NOVGO.NET Chapter 1676: Who Are You Looking At?
Chapter 1676: Who Are You Looking At?
“Killing Lord Silvius drew the attention of the new empire, and its sovereign sent people to deal with Draven,” Kei Xun explained as the surroundings burned in flames, the force Draven painstakingly built throughout the years scattered without a fight. “Every single person under Draven was executed. Every root he spread was destroyed. Everything he loved burned once again…”
Around, the surroundings shifted as Draven rushed back to his new home.
He seemed to have learned about the situation and made haste back to his home.
Since he failed to protect his mother, this time, he would succeed in protecting his new love.
All the while, the figures that lingered in the sky stayed a symbol that Draven was under their palms.
Upon seeing his home in sight, Draven’s smile broadened—as he arrived in time before anything major happened. But he was wrong. Before his very eyes, his entire kingdom bloomed in a destructive purple explosion that quaked the ground.
It was a powerful explosion that took up the entire mountain range his kingdom was located.
Every single thing within a ten-mile radius blew up spectacularly.
Draven’s eyes widened as he stared ahead, strength and will leaving his body rapidly.
He couldn’t tear his eyes from the explosion that marked the death of everything that made his revenge on Lord Silvius possible. His people, his army—his newfound family… all of it vanished in the flames, devoured by the fire and ground to ash.
Draven crumpled to his knees.
It began to rain.
Not natural rain, but blood rain—the blood of his people drenched the land thoroughly.
Almost as if the sky was mocking him for his loss.
Rex clenched his fists when he saw this; his breath suddenly turned heavy and ragged.
“Just like you, who experienced a second anguish, losing your foster parents—Draven, too, experienced his own second loss,” Kei Xun said, glancing at Rex sharply to study his reaction. “Out of the stratums, Scions from the anger stratum followed quite a simple path, but devastating nevertheless.”
Gritting his teeth, Rex reached his hand slowly and grabbed Kei Xun by the neck.
His muscular arm bulged fiercely as he tightened his grip.
Kei Xun didn’t retaliate; she watched him with the same composed expression until his glaring, crimson eyes met with hers. A gaze that made her understand why he was special, ’His mind is incredibly robust, and that allowed him to endure his growing anger up until this point. Most Scions from the anger stratum are normally weak-willed, broken down by the tragedies in their lives, but he… he’s different. Perhaps his incredibly powerful Werewolf bloodline has something to do with how he could endure so much anger.’
’His drive is stronger, too…’ Kei Xun’s face contorted into shock. ’There’s madness in him.’
At that moment, she realized the one thing she was missing.
Madness.
’Is… Is that why the upper Scions approved him as a new Scion? Is that the reason they reject me?’
For thousands of years, she had been proving herself worthy, and even passing the Great Filter to become a Blank, but she had never been acknowledged. In fact, she was shunned and even treated as a simpleton that does not know better.
It’s unfair; she always thought it was unfair.
But now… she realized what she was missing.
Kei Xun bit her lower lip hard as her expression turned dark.
Even so, Rex didn’t care—he tightened his grip around her neck and fixed her with a menacing stare.
His killing intent, his bloodlust that he had amassed from beating and humiliating the extension of Lunirich Gods, poured from him unchecked, turning into a crimson shade blanket oozing out of him that crashed against Kei Xun like an unrelenting tide.
’Incredible…’ Kei Xun thought in marvel. ’He’s barely a Demi-God, but his bloodlust is this strong?’
“I’m going to say it only once,” Rex whispered—eyes glowing red. “Don’t bring them up with your filthy mouth ever again. I let you see my past, but I don’t condone you talking about it. Those incidents cannot be spoken out loud, do you understand?”
“You have my word,” Kei Xun said, one eye closed as she held Rex’s hand, tapping on it gently.
Upon hearing that, Rex exhaled the anger away and let her go.
“In any case,” Kei Xun rubbed her throbbing neck—and cleared her throat. “Since you have experienced the second loss and hadn’t been tested by the Highseat of Invincibility is a miracle. Perhaps this shows how strong your mind is compared to Draven’s. But eventually, you will still end up like him…”
Kei Xun lifted her hand and pointed at Draven.
Seeing this, Rex turned to look at Draven again and saw something oddly hard to watch.
In anguish, Draven unsheathed his short sword, held it with two hands, and angled the tip inwardly.
He pointed the tip towards his beating heart.
And without even confronting the perpetrators who did this to his kingdom, he killed himself.
“Almost all of the Scions from the anger stratum are suicidal, and you’re no exception.” Kei Xun mused.
Rex kept a composed face, but it was a different story inside.
Regardless, he tore his gaze from Draven—and lifted it to the sky, fixing on the distant figures who watched Draven’s death without a flicker of emotion—almost as if they had expected him to end his own life this way.
Almost like they knew that the destruction of his kingdom would push him to the edge.
No doubt about it… these people belonged to the Supreme One’s forces.
High above the world hovered five figures.
Four of them were clad in the guise of a black knight—full-body obsidian armor that seemed to suck in the moonlight until it vanished—into their frames. Sheathed neatly on their backs were colossal blades meant for two hands, weapons that promised only death.
Veins of purplish light pulsed across their forms; the unmistakable shimmer of chaos energy.
