Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1903: Fire Pearl and the Ascended Lords

It hadn’t even been ten minutes since Adam had arrived at the Grand Abyss, but this place had already surprised him twice.

First, he was surprised that not everything here was submerged in water. Sure, there was an underwater level here, but it was even lower, and between the water and the Gray Sea there was a significant layer of air.

But, immediately upon arriving here, Adam found himself in the middle of a battle between two sides, and he hadn’t been this baffled in a long time.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Adam grew wary as he looked at the man and the demon-knight. They were both humanoids, but Adam wasn’t entirely sure whether the demon-knight was currently in his human form or monster form.

But something else made Adam wary.

“Their power level… I can barely sense it.” Adam narrowed his eyes, studying the auras of the two monsters.

If he were facing a Baron or a Viscount, he would have sensed it clearly. Even if it were an Earl, that Lord’s aura would be so strong that every bone in Adam’s body would be actively trembling from the pressure emanating from the monster.

However, the situation now was different, even a little strange.

He fully understood that the two men before him possessed great power, but he couldn’t grasp exactly how strong they were, and that frightened him.

If this were the case, it could only mean one thing:

‘They’re stronger than Barons, Viscounts, and Earls, which means neither of these two is a Lesser Lord! They’re the Ascended Lords!’

When a Phantom first learned of the existence of the Lords, most thought this was the ultimate power rank for monsters, just as the Second Rank was for the Phantoms.

But that was not the case at all.

The Lords were divided into three groups: the Lesser Lords, the Ascended Lords, and the True Lords.

Over the years, Adam had encountered Lords from each group, but in most cases, this happened in peaceful situations, in a monster city or on the territory of some organization.

However, in battle, he had seen practically no one other than the Lesser Lords.

If it hadn’t been for the time he ended up at the Dark Shore by the will of the First Star, Adam still wouldn’t have seen a single True Lord in battle, and the same was largely true of the Ascended Lords as well.

Only recently had Adam gained enough strength and self-confidence to face a Baron if necessary.

But he fully understood that he didn’t stand a chance against a Viscount, an Earl, and certainly not any of the Ascended Lords.

Monsters at this level were strong enough to kill him with a single serious attack, and there was nothing Adam could do about it.

“Maybe I should get out of here?” Adam thought, looking at the demon-knight and the man. “If they decide I’m a threat to them, what’s stopping them from just getting rid of me?”

However, he soon dismissed that thought.

‘No, if that were the case, before attacking this man, the demon-knight would have rushed to deal with me first. Tsk, I doubt I’d be able to put up much of a fight against that.’

Having made his decision, Adam remained hovering in the air, watching the situation unfold.

Sure, the demon-knight and the man sensed Adam’s presence and could see him, but right now they had far more important business to attend to.

“Blafor.” The man in the red robe frowned as he looked at the demon-knight. “Why are you still trying to attack me?”

“Because…” Blafor’s hoarse voice rang out as his stone wings trembled, releasing streams of flame all around. “You did what you shouldn’t have. You stole the Fire Pearl, you took it from us!”

Tremble! Tremble! Tremble!

A powerful surge of energy erupted from Blafor as the ground trembled. The air around Blafor heated up and seemed to turn red as Blafor prepared to rush into battle at any moment.

“Wait.” The man held out his hand. “I did what was necessary for my evolution. If you were in my place, you would have done the same.”

“Does that even matter…?” Blafor narrowed his red eyes. “You’re not the only one who wants to evolve. We’re all here for that very reason!”

Although Blafor’s voice was laced with anger and he wanted to attack, he refrained from doing so.

The reason was simple: the man standing before him now possessed an aura stronger than his own.

“Either way, Blafor, you can’t defeat me right now, and you know I won’t back down from my goal. I will leave the Grand Abyss only when I become a True Lord, and you know that!” The man declared confidently.

True, Blafor understood this, as it was the goal of many monsters here.

However, many monsters could spend hundreds of years without a single evolution, especially if they were an Ascended Lord. At such levels, even advancing from one stage to the next was a true achievement.

Blafor was silent for a while. He realized that the man was right, and for him, this was a bad turn of events.

But… When his gaze fell on the hill, he understood everything.

The hill, the vines, and the flaming flowers had been destroyed. All that remained was a crater, with lava and burning fire spilling out from its center.

“I see. Too bad, we’ll have to fight again. I’m afraid you won’t be able to fend me off so easily this time!”

The next moment, Blafor spun around and flapped his stone wings, soaring away in a blazing flash.

It was just a single leap, but Adam could see that Blafor was moving much faster than the giant oyster was capable of.

Only a few seconds after Blafor left the area did a tremor ripple through the air, accompanied by rings of wind spreading out in all directions.

“Agh…” The man sighed deeply before turning around.

His calm, slightly sad gaze turned toward Adam.

“Hello, young man. It seems you’ve found yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, haven’t you?”