Endless Evolution: Last Star

However, there were now more than enough light sources near Fume Cathedral. Midnight Crystal was as bright as a star, and streams of purple flames that seemed to appear for no reason covered the ground with their oppressive shade.

"Shit... It's the anomalies..." Osana muttered, running her fingers quickly to calm her anxiety, "I don't know if they appeared here because of Midnight Crystal or if it would have happened anyway, but it came up."

Adam narrowed his eyes, looking around.

The streams of flame were active, constantly burning and spreading bits of their fire that fell to the ground like thick plasma, continuing to burn for a while on the cold gray surface before extinguishing forever.

The anomalies were numerous enough to surround the vast area around Midnight Crystal, it wasn't a narrow zone as it was more than ten times the size of the Fume Cathedral.

There was more than enough space inside the ring of flames to allow hundreds or even thousands of monsters to fight here at once.

Plague Reaper and Adam exchanged glances from time to time. Yes, the situation was unusual, the appearance of the Midnight Crystal was unexpected, but that didn't change the fact that their battle was still not over.

On the contrary, it only increased the tension between them as the stakes became higher.

Now, in addition to being able to move on with his life, the winner would also gain a new power that would take him to the next level of evolution.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Muffled sounds came from the side, as if from several heavy paws gently stepping on the ground.

Turning around, Plague Reaper saw a large Light Yellow Threat monster heading towards Midnight Crystal.

The monster had a sturdy body, thick gray fur, and a powerful jaw. Unlike most Light Yellow monsters, this one had something special.

Around its neck was a dense disk of ice, from which came a solid ice line that ran along the monster's spine and up to its tail. A light glow occasionally passed along the ice, showing its saturation of energy.

Thus this monster possessed energy abilities rather than just its physical capabilities, making it more dangerous and mighty than many Light Yellow monsters.

Then, Plague Reaper's face abruptly changed, and his gaze was filled with hatred and pure cruelty.

He looked at this monster not as Adam, whom he considered a worthy opponent, but as a rat, as a cockroach who was about to steal what belonged to him.

Tremble.

The black blade of his scythe shuddered again before Plague Reaper turned into a puff of smoke, disappearing to reappear ten meters away.

Plague Reaper ran at breakneck speed, not towards Midnight Crystal but towards the gray monster. A plume of dark mist remained behind him, while his footsteps trembled the dense layer of dust covering the cold ground.

"ROOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!"

The gray monster roared furiously, unwilling to give the Purple Threat monster something as valuable as Midnight Crystal.

The ice disk around its neck shone brightly, and several blue flashes appeared above the monster, quickly turning into ice crystals covered with numerous spikes.

They were perfect cones that, at the monster's will, began to spin rapidly, about to pierce Plague Reaper's flesh, tearing it apart and keeping him away from Midnight Crystal.

Plague Reaper's pupils narrowed as he lunged forward, gripping the hilt of his scythe tightly with both hands.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

Two crystals whizzed by his face, leaving a lone scratch on his cheek. A few drops of blood trickled outward, coating his pale, cold skin.

The black blade blurred, crashing into the next crystal at high speed, then shattering another one but not with the blade, but with the tip of the bone hilt, which was really durable.

The eyes of the gray monster flashed brightly as the last two crystals hovering above him became much longer and more like needles rather than wide cones.

The purpose of the cone shape was to tear through the flesh of its target, to go through it like a drill spinning at tremendous speed. The monster realized that it was useless against Plague Reaper, he was too fast and his weapon was too deadly and strong.

Thus, giving its last crystals a different shape, the gray monster made them much faster to pierce Plague Reaper's lean body in an instant.

"ROOOOAAAAAAAAARRRR!!!!"

Along with the monster's roar, the crystals rained down on Plague Reaper, leaving behind a faint, blue plume, like threads following the needles they were attached to.

"Whaaa..."

Plague Reaper took a deep breath, stepping confidently off the ground to lean his torso to the left side.

Whistle.

The first crystal whistled through the wind right in front of his chest, just slightly missing its target.

But... the second crystal came into motion at the same time as the first, so it was already right in front of Plague Reaper, who seemed to have no way to dodge this attack, he just didn't have enough time to do so.

'Wait...? Seriously? That monster will be able to hurt him?' Katrin internally muttered in disbelief at the scene that was unfolding right in front of her.

Over the recent events, she had begun to think of Plague Reaper as a practically invincible creature, she refused to accept that some Light Yellow monster could hurt him.

With a glint, the crystal reflected in Plague Reaper's black eyes that grew a little wider.

Crackle.

Plague Reaper's hand jerked sharply, ending up in front of his face, between the crystal and his head.

It seemed like the crystal should have easily pierced his palm, doing serious damage to him. This would definitely happen if, in Plague Reaper's place, there was another Crown Monster or some Phantom.

Four long fangs, along with snow-white teeth, opened wide, swallowing half of the crystal into itself.

Then, the teeth began to shatter the ice into shards, without any labor.

Turning the monster's last crystal into nothing, the jaw stuck out its tongue, licked its teeth, and disappeared, blending into the darkness that covered Plague Reaper's hands.

The gray monster couldn't believe what had happened, not realizing with such a terrifying creature it had chosen to fight.

Step.

Plague Reaper stepped forward, appearing in front of the gray monster and swinging his scythe, eventually slicing the gray monster's head in two.

There was a determination in Plague Reaper's eyes, this Midnight Crystal belonged to him.