Endless Evolution: Last Star

It took Adam less than a second to clench his fist and bring up the thunderbolt, a fraction of a second to be exact. However, for the spectators, and especially for Prago, the moment stretched out considerably.

Wide-eyed, he stared at the accumulating electrical discharges that gradually merged into one powerful lightning bolt - falling on him like a heavenly punishment.

However, the slowing effect was not helping him at all. His mind was acting much faster than his body could, so all Prago was left to do - was watch as the lightning consumed him.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Stone debris flew off to the sides, raising a cloud of dust around Prago, who was struck by the blue lightning.

Edir took a few steps back, breathing heavily but measuredly.

Despite Kayla's help and the absence of Nexus, his energy was not infinite. Sure, Kayla could heal his wounds, but not restore his energy reserves, however, it didn't affect his physical stamina.

He could continue fighting using only his fists and legs if he wanted to. The rest depended on Kayla and her energy reserves.

"They won...?" Lola muttered in disbelief, with a glint in her eyes.

The man standing next to her shook his head with a heavy sigh.

"No... Apparently, it was his Artifact Trait, quite powerful, but I'm sure his Second Order would have done more damage - ending the fight. Prago's defenses won't be able to help him this time though, the lightning indeed pierced it."

Plumes of dark smoke rose from Prago, the tips of his hair burning and turning to ash. Parts of his clothes were charred, leaving dark stains on his skin in those places. In some spots, the lightning bolts had ripped through his flesh, revealing bleeding wounds.

However...

Adam greatly frowned, clenching his fists tightly.

'The Steel Knight was able to transfer most of the damage to the ground but still lost his sword and arm, but... Prago only took external damage...' Adam pondered while staring at Prago intently.

Adam had hoped to deprive Prago of the use of one of his arms or to inflict a serious wound at one point to slow Prago down, but all he had accomplished was a multitude of not-very-deep wounds.

Sure, the blood would still be flowing outward for a long time, and the waves of pain weren't going to stop, but... It did almost nothing to prevent Prago from functioning.

"I see..." Prago muttered with a detached look, "You're different from the scum I've fought before."

"Scum? You think you're any different from them?" Edir grinned mockingly.

"Agh...?" Prago slowly turned his head, looking at Edir.

Edir wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and pointed at Prago.

"Among the K2-Phantoms, you are the real trash! If Tron from Dark Order fought against us, we would have lost in the first minute. You, however, don't just risk losing, you might even die!"

Prago's pupils sharply narrowed, filling with genuine anger and rage. A distinct bloodlust began to emanate from him that everyone felt, even the F-Zone prisoners.

It was obvious that Edir's words had hurt Prago, for he realized it was true.

"I didn't think I'd have to lower myself to this, but I just have to make you regret what you said!" Prago exclaimed furiously before stretching his arm forward.

His eyes flashed brightly, and a fast, active water vortex covered his arm, but not to lash out and attack Edir, but to make a home for someone.

Whoooooooosh.

Before Edir or Adam could realize anything, purple tentacles came out of the water as if from a giant octopus.

Adam's eyes went wide as he jumped back, but to his horror, he found that the tentacles had already gripped him tightly!

Edir and Kayla were in the same position, unable to escape the deadly trap.

Prago glared at them, clenching his teeth and fist tightly inside the water vortex. This was his Second Order, and keeping his tentacles alive was difficult for him.

When he was a K1-Phantom, he could only use his Second Order for a few seconds. The purpose of the tentacles was quite simple - to quickly appear, grab the target, and toss it aside with tremendous force. With the transition to K2-level, his energy reserves increased, but the power of the tentacles increased as well.

"Argh!!!" Kayla threw up a mouthful of blood, having her eyes filled with pain. There was nothing she could do, and it seemed that Prago had enough strength to crush her with his tentacles.

But...

Adam and Edir were not as helpless as Kayla.

Whooooooooooooooooosh.

Silver claws tore the tentacles apart. On the other side - the blue flames partially froze the tentacles, allowing Edir to shatter them into small pieces.

Before Prago could do anything, Adam swung his arm, releasing five silver threads, quickly reaching and slicing into even pieces the tentacles that held Kayla.

Kayla felt all the pressure disappear, and she was able to breathe a sigh of relief, falling to the ground and slowly coming to her senses.

The blood gushing from the wounds traveled to the last petal on their chests - filling them with scarlet liquid.

At the same moment, Adam and Edir received their last reinforcement and became stronger by an order of magnitude, but... that wasn't all.

Looking at Kayla bleeding, her organs obviously damaged, Adam and Edir felt the same thing - righteous anger, and their Evolution Trees answered their call.

Lola's eyes went wide, gazing at Adam and Edir's swollen veins as well as the strained blood vessels in their cold eyes.

"It's called Resonance, right...?" Lola asked uncertainly to Phantom beside her.

The man nodded with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Yeah. Well, they look like they're serious about winning, but... They've shown everything they've got, while Prago probably has one more trump card left." The man said with a serious look, staring at the stunned Prago.

No one knew the real reason for Prago's astonishment, for he was staring at Adam and Prago as if he were seeing Resonance for the first time.

Well... It was much simpler than that. Even though Prago was a K2-Phantom, he had never entered the state of Resonance. For him, it was an unreachable height, a secret wish that would never be fulfilled.

But that was not surprising. A Phantom like Prago, who never risked his life for the success of a mission or for the saving of his allies, always being safe and not taking serious risks and rarely visiting the Dead Lands, it was impossible to reach the state of Resonance for such a person.

Step.

Adam and Edir stepped forward simultaneously, finding themselves in front of Prago in a second and bringing their fists down on him.

Prago swung his halberd to block, but no sooner had he done so than two fists plunged into his stomach - this time, Adam and Edir had enough strength to throw Prago aside!

A stream of blood spurted from Prago's mouth, then, Adam's knee smashed into his face, while Edir quickly attacked him directly in the solar plexus.

'Wait... Am I going to lose...?' Prago inwardly muttered as he stared at the two shadows in front of him, which kept moving and unleashing a cascade of endless strikes at him.

Whoosh.

A stream of leaves with green sparks flew in front of them, healing Adam and Edir, and allowing them to continue at their limits. Kayla was hurt, but she preferred to help her mates rather than heal her own severe but not fatal wounds.

'No... I can't let that happen...' Prago muttered internally, his eyes shone brightly, and he unleashed his full aura, preparing to activate his last trump card!