Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 715 Cruel Light

It seemed only the greatest coward could run away from the battlefield twice in one day. The Blinding Sylphyre did so, but... could he be blamed for it?

He was supposed to defend the bridge, but the two Phantoms that came out against him were too strong, far more than he could handle.

The fortress would stand this night, this Eclipse, and it would stand for a very long time, and if the guardian died, no one would come to replace him.

Katrin blinked a few times, trying to realize what happened. She had been on many missions, more than other Phantoms, as she was looking to earn money and valuable experience, so she had seen this sort of thing plenty of times.

”Damn... Monsters sometimes run away, out of fear or for tactical reasons, but couldnʼt he have kept fighting?”

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The black sand in front of the bridge trembled as dozens of scorpion and lizard-like monsters with two thick, heavy tails came to the surface.

They were only Light Yellow Monsters, no stronger than the Gray Stalkers that Katrin encountered back when she was a K1-Phantom, but they were growing in number by the second.

Katrin turned around, going to help her allies, but there were many strong fighters among the Phantoms besides her.

Step.

The leader of the second squad Viron stepped forward, he like Katrin was using a sword, a massive weapon with gold trim around the edges of the blades hung from his waist, at the lower part of his back.

”Hey, you defeated the guards, but as you can see the gate to the fortress is still closed.”

Viron gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, slowly pulling it from the ties on his belt.

”Iʼll take care of these guys and wait for a few more units, good?”

In response, Katrin only nodded silently before rushing forward, meeting the gaze of the two Dark Watchers.

A lot of things happened since Adam arrived, but these two were still standing at their spots, in the same pose.

Unlike Adam, Katrin had no secrets here, she knew what she had to do - release her aura and suppress the gateʼs energy.

Step. Step. Step.

With a slow, leisurely step Viron headed forward, towards the monsters. A blue and green glow ran through his body, covering him like a veil, but he had nothing to do with it. It was his mates, they always reinforced him before a fight as in any cohesive squad.

”Alright, youʼre not very strong, but there are quite a few of you...”

A light, golden light reflected in Vironʼs eyes as he pointed his sword at the monsters moving towards him.

They could feel that his aura was more powerful than the others, but they felt no fear, they were greatly outnumbered and the reward if they won was worth it.

”You fools!”

With a fiery exclamation, Viron swung his sword upwards, aiming the blade towards the heavens. At that moment, he looked like an army commander ready to lead his warriors forward.

The dark clouds floating serenely above the fortress quickly began to change. Amidst the dense, black veil, a bright light appeared as if from lightning or the sun, but neither was present here.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Several golden disks formed under the clouds, aiming at the monsters running across the sand.

Vironʼs eyes glittered brightly as streams of dense energy enveloped his long sword, infusing the edges of the blades with power.

Small spheres of dense light formed in the hollows of the disks before releasing outward crushing golden pillars that rained down on the monsters with all their might.

The monsters shuddered as they raised their heads, it took them a moment to realize that they had to run, but it was already too late.

The pillars of light descended upon them like a burning sun, scorching everything with its cruel rays.

Usually, when a Phantom had abilities related to light, especially golden and warm like the sun, it was for some sort of supporting ability or defense. Sure, there were quite a few attacking abilities as well, but they all retained the nobility of their origin.

And, this was not Vironʼs case at all.

His light, pillars collapsing from the sky, were merciless with the sole purpose of destroying anything that dared to stand in their way.

There was nothing left of the monsters but dark stains of congealed blood and a few charred pieces of flesh lying next to the charcoal bones.

Viron nodded slightly, neither impressed nor disappointed, he saw this scene many times before.

Then, he swung his sword, returning his Nexus to his belt.

”Good, they wonʼt be bothering us anytime soon.”

By that point, three other squads had joined them. Each of them had a unique name invented by the leader or a common decision, but for the duration of the Eclipse it no longer mattered.

Under the influence of Operators and the military, some squads mixed and joined each other, as two squads could be within a kilometer radius but have different missions or fight in separate Nests.

So to avoid confusion and fighting for authority, the military took it upon themselves to create squads and appoint leaders.

Well, some squads, especially those that were far away and were numerous remained unchanged inside, but they like the rest had their assigned number.

Soon, one such squad arrived, heading straight for Viron.

Everyone saw his impressive and notable attack, so it was natural to address him first.

Step.

The leader of the fourth squad stepped forward, drawing Vironʼs attention.

She was a woman with long purple hair and equally unusual purple eyes, deep and wise.

Dark, tight robes covered her body, seeming to specifically emphasize her curves as indicated by her cocky, slightly arrogant smirk and predatory gaze.

In her hand was a long, obsidian staff, a violet glow coming out of the cracks as the unstoppable power of her weapon.

Biting down on her pinky, running her eyes over Viron from head to toe, Gnash smirked:

”Hey handsome, are you our leader? Doesnʼt matter though. You can forget about it. Iʼm the only one worthy of the position under our, unconventional situation, but... you can be my right hand.”

Ignoring her sneer, Viron glanced away.

”Didnʼt you get the message like the rest of us? Our leader, the highest level Phantom among us is out there right now...”

Gnash turned toward the bridge.

Crackle.

At the same moment, the majestic gate opened, letting in powerful currents of cold wind, lifting up waves of sand.