The Invincible Full-Moon System

Severe, unhealed wounds crisscrossed his body, the cost of the intense battle.

As the surge of brilliant golden energy engulfed the sky, casting an ominous shadow over the Dead Man\'s Creek—a ridiculous amount of energy that could only come from one source, the resolve inside of him faltered.

In that moment of clarity, he knew that victory was slipping through his fingers.

Rex even reverted back to his Human form out of fatigue.

In his current state—he couldn\'t cast any skill of his as the Brutal Impulse he used to defend himself from the Chaos Nova earlier had taken everything he had. Even his left arm—turned blue already.

Moving it sends a sharp sting to his nerves.

Looking over his shoulders, Rex gazed at Lyra and the Shapeshifters with heavy reluctance.

He was teetering at the edge of a heavy decision.

Is this it...? Do I, in the end, need to sacrifice them to win?

Seeing that Lyra and the Shapeshifters were fighting rigorously despite slowly being pushed back by the chaos monsters, dying left and right, Rex gritted his teeth. His body trembled at the prospect of what he was going to do.

Doing so would only regress the progress he had over his goal of achieving peace.

But compared to letting the Executor win...?

Just as he was contemplating heavily, a shout pierced his ears, "Do it! You have no choice!"

Emerging from the side was the Witch of Chaos, her form drenched in blood, evidence of the severe injuries, she, like the others, had sustained. Her eyes bulged in horror, the sight of the Executor taking hold of the supreme weapon—prodded her mind perilously close to the brink of madness.

She knew what was inside Rex\'s mind, but it was not the time to be hesitating.

If the Executor managed to wield the supreme weapon, his own power would\'ve exploded.

Aside from that, he would also gain control of the Supreme One\'s remnants, gaining a legacy that would put the Executor on the throne of the world. Naturally, this divine legacy includes the Passue Matriarch.

Even in a three-way fight, Rex and the others were struggling.

If the Passue Matriarch were to align with the Executor, then it would be the end for them.

Knowing that and also remembering all the sacrifices she made to align with the Royal Black Prince, the Witch would not accept if they lost due to a stupid reason as hesitating. It would be an utter shame and a waste of effort if that happened.

"Devour them! Absorb their Life Essences, or it will be our defeat!" She shouted angrily.

Taking a step forward, the Witch continued with blood coming out of her mouth, "Regardless of your plan in the future—creating peace or whatever the hell you wanted to do—you would not achieve that if the Executor got ahold of that weapon! Kill the Shapeshifters—all of them are yours to sacrifice!"

"You became this strong by doing anything to achieve it, don\'t falter now!" She shouted.

Her voice, filled with dread, echoed inside Rex\'s mind repeatedly.

Upon hearing this, Rex\'s heartbeat began to quicken as the moment was choking him.

A stark reminder that the decision was his to make, whether they would lose or not, it would all depend on his decision. Rex clenched both of his hands as he grimaced. Is there really no other way...?

———

Meanwhile, several miles away from the Dead Man\'s Creek.

Adhara, Gistella—and Kyran suddenly had their attention pulled to their backs when a radiant energy erupted skywards. Its brilliance stabbed the veil of the darkened sky, shattering Rex\'s Night of the Full Moon Dome.

Spiraling upward with an unstoppable force, it seemed to reach up to the heavens.

Even the clouds above were twisted and contorted in response to the overwhelming power.

Its phenomenon stretched for miles in every direction, casting a dazzling spectacle upon the land below and bathing the surrounding landscape in a celestial radiance. Witnessing such a jaw-dropping display, Adhara knitted her eyebrows.

"What is that? It came from the center of the creek," She commented in worry.

On the other hand, Gistella\'s expression is ashen, "No, this shouldn\'t be happening..."

Upon hearing this, Adhara turned towards her and saw the horror on her face.

"What is it, Gistella? What shouldn\'t be happening?"

"It\'s the supreme weapon... that\'s what this battle was all about. But the Executor wielding it wasn\'t part of the plan. Rex tried to prevent him from reaching it, but..." Fixing on the golden energy, Gistella gulped. "Did Rex lose?"

"No, it can\'t be. He would never lose." Kyran added, fully believing that Rex would not lose.

Adhara also nodded, "We could only believe in him. Rex will win"

Similarly, the sheer scale of the phenomenon was caught by those who were far away too.

From the Great Barricade, with a few numbers of military and Awakened who were stationed there to guard as the main army was advancing to the Symposium of Upper Divinities—each of them could see a blinding golden light in the distance.

A sight almost as if it was the time of dawn, and the sun was rising on the horizon.

Moreover, the stroke of power also reaches them.

It was so powerful that the guards on the Great Barricade\'s walls were pushed back slightly.

Even the protective barrier that covered the walls hummed and trembled, displaying that the energy from the phenomenon was ridiculously strong if it could be felt by them. Additionally, such a sight began to sweep unrest to the cities inside the Human Territory.

As the leaders of Ratmawati City were silent, the people were already feeling uneasy.

Now that this phenomenon happened, it has become chaotic.

Most of the people abandoned their daily activities in an instant, the bustling streets emptied as people hurried back to the safety of their homes, effectively shutting down the entirety of the economy to a complete standstill.

