Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1004: Sphere of Darkness

The castle was the main place, there was a beginning and an end.

Adam and Heret fought against Arnoth, the main threat to all serpents. Risha and Vorx were attempting the equally important feat of defeating Kreyna.

But the rebellion continued in all parts of the Fallen Ring Castle.

Some serpents were in their monster forms, but most remained in human ones, walking along the roads and fighting against the Light Legion.

Torz and Grita were the leaders, though mostly they made sure that the Light Legion had no chance to do any serious damage to their ranks.

If a squad fell behind or the battle was taking place far from the current line of advance, they would quickly head to that point to help their fellow serpents.

This allowed them to gradually narrow the circle around the castle, but despite the successes of their rebellion, Torz and Grita didnʼt have smiles on their faces.

They realized that what they and hundreds of other serpents were doing was insignificant compared to what was happening in the castle.

Slash.

Torz swept through the two knights, slicing them apart with his sharp claws. There was nothing they could do to defend themselves.

In one torrent of flame, Grita turned the five soldiers into piles of ash.

In the end, after Heret and Vorx, these two were the strongest serpents. If Adam and Risha didnʼt show up, they would be the ones who would come up against Kreyna and Arnoth.

Although, in that case, the chances of them winning would be much less. Even now, they didnʼt have the confidence that a bright future awaited them.

”What do you think?” Torz asked, staring at the castle in the distance. The wind, hot from their flames, blew close to their faces.

Grita narrowed her eyes, staring intently at one point - the castle.

They regained about 60% of the land already, approaching the main square. At this rate, in ten or twenty minutes, the resistance forces would reach the golden gate and surround the castle.

”I donʼt know.” Grita shook her head. ”The aura emanating from the castle is intimidating. Especially from the throne room. Adam and Heretʼs battle against Arnoth has already begun.”

Torz was about to say something when a wave of light swept across the lands.

A bright flash blinded a hundred fighters coming from the first floor - Vorxʼs blast engulfed Kreyna.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The shockwave spread out hundreds of meters in a deafening explosion.

Streams of flame came out of the castle as if the great construct were on fire.

For a few seconds, no one moved, not a single knight or serpent. Everyone was trying to figure out if this was the end of the explosion, and... for whom was that good news?

Tap.

Vorx stepped back, struggling to keep his balance. Streams of dark smoke billowed out of his body, and his eyes were practically blank.

No, he wasnʼt hurt by his explosion. His flames were his ally, not his enemy, he simply fulfilled his part of the plan.

”Gha...” he wheezed, shifting his gaze to Risha, who stood in the distance. ”I took the first half of the fight, the rest is on you.”

With a thud, Vorx collapsed to the ground, a slight smile frozen on his face under his heavy breathing.

He spent all the strength he had on the fiery blast. He didnʼt think it was reckless, on the contrary, Vorx was convinced that it was the best way to win.

He could spend energy gradually, but Kreyna would dodge some of his attacks, and most of them wouldnʼt work at 100% of their effectiveness.

But, with a blast, Vorx unleashed all of his energy on Kreyna at maximum power. The distance between them couldnʼt have been any shorter.

For any S4 monster and below, and even for many S5 ones, this would be the end.

Step.

Unfortunately for Vorx, Kreyna was not one of them.

Step. Step.

Kreyna stepped back, her legs trembling in terror.

”GRHA!!!”

A stream of dark blood gushed from her mouth as she crumbled to one knee.

There was almost nothing left of her sturdy armor, only charred scraps around the edges. A multitude of wounds covered her body, dark smoldering spots next to bleeding ruptures.

One of her blades was on the ground a few meters away, yet Kreyna was in no hurry to pick it up.

She couldnʼt.

”Fuck...” she growled looking at her left arm, or rather what was left of it. Clots of blood fell from her shoulder, crashing to the floor.

Gritting her teeth, Kreyna covered her wound with darkness, forcing the bleeding to stop. No matter how much pain she was in, she couldnʼt afford to lose any more blood.

A few more seconds was exactly the amount of time she needed to regain her senses.

But, she had another opponent she completely forgot about.

A shadow fell over Kreyna, causing her to turn her head.

”Agh...?”

Before she realized it, Rishaʼs axe swept towards her, cutting through the wind currents with its broad blade.

