The Invincible Full-Moon System

Chapter 1762: Hunting the Hunter (1)

For an entity that proclaimed to be a werewolf hunter, this was to be expected.

Up until this point, Stelios had been flawless in his execution.

His preparation took into account all core aspects of fighting Werewolves, and nobody would doubt his expertise. Starting from coating his entire body with pure enchanted silver that was the strongest version of silver Rex has ever seen, engaging a battle during the day when Werewolves were at their weakest, blocking regeneration with his halo, and even dividing attention by using a dear person as a hostage.

Each move was calculated to tilt the wind of victory towards him.

A hunter doesn’t care about fairness.

All it cared about was doing the hunt as efficiently as possible.

It didn’t come as a surprise for him to also prepare a counter for a Werewolf’s anger.

Before the Lunirich Gods bestowed their influence, a Werewolf’s primal strength flowed from a single, untamed source: rage. To sever that fury was as good as cutting the moon itself, as this was also the same as cutting the very foundation of what made a Werewolf, a Werewolf.

As a Werewolf Hunter, preparing for this aspect was also an essential part of securing a successful hunt.

Stelios, who has countless years of experience, surely has a way to deal with it.

“What’s wrong?” Stelios’ voice was a feverish cackle, dripping with contempt as his eyes glowed with a golden sheen. He felt Rex’s grip falter as the six feathered wings took away more and more of his fury like a vacuum. “Can you feel defeat, already?!”

Excited at the shift, Stelios threw Rex’s words back at him.

Swish—!

At his command, the wings absorbed the anger strongly.

It was so strong that even Rex’s form was starting to shrink back to his original size.

His swelling body was caused by his mounting anger, so without the fuel of anger, he shrank again.

Bam—!

Stelios somersaulted and landed a kick squarely on Rex’s chin, knocking him off the ground.

One could see his chest was heaving up and down hard, exhausted, but he didn’t waste the momentum.

In his hands formed two holy knives, longer than normal and also sharper.

Like a vortex of blades, his body moved like the wind, turning into a blurry streak of light as he slashed, hacked, and stabbed. Blood sprayed everywhere. Wounds knitted slowly, too slow for a Werewolf as the enchanted silver was already a poison in Rex’s veins.

The edges of six wings darkened to crimson, drinking the fury from Rex.

A claw sliced the air.

Stelios dropped, holy energy blazing down the knife in his right hand before he surged up.

A searing arc from hip to throat.

Rex wrenched back in time.

A heartbeat later, and the knife would’ve found his neck and torn it open.

Gritting his teeth hard, Rex tried to counter, but he was surprised by a sudden thrust from the wings.

Four of them shot forward as their tips turned pointy-sharp.

Rex seized two wings in time with his hands, but the other two punched deep into his gut, driving until his own muscles clamped down hard, turning to stone. But Stelios didn’t stop there. He heaved, ripping Rex from the ground and into the golden sky.

Each wing pumped pure enchanted silver into Rex’s body.

It was torture.

“Krrgghkk!”

Seeing the pain on Rex’s expression made Stelios laugh aloud, noting his victory was nearing.

Even though it didn’t go exactly as planned, it ended up as expected.

He’s going to successfully finish his last hunt and harvest Rex’s fangs, and turn them into a knife.

“Once you’re dead, everything will fall into place for me!” Stelios exclaimed, pumping holy energy into Rex’s body as blood streaked down the four wings and dropped to the ground. “Look at this, First Light! Your stupid duty, I’ve completed it! With this… I’m now free!”

“Huargghk!” Rex vomited a mouthful of blood.

Rex clawed at the impaling wings, the sound like steel against stone. He tried to use his law power—to shatter them and break free, but nothing. No matter how hard he tried, the wings wouldn’t budge. Worse, with every second, he grew weaker and weaker from being drained of anger.

His chances of breaking free were growing lower as time passed.

<Notice: All physical stats are gradually decreasing!>

<Warning: A high concentration of pure enchanted silver has been detected inside the user’s body!>

<Muscles are deteriorating. Bones are breaking down. Blood is turning into poison.>

<Prolonged exposure would be fatal!>

Even without being able to see the system, Stelios could see that Rex was dying with his own eyes.

Just the sight of Rex’s weak regeneration was enough to show that.

However, oblivious to him, things aren’t that straightforward.

He was still treating Rex as a normal Werewolf.

Any other Werewolf would’ve been dead by now, long dead, or at least broken—and bleeding from all the preparations Stelios made. Not even the royalties would survive. But Rex had never been a regular Werewolf, and had never been one.

And that was Stelios’ mistake.

Even at the moment, he wasn’t facing the real Rex.

No, he was facing a splinter of Rex—a reflection trapped in the amber of this trial.

He was facing the Invincible Apparition.

Rex had moved on. He had shouldered the weight of his bloody and depressing history and turned his gaze toward a future that wasn’t filled with bloodshed. But the Invincible Apparition was not born of the present.

It was a fossil of the past, petrified in the exact moment the wound was freshest.

Petrified in that night he could never forget.

And because of that, its fury had not mellowed—it had only festered, grown denser and colder.

An eternal wrath that can never be quenched.

Naturally, its anger knows no limit.

Boom!

Stelios raised his arms when Rex’s body burst with power again.

He bears witness as Rex’s form started growing bigger again, returning to how big it was a minute ago.

Now, Rex’s claws clamped around his wings tightly and even started to overpower them.

