Endless Evolution: Last Star

As Magnus had said, the last course at the Red Feast was always meat, familiar and customary, but not beef or pork, but monster meat.

There was only one question: which monster meat was the last course?

This time, it was Thunder Demon. It was a Top-2 monster of the Purple Threat Level, it was extremely rare for a Top-5 monster to appear at Red Feast, regardless of Threat Level.

However, what surprised Adam was not that it was Thunder Demon. It shouldn't have been forgotten that Thunder Demon was a subspecies of monsters and it was Essence Thunder Demon that was Top-2.

Thus, the Thunder Demon that was the main course of this Red Feast was not necessarily the Thunder Demon that Adam had defeated.

However... One detail was enough for Adam to realize it immediately.

Thunder Demon's head was missing its left horn, every moment, every piece of Thunder Demon's broken horn was imprinted in Adam's mind. Thus, it only took one glance for him to realize that this Thunder Demon was the one he had killed.

Moreover, after a few seconds, a powerful aroma of meat reached him, causing all his genes to get excited and Evolution Tree to actively tremble.

Strangely enough, this time Adam's Artifact was also active.

Adam decided to check what was going on by closing his eyes.

[Horn of Calamity (Second Rarity Artifact)

First Trait: One-horned Disaster

Second Trait: ???]

Adam remembered that although he already used the power of his artifact several times, he never once read the description of the ability. Not that it was necessary, but it might help him better understand a part of his power.

[First Trait - One-horned Disaster:

Channel lightning energy through your body and soar above the earth as a majestic being who determines who lives and who dies.

As long as you have energy, you are free to use the power of lightning, but only within the confines of your body.

Lightning Reflexes - due to the evolution of your artifact, this Trait survived, becoming part of the One-Horned Disaster].

Adam nodded. The first time he'd used One-Horned Disaster to kill Tirana, it had taken him a few seconds to realize the power of his new ability.

Perhaps he should have expected the Second and Third Trait from his past Artifact to transfer into the new one when he unlocked the new Traits, but Adam didn't count on it.

'When I first got Horn of Calamity, I lost all the abilities with some exception... I guess Lightning Reflexes remained since the lightning had already infused my entire body, and my reflexes had time to sharpen.' Adam pondered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Then, his gaze returned to Zakira, who made for the last ingredient a small introduction.

"As you know, we always try to make the last ingredient something special, not only because of the monster's power or its rarity but also its history." Zakira said confidently.

Her words made sense because history and additional information did matter. The same sword, of the same alloy and materials, made by the same blacksmith according to the same blueprint, could be worth a completely different amount in the eyes of a collector if the sword belonged to a soldier or some nobleman or famous warrior.

In Red Feast, there was a similar situation with the last ingredient.

"This is Essence Thunder Demon, a Top-2 monster among the Purple Threat Level. It's already enough to be something special, but I think many people here have seen this fight that happened on the border between Rusty Ruins and Salt Village." Zakira said seriously, pausing for a moment.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

At the same moment, more than half the people clapped. Adam didn't know what that meant, but Magnus explained it to him.

"They're letting everyone know they saw your fight." Magnus smirked before clapping his hands, Nessa joining him.

True, Magnus hadn't seen Adam's fight fully and neither had Nessa, only heard about it, but it would be strange if their table remained quiet. They didn't want any extra attention on Adam, who was the culprit of the celebration in some way.

"Sure, Thunder Demon wasn't the start of that incident. Dark Phantoms, a cluster of powerful anomalies, and three Top-5 monsters at once, not to mention a lot of other powerful creatures. However, it was the Adam Vinter vs Thunder Demon battle that was the key part." Zakira said confidently.

It was worth realizing that no one knew Adam was here, and Zakira was only retelling the course of events. She would have done the same with another story.

"Adam Vinter clearly deserves a word of praise, but it's Red Feast, so Thunder Demon's meat is the main star of our show tonight. Please wait a little while and get a taste of a strong monster who lost to an even stronger man!" Zakira waved her hand.

Even though she was a chef, she would be a good showman. She knew how to get the crowd interested and whet their appetite to the max!

Then, Zakira used her abilities and all her mastery to cook the final dish.

