Chapter 1263 Nothing Personal
Some time has passed since he defeated the Rastrikan Demons.
Rex's reputation was boosted by defeating them, his enemies' underlings cower in fear while unaffiliated forces sought the prospect of being a part of his forces. But the true reward was Caraptaros, it was only now did he was able to savor its benefits.
Marveling at the red fragment meters away, he forgot about the trick Calidora did to him. Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire
He slowly stood up and approached the red fragment.
It was the Demon Origin's fragment, a piece of power from the creator of the Demon race.
As soon as Rex neared it, he stopped at the sight of it beginning to levitate.
Boom!
Upon the red fragment, shaped like an arm-length crystal, hovered at eye level—it suddenly surged with overwhelming power. A blast of searing hot air erupted from it, brushing against Rex's sin with the intensity of Hell Void energy, the potent force of a high-rank Demon.
Despite his own aura protecting him, some of its power passed through.
It caused a burning sensation across his exposed sin, but Rex remained undeterred.
However, a frown formed on his face as he felt the ground beneath him begin to pull him.
Looking down—he saw the cracks formed from his earlier clash with Caraptaros deepening, transforming into a crater with the red fragment at its center, "Still rebellious I see... but that would soon change. Give up Demon Origin, you are helpless against me in this"
Smiling, Rex extended his arm and summoned a lightning strike from the ground.
With a swift maneuver, the bolt struck Calidora in the back, propelling her toward him.
Before both of them could react, another shockwave exploded from the fragment, so strong and forceful, that Rex nearly lost his footing. However—unlike Rex, the walls of the Dwarven Kingdom were not as resilient, they shattered, leaving the kingdom vulnerable.
"Rex, look out!" Calidora pointed at a glowing sphere on the red fragment's surface.
Upon seeing this, Rex ducked down, holding Calidora in his embrace.
Swish!
Raising his gaze, he saw the red fragment fired a concentrated laser that flew past him.
Not stopping at that, the laser moved in a random manner, scorching the ground.
A last-ditch attack? No, I don't think so.
Still keeping his head down, Rex glanced over to his back and saw that the scorch left by the laser on the ground made a circle, around him. It was only then, that he realized what the red fragment was doing.
It's trying to teleport away!
Having the knowledge of the advanced teleportation formation, Rex recognized the shapes.
Albeit there were some differences, he was certain that this was a teleportation formation.
Rex stood up and shoved Calidora hard, hurling her through the breached walls.
Upon throwing Calidora to safety, he channeled his kingly energy to create a protective aegis in replace of the walls—protecting her, and also the Dwarven Kingdom from the red fragment—avoiding unnecessary destruction.
Even though the barrier was not perfect, it shielded them better than nothing.
Focusing back on the red fragment, Rex squinted his eyes.
As a defensive mechanism and a desperate move, the Demon Origin's fragment pulsed with torrents of energy—pulsing outward from the red fragment, like a beating heart. Its demonic influence spread, scorching everything it touched and turning the falling snowflakes into the very essence of a Demon, crimson fireballs.
Anticipating this kind of reaction, Rex bent his knees and rushed ahead.
He wasted no time and enhanced himself with the Primordial Step skill, propelling him ahead.
Despite the red fragment's attempt to keep anything away until it was teleported away, back to the Demon territory presumably, Rex pierced through its defenses and grabbed it with his bare hands, bracing himself against the infernal power that threatened to consume all things.
Immediately after his skin touched the fragment, foreign energy infiltrated his body.
Hell Void energy seeped through his skin and caused mayhem to his energy circulation.
Rex gritted his teeth as his eyeballs were swallowed by demonic light.
<Notice: the user is in possession of a Demon Origin fragment!>
<Does the user want to proceed with changing the energy within the Demon Origin fragment into a compatible energy?>
Yes, do it!
Not even hesitating, Rex commanded the System to proceed.
As soon as Rex commanded the System—the chaotic red energy wreaking havoc within him began to falter instantly, overpowered by an unnatural force, surging from deep within. Also, the glowing red fragment clutched tightly in his hand pulsed with power—and both Rex, and the fragment began to levitate higher into the baby night sky.
It was an otherworldly scenery as if he were undergoing a metamorphosis.
A metamorphosis into some demonic creature.
Beneath him, a vortex of Hell Void energy and this strange, overpowering force swirled, and intertwined together, creating a mesmerizing display of raw power. Gradually—the Hell Void energy began to change, its demonic malevolent aura shifting into something familiar.
Something familiar and also potent, kingly energy.
Eventually, the denseness of this energy extracted from the red fragment—reached a critical point—so immense that it created swirling red, and black clouds around and underneath Rex as if he were a storm center.
Roar!!
A howling cry echoed throughout the sky but it didn't come from Rex.
Below, those who witnessed this scenery believed Rex was succumbing to the corruption.
His entire being was swallowed, unable to be seen from below.
Only the clouds, massive and foreboding like a monster, darkening the night could be seen.
Calidora, however, believed the complete opposite, and she was right.
As the extraction process neared completion, the energy within the Demon Origin's fragment was entirely siphoned into Rex. The clouds—now spanning the entire sky above the Dwarven Kingdom, cast an ominous shadow over the land.
Rex forcefully moves to tilt his head and look at the red fragment in his hand.
He smiled at it and said, "It's nothing personal, you just unfortunately stand in my way"
Immediately after he said that—there was a sudden, brilliant glow from the King Mark on his forehead followed by the clouds swirled violently before shooting directly into the mark. The surge of power was so intense, that Rex let out a peal of vibrant laughter, feeling an ungodly amount of kingly energy flooding into his very being.
<Starting the absorption process...>
<1%...>
<5%...>
Such an influx of power was overwhelming, nearly tearing him apart from within.
