"Haahhk!!"
A decent amount of blood creates a crimson arc in the air as it makes its way down to the ground.
Rex trudges through the inky darkness of the forest, desperately seeking a clearing where the moonlight can grace his blood-drenched body, tattered with gruesome wounds. He pushes onward, straining with every step, searching for scarce moonlight in the castle's direction.
It was hard to navigate with his blurred vision, he has lost too much strength and blood.
Looking down at his mangled chest and amputated arm, Rex gritted his teeth, trying to force in the urge of roaring in agony. His regenerative powers were being outpaced by the waves of wicked energy that surged through his body. He stumbled forward, fighting the torment that threatened to overwhelm him. 'My healing... it's too slow,' he thought desperately.
Definitely the doings of the Executor's power that had rendered his self-healing ability greatly.
If not for his immense life force from being a Werewolf and also an Awakened, his body wouldn't be able to sustain this much injury for this long and collapse. A metallic salty taste has lingered in his mouth for quite some time now, it already numbed his mouth.
Rex feels his body getting heavier, he even stumbles a couple of times from small pebbles.
He had incredibly sharp senses, possibly the strongest in the entire world. But due to his fatigue, they weren't working optimally. All he could make out in front of him were a thick wall of trees and foliage, making his teeth clench in frustration. At this rate, he was never going to get anywhere.
'I need to quickly search for an open area, or I'll really faint' Rex thought determinedly.
Knowing the horror of the consequences of fainting in the middle of the forest, not too far away from the Great Barricade, he knows that he needs to do something fast before it was too late for him.
Gathering the little strength he had left, Rex crouches down and jumped with all his might.
Swoosh!
Like a swift shadow in the night, his form burst through the dense dark leaves and branches. He leaped skyward, feeling the moonlight refresh and invigorate his body. Yet he didn't linger at the moment and immediately scanned left and right for an open area where he could regain a little of his strength back.
But there's no relief from the dense trees, he finds no gaps in its reign as he crashes back down.
Crash!
"Arggh!" he groaned painfully.
Exerting the last bit of his strength, he was not able to land on his feet, his body crashes against the rough surface of the ground, forcing the mutated birds to fly away in fright. It looks like he was really fatigued but he knows that physical pain shouldn't affect him like this.
Only a terrifying amount of physical pain can affect him, but he has never felt that kind of pain.
Knowing the Executor's attack was not only physical, he knows now for a fact that his weakened soul was the one responsible for this crippling feeling. If his soul was not scarred, he wouldn't be this weak.
<Warning! The user's condition is very critical!>
'This damn forest...' Rex cursed inside his head before he flipped his body over, he gazes at the thick layers of trees helplessly. Inside his mind, he really wants to blast these trees open but his right arm is completely numb and unmovable because of the Brutal Impulse skill.
It was no use no matter how much he tries, he was clenched in this helpless situation.
Darkness slowly crawls inside his vision despite his stubborn refute to keep awake, it was like wiggling maggots that are eating his vision away. Only a small circle at the center was the vision he has left, anywhere else was devoured by the darkness.
Power slowly seeped out of his body, fleeing away and draining more strength from his body.
<Warning!...>
<Warning!...>
<Warning! The user's condition is very critical! It's advised to bathe under the moonlight!>
Even though he wanted to buy something from the system to help his current state, his mind was strained and he can't think properly. But it was at that moment, he heard the muffled sound of footsteps approaching him.
Springing up from the ground, Rex's body instinctively gets up and gets into his battle stance.
It was a last-ditched attempt by his body to survive even though his mind is not actually there, he was already engulfed in confusion and chaos due to the physical and soul exhaustion. Only a few hardened entities have this kind of resolute will to survive.
'Who is that...?' Rex thought, his vision blurred and the person in front of him is unclear.
At this point only half of his eyes were opened, his eyelids are heavy, and wanted to fall but were resisted strongly by Rex's will. Raising his gaze slowly he could see the figure looked to be a human, a woman most likely.
Clenching his fist instinctively, he was ready to fight even with his condition.
For a moment there the figure just stands a couple of steps away with her unclear eyes looking at him. Rex clenched his fists even harder when he saw a glimpse of mana seeping out of the figure's body, showing that she was indeed an Awakened.
But as he was about to strike, a rejuvenating feeling dawned upon him from above.
Every fiber of his being was completely soothed and rejuvenated, like submerging inside warm water, the relaxing sensation was familiar and addictive. A notification appeared in front of him, but his vision is too blurry to read the context.
<The user is exposed to the moonlight! The regenerative ability has been strengthened!>
Slowly putting both of his fists down, he gazes up and saw a brilliant light showering him with energy and power. It was the moon shining brightly on him, like a beautiful goddess smiling directly at him.
Rex feel this sensation and rejoice in its wake, but the sensation dulled his fighter side.
