rallied these Sun Paladins to fend the usurper.

He saw the raw fear in the others.

He saw that their bodies trembled so violently that their shields—and spears rattled a discordant, steely chorus. But he couldn’t blame them. After what happened, even he was scared. “We hold this line! Buy time for the higher legions, or we all die here!”

None of them knew what the usurper looked like.

But when he appeared, their hearts dropped to the pit of their stomachs.

Rex emerged from the corner, walking slowly like he was taking a stroll. He was dragging a headless corpse. The blood left behind a savage trail that struck fear into their hearts. Flesh and blood also decorated his mouth.

And his ink-black fur was matted with blood. It was a deeper shade, now.

He didn’t even glance at the formation of Sun Paladins.

Instead, his eyes were fixed on a whimpering man on the ground, crawling away.

Rex pulled the Maw of Oblivion free with a wet, crunching pull. Before the man could scramble away, he planted a foot on his spine, pinning him to the ground. He then seized the man’s collar—wrenched him up just enough, and bit down.

His fangs punched through bone.

The skull cracked like a pottery vessel, and the head came away in a single, brutal motion.