Chapter 1151: Chapter 1151: Bordering On Madness

As observed earlier, the mutated animal was already on the brink of breaking through.

Its beast core was nearing its complete evolution.

Being viciously struck by the lighting strikes from the world's energy, weakend its physique—but that energy also provided stimulus to slowly morph the beast core inside of it, and now, it was already completed.

Under the guidance of the last lightning strike, the beast core shone with a blinding light.

A metamorphosis to its higher form, bringing the mutated animal to the tenth-rank realm.

Just an utter and complete bad luck.

Rex only needed one more hit to completely shatter the beast core—or at least damage it to the point that halted the mutated animal's ascent to the tenth-rank realm. But—his path was intercepted by a lightning strike that was faster than even himself.

Tanking the lightning strike, he was severely injured.

He felt his entire body being electrocuted severely from taking the brunt of the impact.

In the last second, Rex also felt the mutated animal grabbing his arm.

It broke free from Kyran's and Flunra's restrain and went ahead to grab his arm purposefully.

Not that it wanted to do something, but since Rex took the lightning strike, it was desperate enough to grab ahold of Rex—so that the lightning strike could course through its own body and provide it with the last stroke that would help it breakthrough.

BOOM!

Before he could recover from the first strike, Rex was met with a powerful shockwave.

One that sent him rolling across the ground, and so did the others.

Similarly, Flunra and Kyran, who were very close to the impact, were hurled through the air—demolishing everything in their path. Both of their bodies took a vicious beating as the world had become tougher, and that included the trees—and ground which made being hurled, like this more painful than before the Second Beath.

Even as they came to a natural stop and crashed to the ground, the two groaned in pain.

It was clear that several of their bones broke because of the impact.

Despite their regeneration, instantly kicking in—the sensation of having their organs stabbed by the broken bones inside—was not pleasant. A moment later—the two who were thrown in the opposite direction from each other went back to the battlefield.

Compared to the others, the two of them and Adhara were the ones who came back earliest.

Now, the three of them trembled at the sight of the mutated animal.

Like war drums, their hearts were pounding beneath their chests.

Dread hung heavy in the air as they beheld the mutated animal they had been battling—now transformed—into a nightmarish version of its kind. As it managed to ascend to the dreaded, tenth-rank realm, a realm that none has achieved in the new era, its aura evolved.

It now felt like a searing tempest that clawed at their senses like a swarm of fiery needles.

Adhara was the one who was worried the most.

Her breaths were already shallow and labored, transfixed on her ground.

Shifting her gaze toward the center of the mutated animal's chest—her eyes bore witness to its beast core that was now emanating intensity that seemed to scorch the very air around it—resembling a flaming egg, radiating heat and menace in equal measure.

Each glance at the creature's blazing core felt like a dagger to her resolve.

It drains her spirit and leaves her throat parched with fear.

Adhara knew, with a sinking certainty—that their previous struggle against this creature had been but a prelude to this harrowing ordeal. If defeating this mutated animal, had been quite a challenge before, now, it seemed to be an impossible task.

'What should we do...? It reached the tenth-rank realm already' She pondered in concern.

Her pupils were shaking at the sight of the mutated animal's beast core.

'Only Flunra had faced an entity of this caliber—and he also said that he was only able to flee from one, not defeat it. If a ninth-rank realm Awakened could overpower dozens—if not more of eighth-rank realm Awakened then doesn't that mean tenth-rank realm entities are capable of doing that too if not more overwhelming than that...?'

Since she is an Awakened, she knows the gravity of reaching the next realm.

At the beginning of an Awakened journey, a first-rank realm Awakened has a good chance to defeat—a second-rank realm Awakened. But the stronger the Awakened got—the wider, the gap between them and the higher realm Awakened.

Due to that, the ninth-rank realms could only be beaten by those in the same realm.

Going against a ninth-rank realm with a bunch of eighth-rank realms is foolish.

It would definitely not work as the difference is too much.

Now, following that logic, then the difference between a ninth-rank realm—and a tenth-rank realm must be even greater than that. Given her line of thinking, it was natural for Adhara to think like this—their situation was extremely dire.

Against a tenth-rank realm mutated animal, they stood no chance.

Glancing to the side, she also found that the others seemed to be on the same page as her.

Flunra and Kyran were frowning deeply at the sight of the mutated animal.

None of them moved from their spots—frozen in confusion as to what they should do now.

Just then, the mutated animal turned its baleful gaze upon them, its eyes flaming with unholy fire. Adhara felt a chill, gripping her soul. In those crimson depths, she saw the merciless side of a predator, its hunger for blood was evident as they tried to kill it minutes ago.

At that moment, they braced themselves for the inevitable clash.

Even though victory was not in sight, the city was behind them, so they needed to fight.

But then, in the eerie stillness that settled over the battlefield—a chilling disruption shattered the silence. A series of unhinged laughs echoed like the sinister cackle of a malevolent entity, booming through the silence.

As the trio turned, their eyes widened in disbelief at the sight that met them.

"R- Rex...?"

It was Rex, drenched in the crimson hue of battle, including parts of his face.

His wounds were seething with an otherworldly heat as they knitted themselves back before their very eyes. A maddening gleam, danced in his gaze as he strode forward—his laughter a haunting melody that sent shivers down their spines.

