The Invincible Full-Moon System

Hearing the howling signal, Ryze quickly crushed the teleportation crystal with his hand.

Anticipating the potential dangers of being so close to the Executor, Rex had already readied a safe route to escape if deemed necessary. It was through a special teleportation crystal, unlike conventional ones, was able to bypass dimensional locking spells.

It's recommended by the System, knowing the Executor's chaos elements is able to do that.

Ryze was still searching for Rex when this happened.

Despite trying his hardest, he couldn't find Rex's trace anywhere around the encampment.

He doesn't know that Rex made the place he was in with Gistella secure.

Suspecting Brigitta's certain tone to be bad news, he searched for Rex fearing that he might be lured into something that the Executor prepared for him. From the start of arriving in this place, he already felt uneasy, feeling that something might go wrong.

Now, that feeling was proven to be true when the howling signal came from Rex.

Engulfed by the blinding light, Ryze was forced to close his eyes.

He wasted no time to get out of the encampment as soon as he heard the signal.

Only when he felt his senses returning to normal that he open his eyes and blink a couple of times, orienting himself to the surroundings. It took a moment for him to grasp the reality that he had returned to Dargena City, right in front of the castle to be exact.

"Rex...?"

Instantly, he called out for Rex, worried that something happened to him.

However, he found himself standing alone.

Knowing that Rex also has the same teleportation crystal as his, Ryze thought that he would be here too with him. But even after sweeping his vision around, he couldn't find any clues of Rex being teleported anywhere near him.

Something must've happened to him, that's what Ryze thought.

Even the notion of Rex setting the destination to be different didn't cross his mind right now.

But then again, it was natural for him to think like this, all due to Brigitta.

'He'll come, I'm sure of it. If not then I don't know how to explain to the others...' Ryze mused.

Meanwhile, Gelmar who was the one guarding the gate of the castle was the first one to sense Ryze's sudden appearance. He quickly made his way over to look and was surprised to see Ryze standing alone with a worried expression on his face.

His worry was palpable, seeing him biting his nails.

"Wasn't he supposed to be with Lord Rex...?" He uttered inwardly, frowning at this sight.

Not wasting a second, he made his way to inform the others.

... 

Inside the castle.

All of the individuals inside the castle were rejoicing when Kyran miraculously woke up.

Evelyn and Adhara, having successfully subdued the effects of the Hare Moon, received the news from Flunra and wasted no time making their way to the bed chamber. Both of them widened their eyes when they realized that Flunra was not joking.

Despite what Rex said, Kyran managed to regain his consciousness.

It had been a couple of hours since his awakening, but he hadn't said a single word.

"What's wrong with him, Flunra?" Adhara asked.

Upon hearing this, Flunra shrugged his shoulders, he also found it surprising that Kyran was able to awaken from the Ice and Snow Full Moon's induced hibernation. Such an awakening was a feat achieved only by the exceptionally gifted—those born under the Ice and Snow Moon or possess the Ice and Snow Moon, King Mark.

Kyran has neither, but he somehow managed to wake up from the hibernation.

"I also don't know, there could be a lot of reasons, and we could only be glad that he was able to wake up for now" Flunra replied, shaking his head as deciphering the reason as to why Kyran was able to wake up was simply impossible.

On the side, Evelyn also frowned, looking at the absent-minded Kyran.

Something seemed to be wrong.

Currently, he was sitting on the bed, his gaze fixed on the emptiness in front of him, wearing an absent look. However, upon a knit of Evelyn's eyes for closer inspection, she could see a subtle glint in his eyes, tinted with a mysterious, dark bluish hue.

Instinctively, Evelyn walked closer and sat on the edge of the bed.

Examining her hand, she noticed a subtle response from her Luna energy as she approached Kyran, prompting a profound expression to grace her features. 'If my Luna energy is reacting, then his condition might have something to do with Rex. Although I don't know what, I think I should try and find out'

Just as she was about to caress Kyran's face, her hand halted when Kyran suddenly spoke.

"Ryze is outside." He said with a monotone voice.

Upon absorbing this revelation, Evelyn and the rest were left momentarily stupified. True enough, when they expanded their senses, it became evident that Ryze stood just beyond the castle's threshold, weirdly not coming inside.

Subsequently, the bed chamber door was knocked before Gelmar stepped inside.

"I'm here to inform you that Ryze has come back," He said with a slight bow.

Almost instantly, Adhara's and Evelyn's eyes sparkled with excitement as they sprung up.

"Naela, stay with Kyran. We're going to go and greet Rex and Ryze outside. I'm sure with Rex being here, he should know what's going on with Kyran" Evelyn said before she and Adhara quickly made their way out, leaving the bed chamber without waiting for Naela to answer.

Soon enough, the two arrived outside and opened the gate quickly.

Finding that the gate was being opened, Ryze's anxiety heightened, particularly upon seeing Adhara and Evelyn coming out. Both of them were the last individuals he wished to meet at this moment, given the circumstances.

It was also worse to see both of them exceedingly excited at his arrival.

"Ryze!" 

Both of them yelled in a union, greeting him with a big smile on their faces.

Arriving in front of Ryze, Adhara and Evelyn gave him a big, excited hug before surveying their surroundings, and discovering Rex's absence. Slowly, their expressions shifted from anticipation to disappointment, and in unison, they inquired.

