Endless Evolution: Last Star

"Shit... What they said about her is true..." Some Phantom muttered with wide eyes and a nervous smile on his face.

The girl standing next to him nodded.

"Yeah, good thing she ended up in our Bastion this week. Even though she looks more dangerous than the monsters, it's much better to have someone like her on your side than against, isn't it?"

The Phantoms tossed words around, giving each other their impressions. They had a little time to take a break before the next monsters appeared.

Adam was no exception, he too, without taking his gaze away, stared at Alexia for a while.

She was sitting on top of Conqueror Snow Imot's head, with her legs hanging down. It would have been all right, but the monster's body was twisted at odd angles in some places, as if someone had taken it by the paws and started whirling it in different directions, breaking it like a toy.

Broken bones protruded outward like open fractures, and the monster's organs were scattered around, falling out of its gutted abdomen.

Despite this gruesome scene, Alexia didn't look mad, tired, or scared, at all. There was hardly any emotion on her face. She just, from time to time, looked at the area that was under her control.

Now, she was not just the leader of their Squad, but a top predator who was going to destroy anyone who entered her territory.

'Hey, I don't remember you looking at any woman for so long. Is that love at first sight?' Silvana said with a slight sneer.

Adam shook his head.

"No. I just feel something strange. I wouldn't be surprised if some Phantom berserker, fierce on the inside and menacing looking on the outside, did this to Conqueror Snow Imot."

'Well, I'm sure you know you shouldn't judge people by appearances. Appearances can be deceiving.'

Adam nodded.

"Yeah, but I don't fully believe that. One way or another, all of our actions, decisions, and temperament, affect our lifestyle and therefore - our appearance. Maybe slightly, but still. Seeing a scene like this is just too contrasting."

...

Time passed, and soon, a second wave headed towards them. Among them were also Snow Imots, but this time, there were massive lizards with long legs and wide webbed necks.

However, it was still Blue Theat Level, nothing the Phantoms couldn't handle.

As Silvana had said, Adam wasn't using his abilities, trying to conserve as much strength as possible. With his stamina level, he could dash from side to side and hit with his fists for a week.

Horned Lizards were no problem for him, to defeat one such monster, Adam only needed to throw a couple straight punches to the lizard's face or rip its horns out of its head.

'One more and another and another and another...' Adam muttered to himself endlessly, killing one monster after the other.

This went on for a while until he realized that no more monsters wanted to approach him. It was the natural reaction of monsters - their instinct of self-preservation.

Adam was not the only one who was alone on the battlefield. Alexia and several other Phantoms out of the dozens were also in the same situation.

They were the strongest in their squad and had to wait for the next waves of more powerful monsters to arrive.

However, none of them were going to stand by and watch their teammates fight their monsters and get wounded. This was not a survival game where only one winner could be, but a war where you had to kill your enemies and save your allies!

"Tsk. Decided you can avoid me? Fine, I have a way to reach each one of you!" Adam's eyes glowed as the needle appeared in his hand, the first grip.

Then, he began to gradually unwind it, lengthening the connecting thread and preparing to throw.

Adam looked for a suitable target, and soon, he saw several lizards surrounding the man with a large shield. He tried to defend himself, but the lizards kept crashing into his shield with their sharp horns, gradually pushing him back.

The other Phantoms were too busy to help him, they had to solve their own problems first.

"Fuck, where did so many of you come from? I'm used to defending, but not against this kind of pressure!" The man gritted his teeth, looking at his trembling hands. He felt that just a little more and the Horned Lizards would be able to break through his protection.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

Suddenly, he saw in the distance a light glint that traveled across a long silver thread. Then, the thread passed through the Horned Lizards, cutting them into even pieces, with perfect precision, as if a surgeon was working with a sharp scalpel.

The man was puzzled for a brief period, then he looked at Adam, who nodded slightly and headed on - to the aid of another Phantom.

"Hah, I was hoping that this time I could perform at my best and become one of the captains, but... I'm clearly lacking in strength. I definitely need to get new abilities otherwise I'll be standing still!" The man shook his head, complaining.

Well, he didn't have time for that, as two more Horned Lizards were already aiming for him.

"Shit!" The man's eyes went wide as he swung his shield, defending himself.

...

Like the first wave, the second wave soon came to an end.

"Damn... It's been a long time since I've seen so many monsters, dead ones..." Adam muttered, looking around. He had already killed dozens, and the Phantoms had already killed over a thousand.

However, this was not the limit, it had only been two hours, it was still a long night ahead and the most dangerous monsters had yet to appear.

Adam glanced at Alexia, she had fought the most dangerous monsters in the second wave as usual - the two Prime Horned Lizards.

This time, Alexia couldn't manage without wounds - there were a few scratches on her face, but that was all the price for using just her Order. Other Phantoms could kill these lizards too, but they would have to expend a lot more resources to do so.

'Hm... I've met Phantoms stronger and more experienced, but among my level, she's the most impressive. Even Zera can hardly compare to her. I wonder if she is already at the peak of the K1.' Adam pondered while gazing at Alexia.

For some reason, his eyes kept returning to her, even though he didn't want to.

It wasn't sympathy as Silvana had suggested, he just wondered what she was hiding. At least he hoped she was.

Soon, snow clouds rose in the distance, as something was throwing tonnes of snow upwards, moving towards them.

It was obvious that these monsters were huge, as their silhouettes looked like ancient snakes - immense and creepy, but... they had no eyes.

"Fuck... I didn't think they would show up this early." Someone muttered looking at the creepy jaw of a massive worm, with a thousand teeth rotating inside.