Endless Evolution: Last Star

Lang's fighter had reached the halfway point, they had a little over ten minutes to go before they reached Bastion Radon.

In the meantime, Silvana was answering Adam's questions regarding Bastion. There were many questions, some silly or insignificant, but Silvana would not refuse Adam. It was her direct duty to inform him as well as she could.

Suddenly, Adam's eyes went wide.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Silvana asked, for she didn't understand what had caused Adam such a weird reaction.

At the same moment, the fighter turned at a strange angle, allowing the winged monster to fly over them.

"Shit! What the fuck... Big-billed Toro? What's a Red Book, Blue Threat Level monster doing here?!" Lang exclaimed in confusion, "They should be in a nearby area, but we're flying right between two territories! This should be a safe road!"

Adam's gaze deepened as he stared intently at the monster, slowly turning around to launch another attack soon.

Big-billed Toro's body was covered with hundreds of yellow feathers with black tips, and its size was impressive. Considering the wingspan, Big-billed Toro was the size of a one-story house, although without the wings Big-billed Toro was much smaller, but still impressive.

Even though they were in fighter aircraft whose engines were running at full power, it was no problem for Big-billed Toro to catch up with them. In fact, it seemed that Big-billed Toro could move even faster, but there was no need to.

"Adam, what do we do? Should I try to break away or are you going to fight the monster?" Lang asked in a rush, "You have to make a decision quickly!"

"Sure. I've already made it." Adam nodded, "Do whatever is necessary so I can fight it."

Lang nodded and slowed the fighter considerably, so much that they were just hovering in the air. Then, the main gate opened, revealing a place for Adam to fight.

Had Lang not done so, the pressure from the altitude and speed would have thrown Adam outward, leaving no chance of survival. He would either crash from landing or from a Big-billed Toro attack - airspace was the best location for this monster.

Silvana glanced at Adam and stepped aside, gripping the handrail tightly with both hands. Unlike Adam, she had a hard time keeping her balance in this situation, and any shaking could get her in a lot of trouble.

"ROOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!"

Big-billed Toro roared furiously before flapping his wings, creating a powerful momentum.

Adam narrowed his eyes as he prepared himself for battle. However, no needle or silver claws appeared in his hand. It seemed he was up to something, and only Silvana could see it.

Big-billed Toro was quickly approaching the fighter, opening his beak wide, about to swallow Adam or break the fighter altogether.

Whoooooooosh.

Adam stepped forward, throwing his arm forward with a rapidly spinning Silver Swirl. Adam didn't take any chances and immediately used his Second Nexus Trait, for he needed to eliminate the threat as soon as possible.

Dozens of strands, sharp as blades, sliced through the monster's beak, leaving long cuts, but that was only the beginning, for soon, the Silver Swirl reached the monster's throat and flesh.

"RRRRRRRRRGH!!!!" Big-billed Toro let out a pitiful, screaming click for help, but it was just him and Adam here, whose attack was tearing the monster's neck apart.

Then, Adam's eyes flashed brightly when a needle appeared in his right hand in a first grip. Adam threw the needle forward, slicing off Big-billed Toro's head with a connecting thread.

Bam.

The monster's massive body rushed downward, heading straight for the ground only to crash and leave its bones there forever, at least until the scavengers arrived.

Big-billed Toro's head remained in Adam's hands.

He looked into the monster's empty eyes, turned to Silvana, and asked:

"Hey, can this monster's beak be useful? Should I keep it?"

Silvana nodded.

"Yes. Big-billed Toro's key is extremely durable, even your threads couldn't completely destroy it. We'll turn it over to the missions department when we arrive in Bastion Radon."

Adam smiled slightly.

"Alright, now I understand a little more of what Damien was talking about. Again, something happened that normally shouldn't have, and now I know it wasn't an accident. At least not always." Adam sighed, setting the monster's head aside and closing the gate.

"Well done lad, well done." Lang uttered before turning the engines back on to maximum.

As expected, ten minutes later they approached the Bastion Radon, so close that Adam could see it through the window.

"Damn... It's huge!" Adam exclaimed with eyes shining with delight, looking at the high walls and hundreds of buildings inside with thousands of streets!

Silvana smirked.

"Sure, several million people are living in Bastion Radon. Compared to the Citadel, it's not that many, but that's only in comparison. Each Bastion is large enough to function on its own in the case of a disaster. We hope it never happens, but you always have to be prepared for anything, especially the worst."

Adam nodded with a deep gaze as his eyes traveled downward.

He could see several Phantom squads fighting the monsters just like around the Citadel. Although the distance between them was great, he could see everything clearly thanks to his keen eyesight.

Unlike the Phantoms of the Citadel, these Phantoms were wearing winter clothes. Not too frumpy, because the Phantoms were not very cold, although because of the monsters and anomalies' presence, this cold acted on the Phantoms, not like in the elemental chamber in Fort Norton.

Their clothing also protected them from the wind and was necessary for the Harvesters, since they were common people, albeit with good physiques.

Their equipment and trucks were also different because they were customized for this territory - covered with high snow.

Everyone had shovels and incendiary grenades. Trucks were more like massive snowmobiles.

The snow was not dangerous, but it slowed down movement, which could be deadly when fighting monsters that felt perfect in this area. It was necessary to get rid of the snow on the way.

"This is it, right?" Adam asked, looking at the huge crystal in the center of Bastion Radon, leading down to the very bottom, even underground.