Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 1513: The Ice Worm (Part 2)

Adam gained a moment to study the environment and process the unfolding events while Alexia took charge of the second phase of the conflict.

The primary realization he had reached concerning the Primal Lands was the staggering durability of the creatures inhabiting them. These monsters possessed a terrifying resilience; provided their physical forms weren't utterly obliterated and they maintained sufficient energy, they could persist in combat regardless of how catastrophic their injuries appeared.

This fact was cemented in his mind when Alexia’s ice spear impaled the worm’s cranium. Despite a lethal wound to the head, the beast recovered almost instantly, prepared to strike back at Alexia.

Adam wondered if such vitality was standard for every inhabitant of the Primal Lands, or if this specific ice worm was one of the entities Beth had mentioned—monsters saturated with a massive volume of ancient energy.

While his knowledge regarding the nature of ancient energy and the distinction of ancient monsters was limited, he was slowly piecing the puzzle together.

There was no time for deep reflection, however, as Alexia required his assistance. Should he fail to act, the ice worm would surely consume her just as it had nearly done to him, and he doubted she could escape those frozen jaws with such ease.

"Alright... We have to do this," Adam muttered, exhaling as he thrust his hand forward. Silvana materialized beside him without delay, her spectral scissors hovering in the air before them.

The distance between the ice worm and Alexia was several hundred meters. In a battle against a creature of such magnitude, even a gap of several kilometers could be crossed in mere heartbeats.

Click.

The blades snapped shut. An invisible severance tore through the atmosphere, racing forward until it reached the ice worm at the very moment it lunged to swallow Alexia.

The sequence of events was too rapid for Alexia to process or react to.

The ice worm suffered the same fate, unable to perceive the attack before its massive head was violently separated from its torso.

Thump!

The colossal head and the rest of the body slammed into the earth, tumbling down the mountain's steep incline. From the edge of the slope, Alexia watched with wide eyes as the decapitated head and the long, twitching body carved a crimson path through the snow, pulverizing boulders and the frozen remains of long-dead beasts in their descent.

Even after being skewered by an ice spear and losing its head, the monster’s skull flickered with life for a brief moment, though the injury finally proved fatal.

Nevertheless, the headless corpse continued to thrash wildly, its nerves firing desperately as it bled out, trying to reclaim a control that was no longer possible.

"Shit... Are you serious?" Alexia stammered, swallowing hard.

Had there been a small village in its path, the sheer volume of blood erupting from the stump would have been enough to wash it away like a torrential flood.

Step. Step. Step.

Adam walked up beside her, prompting Alexia to turn her head.

"Looks like we won, right?" Adam remarked, a strained smile on his face.

Alexia shuddered, the intensity of the fight still fresh in her mind.

"Brrrrh! What was that? Damn! It’s still alive!"

Adam looked down at the writhing remains with a composed expression. He noted that the spasms were gradually subsiding. Even a titan of the Primal Lands could not survive indefinitely without its brain.

"No, it won’t bother us anymore. I wanted to ask you something."

"Hmm?"

"When we were in the forest. Did you feel like someone was watching us? I’m not talking about ravens and simple beasts, but a strange aura coming from below, straight from the ground."

To his surprise, Alexia gave a nod. She had experienced the same sensation but had dismissed it as paranoia, especially since their long trek up the mountain had been largely undisturbed until now.

"But..." Adam’s brow furrowed. "Was it that worm? Maybe it attacked us as soon as we reached the top of the mountain and wasn’t following us from the forest?"

Alexia squinted, her eyes drifting toward the dark abyss below.

"I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t think it matters now. I mean, whether we like it or not, we have to go to the abyss anyway. Our energy is leading us there. If it wasn’t that worm, then whoever was following us is waiting for us at the abyss. There’s no doubt about it."

He couldn't argue with her logic. The Blood of God and the Ancient Frost were hidden within the deepest reaches of the Frost Ridge, just as the Winding Fragments had indicated.

"Hey, Silvana, Louis, what do you think about this?" Adam inquired.

The air trembled.

In an instant, both Silvana and Louis manifested beside them.

Louis possessed a spectral form that contrasted with Silvana’s. While her silhouette was a blend of violet and ashen energy, Louis was composed mainly of arctic blues and brilliant whites.

Any Operator of sufficient rank could manifest a spectral form, though the appearance was always distinct, shaped by the nature of the Operator and the Phantoms they bound.

"That..." Louis said, staring intently at the fallen ice worm. "It was an impressive battle. Except for the regenerative monsters, I haven’t seen a monster as resilient as this one. But the regenerative monsters sacrifice a large part of their power for survival, while this worm was overwhelmingly strong."

Silvana nodded, echoing his sentiment.

"Had you been here earlier, or had weaker Phantoms been in your place, this worm would have easily defeated the entire group of K4-Phantoms. Moreover, what is its level anyway?"

It was clear to the group that they were dealing with a Black Threat Level entity, yet they couldn't determine if it was merely an Elder or something as high as a High Elder.

Adam’s expression darkened.

"Tsk. This power rating is nonsense. In the Tarnished Lands, I’ve encountered many Elder Level monsters, but none of them could even scratch this giant!"

As the three of them debated the rankings, Alexia’s gaze drifted upward toward the massive spine that loomed over the landscape.

A single rib of that skeletal structure was as large as the ice worm they had just slain, a realization that filled her with a sense of dread.