Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 984: Mirage Step (Part 1)

Bam. Bam. Bam.

Risha attacked the mirror knight from all sides, trying to win by targeting her opponentʼs weaknesses.

However, Radiant Mirage proved to be a surprisingly strong and skillful fighter. He easily anticipated Rishaʼs movements, deflecting all of her attacks or stopping her before she could achieve anything meaningful.

This went on for a while, the mirror knight only received a few scratches while Rishaʼs wounds only got worse with every minute of their fight.

No one expected that after Adamʼs awakening, things would quickly turn into a battle between the Phantom and the External Artifact, but everyone watched with curiosity.

Vorx remained genuinely impressed by both of them.

”Damn, I didnʼt even know the External Artifact could be so powerful,” he exclaimed with wide eyes. ”Maybe we should stop them and just go into battle against Arnoth with this formation?”

Not sharing his optimism, Heret shook his head. ”No, itʼs not like that at all.”

”Hmm?” Vorx tilted his head in confusion.

”At first glance, it seems that Radiant Mirage is considerably stronger than Risha, on par with me and you, but thatʼs a misunderstanding of the situation,” then he glanced at Adam. ”Iʼm telling it right, arenʼt I?”

”Sure,” Adam nodded weakly. ”Go on, itʼs not often you get a chance to hear a monsterʼs opinion.”

”Hah, whatever you say,” Heret shrugged. ”Anyway. Radiant Mirage is so strong only here in his territory and only for a short period of time. All the energy from the crystals and mirrors allows him to use powerful abilities. Other places just donʼt have that kind of energy density.”

Vorx scratched the back of his head, thoughtful.

”I think Iʼm beginning to understand. So, how much time does Risha have? If her main objective is to win, then she must do so through the exhaustion of her enemy. Is that not the case?”

Instead of Heret, it was Adam who answered the question.

”No.”

His eyes narrowed, looking at Rishaʼs heavy breathing.

”She doesnʼt even think about it otherwise, she wouldnʼt have attacked the knight like a madman. She wants to win with her own strength.”

Heret frowned. ”But she wonʼt be able to do that.”

”Yeah...”

”Wait!” Vorx exclaimed with a wave of his hand. ”Doesnʼt that mean sheʼs going to die?!”

Adamʼs eyes grew deeper.

”Not exactly. I think the best solution for us is to just keep watching and trust that Risha will fight to the end.”

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

In a wild leap, Risha accelerated to bring her axe down right on the knightʼs core. She was still sticking to her plan, believing that by destroying the core, she would achieve victory.

Radiant Mirage wheezed. ”You donʼt learn anything... This way, you canʼt defeat me!”

At the last moment before the clash, the mirror knight put up a shield in front of him, blocking Rishaʼs attack.

Strangely enough, a happy smile covered her face.

ʼYes! Your shield is finished! Soon youʼll be picking up shards from the ground!ʼ she internally exclaimed happily.

But... soon the smile flew off her face.

”You are an idiot...” Radiant Mirage muttered, deep inside, he was shocked.

”Agh...?”

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The shockwave that passed through the shield came back, gathering at a single point in the very center.

The bright light blinded Risha, completely obscuring her silhouette in jagged lines. She didnʼt have time to react, all she felt in the next moment was pain.

In a flash, the light threw Risha aside, causing her to crash into a red pillar that happened to be in her path.

”Gha!” she gasped, her pupils fluttering in pain.

Collapsing to the ground, she struggled to get up, but a stream of blood rushed from her mouth, preventing her from immediately returning to the fight.

The situation was not going her way.

Even with her abilities and the Foundation Artifact, she couldnʼt resist Radiant Mirage.

This made Adam wonder how strong Radiant Mirage was.

ʼHmm... Despite acting like a spoiled brat, he defeats a K3-Phantom who opened three gates. He doesnʼt stand a chance against me, but... His words during our first conversation,ʼ Adam rubbed his chin. ʼHe was saying that with a little more time, heʼd be on another level. Well, thatʼs a good thing.ʼ

Adam didnʼt want RIsha to lose, on the contrary he believed in her victory. For that reason, it was good that she would get such a strong External Artifact.

Crackle.

Risha thrust her axe into the ground, leaning on her great weapon.

Her hands trembled with tension, and her entire body was gradually approaching the limit.

Yet, she had no intention of stopping.

Neither was her opponent.

Fighting at full strength, Radiant Mirage pointed his sword at Risha, unleashing a destructive beam of light at her.

She turned around as her eyes went wide in horror.

ʼFuck!ʼ

Bam. Bam. Bam.

