Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1423: Dark Heart (Part 1)

The monsters that followed Adam’s achievements knew that he had one special ability — the path. More often than not, it became his final move.

Only a few times did Adam encounter opponents who could stop his path. The first such opponent was Arnoth, who possessed impressive defensive abilities. Obviously, all of Erada’s abilities were focused on precise, destructive attacks rather than defense.

Moreover, even Adam himself did not know what stage his path was at. For him and for Erada, it would be a revelation, but perhaps one of them would not survive it.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The space around Adam trembled as light burst from his body, creating an outer flame, leaving him at the very center, his needle and the darkness filling its hollow.

All of Erada’s instincts screamed for her to run. However, Erada had a different opinion.

‘No. I miraculously dodged the last attack. Most likely, this is his final ability… The best I can do is get ahead of him. No matter how fast he is, he can’t outrun lightning!

Her teeth gritted as her eyes filled with blood. During the Solar Form, a Hybrid found it nearly impossible to resist their instincts. It required all the strength of the mind.

However, Erada was able to do it, which showed her pure will to win.

Naturally, Adam couldn’t help but notice this.

“Great! Now that’s what I call fighting spirit!” Adam exclaimed as darkness filled his needle. He was ready to move forward.

Just for a moment, but Erada was able to regain her cool head, taking full control of her body and instincts.

“Gha…” She exhaled frosty air as she narrowed her eyes.

A sharp glimpse flashed across her eyes as her frame trembled. She vanished, breaking away from her spot, transforming into a calm lightning bolt that revealed its furious nature with every heartbeat, wanting to destroy everything in its path.

The spectators held their breath as they realized that everything would be decided right now.

Step.

Adam stepped forward as they both turned into bright flashes.

Darkness and light followed Adam, while Erada became a destructive lightning bolt that put her whole self into her final attack.

Their eyes met for a moment as they collided.

A bright flash covered the silent expanse, causing some of the spectators to cover their eyes with their hands from the blinding light.

The blue lightning bolts, like wild beasts, pounced on the light surrounding Adam, tearing it apart without any resistance.

Blood gushed from Erada’s eyes, but she did not stop looking at Adam, her target and her chance for victory.

Adam smirked, sensing that Erada was giving her all for this chance. What’s more, she was winning.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Freed from Adam’s light, the lightning bolts attacked him, tearing his coat to shreds and leaving bloody wounds on his body.

A little more, and the smirk would disappear from his face, because he would no longer be able to stand and would ultimately lose.

However… Erada just didn’t understand one thing yet.

The only one besides Adam and the Silver Weaver who knew what was going on was Silvana. She watched the situation from the sidelines, from Adam’s inner space.

‘This girl…’ Silvana touched her lip with a slight pity in her eyes. ‘She still doesn’t understand that the white energy was just for the jump, right? This is not a…’

At the same moment, a tiny purple particle appeared among the dark flames covering Adam. It headed to the base of the needle and ran along the hollow.

Erada’s eyes widened in disbelief as a shiver ran through her body. Suddenly, she felt an incredible pressure bearing down on her.

Her lightning bolts could no longer harm Adam, not because they had lost their power, but because they couldn’t catch up to him! They raced after Adam, who was moving away from them at an even greater speed.

“Wait… How can this be? Aren’t we standing still?” Erada was knocked off balance when the realization hit her.

Only when all the energy passed through the needle’s hollow did the real path begin.

For Erada, it seemed like a long period of time, but her mind understood that even if her lightning bolts couldn’t keep up with Adam, they were moving at incredible speed. Moreover, Adam’s needle still couldn’t pierce her, which meant her energy was working as a barrier.

However, even though all these thoughts lasted no more than a fraction of a second, it was too much of a delay in their situation.

Xander shook his head. “It’s over.”

“You say that, but you don’t seem very upset.” Helasa raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I’m glad to see the progress she’s made, but I’m not naive enough to believe she can withstand this…”

Whooooooosh.

A dark flash swept across the silent expanse, leaving behind a straight line opening up an abyss. If the Imaginary Cut was capable of cutting through everything in front of Adam, then on its path, it itself became that blade.

Nothing could stop it until it reached its goal, and anyone who stood in its way would only meet destruction.

“No, I’m still here… I can stop him!” Erada cried out internally as she tried to touch Adam.

But then the darkness engulfed her as they reached the final point.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

A devastating explosion of darkness and lightning rang out in the far reaches of the silent expanse. One wave of tremors after another ran across the spacious plain, breaking up lonely rocks and sweeping away layers of dust to expose the gray earth.

A smoke screen hid the outcome of the battle, leaving the spectators in suspense, although the strongest among them had long since understood.

“Hah…” Adam chuckled as a trickle of blood flowed from his mouth. “You really put everything you had into that attack.”

Drip. Drip. Drip.

One drop after another, salty tears flowed from Erada’s eyes, running down her cheek as she lay on the ground among the debris.

“I really wanted to win!!!”

Adam looked up where a purple, almost dark orb hovered above them while two thin threads seemed to emerge from their bodies.

“I know.”

He nodded.

“Otherwise, it wouldn’t have appeared here. The Dark Heart, we both showed that our fight was worthy of it.”