Fearing an incident such as Rex\'s rampage to happen again, this was all they could do.

All of them had no choice but to seek refuge indoors and wait.

Such a panic didn\'t sweep only to the smaller cities, even Ratmawati City was affected as all sectors inside the walls were blaring with a siren—beckoning them all to go indoors until the situation had calmed down.

Only Awakened and Black Hands were allowed to roam the city in case of an emergency.

It\'s safe to say that everyone awaits the conclusion of the battle in the creek.

———

Back to the creek, Rex was standing like a statue as he compared all possibilities in mind.

Even then, he came to the same conclusion as the Witch of Chaos.

Regardless of what he aspired to create in this world, none of it would be left if the Executor managed to wield the supreme weapon. He could bid goodbye to his aspirations as none of them would be realized.

Since he and his pack would be hunted down, he would only focus on surviving then.

Just like what the Witch said—he needs to do anything to win.

Victory only favors those who would do anything to get it.

Rex had learned that time and time again, it\'s crucial to do any requirements for a victory.

It was obvious that he didn\'t want to do this, resorting to a desperate act of draining the Life Essences from the Shapeshifters is definitely a low blow. But I have to do this. It\'s not right, I know—they all helped me in this fight, but their efforts and mine would\'ve been nothing if we lost this fight.

Determined, Rex pivoted around with the intention of going through with the heinous act.

But as he was about to take a step, someone suddenly grabbed his wrist.

Upon feeling this—Rex looked back and saw that it was Edward who stopped him.

"Let go of me," Rex uttered with a darkened expression.

Knowing what kind of person Edward is, Rex knew that he was trying to stop him.

Even back in their military days—Edward was the only one who still had a heart and couldn\'t go through with despicable acts. Rex and Kyran were the ones who needed to cover for him all the time, but not now, Rex couldn\'t cover for him this time.

It\'s a matter of the entire world, and he needs to take the ugly decision and bear its weight.

"I\'m not trying to stop you," Edward suddenly replied.

Swoosh!

Kaboom!!

Rex arched an eyebrow at Edward as another shockwave exploded from the Symposium, yet another sign that the Executor was beginning to blend with the supreme weapon. But then—Edward grasped Rex\'s hand, directing it towards himself.

"What are you doing...?" He asked as his eyes widened in surprise.

Smiling brightly, Edward replied, "If anyone has to die, then that person should be me"

"I don\'t know what you are planning by gathering Life Essences, but I definitely have enough"

Upon hearing the words that came out of his mouth, Rex was stunned.

Edward had been on the sideline—and when he saw the golden light that blasted skywards—he knew that the Executor had gained what he wanted. He thought that it was too late to stop the Executor, but it seemed Rex still had a card up his sleeves.

Listening to what the Witch said to him, he realized that Rex needed Life Essences.

It was probably why he asked Lyra to gather the humans from earlier.

"Now I felt stupid," Edward muttered with a wry smile, ridiculing himself. "Back when we were still in the military, I thought nothing fazed you. But like now—I can see that your face turned colder as you are about to do something you didn\'t want, and I\'ve seen you do this countless times back then"

"I didn\'t realize it then, but now I know—you were covering for me all this time, didn\'t you?"

Rex\'s expression tightened when he heard this.

Both he and Kyle always did the ugly commands so that Edward didn\'t have to.

A lot of times, he didn\'t want to do it, but he knew that Edward wouldn\'t be able to handle it.

So naturally, Rex sucked it up and did it anyway.

"I haven\'t been able to thank you for doing all of that—I\'m sure you must\'ve saved me from a lot of mental pain that I might not be able to recover from," Edward added before his grip on Rex\'s hand became tighter. "But this time, let me cover for you. This time, let me relieve you from the pain of doing something you don\'t want to do"

Despite everything Edward said was spot on, Rex remained unwavering.

Even though he didn\'t want to kill the Shapeshifters, Edward\'s alternative is way worse.

Rex couldn\'t find the strength to possibly do it to him.

"No, it\'s better to do it on them than you," He replied, shaking his head in refusal.

However, despite wanting to continue—Edward still firmly held him in place, "Just look at me, Rex." He said, pointing out the corruption that he suffered from the Executor which made him look extremely bad, stripping from his humanity. "Out of all the bad things this corruption did, I\'m sure it could help me endure it,"

"Don\'t underestimate me, I won\'t die..." He added, giving the assurance of words to Rex.

It was more than words, it was also the display of Edward\'s determination.

As he got to know more of Rex\'s side which was usually hidden deeply, the more he realized how much pain Rex had to endure for him in the past. But even then, Rex has never once let out a moan or complaint to him.

Rex took all the pain and suffering in silence, it was the kind of man he is.

Now, Edward wanted to repay for everything Rex did for him.

Certainly, Rex wasn\'t naive enough to wholeheartedly trust Edward\'s words, the likelihood of death was alarmingly high, if not impossible to avoid if they go through with this. Despite the peril, Edward assisted Rex\'s hand to point towards him.

"Come on, Private. No hesitation is the first rule we were taught, remember?" Edward said.

Upon hearing this, Rex looked down with a darkened face.

Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath and stared directly into Edward\'s eyes.

"Don\'t you fucking die on me,"

SWOOSH!!