Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 130: Arm wrestling

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Adam and Trici crunched on chocolate popcorn, which cost only a few credits per serving and could be afforded by anyone.

”Arm wrestling?” Adam raised an eyebrow, looking at Alexia, who had just offered him a challenge.

”Yes!” Alexia exclaimed with an excited expression, ”The fair will be over in a few hours, so we have to make it! We donʼt have much time left! I want to find out which one of us is stronger!”

Adam scratched the back of his head, puzzled as he looked at Silvana, she shrugged, and at Louis, he just smiled bitterly. Alexia had already made up her mind, so stopping her was almost impossible.

”Brother, go for it! You can win!” Trici exclaimed happily, stuffing a whole handful of popcorn into her mouth.

”Agh... Well, I guess thereʼs nothing wrong with that.” Adam sighed.

Alexia smiled slyly, stepped forward, and grabbed his hand. Then, she ran forward at breakneck speed, demolishing everything in her path.

Adam barely had time to react, holding Trici so she wouldnʼt fall off his shoulders. The others looked at each other and followed with steady strides, they didnʼt need to hurry.

...

”Hah, I wonder who will win...” Kody muttered, looking at Adam and Alexia, who were preparing for battle.

They walked over to a special table, made of highly durable material so the Phantoms wouldnʼt break it by crushing it with their elbows. However... sometimes even that wasnʼt enough.

”Pffft. Thatʼs a stupid question. Of course, itʼs Alexia!” Katrin snorted as she turned aside, flipping her hair.

”Youʼre wrong.” Trici puffed up her cheeks, ”Brother is strong!”

”Agreed!” Jena clenched her fist, with an excited expression.

Silvana held Trici in her arms, looking at Adam and Alexia with a calm face. She didnʼt show it, but she was a little worried. After all, arm wrestling was a confrontation of not only pure strength, but reaction, speed, and technique!

”Alexia is very strong! Sheʼs one of the strongest K1-Phantoms, thatʼs why Adam will lose!” Katrin arrogantly said.

Zera smirked, ”Oh, so youʼre a fan of Alexiaʼs? I canʼt say I agree with your bet, but I understand you.”

Trici turned away with her arms crossed over her chest.

”Think what you want! Brother isnʼt going to lose! Thatʼs for sure!”

Katrin showed her tongue, making faces.

It was also unclear which one of them was the kid...

”Ready?” Alexia smirked, putting her arm forward with her elbow bent.

Adam nodded, squeezing her palm tightly. Then, his gaze traveled to Louis, who stood beside them, acting as referee.

”Start!” Louis signaled with a wave of his hand.

Whoooooooosh.

In a heartbeat, Alexia brought Adamʼs arm down on the table, easily winning the first round!

Adamʼs eyes went wide, he didnʼt even have time to realize anything. Alexia acted so fast that Adam didnʼt react.

”Hah, if you lose one more time, I will win! I suggest you take at least one round, or youʼll embarrass yourself in front of your sister!” Alexia smirked, letting go of his hand and preparing for the next round.

Adam gulped. Then, his eyes narrowed, and he asked:

”You werenʼt this strong during Eclipse, were you?” Adam frowned.

Alexia got a confused expression. Louis smiled slightly.

”Hah, you figured it out that easily? Yeah, youʼre right. Itʼs all about the North Keeper. I used to have a Power Gene, but North Keeperʼs gene made me a bit stronger. Just look at what I can do now!” Alexia uttered before taking a deep breath.

Whoooooooosh.

Alexia blew a freezing stream of air right into Adamʼs face. His cheeks flushed red, becoming covered in a thin layer of ice, tiny ice crystals appeared at the tips of his hair.

He felt pleasantly fresh, like a mild winter.

”Oh... I see. Your Power Gene turned out to be unusual and suits you perfectly. Well, letʼs get back to where we started.” Adam muttered, squeezing Alexiaʼs hand again.

Alexia grew serious. She realized that this time, Adam wasnʼt going to let himself be defeated so easily.

”Start!” Louis swung his hand again, and Alexia moved sharply.

Adamʼs hand almost approached the table, but he managed to stop when it was less than a centimeter away.

Then, using all his strength, he slowly raised his hand, gradually pressing Alexiaʼs palm against the table.

Alexia frowned. She wanted to beat Adam with speed again, but he was able to hold back. Considering his grip remained the same, he was able to apply a little more force than her and win.

”Wait... Itʼs going to be the final round now, isnʼt it?” Kody muttered, looking at the others.

Silvana nodded.

”Itʼs about to be decided now, though... this result is already enough to show that their strengths are roughly equal. Sure, arm wrestling is infinitely far from real combat, but you or Katrin would probably lose 2-0.”

Kody scratched the back of his head with a confused face.

”Yeah... I guess youʼre right. When Adam hit me, I knew right away...”

Trici turned to him sharply with a puzzled expression.

”You fought my brother?” Trici tilted her head.

”Well...” Kody looked away, ”I just made a mistake, and it helped me regain my senses. In fact, Iʼm grateful to your brother for that, though it probably sounds strange.”

Trici stared at him for a while before returning to watching the fight.

Adam and Alexia were trying to suppress each other, however, their hands did not move, though they were shaking violently. They used all their strength, but it seemed like they wouldnʼt be able to budge.

But... could there be a draw in arm wrestling? Their arms couldnʼt just hang in the air, sooner or later, someone would run out of strength.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Cracks went down the table, and before they could react, it shattered, leaving Adam and Alexiaʼs hands in the air.

Louis chuckled, covering his mouth.

”Well... Looks like you should settle for a draw this time.” Zera muttered with a strange face.

Adam and Alexia blinked a few times, trying to decide if they should have continued with the other table or left it at that.

”Brother!” Trici jumped out of Silvanaʼs arms, quickly running up to Adam with a happy smile on her face.

”I knew you wouldnʼt lose!” Trici exclaimed in excitement.

Adam scratched his cheek.

”I wonʼt lose...? Right, you donʼt have to win to not lose, do you?” Adam smirked, casting a glance at Alexia.

She just shrugged.

”Khm.” Louis coughed, drawing attention to himself, ”In twenty minutes, the burning of the crimson tree will begin. Then, in an hour and a half the fair will close, so... I think we should hurry to see the main event of the Scarlet Light Fair!”

Adam tilted his head.

”The burning of the scarlet tree...?”

Louis nodded.

”Yeah, thatʼs the last main event of the fair. Then, itʼll still be possible to stay for a while, but there wonʼt be anything else big happening.”

”Brother, letʼs go take a look! Moreover, I want ice cream!” Trici exclaimed, trying to climb up Adam as if on a tree.

Adam took her hand, throwing her on his shoulders, and turned to the side.

Behind a few buildings, he could see the branches of a massive tree specially made of scarlet paper for one purpose only - to disappear in bright flames.

”Alright. Then letʼs not waste any time!”

Thus, their group headed towards the center - where hundreds of other people were moving!

Louis turned around, narrowing his eyes. It seemed that someone was lurking in the distance, chasing after them.

ʼDamn... Looks like they decided to give the Phantoms trouble again... We need to be careful.ʼ