Endless Evolution: Last Star

One of Adam's strongest abilities was his path, and now Ureyn felt it to the fullest extent.

His pupils trembled as he directed more energy to his wind to slow his fall. Only after a few seconds did Ureyn's feet touch the ground.

"Agh... Agh... Agh..." He was breathing heavily, the wounds on his hand felt like flames, causing heat, but all of Ureyn's mind was focused on something else.

'How?'

He clenched his teeth tighter.

'How did he do that? What the fuck was that? He just waved his needle and appeared in front of me?'

Ureyn tried to understand what kind of technique it was, and in search of answers, he glanced toward the Gray Needle members.

No one forbade fighters from receiving hints from spectators. Sure, no one had time to give detailed explanations or even say anything, but the old man with the short beard found a way to hint to Ureyn.

He pierced the air with his finger in one sharp motion.

"R-Right..." Ureyn muttered as his eyes filled with understanding.

'Because of the way he did it, I didn't even realize it was his version of the gray pierce. But... Why does his pierce look like that? No stance or complicated movements, even his needle is used in a completely different way.'

At that moment, Ureyn didn't realize it yet, but he was making a big mistake in trying to find an alternative to each of Adam's abilities in the abilities of the Forgotten Mills monsters.

Soon, this would stop working, and then Ureyn would have real problems.

Step.

Adam stepped forward, a sly smile on his face. He hadn't expected the lesser path to be so effective against Ureyn.

'Hah, I wonder what he'll do when he sees the real path? I don't think Ureyn is ready for this!'

Not wanting to lose, Ureyn took a wide step forward and swung his arm back, as the tip of his needle pointed straight at Adam.

A few seconds later, his stance was complete as he took a deep breath.

"Hmm? What is he doing?" Adam tilted his head in confusion.

"Adam, you don't even know the origin of the abilities you use. But I'll show you. Your gray pierce is no match for mine!"

Unfortunately for Ureyn, Adam didn't understand what he was talking about. Well, that was not surprising, since, unlike Ureyn, he did not train his abilities, he received them through evolution and honed them in bloody battles.

However, when the wind currents ran through Ureyn's body, enveloping the blade of his needle, something told Adam that he could no longer be careless, not now.

'That attack. Wait...' Adam's eyes widened. 'He has the path too?!'

Step.

Ureyn stepped forward as a flash ran across the blade. His frame trembled and, together with the wind, he instantly crossed the dozens of meters separating them.

Behind him was a line on the ground, a smooth cut, as deadly and precise as his gray pierce, one of the techniques every monster of the Gray Needle learned.

If the main strength of the White Thread was their threads and how they could skillfully manipulate them for control, attacks, and creating guards, and for the Black Cut, it was destructive cleaves, then for the Gray Needle, besides the needles themselves, there were the piercing attacks.

Ureyn used one of these techniques right now, and he was sure that against Adam, it would be the best solution.

"What you showed Adam earlier... It's just a mockery of the gray pierce. You just carelessly waved your needle, creating a cut in the air. Damn, you're just using all our abilities one by one, but you haven't grasped the depth of any of them!" Ureyn exclaimed as he moved towards Adam.

Despite Ureyn's fiery call, Adam wasn't going to stand and wait for Ureyn to pierce him.

In response, he did the same thing he did last time—he waved his needle, wanting to see whose path was stronger.

Whoooooooosh.

In the blink of an eye, two flashes, gray and white, collided, momentarily blinding the wind plain.

The spectators held their breath, most of the Gray Needle and White Thread hoping that Ureyn would show what their abilities were truly capable of and defeat this Phantom who did not value them properly.

SLASH!

A splash of blood gushed from Adam's left shoulder where the tip of Ureyn's needle had reached. His path, accompanied by the free wind, was able to surpass Adam's.

Adam's energy was not enough to hold back Ureyn.

"That's not all!" Ureyn roared as his hand turned into a blurry spot, delivering multiple piercing attacks on Adam.

Several bloody spots appeared on Adam's chest as Ureyn stepped forward and plunged his palm into Adam's stomach, throwing him aside, closer to the barrier.

Finishing his attack, Ureyn took a deep breath and swung his needle.

Nollura gulped as she looked at Adam, who hadn't moved for several seconds.

"Mr. Norax, is this really the end of the fig..." She turned to ask, but froze mid-sentence.

A shadow hid Norax's silhouette, leaving only his bright purple eyes and shining smirk visible, showing that he didn't think it was the end at all, unlike some fools.

Clutch.

Adam's fingers dug into the ground, slowly clenching into a fist so he could get to his feet.

"Agh... That hurt..." Adam sighed, blood streaming down his shoulder and chest. If it weren't for his strong body, Ureyn's attacks would have pierced him through, and he would already be dead.

Crunch.

He cracked his neck and then his knuckles.

"But, is that all?"

Ureyn's eyes widened in indignation.

"What do you mean, is that all? You almost died! You don't even know how to use the gray pierce properly! Your attack was just a knockoff!"

"Hmm? Knockoff?" Adam raised an eyebrow. "It can't be a knockoff because I don't copy anyone, unlike you. The gray pierce? Pffft, I don't need to know anything about it to use this attack because it's my ability!"

He summoned the second needle as a smirk appeared on Ureyn's face.

"I'm telling you, it won't help you."

But... when Adam summoned the first needle and joined the two needles together, Ureyn's face paled.

Adam smirked.

"Let's test it out. Which one of us is the original and which one is the knockoff?"