Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1589: Forbidden Nexus (Part 2)

The moment had come that Liliane, the Old Horn, Farko, and other members of the fifth team had been waiting for, except for the hammer man, for whom the battle was already over.

At the very beginning of the battle, they summoned their Arcs, so they expected their opponent to do the same and summon his Nexus. This was a standard situation when powerful monsters and Phantoms clashed, when the opponents were at approximately the same level.

Liliane realized that she had underestimated Goen. Because of this, one of her team members died after they had gone through dozens of battles together.

All she could do was make sure that now Goen had nothing to look forward to but death, a painful one at that.

But... even her trump card, Farko’s ability, couldn’t kill Goen, even though he took the entire strike on himself.

Liliane had mixed feelings. She didn’t know what surprised her more. That Goen survived Farko’s attack, or that Farko was able to wound Goen so badly?

Normally, she shouldn’t have had either question. When Farko used his ability and the rest of the team created an opening for him, it was usually their trump card, after which no opponent survived.

Moreover, they had the Old Horn with them, and instead of feeling a quick victory, they were all trembling with fear.

"W-What?" Liliane muttered with difficulty. "What’s going on? Why can’t I move?"

She put all her strength into it, but she couldn’t get her legs to move. The others were in a similar situation, even Farko, who was relatively far away.

Only the Old Horn, Adam, and Alexia were able to maintain some control over their bodies, but not their minds.

They couldn’t do anything about it, but they simply couldn’t take their eyes off Goen. They wanted to see what he would do. How would he get out of this situation?

What frightened them was that they partly knew the answer: Goen would summon his Nexus.

’What’s so special about his Nexus?’ Adam thought as he looked at the distorted space. ’Will Silvana and I ever have to go through something like this?

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Lines ran across the space, like fragments of glass in a cracked mirror. Goen’s grip bent the world itself, all to get his weapon.

"It happened a few years earlier than I expected..." Goen muttered, relaxed and calm, like a warrior who no longer needed to restrain his will to fight, to wage war.

Something appeared in Goen’s hand, a hilt or some other object, but for some reason, everyone’s attention was focused elsewhere.

Step. Step. Step.

Light footsteps sounded from bare feet stepping on the snow-covered ground next to Goen.

Adam’s eyes widened in disbelief.

A girl in a loose black dress appeared next to Goen, with long black hair and eyes of the same color. There was a slight smile on her face, and joy was visible in her eyes.

Why was it so shocking?

Adam and Alexia could have done the same with Silvana and Louis, or... not?

"Wait, is she...?" Adam gulped, staring at the girl.

Unlike when Silvana and Louis used their spectral form to appear in the middle of the battle and help them, he didn’t see the glowing lines that would create the girl’s silhouette.

She looked like a real person who was physically present, not just an energy shell.

"She..." Alexia shuddered. "Is she really here? But... How is that possible?"

The girl said nothing. She touched her lips, looked at Goen’s shoulder, and shook her head.

"This won’t do. You can’t fight with a wound like that, my knight."

She ran her hand over his shoulder, and all that remained of the wound was a faint bloody line. She hadn’t healed Goen completely, but his shoulder no longer looked like a piece of flesh hanging from his body.

"That’s better, isn’t it?"

Goen took a deep breath.

"Yeah, thanks, Arika."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

With the next tremor, the space shattered into mirror fragments as his weapon, his Nexus, appeared from the void in Goen’s hand.

The great sword, which was as large as Goen himself, found itself in his strong grip.

The sword was wide and heavy, with five large jagged blades on each side, resembling the teeth of a fearsome shark that would keep the entire ocean in fear.

The edges of the blade were gray, light metallic, while the center remained black and rough, a piece of ancient metal.

Barely noticeable lines ran across the entire sword, which was devoid of either light or color at the moment. The sword had no guard, and the hilt was a simple piece of iron wrapped in black bandages.

Arika nodded, took a step to the side, touching Goen’s shoulder, and stopped. Her gaze fell on his sword.

"You wanted to see this yourselves." Arika addressed the monsters. "You will remember this view for the rest of your lives, which are now extremely short."

Arika closed her eyes as she dissolved into a black mist that headed toward Goen’s sword.

Adam watched closely. He could see that this was not an ability or some kind of trick.

Shine!

Previously invisible lines on the sword glowed bright white as Goen’s aura underwent drastic changes.

A stream of white aura burst from his body as his eyes lost their green light, acquiring their true, crystal-clear one. The same happened to his silver hair, which was now slightly longer and had changed its color to black.

Even his stance changed, from relaxed and ready for close combat to that of a warrior eager to crush an entire army.

Liliane gulped. Her heart sank with fear, and all her instincts screamed at her to run as far away as possible from the creature in front of her.

"Behold."

Arika’s voice came directly from the sword, for she was his weapon.

"Only death and a quick end await you, as you now stand before none other than Goen, First Knight of the World End."