Zakira did everything herself, so the guests had to wait longer than usual. However, no one minded because they knew what they were getting.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The Soldiers quickly approached the kitchen, taking plates and carrying them to the tables, quickly and in a coordinated manner.

"Damn... That's a whole other conversation..." Magnus gulped, as he licked his lip, anticipating the delight.

The last course was simple, but as effective as possible to bring out the full flavor of the meat - steak with a slightly spicy sauce made from wine and the juice that came out of the meat.

Usually, the chefs would specify what kind of rare the guest wanted their steak, but at Red Feast, all the meat was always cooked to medium-rare. That allowed for the right degree of flavor, leaving a little room for the chef's skills.

While Manus, Nessa, and Silvana exchanged words, sharing their feelings before tasting the last course, Adam remained silent, staring intently at the steak in front of him.

It was the meat of the monster he had defeated, but he didn't feel like a hunter preparing to taste his prey. Thunder Demon wasn't his prey, they were each other's deadly opponents, warriors fighting to win.

The winner didn't get to eat the loser like a hunter would, no, the winner got something much more important - the chance to live on and avoid death.

In any case, Adam could no longer restrain himself, and he began to eat. Instinctively, he forgot about the cutlery, grabbed the sliced piece of meat with two fingers, opened his mouth wide, and loosened his grip, letting the meat fall right onto his tongue.

Adam's jaw moved a few times, tearing the meat into small pieces with his teeth before swallowing.

"Agh..." Adam exhaled as his pupils dilated and electric charges passed through his eyes.

Then, all his muscles tensed, and the veins around his eyes inflated as if in resonance. The effect soon wore off, but all his cells were more active than ever, beginning to move rapidly.

"Oh, just as I thought that would be something special in your case." Magnus grinned widely before beginning to eat.

Thunder Demon's meat caused Silvana, Nessa & Magnus to have a similar reaction, but to a much lesser extent.

Their genes were activated because of the powerful genes within the meat, but Adam and Thunder Demon had some sort of connection. After all, Thunder Demon contained part of Adam - his right arm.

"Agh... What's going on?" Adam twisted in pain when he felt a burning sensation near his right arm.

Magnus's face changed instantly, revealing an overly wide grin again.

"Hah, unbelievable. Thunder Demon's meat caused your genes to become active, it seems your body remembers that Thunder Demon took your arm and is trying to recover it. Well, even if it does, it's not enough. However... perhaps this will increase the chances of success in my method. Hehehe, I'm sure your genes definitely won't calm down until tomorrow." Magnus chuckled evilly.

Crackle.

At the same moment, somewhere in the distance of the hall, something strange, or rather inappropriate for a place of this level, happened - a waiter, one of the Soldiers, started pushing the tables of the guests, throwing them apart.

"What the fuck...?" Magnus turned around, staring intently at the girl-Soldier in the distance.

She seemed to have a plan, for she had chosen the farthest place where, strangely enough, only ordinary people were sitting, not even the military among those guests. So the guests just stood up outraged, not realizing what was going on.

Wine spilled on their expensive suits, dishes shattered, and the meat of the Thunder Demon fell to the ground.

Before the Guardians could react and approach the girl, she fell to her knees, greedily beginning to devour dozens of pieces of the Thunder Demon's meat.

"Idiot..." Magnus shook his head. It seemed like he had already seen something like this several times before.

"What... what is she doing?" Silvana asked with a tremor in her voice.

Magnus leaned on his arm with a bored look.

"She thinks she can become a Phantom this way. Sure, it makes some sense, but she's woefully lacking in theory." Magnus sighed heavily.

He stared intently at the girl who had already eaten more than ten servings. She was just shoving the meat into her mouth with her hands.

"You can't become a Phantom by absorbing the genes of a monster. Phantoms are so strong not because they use others' genes, but because their genes go to the next level with the appearance of the Evolution Tree." Magnus explained.

"In that case... What's waiting for her...?" Silvana muttered.

Magnus shrugged his shoulders.

"Death, either way. The question is different, will that death be instant or we will see an interesting show."

Soon, the girl's face twisted in vivid pain as she clutched at her heart. A stream of blood spurted from her mouth, and her eyes seemed ready to explode.

Then, her skin ripped in many places, revealing chunks of flesh that were actively moving like hundreds of parasites eager to turn into something bigger and creepier...