Chapter 1816: What I Want
Chapter 1816: What I Want
Fear of death gripped Rezar like a tightening vice.
His eyes were wide open, shocked to see his own blood and also Rex’s claws that were buried inside his stomach. For a split second, he remembered his mistake that was driven by his greed. Then, his mind was thrown further back to when he first won his first war.
Back to when he was still training diligently.
Back to when his parents were still around and treated him with love.
Life flashed before his eyes.
It has been so long since he was in actual danger, and he had forgotten what it truly felt like.
“RAARGGH—!”
Above—the hurricane was charged with a catastrophic amount of life energy. It blotted out the Blood Moon with its storm surge and then spat out a thunderous lightning strike that was half a mile thick. A roar reverberated through the air.
Rex looked up and saw that the lightning strike turned into a yellowish dragon lightning.
And with the power of a Primordial Spirit, it slammed into Rex.
A hundred billion volts commandeered the nervous system. Bone lit up like an X-ray. The heart inside Rex’s chest fibrillated. Synapses fired in a catastrophic, blinding cascade. And vision whited out into a silent, static void.
It was the strongest lightning attack Rex had ever seen and taken.
Nothing could even come close.
Had it not been for his preparations, this attack would’ve pulverized him.
But he held on. Endured. Taking in every zapping pain with a laughter unlike any other.
At first, his laughter sounded close to a painful whimper.
“You have truly, irrevocably, messed up now, bastard!” Rezar’s laugh was an ecstatic, almost perverse shriek of triumph. He watched, enthralled, as the skin across Rex’s body blackened and split, the furious healing beneath it unable to keep pace with the rampant destruction.
Then came the wet, audible crack of bone—a sound that sent a thrill through Rezar’s core.
Rex’s own skeleton was failing, unable to endure the relentless pressure of the Law of Lightning.
“I doubt your beloved backer would or even could do more than it already has!” Rezar crowed, savoring the sight of torment. “No one is coming to save you now!”
Despite the desperation at the edge of his voice, he was right.
Ignatius only promised Rex one favor, and he already used up that favor. Even if he died right now, the senior Scion wouldn’t bat an eye. Scions are the strongest of the strong, aiming for the peak of power. Being able to take care of oneself is paramount over anything.
Death is simply a natural selection.
Had it been the other Gatekeepers, Dorn, for instance, Rex would’ve been in trouble.
But Rezar…? A temporary Gatekeeper? His strength is a bit higher than Emperor Dominar at best.
And that is not enough for Rex’s empowered body.
Reddish steam seeped out of his monstrous body. His bones healed rapidly, mending the cracks. Even his skin stretched and closed at a rapid pace. As seconds passed, Rezar’s smile faltered when he came to realize Rex wasn’t whimpering; he was laughing.
Revelling in the pain like it was what he wanted.
Fighting someone determined to kill is scary. But fighting someone who loves the pain more is scarier.
Living his painful life made him friends with pain. Now, had his mind not drowned in anger, he would’ve questioned whether he already become a masochistic animal. Despite the charge, Rex reached out his hand and placed it on Rezar’s nape.
Rezar couldn’t get away.
Summoning this hurricane and lightning rooted him in his spot.
Moving meant cancelling the ability.
It’s a battle of attrition. And that’s the game Rex was best at.
Bam—!
He pulled his head back and slammed his forehead against Rezar’s face.
Due to the spasm, the headbutt came at an angle, but it ended up inflicting more damage.
Both horns cracked Rezar’s cheekbones, and the forehead shattered his nose.
Blood spilled freely. Rezar shook the pain away and howled louder, making the lightning strike stronger than it already was. Rex was pushed down harder. The lightning was forcing him to the ground, but he held on.
Bam—!
Another headbutt slammed, and it knocked the dignity right out of Rezar’s mind.
His cheekbones are now shattered, leaving his face disfigured.
Bam—!
Like a wracking ball, the third headbutt shattered Rezar’s determination.
Everything was spinning. And his focus faltered, causing the dragon lightning to waver.
It was enough for Rex to cast the Inevitable Death Spirit Genesis, charging his canine fangs with power fueled—by the White Mask. Four canine fangs changed color to red, and with a ferocious tear, he sank them into Rezar’s shoulder like a starving hound.
Devo raised his gaze strugglingly.
He heard a scream bouncing off the temple walls. A tormented scream that almost made him feel bad.
Above, he saw Rex bite and tear Rezar’s flesh as he tried to paralyze Rex with the yellow lightning. But ultimately, the victor became evident. The lightning grew weaker, and the storm was dispersing slowly, exposing the Blood Moon once more.
Rex felt like passing out multiple times, but the pain worked wonders for him.
It kept him awake and allowed him to finish Rezar.
Feeling the heavy pressure disappear, Rex pulled his claws out and swiped Rezar hard, sending him crashing down. He slammed through the mechanism that binds Devo in place—and then bounced to the wall like a ragdoll.
Devo gasped when the pain dispersed, and he could finally breathe easily again.
A few steps away, Rex’s muscles convulsed.
He was healing rapidly, and in a few seconds, he was back to normal again.
With a mere gaze from him, a translucent dome snapped into existence around the temple. It isolated the area from the outside world. Of course, it was the Law of Misdirection. He doesn’t want anyone peeping on them right now.
He smacked his lips, a low sound of delight escaping him as he watched Rezar struggle.
Even though he knew he was screwed, he still tried to fight.
It was the last struggle of a prey.
And the sight made a thin strand of drool glistened onto Rex’s chin.
