The Invincible Full-Moon System

Chapter 1661: Petty Noble

Rex, or rather, the Invincible Apparition, was appalled at the audacity of Althea asking him to have the Reaping Seed when all she did was meddle in something that doesnʼt involve her. She was sent here only to check, but demanded the most precious thing from this incident.

He stared at her as if she had grown a second head.

”This fucking—what a noble woman you are...”

”You owe it to me!”

”Arenʼt nobles supposed to be graceful? How exactly do I owe it to you?”

”Because you slapped me two times! Even my husband never got the privilege to slap me before!”

”Iʼm surprised,” Rex cackled. ”From how noisy and loud you are, I thought it would be normal for your husband to slap you. In fact, Iʼm surprised you even have a husband. Poor guy must have been forced to marry a big-mouthed witch.”

Althea was silent.

So silent that Rex curiously glanced at her again, only to find her staring at him with teary eyes—and puffed cheeks like a kid that had her candy taken away. So much so that even Rex almost felt bad, but almost is not necessarily the same as actually feeling bad.

”Go back. Iʼm not giving you the Reaping Seed.”

”Give it to me! You have to take responsibility!”

”Responsibility? Like hell! Judging from your behavior, youʼre overdue to be slapped anyway!”

In a fit of anger and frustration, Althea flailed her hands, hitting Rexʼs back relentlessly.

She forced Rex to raise an arm to defend himself.

”Stop hitting me!” Rex growled, eyes glowing molten red, but that didnʼt scare Althea at all. In fact, it prompted her to hit him harder while holding back tears. ”If you donʼt stop, Iʼm going to slap you again! Do you want to be slapped again?”

”Go ahead! Iʼm going to tell my father that youʼre a woman abuser!” Althea barked back.

Even though she was supposed to be hundreds, if not thousands of years old, she was acting like a kid, and Rex was completely unready for that. One would think living that long would make anyone wise, but it seemed he was wrong.

Like Princess Davina, Althea was living in her privilege bubble.

But unlike Princess Davina, who was raised with strength, she was surely dotted by her parents.

Rex didnʼt even need to see her parents to know that.

Both of them struggled and even wrestled with Althea reaching for the finished Reaping Seed, while Rex played defense and put his back against her. No chance he was going to give it away when it was extremely valuable.

He could use it to enhance his existing Echo, and he would.

”Ask for something else! Iʼm not giving you the damn Reaping Seed!”

”Eugh—fine!”

Althea pushed Rex away and folded her arms under her chest, pouting.

She looked away, contemplating for a moment, before her eyes brightened when she got an idea.

”What is it?” Rex gritted his teeth, forcing a smile, as bloodlust was seeping out of him. It wouldʼve exploded—had it not been the real Rex screaming to stop inside. ”Iʼll get you anything but the Reaping Seed.”

”Let me slap you back. Just once—but really, really hard,” Althea smirked mischievously.

Rex narrowed his gaze, suspicious, ”Thatʼs it?”

”Yes. But you have to let me land it, you canʼt defend against it. That means no usage of life energy—no senses, and you have to close your eyes.” She arched a brow in challenge, lips curling. ”If you so much as flinch, it wonʼt count. How about it? Are you going to accept it?”

Hearing this, Rex was silent for a good moment.

He knew that Althea was scheming.

”Is there really any need for you to think that hard? Being slapped by me is a privilege, you know. Many people would want it,” She played with her slender, beautiful hands that had never known hardship. ”You should be thankful.”

”Thankful, huh?” A vein bulged on Rexʼs forehead. ”Fine, as long as you piss off after this.”

As soon as he agreed, Althea couldnʼt hide her smirk again.

ʼIʼm going to snatch that Reaping Seed and vanish before he even realizes what happened.ʼ Her gaze burned with greedy eagerness, locked on the Reaping Seed in Rexʼs hand. ʼHe would not even be able to react. As long as I reach father, he wonʼt dare take it from me again.ʼ

Just as soon as she thought that, her eyes widened.

Like being snuffed from reality, the Reaping Seed disappeared from Rexʼs hand.

”Why do you look surprised?” Rex grinned cheekily. ”You arenʼt thinking of snatching it, are you?”

Altheaʼs lips parted, but no words came out as she couldnʼt believe what she was seeing.

Not only did Rex see through her, but he even has an ability like this.

ʼJust how many powers does he have?!ʼ She glared at Rex in frustration. ʼUnfair! So unfair!ʼ

Even though he knew that he had messed up Altheaʼs plan to snatch the Reaping Seed, Rex played it cool.

He suppressed his life energy, dulled his senses, and even shut his eyes before she asked, exactly as per the deal of this exchange. Leaning forward with a faint smile tugging his lips, he offered his face; it was a clear mockery of the childish noble.

”Go on, slap me with all you got. I can take it.” Rex cackled in amusement.

On the other hand, Altheaʼs face turned grim.

But it only lasted a fleeting moment as her smile returned soon.

Althea stepped forward and stood before Rex, looking at his slap-able face with extreme delight.

”Iʼm going to slap you now. No cheating, okay?”

”Of course. How hard can you even hit? In fact, Iʼll even let you slap me two times for good measure.”

”No… once will be enough. After all, youʼll be squealing on the ground after it.”

Rex only chuckled and waited for the slap to come.

One second. Two seconds.

He waited, eyes shut, bracing himself for the slap that would soon come.