But the best part was the fact that it was only the beginning.
Rex still has a lot to absorb and the pain did nothing to him except make him more excited.
Gradually, he could feel his level of kingly energy rising rapidly, almost uncontrollably.
It made him laugh even harder, when he remembered, that he hadn't turned Caraptaros—the realization that his rewards were still abundant was akin to the taste of achieving a complete revenge, the taste was delightful.
Crack!
Just then, a cracking sound resounded, loud enough to match thunder.
One could see the King Mark on Rex's forehead. responded to the surge of kingly energy, by creating a half-inch line on the left and right side of the red and black moon symbol on Rex's forehead.
It glowed vibrantly, signifying his newfound power as the energy settled within him.
Soon enough, the process reached its completion.
<99%...>
<Absorption process successful!>
<All stats have been increased greatly, propelling the user closer to invincibility!>
Rex regained his vision back and saw that he was levitating.
But the clouds around him were nowhere to be seen, he had absorbed all of them.
Gracefully, Rex floated back down to the ground, his body thrumming with the raw, unabated power of a higher King, "I feel powerful and full of energy, this came exactly at the right time, right before the fight that is if Vivian was successful"
<Notice: A portion of the Demon Origin's fragment is still sediment within the user>
<Activate its power to unlock the remaining rewards!>
"Oh...? What benefits would I gain from doing that and how do I do that?" Rex asked, smiling.
<Benefits of activating the sediment power:>
→ Auto completion of a requirement in the race evolution quest.
→ Upgrade any Werewolf-related skill to an Origin-rank.
→ More stat increase.
Upon seeing the notification, Rex could not help but smile wider as the first benefit, an auto-completion of a requirement within the race evolution quest—was a godly reward. Rex could really use that for himself.
Other than that, the second reward was also extremely good.
He already had a couple of skills in mind to use that on such as the Alpha Bearing or even the Berserker's Curse skill. Nevertheless, Rex, was interested in completing this, "And—how can I activate that sediment power inside of me?"
<Notice: A sacrificial rite, becoming a harbinger of death until it is satisfied>
...
<Stats>
Name: Rex Silverstar
Status: Suffering in pain and excited.
Realm: Pseudo-Tenth Rank
Divinity: Second Star Demi-God
Oustification: Death and Fear (Minor)
King Mark: Blood Moon (1st) and Banished Dark Moon (2nd)
Pack: Silverstar (9/20) — 2 Members Pending
Occupation: Alpha
Level: 92 (33%/100%)
Race: Grand Royal Black Werewolf
Full Moon: 0 Days - Honey Moon
Berserk: 60%
Sanity: 66%
Mental: 31,130 (+10,000)
Strength: 891,220 (+445,727) → 1,045,000 (+522,500)
Agility: 613,170 (+306,660) → 830,000 (+415,000)
Endurance: 901,600 (+450.960) → 1,125,500 (+562,750)
Intelligence: 265,100 (+100,000) -> 265,100 (+100,000)
...
Checking his stats—Rex was already pleased with the current increase, but the System said that there was more for him waiting to be claimed, "It's a fragment of the Demon Origin after all, I expected no less"
Now that the Demon Origin's fragment was out of the way, Rex shifted his eyes to the side.
He fixed his gaze on the massive, dying Demon, Caraptaros.
Its once-mighty form lay crippled, and Rex approached with confident, measured steps.
Rex was not concerned, Caraptaros was now a fragile husk, no longer the indomitable force it once was. The time had come to add this powerful being to his pack, a great addition that would surely show its uses instantly.
Knowing the battle ahead would be brutal, he was not going to fail in turning Caraptaros.
Turning Caraptaros is an insurance to keep the others safe.
As he stopped before the Demon, he gazed down into its eyes, eyes that had lost their fire.
A smirk curled on Rex's lips as he caressed Caraptaros' head with tenderness.
"Shhh... It's okay, you're with me now" Rex said assuringly.
Glancing to the top of its head, he saw a glowing mark there, the Silverstar Mark.
Unlike the others when they were turned, the transformation didn't happen instantly.
Instead, Caraptaros convulsed, its body writhing in agony.
<Please select the outcome the user wants:>
→ Half-Werewolf
→ Werewolf
→ High Werewolf
→ Others
Remembering the time he turned Gistella, he decided to not choose a single option.
Since Caraptaros is a Demon, he decided to let its bloodline dictated its Werewolf bloodline.
Not even waiting for a respond—Rex severed his hand at the wrist with a smooth slice of his claws, sending a gush of blood splashing out. He thrust the bleeding stump, into Caraptaros' mouth, offering the Demon all the blood it could consume.
Given its immense strength, Caraptaros could handle far more than the others.
It could certainly absorb more of his blood than the others.
Rex watched with calm determination, undisturbed by the Demon's suffering at all.
He knew this was only the beginning of Caraptaros' rebirth, and he anticipated its ending.
Just as he was watching Caraptaros' transformation, his senses were stimulated.
[Your Majesty, can you hear me...?]
A voice sounded inside his head, and Rex could instantly recognize who it was, Vivian.
'Yes, I can hear you. So, you're report?'
[I've gotten what Your Majesty asked. It's a sacred place called the Bloodstone Crater. It was the grave of a beloved Luna in the past and was not guarded—because of its holiness. I also already marked the location and it was ready]
'Good, I'm sure Jarvald would be pleased by your sacrifice. Is there anything else?'
[Yes, I found a lot about Werewolves called Garret and Ragnar. But more importantly, there is something that Your Majesty needs to know...]
'Oh, what is it? Tell me'
Upon hearing Vivian's answer, Rex smiled menacingly.
His murderous intent was palpable through his deadly eyes, "That is a really perfect target..."