Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1971: The New Guest

A few minutes after Adam left, the door to Haworg’s bar opened again.

A tall figure with waist-length hair and a warm smile walked in.

Haworg chuckled.

“The usual for you?”

“Yes.”

A pleasant female voice rang out.

She took a few steps forward and sat down at the bar.

“Looks like you had a rather interesting guest before I arrived, didn’t you?”

Haworg shrugged as he mixed a cocktail.

“What can I say? Since you got here so quickly, you were probably watching from the sidelines, weren’t you?”

She smirked, indicating that he was right.

“Sure. If I’d come in while he was here, I would’ve scared him off. Besides, he needed the right mood to create a new wave of news for the entire Gray Sea.”

Haworg nodded deeply, agreeing with her.

“Indeed. He’s going to kill them all: Breydar and the five members of the Veiled Souls Clan.”

The woman froze for a moment before licking her lips.

“That’s interesting… I know he defeated a Midgar, but I didn’t think he’d have such confidence in his powers. Defeating three Viscounts and three Barons is no easy task, even for the strongest K4-Phantom.”

Haworg turned around as he placed a red, thick cocktail in front of the woman and sprinkled it with a white spice that had a pleasant aroma.

“Speaking of which, do you know anything about Midgar?”

“Hmm? Are you asking about the Befallen Crown?”

“Yes.” Haworg nodded. “What about them? How did they react? I’m sure they were furious.”

Just as he expected, the woman nodded.

“They sent a multitude of Lords to the Grand Abyss. They were certain that one of them would find Adam Vinter and kill him. Well, they were partially right. The Lords found him, but they couldn’t kill him.”

The woman took a sip and continued:

“They couldn’t believe he managed to escape from the Dark Field and defeat a Viscount right after that.”

Haworg narrowed his eyes.

“And…? What do you think about that? Will they admit defeat, or…?”

“Kha!” The woman laughed. “Do you think they’ll stop trying to kill him? That’ll never happen! You should know that better than anyone.”

Haworg nodded, his gaze heavy.

“Yes, you’re right. Over the past 750 years, through the last three World Wipes, there have been several Phantoms as talented as Adam Vinter, but they didn’t let any of them survive.”

“Well,” she spread her arms wide, “You can understand them. Under normal circumstances, it’s practically impossible to kill a Second Rank Phantom. Battles like that don’t happen by chance, and there will always be those who’ll help a Phantom, even if five True Lords come at him at once.”

“Huh…” Haworg chuckled darkly. “You’re right. If another Second-Rank Phantom appears, it’ll be a big problem for them. They fear that more than anything, because it would shift the balance of power.”

He was about to continue, but he sensed that the atmosphere had changed. From the woman’s expression, he could tell that something was off.

“It seems you know more about this than I do.”

She looked at her drink, seeing her reflection in the red liquid.

“Not quite. All I know is that they fear this possibility not only because of Adam Vinter’s powers.”

“Ah…? What does that mean?”

“Well. It’s obvious to anyone who’s heard of Adam Vinter that once he reaches the Second Circle, he’ll possess immense power. But you and I both know that the Befallen Crown has monsters capable of handling a Second-Rank Phantom.”

Haworg nodded.

That was true. Even among Second-Rank Phantoms, there were differences in strength, and when Adam became a Second-Rank Phantom, he would still be significantly weaker than Damien, Frida, Gladius, and other top-tier Phantoms.

Thus, in the event of a large-scale battle, Adam still wouldn’t be the strongest warrior. However, the Befallen Crown would have to deploy one of its True Lords to quickly deal with him on the battlefield.

“But… for some reason, Adam Vinter is a special case.”

The woman bit her lip, as even she found it difficult to speak of this.

“I’ve heard rumors that when Adam Vinter becomes a Second-Rank Phantom, something in the world will change drastically. Not immediately, but fairly soon after his evolution.”

Haworg narrowed his eyes.

“Are you saying someone has plans for him?”

“Yeah… I think we can assume something like that. I don’t know any more details, but it sounds dangerous for the whole world.”

Haworg touched his temples as his brain worked at full capacity, recalling all the information he had.

“Do you think this might be connected in some way to Damien or Gladius? I’ve heard that those two helped Adam Vinter on his path.”

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

No sooner had Haworg said this than the glass in the woman’s hand began to shake and her face turned pale.

“Tsk. No matter how much stronger I’ve become over these hundreds of years… I still shudder when someone mentions those names. Honestly, I don’t know, but whatever it is, even the very top echelons of the Befallen Crown fear it. They don’t want Adam Vinter to become a Second Rank Phantom for several reasons.”

Haworg sighed heavily.

“Is that going to happen, or… do you know more than I do?”

She nodded.

“They argued. After Adam Vinter killed Midgar, a dispute broke out among them about what to do with him. So, they decided to kill him at any cost. They made that decision precisely because of this mysterious reason, which I know only from rumors.”

Haworg understood what that meant as his amber eyes grew deeper.

“To kill a K4-Phantom, they decided to send an Ascended Lord?”

Strangely enough, the woman shook her head.

“No. You have no idea how serious this is. They sent one of their True Lords. Not from the very top, but still… I can’t remember the last time something like this happened.”

Haworg gulped as his eyes widened in disbelief.

A True Lord against a K4-Phantom.

It was a battle that was supposed to last less than a fraction of a second.