Endless Evolution: Last Star

"Argh... Damn, I'll have to fall for your advice, but... After that, you'll tell me everything!" Adam waved his hand irritably, heading for the exit of the dining hall. He didn't care who he fought, he would challenge the first person he saw.

Lola tilted her head, looking at Edir, puzzled.

"Why did you trick him?"

"Hmm, what are you talking about? Everything I said was the pure truth." Edir glared at her.

"Technically yes..." Lola muttered, poking at a lettuce leaf with her fork, "But... there are plenty of other ways to get 999 points. The fact that he withstood your attack is enough. He just needed to report it."

"Lola, don't be stupid." Edir said sharply, causing Lola to freeze in place.

Then, Edir looked intently at the departing Adam.

"Most Phantoms, only learn about the power of auras when they reach K2. However, if you find yourself in prison or the Lower Ring, it happened during the K1 period. There's nothing good about it." Edir said coldly.

Lola's eyes sparkled, showing genuine interest.

"The power of the aura is dangerous because when direct attacks or improper use of this power, it's the inside of the body that gets hit, not the outside...

I've seen a couple of cases where Phantoms' organs were literally turned into a bloody mess due to the pressure of trying to control this power too early. When reaching K2, there's that risk too, but because of the increased durability, it's much less." Edir explained.

Lola's eyes went wide.

"Oh, it's like with Elemental Root, isn't it?!" Lola asked with an excited expression.

Edir smirked.

"Wow. You're an ordinary person, and you know about this? Yeah, you're right about something, but Elemental Root is obtained by undergoing a long training of seven days. The aura power is different, and it's best if Adam figures it out for himself. He has to awaken this power in a difficult battle."

Edir continued.

"From what I understand, he was able to withstand Prago's attack. That is quite commendable. So, in Dead Lands, he managed to make significant progress as a K1-Phantom. All right, the fight should be starting soon. We should get ready to watch it." Edir smirked as he waved his hand towards the cook girl.

"Cutie, two chocolate milkshakes and caramel popcorn!"

The girl rolled her eyes but got to work. She couldn't refuse Phantom with 999 points to fulfill the order. After all, she was getting paid very well for work at Fall Hill Prison.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

At the same moment, a powerful shaking went through the entire D-Zone as if from strong, precise blows. Then, there were several white flashes of light as if from fast threads, and soon silence fell.

Edir's eyes went wide as he abruptly rushed forward, not waiting for the cook girl to prepare his order. Lola hastily followed him.

"Shit!" Edir shouted, falling to his knees in despair and staring at the ceiling with his arms spread out.

The reason for this behavior was simple - Lola's questions had made him late.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Crimson drops of blood dripped from Adam's fist, falling to the ground.

"Damn... And you're not bad lad, didn't expect to lose so fast..." The man smirked, wiping the trickles of blood flowing from his nose.

On his chest was a long cut left by a white needle, not deep, but dangerous enough for the prisoner to admit defeat.

In fact, Adam had some advantage over most prisoners. It wasn't that he was very strong compared to the other K1-Phantoms, or even that he was a Naturalborn One.

The prisoners didn't have Nexus, but that wasn't so critical for Adam because most prisoners, unlike him, had Nexus as a weapon, not an armor piece. His needle was his weapon, capable of easily resisting Narata's huge sword if necessary.

"Fuck. Lola, you made me miss a show like this!"

Lola lowered her head guiltily. Not that Edir was completely serious, but Lola realized that to some extent she was at fault.

"Whatever. He won, so I need to keep my promise." Edir shook his head, about to jump down.

However... He stopped, for it seemed Adam was not going to wait for Edir to do what he must.

He tapped his 999-point card against his bracelet, challenging the Guardian of the D-Zone.

After a few seconds, as if the Guardian had expected it, the gate opened, revealing a tall silhouette with a large bow behind him.

Edir scratched the back of his head with a confused expression.

"Well, well... He spent so long asking me about everything, I thought he preferred to take things slowly, but it looks like he just wanted to eat..."

Lola looked worriedly at Adam. Strangely enough, she was starting to worry about him, after all, Guardian of the D-Zone was much stronger than Narata!

Sure, they were all K1-Phantoms, both prisoners and Guardians, only Prago was a K2-Phantom, and everyone else was on the same level.

However, Azure Lotus was one of the Big Three, they definitely knew how to rate the power of a particular Phantom. They had their internal ranking for this purpose, just like many other organizations.

Because of this, it was quite easy to arrange the Guardians so that each Zone would have a stronger Phantom.

Step. Step. Step.

A young man with short gray hair and a confident smirk, on his face, stepped forward, passing through the gate line.

A powerful aura and confidence in victory emanated from him. He glared at Adam but did not consider him as a worthy opponent.

"You're the one who challenged me to a fight, aren't you?" The young man asked, casting a scornful gaze at Adam, "My name is Lorko!"

Adam simply showed his card.

"Yeah... I'm surprised you figured that out. Judging by how quickly you showed up, you've been waiting for this moment and have been watching my fight through the cameras... Agh... That's pretty pathetic." Adam shook his head as if he was upset by his soon-to-be opponent's action.

Lorko's eye began to twitch, he hadn't expected such disrespect for himself. On the contrary, he wanted to scare Adam with his quick appearance and mighty aura.

"Pfffft! Anyway, everything will be decided in battle, and there's nothing you can do to me!" Lorko exclaimed menacingly before jumping down to the first floor and grabbing his bow.

At the same moment, the prisoners stepped aside, running into their cells and activating the protective barriers. They had already seen Lorko fighting and knew well enough that his attacks were highly damaging.

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Lorko's eyes flashed as his arrow burst into scarlet flames, dramatically raising the temperature around him.

Adam got into a fighting stance, preparing to summon the needle.

But... no sooner did he take the next action than his pupils narrowed, not from Lorko's attack, but from surprise and bewilderment...

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

A thin layer of ice covered the ground at Lorko's feet as a fist blazing with blue fire slammed into his face, throwing him several meters away.

Edir sighed, exhaling a cold vapor before stepping forward and getting right in front of Lorko, kicking him in the stomach with all his might.

"ARGHHHHHHH!!!!"

A painful scream spread around, causing some to flinch and others to smile broadly in anticipation of his upcoming actions.