Endless Evolution: Last Star

Douglas stood at one of the Fort Norton exits with his arms crossed over his chest, looking at the black car that Magnus and Nessa were heading toward.

Nessa opened the door for Magnus, then closed it and turned to Douglas, bowing low before getting into the car herself.

"Well, well, it's good that Magnus decided to step in, but does he really have a way to convince that arrogant girl?" Douglas muttered, staring intently at the departing car.

"More to the point... Nessa can survive, Magnus will take care of that, but I doubt he gives a shit about the lives of the rest of the Phantoms." Douglas frowned heavily, raising his head and staring up at the night sky covered in a multitude of stars.

...

Where were Magnus and Nessa headed? Well, they were going straight to the Observatory, but not their own, besides Magnus Zephyr and Aiden Henk there were other free scientists in the Citadel and as a consequence Observatories.

"Father... You asked me to act confidently, but what is this place? It looks creepy as hell... though I thought it was our Observatory that would scare anyone..." Nessa muttered as she gulped.

Magnus grinned, got out of the car, and looked ahead with a confident stare at the great structure.

In front of them was a real steel castle, with tall square towers with sharp peaks reaching for the heavens.

Around the main building, on the territory of this Observatory were various iron statues related to military themes. These were models of the Observatory's developments, as well as projects that could not be realized or were canceled.

Among them were ordinary weapons from pistols to sniper rifles used by the military, to real cannons, tanks, and helicopters. Since they were mock-ups, just replicas, their size was several times smaller than the real models.

The main building was a perfect cube covered in steel on all sides. Massive iron pillars protruded from the roof of the building, with electricity running between them from time to time, either from the generators inside or from the lightning that sometimes struck there.

"Welcome to the Iron Observatory!" Magnus exclaimed, spreading his arms out as if it were his observatory and not another scientist's.

Nessa stepped forward cautiously, looking around. She was used to the Miracle Observatory, after all, it had become her home, but the Iron Observatory gave her goosebumps.

Iron Observatory was connected to one of the Forts, Fort Fereno, this fort was on the south side of the Citadel.

Iron Observatory was quite far from Fort Fereno, but they were connected by a massive underground tunnel, wide enough that it could carry ammo crates, tanks, and even airplanes.

This was done specifically for Iron Observatory because of the nature of the place so that new successful and approved designs could go straight to the military for testing.

"Father... What do they do at this Observatory?" Nessa asked with curiosity and a slight fear in her voice.

She knew what kind of fucked up shit went on in Magnus's lab sometimes since she had been involved in it herself, so she was scared to imagine what kind of experiments were done here.

"Well, we have too little time today for me to tell you everything. However, I'm sure we'll have to come here again soon, probably with Adam and Silvana." Magnus chuckled evilly, he obviously knew more than Nessa and knew what he was talking about.

Nessa looked at him puzzled, wanting to know more about this place.

Magnus waved his hand.

"The moment Adam and Silvana will need to come here is not far away at all, but right now it's not about them." Magnus said and headed towards the massive iron gate.

Magnus continued:

"As you may have already realized, the Iron Observatory is busy developing new military technology, weapons, and equipment. Sure, that's what the development department does, but Iron Observatory does what they want and takes on risky projects."

Then, Magnus cast a glance at Nessa.

"You do know that the military has already received the first exoskeletons and is trying to actively use them on missions, right? The public presentation was held at the Scarlet Light Fair. Although not without problems, three military men were able to defeat a White Treat Level monster."

Nessa nodded deeply. For her to kill a monster of such strength would be no problem, but she realized that this was a real leap forward for the Citadel. After the release of exoskeletons and FN, False Nexuses, the military had a real opportunity to fight monsters.

"So, officially these exoskeletons were invented by the development department, but it was actually all made here at Iron Observatory." Magnus said seriously, stopping in front of the gate.

"Stand next to me. When we meet her don't say anything or make her angry. We're interested in her helping us and you going to Fume Cathedral, not in cruel rejection." Magnus's voice was stern and confident, not tolerating outrage.

Nessa nodded as she did as he said.

Soon, with a loud creak, the gate came into motion, as if unwilling to open, exuding only hostility without a hint of hospitality.

Nevertheless, the path was soon clear, allowing them to pass on.

Magnus crossed the features of the gate without any problems, but here was when Nessa tried to do so...

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Several turrets emerged from the walls and ground, aimed directly at Nessa. Sure, Magnus had the same defense system that Adam and Silvana had experienced when they first came to Miracle Observatory.

But... even though there were only four turrets, Nessa felt a real threat from them. The turrets were massive with long muzzles, with attached tubes that flowed thick plasma.

'Fuck... What is that? Do these turrets have the same power as the cannons on the walls? Although... Nessa, calm down, even if they do, their maximum is Green Threat Level monsters. They're all useless against me.' Nessa pondered while clenching her fists tightly.

She instinctively began to prepare for battle, sensing a real threat.

Magnus watching this scene rolled his eyes and walked over to one of the turrets. He covered the muzzle of the cannon with his palm, showing that if fired he would be wounded as well.

After a while, as if overcoming their doubts, the turrets returned to their cells, disappearing from their path.

"What the hell was that...? What are those turrets?" Nessa gulped.

Magnus sighed heavily.

"It's a defense she made years ago. There are no such turrets on the walls of the Citadel because she doesn't think they're good enough and it's not a finished product. She's a bit of a perfectionist, you know."

Magnus shrugged nonchalantly before waving his hand.

"Come on, the more time we waste, the less chance we have of getting it right. You want to help Adam and fight Top-1, don't you?"

Nessa frowned as she clenched her fists tightly.

"I'm only agreeing to the fight. I don't make it my main goal to help him." Nessa said through gritted teeth.

She didn't consider Adam her enemy, she was grateful to him, because thanks to him she was able to gain new strength and access to energy, albeit in a limited way. But, to her, he was not a friend or a mate, but a tough opponent to whom she wanted to throw a rematch.

...

At this time, the master of the Iron Observatory watched them through the monitors, only a satisfied smirk visible in the darkness.