Endless Evolution: Last Star

The tension rose quickly, while the four auras calmed down until they completely disappeared. There was no need for the auras yet, which meant... it was time for something more substantial than intangible power!

Adam and Edir stepped forward simultaneously, using their First Orders.

Silver threads covered Adam's right hand, turning into a needle and gauntlet, he used a second grip.

Whooooooosh.

Blue and cold as ancient ice flames covered Edir's palms, particles passing before his emerald eyes.

As they had planned, Adam and Edir would be in the vanguard and the only attackers. Sure, Kayla could fight, but only using her physical power - fists or kicks, her abilities had other purposes.

Crackle.

Kayla clenched her hand tightly into a fist as her eyes shone brightly with green light - she was using her Second Order.

Spiky vines came out of her fist, leaving scratches on her palms and causing scarlet trickles of blood to gush out that would soon reach the ground in a hail of droplets.

Despite that, it wasn't all the pain Kayla had to go through. Not to forget that K1-Phantom's skin couldn't even be pierced by an extremely sharp knife, and the spikes could deal with it easily.

Crackle.

Kayla clenched her fist tightly, shattering the root and wounding her palm, only for something to appear on Adam and Edir's chest - on the right side, where the heart was.

'Not bad, not bad at all. Kayla didn't say it would be that painful for her, but it's for the best. She's determined to win.' Adam smirked inwardly at the unusual flower of three green petals.

Whoooooooosh.

Before he could realize anything, the petals had twisted and thrust their sharp tips into his chest, piercing through his skin.

'Oh, she didn't warn me about that.' Adam frowned slightly, though, the pain wasn't too vivid, more like the prick of a thick needle.

Then, a pulse went through the petals that covered his entire body, then another and another, filling Adam's body with new power.

He felt himself become a little lighter as well as stronger. All in all, his physical parameters went one level higher.

"Not bad, right?" Edir smirked, tightening his fist as he glanced at Adam.

Adam nodded.

"Yeah..." Adam muttered, remembering Katrin. She had a somewhat similar ability, but Kayla's one far surpassed it.

"Hey, are you done?" Prago asked calmly, with an arrogant look.

Whoooooooosh.

He swung his halberd, resting the weapon on his shoulder, looking arrogantly at Adam and Edir. Prago didn't care if it made a difference, he didn't see the K1-Phantoms as equal opponents.

However... though he tried to hide it, Kayla noticed that Prago was shocked when his aura failed to advance any further. That had either never happened before or was an exceptionally rare event.

"Sure, sorry for the delay." Adam replied as he slowly stepped forward.

As soon as his foot touched the ground, electric shocks went through his legs, and he rushed forward, along with Edir, who acted simultaneously.

Since Edir had fought Prago before, he told Adam and Kayla everything he knew about their future enemy.

The halberd was a worthy weapon - its functionality was particularly impressive. Prago could slash, stab, defend, parry, and still maintain a good distance from his opponent.

However, the halberd had two serious disadvantages: speed and the fact that it was a two-handed weapon. Sure, Prago could hold the halberd with one hand if he wanted to, but that would inevitably result in a loss of grip strength and balance.

Thus, Adam and Edir attacked from different directions. Adam was slightly ahead, clutching his needle tightly.

Bam.

Adam brought his needle down on Prago with all his speed and strength.

Until the last moment, Prago stood still until he came in motion, swinging his halberd from bottom to top.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

A cascade of sparks was followed by a violent shiver that traveled down Adam's arm and then engulfed his entire body.

Though Adam had created the Aura Seal and learned to use The Will, his physical stats hadn't changed much since their first encounter, and neither had his abilities.

Prago had surpassed him before, now that he was fighting his Nexus, the difference was even more significant.

"Is that really all you're capable of?" Prago asked in a majestic voice, while Adam's hands shook, trying to resist the pressure from Prago. However, though Prago was acting arrogant, he couldn't afford to use only one hand and held the halberd firmly with two.

Prago narrowed his eyes, freeing his hand for a few seconds. Then, his eyes shone brightly, and a round disk of water appeared in front of his palm, it vibrated and flew into Adam, exploding with a powerful splash.

"Agh!" Adam's mouth fell open at the painful impulse, while the water tore at his clothes.

The impact, threw him back a few meters, knocking him off the ground and sending him into flight.

