Endless Evolution: Last Star

Numerous dark spots appeared in the night sky, but unlike the sky covered with slowly floating clouds, they moved quickly, circling over one specific spot.

These were the Kirani Bugs, dozens of them, possibly soon to be hundreds.

It was almost impossible to encounter so many K4-Phantoms in one place. Something really important must have happened. But when it came to the Black Threat Monsters that were equal to the K4-Phantoms, it wasn't surprising at all.

This was a consequence of what Wilfred had said — there were millions of people and billions of monsters.

This was especially true for the insect monsters, since almost all of them not only appeared from energy but were also able to reproduce on a massive scale.

This wasn't unique to the Kirani Bugs, it happened to many monsters similar to them. But this required resources. They couldn't just get stronger and reproduce out of thin air.

That was why they eagerly awaited the moment when one Phantom, their enemy, would defeat another monster that had stolen their treasure — the Obsidian Guard.

The Obsidian Guard understood what the Kirani Bugs were waiting for, but he couldn't pay attention to them when Fromund was moving directly toward him.

The dozens of obsidian golems destroyed behind him were just warm-up exercises. The flames from his energy raged around him as he got closer with every step.

Again, this wasn't the best scenario for Fromund. Unlike Adam, his specialty wasn't fighting strong individuals, but rather destroying groups of monsters.

But the gap in their strength was too great for Fromund to worry about that.

Moreover, his flames had already become hot enough.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The first red circle of three on his spear trembled before filling with light. Then, the energy turned into a red flame ring that hovered around his spear, next to the blade, directly above Fromund's wrist.

The Obsidian Guard gripped his axe tightly with both hands, preparing to bring his great weapon down on the man who was smaller than his palm.

However, Fromund had no intention of dodging despite the huge blade moving straight toward him.

"Come on! You're almost as big as a living mountain, show me what you've got!" Fromund exclaimed as he bent his knees slightly to soften the impact.

Hot gusts of wind raced from the red-hot axe as the weapon came crashing down on Fromund.

Maintaining the arrogance they shared with Adam, Fromund raised his spear, holding it with just one hand.

Shudder. Shudder. Shudder.

A wild tremor ran through the ground, causing the lava in the rivers to spill over the banks and fall onto the remaining obsidian golems. The volcano beasts in the distance were too frightened by the falling meteors to attempt an attack.

Thump.

Fromund's feet sank into soot and ash up to his ankles, but he was able to withstand the strike. Sure, his one arm was shaking violently, and a little more and the axe would cut him in two, but that was unlikely to happen.

The Obsidian Guard's two arms were shaking as violently as Fromund's one. No matter how hard the monster tried, despite the help of gravity as he attacked from above, it still wasn't enough.

It seemed that the Obsidian Guard was too weak and that any K4-Phantom in Fromund's place could have done the same, but Adam, who was watching from a distance, knew that this was not the case.

'Hell, considering the shockwave and his mass, I don't think I could have stopped that axe with just one needle. Well, with two hands it would have been much easier, but not like Fromund did it.'

Then, Adam shrugged. He wasn't surprised.

"Come to think of it, Fromund was physically superior to me even then. I had to go through several power-ups during our fight to match him. Hah... I wouldn't stand a chance against him in an arm wrestling match."

Whooooooosh.

Fromund swung his spear, knocking the axe hanging over him aside.

The Obsidian Guard decided to act quickly. He freed one of his arms and directed the fire's power to his hand, forming a magma orb the size of a rock.

Due to his size, the Obsidian Guard not only had great strength, but also a drawback — he was slow compared to smaller enemies.

He had to do something quickly before Fromund attacked, or he would die before he could absorb the core and complete his evolution.

Fromund's eyes flashed.

"Hah, decided to act right away?"

He shrugged.

"I can't blame you for that, just as I can't let you win!"

At the same moment, Fromund aimed his spear directly at the Obsidian Guard. The red ring trembled, splitting into streams of energy that quickly flowed into his spear.

Cracks ran across the dark spear, filling Fromund with destructive power, but only for one move.

However, did he need more than that?

Whoooooooosh.

Before the Obsidian Guard's hand could come down on Fromund, his frame shook as he turned into a flash of flame.

Adam's eyes widened as he watched the scene unfold.

Like red lightning with raging fire, Fromund pierced the Obsidian Guard's chest, shattering his core into dozens of fragments.

It all happened so fast that the sound of broken crystal reached Adam's ears a little later than the shock wave.

Fromund's attack was faster than the speed of sound.

Then, Adam's eyes darted to the side, following Fromund, who appeared behind the Obsidian Guard's back. The red ring disappeared, and his spear returned to its calm state, as did the flames in his eyes.

He knew that after this, the Obsidian Guard would never rise again.

Their battle was over, and for a Phantom like Fromund, that was more bad news than good.

'He did it.' Silvana's voice suddenly rang out in Adam's head. 'Faster than I expected. What do you think?'

Tap.

Fromund's feet touched the ground as the Obsidian Guard's enormous body collapsed onto the surface, shaking the earth.

"Yeah, you're right." Adam nodded deeply.

Then, he smiled slyly.

"Although, if I had needed to, I could have done it faster."

Silvana giggled.

'Of course you are.'

The fragments of the core lay on the ground, so it was time for the Kirani Bugs to retrieve the bait and lead Adam and Fromund to their colony, to the Twilight Crystals.