Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1833: Last Battle of Her Life (Part 2)

Adam fully understood that he was now fighting not against Lakma, but against her energy, which was trying to protect the inner space.

The actual Lakma was dead. Her heart and mind had long since left this world. Only her incredible level of power and her will to survive in the face of death had allowed her energy to remain in this world, but only in the form of a crystal beneath the iron tree.

Still, even that didn’t mean she would remain in that crystal forever. Sooner or later, her energy would run out, but even if she had enough energy to last five hundred or a thousand years, it wouldn’t matter anyway.

With the next World Wipe, which would happen in just six years, her story would come to an end in any case.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

The black needle and flaming rapier clashed time and again, shaking the inner space.

Now, Adam realized what he had to do: he had to defeat Lakma and take the Glass Root. As soon as that happened, the inner space would collapse, and everything else along with it.

But… Adam had underestimated her.

Step.

Lakma stepped forward as her palm, in a flaming flash, slammed into Adam’s chest.

“H-HOW?!”

A wild heat surged through his torso as the energy pulse coursed through Lakma’s arm.

The fire blast sent Adam flying, causing him to spin as if he’d been fired from a cannon.

For Lakma, that wasn’t enough.

Whoooooosh!

She leaped through the darkness, quickly catching up to Adam in a few jumps before raising her right leg high.

Adam’s pupils narrowed as Lakma’s leg, like a blazing halberd, came crashing down on him, slicing through the empty darkness.

“Damn it!”

At the last moment, Adam crossed his arms in front of him, blocking her strike.

The impact sent Adam tumbling downward, the flaming trail following him through the darkness.

Adam tried to regain his balance, but Lakma possessed a speed he couldn’t get used to.

‘No, something’s not right here…’ Adam clenched his teeth as Lakma’s fist slammed into his block.

Then, her body jerked as she appeared on the other side, launching a fire blade at him.

Whoooooosh!

Adam dodged and blocked her attacks, barely keeping up with Lakma’s pace, and every time her rapier clashed with his needle, he felt a dull pain shoot through his hand.

This didn’t usually happen. It meant that Lakma was not only faster but also stronger than he was, which came as a shock.

BAM!

Lakma’s next punch sent Adam flying to the side as she dashed forward with a precise thrust.

“Nope!” Adam leaped backward as the flaming blade whizzed past his eyes.

For the first time since the fight began, he managed to create some distance. He needed it, as a flood of thoughts rushed through his head.

‘So that’s why those four lost. She simply killed them because they turned out to be weaker. That elemental with the crown said I was the strongest among them, but… Lakma is stronger.’

Like anyone else, Adam didn’t want to admit that someone was better or stronger than him. But he understood that sometimes it was inevitable.

‘Could she really be a Second-Rank Phantom?’

Adam thought, but soon he shook his head.

‘No. In that case, her crystal and iron tree would be significantly larger. Maybe not as big as Queen Elisa’s, but larger than the current ones. And… her energy alone would be enough to snap me in half.’

Adam had recently learned that he was strong enough to fight a Baron and had a decent chance of winning.

But Adam had no illusions about the Second-Rank Phantoms. He understood that they were opponents on a whole different level. Even the weakest Second-Rank Phantom was stronger than any Baron or Viscount.

‘If she wasn’t a Second-Rank Phantom, then she must have been a K4-Phantom at the Second Circle Barrier, right? She was just one step away from advancing to the next circle, but… she couldn’t do it.’

Adam nodded deeply as his attention returned to the battle. He stared at Lakma.

‘Yeah, that sounds more like the truth. She’s strong, but not strong enough to defeat me with a single punch. Moreover…’

His eyes narrowed as he watched the rare fragments drifting away from her body and vanishing into the void.

“She’s expending a lot of energy in this fight. Most likely, if she defeats me, she’ll absorb my energy and recover, just like she did the last four times, but… what if our fight goes on much longer?”

A slight smirk formed on Adam’s face as he assumed a defensive stance.

“Alright, I’m ready to continue. Show me what you’re capable of!”

Normally, Adam didn’t resort to such tactics. If he could defeat an opponent, he fought one-on-one. If the opponent were too strong, Adam would run away to save his life.

But this was a unique situation. Lakma was stronger than him. Adam had already realized that even with all his trump cards, he was unlikely to defeat her, but she could only sustain that power for a limited amount of time.

“I know I don’t stand a chance in your inner space, but how long can you keep fighting? This is a battle of attrition!” Adam exclaimed, goading Lakma.

Strangely enough, his plan worked.

“Y-You…” Her hoarse voice rang out as she aimed her rapier at him. “You’ll die… I don’t want to do this… but… I have no other choice… I don’t want to disappear…”

Adam smiled understandingly.

“I know. No one wants to die. But you wouldn’t exist without Lakma. You must follow her.”

Lakma’s grip on the hilt tightened.

“N-No… It’s not over yet…”

At that very moment, a multitude of fire gates appeared behind her. The frames were engulfed in bright flames as luminous orbs hovered inside.

Adam stepped forward as a gleam flashed across his eyes.

“If I could save Lakma, I would. Honestly. But I can’t bring the dead back to life, no one can.”

At Lakma’s command, the fire gates shuddered as a multitude of blazing orbs in projectiles rained down on Adam like flaming hail.

Thus began a battle of attrition where there could be only one victor.

Adam did not doubt that it would be him, yet sadness was visible deep in his eyes.

It was a sad end for the once-great Phantom.