"Good, this is good..." He mused between his laughs. "I'm getting excited now"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Each of his steps began to incite a transformation.

Despite the agreement before the fight—Rex began his transformation that unfolded before the onlookers like a grotesque tableau of nightmare and madness. His flesh—contorted and twisted, bones shifting and cracking beneath his skin as if possessed by an unseen force.

And then, from above his brows, emerged a pair of darkened, curving back horns.

"I applaud you for achieving the tenth-rank realm, monster," He mused—keeping eye contact with the mutated animal with his demented gaze. "Thanks to you—I can finally breathe again like having a savory meal after a long day of fighting,"

Completing his transformation, Rex exuded a primal aura of raw power and ferocity.

Earlier, the mutated animal had already seen this form of his.

But weirdly enough, at this moment, the mutated animal felt more threat coming from him.

Unfazed by the formidable presence of the tenth-rank realm entity, Rex strode past Adhara, Flunra, and Kyran with a reckless resolve, that bordered on madness—his gaze locked on to the mutated animal before him unwaveringly.

"Rex, what about the agreement Flunra made earlier?" Kyran shouted, asking for affirmation.

Listening to this, Rex smirked and replied while keeping his gaze fixed on the mutated animal that seemed wary of him—"I'm not just a random entity anymore. I'm the Emperor—everyone should know me!"

"System, use the Blood Moon Order skill..." He added, commanding the System.

Upon purchasing the Blood Moon Order skill, the changes were instantly evident.

Even though Rex was unable to see it, he could feel the King Mark—which was supposed to be half black and half red, now glowed with a full crimson hue. His kingly energy also began to change, the Blood Moon kingly energy devouring and reshaping the Banished Dark Moon kingly energy within him as he stood.

Swoosh...

His red kingly energy began to swirl around him slowly, fluttering his raven-black furs.

Soon, his King Mark began to expand, branching to the side of his face.

Continuing its transformative course—the swirling kingly energy—imbued his horns with the same crimson hue. Soon after, the corruption spread to his eyes—staining even the whites a deep red, fully transforming him into the persona of the Blood Moon.

Just like the explanation from the System earlier, his physique grows bigger than ever.

His aura surged even stronger to the point of giving the onlookers goosebumps.

Not to mention, his mind began to degrade—becoming blurry and clouded, rendering him the ability to stay a thinking creature. But, in its place surged primal instincts—honed to a savage keenness that would put even the most skilled hunters to shame.

It was similar to being berserk, but Rex could still discern which one was the enemy.

Boom!

Almost in that instant second, Rex blasted forward and attacked the mutated animal.

Expecting his attack already, the mutated animal, that was freed from the shackle that bound it in place earlier, moved and grabbed Rex's body with both hands tightly. Shockingly—it was able to stop Rex's momentum and hold him up.

Like the animal it is, it opens its maw and clamped down on Rex's shoulder.

Its long sharp teeth sunk into Rex's flesh, spewing a shower of blood to the surroundings.

But even then, the pain only served as an adrenaline boost as Rex's body trembled in the raw feeling of excitement. In a feral determination—he garnered his kingly energy, forcibly freeing himself from the grip, before in the same animalistic frenzy—clung onto the mutated animal's body and biting it on the neck, tearing flesh with a ferocious pull to the side.

ROAR!!

Feeling the excruciating pain, the mutated animal roared in agony.

Stumbling back a couple of steps, it looked at Rex in anger.

But before it could do anything, making eye contact with Rex's maniacal gaze again, a primal instinct, overpowers its anger. From its point of view, Rex's form grew bigger—and there was this burning sensation on the edge of his nerves in its legs that bothered it.

Every fiber of its being was telling it something, and even attempting to control its legs.

On the other hand, Adhara watches this in utter confusion.

She saw that Rex got bitten and had his flesh torn, but Rex didn't show any form of pain.

Instead, he seemed to be excited at the pain.

Moreover, the words he spoke earlier echoed in her mind like an unresolved riddle, "How can this be good?" She mused. "And what did he mean by feeling like—he could breathe again? I don't understand, this mutated animal is of the tenth-rank realm. What aspect of this, severe situation could possibly be relieving...?"

Kyran was also in the same boat as Adhara, he didn't get why Rex was saying all of that.

However, Flunra's eyes sparked as he came to a realization.

"It's because he's not the strongest anymore..." He replied, pulling the attention to him.

Looking at Rex, who was fighting the mutated animal with a big smile on his face—Flunra did know what he meant, "Before the Second Breath, he was the strongest entity. There was not much he could do to get stronger, and that made him stressed. He knew that because of this—his enemy would also be focusing on ploys as they are also at the peak of power,"

"But now, with the Second Breath happening, the ceiling of power was taller which means his enemies were focusing on getting stronger, their focus was not on him. With mutated animals running rampant, his enemies would also be dealing with the same thing. Now—he felt elated as this mutated animal confirmed his situation," Flunra continued, elaborating.

Upon hearing this, Adhara and Kyran instinctively glanced back at Rex.

Seeing him smiling as he fought a brutal battle, they couldn't help but trust Flunra's words.

From the looks of Rex, it really seems like a huge burden was lifted from his shoulders.