Even though he suppressed his senses completely, he could feel Althea winding up to make the slap, her presence swelling like a storm about the break. He wasnʼt worried. A slap was nothing—at worst, a petty little sting.

She wouldnʼt be stupid enough to hit him seriously with her power.

It was obvious that Althea was petty, so petty she could make mountains crumble out of spite—but the mission was on the line. Rex knew that she wouldnʼt cross that line, or at least, he hoped that she would not cross that line.

Then came the fifth second.

It was when the strike landed.

But it wasnʼt a slap.

Thud!

A searing, paralyzing current detonated through his body, starting from the only place every single man instinctively feared. His eyes snapped open in horror as agony shot through his crotch, crawling like an electric fire current up his spine.

His knees buckled inward, his hands shot down to cradle what was left of his dignity, and his powerful frame folded like a house of cards.

No matter how strong a man was, that place will always be the softest.

Even someone like Rex, who had killed countless people, folded without a fight.

Althea didnʼt slap him at all.

She had driven her knee into his family jewels with surgical, merciless precision.

It wasnʼt hard for her to spot where his family jewels were, as they stood out even through the fabric.

Rex toppled forward, forehead smacking the ground as he wailed—an unruly, strangled sound that could make every man within earshot twitch in sympathetic pain. Althea, ever the picture of petty satisfaction, stood smugly over him.

Her supposed slap had turned into the most devastating knee of Rexʼs life.

”FUCK!! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!”

”Thatʼs what you get, hmph! Get a move on, will you? Donʼt allow any more hiccups.”

Althea flicked her blue hair and walked away, leaving Rex wailing on the ground.

She didnʼt seem to be bothered by the blatant pain in his voice.

Gritting his teeth with absolute, animal frenzy, Rex raised his gaze and glared at Altheaʼs back.

Despite the gruelling pain, he pointed a hand at her.

”Spirit Genesis: Inevitable Dea—”

Before he could even finish chanting his Spirit Genesis, the molten lava color of his eyes melted.

It turned to crimson again.

”Are you insane?! Youʼre actually going to use Inevitable Death on her?!” Rex, the real Rex, exclaimed in shock, stunned by the Invincible Apparitionʼs impulsiveness. But before his outrage could even settle, his body stiffened, eyes bulging wide as agony surged through him like lightning. ”Fuck—! She used life energy at the last second!”

Being in the background meant he had no sensation of the body.

Now that he returned, the pain from being kneed right on his family jewels was his to endure.

And for a fleeting second, the thought of using the Inevitable Death on Althea doesnʼt sound so bad.

Meanwhile, outside of the Vinarkin Bubble.

”Heurghkk!”

Haxel covered his mouth as he looked down at the ground with widened eyes, shocked could be seen plastered across his face. He pulled his hand back and sucked in a cold breath when he saw blood smeared on it.

But what surprised him the most was the excruciating sensation.

It didnʼt come from within, but it came from outside—from his Echo to be exact.

”What… whatʼs happening?” He whispered, stunned. ”Why is my Echo… weakening?”

Haxel could feel earlier that the Faceless Reaper was defeated, which meant Rex triumphed over it, but that should be it. Instead, when the Faceless Reaper died, he felt a strain on his Echo—before it turned into an outright tear.

A portion of his Echo vanished as if something or something took a piece of it.

He had never heard of something like this before.

An Echo could only be damaged in a battle where the Echo was pitted against another Echo.

All Haxel had done was empower the Faceless Reaper with his Echo, a mere indirect link. He wasnʼt forcing his Echo beyond its limits. By all logic, if the Faceless Reaper perished—the borrowed power should have dissolved with it.

It wouldnʼt resist the enemy and would simply dissipate.

So, he didnʼt understand where this was coming from.

Earlier, when it was about to dissipate, he felt something grab it and trace him down.

ʼRex, it has to be him…ʼ Haxel felt the strength leaving him, and fear crept in. ʼBut how did he do it?ʼ

Just as he turned to look at the breach again, he noticed a figure walking out.

It was Althea, and she looked satisfied.

Clearly, she was in a good mood, but Haxel didnʼt want her to see him after the scolding earlier.

At a time like this, itʼs best for him to lie low.

But as he tried to step back, to blend with the legion, her eyes caught him when she was about to leave.

Almost instantly, she pointed at him and gestured for him to come.

Unable to refute Altheaʼs command as she came from a way higher noble household, Haxel reluctantly approached her—wiping the blood away from his lips with his arm. ”Did everything go well inside? I sensed the Voidal Knightʼs presence had disappeared.”

”Do you always ask stupid questions? Of course, itʼs handled if its presence disappeared,” She said with clear annoyance in her tone and disappointment. ”Do you have something to tell me before I leave, Sir Haxel?”

Hearing this, Haxel paused, but he quickly recovered.

”I want to apologize for my incompetence.”

”Is that it?”

”Do you have something in mind?”

”You lied to me.”

Deg!

Haxelʼs heart skipped a beat, but his face remained composed and calm.

”Lie to you?” He tilted his head in fake confusion.

”Yes. Sir Rex didnʼt need your help at all, so your excuse doesnʼt add up.” Althea said firmly, her eyes turning sharper than a blade. ”Once the mission is over, come see me and my father. There are a lot of questions that you need to answer.”

Once she said her piece, she soared skyward, returning to report back to the nobles.

All Haxel could do was stand there, shadowed by suspicion.