The Invincible Full-Moon System

Chapter 1742: Blood in the Air (1)

Kaine’s fist drove into his own shadow on the wall.

His punch caused the shadow to splash as if it were water, spreading across the wall.

From it was a dampened air of a confined space, a clear sign—that something was on the other side of this shadow hole—a portal. It was auraless and soundless. Even if there was someone on the other side of the wall, they would not notice this portal opening.

Only Kaine could sense and use it.

”Now, let’s see what you’re hiding, Your Majesty...”

Kaine cracked his neck and stretched his arms, preparing for what he was about to do.

Once he was ready, he entered the hole without even bringing his weapon with him.

As he stepped on the other side, he found himself inside the very room where he had talked with the two royal knights earlier. Other than to lure Empress Morgana, he also asked the two for somewhere to talk privately so that he could mark this place.

Normally, doing something like this was impossible.

Both the exterior and the interior of the treasury were riddled with traps and formations.

Even someone as strong as him wouldn’t come out unscathed if he forced his way inside this place.

Fortunately, the emperor was on his side.

It was clear that Emperor Dominar had his own suspicion and wanted Kaine to find out more about the situation without dirtying his hands, or else he wouldn’t approve of this. And to top it off, he also infused the Judge Seal with a portion of his power.

Not too much, but enough for the formations within the treasury to recognize his power.

Because of that, Kaine is not considered a threat.

Kaine kept the portal open and closed his eyes, sensing and counting the guards within the treasury.

All he needed to do was get to the upper floors so that he could check them one by one, and in order to do that, he could either sneak his way through the upper floors undetected or make a commotion that was loud enough to alert all the guards.

He’d need to know the number of royal knights within to know which method he’s going to use.

”Thirty-one of them are inside, and eleven of them are on my floor.”

It was a lot—too many for Kaine to sneak past.

So, he opted for the second option.

Kaine took out a tree branch from the shadow portal.

It was sizzling with a pure blue aura that was highlighted even more—against the dim backdrop of the room he was in right now. His hand absorbed the energy from the tree branch, and with his other hand, he pointed to the spot beside him.

Unnaturally, a figure emerged from his shadow.

A shadow figure that started as a specter, but became more humanoid at the end.

It has all the features Kaine has, except it was black, manifested from shadow.

Kaine didn’t need to instruct it on what to do—the figure has the same mind as him, so it quickly went back into the shadow portal.

As for Kaine, he took a seat on the staircase.

Not even a minute later, a powerful crash resounded—from outside, rattling the ground underneath his feet. Following that was the sound of chaos coming from upstairs as the royal knights scrambled toward the scene.

Most of them abandoned their stations; Kaine could feel them moving away.

Of course, everyone except for the ones on the lowest floor.

”It’s time...”

Meanwhile, inside the room where the Phoenix Feather was being prepared earlier, a single sprout on the corner of the room emerged. And from it, a phantom contorted its way out until the torso of Kaine emerged.

”Is it already transported?” Kaine thought with a frown.

Inside the room was empty.

No sign of the Seekers, and certainly no sign of the black chest.

Kaine was not expecting the Phoenix Feather to be transported already, as usually, it takes a bit more time to prepare to transport a powerful item. It’s not that they feared another force was eyeing the item, but because the items would attract powerful voidal monsters inside the Black Rift.

And that’s not good.

Feeling a bit uneasy, Kaine snapped out of his trance and continued.

He leaped up to the ceiling and pressed his hand into it.

Slowly but surely, his hand turned into shadow, and then into roots.

Like a ghost slipping through solid matter, he phased through the ceiling and went to the upper floor.

Kaine investigated the place with mechanical precision, slipping past the royal knights, sending weaker phantoms of himself into rooms to check, and even created a shadow rose at each floor to check and scan any energy abnormalities.

But even after he swept all thirty floors of the treasury, not a single abnormality was detected.

It came to a point where Kaine stood motionless in deep thought.

”Am I really reaching...? Is there nothing to find?” He thought aloud, doubting his own gut as he was certain nothing Empress Morgana had could help her hide things from someone like him. ”But I already swept the entire place and found nothing out of the ordinary. Should I call it quits?”

Even though he was reluctant, he couldn’t be unreasonable.

Unlike nobles, he wasn’t a man who was afraid to admit that he made a mistake.

Just as he was about to leave, however, his steps stopped.

”Nothing she has can hide things from someone like me...” Kaine repeated those words as he turned to look at the room again. ”She’s not stupid. And she’s not that simple either, since she has Angel blood inside her, so she also knew hiding things from me is impossible.’

”If I were her fending against someone like me, what would I do...?” He muttered.

Kaine contemplated for a good moment.

Other than her own power, she has her Angel blood, but she wouldn’t use it inside the treasury.

It would alert the formations inside, and she would be decimated.

