The Invincible Full-Moon System

Chapter 1106: The Product of Seamless Manipulation

Despite still being attacked relentlessly by the Passues that were crowding the inner area of the creek—the Executor was reeling at the sight of the Symposium, his destination and also his key to reaching the apex spot of the new era.

He would be unstoppable if he had his hands on the supreme weapon.

Just the thought of stomping anyone who dared retaliate against him tingled his pride.

At last, he would feel the absolute pure power that he never had before.

Even the grin on his face was not fading away.

But as his mind was occupied with the prospect of satisfaction when he reached the peak of power—his eyes abruptly widened when a couple of figures breached his area of senses. He was caught off guard as it happened in an instant.

Looking over his shoulders, he saw Rex and Edward arriving behind him.

Casting a mocking smile at the Executor, both of them quickly blitzed past him quickly.

Upon seeing this—a series of questions lingered inside of the Executor's mind—but he could not ponder their answers as the Passue Matriarch suddenly appeared. He now realized what Rex and Edward were doing.

Turns out they were leading the Passue Matriarch straight at him.

Gritting his teeth wrathfully, the Executor garnered chaos energy into his hands instantly.

Clang!

Mid-way, the Passue Matriarch's scythe was stopped by a concentration of chaos energy.

Despite managing to block the attack, the scythe was pushing him back.

Out of sheer anger, the Executor unleashed the Chaos Nova once more, blasting the Passue Matriarch in a torrent of power. Surprisingly, he was able to execute this great feat thanks to his current form, an advanced version of his Gladiator Form.

Compared to his form before, the changes only happened on his tails that were hardened.

Nevertheless, his power was substantially increased.

It was a trait of a higher realm of power.

Glaring at Edward with bulging eyes, he pointed at him angrily, "You... You dare betray me?!"

"Dare...?" Edward irked in return, still smiling. "I planned on betraying you from the very start"

Upon hearing this, the Executor could only grind his teeth in vexation.

His eyes turned utterly bloodshot—as if he wanted to swallow Edward whole for daring to do something like this at this crucial moment—the Executor promised in his heart that he would make sure Edward paid the ultimate price for doing this.

"What are you so surprised for...?" Rex took a step forward, adorned with a daunting smile.

Seeing the shock on the Executor's face, he opted to remind the Executor of something.

"Isn't it you who boasts of possessing absolute strength? You brag about not needing others to help you—so why act surprised when someone turns against you?" Rex added—his voice dripping with ridicule. "Shouldn't this be a trivial matter for the great Executor? After all, you are pure, right...?"

Listening to this, the Executor's expression could only darken.

Rex threw his own vicious words back at him, forcing him to swallow them whole.

He never felt as humiliated as this.

"Don't get cocky you piece of trash! I am still superior!" the Executor roared thunderously.

His neck veins bulged prominently as he fixed Rex with a fierce glare—his face flushed cerise with the humiliation he suffered. He was one of the Executors, albeit the weakest, he is still in the realm above the rest.

To think that Rex was being cocky to him is unforgivable.

But as he did that—his eyes widened when a mouthful of blood forced its way out of his lips.

"Kaahhk!!"

Out of instinct, the Executor covered his mouth with his widened eyes.

Pulling his hand away—he observed the crimson blood staining his palm—slowly dripping to the ground. Its slow descent mirrored the rhythmic beat of his heart, and each droplet made a somber ticing sounder as it hit the ground below.

For a moment there, the Executor was stunned, grappling with the sudden onset of blood.

The Executor couldn't comprehend what had happened to him.

He was fine a moment ago—and he shouldn't have been weary already—at the very least he still has thirty more minutes, minimal. However now, an unsettling sensation coursed through his body, betraying the change he couldn't account for—a disturbance that hinted at the fact that something was amiss within him.

Just then he saw the veins in his arms blackened, and his skin began to deteriorate.

Even though his regenerative prowess could outpace the deterioration, this revelation caught him off guard—it blindsided him. Only upon delving into the depths of his own spirit core, did he realize a corrupted link.

It was a foreign essence that assaulted the link he had prepared before the fight.

Returning back into reality, his senses perked up.

Glancing to the side—the Executor saw the Witch appearing from the shadows, slowly with a deliberate grace. It looked like she was manipulating her cursed energy with a daunting smile on her face—prompting an echoing thump to ring inside his mind

Before he could reach a conclusion, a voice seeped into his ears.

"Do you know why a tyrant never rules for long...?" Rex grinned, asking a question.

Upon hearing this, the Executor could only look at him hatefully.

Finding that there was no response aside from the hateful glare from the Executor, Rex's grin stretched wider, "It's because anyone around a tyrant is a willing recruit. No need for a fancy plan when you are helping me immensely by treating others as bugs—the people around the tyrant will always be their downfall,"

"Just like that, two more falls to my side—you've been betrayed again" Rex mocked.

Currently, the Executor's emotions were in a jumbled mess.

Now it dawned on him that the link he had with King John, a lifeline of his had been ensnared and tainted by the treachery of the Witch. But this revelation also implied that King John also willingly decided to betray him, which as Rex stated, two more turning against him.

