Endless Evolution: Last Star

Adam stood aside by one of the stone torches while Dayra approached the gates.

She shuddered slightly as she remembered Adam's cold gaze, which seemed enough to make her agree to give up her life. Her defeat and Kolos's death had made a big impression on her.

Now, she saw Adam not just as a Phantom, but as an invincible enemy.

She knew that the Free End had the best relationship with the Citadel out of all the factions. There were reasons for this that even Adam didn't know about, and Dayra didn't have access to the details, only the general situation.

"Ready?" Dayra asked as two seals hovered in front of her.

Adam nodded as he approached her.

"Sure. Enough wasting time. I feel a powerful aura deep underground. We still have to get to Lyrod and go through many levels to his hideout, don't we?"

Dayra nodded. "Yes, the crypt is a complex structure. The First Star always creates or moves such places during the dark dream."

Whooooosh.

With a wave of her hand, the two seals headed for the gates, settling into their sockets.

Streams of green flame ran across the iron slabs, setting them in motion.

As soon as the gates opened, at the first crack, Dayra stepped forward, preparing to enter the crypt, but something made Adam wary.

Without warning, Adam grabbed Dayra by the shoulder and jumped aside as fast as he could.

Stunned, Dayra turned to yell at Adam, but instead her face froze in horror.

A massive shadow swept past Adam as the toothy jaws of the green lizard monster snapped shut, tearing apart only streams of air instead of Dayra.

Tap.

Adam and Dayra found themselves next to the stone torches, the flames falling on their serious faces.

At the same time, the green lizard licked its crooked teeth, slowly turning its head toward them.

Lines of thick acid ran across its great frame, showing that its body had long since become accustomed to the conditions of these lands and had learned to use acid as a weapon.

"GROOOO!!!"

The green lizard roared as a multitude of acid clots flew toward Adam, leaving bright lines behind.

In a heartbeat, Adam and Dayra jumped aside. In two shadows, they disappeared from one spot to appear in another.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The acid clumps crashed to the ground, leaving craters with molten stones, not from the heat but from their corrosive qualities.

If one of the blobs had hit Adam or Dayra directly, it would hardly have killed them, but they would have been seriously injured.

In the end, Adam and Dayra stopped at the top of the hill, watching the raging lizard from above.

"I understand that there are no more Elders or Awakened Monsters at the crypt, right?" Adam asked, remaining calm despite the sudden attack.

Dayra nodded.

"Yes. The only one who could have sent this lizard to the gates was Lyrod. It seems he understood everything that was happening above from the auras."

In agreement, Adam shrugged.

"It's not surprising, in a way. I didn't kill you, even though we fought, but as soon as we encountered Kolos, his aura quickly disappeared. If I were in Lyrod's place, I would have taken care of my safety too."

Then, Adam pointed to the green lizard that was preparing for its next attack. Its thick tail rose high, accumulating acid in the orb at its tip, which grew larger with each passing second.

"Are there many of these creatures in the crypt below? That one is not only large, but also appears to be quite powerful."

"No. Just a few, and this one is probably the strongest of them all. Most likely, Lyrod hoped that with a surprise attack, the lizard would be able to kill one of us."

Adam scratched the back of his head.

He was experienced enough to understand that dealing with this lizard would not be easy. Its protective scales were dense and heavy. Even if Adam could break through the lizard's defense, one attack would not be enough to take down such a giant.

"In that case, help me."

"Agh? I thought you were one of those who don't accept help and only want to fight 1 vs. 1," Dayra replied with a mocking smirk.

Adam waved his hand.

"When it's someone important and worthy, yes, but this lizard will just take up a lot of our time and energy. However, if you can hold it in place, that will be enough for me."

Suddenly, Dayra's face became serious as she nodded deeply.

"Sure, you can count on me. Even such a large lizard won't be able to break my roots too quickly."

"Good."

Then, the acid orb burst out, releasing a bright yellow beam in their direction that was supposed to destroy the top of the hill along with them.

But Adam and Dayra were no longer there.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Dayra's aura grew stronger as she summoned massive roots from the ground that quickly twisted around the lizard's paws.

"RGOOOO!!!"

The lizard roared, pounding its paws on the ground to break the roots. Dayra frowned, putting more strength into it, but so far she was able to hold him back.

Step. Step. Step.

At the same time, Adam ran up from the other side, staring intently at the lizard's head. As he said, he didn't want to waste a lot of energy on such an opponent, let alone his trump cards.

"If Dayra keeps him in place, all I need to do is land one precise blow to his weak spot. Well, it'll be a bit gross, but I don't really want to take any chances.'

With these thoughts, Adam's frame trembled as the first needle appeared in his hand. A glint ran across the broad blade that was ready to pierce any gap in the lizard's defense.

In this case, Adam didn't need to try to stab in the gap between the scales or rip open the lizard's belly.

No, he had a better way when he knew that his opponent couldn't even move its head.

Crack.

The needle pierced the lizard's right eye with an extra push, going deep into the monster's head until the tip of the needle came out the other side of its skull.

No matter how big the lizard was, it only had one brain.