Endless Evolution: Last Star

The main danger of anomalies was that they could appear anywhere, anytime. Even the Citadel was no exception, but it was protected by powerful Phantoms that immediately dispelled all attempts of energy to turn into anomalies.

However... Dead Lands was a different matter. It was the perfect place for anomalies to appear because no one was going to prevent it, and moreover, in Dead Lands, there were constant battles that were a source of discharged energy.

Thus, it was not uncommon for anomalies to appear in popular places among the Phantoms and monsters, causing more monsters and Phantoms to come there, it was a snowball effect and a loop.

"What the hell is this...?" Olax muttered in disbelief. Sure, an experienced Phantom like him knew what was happening now, but he just couldn't imagine that their luck was so cruel.

Well... If they knew how many Naturalborn Phantoms were gathered among them, considering the hundreds more Phantoms near Iron Beacon and the ruins of the Salt Village, their astonishment would be replaced with humility.

However, even if there were dozens or even hundreds of Naturalborn Phantoms actively fighting monsters, it would not be a guarantee that an anomaly, even the simplest one, would appear. Otherwise, the Citadel would actively use this to cause anomalies wherever it was needed.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The ground shook like an earthquake when artifacts emitted electric shocks. It had yet to be determined what Rarity Level these artifacts were, but it was obvious to everyone that it was at least First Rarity Level.

Usually, in a situation like this, the Mission Department would take on the most important task of distributing orders for artifacts so that all squads would have work to do.

Moreover, the military was always involved, informing the Operators and working with them to come up with plans of action to take the artifacts and destroy the monsters as quickly and efficiently as possible.

However, this was clearly not a situation where the usual rules and mechanisms would work. Yeah, it was all about the Dark Phantoms, whose numbers were somewhat staggering.

"What... What do we do?" Ester muttered uncertainly, looking at the lightning discharges spreading across the salt wasteland.

There were only three anomalies, but it was enough to be considered a cluster, and they were in the very center.

Crackle.

At the same moment, monsters filled with electrical energy began to emerge from the ground.

Like the Electric Eel, the monster that Adam had defeated back in the beginning to obtain his artifact, these monsters were Anomalous Ones. This was not a separate Type, as such monsters were not strong enough for it and could only appear in anomalies.

However, almost always, the Anomalous version of one monster or another was a bit stronger than the normal one, especially if the Phantom had an unsuitable element.

'There are quite a few of them, but all of them aren't Essence Type, compared to Essence Monsters, these ones are just nothing.' Adam pondered, staring sideways with a deep gaze.

Deep inside, he still had hope to obtain Essence and thus try to win this battle, but he realized, that it was simply impossible.

Even if some monster decided to absorb one of the three artifacts right now, it would take quite some time to transform into an Essence Type, and... considering how many Phantoms were here, no monster would get such a privilege.

'Tsk. Whatever, that's not what I should be thinking about right now. I'll still have a chance to get Essence, but first, I have to get out of here alive!' Adam inwardly uttered, looking around.

Dark Phantoms, Tirana's backup, were coming from the north side, Tirana, Olax, and two Phantoms were on the west side, Adam, Ester, Fred, and Romeo were on the east side, and a huge number of Phantoms were approaching from the south.

A small portion of these Phantoms were the help that had been coming originally but had only approached this area now, however, the rest, that is - most of them were just random squads wanting artifacts. They didn't even know that the dark Phantoms were here and Adam was in trouble.

However, the Operators were doing their jobs, and soon everyone would know what was going on here.

Sure, there were only three artifacts, but... since it was a cluster, the anomalies kept growing. Between the first three, the main anomalies gradually appeared others, not as powerful and with weaker artifacts, but they were there. Lightning bolts cut across the salt surface, striving for each other.

'Adam, you need to all pull together and wait for events to unfold. Right now, your main concern is not to be in the center of the carnage that is about to begin.' Silvana said seriously. The situation was complicated, for all Adam had was his needle, he was too exhausted for the rest.

"Sure... Then, let's get out there!" Adam uttered, grabbing Ester by the arm and rushing forward.

Ester gasped, but she quickly regained her composure and followed him. They moved to the ruins near the location of Fred and one of the three main anomalies.

"Agh...?"

Romeo was beyond everything, so he got a confused expression on his face when Adam and Ester ran away. He didn't know what to do, he had never acted in such chaotic situations.

'Romeo, can you hear me?'

Oddly enough, it wasn't Romeo's Operator, the voice was female but completely unfamiliar to him.

"Yes... Who are you?" Romeo asked anxiously.

'My name is Silvana. I am Adam's Operator. I will provide you with information from time to time, in a way, I run your squad from the Operators side since Adam is the key link in this case. Do you understand?' Silvana said severely.

If her voice had warmed slightly towards Adam lately, she was still as stern and cold as ever towards the others.

"Sure. I got it!" Romeo said vigorously, "What do I need to do?"

'For starters, join the others. Your job will be to cover Adam, the main combat tasks will be taken over by Ester and Fred.'

"Got it!" Romeo quickly replied before running forward. He wasn't stupid and realized that he couldn't stay in one place alone for long.

Tirana and Olax looked at each other. They couldn't see into the future, they didn't expect the anomalies to appear now, so they had to act quickly.

"We can't retreat, we've used too many resources for that, so... there's only one option left, isn't there?" Olax said, looking intently at Adam and Ester, who had already run far away.

Tirana nodded with a cold stare.

They understood each other without words, it was one of the benefits of being in a co-team for so long.

Dark smoke thickened around Olax as he reached out his hand, touching Tirana's back. He couldn't move them both at the same time, so... the smoke headed towards her.

At the same moment, Tirana's body trembled as she found herself only a few meters away from Ester and Adam, with her sword held high above her head.

Adam turned around, as his pupils narrowed at Tirana's predatory stare and her sword that was already aiming at them.

Whoooooooosh.

The ground shook, and right between them, a long shadow emerged from beneath the layers of salt and swept upward at breakneck speed, aiming for the heavens and casting a shadow from its huge body.