Chapter 1948: It Doesn’t Make Any Sense |
Initially, Rex thought Davina was only being cautious.
Considering where they were right now, in a foreign place surrounded by beings—that are as strong, if not stronger than they are—it was good to exercise caution. He didn’t mind. Davina was a sharp person, as she had amply shown.
And there’s a chance that she might be able to foresee things that he missed.
But he didn’t find any merit in pursuing what she was saying.
High Lord Rashal has an extraordinary background and competency—which placed him in the position he was in right now. Nobody has ever become a High Lord as young as he did. For that, Rex gave him the benefit of the doubt that he knew what he was doing.
Knew that crucial intel such as the enemy High Lord’s aim should be vetted meticulously.
For him to share it with Rex and Alexander meant he was fairly certain the intel was accurate.
That the enemy forces’ main plan of attack was the Grey Realm.
It was unreasonable for Davina to make the assumption that High Lord Rashal was wrong, and the main target of attack was the Cavity. Especially when Alexander had confirmed that it’s practically impossible to enter the Cavity and stupid to choose that place to attack.
Someone from the lower realms with abnormal power.
It is possible.
Rex recalled the time when he entered the Spirit Realm for the first time, marvelling at the beings in it that have power beyond comprehension. Even now, in his current state, there are still stronger beings in the Spirit Realm.
A few of them were among the sky people.
And there are also other Voidal Monarchs that could no doubt have won over him.
Not to mention, there’s also the Scion of Vertex.
Kei Xun was among them; though she was one of the weaker ones, she was still stronger than him.
If any of them were hired by High Lord Ursa to achieve one goal within the Cavity, then it’s possible.
Rex simply refused to believe that he’s the only one who has abnormal strength across countless lower realms. He fervently believed that there’s one out there that could match him. And that alone made him contemplate Davina’s hunch.
Now that I think about it, how come High Lord Rashal was interested in me?
Compared to the upper echelon within the Spirit Realm, there are still a great number of them who had the strength to match him—if not beat him outright. And that’s from one realm. For the Cavity that was opened to all lower realms, there should be other beings who were even greater than him.
It was weird that among billions, if not trillions of people who have entered the Cavity over the countless years, High Lord Rashal was interested in him.
He knew that he’s far from simple, but it shouldn’t be that absurd.
I see... Now it made sense.
Rex became a Demigod because he stole divinity from Kaiser.
He didn’t know how exactly one became a Demigod, but he could somewhat guess how it would go.
And in this case, there had to be a ceiling; a hard limit to what power a mortal could achieve. Divinity was the obvious answer, the path to become a Demigod and shatter that boundary. Rex reckoned, based on the System’s description, that there’s also another way.
One that involved binding themselves to their home realm.
It must be the easier path compared to becoming a Demigod, so a lot of people chose that path.
Because this path involved deepening their connection to the realm, elevating them to something like Gods within its domain. But the price was absolute; they could never leave. Bound forever to the realm with no possibility of traversing the vast realms.
It was the reason why the number of Demigods isn’t as high as he assumed.
Many chose the other route to grow stronger.
Sure, some mortals could face him like the sky people in the Spirit Realm.
But that’s because they sacrificed Godhood to become stronger in their own realm.
Given enough time, then they wouldn’t be comparable to him. Not even the slightest bit.
And that’s the reason why High Lord Rashal was interested in him, as among the new Demigods who tried to enter the God Realm, he was one of the strongest. Though the number of like him wasn’t much, there should be another one.
Rex couldn’t dismiss Davina’s concern anymore after coming to that realization.
"Is it worth it to check the Cavity now?" Davina asked.
Hearing her question, Rex blinked and focused his eyes on her again, "Ye—"
Before he could answer, a voice rang inside his mind.
Rex raised a finger, gesturing for Davina to hold onto her thoughts as someone was contacting him.
’Sir Rex...’
Vadyn? Are you going to tell me this dangerous individual now?
’I was about to ask how it went. I’ve read about that person, and I reckoned High Millinar Alexander knew more about this man compared to me.’
Manvac?
’Yes... Manvac.’
Rex was disappointed; he thought the dangerous enemy might be a hidden one that he needed to know about. But it doesn’t seem to be the case. Vadyn was talking about Manvac, and right now, Manvac was already being handled.
He and his soldiers are caught in a trap, and High Millinar Alexander is now slaughtering them. It should be over soon enough. Everything is going according to plan; don’t worry. I am going to check something to be sure.
’I trust you. But can I assume that you also did your best to do what you promised?’
Yes... I gave the Red Skull Elite Force their best situation to battle. I am sure the casualties, if there are any, would be minimal.
Rex took on the plan to make the battle a direct confrontation without any way to escape.
It was the perfect arena for the Red Skull Elite Force, as Alexander said they were superior in a head-on confrontation—and weaker in a wide-scale battle with many variables due to Manvac having the Major Law of Life Water.
