Endless Evolution: Last Star

Step. Step. Step.

Edir, with Kayla's hand on his shoulder, slowly stepped forward. His body was covered with numerous wounds, and his blood seemed to have drained so much that he shouldn't have a drop left.

However, there was a bright fire in his eyes and a satisfied smirk on his face. Kayla was in a similar situation, only she was even more exhausted.

"Not a bad fight, right?" Edir smiled, walking over to Adam.

*Cough*

Adam coughed a few times, clots of blood flying out.

Then, he turned around and nodded with a bitter smile.

"Yeah... I can't say it was the best fight I've ever had, but it was definitely my best team fight." Adam uttered, rising slowly.

Edir threw his head back.

"Best because it's the only one?"

"Hah, you're probably right, but I'm sure that's not the only reason. Alright, we're free now, aren't we?" Adam asked, glancing at Edir and Kayla.

Kayla sighed in relief, "Sure... Before we do that, we should get our Nexuses and stuff... we don't want to leave without them at all."

"Right... We need to head back down to the F-Zone, though..."

Crackle.

At the same moment, a drone flew out of the ceiling, but not with a box, but with a simple note. It landed right in Adam's hand.

[Go to the prison exit. There's no point in going back.]

"Oh, apparently, one of the employees is watching us. Well, that's good. It's not that I can't walk, but in our current state, even standing straight is pretty difficult." Edir shook his head.

"Hey, don't you have the strength to hold me up?" Kayla smirked, playfully pressing herself against him, clearly with a note of mockery.

Edir looked at her strangely, then dropped her hand from his and moved on.

Bam.

Caught off guard, Kayla fell to the ground, hitting herself hard.

"What the fuck are you doing!" Kayla shouted irritably.

Edir looked at her with a serious look and poked himself in the chest with his thumb, "I have a girlfriend, you know?"

Kayla's jaw dropped, she didn't know how to react to such words from Edir.

"Guys!"

Suddenly, Lola ran up to them, she was in such a big hurry as though, if she delayed for a second they would be vaporized. It was obvious how worried she was about them.

Bam.

Lola crashed right into Adam, who despite his weakness, easily held her back. After all, Lola was just a normal person, and on the physical side quite weak and light.

"Hey, did you enjoy the show?" Adam smiled, stroking Lola's hair.

"You okay?!" Lola asked quickly.

Adam looked over to Edir and Kayla, then nodded slightly.

"Sure, we're hurt, but alive. I assure you, we've gotten used to this kind of condition by now, and I don't even know if it's good or bad. However, one thing I do know for sure is that we need to get out of here." Adam said, heading towards the door.

Edir, Kayla, and Lola followed him.

It seemed that this was an opportunity for the other prisoners to gain their freedom. Not just from the S-Zone, but from all the other zones, because Prago was unconscious and no one could stop them.

No one was moving. They all realized that it wasn't that simple, and if they escaped now, the best they could hope for was persecution from Azure Lotus, and it was unlikely that Dark Order or Crimson Path would stand up for him.

There was another reason - a trivial respect for Adam, Edir, and Kayla.

What they had done was an achievement that a minimal percentage of all Phantoms were capable of.

Prago couldn't be compared to monsters, after all, he was a Phantom, but he was a being at a higher power level, but... he still lost.

This victory did not come easily to them. Adam, Edir, and Kayla were each on the edge, if they had been a little weaker, or if they had made a few more mistakes, it would have ended differently.

Crackle.

The usual door opened, leading to a simple service staircase. Climbing it, they reach the top floor of the Fall Hill Prison.

The first thing Adam and the others heard was the usual city noise, especially from cars passing nearby, for they had just come out of the ground level.

Clap.

Suddenly, there was a quiet, confident clap, drawing their attention.

Strangely enough, it was Olav - the man who took Adam into prison, taking custody of his Nexus, NEP, and belongings. Other prisoners were going through the exact same procedure.

"Congratulations, you were able to do what thousands of other prisoners are not capable of. I say this sincerely, as I was in awe of your combat and teamwork. You did everything perfectly." Olav said seriously, looking at them intently.

Edir waved his hand.

"Come on, enough of this flattery. There are plenty of things we could have done better, but considering our team is one day old, we did really well."

Kayla nodded.

"Agreed. Let's get to the point. Where's our stuff and especially the Nexuses?" Kayla frowned.

Olav sighed understandingly, fixed his glasses with his finger, and pointed to the side, "Here. I've already got it all set up."

They looked to the side, and happy smiles appeared on their faces.

On the table were three black cases of different sizes, with two sets of clothes each, NEPs, and some documents.

"What are these clothes?" Kayla asked, examining it.

Olav shook his hand, "It's simple. One set is the clothes you came here with, the other is an updated and clean version of what you're wearing now."

Adam slowly lowered his head, casting a glance at his torso. His clothes were tattered and shredded, he needed an update.

'Well, I've been satisfied on both the style and comfort side, so worth picking up a new set.' Adam muttered internally, with a slight nod.

Crackle.

Edir opened his case, pulling out his Nexus.

"Oh yeah, baby! I missed you so much!" Edir exclaimed vigorously, swinging the axe with a single straight blade and a rather long handle.

His Nexus was something between an axe and a spear, suitable for an active and aggressive fighting style, with the ability to adjust to different situations.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Adam uttered, nodding approvingly.

"My turn!" Kayla stepped out in front of opening her case.

Inside was a long staff covered in thorny vines, there was almost no safe place on it, but Kayla knew how to use her weapon to keep from damaging herself.

"What about you?" Edir asked, pointing at Adam.

Adam sighed, opened the case, and put on his gloves.

Edir and Kayla looked over at him. They had expected Adam to have some unusual weapon, given his abilities, but it turned out to be much simpler than that.

"Gloves, right? Not bad, not bad at all." Edir said, putting on and adjusting his NEP. Adam and Kayla were doing the same.

Then, they reached the documents.

"What's this?" Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion, turning to Olav.

Olav smiled slyly.

"This is the most interesting part. It's your punishment, including your sentence." Olav continued, "As you know, by reaching S-Zone, your sentence is reduced to one week."

Adam, Edir, and Kayla nodded.

"By defeating Prago, you gain your freedom right now, but not only that. Your punishment is canceled."

Adam's eyes went wide.

"In other words, fines, some sort of restriction, or perhaps disciplinary labor - anything that was included in your punishment is now null and void. Even the fact that you were in this prison will be removed from all registers and records."