Looking at the Symposium of Upper Divinities, Rex could feel his willpower fading away.
He gasped for breaths as his eyes once filled with determination, now held a view of helpless resignation—mirroring the weight of the peak point of the fight against that pressed upon his weary shoulders.
Severe, unhealed wounds crisscrossed his body, the cost of the intense battle.
As the surge of brilliant golden energy engulfed the sky, casting an ominous shadow over the Dead Man's Creek—a ridiculous amount of energy that could only co from one source, the resolve inside of him faltered.
In that mont of clarity, he knew that victory was slipping through his fingers.
Rex even reverted back to his Human form out of fatigue.
In his current state—he couldn't cast any skill of his as the Brutal Impulse he used to defend himself from the Chaos Nova earlier had taken everything he had. Even his left arm—turned blue already.
Moving it sends a sharp sting to his nerves.
Looking over his shoulders, Rex gazed at Lyra and the Shapeshifters with heavy reluctance.
He was teetering at the edge of a heavy decision.
Is this it...? Do I, in the end, need to sacrifice them to win?
Seeing that Lyra and the Shapeshifters were fighting rigorously despite slowly being pushed back by the chaos monsters, dying left and right, Rex gritted his teeth. His body trembled at the prospect of what he was going to do.
Doing so would only regress the progress he had over his goal of achieving peace.
But compared to letting the Executor win...?
Just as he was contemplating heavily, a shout pierced his ears, "Do it! You have no choice!"
Erging from the side was the Witch of Chaos, her form drenched in blood, evidence of the severe injuries, she, like the others, had sustained. Her eyes bulged in horror, the sight of the Executor taking hold of the supre weapon—prodded her mind perilously close to the brink of madness.
She knew what was inside Rex's mind, but it was not the ti to be hesitating.
If the Executor managed to wield the supre weapon, his own power would've exploded.
Aside from that, he would also gain control of the Supre One's remnants, gaining a legacy that would put the Executor on the throne of the world. Naturally, this divine legacy includes the Passue Matriarch.
Even in a three-way fight, Rex and the others were struggling.
If the Passue Matriarch were to align with the Executor, then it would be the end for them.
Knowing that and also rembering all the sacrifices she made to align with the Royal Black Prince, the Witch would not accept if they lost due to a stupid reason as hesitating. It would be an utter sha and a waste of effort if that happened.
"Devour them! Absorb their Life Essences, or it will be our defeat!" She shouted angrily.
Taking a step forward, the Witch continued with blood coming out of her mouth, "Regardless of your plan in the future—creating peace or whatever the hell you wanted to do—you would not achieve that if the Executor got ahold of that weapon! Kill the Shapeshifters—all of them are yours to sacrifice!"
"You beca this strong by doing anything to achieve it, don't falter now!" She shouted.
Her voice, filled with dread, echoed inside Rex's mind repeatedly.
Upon hearing this, Rex's heartbeat began to quicken as the mont was choking him.
A stark reminder that the decision was his to make, whether they would lose or not, it would all depend on his decision. Rex clenched both of his hands as he grimaced. Is there really no other way...?
———
anwhile, several miles away from the Dead Man's Creek.
Adhara, Gistella—and Kyran suddenly had their attention pulled to their backs when a radiant energy erupted skywards. Its brilliance stabbed the veil of the darkened sky, shattering Rex's Night of the Full Moon Do.
Spiraling upward with an unstoppable force, it seed to reach up to the heavens.
Even the clouds above were twisted and contorted in response to the overwhelming power.
Its phenonon stretched for miles in every direction, casting a dazzling spectacle upon the land below and bathing the surrounding landscape in a celestial radiance. Witnessing such a jaw-dropping display, Adhara knitted her eyebrows.
"What is that? It ca from the center of the creek," She comnted in worry.
On the other hand, Gistella's expression is ashen, "No, this shouldn't be happening..."
Upon hearing this, Adhara turned towards her and saw the horror on her face.
"What is it, Gistella? What shouldn't be happening?"
"It's the supre weapon... that's what this battle was all about. But the Executor wielding it wasn't part of the plan. Rex tried to prevent him from reaching it, but..." Fixing on the golden energy, Gistella gulped. "Did Rex lose?"
"No, it can't be. He would never lose." Kyran added, fully believing that Rex would not lose.
Adhara also nodded, "We could only believe in him. Rex will win"
Similarly, the sheer scale of the phenonon was caught by those who were far away too.
From the Great Barricade, with a few numbers of military and Awakened who were stationed there to guard as the main army was advancing to the Symposium of Upper Divinities—each of them could see a blinding golden light in the distance.
A sight almost as if it was the ti of dawn, and the sun was rising on the horizon.
Moreover, the stroke of power also reaches them.
It was so powerful that the guards on the Great Barricade's walls were pushed back slightly.
Even the protective barrier that covered the walls humd and trembled, displaying that the energy from the phenonon was ridiculously strong if it could be felt by them. Additionally, such a sight began to sweep unrest to the cities inside the Human Territory.
As the leaders of Ratmawati City were silent, the people were already feeling uneasy.
Now that this phenonon happened, it has beco chaotic.