Rex approached. He looked at Devo on the side, trembling as he tried to sit upright.
Pivoting his body, he went to Devo instead, and grabbed him by his torso. His hand was so big right now, or perhaps Devo was smaller than normal, but his hand could wrap around Devo’s torso and lift him up from the ground.
“You’ve done wonderfully in the Spirit Realm,” Rex whispered in a rumbling growl.
It was sarcasm.
He had gone through so much to rescue Devo, and it annoyed him more than ever.
“Much has changed… since my return,” Devo forced out, the words scraped through a tightened throat with strain. He could feel his own body groaning—compressed by the sheer weight of Rex’s pressure. He had gotten a lot stronger since their last meeting. “I cannot… brute force my way free of this.”
“I should kill you right now….” Rex bared his bloodied fangs and growled.
Hard lines creased his forehead as he seriously considered doing exactly that right now.
But Amanir quickly intervened.
“Now, now…” He came out of nowhere, pressing down on Rex’s arm with his ears. “It would be more than a waste to kill him after doing so much already, isn’t it? Let him make amends in the future. Am I right, Devo?”
Devo nodded. What else could he do?
But Rex wasn’t convinced.
“How about you spare him right now as a favor for me?” Amanir negotiated. “I brought April to safety. I could at least bargain with that, right?”
Rex clicked his tongue and threw Devo aside. He showed a flicker of mercy. His focus then returned to Rezar, only to find the man had used the distraction to exit the temple. But he stopped dead in his tracks.
Outside, the serpent was still circling the temple.
A living wall of obsidian scales and cold malice, blocking any hope of escape.
Mercilessly, Rex’s hand shot out and closed around Rezar’s ankle. With the brutal sound of a wet crack, he tore the leg free from its socket. He paid no mind to the raw, shredding scream that followed, simply hooking his other hand under Rezar’s arm and dragging him away.
“There has to be another way!” Rezar pleaded. “There’s no need for any more bloodshed! What is it do you want?!”
Upon hearing those words, Rex’s restraint for calmness snapped.
He was enraged.
“I have given this realm a chance!” Rex bellowed. His voice was a tectonic snarl. One massive hand seized Rezar by the torso, crushing the armor and breath alike, and hauled him into the air. “Do you understand me?! You lowly sack of meat. What I want is for no one to touch what is mine. I want every living being to retract their claws when what is mine draws near.
“I want every sense to go blind when they hear the name Silverstar!” He roared.
His voice was thunderous, and the pressure from him struck Rezar like a physical blow.
Brutally, he slammed Rezar down, cracking the floor.
And then Rex stomped on his chest.
“Animals like you can only learn through pain.” Rex snarled, baring his bloodied fangs. “Now, I want the blood of Spirits and Voidal Monsters to reach all across this pathetic realm. And the whimper of pain to choke the air until the end of time.
“I will drain the blood of every spirit in this city so the horror can never be washed away from the street, the buildings, and the hearts. And with the broken souls and mangled wills of the survivors, I will drill the mark of fear into the heads of generations to come.”
Rex placed his elbow on his thigh and leaned down.
The growls that rumbled inside his throat sounded like the dark noise from a predator that a prey would last hear.
“Only then,” his voice dropped into a baritone bass that vibrated in the bones, “will you born-preys understand the consequence of baring your fangs at us.” He leaned in, the promise in his gaze more dangerous than the Blood Moon. “Then, you born-preys will remember the night Rex Silverstar painted this realm red.”
Rex mounted the waiting serpent and descended through the shattered sky.
“Holy…” Devo climbed back to his feet with the help of Amanir under him. He saw and heard the exchange and was stunned. “What did I miss? What happened to him in this realm? He’s almost as angry as when his mother died.”
“About that,” Amanir smiled sheepishly.
“Is it a girl?” Devo raised a brow.
“Yeah, something like that,” Amanir helped Devo exit the temple. “He got close with a girl from the House of Aurelius, and she was targeted by the enemies he made along the way. This is the third time.”
“Third time…?” Devo snorted. “No wonder he’s that mad. Who’s the girl?”
“A young girl called April. Both of them got close after training in the Forsaken Tower.”
Hearing this, Devo sucked in a cold breath.
“What?” Amanir raised a brow. “You know her?”
“I know her, but I never talked to her. I didn’t think she’s his type,” Devo shrugged, recalling the others around Rex. “To be honest, I thought if anyone would get close to him, it’d be the Duke’s daughter, Princess Davina.”
“Well, she’s his fiancée. And she’s also a Silverstar now.”
“Huh?” Devo looked at Amanir. His face was a mixture of surprise and disbelief. “She’s what?”
“He was trying to get to you the legitimate way, but the empire is too corrupt.”
“You don’t say.”
It took almost five minutes for them to reach the edge of the cloud.
Looking down, Devo scanned the Sky City for the first time and couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath. Rezar’s reaction was more than enough to know that Sky City is in trouble. He wouldn’t have apologized had it not been for that.
But he didn’t expect it to be this bad.
Some of the Gatekeepers are here, so this level of destruction was unexpected.
Devo couldn’t believe that Rex could pull this off.
He looked at Amanir for an answer, but only got a shrug. Amanir, too, doesn’t know how Rex could pull this off. Most of the things Rex prepared for this day were done in secrecy, and the only one who knew about his plan was himself.
Just then, their eyes were pulled to a reddish formation at the main square.
One would think that Rex had done more than enough for tonight.
But he wasn’t finished.
Amanir and Devo could only pity Rex’s enemies as their suffering is undone.
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