Empress Morgana was forced to use only her own power if she wanted to hide things in the treasury—as the tiara she was wearing, which was connected and recognized by the whole empire, its people, and land, only recognized her normal power.

Not her Angel side.

”Ah,” Kaine’s eyes narrowed, realizing something. ”No, that wasn’t her only option—a secret room...”

Since Empress Morgana wasn’t strong enough to overpower him with her own strength, had no access to strong artifacts to help her, and couldn’t even use her Angel side, then she could always opt for the old way of hiding things.

Empress Morgana is considered extremely weak for someone in a royal position.

She has no means to hide anything from Kaine using her own strength; she doesn’t have access to strong artifacts that would allow her to do this either, and she also can’t use her Angel side—even if she knew how to use it.

So that leaves her with one method—the traditional way of hiding things.

A secret room somewhere inside the treasury with no enhancements or protection—blending it with the wall or any other normal rooms within. Kaine smiled inwardly at the realization, ”Clever. But now that I know what to look for, finding it would be easy.”

Five minutes later, he found what he was looking for.

It was a secret root located between the twenty-ninth floor and the thirtieth floor.

Kaine seeped into the secret room and landed on the floor with a very light tap, and then looked around.

A frown immediately crept to his face as the secret room wasn’t as he expected.

”A bedroom...? For whom?”

...

Banished Realm.

Nivellen writhed in pain alone in the darkness.

She was blind and corrupted.

Even the realm around her that felt suffocating and mute, she couldn’t feel it now.

Its darkness was so thick, she couldn’t see it anymore.

Her senses... they were now silent.

All that was left was her sixth sense that flickered inside her—an echo of feeling, nothing more.

It wasn’t a real sensation, merely a fragile facade her mind desperately wove to feel her surroundings, to keep her sane, to keep her alive. And through that sixth sense, she felt her hand was collapsing into ash, and the finality only climbed up.

One could tell that she was moments away from death.

But even so, her mind remained steadfast.

Even though she wasn’t responsive anymore, she knew that Rex paid her a visit a couple of times.

She didn’t know what he said or did, but she could feel his emotions.

Hold on.

All he asked of her was to hold on and survive a little bit longer.

Don’t die on him.

Nivellen was constantly fighting against the eternal coldness inside, keeping it at bay or even pushing it back. An inch or two, it doesn’t matter. Even if her struggle only bought her a second longer to live, it doesn’t matter.

Inside, what she was worried about was Rex.

He can’t take another loss.

And she wouldn’t be able to die peacefully knowing that her end would also end his.

’I’m going to try my best...’ Nivellen spoke in her mind as if Rex was beside her, clinging to the thread of life. ’But please, Rex... hurry. I want you to succeed in saving me. Not for my own sake—not at all. But for yours. I know how much it would mean to you...’

...

Inside a palace above the clouds.

Alana stood solemnly on the side, arms neatly placed in front of her stomach.

For thousands of years, the palace had been filled with priests and priestesses who worshipped the sun and acknowledged the Divine Saintess as the personification of it. But at this moment, there were no other people.

She was the only one left.

Most of their people were dead or sick.

Even the Divine Saintess, her light couldn’t keep the sky sunny.

In the past, there was a time when this place was a gathering of power.

Now, it was nothing but a fitful shadow of what it once was.

Alana opened her eyes and looked at Kei Xun, who was looking up to the glowing moons above.

Ever since she returned from overseeing Rex’s odyssey that ended with the creation of an Original Echo that reached the highest level, Kei Xun had been standing there motionlessly. Be it day or night, sunny or rainy, she remained motionless.

Of course, Alana didn’t entirely blame her for feeling melancholic.

From the moment she became a Scion, she had been attacked relentlessly by other Scions.

She fended them for thousands of years—a short period for beings like them—and even rose to power.

Confidence grew in her, but all of that was shattered when reality set in.

All the battles she had won were nothing but a mere sliver of the Scions’ power.

Her despair didn’t stem from the overwhelming strength the other Scions have, but from the reason why the other Scions attacked her. ’Because the other Scions despised sharing the same status with someone like her,’ Alana exhaled through her mouth—as she could feel her chest tighten even though it didn’t happen to her. ’How painful must that realization be?’

Even back then, Alana stepped in the way of Kei Xun out of fear that she would attack Rex.

Spite can make anyone do the unthinkable.

If she really did, then Alana would’ve lost all respect for her—but thankfully she didn’t.

It has been a long and hazardous path.

But Alana could feel that the end for them was nearing.

Hope is the most powerful thing that could propel someone to greater heights.

And there doesn’t seem to be anything left in Kei Xun.

”High Priestess Alana...”

Alana blinked her eyes and snapped out of her daze, realizing that Kei Xun was calling for her.

Dutifully, Alana approached her and went down to one knee.

”You call for me, Divine Saintess?”

”Descend again and watch Rex for me.”

”Watch Rex...? May I know for what purpose?”

”To help me make a decision.”