Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 47  Recognition and Growth

"Agh... Agh... Agh..."

Adam was breathing heavily, his strength was running low, however, his opponent was in the same position.

Brass Puppet's flames became a bit weaker, and his engine slowed down because otherwise he would simply burn up, even his body couldn't withstand the pressure for so long.

Obviously, in such situations, the fighters only had two options - continue beating each other up, gradually, attack after attack to bring someone to exhaustion and win, or...

"Do it all in one attack... right?" Adam muttered, looking at his needle.

Even in Resonance states, he wasn't invincible. He just used all his resources to the max, but that didn't mean the resources were infinite. Regardless of power, every flame would extinguish at some point, and it was going to happen to them soon. Whoever faded first would never flame again.

"I don't know... Whether you understand me, but I at least hope so." Adam said with a bitter smile on his face.

Then, he pointed the needle at Brass Puppet.

"I think we've cut each other up enough... It's time to call it a day, isn't it?" Brass Puppet didn't reply anything, but instead of his usual dash, he just took a few short steps forward.

'Adam... Good luck.' Silvana said quietly, hoping with all her heart that Adam would win. "Good. Then, it's time to begin!" Adam exclaimed with an excited smile before rushing forward. Brass Puppet immediately responded in kind. Adam already had nothing, he used Nexus, entered Resonance and his left arm was unusable. One last attack was all he had left.

Dozens or even hundreds of gazes were watching him fight. It was important, not just to him, but to every military man, Phantom, or Harvester.

If he lost, it would only be another dark day consumed by a rampage of monsters. The promising Phantom, two military squads, and two Phantom squads will simply disappear from history. However, if Adam wins, it could be the official birth of a talented new-generation Phantom. Rookies have always been important because soon they will no longer be rookies and will be the future of the Citadel.

Brass Puppet attacked first, he swung his key sharply, sending two diagonal flaming blades at Adam.

Adam's eyes went wide as he slid underneath them and immediately blocked the oncoming attack from above.

Then, Adam thrust the needle, trying to pierce Brass Puppet's neck, but the monster parried the attack at the last moment.

Before Adam could realize anything, Brass Puppet stepped back, changed his grip on the key, and repeated Adam's attack, aiming straight for his heart. Adam should have tried to dodge, but instead, he smirked and shifted his body slightly to the right.

A stream of blood rushed outward as the sharp tip of the key pierced his shoulder, burning his clothes and flesh. Even Phantom's body wasn't capable of withstanding something like this for more than ten seconds. "I don't think I'll be able to use my arm anytime soon, so giving up my shoulder won't be such a big loss, right?" Adam smirked before swinging the needle, cutting off Brass Puppet's other arm. Then, Adam threw the needle away and with full determination thrust his hand straight into the clockwork, passing through the red-hot cogs and grabbing the engine. The cogs burned and tore at his flesh, but the pain couldn't stop Adam, for victory was so close. Crackle. Crackle. Crackle. The pipes connected to the engine burst until Adam pulled the heart from the other side. His hand, covered in burns, was pouring with dark oil leaking from the pipes.

At the same moment, the fire disappeared, and Brass Puppet began to cool rapidly, losing its life force.

Just as a man could not live without his heart, Brass Puppet could no longer exist without its engine - its foundation.

Bam.

Brass Puppet dropped to one knee, raising his head and looking at Adam, over whose head the hoop of the sun shone like a halo. Part of his face was covered with burns, as was the left side of his body. His arm and shoulder seemed likely to fall off his body at any moment, and the number of cuts was innumerable. Then, Brass Puppet let out a final cracking sound and silently fell to the ground.

The Steel Knight watching this scene took his hands from his chest, cast Adam a thoughtful stare, and disappeared in an unknown direction. Adam looked at the engine in his hand and smiled slightly. "Hah, this may be weird, but I'll keep it... It will be my trophy from the most important opponent so far."

Adam fell to the ground, it was hard for him to stay conscious, moreover, the fighter was already heading towards him at full speed. His victory had caused a genuine celebration in the missions department, but there was something he had to do before anything else.

Using the last drops of his power, Adam reached out with an open palm. Faint particles of white energy turned into a tiny vortex, but it was enough to gather the Brass Puppet gene.

A brightly shining rune emerged from Brass Puppet like a crucial star amidst the vast cosmos, only to disappear into Adam's Revolve. Brass Puppet's gene entered Lock, causing it to glow vividly and release all the energy gathered from 1001 genes.

Adam lost consciousness, and the thick chains shattered into small shards, simultaneously.

All the energy traveled up the Evolution Tree and towards the Initial Gene, making them shake and the Evolution Tree grow.

An energy pillar came out from Adam's body, rushing upwards for more than ten meters. The air trembled, and rings were created around the pillar, running from the bottom to the top, gradually gaining speed and concentrating all the power into one point.

"What the fuck...?" Gauter muttered in disbelief, "Why is his pillar so high? Hah, damn, Douglas, you've found a real treasure... You may not have superpowers like the Phantoms, but your intuition is already a superpower in itself!" Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Douglas didn't answer anything, for he was just as surprised. He stared wide-eyed at the ghostly silhouette of Adam's Evolution Tree, which soon disappeared along with the pillar.

[You've unlocked your Lock!]

[Collect the first Key to advance further!]

The Evolution Tree continued to grow, and with it came new messages that Adam couldn't see, but its threads trembled, ready to evolve.

Hi, hope you enjoy the story as much as the fight against Brass Puppet!

Arlemit