And other than the plan was the best at the moment, he also did it for Vadyn.
For her to contact him directly to ask a favour is already something that can be considered brave.
Vadyn outranked him. She was stronger—too. Coming to Rex first meant she was brave enough to set aside her pride deliberately, strategically, in service of what was best for High Lord Rashal’s term. Rex recognized the weight of that choice, and it earned her a measure of his respect.
Not the same way as he respected High Lord Rashal, but respect nonetheless.
’Good... That’s good,’ Her voice softened—as if relieved that at least Rex helped the elite soldiers well to avoid losing too many of them. ’But don’t speak as if you’ve done your task flawlessly. Do you know that Rashal or I would eventually know all the mistakes you’ve made?’
Rex frowned at what she said.
Hmm? What do you mean by that?
Even before Vadyn answered, he already thought back to the moment he arrived in the Grey Realm, and the only possible mistakes that Vadyn would blame him for would be the fact that he was making use of the inhabitants for his own benefit, which shouldn’t even be mentioned.
It was nothing.
Just the lives of people whom she didn’t even know or care.
As long as Rex didn’t go overboard, he was quite sure High Lord Rashal would look the other way.
So, he was rather confused as to what exactly Vadyn meant by what she said.
’Are you playing dumb? I never thought you’d be this type of man.’
I don’t know what you’re talking about. Speak clearly. If it’s tied to anything that I am dealing with right now, then you should tell me.
Davina didn’t know who Rex was talking to, or what was being talked about.
But he could tell that something was wrong from Rex’s face alone.
Rex is not someone who could be easily swayed by the situation, no matter how dire things might be, so for him to react like this meant it’s a trouble that’s beyond normal. And that put Davina on edge as the worry spread.
’You really don’t know? You’re really sloppy. A Demigod managed to escape the Grey Realm.’
What?! How? When? Why didn’t you say it sooner?!
’Relax... I already sent a few enforcers to intercept that Demigod the moment he entered the Cavity.’
C-Cavity...? T-The Demigod is heading to the Cavity?
Rex’s eyes slowly shifted to Davina.
And the look she got from him told her everything; her hunch was right.
It wasn’t the Grey Realm the enemy wanted. It was the Cavity.
It has always been the Cavity from the start.
"Vadyn!" Rex’s voice cracked as he shouted, no longer talking telepathically. "Stop that Demigod! Tell the enforcers you sent to intercept that Demigod. Tell them now! Don’t wait until that bastard reaches the Cavity!"
’What...?’ Vadyn’s voice wavered, confusion bleeding through. ’It’s only an Awakened Demigod. What can even happen? It shouldn’t be—’
"Do it now!" Rex’s voice rose in a panic. "They’re not aiming for the Grey Realm. They’re aiming for the Cavity!"
After saying that, Rex kept the telepathic connection despite the System asking whether he wanted to cut it off or not.
He then reached for his earpiece.
"Alexander, tell your men to open a portal back to the Cavity," Rex said with urgency.
’What’s the matter?’ Alexander asked, not expecting this. ’Is there a problem?’
"YES! Just open the fucking portal!" Rex roared before he scanned his eyes around, scanning the area with the System in search of something that he missed. "How...? How did one slip past us? I’ve never stopped scanning the fucking area."
From start to finish, the System kept scanning the surroundings.
And the area of effect reached really far.
Rex would notice if there’s one Demigod hiding nearby, waiting for them to show all their hands before going straight to the Cavity. "It doesn’t make sense..." He placed both hands on his waist and looked down, boring his gaze into the soil. "It doesn’t make any sense."
"Talk to me, Rex," Davina said; her voice came out weaker than expected. "You’re scaring me if you’re like this. Just... think slowly. You must know how this happened."
She never saw him like this.
For the longest time, Rex had been composed and sharp; always on top of any situation.
In fact, he had always been on top of everything, so Davina believed he was incapable of being like this.
Even when he was tortured and almost publicly executed by the empire, he didn’t break.
So, seeing him like this was new. And it was scaring her.
"Is he watching and waiting in another realm?" Rex combed his hair back that was already sleek with sweat from the stress. "No, he needs to be here to access the Cavity. Then where? Where did he hide? Is he waiting in another dimension? On the edge of the realm? Hiding inside someone else’s body? In a soul? Where?!"
Boom—!
His aura detonated like a violent tornado, blowing outward viciously and cracking the ground.
Rex then squatted down.
All his fingers intertwined on the back of his skull, pressing his head down as if that’ll help him think.
"It doesn’t make any sense," Rex whispered. "I’ve been really cautious in approaching this. I didn’t let down my guard even for a second, and yet, I missed this one Demigod...? This is impossible. Unless..." He blinked with clarity. "Unless this Demigod is backed by a God."