As a tree that has its trunk chainsawed completely through, Rex falls to the ground face-first but the figure swiftly caught him without a moment's pause. Possibly anticipating that Rex would fall at any moment from the condition he's in.
~
Meanwhile, inside the Silverstar Pack castle.
Complete silence filled the entire great hall as they saw the Herald Mark on Adhara's forehead deactivated on its own, the sheer negative thoughts that this moment brought can't be underestimated, the entire room was drowned in tension.
Adhara who is the first one to snap out of her daze stutters, and tries to evoke some positivity.
"W-We doesn't know what this means, t-there's no good in assuming the worst. Rex is probably exhausted or only injured severely while he was escaping which result in this, yes... h-he's definitely on his way back right now" she said, but her tone is uncertain and wavering.
It was almost as if she was trying to convince herself rather than convincing the others.
Knowing that Adhara and Evelyn were the ones affected by this the most, and they are also young and inexperienced, Flunra pushes his body up and stands up strugglingly. Only with Naela's help can he fully stands up.
"Either way, there's no point in thinking about that. We need to make this castle safe" Flunra said.
Nothing good will come from them panicking and thinking the worst, it would only make them go further away from reality and increase the costs that they would have to pay for this mistake. Flunra knows that as this keeps on going, they would end up in the worst state.
Looking at the two, Flunra then declared, "Don't put on a bad appearance, both of you."
"Is it really wise for the Luna and the Female Alpha of the Silverstar Pack to show their weak side right in front of Naela? Won't that just be ruining the Alpha's reputation for having weak-minded Werewolves? Do you truly want to do that?" he added with an unwavering tone, trying to awaken some pride in them.
As the two of them heard this, they looked at Naela before turning to themselves.
Clearly from Naela's perspective, they were not acting properly as Werewolves from the notorious Silverstar Pack. For others, the Silverstar Pack is a fierce pack of Werewolves that have gone through hell and back.
Each individual inside of the pack should be a fearsome individual, able to handle their own.
But if a small sign of the Alpha's death has put them into this state of mind, then it wouldn't be surprising if Naela thought that the Silverstar Pack can only operate because of the Alpha himself, the other pack members didn't contribute anything.
Realizing that, a glimmer of realization hits their minds hard.
Glaring at the two back and forth with clear anger across his face, Flunra was clearly angry at them for being too emotional in this kind of emergency. It was not proper and made the two of them look like fools, and that is not good for the future leaders of a new nation.
"As you said earlier, you want to help the Alpha and not be reliant on him" Flunra looks at Evelyn.
But he was not only directing this to Evelyn, he also looked at Adhara sternly and continues, "Becoming stronger is one way of helping the Alpha, but it needs a process. You might think power is the only thing that makes one stronger, but it's not. If you truly want to help the Alpha, then start by controlling your emotions and focus on the task at hand. If you keep being like this, then the two of you are not fit to be a part of the Silverstar Pack..."
DEG!
Upon hearing this, both of their minds were struck by lightning.
Adhara and Evelyn realized that under the pressure of what is going on around them, they are a slave to their emotions and failed to completely take over the situation especially with an outsider watching them like Naela.
Even right now, it's clear that Naela's reverence for them has lessened because of this.
Despite the power the two of them currently have that surpasses Naela's power, both of them are acting unworthy of their powers and standing inside the Silverstar Pack. If given the same amount of power, Naela might've acted way better than them.
Now they realized that they are being too shaken, the situation is still unclear.
Rex's situation is still unclear and even if it's clear that he had died, they can't do anything except keep on living and survive, as that is what he wants them to do. "Well said, Flunra... well said" Adhara mutters while she gazes at Flunra with a newfound conviction.
Because of Flunra, she realized that there are myriads of ways to help the Alpha except for power.
And as a member of the Silverstar Pack, they can't give a bad show for their enemies. In order to be a help to the Alpha, the two of them need to grasp control and fight back, or they would forever be stuck and reliant on the Alpha.
Upon saying that, Adhara glanced at Evelyn, "Should we go now...?"
Evelyn is looking down at the ground with a grim expression, she then inhaled deeply while raising her face to look at Adhara. "Yes, let's go. We'll try and talk to the Dark Elves about this matter, they probably also need our help"
"We're going now, Flunra. Keep a look on Naela and Gistella" Adhara said with a firm nod.
Seeing that he had managed to at least alleviate the situation and make the Luna and Female Alpha take control of themselves, he smiled and also nodded firmly, "Don't worry, leave the castle to me. I'll be fine in a bit"
After bidding their goodbye, Evelyn and Adhara head out to the Dark Elf kingdom.
But now there is a fire inside their hearts, the two of them are determined to make the castle safe and untraceable to the Executor before Rex came back. It was unclear for now, but they believe that Rex is going to come back no matter how severe his condition is.
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