Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1161: Hybrids (Part 1)

Adam had many questions. He had not yet learned everything about the Dark Hearts when the Connected Hearts awaited him ahead.

Whether he wanted it or not, he would have to obtain one of the two unusual hearts to advance further along the Path Construct.

It was his choice, and now he had no choice but to delve deeper into the mysteries of the world to go into battle.

“Adam, let’s go in from the other side. There are no monsters of some Type among the Lords because when they transition to the Second Circle, the essence of their power transforms into the Arc.

“In other words, if it was some kind of Essence Monster of the Black Threat Level and it had power over lightning, then when it evolved, its Arc would gain the power of lightning, since that was its power as an Essence Monster.”

Adam nodded weakly, gradually understanding what Damien was talking about.

“I see… So it doesn’t matter what Type the monster had before, when it transitions to the Second Circle and becomes a Lord, it ceases to matter. All of their characteristics from their Type become part of their power and their Arc.”

“Yeah, something like that. It works for all Types.”

Suddenly, a sharp gleam flashed across Damien’s eyes.

“Everything except one.”

“Hmm? Is there another Type that I’ve never encountered?”

Damien nodded deeply.

“I’m sure you’ve thought about it from time to time. The Essence Type, the Prime Type, the Conqueror Type, and the Crown Type. These are the first four Types that Phantoms may encounter on their journey.

“Then, if a Phantom becomes strong enough, it may encounter the Overlord Type and the Crucible Type. These two Types have characteristics of the previous Types as well as something unique. That makes six Types in total, but there are seven.”

Shock mixed with surprise reflected in Adam’s eyes.

He had always suspected that this might be true, but he couldn’t understand how, in all his battles and missions, he could have missed the existence of another Type.

“However, the seventh Type is not something common. It does not absorb all the other Types. On the contrary, this Type is a separate path that any Awakened Monster can take if it decides to do so.”

Adam leaned forward.

“As I understand it, there aren’t many who want to, right?”

“Hah, yes. No one knows the exact numbers, but imagine if every K3-Phantom had a choice about which star crystal they needed to complete the Third Key.

“Most would choose the Midnight Crystal, but only a minority would risk obtaining the Midnight Crystal, knowing all the dangers of the Dark Shore and the black flash, without receiving anything of equal value in return.”

Remembering his situation, Adam smiled bitterly.

“Yeah, I think the Midnight Crystal would be the most popular choice, something like 80/20 or even 90/10. However, I didn’t have that choice.”

Damien snapped his fingers.

“Exactly. However, monsters have a similar choice, and it happens later. I gave you this example so you would understand how few monsters follow the path of the last Type. Most take a different path and become Lords without that part of the power that is unique to the last Type.”

“So…”

Adam’s voice grew lower.

“What is the last Type? Are they the Hybrids?”

A smirk spread across Damien’s face as he released his powerful aura, causing Adam to catch his breath.

“The Absolute Type. Every Absolute Monster who has completely transformed is a Hybrid. As I said earlier, only the Black Threat Monsters can become Hybrids, for several reasons, but more on that later.

“When a Hybrid, that is, a Black Threat Monster, breaks through all its barriers and reaches the Second Circle, it becomes a Lord like other monsters. There is no difference.”

Adam gulped.

“But… They don’t have an Arc, even though they are Lords too…”

Damien nodded in confirmation.

“Hah, the Absolute Type and Hybrids. If they don’t get an Arc, then they must have something equivalent, right? I mean, otherwise, no one would try to become a Hybrid.”

“Sure. You could see a glimpse of their power in Nessa.”

“Agh?” Adam tilted his head in confusion.

“Come on. You fought alongside her and against her. You saw that she didn’t have a Nexus, but she had something else—a battle form.”

Then, Adam’s eyes went wide as all the fragments of memories related to Nessa flashed through his mind.

He remembered something similar. At the time, he thought Nessa was using her version of the Resonance that every Phantom had, but that wasn’t the case.

“Yeah… Her muscles, fangs, and claws got bigger, and even her eyes changed. Although I won’t hide it, it was quite a long time ago. I don’t remember all the details.”

“It’s not that important. What you saw is only available to unique Hybrids like Nessa, because she’s human, not a monster.”

Adam shook his head. He wanted to know more about the Hybrids and Nessa; it was obvious that Damien knew a lot about it, but first, he wanted to finish with the monsters.

“So, their combat form. What is it? I saw how the Lords use the Arcs. They lost to Saegar, but their power was impressive.”

Damien smiled broadly.

“Well, it’s pretty simple—the Solar Form. Imagine that Nessa gains the power of a Second Rank Phantom, and all that power is concentrated not in her abilities, energy, or weapons, but in her combat form. The Solar Form of a Hybrid looks exactly like that.”

Adam had too little experience interacting with Hybrids to fully understand what Damien was talking about, but the idea was becoming clear to him.

“I get it.” Adam nodded firmly. “The Dark Hearts are inside the Hybrids, and they can be dangerous enemies because of the Solar Form. But why are the Human Hybrids and the Monster Hybrids different?

I thought it was because the two races were mixing and creating a new creature.”

Damien didn’t answer, he just shook his head.

Then, he lifted his chin and smiled.

“It’s all about energy, Adam. Just like with the Gamma Division, only a little more complicated. For both monsters and humans.”