Whooooooooooosh.

Edir's fist approached Prago's face, coating his cheeks with a thin layer of ice.

Prago jerked his head back sharply, letting Edir's fist pass in front of his face.

From the movement of his eyes, it was obvious that he saw it first, then dodged, he was just being very fast rather than using experience or honed instincts like someone of Tron's level would.

Edir snorted but didn't stop. With his other hand, he stood on the ground and abruptly kicked Prago right in the stomach with a sharp turn.

"Too slow!" Prago shouted before quickly grabbing Edir's leg just before it was about to sink into his stomach.

Then Prago easily lifted Edir and slammed him to the ground with all his might.

"Argh!!!" Edir cried out in pain as clots of blood gushed from his mouth, and his eyes opened wide with trembling pupils.

"Get out of here, trash!" Prago roared, kicking Edir in the stomach and throwing him to the other end of the arena.

Someone in the prisoner spectators shook his head with a heavy sigh.

"Well... The difference in strength is too great. It's not easy to overcome the damage difference with just teamwork and decent combat experience. It takes something more than that." The prisoners muttered, clearly frustrated that Prago would go undefeated again.

"Wait... Something's not right." The other prisoner uttered, looking intently at Adam.

Step. Step. Step.

Adam calmly stepped forward with a confident smirk on his face. It looked like he hadn't just been attacked, but had done some serious damage to Prago. Obviously, that was not true.

Bur... His smile wasn't insane. It had a clear reason.

Prago frowned, staring intently at Adam's blood.

Adam's torso was slightly damaged from Prago's attack since it was his First Order. Blood was flowing out of the few remaining wounds from the water blast, but, the trickles were not going downward, but straight toward the three-petal flower on Adam's chest.

That was no coincidence, for the blood was literally flowing upwards, not downwards. The same thing was happening to Edir, the blood coming out of the corners of his mouth, quickly heading towards the green flower, actively soaking into it.

Then, one of the three petals turned red, saturated with blood. It trembled slightly and let out a scarlet ripple that traveled through Adam's body, bringing new strength.

Adam clenched his fist and smiled contentedly.

"Level up, just like in the game, isn't it?" Adam cast a glance at Edir.

Edir chuckled evilly.

"Yeah, you're right."

Then, Edir turned to Kayla, "Hey, if you had told me about your powers the first time we met, I would have fallen at your feet!"

Kayla's face rapidly reddened, realizing in what context he was saying it, but she couldn't let that distract her, so she quickly shook her head and returned with a serious face.

"Bastards... So you did it on purpose?" Prago frowned, clutching his halberd tightly, then smirked deviously, "However, it doesn't matter. Even if you're able to become stronger with her ability, the wounds you receive will outweigh the benefits of the enhancement!" Prago waved his hand irritably.

Adam and Edir glanced at each other, then Adam looked at Kayla. She nodded with a serious look, and her eyes shone brightly, using her First Order.

A light, green energy covered her palms before she stepped forward and swung them as if about to unleash air blades. However, such attacking abilities were not in Kayla's arsenal.

Instead of blades, out of the energy wisps appeared many small green leaves with tiny sparks on them like pollen.

The leaves flew in front of Adam and Edir, left sparks on them, and disappeared into the void. The sparks soaked into Adam and Edir's bodies, greatly accelerating their regeneration or immediately healing minor wounds.

Prago's eyes went wide when he realized what kind of game Adam and Edir were going to play with him.

Even though he was a K2-Phantom, his stamina and energy were not infinite.

Prago realized that if Adam and Edir kept getting stronger when they were injured, and Kayla kept healing them to get rid of the negative effects, sooner or later he would lose in a battle of attrition.

In that case, Prago had only two options: either defeat Adam or Edir with one powerful attack, but... Prago had one more option - he had to get rid of the root of the problem! Find joy at m,v,l,e,mpy,r.

Whooooooooooooosh.

Prago sprinted forward, heading straight for Kayla. If he dealt with her, Adam and Edir would lose quickly!

"Keep your filthy hands off her!"

Adam and Edir exclaimed at the same time, simultaneously bringing their feet down on Prago's face.

The stream of blood rushing from Prago's nose reflected Adam and Edir's exited smiles with the evident flames of battle in their eyes.