<Sudden Quest completed!>

<Calculating rewards…>

<Warning: the user is in a critical condition!>

<Regeneration has been overwhelmed by the Sky Judgment>

<Life and voidal energy are scattered from the residual energy of the Sky Judgment>

<All Soul Artifacts are cracked!>

<It’s advised to make use of the Blood Moon’s presence by spilling blood, bathing under the moonlight, and devouring flesh to bolster regeneration and hasten the healing process>

<Notice: the user’s Spirit Body will die in four hours>

Rex opened his eyes and glared straight at the surface. He gargled on his own blood as he tried to move his body to no avail. Only his right hand was still listening to him; everything else was numb.

Pain was prevalent, but it only scratched against his ego, making him angrier.

He read the notifications and clutched a handful of the earth.

His claws dug into the ground like it was butter, and the squeeze crumbled the rocks like nothing.

It happened so fast.

After roaring triumphantly to announce his triumph, he marked the Sky City as per the sudden quest. It was easy to do. All he needed was to activate his Blank form and summon a power from deep within, then fire it at the ground.

Rex kept that going for a few seconds, and the Invincibility Symbol was made.

A star-shaped wrathful eye. One that he reckoned to be the Invincibility Symbol for the Anger Stratum, as he remembered seeing this symbol on Ignatius’ body. He completed the sudden quest with that, and he could feel the Highseat of Invincibility was reacting.

Not feel it physically, but mentally.

Like something was flourishing deep inside his mental space.

And then, he saw the warning from the System.

He couldn’t react fast enough to the attack, but the White Mask did. It shielded them in time before the beam struck. Had that not been the case, Rex—and also the serpent would’ve been vaporized to nothing by now.

No doubt about it; the beam should be moving at the speed of light.

Impossibly fast to track.

“Huaarkh!”

His internal organs squeezed, shooting blood into his throat and then out of his mouth.

Rex breathed heavily and then laughed.

A hoarse, wheezing laugh that was devoid of any real joy. Only a brutal exhilaration at how responsive the Sky Cities were. He knew there were five Sky Cities across the entire realm. Considering the Spirit Realm was almost certainly bigger than the Mortal Realm, he thought it would take time for the other Sky Cities to come help.

Especially since each one must be extremely far away from the other.

He was wrong.

The Sky Judgment was akin to an extinction ray, a beam that unmade whatever it touched. Even now, the skin where it had grazed him directly was still prickling with a persistent, agonizing hum. His natural regeneration fought a losing war against it, which was why the System was telling him to help it.

But he couldn’t move.

Fortunately, he was in luck.

Rex reached for the voidal knight he killed and began tearing its flesh with his claws.

And then, he shoved the sour flesh into his mouth and began munching on it.

“See what I mean?” Rex whispered with a devilish grin, recalling what he said to Dorn. He could feel his limbs regaining function again, “It’s always hard to keep the losing side understanding without total annihilation.”

It took more than five minutes for him to be able to sit up again.

Frankly, Rex was expecting the other Gatekeepers to pursue him and make sure he’s dead.

Since they weren’t here already, it meant one of two things: they didn’t pursue him, or he’d been thrown so far that they were still chasing him even now. Rex’s gaze slid to the side. The serpent lay motionless; its body curled around him like a black wall.

He couldn’t hear its heartbeat. Not even a tremor. It was dead

But it’ll come back to life again, no doubt.

Just as Rex stood up, a shadow loomed over him, crowned with a white mask.

“Our… deal… is… done.”

“Hmm, the night isn’t over yet.”

Rex looked up at the White Mask and growled.

He had handed over the Crown Embryo to the White Mask, but he placed another thing in it.

A precaution from the Shop that’ll explode if the White Mask tries anything.

Seems like it noticed the precaution and was now demanding that he remove it.

“Sky… is… destroyed.”

“Our deal is done, when I say… it is done.”

“Sky… is… destroyed.”

Once again, the White Mask repeated the same three words. But this time, it walked closer.

Rex clicked his tongue as he knew it would be a fight if he pursued this.

He was on a time limit. Four hours to reinforce his regeneration before his Spirit Body shattered, and his soul was wrenched back to the Mortal Realm. He couldn’t return. Not yet. So, there’s no other choice but to concede this stance.

Though it’ll be better to have the White Mask around, it’s fine.

Nobody would be reckless enough to attack him after what he did, and for the others, he’s in a strong pact with the White Mask. That reputation is good enough for him to roam around without needing to always watch his six.

At least not until the Sky People really prepare to defeat him.

Rex extended his arm and shoved his hand into the White Mask’s chest.

He took out a silver pearl from the Crown Embryo and then waved his hand.

Once the White Mask sensed the shift, it dissolved into a wisp of smoke and shot into the cavern wall, abandoning the place and also the serpent without a second glance. Rex shook his head; a dry scoff left him at the sight.

He turned toward the slanted slope of the crater.

Since the beam slammed into the ground at an angle, he could walk out without needing to climb.

It’s a steep, ascending slope, but walkable. Far better than needing to climb with a weak body.

I need to quickly return to the Blood Moon.

