Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1996: Death Ray

A brief clash occurred between Kamora and Durand, but it was enough to make the Gray Sea churn with waves and the air tremble,

The shockwave from Kamora’s punch spread for hundreds of meters, and soon the gusts of wind reached Adam and everyone else within that distance of the battle.

Whoooooosh!

Durand swept through the gray clouds before coming to an abrupt halt. Kamora’s punch struck him squarely in the chest, leaving a slight dent in his armor.

But that was enough to put Durand on his guard.

“What? Just one hit and she’s already damaged my armor? How is that possible…” Durand was confused.

However, he didn’t have time to think, not when he was facing a Second-Rank Phantom.

Kamora swept through the clouds as she soared toward him. Her right arm returned to its normal state, and for Durand, that was bad news.

Why?

Because he didn’t know what it was. He didn’t know who Kamora was, and therefore he didn’t know what abilities she possessed.

But he was certain of one thing.

‘These are unusual abilities. What was that? An illusion?’ Durand frowned. ‘No, that fist was real, but why did it look like a monster’s fist?’

His gaze grew deeper, as if trying to see what was hidden.

‘If she were a Hybrid, I would have sensed it. In that case, what is this? Then again, even Hybrids don’t have abilities like that. Tsk. Was staying here a mistake after all?’

“Hey!”

Kamora shouted from the other side.

“Stop thinking. Are you going to fight or not, dead fish?”

Durand raised an eyebrow.

“Do you think you can rile me up like that? That’s a tactic even the weakest wouldn’t use – only children, at most.”

“Pfffft!” Kamora snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “So not only do you look like a dead fish, you’re just as boring!”

Durand blinked several times.

The longer he fought against Kamora, the less he understood her. With every word, this girl became stranger and stranger to him.

“I see no reason to have fun during a deadly battle. We’re both at the top, and most beings in this world would tremble with fear at the sight of our auras.”

A glint flashed across Kamora’s gray eyes as the corners of her mouth turned up.

“Ha! You’re right – half right! I’m strong, and you’re not!”

Durand shrugged before assuming a fighting stance.

He said nothing as he decided to focus on his next strike.

Kamora didn’t behave as the other True Lords or Second-Rank Phantoms Durand had heard of, but that didn’t change the fact that she was the one who struck first.

“Hmm?” Kamora tilted her head. “Trying to slash me again? You’re too slow for that, buddy.”

“Maybe.”

Durand didn’t deny it.

“But who said that was my top speed?”

Step.

He stepped forward as the dark blade trembled.

Durand thrust his blade forward as the dark flash shot a hundred meters ahead. This attack was something between Adam’s needle growing longer and the energy ray.

The dark particles hurtled forward, intent on piercing a hole in Kamora’s chest.

Kamora didn’t know it, but all Durand needed was a single light touch.

‘As soon as my energy touches her, she won’t be able to avoid serious injury. It’s inevitable.’

However, it would have been naive of Durand to assume that such a simple attack could catch Kamora off guard.

‘Now, she’ll try to dodge, most likely to the right. Then… Then I’ll attack that same spot, and she won’t have time to move out of the way.’

But… What Kamora did made Durand’s eyes widen in disbelief.

Tap.

Kamora reached out her hand, catching the dark flash made up of thousands of tiny particles.

“W-What?” Durand blinked.

For him, this was the best possible outcome. And that was the problem.

His wealth of experience had long taught him that strong opponents rarely make foolish mistakes. Though sometimes even that happened.

“You… Are you that confident?” The corner of Durand’s mouth twitched.

After that, he burst into loud laughter.

“Hahaha! You really did that! I don’t know about you, but you don’t know anything about my powers either, do you?”

Such emotions were rare for Durand, but this was a fitting occasion.

“Hmm?”

Kamora looked curiously at her hand.

She expected the dark particles from Durand’s blade to cut her hand or at least leave scratches on it.

But she felt nothing – for now.

Durand’s eyes flashed as his gaze grew deeper. He waited, knowing that something was about to happen that would bring him closer to victory.

“Now…” he whispered, counting the seconds in his head.

At that very moment, dark spots covered Kamora’s hand. At first, the spots were small, no bigger than a grain of rice, and almost unnoticeable.

Just a few moments later, the spots spread across her hand like dense tattoos, and at that moment, a grim, dark aura emanated from them.

An unpleasant, foul odor, the kind usually associated only with corpses, filled the air as Kamora’s hand began to rot and decompose while she was still alive and staring at her own hand.

Her skin turned black and dried out, then her flesh followed suit, quickly losing its rich red hue and turning a drier, crimson shade. This continued until only a bony tip remained at the end of her finger, but even that began to crumble into tiny particles.

Moreover, the dark spots continued to spread. They were moving toward her wrist, and it wouldn’t be a minute before they completely engulfed her wrist.

Given enough time, the dark spots could spread to her entire body.

Durand focused.

He knew Kamora had only one way out of this situation.

‘She must cut off her hand, and the faster she does it, the more she’ll be able to save.’

Kamora sprang into action as Durand nodded. He knew she would go through with it.

Suddenly, Kamora opened her mouth wide and, with a carefree look, swallowed her hand up to the wrist, biting it off without a second thought.

“W-What the…”

Durand gulped.