Endless Evolution: Last Star

"Great! Keep up the good work! I'll help you!" Katrin exclaimed vigorously, swinging her staff and using her Order once more.

Roots coiled around Phantom, wielding a massive ice axe. The man was already prepared for this, so he chopped the roots down almost immediately.

"Tsk. These aren't monsters, they think fast and adapt to the situation right during battle..." Katrin muttered, throwing a glance around the entire battlefield.

She had already used her Nexus, the seeds were making the others stronger, everyone but her. She didn't have enough energy for herself.

Last time, in Desolate Forest, she had only been able to create three seeds, but since that day, she had progressed, and now four of her allies were under her protection at once!

Whoooooooosh.

Kody blocked Phantom's attack with a long spear, took a few swings, and bounced back, breathing heavily. There were a few cuts on his chest, and fatigue was slowly consuming him, but overall, he was fine.

"Hey... Mrs. Captain." Kody smirked, "Can you use your Order twice in a row? I need you to hold them off for at least a few seconds."

Katrin frowned.

"I don't mind trusting you, but I'll be useless after this. I'll barely be able to walk, that'll be my limit."

Kody nodded as he cast a glance at Mark, who along with Sirgus was trying to hold off four Phantoms. They had already killed one - the very first one to run into the temple. He thought Katrin and the others were escaping, but they quickly set up an ambush by standing behind the walls, it was simple and sudden.

"Sure. Just do it, because I'm not going to hold back either. I haven't shown what my Nexus can do yet, you know?" Kody said coquettishly.

Katrin rolled her eyes but didn't refuse, tapping her staff on the ground.

Roots came out of nowhere, forcing the Phantoms to stop.

"What, again?!" The woman with daggers in her hands exclaimed irritably, "I'm so sick of this! These roots make no sense they only get in the way!"

For some reason, the woman, as well as the other Phantoms felt the temperature rise dramatically, as if a volcano had appeared right next to them.

Step. Step. Step.

Kody confidently ran straight at them, while drops of red-hot magma fell from his sword, real lava covering the blade.

The Phantoms' eyes went wide as they realized they had fallen into a simple but truly effective trap! They were immobilized, which meant they were an easy target for a deadly attack!

"Shit! Hurry up! We have to get out of the roots! Use your abilities!" Someone exclaimed, summoning a stream of fire.

Whooooooooooooooooooosh.

Clearly following the plan created by just a few gestures, Mark fired a lightning compound arrow that split into several parts and covered the dark Phantoms with an electric net.

It didn't matter if the electricity went through their bodies or if they were able to block it with their Nexuses, the most important thing was that they wasted valuable time.

"Great! Now it's my time to shine! You motherfuckers are fucked!" Kody exclaimed with an excited expression, bringing his sword down on them.

He wasn't aiming at anyone in particular, his sword wasn't going to cut anyone now, it had a different purpose.

The tip of the sword touched the ground.

A bright spark blinded everyone for a moment.

Then, a magma explosion with a few meters radius destroyed everything around them, whether it was human bodies or the sand walls surrounding them.

...

"No..." Mirna muttered as her face turned pale. From far away, through the flames and thick black fog, she could see the burned bodies of her mates. Some were trying to move, but they were only death convulsions, nothing more.

The only ones left of her squad were herself and the gunslinger, who Katrin and the others had already moved out to find.

"Shit! This wasn't supposed to happen! You... YOU! This is all your fault! You gave those brats confidence!

If I kill you, they'll stop!" Mirna exclaimed as her aura intensified and her eyes sparkled again.

Adam's gaze shifted to Mirna's hand, he was ready, he braced himself for the sound waves, but nothing happened.

Well, he just looked in the wrong place...

"DIE!!!!" Mirna shouted the sound rings came from her mouth, shaking the air and heading towards Adam, quickly passing through him.

Mirna, as a siren, could make a target wish to die with her scream, just to make this suffering stop.

"ARGH!!!"

Adam grabbed his head while trickles of blood flowed from his ears. Ironically, he had to experience something similar with his Nexus Trait.

With each passing moment, Adam was getting more and more painful, the sound didn't hurt his body much, but his ears were in hell. It was unknown how much longer he could take it.

Suddenly, quiet classical music started playing in his right ear, loud enough to interrupt Mirna's scream, but not annoying.

Adam immediately took advantage of this, covering the other ear tightly and thus creating some balance. Somewhere distant, Mirna's scream could still be heard, but it was tolerable.

Adam smiled slightly. He didn't need an explanation to understand what had happened. He could only feel grateful that he was lucky to have such an intelligent Operator.

'Even though she is a few kilometers away from me, she still helped me in the battle. Hah, so it's a 2 vs. 1? Well, I don't mind.' Adam smirked, bursting forward.

Mirna's screaming gradually ended, but the result shocked her.

'What...? How the fuck can he move! He must be bleeding and suffering from the most brutal agony! What the fuck is going on here!!!?' Mirna internally exclaimed.

Whooooooosh.

Before she could come to her senses, Adam was already in front of her, swinging the needle and leaving a long cut on her chest. Then, he kicked her in the stomach, knocking her backward.

Mirna rolled over the sandy ground, dust covering her, blood clots left behind her like traces of her pain.

"Bastard... I don't know what trick you used, but... There's nothing you can do against it!" Mirna exclaimed, rising from the ground.

She swung her halberd in a circle before thrusting the blade into the sand and using her Second Nexus Trait.

Electric shocks covered Adam's legs, he wasn't going to wait for his opponent to prepare an attack, but... Mirna had already done everything. She didn't need preparation, just energy, and a single movement.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The ground shook as four purple columns of some strong dark metal emerged from the sand. There were many purple scratches on the columns, randomly covering them like wild ancient runes.

"What is this...?" Adam muttered in confusion, looking around.

The columns surrounded him on all sides, ready to unleash their full power on him at any moment.

"Hah, I didn't think I'd have to use this against Upper Ring Phantom, but you really made me work hard!" Mirna smirked before striking the halberd and making the six rings on the handle tremble.

The columns glowed brightly, releasing endless waves of destructive sound, heading towards the center, at their only target - Adam.