Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 1565: Bloody Heart

Silvana chewed her lip so hard that blood trickled out. She had been certain her earlier strategy would conclude the fight. Just like with Alexia, she prepared to celebrate as the twenty phantom blades stabbed into Vaarh's form.

Yet everything shifted in an instant.

Vaarch appeared utterly unbeatable now, and to make matters worse, Silvana had nothing to offer Adam. No way out remained.

"I don’t know, Adam. All I can do is give you all my energy and activate the Stellar Resonance. Your only chance to win is to fulfill one of the three conditions for the Third Grand Star. Perhaps if you, like Alexia, gain a new ability, it will become your trump card."

With a subtle nod, Adam charged back into the fray. He refused to delay.

A brilliant four-pointed star glowed in his left eye, boosting his speed to new heights. He bounded back and forth, hoping to disorient Vaarh, though this tactic was set to fail from the start.

Whoooooosh.

The phantom blade hurtled toward Vaarh, who dodged effortlessly. The broad edge whistled by his torso while his knee drove hard into Adam's wrist.

"Enough of this nonsense!" Vaarh roared, batting the phantom blade from Adam's hold.

Adam reached out to seize the blade, yet Vaarh moved with greater swiftness.

Crackling electricity built at his fingertips before a bolt of white lightning blasted the phantom blade, exploding it into shards.

Adam possessed just enough power left to form a handful more phantom blades, marking his absolute boundary, and that solely because of Silvana's energy along with the Stellar Resonance.

To claim victory, pragmatism was essential for him. Squandering his leftover power on mere phantom blades that Vaarh could shatter with simple electric bursts would be foolish.

Thus, Adam leaped away, readying himself to call forth his needle.

However, an unexpected force halted him.

"What? Running after your weapon?"

Vaarch's commanding voice thundered as he advanced. His gaze intensified, with the azure eye spinning wildly like a massive vortex.

"Didn’t you come here to win and become stronger?"

Clutch. Clutch.

Vaarch's fists tightened, his muscles coiling like iron ropes, causing even the protective scales on his wrists to fracture from the strain.

"You came to the Primal Lands, and your opponent is a dragon! Fight like a warrior, Adam!"

In an odd turn, Adam heeded the challenge.

No needle materialized in his grip, instead his right eye shifted to green.

At this point, Adam entered the purest combat state he could manage given his circumstances.

"Alright, great dragon..." Frigid vapor escaped with his words. "Let’s see which one of us reaches the limit faster!"

Both their bodies quivered at once before they vanished from sight.

BAM!

In the heart of the battlefield, their fists smashed together, unleashing a powerful shockwave. Every ounce of their might fueled that strike, probing each other's power.

’He’s strong...’ Vaarch gritted his teeth. ’But, unlike him, there are no secrets for me in our fight!’

Without glancing rightward, Vaarch detected Adam's incoming foot. The azure eye perceived all, so he intercepted the kick with his hand before it landed, mirroring his block against Alexia.

A sly grin flashed across Vaarch's features, only for his look to twist sharply moments later.

Energy surged along Adam's leg, granting it an explosive surge of force and velocity akin to a rocket breaking free from the atmosphere into the void, demanding extra thrust.

Vaarch's eyes bulged wide as Adam's foot crashed directly into his side.

The blow hurled him off balance, exposing various blade cuts while blood spurted from several spots right away.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Vaarch's body bounced along the earth multiple times until it halted beside the icy spire and the terrified creature.

The surrounding monsters lingered nearby, yet fear kept them at a distance.

"What the hell was that..." Vaarch rasped, forcing himself upright.

Adam gradually lowered his foot, wisps of scorching vapor rising from it.

’Even if he can see all my movements, that doesn’t mean he’s invulnerable. It’s unlikely that I can be so much faster than him that he won’t even have time to react with the azure eye, but...’

His gaze sharpened.

’What difference does it make whether he reacts to the attack or not if he doesn’t know what kind of attack it is? He was preparing for a simple kick, but received a strike filled with energy. In that case, the azure eye even hurts him.’

Thump.

Vaarch attempted to rise, but his legs buckled beneath him. Compared to Alexia's shattered limb, his condition was less dire, though he lacked the vigor to stand fully.

"I need energy... I need strength if I want to continue..." Vaarch murmured, his eyes locking onto the gray beast beside him.

The creature grasped the situation instantly, its fear-dilated pupils contracting as it twisted away abruptly.

Gathering every bit of his remaining power, Vaarch pounced ahead, slipping into the shadows flanking the beast to its right.

Clutch.

His vise-like hand seized the beast's skull, ripping it free in a brutal twist that shredded meat and snapped bones.

The beast had no moment to comprehend the assault before Vaarch's hand plunged into its torso, yanking out the pulsing heart in one fierce pull.

"What the..." Adam choked out. "He’s actually going to do—!"

Vaarch's fangs buried into the monster's heart, ripping away a hefty piece in savage fashion like a feral predator, then gulping it down.

"Gha." Vaarch exhaled deeply as fresh energy flooded his veins.

Simultaneously, the heart clutched in his grasp quivered, with gray-crimson power eddying around his arm.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The heart warped and withered rapidly into utter exhaustion. Mere moments before, it resembled a ripe, succulent apple; now, it lay as a shriveled husk, stripped of any lingering nectar.

Vaarch flung the beast's heart away, wiped the blood from his lips, and fixed his stare on Adam once more.

"Shall we continue, human?"