Most of the people abandoned their daily activities in an instant, the bustling streets emptied as people hurried back to the safety of their hos, effectively shutting down the entirety of the economy to a complete standstill.
Fearing an incident such as Rex's rampage to happen again, this was all they could do.
All of them had no choice but to seek refuge indoors and wait.
Such a panic didn't sweep only to the smaller cities, even Ratmawati City was affected as all sectors inside the walls were blaring with a siren—beckoning them all to go indoors until the situation had cald down.
Only Awakened and Black Hands were allowed to roam the city in case of an ergency.
It's safe to say that everyone awaits the conclusion of the battle in the creek.
———
Back to the creek, Rex was standing like a statue as he compared all possibilities in mind.
Even then, he ca to the sa conclusion as the Witch of Chaos.
Regardless of what he aspired to create in this world, none of it would be left if the Executor managed to wield the supre weapon. He could bid goodbye to his aspirations as none of them would be realized.
Since he and his pack would be hunted down, he would only focus on surviving then.
Just like what the Witch said—he needs to do anything to win.
Victory only favors those who would do anything to get it.
Rex had learned that ti and ti again, it's crucial to do any requirents for a victory.
It was obvious that he didn't want to do this, resorting to a desperate act of draining the Life Essences from the Shapeshifters is definitely a low blow. But I have to do this. It's not right, I know—they all helped in this fight, but their efforts and mine would've been nothing if we lost this fight.
Determined, Rex pivoted around with the intention of going through with the heinous act.
But as he was about to take a step, soone suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Upon feeling this—Rex looked back and saw that it was Edward who stopped him.
"Let go of ," Rex uttered with a darkened expression.
Knowing what kind of person Edward is, Rex knew that he was trying to stop him.
Even back in their military days—Edward was the only one who still had a heart and couldn't go through with despicable acts. Rex and Kyran were the ones who needed to cover for him all the ti, but not now, Rex couldn't cover for him this ti.
It's a matter of the entire world, and he needs to take the ugly decision and bear its weight.
"I'm not trying to stop you," Edward suddenly replied.
Swoosh!
Kaboom!!
Rex arched an eyebrow at Edward as another shockwave exploded from the Symposium, yet another sign that the Executor was beginning to blend with the supre weapon. But then—Edward grasped Rex's hand, directing it towards himself.
"What are you doing...?" He asked as his eyes widened in surprise.
Smiling brightly, Edward replied, "If anyone has to die, then that person should be "
"I don't know what you are planning by gathering Life Essences, but I definitely have enough"
Upon hearing the words that ca out of his mouth, Rex was stunned.
Edward had been on the sideline—and when he saw the golden light that blasted skywards—he knew that the Executor had gained what he wanted. He thought that it was too late to stop the Executor, but it seed Rex still had a card up his sleeves.
Listening to what the Witch said to him, he realized that Rex needed Life Essences.
It was probably why he asked Lyra to gather the humans from earlier.
"Now I felt stupid," Edward muttered with a wry smile, ridiculing himself. "Back when we were still in the military, I thought nothing fazed you. But like now—I can see that your face turned colder as you are about to do sothing you didn't want, and I've seen you do this countless tis back then"
"I didn't realize it then, but now I know—you were covering for all this ti, didn't you?"
Rex's expression tightened when he heard this.
Both he and Kyle always did the ugly commands so that Edward didn't have to.
A lot of tis, he didn't want to do it, but he knew that Edward wouldn't be able to handle it.
So naturally, Rex sucked it up and did it anyway.
"I haven't been able to thank you for doing all of that—I'm sure you must've saved from a lot of ntal pain that I might not be able to recover from," Edward added before his grip on Rex's hand beca tighter. "But this ti, let cover for you. This ti, let relieve you from the pain of doing sothing you don't want to do"
Despite everything Edward said was spot on, Rex remained unwavering.
Even though he didn't want to kill the Shapeshifters, Edward's alternative is way worse.
Rex couldn't find the strength to possibly do it to him.
"No, it's better to do it on them than you," He replied, shaking his head in refusal.
However, despite wanting to continue—Edward still firmly held him in place, "Just look at , Rex." He said, pointing out the corruption that he suffered from the Executor which made him look extrely bad, stripping from his humanity. "Out of all the bad things this corruption did, I'm sure it could help endure it,"
"Don't underestimate , I won't die..." He added, giving the assurance of words to Rex.
It was more than words, it was also the display of Edward's determination.
As he got to know more of Rex's side which was usually hidden deeply, the more he realized how much pain Rex had to endure for him in the past. But even then, Rex has never once let out a moan or complaint to him.
Rex took all the pain and suffering in silence, it was the kind of man he is.
Now, Edward wanted to repay for everything Rex did for him.
Certainly, Rex wasn't naive enough to wholeheartedly trust Edward's words, the likelihood of death was alarmingly high, if not impossible to avoid if they go through with this. Despite the peril, Edward assisted Rex's hand to point towards him.
"Co on, Private. No hesitation is the first rule we were taught, rember?" Edward said.
Upon hearing this, Rex looked down with a darkened face.
Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath and stared directly into Edward's eyes.
"Don't you fucking die on ,"
SWOOSH!!
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