“H-How…?” Stelios sucked in a cold breath, eyes bulging in utter frustration and anger. “How? How? How?! How can he still fight back?! This is not possible… Not possible! No Werewolf can withstand— this much damage, none!!”

At this point, Rex shouldn’t be able to do anything but accept his defeat.

What he was experiencing at the moment could kill a Royal Werewolf ten times over with ease.

And yet, he was still coming.

Still fighting back.

Still has that fire behind his eyes as if he were still certain the only outcome was his triumph.

’All the energy from the sacrifices was spent completely… My holy and life energy are depleted; I can’t even transform into my Archangel form again since I’ve used the Knife of Judgment. And my armor is cracked,’ Stelios kept his gaze steady, but a bead of cold sweat ran down the side of his face. ’Even the Vambrace of the Hunter is not working effectively. All I have are my wings…’

It was only then that Stelios’ eyes widened as the cold truth crystallized, sharper than any knife.

He stared at Rex, who was pulling out the wings one by one, still brimming with power.

For once in his entire life, a silent fracture echoed in Stelios’ soul.

’I… I can’t… win?’

Even though that thought crossed his mind, he didn’t want to accept it—he wasn’t ready.

“RAARGGHK!!”

Stelios activated the Vambrace of the Hunter—two golden vambraces around his arms with a blood-red pendant, to the absolute limit. His wings responded and sucked more of Rex’s anger, causing his body to flinch at the torrent.

But even then, with gritted teeth, Rex tilted his head down and wrenched free from the wings.

Crack—!

In the next instant, Stelios’ breath hitched when Rex broke free and fell to the ground.

Almost instinctively, he took a step backward at the same time as Rex raised his gaze.

Bleeding holes riddled his body, but they were regenerating at a rapid pace, faster than they were a few seconds ago, as Rex’s body sucked the energy around him and supplemented his regeneration. Time dilated at that very moment.

It moved slower than a heartbeat.

Stelios stumbled out of panic, and when time returned to its normal pace, Rex disappeared.

Crack—!

Rex moved with a sudden burst of speed and struck, coating his claws with as much energy as he could in an instant.

His attack was blocked by a wing, but it shattered upon impact.

It was as strong as the holy energy within its wearer, and now, it was as fragile as a wall of glass.

A guttural roar tore through Stelios’ throat as he activated the Vambrace of Hunter once again, using his five remaining wings. Having their wings shattered was a notable failure—for an Angel, especially for an Archangel like him, and that sent him past the edge.

One wing shot down like a blazing guillotine as Rex charged on all four like an animal.

But a golden halo manifested and blocked the wing.

Rex infused his claws with energy again and slashed.

Another wing was shattered.

Light particles flooded his vision; yet this made Rex keep going instead of stopping.

Upon going through the cloud of light, his eyes flashed when he saw, that behind this cloud of light, was the sight of Stelios coughing out blood.

He was connected with his wings, and that’s new news.

Swoosh—!

Rex pounced, but he quickly fell to his knees; the anger suction grew much stronger than before.

But that only halted him for a few seconds as more and more anger rose from within his depths—coating his entire body with a reddish aura. Once again, he charged and struck, shattering yet another wing that threw Stelios off balance.

Only having three wings meant he was heavier on his right side, and that became evident.

A familiar scent seeped into Rex’s nose.

Panic. Fear. Frustration. A tantalizing scent that his acute senses could pick up.

One that put a smile on his face.

“Get away!”

Stelios kicked Rex’s chest and launched him backward.

Losing should be an impossibility, and he didn’t want to accept this, but surviving is more important.

Everything is fine as long as he survives.

Before he could get far, his back slammed onto a golden halo that barred his way.

Not his.

It was Rex’s Soul Artifact.

Crash—!

“Kyaaarghkk!!”

Stelios screamed at the top of his lungs when Rex shattered another wing, leaving him with two left.

Pinned, desperate, Stelios banked sharply, wings beating a frantic rhythm against the air as he tried to go around and break free of the golden halo’s interception. But it mirrored his every evasive maneuver, a radiant, intelligent predator that cuts off each avenue of escape.

And not too far behind, Rex advanced.

His steps were deliberate, measured.

A pronounced limp betrayed his wounds, but with each stride, his posture hardened, the hunch of pain slowly straightening into relentless pursuit. Upon pouncing one last time, Rex stepped on Stelios’ chest and seized the two wings.

Every inch of his muscle bulged as Stelios screamed harder.

Rex’s eyes blazed crimson.

A guttural roar tore from his throat as he seized the two remaining wings and tore them from their roots.

Upon doing that, a cataclysmic shockwave of holy energy detonated outward, scouring the entire area.

Stelios was now stripped of his wings—he looked far more Human than Angel now.

Rex bared his fangs and reached for Stelios to end his life, but his hand grasped air as Stelios evaporated into fragments of light and reappeared a distance away. Before Rex could react, three knives stabbed his chest and sent him to his knees.

His recovering body was overwhelmed again.

On the other hand, Stelios knelt on the ground too—his body was now drenched in blood.

He glared at Rex and finally stabbed himself in the chest with his bare hand, taking out a glowing light.

“You filthy dog… If I die here, then you’re coming with me!”

Boom—!

A beacon of light shot towards the golden sky, and before Rex’s very eyes, radiant silhouettes emerged.

Seeing this, Rex’s eyes narrowed.

It’s time… Answer my call, Evelyn.

Aooouu—!