Gritting his teeth, he turned to the Witch, fuming in anger.

"What have you done to me?! How did you know about the link?!" the Executor roared.

He glared at the Witch, puzzled and angered at the resolution of the situation.

Upon hearing this, the Witch smiled eerily, "Regardless of the Chaos element's power, able to do almost anything with its essence—there's one thing that it couldn't do, and that is sensing cursed energy," She said with a deliberate and eased tone. "Consequentially—there was one incident not too long ago that made a certain someone perfect to infiltrate your great castle,"

"As stupid and arrogant as you are, you should know who it is by now," She added blatantly.

Just as he heard that—the Executor's mind instantly went to a certain someone.

Someone he deemed inconsequential and not a threat.

"Gistella..." He uttered in aghast.

Back when the Executor found that Gistella had come to him involuntarily—he was skeptical as she might as well be sent here by the Royal Black Prince himself. However, he decided to take that risk as he was confident in himself.

The Chaos element is an apex element that is even connected to the Abyss.

It was one of the strongest elements that could be wielded by an Awakened.

Beyond its unparalleled destructive power that is second to no other, the Chaos element also has an array of versatile uses or abilities. Among them was the capacity to influence souls, a power that the Executor employed to problem Gistella's soul in order to verify the veracity of her words.

From his inspection, he found that Gistella was telling the truth.

His unwavering love for the Royal Black Prince held true as it was imprinted even in her soul, and the anger she felt that was directed at the Vampire Princess, Calidora is also real. From the inspection, he verified that it was all real.

Moreover, he found greater use cases for Gistella if she was alive than dead.

Other than her possessing crucial information about the Silverstar Pack such as the location of their base—she could also be a bargaining piece to suppress the Royal Black Prince—and most important of all, stepping on someone close to Rex delights him.

'I- I should've been more aware, I've never acted this recklessly before' the Executor thought.

Remembering back to the near past, he found several abnormalities.

Ever since Gistella came to the castle, there were subtle changes that happened.

A notable shift manifested in Edward's and King John's speeches, they were more flowery in their words of praise. Additionally, he realized that King John had been visiting Gistella more often than not in the days nearing the departure.

Even though he did it discreetly, the Executor knew that he was visiting Gistella frequently.

Logically speaking, he should've investigated this.

'But why...? Why didn't I check? Why am I this reckless? Have I always been like this?'

Upon remembering those moments, the Executor began to question himself in frustration.

He has never been a person who was this reckless and tactless.

Knowing that Gistella, regardless of the inspection, still remained affiliated with the enemy—he should have maintained greater vigilance—and restricted her interactions with key figures as now his failure to do so left the link he had with King John exposed.

The Executor was cultivating King John so that he would become an adequate lifeline.

He aims to make King John his second life.

Activating King John's ancient bloodline that made his physique extremely strong was done not without an ulterior motive. His increase in strength—enables the Executor to forge a link so that whenever he was damaged, his wounds would heal in an instant as they were given to King John instead.

If he dies—then King John would die in his stead, effectively giving him a second life.

The Executor made this link in anticipation of the battle against the Passue Matriarch.

But the existence of this link was unveiled when Gistella likely realized the wounds King John was suffering and relayed this information to the Witch—who in return analyzed the situation using her grimoire that also hosts the wisdom of all preceding Witches of Chaos.

Now, the Witch of Chaos was able to somehow alter the link and turn it against him.

Instead of being his lifeline, the link became a weakness.

Looking at the dread evident on the Executor's face, Rex couldn't hide his elation anymore.

He must be questioning himself right now, exactly as I predicted.

In the realm of manipulation—discerning the personality type of the target is the most crucial part of the beginning process. For the Executor, it was easy to determine his personality type as arrogant and insecure—it was written all over the way he acts.

Failing to do so would ultimately lead to a failed manipulation almost all the time.

Moreover—expecting a manipulation to change the target's personality is also not ideal.

In most cases, following the target's personality type is the best approach.

Knowing those rules—Rex opted to find his approach and concluded that the best way to be successful in manipulating the Executor to dance on the palm of his hand was to amplify the blind optimism aspect that innately exists inside of the Executor.

Just like what the Executor thought, he wasn't supposed to be this reckless.

He was not always like this.

Naturally, this odd recklessness that made the Executor question himself was the product of the amplified blind optimism aspect that Rex opted to manipulate. His move was immaculate—as Rex ensnared the Executor in his web of manipulation the moment he welcomed Gistella inside his castle.

Physical and combat training was not the only training he had in the military.

Being a part of the USR, he was also taught about manipulation.

It was a preparation for when the USR team took on higher-level missions.

Now, that training had come to fruition—Rex turned out to excel at the game of manipulation.

Tilting his head sadistically—he commented in a voice steeped in derision, "Wait—you didn't actually think that this era would treat you differently, right?" He asked, jeeringly incredulous. "Once a defect, always a defect. Do you think you will have friends? Loyal subordinates? No. Everyone around you was never your ally—they merely stumbled aimlessly along your path, with you as their sole remedy.

Should an alternative present itself, they would all turn against you"