Endless Evolution: Last Star

Lero was the youngest member of the Golden Light Squad. It wasn’t to say that his path had been difficult or traumatic like Adam’s, but the fact that he was here showed that compared to the other K1-Phantoms, he was a pretty decent guy.

Yeah, he was still a long way from Adam’s level or someone like Osana. It wasn’t just his ability or experience, but the fact that he wasn’t mature enough.

However, his activity and desire to help everyone was a bright part of his soul that always showed itself, especially in the most important moments.

Whooooooooooooooooooosh.

Plague Reaper stopped far behind Erla, causing her projectiles to fly straight in her direction. Sure, there was an opportunity for dodging here, but only if Erla was as fast as Plague Reaper.

Naturally, Erla’s speed wasn’t even approximately the same as Plague Reaper’s.

So while she was realizing what had happened and what kind of trap Plague Reaper had prepared for her, the white projectiles were already closing in on her, only a second left before they hit her and tore Erla’s fragile body apart.

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Erla blinked as someone’s silhouette appeared in front of her, but it wasn’t as tall as Adam’s, though it was definitely a man with short hair.

It was Lero, who with complete determination in his eyes stretched forward his arm creating a tight protective barrier.

’No!’ Erla internally exclaimed, but the words didn’t leave her lips.

In the explosion that followed white flames engulfed everything around them.

At this time, Lero stood confidently on his feet, not intending to budge even a step. He clenched his teeth tightly, frowned heavily, and his face contorted in pain, but he couldn’t retreat, because then all that explosive power would consume Erla.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Cracks covered his entire barrier, but Lero quickly repaired them, expending massive amounts of his energy, which was quickly depleted.

After all, though Erla was slow and weak in close combat, her abilities had devastating power. Plague Reaper wouldn’t dodge her shots if they couldn’t kill him.

"ARGH!!!!"

Lero screamed, trying to squeeze the last bits of energy out of himself, but his body had already reached its limit.

The veins in his arm burst apart, releasing streams of blood flooding all around him.

Realizing what was about to happen, Lero completely forgot about pain or exhaustion. He turned sharply, about to cover Erla with his body from the blast wave that would break through his weakened barrier in a moment.

The last thing Erla saw was Lero’s concerned eyes before the wave of fire engulfed him.

The pink petals on his shoulders were burned away like dry paper, disappearing without a trace and unable to stop the fire even for a moment.

The shockwave threw them off in different directions, Erla crashing into the nearest pillar with a thud as Lero flew off towards the main gate.

Lero’s body rolled across the cold stone floor before finally coming to a stop in the middle of the Fume Cathedral.

A few white lights illuminated his emaciated face while moonlight fell on him through the holes left by Erla’s past attack.

Erla had suffered only minor damage. A few scratches and bruises, nothing serious especially compared to what would have happened to her if she hadn’t been protected by Lero.

But... Lero wasn’t as lucky as she was.

His right arm, through which the energy for the shield passed, was badly damaged, the skin was torn and the veins couldn’t withstand the pressure and burst.

The left side of his body was burned, everything from his clothes to his skin being replaced by a rough, crimson texture that gave off steam.

Step. Step. Step.

Suddenly, out of the darkness beside Lero, stepped Plague Reaper. His quiet footsteps echoed while his tall silhouette approached Lero.

"What...? Wait, no! Someone stop him." Erla exclaimed, quickly moving away from the wall in an attempt to reach her sniper rifle.

Erla wasn’t the only one acting, the others were also trying to help Lero and get to him as fast as possible, but they were near the Fume Throne while Plague Reaper and Lero were at the main gate.

The distance between them was quite large, so they needed time before they could help their mate.

Lero and Plague Reaper exchanged glances, at the same time Plague Reaper’s hands came into motion.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

"Agh...? What’s going on?" Adam muttered before abruptly stopping, as did everyone else.

Katrin stared wide-eyed at Plague Reaper, who instead of attacking started clapping.

Osana frowned heavily, burning Plague Reaper with her gaze. She, because of her nature, was sure that Plague Reaper did it on purpose to distract them with his strange actions.

But... Lero understood what Plague Reaper was doing.