Rex reached the surface after a painfully long walk and scanned the area. He was in a completely odd terrain. He was surrounded by towering stone monoliths that rose skyward. A soft, drifting mist coils around their midsections, clinging to ledges and pooling in the lower ravines.

Surely, he was far from where he was earlier.

Perhaps this was not even in the empire’s territory anymore.

From somewhere in the distance, he could hear the constant hush of distant waterfalls.

Rex sucked in a deep breath, and with the remaining strength he got from devouring the voidal knight earlier, he summoned the Blood Moon Echo. It made more blood to slide down his lips, but he endured until the reddish grand appeared before him.

He pointed the Blood Moon Echo skyward, and slowly, the clouds parted.

Behind them was the Blood Moon that could now shine down on him.

It’s eye-catching, but I need a bit more energy to move around.

The Gatekeepers were likely still in pursuit. Parting the clouds to let the Blood Moon’s grace through was, by any measure, a staggeringly stupid idea. But he already scanned the area with the System, and there are no high-ranking Spirits within a ten-mile radius.

He could afford to take the risk.

At least a few minutes under the Blood Moon would heal him enough to move freely.

Rex made his way to where the waterfalls are once he could stand up straight.

Normally, water meant life. But voidal monsters eat life energy, so the waterfalls might be deserted.

Even so, Rex decided to check and test his luck.

He needed to spill blood to make use of the Blood Moon before it ended.

For almost four hours, Rex recuperated.

His way of recuperating was through spilling blood and devouring bodies.

There are voidal monsters on the waterfall, and its massive lake, but all of them are inside the water. He tried making use of them, but they are faster than him in water. Even though he killed some, his rate of killing wouldn’t put him close enough to recovering.

He climbed the waterfall and, surprisingly, found a cave behind it.

Inside was a deep labyrinthine network of tunnels filled with voidal monsters of all kinds.

Most of them are voidal knights with a few voidal lords.

Rex could begin his slaughter here, but an enclosed space would work against him. It’ll be better if he’s out in the open, right under the Blood Moon. So, he stalked like a silent predator, keeping his aura close to him as he infiltrated the cave’s tangled tunnels.

It would surely be their first time being hunted inside their own nest.

He wasn’t sure if voidal monsters reproduced, but he hunted for their young. He found none.

Instead, he found a larger female, a ghoul-like creature of the same kind he’d killed earlier. She was a bit smaller than the one he killed, but her form was pulsing subtly. Based on the System’s scan, this one is a brood-carrier.

It could produce parasitic voidal spiders that are used to scout areas.

Rex deemed her important enough and pounced on her from the shadows.

He broke her legs and stomped on them, forcing her to let out a pitiful squeal.

Since this was a tunnel, her squeal echoed and attracted the others.

Rex sprinted out while dragging her as the cave walls rumbled. He could hear the sound of a hundred or more heartbeats not too far behind him. And when he glanced over his shoulder, his eyes met with a hundred glowing pairs.

A grin crept to his face as he leaped out of the cave mouth and burst through the waterfall.

Following closely behind him were the voidal monsters, furious that he stole one of theirs.

Naturally, the rage inside him was still present as the Blood Moon hadn’t ended.

But he couldn’t regenerate properly right now.

Each wound he suffered would be an extra burden for his regeneration. The moment he landed, he made sure to shift back to human form, leashing his rage into a cold, hard knot. He met the horde not with his claws, but with combat skills.

Blade, footwork, and fists.

Each movement was calculated to preserve what strength he had left and avoid being touched.

Rex also made sure to kill each one with one strike.

And with the Maw of Oblivion in his hand, that wasn’t a hard thing to do at all.

Drawn by the sound of battle, more voidal monsters of all kinds poured out of the cave’s mouth. He had already killed most of the voidal monsters that followed him, but seeing a fresh batch coming straight at him only made him smile wider.

His fangs elongated as he roared at the incoming horde, ready to fight again.

It was a fierce slaughter.

Rex was forced to move and defend against a weaker opponent. He was surrounded on all sides, and yet he was still winning. Corpses piled up around him, making it hard for him to move. And by the end of it, he was left panting and drenched in blood.

Anyone who saw his state right now would think he’s a voidal monster, too.

No time to waste.

Despite his exhaustion, he began devouring the corpses one by one under the Blood Moon.

At the end of the four-hour mark, he barely managed to get rid of the Sky Judgment’s residual.

He was now washing his sticky body on a shallow lake—right beside the main one. The Blood Moon ended, thankfully without Kaiser playing tricks on him again. “It’s surprising that he didn’t hammer me with a vicious backlash from those Blood Moon Crystals. Maybe he’s ashamed?”

Recalling how Kaiser helped a Half-Angel with his power, Rex reckoned that must’ve been shameful.

Other Lunirich Gods might even ridicule him for doing it.

“No matter,” Rex leaned his head back and submerged his body up to his neck. “This is really nice…”

Soon, Rex sensed a shift in the air.

He opened his eyes and looked around, searching for anything different.

Trusting his instincts, he scanned the area with the System again, and his eyes widened.

<Notice: a barrier of starlight has been detected.>

“Starlight?” Rex paused for a second, and then his heart dropped. “Fuck… How did she find me?”