Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1143: No Compromises (Part 2)

The Plague Reaper, Kyros, the Crimson Monarch, and Arnoth—all of them were Adam’s worthy opponents, but despite that, none of them were like Adam.

The closest match would be the Plague Reaper because of his eagerness to fight, but Adam was an arrogant warrior willing to take risks, while the Plague Reaper was a calculating, cold-blooded killer willing to do anything to ensure the success of the mission.

Kyros, the Crimson Monarch, and Arnoth were too noble and, to some extent, too old to have much in common with Adam. While the fire burned in his eyes, only gray, faceless memories filled their minds.

Was Lyrod any different from them?

Sure, he was a monster of a completely different breed, but during their brief encounter, Adam couldn’t understand what Lyrod was really like and what dark side he had.

Something in Lyrod’s calm but arrogant words, his actions, and his gaze made Adam feel as if he had been looking for this fight for a long time.

Hop. Hop. Hop.

Adam jumped up and down in one spot, anticipating the upcoming battle.

“Are you going to attack?” Lyrod raised an eyebrow. “However, I can do it myself if you’re so slow.”

With a wave of his hand, a barrage of projectiles flew out of the water ring toward Adam. He remained in place until the last moment, when his frame shook as he found himself directly in front of Lyrod.

Adam clenched his fist tightly and struck out, but Lyrod tilted his head to the right, easily dodging the blow.

His eyes scanned Adam’s hand. “Strong, but not fast enough. Hey, maybe you should let me kill you right now? With punches like that, you’ll never beat me.”

“Hah! Shut up, you arrogant bastard, and do something if you say so!”

“I already have.”

“Agh…?”

Adam realized that Lyrod hadn’t wasted a single second of their battle on inaction. Out of nowhere, bright flashes filled with energy appeared throughout the cave. They were all aimed at Adam like cannons.

Then, Adam realized something.

‘Fuck, the shells that flew out of the water ring. I didn’t see what happened to them next…’

After that, dozens of beams crashed directly onto Adam, but he managed to get away at the very last moment.

Tap.

While Adam was in the air, something touched his shoulder.

He turned around only to see Lyrod behind him.

“WHAT?!”

The shock he had never experienced before was reflected in Adam’s gaze. He didn’t understand how it was possible. Lyrod simply couldn’t move that fast.

With a calm look, Lyrod pointed forward to where Adam had just been.

Strangely enough, Lyrod was still standing there, but… something was wrong. There was a bright flash at his feet, the same as on the walls, and his frame was shaking slightly. Soon, he split into streams of water, spreading across the ground.

Only then did Adam notice that there was also a bright flash on the wall nearby, but unlike the others, it did not shoot a stream of water at Adam.

“I don’t know what kind of monsters you’ve fought before. But I’m not one to forgive mistakes. It looks like I won’t have to wait 30 minutes. Your mistakes will lead to your defeat in just five minutes, or even faster.”

Adam was about to respond, but he completely forgot what position he was in.

Slash.

The water blade cut through Adam’s chest, leaving a wide wound from which a powerful stream of blood gushed out.

Adam clenched his teeth in an attempt to ignore the pain so he could counterattack, but what happened next shocked him to the core.

His blood, under Lyrod’s control, turned into a long, sharp needle that moved at Lyrod’s wave of his hand.

“What the hell is that?!”

Thrust.

The bloody needle pierced Adam’s shoulder at the same time as Lyrod’s palm slammed into his chest.

The impact threw Adam back at tremendous speed, literally pinning him to the ground.

Tap.

Lyrod descended as he created a multitude of water rings throughout the gorge. Each of the rings emitted bright flashes, water clumps that remained floating in space. The flashes were aimed at Adam, waiting for Lyrod’s command to open fire.

By the time Adam came to his senses, Lyrod was already towering over him, as were dozens of water clumps.

As before, Lyrod wasted no time during the fight. Adam recovered for a few seconds, and that was enough for Lyrod to create conditions that would leave Adam no chance.

It was obvious that he simply could not dodge all the beams, especially in his situation.

“Is that all? You know, when I sensed your aura here, I thought that some experienced, old Phantom who had survived one or even several World Wipes had been sent to clean up this region. But… I encountered you. A young man who is not even 20…”

Among other monsters of this level, Lyrod was also considered quite young, but not as young as Adam. Although, on average, the age of humans was much lower than that of monsters.

However, Adam did not respond, he lay in the middle of the crater as his wide pupils pulsed from time to time as if he were high.

Lyrod raised his hand, ready to end the fight, but something stopped him. Silver threads appeared on Adam’s wide cut on his chest — someone was going to heal his wound.

It quickly became clear to Lyrod.

“Oh, your Operator has decided to show off her abilities. I’m afraid it won’t matter now. Whether you have this wound or not, it won’t help you win.”

Crack.

Suddenly, Silvana’s energy was interrupted as her panicked scream echoed in Adam’s mind.

“No, Adam! What are you doing?!”

This puzzled Lyrod no less than Silvana. For some reason, Adam blocked Silvana’s energy flow, preventing her from healing the cut on his chest.

“Hah…” Adam’s hoarse laugh rang out. “Can’t you feel it…? The First Star… It knows when to show itself.”

Confusion was reflected on Lyrod’s face as he frowned.

‘Tsk. Let’s end this.’

Dozens of flashes shone brightly, simultaneously unleashing their full power on Adam.

At the same moment, the darkness gathering around Adam’s artifact trembled and disappeared in a single powerful burst.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

With thick crimson energy, a black object hovered above Adam, but it was not a wreath as before, but a cracked crown.

His hand clenched around the sharp spikes, grabbing the crown and sending a chill down Lyrod’s spine.