It was a round of applause from the Top-1 Purple Threat monster for the courage and bravery that Lero had shown.

Plague Reaper was a monster, but he was intelligent and conscious enough to understand such complex, ephemeral feelings, moreover, he could give his own assessment of others’ actions.

Then, Plague Reaper pressed his palm to his chest and bowed low, expressing his sincere respect for the injured young man in front of him.

"Don’t you dare stand in front of him!" Erla exclaimed furiously before firing several high-speed shots.

Plague Reaper’s eyes shifted to the side as he tilted his head a little lower, letting all the shots fly right over his head.

"Why are you standing there?! It doesn’t matter if it’s a cunning plan or anything else! We have to help Lero!" Erla exclaimed, her desperate voice spreading throughout Fume Cathedral.

Adam, Katrin, and Osana nodded, realizing that in a situation like this, there was no room for doubt. They could stop Plague Reaper.

Step.

Adam stepped forward, turning into a lightning flash. Katrin swung her staff, forcing the roots into motion, Osana reached forward, commanding hundreds of blue petals to flow toward Plague Reaper.

In unison with them, Plague Reaper raised his foot, as if about to take a step and move aside to prepare and face their attacks.

’Wait... There’s something wrong. You don’t need to raise your leg that high to take a simple step or leap...’ Adam internally muttered, quickly running forward, electric shocks passing through his entire body.

Plague Reaper and Lero glanced over once more. Then, something reached Lero’s mind as the Plague Reaper’s eyes reflected his frightened and desperate expression.

Then, Plague Reaper’s leg came into motion once more, collapsing down with tremendous speed and force blasting Lero’s head.

The loud rattle of a broken skull and the cracking of the ground sounded in everyone’s head, echoing in their hearts, which filled with the sharp pain of realizing what just happened.

Erla’s eyes went wide in horror, watching the dark trickles of blood spilling over the ground, occasionally disappearing into the deep cracks, filling those hollows with themselves.

Whooooooooooooosh.

Plague Reaper swung his hand, cutting a piece off of his coat with his palm.

The cloth slowly fell over Lero’s head, covering his disfigured face from this world to which he no longer belonged. His journey was over, right after he had saved the life of someone else.

Bam.

Erla fell to her knees, with her face as pale as a sheet of paper. She was trembling violently, unwilling to accept this reality.

It didn’t matter how dire a situation they had found themselves in before. Golden Light Squad, since its inception, had always only consisted of four members.

They had often found themselves in difficult situations, even critical ones, and had been severely injured, every single one of them. However... they had always returned to the Citadel, their home together.

And... Today was the end of this good fortune they thought was a given.

Whether they won or not, whether they had the support and those who could heal wounds, none of it mattered anymore, because Lero was dead.

Golden Light Squad would never be the same again, and neither would each of them, for with Lero’s death, some part inside their hearts died too, forever.

Was this the cunning plan of the Plague Reaper?

No.

His applause, bow, and respect in his gaze were sincere, without any ulterior motive. However, after that, the fight returned to its usual pace.

It should not be forgotten that first and foremost, Plague Reaper was a monster. If he fought, he had only one goal - to kill his enemy.

Yeah, Lero was injured, sacrificing his health to save Erla was an honorable act, but that didn’t mean he stopped being Plague Reaper’s enemy.

Plague Reaper was not the noblest knight who would leave Lero his life, for his bravery. No, the respect he showed towards Lero was already too great for a mere monster.

Any other monster in Plague Reaper’s place would have simply torn Lero apart as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Plague Reaper waved his hand, giving orders to his servants.

Several Fume Armors stepped forward, gently lifted Lero off the ground so the black cloth wouldn’t fall from his face, and placed him on the floor next to the Fume Judge.

Now, until the end of their battle, Lero would be under the care of the Fume Judge. From the monsters’ side, it was a true act of mercy.

’Adam...’ Silvana muttered, trying to understand with her words what Adam was feeling right now.

However, she wasn’t going to comfort him, she knew this wasn’t what he wanted.

’Tear him apart. Bring him violent and fiery vengeance without waiting for your anger to subside.’

"Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m going to do." Adam whispered as silver threads covered his left arm transforming into a ghastly paw with sharp claws.