Endless Evolution: Last Star

"What's the plan?" Mark asked worriedly, looking at the five Phantoms running towards them.

There was a clear killing intent coming from them, but that didn't scare Katrin and the others, because it meant they had to act seriously.

"If you don't mind, I'll take command. Adam won't be able to help us yet, so we need to handle this ourselves." Katrin spoke up, looking around.

No one had agreed to make her captain yet, but she didn't need to, it was just a formality for her. She was already thinking out a plan of action and preparing orders.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

Katrin swung her staff as her eyes sparkled. Many roots emerged from the ground and enveloped the Phantoms. However, this would only hold them back for a brief period, but that was what Katrin wanted.

"Follow me!" Katrin exclaimed, heading towards the passageway leading deep into the sand temple.

They didn't run away, but changed their position to a more favorable one, for they were in a difficult situation. They were outnumbered, 4 vs. 5, though there were 6 enemies, and it wasn't Mirna, busy with Adam.

Sirgus walked last, behind Mark, who stumbled here and there, though there were no obstacles on the ground. He was obviously very nervous, and what he did put a lot of pressure on him.

He had only recently been able to fully take on the role of a Phantom and kill monsters, but today, he killed a human being, just like himself.

Click.

There was a resounding click as a silver bullet flew out from the distance, with a whizzing spin, heading straight for Mark. The gunslinger wanted to avenge his fallen mate, but Mark was not alone.

Sirgus was ready for it, so his eyes flashed as he swung his arm.

At the same moment, in front of him, a dense stone wall appeared out of the ground. However, it was not enough to stop the silver bullet, though it lost most of its inertia.

The silver bullet flew into Sirgus's triangular shield, leaving a light scratch.

"Hah, not bad, if I hadn't used my Order, then maybe the bullet would have pierced the shield. Alright, it's about time we set a trap for those bastards!" Sirgus smirked, stepping last behind the temple wall.

...

Adam glanced at Katrin and the others, watching them disappear down the temple aisle.

"What's wrong? Are you worried about them?" Mirna said caustically.

"Sure. They are my mates. How can I not care about them? However, I'm not worried about whether they'll make it or not, that much is clear. You're going to lose." Adam said calmly, shifting his gaze to Mirna.

Mirna frowned as she swung her halberd, holding it with one hand behind her. The other hand was set forward, with the palm looking upwards like a martial arts master.

'Oh, looks like, unlike me, someone taught her how to fight, this is definitely some kind of martial art. Well, death experience and instincts shouldn't be any worse, should they?' Adam muttered internally, swung the needle, and clutched it tightly, using a second grip.

Adam took his time, he calculated what he was capable of. Battles against Brass Puppet and Steel Knight had taught him that one saved ability could lead to victory.

However, Adam's arsenal for this fight was practically empty. He had already used Nexus Traits, Thunder Punishment, and Second Order.

'Hmm... The best I can count on is a needle and a single summon claw with Silver Swirl, while she has everything and is full of energy. Well, the situation is clearly not in my favor, which means to win, I have to act dirty, risky, and sacrifice something, but what?'

Whoooooooooooooosh.

A lightning arrow flew out from the sand temple, crashing into the mechanical sphere, causing the barrier to go down.

'Adam!'

Silvana's worried voice swept through Adam's mind like a refreshing stream.

Mirna realized that she, and her entire squad, had been put on a timer. Once a rescue squad, including K1-Phantoms or a single K2, got here, it would be over for them.

She ran forward, glaring intently at Adam, intending to kill him as quickly as possible, help her men, and get out of there.

"Hi, I'd love to chat with you, but I'm a little busy right now. I'm sure the others will tell you all about it." Adam said with a slight smile on his face, "It was good to hear you."

Clang.

The purple halberd blade collided with the needle, once again making an unpleasant sound. It wasn't enough to hurt or disarm Adam in any way, but it was annoying.

Then, their weapons collided again and again, each time sending outward a cascade of sparks and sonic vibrations spreading around.

Now and then, Mirna would try to attack Adam with her arm, but he would either dodge or block each time, aided by his lightning-fast reflexes.

'Hmm... So, she uses sound? Interestingly, it's different from fire, wind, or water... The sound could be truly terrifying.' Adam pondered, trying to find a good moment to attack.

"Stop defending yourself! If you don't want to attack, I will!" Mirna exclaimed as her eyes flashed.

At the same moment, the air in front of her palm shook, then several sound waves crashed down on Adam, throwing him backwards.

"Argh!" Adam vomited blood, as the sound traveled through his body, unhindered.

However, this was not Mirna's actual attack.

"Die!" Mirna exclaimed, swinging her halberd. The purple blade glowed, as Mirna used her Nexus.

The dense, sonic blade quickly headed towards Adam, cutting everything in its path.

In fact, the sound didn't exactly cut through objects, for it lacked sharpness since it had no physical form. The sonic blade, because of the hundreds of vibrations passing through in a split second, seemed to pull the objects apart, separating them.

That mattered because unlike a normal iron blade, a sonic one would not lose its sharpness after hitting several obstacles.

'Adam, this is your first time fighting such an opponent, but you will be able to block this attack.' Silvana said quickly.

She was watching the fight through Adam's NEP. She didn't just worry about Adam and tried to do her job as an Operator, helping him and gathering possible information.

'However, you have to do it with a lunge, not a swing. If you just try to block like a sword, the sonic blade will go through your needle and cut you!'

Adam only had a few seconds to digest the information and make a decision.

Naturally, he had no reason to distrust Silvana, after all, it was the basis of the Phantom and Operator relationship, so... his next action was obvious.

Sliding along the ground, stopping abruptly, before Adam's eyes flashed fragments of other Phantoms' fights that he had watched as part of his training.

His needle was gripped tightly in his hand because of the second grip, so he couldn't turn it, but there was no need to, for he was about to repeat a famous move from classical swordsmanship.

Adam put one hand behind his back, bent his body down slightly, and took a step forward, simultaneously thrusting the needle forward like a rapier.

The tip of the needle collided with the sonic blade, shattering it into vibrating clots.

The weakened waves traveled next to Adam's face, rippling his black hair under calm blue eyes.

'Alright, she can only use her Nexus one more time and with serious consequences. It's a good start, but there's still a long way to victory!'

Booooooooooom!

A fiery explosion erupted in the sand temple. Katrin, Kody, Mark, and Sirgus were not standing on the sidelines, their battle was in full swing!