"Where's Rex? I don't see him anywhere, he's not here"

"Did he still have something to do? The full moon is still here, I want to spend time with him"

Examining Ryze's expression, Adhara's face darkens, seeing his emotional aura.

"Tell me what happened, Ryze" She said demandingly.

Beneath the combined pressure from Adhara and Evelyn, Ryze found himself nervously toying with his fingers before he eventually told them everything. He began with the Executor's blatant ploy, Brigitta's attempt to recruit him back, and also her tone of confidence that made him worried that something was going to happen to Rex during his meeting with the Executor, after the battle in the Shifting Realm.

It was only when Ryze ended his story that Evelyn and Adhara contemplated.

Realistically speaking, both of them are already expecting that something will happen during Rex's visit to the Executor. Such a situation is simply impossible to go by smoothly, it's the perfect opportunity for the Executor to try something.

Although Rex thought that the city might get attacked, it turned out that he was the target.

Now, the three of them were left with nothing to work with.

However, at the peak of their worry, a figure suddenly came out of the castle.

Seeing that Ryze's attention fixated on a presence behind them, the two pivoted around and found that it was Rex's clone that came out. Unlike before, its eyes now contained vitality, leaving no doubt that Rex had taken control of the duplicate.

Looking at the two with his eyes, Rex stepped closer to them.

"I made a blunder and was caught by the Executor's trap," He said, straight to the point. "I'm not in trouble and safe, but the trap changed the situation, so I won't be coming back for the time being. Just know that I'm fine, and don't wait for me..."

A moment later.

Evelyn and Adhara head back inside the castle with an entirely different atmosphere.

Both were troubled immensely.

Moments ago, Rex had informed them that his return was not going to be imminent. When pressed about his whereabouts, he cryptically mentioned being in a secure place, beyond the Executor's grasp—a response that left them unsatisfied.

However, the lack of will to mention his whereabouts confirmed his exact location.

It was obvious that he had gone to Calidora.

Since he was already deliberating whether it was a good idea to stay with Calidora, all due to her successful ploy, the Executor's trap inadvertently provided the motivation he needed, solidifying his resolve to stay by her side.

Evelyn and Adhara could only clench their fists to hold back their anger.

'Had the Executor refrained from summoning him during the Hare Moon, none of this would have happened! We could've persuaded Rex to remain with us, leveraging the influence of the Hare Moon. Alas, now everything has taken a devastatingly, unfortunate turn' Adhara bit her lower lip, seething with frustration at the Executor's ill-timed intervention.

Now, his action benefitted Calidora, which was the worst-case scenario.

Mainly because it was the Hare Moon, and Rex is definitely having a hard time holding back.

Despite the fact that Rex had promised them that he would be able to hold back against the Hare Moon's influence, she knew that Calidora wouldn't take no for an answer. If the two did the deeds, then Calidora's influence would grow.

Especially since she now has a portion of Evelyn's Luna energy at her disposal.

"What should we do?" Adhara uttered whisperingly.

Upon hearing this, Evelyn remained silent, her eyes fixed forward with a glint of savagery.

Instead of answering Adhara's question, she ignored it and walked forward, heading to the hallway to the side of the throne room. On the other hand, Adhara was stupified, but she knew that Evelyn was thinking of a way to fix this.

No matter what, they wouldn't let Calidora get what she wanted.

Pausing for a fleeting moment, Adhara suddenly remembered something and took out an item from her pocket. It was the arrowhead Prof. K had given to Gelmar. Although it was supposed to be given to Rex, she was entrusted with safekeeping it.

However, she found herself captivated by its mysterious allure.

Appearance-wise, it wasn't special, but the fire energy that came out of it was different.

Driven by the desire to convince Rex to stay with them more than Calidora, Adhara sought a singular solution—by becoming stronger, strong enough to be able to hold Rex back when he unexpectedly went berserk like the last time.

Only then will he be able to trust that their safety wouldn't be endangered.

Which is why she ended up checking this arrowhead out.

Located on the back-bottom of the arrowhead was a sigil shaped like a flaming fire. It was so intricate that the person who engraved this should be a master craftsman, and the fire mana that oozes out of it could even suppress Adhara's early-ultimate element.

Although it's not necessarily stronger, it feels like the fire mana is that of a higher realm.

Just as she was inspecting this arrowhead, a voice startled her.

"It's the Sigil of an Elemental..."

Upon hearing this, Adhara raised her gaze and found that it was Flunra who was standing on the other side. He then pointed at the arrowhead in her hand and repeated, "It's the Sigil of an Elemental, not a hostile one, so they must be trying to make friendly ties"

"Elemental...? You mean the Elemental Race?" Adhara asked, surprised by this realization.

Flunra nodded in confirmation.

A smile then crept to his face as he shared his assumption, "In the ancient eras, the Demons hunted down the Primordial Fire Elemental, absorbing them to make their hellfire stronger. Elementals were probably starting to awaken by now, so if I had to guess, killing the Rastrikan Demons is a huge help for them..."

Meanwhile, on the other part of the castle.

Coursing aimlessly, Evelyn found herself standing in front of the underground chamber.

It was the Witch of Chaos' chamber, and she stepped inside brazenly.

Gazing at the Witch of Chaos, who was disturbed in her meditation, she then said with a clear and demanding tone, "Witch, I want us to quicken our move. No matter what, I want it to be done now. Help me do it"