The Sky City is impenetrable.

It was the strongest bastion of spirits. Every being that breathes knew that.

Since its creation, nobody has ever breathed the air beyond the dome or even touched the tall spires that decorated every corner. Two Voidal Monarchs once launched a coordinated attack, but they still couldn’t leave a dent on its radiance.

For thousands of years, it remained strong.

People started to believe the Angels have blessed the Sky City. Or perhaps the sanctified body of the Silent Consort was hidden in there, which made the city sacred. Nothing could swallow its radiance the same way as how the Black Rift couldn’t swallow her light.

Rumours made the Sky City revered by many.

Most believed that the day of its destruction would be the first sign of doomsday.

And tonight, under the Blood Moon, that first sign happened.

The Sky City was breached. Its sacred ground is destroyed. And its people were ravaged mercilessly.

Just this incident alone made this breach weigh heavily on the minds of the people underneath. For the people living in the Sky City, it was retribution. Even so, driven by duty, the paladins, specifically the Sun Paladins, kept on fighting.

But when Rex appeared, that drive evaporated in an instant.

After all, the one who could overpower the Angel’s blessing could only be the devil.

Now faced with the devil, the Sun Paladins couldn’t stand it.

A primordial instinct was stirred inside the Sun Paladins.

One abandoned the thousands of years of training and dropped his weapons.

He turned around to flee, following the people, trying to get as far away from Rex as possible.

And like a domino effect, more abandoned the formation.

“No, wait!” The blonde Sun Paladin tried to stop them, but none heeded his call. He gritted his teeth and his eyes bulged as the half dome of sunlight dissipated. Not because some of them flee, but because of their life energy.

It was snuffed out like a candle without oxygen.

Something was blocking them from using their life energy, and it came from above.

He looked up, and the Blood Moon greeted him. It was mocking him. Under its crimson light, all life energy has no power. The blond Sun Paladin clenched his spear, let out a wild battle cry, and charged towards Rex.

Right now, he needed to snap the others out of their stupor.

To do that, he needed to lead the attack and show his unwavering bravery.

Hoping that his bravery would help others find theirs.

Like a berserk hound, he closed the final distance.

Planting his lead foot, muscles coiling, he dove the spear forward in a killing thrust.

The force that answered was absolute. He was smashed backward as if swatted by a giant. He flew for meters, a ragdoll in the air, before crashing to the marble floor and skidding to a final, brutal stop against a marble wall.

He rose and tried to cheer the Sun Paladins to attack, but it was already a slaughter.

And at the heart of it, the devil is dancing.

Then, as if sniffing the despair gripping his heart, Rex, while raising a Sun Paladin by its torso, smiled towards him—like savoring his horror. A Sun Paladin’s head burst in a spray of blood. His friend’s leg was bitten and torn from the body.

Another was knocked to the sky and given tribute to the Blood Moon.

The only female Sun Paladin splattered into meat paste against the street.

Blind with rage—the blond Sun Paladin swung his spear in a furious arc meant to cleave Rex’s neck—and cut only empty air. He roared, reversed his grip, and lunged forward, driving the point deep through the chest of the figure before him.

A spray of blood erupted, not from the wound, but from the paladin’s own eyes. Then, like a reflection on disturbed water, the form of Rex rippled, wavered, and morphed into the gasping face of a fellow Sun Paladin—the one he had just impaled.

His breath was caught in his throat.

It was supposed to be Rex whom he impaled, but reality proved otherwise.

Rex already used the Weaver of Madness on him from the very start, and the vision the blond Sun Paladin saw was none other than his own. “It’s unbearable, isn’t it?” He asked. His voice is a low growl. “It felt like your blood is fire, and the water that can quench it is blood.”

Like a shadow, he was now standing behind the blond Sun Paladin.

Horrified by what he had done, the paladin fell to his knees.

Rex’s presence encompassed everything, and the moment the Sun Paladin processed what he had done, his head was bitten off, killing him instantly. He then looked around, noticing that the Shade Crawlers had arrived.

All of them were berserk. Thirsty for blood. But they steered clear of Rex’s feeding ground.

Instead of sweeping the street, they hunted those hiding in buildings.

It was probably instinct more than anything.

Landing beside him was Varya.

“You’re not affected by the Blood Moon?” Rex asked without looking.

“A mutation of mine from developing the traits of a Luna,” She answered without hesitation. No need to have secrets in front of the Alpha. She peeked with one eye towards Rex, and then asked, “You don’t seem to be affected, too. I thought your birth moon is the Blood Moon.”

“Who said I’m not affected?” Rex turned towards her.

His face was twisted. Bulging eyes, salivating mouth, and a vicious snarl. He was menacing.

Even Varya quickly averted her gaze.

Rex was affected the most by the Blood Moon, but his self-control was immaculate. After being a Scion and accepting his werewolf side through the Invincible Apparition, he found it easier to manage his anger.

Not diminishing the anger, but channelling it to things that are worthy of it.

Several bodies were thrown out of the buildings ahead of him.

Some were thrown from the window, and some were thrown out the door. Some were dead, and some are alive. Rex raised a brow—at this spectacle, “What are they doing? Why are they not feeding?”

Varya found it weird for him to ask that.

But considering how much time passed, she assumed things changed in the Mortal Realm.

“They are asking your permission to feed, Your Highness.”

“Tell them to eat and don’t mind me.”

