Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1660 1660: Pillar's Top

In the Primal Lands, Adam attracted a lot of attention. No matter where he and Alexia went, someone was always attacking them, testing their strength, or following them, as Zargos did, though he had decent reasons for it.

Here, things were different, at least so far.

With every leap through the air, Adam, Kaerno, and Larth drew closer to the blade pillar. Naturally, this attracted the attention of the monsters inside.

They began to suspect something when Kaerno left the blade pillar, and now they had answers to their questions.

A girl with sharp white hair peered out from the balcony. Her large blue eyes watched with curiosity as the unknown Phantom moved toward their pillar.

"Whoa, do you see that, Valleyn?!" she exclaimed, pointing at Adam. "How long has it been since a Phantom last came to us?"

Off to the side, leaning against the wall, stood a tall woman with an intense gaze. Her black hair was short, reaching only to her chin, and her green eyes watched their unexpected guest intently.

"Sarka, you shouldn't waste your time on this. Or mine, for that matter... It doesn't matter what Master Kaerno does. It's none of our business."

Sarka grinned widely, revealing all her sharp teeth. "Come on, don't you want to know who he is? Besides, he looks pretty strong!"

"Hmm?" Valleyn raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

In response, Sarka pointed at Larth's back.

"Look at those wounds! I'm sure Kaerno didn't do this, it was that Phantom!"

At first, Valleyn wanted to argue with her, to say that Sarka was talking nonsense as usual, but upon closer inspection of Larth's wounds, she realized Sarka was right.

"Hmm. Maybe you're right for once. Still, this is strange. This isn't a Second Rank Phantom. Moreover, his aura… he hasn't reached the limit of his evolution yet. He's only on his way to it. How did a Phantom like this end up here?"

Sarka giggled like a child.

"Yep, that's exactly what I want to find out! Hehehe, I hope Master Kaerno lets us play with him!"

A similar curiosity was in the eyes of all the other monsters at the pillar, maybe not as obvious as Sarka's, but it was there.

Suddenly, Adam turned as his gaze fell directly on Sarka. Their blue eyes met, momentarily causing her to freeze in shock.

Then, Adam turned away, continuing to follow Kaerno and Larth.

"Valleyn…" Sarka muttered, starting to bite her nails.

"Hmm?"

"I want to eat him... Do you think Master Kaerno will let me do that?"

Strangely enough, Valleyn didn't rule out the possibility, even though Sarka was saying wild things.

"Who knows? We know too little about this Phantom. But if you defeat him in battle, you might get a part of him. It depends on him. Who is he? A warrior, or just a talented brat who doesn't understand where he's ended up?"

Sarka wasn't listening to her anymore. She kept biting her nails while saliva dripped from the corners of her mouth.

Kaerno saw it all. Everything here was under his watchful gaze.

"Don't pay them any mind. Their reaction is to be expected. Phantoms don't often appear in our lands, especially ones like you."

However, Adam wasn't frightened. There was only curiosity in his eyes.

"That girl is looking at me like I'm a prime cut of steak. What's her name?"

Instead of Kaerno, Larth replied with a deep frown.

"That's Sarka. She's just as honored a Fang as I am. However, she has absolutely no manners. She shouldn't be behaving like this in front of you, Master Kaerno!"

Adam smirked. "Well, I like this a lot more than your boring rules, Larth. Her hungry gaze clearly shows that a fight with her would be way more interesting than with you."

"W-WHAT?" Larth was outraged. "You haven't even seen my full power! If we have a rematch, you won't stand a chance."

"Sure, if it makes you feel better, you can think that."

Larth clenched his fist as the veins bulged on his neck. He was ready to explode with rage, but he dared not behave inappropriately in Kaerno's presence.

Perhaps these were some of the strangest lands Adam had ever visited, but here, as everywhere else, the law of the strongest prevailed.

Tap.

Kaerno stopped at the very edge of the pillar's summit as Adam and Larth followed him.

It wasn't a dome pillar, so ahead of them lay tall spikes resembling spires and a majestic tower with a sharp peak at its very center. Unlike the spires, which were simply stone structures, a spiral staircase wound around the tower, and there were windows, just like on the entire blade pillar.

Whoooooooooooosh!

A powerful gust of wind swept by, cold and free, ruffling Adam's hair.

From such a height, a completely new view of the surrounding lands opened up before him. Now, he could see more than a dozen pillars in the distance, the bones of great monsters that had perished many years ago, and dunes.

Still, from here, he could not see the boundaries of this territory, and the eclipsed moon remained their faithful companion wherever they went.

"Does morning ever come here?" Adam suddenly asked. For some reason, that was exactly what had crossed his mind.

Kaerno shook his head.

"Not in the way you're used to. If I were you, I'd hope this moon stays with us for a long time yet, and you won't have to see that radiant light."

'Is he wary of simple light?' Adam thought. 'Most likely, there are reasons for that.

Damn… What a huge place this is. Although maybe it's all about how empty it is?"

It was a stark contrast to the Primal Lands, where every part was covered in jungles, forests, great mountains, or frozen lakes.

'Moreover, this place seems less chaotic. If not for that flying monster with the big eye, the only enemies would have been that bull and Larth. In the Primal Lands, they would have already put me through several trials.'

Tap.

Kaerno placed his hand on Adam's shoulder, his eyes growing deeper.

"Young man, I think you want to know where you are right now, don't you?"

Adam nodded, eagerly awaiting his next words.

Kaerno's gaze swept across the vast territory before them.

"Now, we are in the Hollow Lands."