Endless Evolution: Last Star

Ten minutes ago, in the middle of the salt wasteland, there were only a few people, dark Phantoms from Ruby Dew led by Tirana hunting Adam, but... in Dead Lands, sometimes, ten minutes was like an eternity, during which everything could change.

What had been a battleground for some Phantoms had become a massacre where not everyone would survive.

Obviously, the dark Phantoms would support Tirana and Olax, for they had come to their aid, so they would fight the Phantoms of the Upper Ring, of which there were the majority.

However, the home of the Phantoms was not Dead Lands, but the Citadel, and they were not the owners, but the monsters!

Whoooooooooooooosh.

A massive centipede with electric shocks running through its body and hundreds of legs with sharp tips burst out from beneath the layers of earth, clenching its ghastly jaws several times per second and emitting an eerie, snapping sound.

If it wanted to, this centipede could curl around a tall building like a serpent from ancient myths, for one purpose only - to instill fear in anyone who came under its gaze.

Waves of salt pushed Tirana and Adam & Ester further apart. Oddly enough, the monster's appearance helped Adam & Ester escape Tirana's swift attack, for Olax would no longer be able to move her, first, he had to get close to her and restore her energy.

"Damn it! Where did you come from!" Tirana exclaimed furiously, did a somersault, and landed a few meters away.

She looked up at Centipede, whose body was moving quickly since the monster hadn't fully emerged from the ground yet. Given the way the electric shocks were traveling through Centipede's body, it was obvious that this monster had appeared along with the anomalies.

At the same moment, several insect-like monsters emerged from the ground, with long legs covered in chitin and dagger-sharp forelegs. Their bodies shimmered as they quickly rushed toward Tirana, her first target.

However, Tirana was clearly not the best option for such weak monsters.

"Away!" Tirana exclaimed furiously, bringing her sword down, causing a wave of flames to spread across the ground.

In a heartbeat, the flames turned the monsters into handfuls of ashes that in a moment were carried away by a random wind current.

Step.

Tirana stepped forward before her flames stopped, bursting forward at high speed.

The flames reached the Centipede, glowing its protective plates, but unable to penetrate such strong armor.

The monster was angry that Tirana had attacked it, even though Centipede was not her target.

"Rooooaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr!!!" Centipede roared furiously, towering over Tirana, who wouldn't even look at the monster. It wasn't that she was afraid, no, on the contrary, she didn't care because she had another, more important goal.

The Centipede's six eyes were intently focused on Tirana as electric shocks began to accumulate in front of the monster's jaw. A few more seconds and the huge monster would deliver its crushing blow to Tirana.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

At the same moment, several projectiles flew into Centipede from the other side - it was the Dark Phantoms, and their task was to help their leader.

Centipede couldn't ignore it, as some of the attacks managed to damage its plates, so the monster turned sharply and headed towards the Ruby Dew squad.

The wide tail of the monster came out of the ground and raised a wave of salt, high enough to cover everything within a few meters, but it created a kind of tunnel through which the surfers passed on the waves in the seas.

So, Tirana simply accelerated her stride, while the huge wave slowly descended on her, before crashing completely to the ground.

But, Tirana was already ahead, gradually catching up with Adam and Ester.

'Surely you're hoping that these monsters and other Phantoms can hold me off, but that's naive!' Tirana inwardly exclaimed with a fiery look, 'Chaos has its advantages. In chaos, everyone becomes equal because it's unclear what's going on!'

Whooooooooooooosh.

Electric shocks ran through Adam's eyes. His pupils shifted as he saw Tirana, who somehow was right behind them.

Then, Adam pushed Ester away from him and jumped aside.

A moment later, a wave of fire swept between them that would have left serious burns on their backs if they had collided.

Adam and Ester looked at each other, they realized that they couldn't run together anymore, moreover, they had different tasks - Ester had to protect Adam, and he had to escape somewhere safe.

"You're not leaving!" Tirana exclaimed, heading after Adam.

However, no sooner had she taken a few steps than ice and mist arrows flew at her from both sides, left and right.

At the same moment, Ester made several leaps, coming around Tirana from behind, with her axe drawn back to attack.

Tirana's eyes narrowed, she realized that if she dodged the arrows, Ester would surely hurt her. Tirana, as an experienced Phantom, could tell in an instant if Ester was worthy of being wary of her power.

'Fine, I can get rid of all of you at once!' Tirana inwardly uttered before abruptly stopping and starting to spin in one place.

A plume of fire remained from her massive sword, creating a sort of protective barrier around it.

As she suspected, it was enough to throw the arrows aside and protect herself.

"Agh...?" Tirana's eyes went wide as the broad blade of the axe passed through her flame barrier, slicing it apart.

Then, Ester's smirk appeared as she stepped forward confidently, seemingly not afraid of the flames at all.

"Hey, do you really think I'm scared of fire like the others? Fire is my strength as well!" Ester said with an excited expression, swinging her axe towards Tirana.

Tirana's eyes went wide as she arched sharply, lowering her torso and allowing Ester's axe to sweep right over her. She saw her face in the reflection of the axe blade, and she didn't like what she saw.

'Is that fear...? Shit! I'm not going to be afraid of some ordinary Phantom! Unlike Adam, she's only slightly above average!' Tirana inwardly exclaimed, clenched her hands tightly into fists, and rushed into battle.

...

At the same time, Fred, standing in the distance, was preparing one of his most powerful attacks.

The fog gradually thickened, turning into a huge arrow. It was an attack with only one charge, which was different from how Fred usually unleashed a hail of arrows on his enemies.

This one arrow was more than enough to pierce Tirana, and it would definitely be the end for her.

Earlier, Fred had tried to use this ability to kill North Keeper, even for him, the arrow speed was too fast to dodge, but... North Keeper just grabbed the arrow and broke it like glass.

Well, it was a failure, but obviously, Tirana wasn't capable of such crazy things.

"Fine... Just a little more, and your head will explode... This is going to be perfect..." Fred whispered as if trying to enchant his arrow for success.

Soon a dark smoke appeared beside him, strongly standing out against the snow-white ruins covered in salt.

"Agh...?" Fred's eyes went wide as a thick black mist appeared right in front of him from which a hand emerged, aiming for his neck.