Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1617 1617: Fire and Ashes

Sparks flew before Morok's eyes as he stared intently at Zargos, as if he had seen an old enemy.

In fact, Morok had never fought Zargos before, not a year ago, not a hundred years ago. Still, the way Zargos behaved irritated the serious Morok to the core.

"You've decided to protect this young Phantom? Don't you think too many monsters are trying to do that?" Morok growled.

Zargos shrugged carelessly.

"I have the same question for you. Isn't it strange that he came here to fight an opponent of his level and won, but ended up finding out that two separate squads from the Befallen Crown were hunting him?"

He glanced at the five of them.

"First, one team from the Crown Squad. Now you... a team from the Sword Squad. I must admit, even I didn't expect this. Usually, you are sent to kill unwelcome Lords, not some K4-Phantom."

Morok snorted.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're protecting him for the same reason our high-ups want to kill him. But, Zargos, before we begin, I have a personal question for you."

"Sure, ask away!" Zargos replied cheerfully.

A shadow fell over Morok's eyes.

"Didn't you try to pass the test and join one of the squads many years ago?"

Silence.

Morok's teammates looked puzzled. They knew who Zargos was—the candidate for head of the Flaming Eye Clan. But they knew nothing about his attempts to become one of them, basically.

However, Zargos did not respond, only his bright smile diminished, almost disappearing.

"I see. You don't want to answer? In that case, there's no point in continuing." Morok waved his hand.

At his gesture, all four monsters took up fighting stances as three of them summoned their Arcs.

A katana appeared in the young man's left hand, his only one. The girl standing next to him waved her hands as white disks rose above her wrists, with white orbs above them.

Their auras were powerful but calm, with wind emanating from the young man and streams of water surrounding the girl.

But, on the other side, a more powerful, aggressive aura appeared.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Yellow electrical discharges flashed before the woman's eyes as a long black staff, emitting the power of lightning, rose behind her.

Without hesitation, she lunged forward, following Morok's silent command.

Like a lightning spear, she closed the distance in an instant, soon finding herself right in front of Zargos.

But...

"Agh?" Shock reflected on her face.

For some reason, her palm couldn't touch Zargos's chest. No matter how much her staff trembled, no matter how much strength she put into it, Zargos's crimson aura prevented her from getting close to him.

Tremble.

Zargos slowly raised his hands as black gloves with red fingertips covered them.

When fighting Ramilo, he did not need to use his Arc.

"Yes, that's true."

Zargos replied without looking up at the woman. He looked at his gloves, remembering the past.

"In this test, I saw an opportunity to become stronger, to learn something new, to reach new heights. It's a simple motivation, but it's what drives each of us after our first deadly battle."

"What happened to your arm, huh? Did someone bite it off?"

Slowly, he raised his head, but looked not at the woman, only at Morok.

"Do you know what happened when I came to the first stage? It's a battle, you know that. Your task is to defeat all your enemies."

Morok frowned. It was true, and further proof that Zargos was actually trying to become one of them, or at least undergoing a similar test.

"What? You got beaten up and ran away in fear?"

Tap.

Without turning around, Zargos placed his palm on the woman's chest.

Suddenly, something changed in Zargos's face. He was no longer smiling, the light in his amber eyes had turned dark, and despite the raging flames around him, he radiated only coldness.

An old blue cat flinched at that moment. He would not have wanted to be in front of Zargos at that moment.

"Instead of a worthy fight, all I got was..."

The woman's eyes widened as heat radiated from Zargos's palm. The light fell on her face, but it was too late to do anything.

The flaming blast with a blazing ray following it hit the woman, as a wave of crimson flame covered part of the jungle dozens of meters ahead.

The young man and girl turned around in disbelief. They were slightly weaker than the other three members of their team, so they couldn't have expected anyone to deal with the woman so easily.

Crack.

Black, charred splinters flew to the side as the woman emerged from under the burned tree.

There were now dozens of meters of scorched earth between her and Zargos. Nothing remained of the bright jungle in this place but coals and soot.

Dark wisps of smoke rose upward. The force of this blast would have been enough to turn an entire village into a pile of ashes.

"You..." The woman gulped as a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. "Bastard... What was that?"

She looked down. Her energy and strong body had protected her from critical injury, but the burn on her chest made itself known with a constant heat.

Zargos's eyes didn't change. He saw nothing special in this attack.

"You managed to stay on your feet? Great, you're definitely not as weak as those bastards. You can definitely take a few more hits."

"Tsk." She spat out a clot of blood with a deep frown. "Don't you dare underestimate me!"

"Boss." The muscular man turned to Morok. "Do you think it's time to act? I sense two auras in the distance. One of them must be Adam Vinter."

Morok nodded.

"Yes. Three of us should be enough to deal with him." He looked at the girl and the young man. "Go and find Adam Vinter for me."

"Y-Yes!"

They exclaimed simultaneously and rushed forward, but a pillar of crimson flame blocked their path.

"Hey, where are you going?" Zargos's voice came in a whisper.

Shine!

With a bright, blinding light, the golden flame created a portal inside the flaming pillar through which the young man and girl quickly disappeared.

Zargos turned his gaze to the muscular man, to the golden aura trembling around his body.

"I see. We're alike, aren't we?"

Then, Zargos arrogantly lifted his chin with a cold, haughty glare.

"I'm afraid you don't even understand what a real flame should be like."