Something Rex recognized the moment he saw it.
All of them have no emblems or markings that represent the faction behind them.
Only their helmets bore any form of unity, bearing what seemed to be a black spiky crown.
At the center, leading these four knights was a familiar figure that hovered against the vast canvas of the sky. An untouchable presence suspended between heaven—and earth. His long white hair didn’t fall in smooth, obedient strands but cascaded in wild, windswept layers.
Every lock seemed to move with a will of its own—an unruly crown that framed his ageless face.
Four spectral arms of purple and black made entirely of a mixture of arcane mana and spirit energy of the purest form unfurled behind him like appendages of some forgotten God; their violent energy bound in place by a single glowing circlet of violet light.
His eyes, a storm of violent chaos-purple, gazed downward with a chilling detachment—as if everything beneath him were no more than drifting dust, fleeting and inconsequential. There was no anger in his stare, no triumph, no flicker of pity—only the serene stillness of one so far beyond mortal struggles that their burdens could never touch him.
Rex’s gaze narrowed.
Pale ashen skin. Imposing. White hair. And chaos affinity. He’s an Executor, no doubt about it.
But which one is he? Whoever he turns out to be—he’s destined to stand against me. If he’s anything at all like the Fifthborn, then our paths are fated to clash—it’s only a matter of time. And beyond that, I need answers.
Above all, Rex needs to know more about the Supreme One.
Since his clash with the Fifthborn, it was highly probable that he was a previous user of the System.
Just from how the Fifthborn knew about the System, along with the Passue Matriarch, made that likely.
Speaking of the Passue Matriarch, I should relocate her soon. Once my bloodline ascends to the Realm of Origins, I can turn her into one of my pack members. They say she was created, a mere puppet—but I hope there’s still a fragment of consciousness left within her. If so, she might yet provide me with the answers.
Slowly, Rex blinked and focused on the Executor again.
Since it’s not possible to turn the Executors due to their ties with the Supreme O—
Deg!
Swish!
Rex’s heart skipped a beat as his eyes widened.
Blood burst from his eyes, nose, and mouth as he stared above in shock.
<Warning!>
<Warning!>
<A powerful entity had locked onto the user!>
<A member of the previous System’s owner, an Executor, is detected!>
<Last updated position: 7th position>
<Killing intent will not be issued since the gap between the user and the entity is too wide!>
Out of nowhere, the Executor’s eyes shifted away from Draven and fixated on Rex.
Is he looking at me?
Rex’s trembling pupils stared at the Executor in shock as he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
He was actually making eye contact with the Executor.
Not to mention, the stare alone caused him internal damage that spilled blood.
How is this possible?! This is not reality… This is the past! Did I make the wrong assumption?
Could it be that this isn’t him at all—but that something has happened to my real body?
Just the moment he thought of that, the Executor’s eyes narrowed and the corner of his lips curled into an amused, devious smile, showing that Rex didn’t assume wrong. Somehow—the Executor was really looking at him right now!
“Who are you looking at, preyling?”
“What in the world…?”
Rex unconsciously took a step back, caught completely off guard.
“Quick! We need to leave!” Kei Xun pulled Rex into her embrace, and sunlight flared from her body.
She moved quickly as her senses warned her of danger.
Swoosh!
Naturally, the blue flames surged outward in a relentless tide, devouring everything in their path until the world itself seemed to drown in a warped, melting blur of memory and ash. And yet, even as every single imagery of the past was consumed, the Executor’s violet eyes lingered.
He fixed on Kei Xun and Rex until the last trace of them was swallowed by the inferno.
Moments later, Rex and Kei Xun returned back to the Sun Domain.
As soon as the flaming blue expanse returned to his vision, Rex pulled back and held Kei Xun by her shoulders. His eyes wide in shock and confusion, “What was that? How in the world did he talk to me? Is that even possible?!”
“I don’t know… But that person must be a Demi-God.” Kei Xun answered, also uncertain.
“That… That’s a conjuration of your mind, it’s not real.” Rex’s voice was serious, disbelief flashing in his wide, bulging eyes. “On top of that, you’re also showing me the past. How the hell is he conscious of that?”
Rex’s heart hammered, “Is he stronger than you…?”
“I-I don’t know how.” Kei Xun answered, shoving Rex back, freeing herself. “And of course not. He is not stronger than me… but someone behind him must be. If not stronger, then at least as strong as me— since there’s no way they could anticipate me if not for that.”
Her eyes darted around the space.
But seeing that they were back in her domain, the Sun Domain, she breathed easily.
“We should be safe now.” She added.
Rex turned around and walked to clear his head.
He placed both hands on his hip, looking down at the burning ground in deep contemplation.
System, do you know how he did that?
<Does the user want to purchase the information for 200 million gold?>
Sigh… forget it. Still, that man couldn’t be the Fourthborn—not with the way he spoke, as if he had no idea who I was. That means he must be one of the Executor’s older siblings. But I’m not sure. The fact that he instantly fixed his killing intent on me without hesitation… he could be the Fourthborn.
Just as he thought of that, he felt fingers grasping her chin.
Kei Xun pulled on his chin and forced him to look at her, who was now an inch away from him.
“Do you understand now?” She asked, and the glowing tears streamed harder. “Just stop here while you still have the choice…”