Endless Evolution: Last Star

"Agh... Agh... Agh..." Kody was breathing heavily, exhaling hot steam to symbolize his anger and the rage bubbling up inside him.

He had to use all his strength to suppress that feeling, at least to the point of not finishing the gunslinger off right now.

The gunman gulped, he didn't know for what reason he was spared, but he was grateful to fate for that and didn't dare to interfere in any way. He just watched, hoping that this was the end. After all, prison and trial were infinitely better than death.

As long as you're alive, you can change everything, from the smallest to the greatest. However, if you're dead, nothing else matters.

Adam stopped, glanced at Sirgus, and clenched his fists tightly.

Then he looked at Kody and said, "Silvana stopped you, didn't she?"

Kody only nodded slightly, he didn't even have the energy to say anything.

"Forget it." Adam said coldly, "I've already made my choice with my enemy, so now it's up to you alone to decide. If you want to do it, do it. No one will judge you for killing a murderer."

For a moment, Kody's eyes sparkled, as if he wanted to hear it. Somehow, Adam's authority was infinitely greater than Silvana's, who was the Operator.

But... Kody just shook his head.

"No. I had to do it either right away or no more. Though I hate to admit it, Silvana is right. We need to find out who they are and why the fuck they're attacking us! On people!" Kody exclaimed with a complicated expression, biting his lip until it bled.

Adam nodded deeply, closing his eyes.

He opened his eyes only to see Katrin's silhouette, her gray hair rippling in the wind and a detached look devoid of feeling.

Then, her staff, like a club, came down on the gunslinger's head. It wasn't enough to kill Phantom, so Katrin kept hitting and hitting, not going to stop.

'Stop it! Somebody calm her down!' Silvana exclaimed, realizing that a little more and they wouldn't get another chance to find out about Ruby Dew.

"Silvana..." Adam said calmly, looking at Katrin with tears streaming from her eyes, "Shut up. That's an order."

Silvana didn't want to, but she obeyed as she had to. All she could do was watch the brutal scene, soaking in the overwhelming grief even miles away from the site.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

There was no telling how much time had passed or how many attacks Katrin had made, but she had nowhere else to hit.

The gunslinger's head had turned into a bloody mess, now it would be hard to even identify him, which would require fingerprints or teeth.

"Did... Did it end up like this...?" Mark muttered, falling to his knees with trembling hands.

He glanced around the entire battlefield and his eyes filled with more sorrow.

"We defeated the Golden Searchers, even Prime King wasn't a problem for us, no one was hurt, just minor injuries... However, as soon as the humans appeared then only deaths began..."

For the next few minutes, no one said anything.

They all needed rest, both physical and mental, especially the second one.

Unlike Zera's squad, where unfortunately already used to deaths, for Adam, Kody, Mark, and Katrin it was a new experience.

Sure, Adam had seen other Phantoms and Harvesters die before, but not at the hands of humans, and he didn't know any of them well.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

Soon a military helicopter flew up to them, slowly landing on the ground and opening up.

A man with a powerful aura stepped out. He had thick gray hair, amethyst eyes, and a calm gaze.

His lean body was covered by a long black coat, with a high collar covering part of his face - up to his nose.

"Travelers Squad, isn't it?" The man asked, casting a quick glance at them all and the situation around. He was aware of what had happened here, though he only found out about Sirgus's death now, though he didn't look surprised.

"Yes... We have successfully completed the mission and wish to return to the Citadel. Right now." Adam said calmly, realizing that the man was there to help them.

"Sure. My name is Tron. I'm K2-Phantom, and will accompany you in case Ruby Dew isn't the only one." Tron said calmly, pointing to the helicopter.

Adam nodded, placed his palm on Katrin's shoulder, and said:

"Let's go. We've done enough already. There's no reason for us to stay here any longer..."

Katrin nodded silently, following him as well as Kody and Mark.

Tron was looking around intently, for some reason, he felt a slight anxiety. When such a feeling occurred to K2-Phantom, it could not be ignored.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Suddenly, the sand temple, as well as the entire Nest shook like an earthquake coming from below.

At the same moment, dozens of Kings of the Golden Searchers flew out of the walls. There were about twenty of them, all of them dripping yellow liquid, as they had just hatched from their eggs.

Adam, Katrin, Kody, and Mark froze in place. In their condition, handling even one King would be a difficult task. Moreover, they didn't understand where Kings came from!

Tron nodded slightly.

"Looks like tonight the Queens here decided to awaken the golden eggs and their turn came just now. Well, you're lucky it only happened now, or I wouldn't have anyone to save." Tron waved his hand before taking a few steps forward.

The Kings immediately directed their gazes at him as the strongest creature.

"You will fight them...?" Mark asked in disbelief.

"Hmm... I don't think that's the right word, but yes, I'm going to kill them all. After all, Phantom's job is to destroy monsters and protect its fellows. That's exactly what I'm going to do." Tron uttered as his eyes shone brightly.

A glass blade appeared in his hand that quickly flew upwards, but its target was not Kings. The blade soared over Nest, then shuddered and began to divide several times until there were twenty blades.

Then, Tron waved his hand carelessly, and twenty glass blades pierced all the Kings. The monsters' heads were simply sliced off, flying off to the sides and letting streams of blue blood gush from their necks.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

The decapitated corpses of the monsters simultaneously fell to the ground, raising a low cloud of dust.

"Alright. We've finished. When the Harvesters gather all the materials and return to the Citadel, you will receive your mission report." Tron said calmly, stepping up into the helicopter.

Adam gulped, he knew that even for him, it would not be easy to kill so many Kings at once. However, for K2-Phantom, for someone who stood one step above him, it was as easy as breathing.

'Tron might not be as strong as Damien, but... This is the level I should aim for! If Tron was here, there's nothing the Ruby Dew squad could do... Shit!' Adam inwardly snorted, following Tron.

Oddly enough, the others were having similar thoughts.

"Good. This shouldn't be a tragedy for you, but a motivation." Tron whispered as if he could read their minds.

The helicopter lifted off, taking them away from this perishing place where more people died than should.