Varya let out a short, almost snorting howl. All the Shade Crawlers then began feasting on their hunts, savoring the fresh flesh and blood. As Rex walked past them, he noticed that they were taking out the prey’s heart and putting them aside.

Rex turned to Varya and pointed at himself. She nodded.

He recently learn that the heart is the best part to eat, and it also gives the full experience of the killed prey through devouring it. In the werewolf’s custom, the Alpha is the only one who can eat hearts.

Even when the Alpha is full, nobody would eat the hearts.

Most would throw the hearts away if the Alpha is full.

The slaughter continued. The White Mask and the serpent swept from south to west, while Rex and the Shade Crawlers north to east. Not an inch of land was untouched by the pouring blood.

Screams and cries filled the air, but they were music to the usurpers.

Better for the people to suffer in silence. At least that way, the usurpers wouldn’t be thrilled.

Rex, with Varya following closely behind, stumbled to a corner of the east side.

Two Shade Crawlers are circling a group of at least one hundred people that was protected by four paladins that has lava emanating from their armor. One of them was recognized by Rex as one of the four figures who were looking down at him earlier.

Must be the Gatekeeper of Lava.

He was wounded. Badly. But fighting the Shade Crawlers shouldn’t be that hard.

Yes, the Black Rift has invaded the Sky City and begun drowning it, but he’s far stronger than the Shade Crawlers. Even Emperor Dominar is weaker than him. Even so, every time the Shade Crawlers attacked, he only defended.

Blocking the charge and kicking them away. No lethal attack was made.

Rex grinned at the sight.

He’s scared of killing them. He’s scared that I’ll obliterate him.

Frankly, the Gatekeeper of Lava could defeat Rex right now.

Ignatius had only provided a single, cataclysmic service by shattering the Sky City’s defenses. Nothing more. If the Gatekeeper of Lava attacked now, Rex would probably lose in the end. Even bolstered by the Blood Moon and the White Mask’s enhancements, the outcome would only be a slower, more brutal defeat.

But who would dare to attack him now?

In the eyes of everyone, Rex was backed by an entity stronger than Kei Xun.

Attacking him right now would be suicide.

Roar—!

A Shade Crawler squealed in pain when its arm was coated with lava, and then it hardened to a rock. With another vicious punch, the Shade Crawler was hurled across the floor and then crashed into a blacksmith shop.

At the same time, the Gatekeeper of Lava’s eyes widened when his gaze met with Rex’s.

Rex stood motionless and then growled.

Heeding his call, the other Shade Crawler whimpered before dashing away.

“Who the fuck are you?” the Gatekeeper of Lava asked furiously.

Rex didn’t answer. He only tilted his head slightly, and then slid his gaze past the Gatekeeper of Lava to the pale, terrified face huddled behind. A slow, cold smile touched his lips, baring the bloodied, sharp fangs.

“For someone trying to save them,” He said. His voice was a drawn-out whisper that carried like a predator preparing to pounce, “You throw curse words too freely, especially at the one who decides whether they breathe… or not.”

Almost like he had forgotten, the Gatekeeper of Lava straightened his back.

He stabbed his weapon, a double-edged lava sword, into the ground.

“Why…?” He asked after signaling for the other paladins to lower their weapons. “Why are you going this far? You’re not a Spirit, but the voidal monsters are your enemy, too. They are our common enemy. Our two realms might need one another.”

Seems like he was quick to catch that Rex wasn’t from the Spirit Realm.

But then again, a werewolf isn’t exactly alien.

Rex wanted to know more about why he said that about voidal monsters, but he didn’t have the time right now. He turned to Varya and then pointed at a man who was bleeding out from his severed leg, “Go there—and kill him for me.”

“Yes,” Varya approached the group without hesitation. “Do not resist.”

The Gatekeeper of Lava was flabbergasted.

All he did was ask a question. He even put down his weapon, and yet Rex reacted like this?

He tried to reach for his sword, but Rex raised his index finger, stopping him.

“If anyone tries to stop her,” Rex’s bloodlust swept like a wave of blood. “Everyone dies.”

Most of the people behind the Gatekeeper of Lava come from his own district. He recognized them—so he wanted to protect them. But he knew that Rex meant what he said. Even as the man pleaded him for help, he only turned his face away.

Varya grabbed him by the head with her claws and dragged him away.

She dragged the poor man slowly, antagonizing the Gatekeeper of Lava.

Some whimpered, but they remained silent, covering their mouths with their hands.

Even until she stabbed her claws into his neck and severed his head from his torso, there was no movement from the Gatekeeper of Lava or the people. Though she lived in the Black Rift, she knew about the Sky People.

Never in her entire life had she considered killing someone before one of the gatekeepers like this.

Frankly, this filled her with pride. And… thrill?

Either way, she made the right choice to bow down to Rex and acknowledge him as her Alpha.

“I’ve killed him, Your Highness.” She looked back at Rex.

Rex nodded and then turned to the Gatekeeper of Lava, “That’s for cursing me. The next time you displeased me, I will kill twice as many as the last one until there’s nobody left. Do you know how you should act?”

The Gatekeeper of Lava nodded.

He wanted to answer with his voice, but he decided not to.

Even his tone could be a reason for Rex to kill more.

“Good,” Rex channeled his Blood Moon Echo, dragging a few corpses around with blood, and then stacked them on top of each other to make a throne of corpses. “Now, we can talk.”