Rex expected the System to provide him with immense rewards from this.
As usual—the System always rewarded him handsomely whenever he achieved a great vault in the path of invincibility. Considering that its sole purpose was to aid him become invincible under the moon, it was supposed to be like that.
Nevertheless, the series of notifications was still a surprise for Rex.
"System upgrade...? Does it mean the System could still become stronger?" He mused lightly.
Knowing how powerful the System was, able to provide him with anything in his great ascent to invincibility—Rex didn't expect that it could still become stronger. With the Fifthborn killed, there aren't many that could match him in power.
Even the Elders shouldn't be stronger than him.
But Rex knew that his seat at the peak of power was a temporary one.
In the case of the First Breath ending—and the world awakening was completed, his position as the strongest would definitely be taken again. After all, he was still in the ninth-rank realm while the Elders were suppressed to match the current era.
So his triumph would not last long, he still needed to get stronger before that time came.
"I still need to become stronger, way stronger than now,"
Sighing dejectedly, Rex pulled out the Blood Devourer.
Fresh blood adorned its tip as it hummed with power, a tool that helped him a lot in this fight.
"What did the Fifthborn try to say earlier?" Rex suddenly pondered.
He could vaguely tell that the Executor mentioned his skill, but his last words were unclear.
It seemed to be something important, but he was already dead now.
As Rex was finishing up, he sensed a group was approaching him from behind.
Glancing over his shoulders, Rex could see that the others were standing behind him.
Rex pivoted around and found that the others were in a bad state, especially Kyran and also Evelyn who had the worst condition. Kyran had his energy drained completely—while Evelyn was being supported by Adhara as she was bloodied all over.
Looking at the Executor's corpse before averting to Rex, Adhara asked, "Is it all over...?"
"Yes," Rex replied whisperingly with a smile. "it's all over, for now"
Upon hearing this, a relieved smile slowly bloomed on the others' faces at the good news.
It was obviously the hardest battle any one of them had.
Defeating the Executor and his forces was not a small feat—there were countless obstacles that stood in their way, and also a lot of preparations that needed to be done. Nevertheless, they managed to eventually come out on top.
Exhaling in relief, Adhara shook her head, "You and Gistella had a lot of explaining to do,"
"I want to hear every single detail from both of your mouths," She added.
Gistella found herself continuously bowing and apologizing to Adhara and Evelyn, who had been left completely in the dark about the plan. She couldn't think of doing anything, aside from this while giving Rex a troubled glance a couple of times.
From the start, she knew that doing this would certainly be unfair for Adhara and Evelyn.
Not only did they have to witness Rex favoring Calidora over them, but they also had to deal with the unsettling reality that Gistella 'escaped' out of anger to meet with the Executor and negotiate a deal in order to get rid of Calidora.
In terms of emotional pain, the two suffered the most.
Recalling back to those moments, Gistella was surprised that the two didn't break down.
Due to that, Gistella could only seek help from Rex in dealing with this.
He was the one who created the plan, but she was also viewed as heartless for agreeing.
It was very cruel to Adhara and Evelyn, and she knows it.
But there were no other alternatives she could think of aside from Rex's shivering plan.
On the other hand, Rex could only offer a reassuring smile in return.
What else could I do if the Executor could read mind and soul? I know it's unfair for Adhara—and Evelyn, but the moment was too good to pass up on them. Maybe next time, if a chance appears, I'll not do it to them.
I'll try and make it up for them somehow.
But as the situation calmed down to piece, a light intensity flickered in the air when the Witch and Rex made eye contact. The others weren't aware of this—yet the moment their eyes met was the moment the intensity appeared.
Calidora saw this, and she was confused as to what incited this intensity between them.
Following that, something unexpected happened.
Surprisingly enough, the peace didn't last long when the group was suddenly alerted.
Roarr!!
Swoosh!!
A sudden collective roar reverberated through the air, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
Responding to this—the group's heads spun around, startled by the cacophony that erupted from thousands of chaos monsters. Just like all of them, the chaos monsters sensed a threat from the sky and ran out of the creek.
Despite they were supposed to be monsters, their instincts were still very strong.
It seemed killed by the white beam also erased them for good.
With the Executor's death, their existence was welcomed in the material world no longer.
Having no catalyst that bound them to reality, it was time for them to return.
Even then, the sheer force of the chaos creatures' unified outcry stunned not only the group but also the armies still in a kneeling formation. Hearts raced within their chests—the armies braced for whatever repercussions the return of the chaos monsters might bring.
Boom!
Boom!
Out of nowhere, the chaos monsters began to try and reach the armies with their claws.
But before they could do that, their bodies exploded with a destructive force.
Their demise expelled a gust of chaos energy as their bodies puffed into purple smoke.
Under the onlookers' eyes, the chaos monsters began to explode one by one and gradually created a thick cloud of purple smoke that encompassed the armies. As this continued, the purple smoke became thicker and thicker.
It seemed to be a good thing, the chaos monsters were being expelled from reality.
All of them were sent back into the chaos realm.
However, as this continued, Kyran noticed the chaos energy's density increased in the air.
Sensing an ominous feeling prompted a frown to appear on Kyran's face.
He was the first one to realize the oddity of the situation.
Even though he was wounded and drained, his senses were still the most sensitive.
Before any of them could grasp the realization that Kyran had reached, the density increase of chaos energy level in the air, Gistella's entire form began to exude purple chaos energy—catching everyone, including Gistella herself, off guard.
"Eh...?" Gistella widened her eyes, unclear of what was happening.
Not even giving the others any chance to wrap their heads around the sudden situation, the chaos energy around Gistella, exploded with a gushing force. Alerted—the others protected themselves against the gust of chaos energy.
At that moment, Kyran kept his eyes open and saw Gistella's shadow move weirdly.
Following that, several shadowy figures came out and struck the group.
In that instant, surprisingly, Sebrof, Giana, and the other ninth-rank realm Awakened came to aid the group—as they also realized the ominosity lingering in the air. Harnessing their strong mana and spirit energy, they managed to block the shadowy figures.
Rex stood on his spot in surprise, his senses were too numb from the earlier fight.
He didn't realize what was happening.
Yet—even though his senses were impaired—he could see the others' expressions changing into expressions of utter horror. It takes only a moment for him to realize, that the others are not looking at him directly, but behind him instead.
Reflex came into play as Rex glanced over his shoulders, only to see a haunting sight.
F- Fifthborn...? He's still alive?!
"REX—LOOK OUT!!"