Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1713 1713: Invite Him (Part 1)

Narha and Batar weren't the only unranked monsters powerful enough to participate in the Grim Court and defeat most of the Fangs.

Right now, due to the announcement that Adam was awaiting his opponent at the Grim Court, numerous clashes were taking place throughout the Hollow Lands.

Sure, compared to the total number of Elders and Black Threat Level monsters, there weren't very many fighters as strong as Batar and Narha, but still, they weren't the only ones.

As Kaerno said, these unranked monsters fell into several categories, since they had different reasons for not having received their rank yet. In his opinion, one of the categories surpassed the others.

Only the most arrogant, self-assured bastards could show everything the monsters in the Hollow Lands were capable of against a Phantom just like them who had come to them from the Citadel.

One of these monsters opened its eyes now, hanging from a heavy chain.

"Hehehe."

The girl with long brown hair and amber eyes giggled, sensing the tremor of two auras in the distance.

Whooooosh!

She jumped off the chain and, in high spirits, hopped toward the staircase running along the wall, straight to a simple door.

The door opened as the girl stepped outside, glancing around the empty hallway. It had always been like this here, at the top of this pillar.

"Hey." A deep, gruff voice came from the side, causing the girl to turn around.

A middle-aged woman stood in the shadows, leaning against the wall. She wore a short white robe that ended as abruptly as her short hair.

"The boss asked me to make sure you know everything. Have you heard the latest news?"

The girl touched her lips as she tilted her head.

"Adam Vinter has arrived in our lands, and given the activity of the auras around here, something important must have just happened, right?" she suggested.

The woman nodded deeply, folding her arms across her chest.

"Kelya, Adam Vinter will be participating in the Grim Court. Master Kaerno announced it. As far as we know, right now, Adam Vinter is at the Bone Lakes, recovering and preparing for battle."

Kelya blinked a few times.

"Did Master Kaerno stay with him?"

The woman nodded deeply.

"Correct."

Immediately, Kelya puffed out her cheeks with a displeased expression.

"Tsk. So I won't be able to go down there and ambush him in advance. Damn it."

The woman glanced at her.

"What do you plan to do next? The boss thinks you won't pass up such an opportunity, even though you said before that the Grim Court up to Lord Level is just a waste of time. Is that so?"

Kelya smirked. "Well, if it were some unranked monster like me, I wouldn't even leave my room, but… since it's Adam Vinter himself, I just can't pass up this event."

"Hmm? Do you really want to defeat him that badly?"

Kelya took a few steps forward, bobbing her head to the beat.

"Not exactly. I can't let anyone else take my victory over him. Even though you told me the news, it seems you still don't understand what it really means, do you?"

The woman was speechless. She couldn't remember the last time Kelya had acted this way.

'She… Is she serious? But what exactly is she talking about?'

Click.

Kelya snapped her fingers as she appeared right in front of the woman.

"We don't consider the Fang rank to be anything special or worthy of our attention. Otherwise, we would have fought at the Grim Court long ago and earned that rank for ourselves. After all, it's no secret that we're stronger than most Fangs."

The woman narrowed her eyes.

"And? How is defeating Adam Vinter any different from becoming a Fang through other, traditional means?"

In an instant, Kelya's calm expression shattered as a mad gleam appeared in her amber eyes, accompanied by a smile full of delight.

"In every way. Hardly any of us will reach the Lord Level before the next World Wipe, and the same goes for the Phantoms here. Most likely, the battle against Adam Vinter is the only one awaiting us, so the stakes are clear."

She licked her lips, anticipating a packed arena and a bloody battle.

"Whoever defeats Adam Vinter will become the strongest among us. The winner's ideology will become the dominant and supreme one."

The woman shuddered. She held a higher position at that pillar, subject to their Finger, but every time she saw Kelya in such a state, a chill ran down her spine.

"I see. This is a one-time opportunity: either you defeat Adam Vinter, or you'll lose this chance forever. There's simply no other choice."

"Exactly!" Kelya exclaimed joyfully. "You've finally understood!"

Whoooosh!

Kelya spun around sharply as her expression changed again, becoming cold and grim, full of malice and cruelty.

"Tsk." She began biting her nails with a terrifying grimace. "But, as long as there are others who think they're worthy of facing Adam Vinter, I might not be the only one vying for that spot!"

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Kelya's aura trembled as amber lightning burst from her body, taking the form of majestic wings.

In a heartbeat, she flew out of the blade pillar, heading east.

Batar and Narha were on the opposite side.

Kelya sensed their auras first because they were among the strongest monsters Kelya knew, but now her target was the other, weaker, unranked monsters that might hinder her when the time came to begin the Grim Court.

She had to get rid of the weaklings first. Though their auras weren't as bright as Batar and Narha's, she could clearly see each of them - all her rivals.

The woman watching this scene from the sidelines could only shake her head.

"Agh. I don't know what Kaerno has in mind, but I hope Kelya is the worst thing that happens at today's Grim Court. He… He shouldn't go any further."

She cast one last glance at the amber flash in the distance and headed to her room. Her work here was done, and something similar was now happening at many pillars where there was at least one unranked monster.