Time after time, Radiant Mirage continued to bombard Risha with light beams, preventing her from even getting close to him.

Thanks to her instincts and speed, she was able to avoid his attacks at the last moment, but her strength was running out.

Everyone realized, both she and Radiant Mirage and the spectators, that she had no more than one minute before she lost too much blood.

Firing another beam, Radiant Mirage stepped forward, the mirror knightʼs stride rattling the ground.

”Thatʼs enough... Stop running from me and become the source of my energy...” Radiant Mirage said cruelly. ”Youʼre not fit for anything more than that. Youʼre too weak as a Phantom!”

Two whirlwinds appeared over the mirror knightʼs shoulders, showering Risha with a hail of projectiles.

Her eyes narrowed as she turned into a shadow, using the last bits of her power. All of Radiant Mirageʼs attacks whizzed past her as she bounced off the high-up.

A predatory grin covered Rishaʼs face as she gripped the hilt of her axe tightly, channeling all the energy into the blade.

The knightʼs core was only a few meters in front of her.

ʼGreat! The shield is too far away, and his sword is drawn forward! He wonʼt have enough time to react!ʼ

Cutting through the wind currents, the massive axe was ready to crash straight into the crystal, removing Radiant Mirage from the battle.

Suddenly, a shadow fell on Risha.

Shocked, she raised her head, as her face quickly lost color becoming as pale as a sheet of paper.

Another hand emerged from the vortex on the knightʼs left shoulder, no different from the other two.

Slash.

In a broad sweep, the armored palm slammed into Risha, tossing her aside like a pesky fly, but with enough force to make her bones crack.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

Rishaʼs body bounced off the surface several times until coming to a stop in a cluster of shattered crystals.

Streams of blood gushed out under her hoarse breathing, and a wide cut on her forehead kept her left eye tightly shut.

Usually, in situations like this, she and any Phantom would find a way to fix the situation and survive.

But... Risha didnʼt know what to do and she didnʼt have time for that.

Radiant Mirage didnʼt waste a second, he headed forward while streams of energy swirled around his sword.

”Itʼs over, Risha. I donʼt know what you were counting on in accepting my offer... You knew all the risks...” Radiant Mirage said, dropping his shield.

Then, the mirror knight gripped the sword hilt firmly with both hands, raising it above.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The dense energy made the space shake, several crystals lost their light, completely drained for the sake of a single attack.

”Shit... I seriously screwed up this time...” Risha struggled to open her eyes.

Strangely enough, Radiant Mirage was in no hurry to attack, though previously, he did so as fast as he could.

It seemed like he was waiting for something.

With a heavy sigh, Risha leaned forward, touching her axe. But she didnʼt have enough strength to raise her weapon.

Sadness filled her gaze.

Her hand trembled, but the axe didnʼt even budge despite her desire to do so.

Vorxʼs twitched about to help her. No matter what the terms were between Risha and Radiant Mirage, he couldnʼt let her die over something like this.

Before he could even take a step forward, Adam and Heret stopped him at the same time. Their arms were blocking his path.

”Donʼt do this,” Adam said sternly.

Catching Vorxʼs gaze, Heret shook his head.

”But...! She might die!” Vorx gasped.

Adam stared ahead. ”Maybe, itʼs up to her. Unlike me, you donʼt know the terms of the pact. Letʼs just say thereʼs one obvious loophole there thatʼs actually a major condition.”

Saying nothing more, Adam pointed at Risha, who struggled to rise from the ground.

Her aura was unstable, everything in front of her eyes blurred, blood clots fell to the ground, and her weapon was left behind.

Yet, she channeled the last bits of energy to her hands, clenching her fists tightly. She stood in a clumsy fighting stance, preparing for battle.

”So, right...?” Radiant Mirage muttered. ”I see youʼve already made your decision. Fine, then accept the consequences.”

With a final flash, the mirror knight came in motion, bringing his sword down on Risha.

Fear of death filled her eyes, but she didnʼt even flinch.

Whoosh.

The light blade sliced through the ground in a destructive stream.

However... the girlʼs silhouette remained intact.

The slash was to her left, the sword plunging one meter past its target.

Risha gasped in disbelief. She couldnʼt understand how Radiant Mirage could miss in such a situation.

Then, the mirrors on the borders of the dome shuddered, directing beams of light closer to the center, forming the trembling silhouette of a white-haired young man in dark robes.

”Tsk,” Radiant Mirage snorted, glaring irritably at Risha. ”You did it after all... Adam turned out to be right.”

The realization came over Risha, it was evident by her dilated pupils.

But her strength had come to an end.

She collapsed to the ground before she could say a word, with a slight, happy smile.