With her last strength, Kreyna put her blade under the blow, blocking Rishaʼs slash with one hand.

Before her injury, Kreyna would likely have been able to stand and even counterattack with a second blade, but now she had no more than half her strength left.

”FUCK!” she cursed unable to stay on her feet.

Rishaʼs strike threw her aside, Kreynaʼs back slamming straight into the column.

Step.

In an effort to end the battle right now, Risha took the next step, but she overestimated her strength.

”No...” she whispered, with a pale face. The recoil from Radiant Mirageʼs life-saving move hadnʼt passed yet.

She needed time to recover as well.

”Gha!” Kreyna spat out a clot of blood, slowly rising to her feet.

If it were possible, her fierce gaze would have burned a hole in Risha.

”You, bitch. You both planned this from the beginning, right?!”

Actually, no. It was Vorxʼs improvisation, but Kreyna didnʼt need an answer.

”Hah, anyway, that stupid serpent overestimated himself,” she hissed, staring at Vorx. ”First, he tricked Arnoth, now he tried to kill me and... If he were a little stronger, he might have succeeded.”

Step.

Ignoring her words, Risha stepped forward. Her face contorted in pain, reminiscent of her trial in the dark field under immense pressure.

To some extent, she was used to it.

Before Kreyna realized it, Risha was in front of her, clutching her axe tightly with both hands. The eyes of the skull on her bracelet flashed.

”Agh...?” Kreynaʼs eyes went wide, mirroring the wave of screaming skulls.

At the last moment, she created a purple star to the side, moving as far away as possible.

Rishaʼs crimson wave swept forward, destroying everything in its path in a hail of skulls.

She missed, but that failure caused no emotion on her face.

ʼSheʼs at her limit,ʼ Risha thought confidently, stepping forward. ʼAll I have to do is keep up the onslaught. Kreyna is stronger. I canʼt ignore that, sheʼll recover faster than I, so... I have to act fast. Am I saying this right?ʼ

ʼYeah, itʼs even surprising to hear something so reasonable from you.ʼ Radiant Mirage nodded deeply, yet tension could be seen in his eyes.

He could sense that Kreyna was not going to give up. Her pride and mission were over the top.

ʼUnfortunately, you will no longer be able to use my ability, but unlike her, you are not injured, and you have plenty of energy. Youʼll be back to your peak soon.ʼ

”Good.” Risha nodded as she dashed forward. She looked at Kreyna as if she were her prey.

This was how the beast sleeping within her was supposed to act.

But... Unfortunately for Risha, there were two hunters here.

Each of them considered the other as its prey.

So, only strength would determine who was the hunter and who was the prey, and in this contest, Risha had no chance, yet.

ʼWhat?ʼ Risha blinked. ʼWhatʼs going on?ʼ

Right at the moment she was about to attack Kreyna, everything around her was covered in darkness.

The last thing she saw was a line of purple flame in the distance - a dark circle closing or rather taking another form.

Grita and Torz, standing hundreds of meters away, narrowed their eyes.

They couldnʼt believe what they saw.

A huge, dark sphere covered most of the first floor. Even their keen gazes couldnʼt pierce through the dark veil. No means worked, not energy, not aura, not even the gene field that was supposed to show at least something.

There seemed to be nothing inside the sphere - just a bottomless void.

”Alright, girl.”

Kreynaʼs cold voice sounded behind Risha.

”Itʼs time to call it a day. I want to make it in time to watch Arnoth destroy Heret and your friend Phantom!”

Risha twitched, she knew where the attack was coming from.

ʼTo the left! she internally exclaimed.

Three purple lines whizzed inside the sphere, none that Risha could block.

Gush.

The blood burst out of Risha, causing her to drop to her knees. All she saw in front of her was Kreynaʼs frame hidden by shadows and her blade covered in purple energy.

”You can be proud, itʼs been a long time since Iʼve used this ability. I love seeing the fear on the faces of those I kill. But... there is no other choice.” Kreyna stepped forward.

Risha didnʼt know what to do - she just wanted to win, to tear all the darkness around her with a single swing.

At that very moment, a shiver ran through her Evolution Tree as a tiny crack appeared on the fourth lesser gate, one of many.