Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1402: A. V. (Part 2)

Beatra was not a Hybrid, which was not surprising since there were very few of them. Still, like most monsters, she loved to fight. Unlike many Elders or Lords living at Izardo, she was quite young.

Her dark eyes burned with fire, and her heart beat fast before every battle, no matter what arena she was in or who her opponent was.

However, she always sought out the most difficult challenges for herself. Nothing in the world gave her as much pleasure as defeating a strong enemy.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons why she so often visited the arenas as a fighter. For her, it was a great opportunity to face strong opponents, because at Izardo, there were many monsters just like her.

But…

Constantly fighting other monsters and having lived most of her life in the depths of the Tarnished Lands, Beatra completely forgot who the real rival of every monster was — the Phantoms.

Adam Vinter.

If the spectators had known that Beatra’s opponent would be a Phantom, many of them would have been afraid to place a bet or would have changed their favorite. Obviously, many were confident that Beatra would easily defeat the unknown monster.

Well, that unknown monster turned out to be a Phantom, Adam Vinter.

Obviously, this could not fail to cause a reaction.

“W-What… Is it really him?” Someone muttered in disbelief.

His friend gulped. “Hell, no! This must be a joke! Adam Vinter? What is he doing here?”

“Hey! It really is him!”

“Yeah? How did you figure that out, you idiot?! His aura is so well hidden that he looks just like any other monster!”

The spectators continued to argue, which puzzled Beatra. She hadn’t seen anything like this in a long time, and an argument of this magnitude had never happened in her presence before.

It was a problem because the endless arguments prevented the fight from starting, so the judge, hiding in the shadows, had to intervene.

“Silence.”

His powerful voice echoed throughout the arena, and only that worked on the overly active spectators.

“Young man… This situation is not standard.” He continued. “If you are indeed Adam Vinter, the one we have all heard about. If you are Phantom, then prove it. I think that would be fair, considering that you created this situation intentionally.”

The judge was right, and Adam was not going to argue with him because he understood that.

“Alright, I have one way.”

At the same moment, white and black flames burst out of Adam, covering part of the arena with his powerful aura.

It would be difficult for weaker monsters to understand anything from his aura alone, as they would be too frightened, but the spectators at the Red Eye Arena sensed that Adam was a Phantom in a heartbeat.

Each of them had encountered or fought a Phantom at least once, even if Izardo was very far from the Citadel.

Obviously, Beatra was among them.

But what mattered most was not that Adam was a Phantom, but his name.

“It’s him… Shit! It’s fucking Adam Vinter!”

“I’ve heard of him. Even the Befallen Crown couldn’t kill him!”

“Wait, wait, wait! I didn’t know that when I placed my bet. I want my money back!” Someone exclaimed, and many agreed with him.

One man waved his hand. “Yes! If I had known that Adam Vinter would be fighting Beatra, I wouldn’t have bet on her to win!”

“That’s not fair! I demand that everyone place new bets!”

Again, a wave of arguments and indignation swept through the Red Eye Arena.

Strangely enough, none of the monsters sitting in separate chambers said anything. They weren’t indignant and were just waiting for the fight to begin. Some smiled slyly as they ate grapes, while others watched the proceedings with serious expressions, waiting for the judge to finally intervene.

“Arh…” The judge’s raspy voice stopped all the arguments. “You don’t understand that this is useless, right? You all know the rules. If you’ve placed a bet, it can’t be canceled. The only exception is if something happens to one of the fighters before the fight.”

He continued:

“You knew that if a fighter hides his name, it means that he is either very weak or very strong, well… or he is overly confident. You took that risk and now you’re complaining like children! Shut your mouths and watch the fight! Believe in your chosen fighter, or you will be banned from the Red Eye Arena for a month!”

The judge’s threats had an immediate effect. The audience exchanged glances. Some gritted their teeth, some clenched their fists, and others muttered discontentedly.

They had no choice but to accept the situation as it was.

They had placed their bets, but they hadn’t lost yet.

The best they could do was support their fighter.

“Alright, Beatra! Just beat him up like you did the last one!”

“Yes! He came here thinking he was stronger than the usual fighters, but he doesn’t even know how often you win!”

“You can do it, Beatra!”

Beatra looked around as a blush covered her cheeks. It was true that she often fought in arenas and ran, but never before had she received such support from the audience.

“Hahahahah!” Adam chuckled as insults flew his way. “Just look at them. You’d better give it your all to live up to their expectations.”

“Tsk.” Beatra frowned. “They’re not supporting me, they’re supporting their money!”

“Well.” Adam shrugged. “One doesn’t exclude the other, right?”

The judge’s voice rang out again, this time for Beatra and Adam:

“Fighters. Are you ready to begin?”

They nodded.

“Remember the rules. If either of you breaks them, then I will have to intervene. I assure you, that’s not what you want.”

The audience fell silent as Beatra took her fighting stance. She wasn’t going to give up just because she was up against Phantom, a monster famous among monsters.

“Begin!” The judge announced as Beatra’s frame trembled.

In a heartbeat, she crossed the arena and appeared right in front of Adam as her fist slammed into his face.

BAM!

The shockwave receded as Adam smirked, looking at Beatra’s fist, which his palm had stopped at the last moment.

“Great punch. Hah! Now it’s my turn!”