Endless Evolution: Last Star

Plague Reaper, the dozens of surviving monsters, Adam, and Osana all watched as a multitude of red colors glowed brightly in an instant.

The flashes covered everything inside the ring of flames, blocking the numerous inky streams and black air that became so thick that it impaired visibility.

Then, energy came out of the flowers, followed by deafening explosions, clots of red fire spreading in all directions, burning everything in its path.

The black air, ink streams, vines, and jaw-flowers were simply powerless in the face of such force. In fact, though Plague Reaper tried to hide it, the ink streams were quite vulnerable to any energy damage, especially fire, which could quickly spread and reach any, even the farthest point.

A crimson shade fell on their faces while the black clots burned away, without any chance of survival.

Katrin could use her Second Order twice in a row if necessary, but not after such a powerful performance. Her flowers as well as her roots burned with the fire, it was one mighty, massive attack aimed at destroying numerous smaller targets.

The pillars of flame from the explosion of the flowers rose higher than Fume Cathedral, illuminating everything around them and reflecting in the distant purple streams of flame from the anomalies.

Despite this, Katrin's ability didn't do any serious damage to any of the monsters, much less injure Plague Reaper. He was in the epicenter of the explosion, yes, but all he had to do was cover himself from the wave of fire with his sturdy coat.

"Hah, looks like I managed to piss you off, you bastard who ruined all my plans..." Katrin muttered with a tired look, staring intently at Plague Reaper.

Plague Reaper's eyes had lost their usual coldness and calmness. He looked at Katrin as if he wanted to burn her with his irritated gaze.

Plague Reaper realized that except for Adam, there was no worthy opponent for him here. With his ability, he was going to kill all the monsters and turn this place into his personal battlefield, where he could attack in countless ways from different directions.

However, Katrin destroyed all of his plans. Sure, she had spent all her energy on this, she had just enough energy left to stand up straight and not pass out due to too much fatigue.

"Well, it's not my problem anymore. I've already done everything in my power." Katrin muttered before walking over to the rubble of the Fume Cathedral and leaning against it, slowly sliding down to the ground.

Step. Step. Step.

At the same time, Adam stepped out of the Fume Cathedral, striding confidently forward.

Thanks to a short break and the effects of Katrin's pollen, it was as if he had gone through a reboot.

When he fought against Plague Reaper, before Katrin had tossed him aside with her root, he felt as if his body could explode at any moment.

All his muscles were on edge, his Evolution Tree was ready to burst at the seams, trying to match the strength and pace of his actions. But, it was completely different now.

Adam hadn't gotten stronger, but his strength hadn't diminished either. He retained his former state, the sign of which was the needle in his right hand and the silver claws in his left hand.

"So... the time for the final battle has finally arrived?" Katrin glanced at Adam standing in front of her, a bitter smile appearing on her face.

"Yeah... Looks like it. We spent everything we had. Osana has practically nothing left, you... well, you've done even more than anyone expected. It's a wonder you haven't passed out yet from creating such a powerful explosion." Adam said with genuine surprise.

Katrin shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hah, just imagine what I would be capable of if I had a powerful Initial Gene like you or Alexia. I'd defeat Plague Reaper single-handedly and then knock you out for the bonus."

Adam chuckled, walking forward.

"Well, maybe, but for now let me do all the work."

Katrin nodded silently before lifting her gaze towards the sky. She wanted to look up at the stars to calm down a bit, to gather her thoughts, but instead, her gaze was caught by something else.

At the edge of the Fume Cathedral, at the top of the cover, something out of the ordinary caught her eye. Instead of looking up at the night sky, she stared at the calm streams of flame covering some large, rounded object.

Katrin's eyes went wide, one glance was enough for her to realize what, or rather who it was.

'Bastard... You were afraid at first, but now you've decided to give in to your greed? Hehehehe... Your greed will ruin you! Fuck! I'll do it with my own hands, you'll see!'

On the roof of the Fume Cathedral, Scarlet Pyromancer was secretly sitting. Previously, he had only pretended to hurriedly escape from the Fume Cathedral as soon as he had the opportunity.

In practice, however, things happened differently. Scarlet Pyromancer returned to Fume Cathedral, watching from afar.

He was a Top-8 monster of the Purple Threat Level, and he was an Essence Type, so he was well aware of how valuable the energy lurking within Midnight Crystal was.

True, Scarlet Pyromancer could escape from here so far away that no one else would bother him. He could return to the Black Cinder Forest, once again becoming the king of this familiar territory.

But...

Monsters, like humans, have always wanted more.

Why would Scarlet Pyromancer return to Black Cinder Forest and run away in shame when he had the opportunity to obtain energy from Midnight Crystal? It would instantly start his evolution, elevating him to the Yellow Threat Level.

Perhaps it was blind greed, but for Scarlet Pyromancer, this was a unique opportunity to become stronger that he wasn't going to lose.

Unlike everyone else in the Ring of Flames, Scarlet Pyromancer was completely safe. No one except Katrin had noticed him yet.

Moreover, the monsters were distracted by Plague Reaper, the latter in turn being distracted by Adam and Katrin. Scarlet Pyromancer was just a shadow who was going to wait as long as it took to absorb Midnight Crystal.

Unfortunately for him and all the other monsters, it wasn't a quick process. It would take someone like Plague Reaper or Scarlet Pyromancer less than a minute to absorb the energy.

Sure, it seemed like a small amount of time, but on the battlefield, practically a full minute of inactivity was like signing one's death warrant.

Only after Plague Reaper would have killed all the monsters and Phantoms would he be able to start absorbing energy from Midnight Crystal. After a minute, his evolution would have already begun, during which his power would increase every second until he progressed to the next level.

Thus, there were only two options on how the monster or Phantom could absorb Midnight Crystal.

They had to either agree to split the Midnight Crystal between them, or simply kill everyone but themselves alone. Obviously, the Phantoms more often chose the first option, while the monster almost always chose to get rid of all competitors.

...

Whooooooooooooosh.

At the same time, a fighter flying at tremendous speed approached Fallen Crypt. In the distance, Nessa saw a threatening cloud completely composed of black air.

"Don't worry. It's time to show what my development can do." Refesa said with confidence.