Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 46  Respect

While Adam and Brass Puppet were tearing each other apart, fighting at the top of their abilities, the Missions Department and Fort Norton were in the midst of chaos in one of the departments.

The mechanical door opened, and a man with shoulder-length gray hair, a short beard, and a cigarette tucked behind his ear walked into a room with a multitude of people and screens. ”Douglas! Damn it! Why do I keep hearing your name over and over again when something goes wrong in my departmentʼs work?!” Gauter exclaimed irritably, addressing a man in a black military suit standing in the center of the room. Douglas glanced back and waved his hand slightly as if inviting Gauter to join him.

”First, this guy took the Golden Mission, and usually there should be a serious punishment for something like that, not a follow-up special mission!” Gauter continued to grumble, approaching Douglas. ”Now I find out that heʼs the reason a squad of Phantoms died who almost completed their mission! That guy is nothing but trouble!” Gauter burst out, waving his hand unhappily.

Douglas didnʼt answer anything. He just pointed forward, at the main screen.

”Hmm?” Gauter raised an eyebrow and turned around, then his eyes went wide at the sight of endless clashes of key and needle with cascades of sparks flying sideways.

They were watching the fight with Adamʼs NEP, but they had another point - from Phantom, who was lurking a few hundred meters away. He was here on a solo mission, but when he saw what Brass Puppet and Adam had done, he started recording the fight from atop a building. ”Fuck... So heʼs still alive? I thought Crown Type should have killed him by now...” Gauter muttered in a disbelief.

”Gauter, I lost two units of the military as well. No one expected his Beginning Monster to be so strong even if it was Crown Type. The Phantoms from that squad didnʼt listen to their Operator, though... itʼs unlikely they would have escaped in time.” Douglas explained with a deep sigh.

He was an experienced military man, and over the years he had already lost hundreds or even thousands of his subordinates. Considering the constant missions, Eclipses, and monster hordes, the number wasnʼt that impressive.

Hundreds of Phantoms died every year, so casualties among the military and Harvesters were not as notable, though it was still a significant problem. Cumulatively, the Citadel was home to about 50 million people, taking into account the Upper Ring and Lower Ring. Nearly half a million people were military, and that was just from the population in the Upper Ring. A few hundred thousand more worked in various departments. Upper Ring had more people living than Lower Ring, according to the latest information, so the percentage of people involved in fighting monsters was enormous, especially if considering the elderly, children, and those who were studying at the academies.

”What will you do next?” Gauter asked with a serious look. He realized that this situation was unusual. Douglas shrugged.

”There is nothing we can do.” ”Thereʼs no point in sending in the military or other Phantoms since Adam is fighting his Beginning Monster. We can only watch and keep a fighter flying around to pick it up right after the battle. All other squads have already been alerted and are heading back to the Citadel.”

”Hm? Have they? I could be wrong, but I think there was supposed to be another squad there, though theyʼve probably already finished their mission. Iʼll have to check that out.” Gauter muttered before pulling out his tablet.

Crackle.

At the same moment, something flew into the wall of the building, destroying it where Phantom was - recording combat from afar.

”What the hell...?” Someone muttered in a trembling voice. The Phantom turned around, only to see the tattered body of another Phantom, which seemed to have been thrown on top of the building with tremendous force.

Then, a tall silhouette surged upward, landing next to the corpse. It was a real knight - wearing an intimidating armor that glistened in the sun and two swords crossed behind his back. However, the Steel Knight didnʼt even have to use one, as his arms were covered in blood up to his elbows, dark drops constantly dripping down.

”The hell... Another Crown Type? But, why didnʼt this squad send out a signal for help?” Gauter frowned.

Douglas shook his head.

”They probably didnʼt have time. You know yourself that if a monster kills part of the squad in the first few seconds, the squad members just run away in an attempt to escape.”

Gauter clenched his fists tightly, gritting his teeth.

”Shit! In one day in Rusty Ruins, we lost two squads of Phantoms, and not only that...” Gauter glanced at the fighting Adam, ”Douglas, this guy is going to die no matter what. He canʼt stand up to two Crown Monsters.”

Douglas nodded with great grimace.

”I know.”

Sure, Douglas could send some of the Second Rank Phantoms, but even with fighters, it would take time to get north of the Rusty Ruins, by which time there would be nothing left of Adam.

Step. Step. Another Step.

Steel Knight approached Phantom, who panicked and attacked him with fire projectiles. However, the Steel Knight didnʼt stop, the flames couldnʼt hurt him, and the projectiles just bounced off his impenetrable armor. ”No! Get away from me! Get away!” Phantom exclaimed in horror at the Crown Type.

The Steel Knight stopped in front of Phantom, looked down at him, and raised his hands at shoulder level.

Then, without emotion, Steel Knight slammed his palms together, blasting Phantomʼs head. The Steel Knight simply stepped forward, crushing Phantomʼs body under his feet and watching the battle between the fire and white flash.

”How horrible...” The girl, one of the workers shuddered at the gruesome scene.

Douglas and Gauter didnʼt even blink. When the Steel Knight appeared, to them, Phantom and Adam were already dead.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

The Steel Knight leaped forward, approaching the battle scene. The battle between Brass Puppet and Adam obviously interested him, so much that he was willing to participate without taking sides.

Needle and flaming key collided, creating a fiery explosion and throwing Adam and Brass Puppet aside.

In the last few minutes, they had both suffered serious wounds. Adamʼs left arm was covered in burns and practically torn due to the numerous cuts, it seemed as if a bear had attacked him and brought its claws down solely on his arm.

Brass Puppet, basically lost his arm with gears, as well as part of his shoulder and multiple protective plates all over his body. Something was destroyed by Adam and something simply burned due to the high heat, the engine was still going strong.

They were about to attack each other again, but hearing the heavy footsteps of the Steel Knight was the first time they were distracted. The uninvited guestʼs aura was powerful enough for them to pay attention to him.

ʼWait... Is that another Crown Type...? What the fuck is going on here?ʼ Adam internally muttered, a shiver went through his body. To his surprise, Brass Puppet abruptly turned around and approached the Steel Knight. It only took a slight jolt for their foreheads to collide, so close they were.

The Steel Knight looked at him thoughtfully, unafraid of the flames that were right in front of him.

”AAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTGGGGG!!!”

With his mouth wide open, Brass Puppet unleashed a mechanical, eerie roar shuddering through space at the Steel Knight.

The department workers who heard this roar through Adamʼs NEP covered their ears, some fell to the ground instinctively, trying to escape from this nightmare.

However, the Steel Knight didnʼt even move. He slowly turned his head, looked at Adam, and turned around. In a few leaps, he was on the highest building and crossed his arms over his chest, watching the fight.

The Steel Knight didnʼt utter a word, and obviously, Brass Puppet didnʼt scare him, but one thing was clearly visible in his aura and movements - respect.

Douglasʼs eyes went wide, he was astonished. ”Hah... Hahahahahahaha! Looks like his Beginning Monster turned out to be as persistent as him!” Gauter exclaimed with a slightly insane smile.

”No way... Then... Then he can still be saved!” Douglas exclaimed about to call for Second Rank Phantomʼs help.

However, Gauterʼs palm falling on his shoulder stopped him.

”Thereʼs no need for that. You must let him finish because if you prevent him from defeating his Beginning Monster now, it will ruin his path.” ”But... What about the Steel Knight...?”

Gauter shook his head.

”You donʼt have to worry about that, heʼs accepted the rules of this game and wonʼt break them. Whether Adam survives or not is up to him as it should be.” Gauter pronounced as he looked at the main screen, ”Moreover, it looks like it will all be over soon.”