Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 2080: Fight for Yourself

“Is that true?” Silvana asked, looking at the strange girl. “Do you know how we can survive?”

In response, Layra nodded several times.

“Tsk.” Karos clicked his tongue.

Before Layra could say anything, Karos grabbed her by the wrist and flung her over his shoulder.

Layra’s eyes widened as she saw the table approaching her. A little more and she would crash right into it.

In one fluid motion, Layra flipped through the air and landed neatly on a bottle of champagne, maintaining her balance with ease.

“Oops!” Then, she hopped down and floated over to the table. She was too lazy to pull out a chair for herself as Karos had done.

“Yes. I have a few ideas, though, Karos knows about them, too.”

“Hmm?” Louis raised an eyebrow. “He just said that the Second-Rank Phantoms haven’t reached a consensus yet.”

Layra rested her chin on her hand and nodded.

“Yeah, but there are a few options on the table. In the end, we’ll have to choose one of them.”

Karos narrowed his eyes.

“As I said earlier, none of them are effective enough. These are all just assumptions. I’m willing to be honest with you, but I don’t want to give you false hope.”

“Huh!” Layra chuckled and stuck out her tongue. “In that case, I’ll do it myself. If they die, they won’t even be able to complain that I tricked them! Hahaha, I’m a genius!”

Arayna gripped the edge of the table tighter. She tensed up.

‘How…? How can this person be the head of the Hurxo Family? She’s acting as if she wouldn’t even be able to handle a K2-level mission because of her carelessness!’

Arayna waved her hand, holding up two fingers.

“There are two main options. First: We’ll send our Stars, especially those who manage to reach the Second Circle, to the Primal Lands, the Tarnished Lands, and the Hollow Lands, under the protection of the strongest monsters there.”

For a moment, silence hung in the air as they exchanged glances, but gradually their bewildered expressions gave way to thoughtful ones.

“Wait…” Silvana stammered. “That makes sense. The problem with staying at the Citadel isn’t just that the Lords are much stronger than Second-Rank Phantoms, but that all the Stars will be in one place.”

Arayna nodded. She understood Silvana’s line of thinking.

“If the Stars and their Operators are spread out across the world, then the Befallen Crown won’t be able to kill them all in a single attack! They’ll have to divide their strength among three lands, instead of attacking the Citadel alone!”

Layra nodded and immediately let out a heavy sigh.

“Yeah, in theory it sounds good, but we still have to negotiate with the monsters of those lands. We don’t know how many of them will agree to help us or how many Stars we’ll be able to send.”

Karos crossed his arms over his chest.

“Indeed. Also, we mustn’t forget that they’re monsters. Even if we make a deal, some of them might betray us or decide in the middle of battle that it’s not worth it. Basically, you’ll be entrusting your lives to them, and you’ll have no guarantees that they’ll honor their part of the bargain.”

Louis tapped his cheekbone thoughtfully.

“Also, this won’t be free. Sure, someone like the Renegades’ leader might be able to protect a few Stars even from the Befallen Crown’s True Lords, but the price will be steep, and every monster will have its own conditions that we’ll be obligated to meet, and we won’t get any guarantees from them.”

Click.

Karos snapped his fingers.

“Smart guy, at least someone at this table realizes this is a bad option. That’s exactly why I didn’t bring it up. We’re unlikely to agree to this.”

Silvana blinked as she turned to Karos.

“But, in that case, what other option is left?”

Everyone looked at Layra, who was still holding up two fingers.

Layra grinned widely.

“You have to get strong enough to give them a fight, guys!”

Adam and the others wanted to slap their foreheads when they heard that.

“Damn it!” Alexia jumped up abruptly from her seat. “How is that even a plan? If we could fight the True Lords on equal footing, we wouldn’t have these problems in the first place!”

However, Layra’s optimism hadn’t gone anywhere.

“Exactly. That’s exactly why you have to fight. Karos knows what happened last time.”

Karos sighed heavily as he touched his temples.

“Yeah. The Stars hid at the Citadel, but there were too many Befallen Crown Lords. They broke through our defenses, found where the Stars were hiding, and killed them. No one could help them, because the other Lords were holding us back. In the end, none of the Second Rank Phantoms died, except for the Stars.”

Adam clenched his jaw.

“I’m sure they lost a lot of powerful monsters back then, but considering they achieved their goal, they won, and we lost.”

Making no attempt to hide it, Karos waved his hand.

“Yes. We weren’t able to save a single Second Rank Phantom. Right now, Kogen Noukx is our first Second Rank Phantom since the last World Wipe, and it’s unclear whether he’ll survive until the next one.”

Step. Step. Step.

Footsteps echoed from the side as another guest joined the Radiant Branch. It was a man with broad shoulders and sharp features, yet an attractive face.

From the main entrance, he made his way toward their table.

He wore an intricate outfit made of white and crimson fabric, along with black leather plates covering his arms. Several gold cords connected his lapel to his waist, while his footsteps grew louder with each confident stride.

The man had dark-blue hair and eyes of the same color. In some ways, he resembled Louis, whose eyes and hair were the same color, but they had different shades.

This slight difference was enough to realize that standing before them was a member of the Lorenzo Family, one of the Twelve Branches.

Karso and Layra turned toward him.

Karso simply nodded, while Layra waved her hands energetically.

“Cas! Cas! We’re here! Here!”

The man chuckled briefly.

“Oh, I know. I see you, Layra, and I’m interested in your conversation.”

The man leaned forward as his gaze settled on Adam.

“Tell me, young Phantoms. Are you ready for war against the Befallen Crown? Not for the sake of humanity or the Citadel, but for the sake of your own lives?”