Endless Evolution: Last Star

"No way... We won't win!" One of the two surviving Dark Phantoms exclaimed in panic. It was only thanks to Olax that he was still alive while Ester was moving towards them with flames in her eyes.

"Shit! We have to run away! She... She's probably just as strong!" The second dark Phantom shrieked at the sight of Ester.

Olax frowned but did not say anything. He realized that after their comrades died in a hail of arrows, everyone would have lost faith in victory or the success of the mission.

Sure, Olax was wary, for this was not good for him at all. Even if help was already heading their way, they had to boost morale somehow. How could that be done?

In that case, the commander had two options - he could try to raise the morale of his subordinates with words, be it encouragement or threats.

However... That may have been controversial in life situations, but in combat, there was always something more important than words - action.

"Hahaha, watch out!" Ester exclaimed before jumping high and flying over Adam.

Adam looked up as a smile appeared on his face. For some reason, it gave him confidence - Ester's eyes filled with life, her active aura, and, of course, the huge axe that she held tightly with both hands.

In a few more seconds, Ester would collapse to the ground. A bright spark traveled down her axe, causing it to burst into scarlet flames.

"Agh...?" Adam's eyes went wide as something else appeared in the sky besides Ester.

A shadow with a massive flaming sword, quickly approached Ester, grabbing her by the head.

"Tsk. Do you think you can do whatever you want in my presence? Unlike Adam, we have no orders not to kill you." Tirana growled through clenched teeth before tossing Ester aside.

It was a simple throw, no ability, it all depended only on Tirana's physical strength. However... it was enough to send Ester crashing into the ground at breakneck speed, sinking beneath the layers of salt.

Tap.

Tirana landed, slowly stepping forward - to Adam. With each breath, she exhaled hot steam rushing through her shoulders, in front of her cold, confident eyes.

In a heartbeat, she found herself facing Adam, as well as her knee that aimed to plunge into his stomach.

Adam's pupils narrowed as he put up a block, sensing how powerful this simple attack was. A slight shiver ran through his body, but that was only the beginning, for the next thing Adam saw was a flaming sword coming at him from the right.

In a heartbeat, Adam summoned a needle, probably the most he was capable of in the current situation, and blocked the attack.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Sparks flew off one by one, while the fire gradually burned away Adam's silver threads, which seemed impossible for him.

'What...? Her Order is stronger than mine? But... Is that possible?' Adam's eyes went wide, he cast a glance at his trembling hands, 'No... There's no way her First Order can burn my threads so easily.'

Adam was more than confident in his abilities, and with good reason. In many fights, only particularly strong attacks had been able to destroy his threads, so he felt that something was wrong here.

'Wait... It's only weird if it's her First Order. But, it could be...!' Adam inwardly exclaimed, not having time to finish his thought as Tirana stepped forward.

Her left fist was covered in flames, only to crash into Adam's stomach. Adam managed to put his palm out to block the attack, but it was hardly enough.

The impact, threw Adam aside, while Tirana kept moving forward, literally catching up with him before his feet even touched the ground.

Tirana raised her sword, about to launch a second attack. Unlike Adam, she had plenty of strength. She only used her Second and First Orders once each. When Adam's needle would be completely destroyed, it took him a few minutes to gather energy for his weakest ability.

Moreover, Adam was already quite tired physically. If Tirana was as strong as Alexia, that was yet to be determined, there was no way Adam could win in his current state.

The fight against Iren and Six-Winged Iron Stingray had taken away a considerable amount of his energy, something he was lacking now.

'Shit, if they hadn't taken Essence from me, things might have been different! Bastards, why the fuck did you decide to attack me now?! You had no way of knowing my next mission would be so difficult! Fuck!' Adam internally shouted this situation was annoying him to the core, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He had to survive somehow, somehow escape this place, recover, and decide what to do next. Finding another Essence Monster suitable for him was impossible.

Six-Winged Iron Stingray might have been perfect for all parameters - the monster was strong but not invincible, possessing the right element and having absorbed a powerful artifact from the anomaly cluster.

Perhaps Adam would have continued his musings, but he had no time for that since Tirana was already right in front of him!

Whooooooooooooosh.

At the same moment, several snow-white arrows, splitting the air currents, approached Tirana. She didn't look alarmed or frightened, however, she seemed to be ready for it.

It was impossible to dodge, for Fred had monstrous accuracy - he had gotten even closer, so now he couldn't miss.

Tirana's eyes shifted to the left as she swung her hand, opening her fist. A wave of flame came out of her palm that blew the arrows away, turning them into nothing.

"Tsk. What a bitch. She's stronger than I expected." Fred muttered irritably, as his gaze traveled to Ester, who was rising from the ground.

Fred sighed heavily.

"Whatever. Adam isn't so weak to lose in one attack, I need to change position." Fred muttered before bursting to the side. As an experienced archer, he knew that it was unacceptable to stay in one place.

'Agh? What the hell is that?' Fred mused internally, looking up. The wind was acting strangely, pulling the clouds into multiple points, as if preparing for a massive tornado.

At the same moment, Tirana stepped forward, bringing her flaming sword down on Adam.

Adam had no time to dodge, so he just had to take the hit with the hope that his Elemental Root would allow him to take less damage. It was possible, but he was going to get burned.

Whooooooooooooooosh.

Right before the flaming sword was about to descend on him, several arrows flew in front of Adam's eyes, but... it wasn't Fred.

Fred's arrows were of compressed white mist, calm and majestic, while these were icy, trembling, and uncertain, but willing to help at all costs!

Streams of steam rushed outward due to the collision of the ice arrows with the flaming sword, buying Adam a few moments to bounce aside, a second before the sword whizzed toward the ground.

Waves of salt soared upwards, flying in front of Adam's eyes, which were directed sideways - at the heavily breathing young man, who was in a great hurry to make it in time.

Well, Romeo succeeded, he had just saved Adam.

'Good. Looks like I didn't do it for nothing.' Adam smirked.