Endless Evolution: Last Star

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Fume Throne shuddered vigorously, releasing dense streams of energy that shot out from the ground through the cracks. They were thick and looked like plasma, combining power and an abundance of energy.

Oskar gulped, Erla and Lero flinched and Katrin clenched her fists tightly.

"Fuck, you bastard. Maybe he doesn't need the energy from Fume Throne, from the looks of it he's full of power, but it also gives him the ability to control all the Fume Armors, right?" Katrin said, gritting her teeth.

'Yes.' Silvana replied calmly, 'You need to prepare for battle. Fume Armors are strong, but they are not invincible. With concerted teamwork, you should manage to deal with them and move on to the battle against Plague Reaper.'

"Great! Let's do that!" Lero vigorously said. He was still very much afraid which was clear by his trembling legs, but there was faith in teamwork in his gaze.

Erla nodded, taking a step forward. She was scared too, but she couldn't back down when the youngest and weakest of them was ready to fight.

Oskar clenched his fists tightly with a great frown. As a leader, he should have taken charge and led his squad, but instead, he only looked panicked toward the exit.

He was trying to think of an escape plan, he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible and get to a safe zone. He didn't seem to believe that they could fight against Plague Reaper at all, even after what Adam and Osana had done.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Before they could come to any sort of joint decision, all the energy from Fume Throne headed towards Plague Reaper.

The streams stopped in front of Plague Reaper, accumulating into a single point and turning into a dense sphere that made the air shake.

Most monsters in Plague Reaper's place would have immediately used this energy to regain their strength or move closer to evolution. Then, after spending a few days or weeks, with the help of this energy, they would be able to start evolving.

But, for Plague Reaper, such an option was out of reach and he actually had another plan.

Crackle.

Plague Reaper stretched out his hands, clutching the white sphere tightly. However, instead of absorbing it, he began to press the sphere with his palms, causing it to wobble and shake under the intense force.

"What? What the hell is he doing...?" Katrin's eyes went wide in confusion and slight indignation in her voice.

She didn't understand how such dense and pure energy could be treated with such disrespect as Plague Reaper had done.

Crackling.

Cracks traveled across the sphere before Plague Reaper's palms collapsed, completely destroying it.

White blobs of energy spread around like flames, illuminating the entire Fume Cathedral. There was no longer a single dark place in this large structure where Fume Armors, monsters, or even simple shadows could hide.

The energies merely hung in the air, by the walls, by the pillars, under the ceiling, or in the far corners, they sought out any available place for themselves for one purpose only - to slowly dissipate and return to the ground.

But, it was a long process as the energy was dense and powerful. It would be hours before those lights would go out and Fume Cathedral would once again be almost completely engulfed in darkness.

No one understood why Plague Reaper had done this, but they didn't have time to think about it as Adam and the others stared at Fume Armors.

They realized that now, Plague Reaper, with the new power gained from Fume Throne, would simply order Fume Armors to attack them.

And... Not even ten seconds later, Plague Reaper rose from his throne and pointed his hand forward.

"Look out!!! Stand in a circle and keep a close eye on each of them! If we can withstand their initial attacks and hold our defenses, we have a chance!" Katrin exclaimed, with a wave of her hand.

Her voice was commanding and serious, she was ready to take charge if Oskar wasn't capable of it.

Everyone nodded and stood in a circle, with Adam, Erla, and Oskar standing out, the ones who could do the most damage to their enemies.

They were one step ahead of the others, and Katrin, Lero, and Osana were between them. Next to Adam were Katrin and Osana, making their part of the defense the strongest.

Crackle.

At the same moment, the Fume Armors came into motion. Their footsteps were powerful, making the ground tremble, and their swords long and deadly.

They were clearly intent on fighting, but... not the Phantoms.

Whoooooooooooosh.

The two Fume Armors rushed forward, swinging their swords and slicing apart the first monster they could reach. Then, they were joined by the others.

Adam, Katrin, and Osana were looking at this scene with wide-open eyes full of incomprehension.

"What? What's going on? Maybe they misunderstood Plague Reaper's orders?" Erla muttered, watching as the Fume Armors attacked the monsters with a clear determination to fulfill their order.

"ROOOAAAARRRR!!!"

Several monsters roared furiously, their roar echoing throughout Fume Cathedral, bouncing off the walls.

Crackle.

The next instant, a long dark sword was thrust into the throat of a massive and terrifying monster, releasing a stream of blood.

But... the monster was not going to give up so quickly. Before its last seconds were up, the monster grabbed the Fume Armor with its powerful paws, intending to tear the knight apart.

The knight's armor began to shake, crumpling under the powerful pressure and emitting a loud sound like tearing flesh.

Whoooooooosh.

Next to this knight, two shadows swept by that simultaneously swung their swords, cutting off the monster's head and saving their partner.

The injured Fume Armor looked in their direction, nodded slightly, and picked up his sword, continuing to fight alongside them to kill every monster in Fume Cathedral as ordered by their new lord.

There were far more monsters than Fume Armors, but their strength individually and teamwork was impressive. Soon enough, there would be no monsters left because the Fume Armors were ready to bring this massacre to an end.

Oskar, Erla, Lero, Katrin, and Osana watched the Fume Armors, and... at that time Adam turned to Plague Reaper, giving him a calm gaze.

'I see... Such a proud and powerful being wouldn't use the powers of others to deal with his opponents, right?' Adam internally muttered as a slight smirk appeared on his face.

He realized that Plague Reaper was not wrong in his order. He had done it on purpose because he wanted to keep only the worthy here.

Then, Adam stepped forward, not worrying about defense or about having to continue to stay in the circle. He was confident that Plague Reaper wouldn't make Fume Armors attack them.

"I can't say that I don't respect such a decision, but it will be your undoing. We will fight and we will win. I killed a Top-2 monster, so you will be my final trial." Adam said confidently while staring intently at Plague Reaper.

Plague Reaper's gaze remained serene, but as soon as he heard Adam's words, a smile appeared on his face.

He understood what the Phantom in front of him was talking about and was fully prepared to accept his challenge. It wasn't a mistake to come here after all, that was for sure.