Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 1590 1590: First Knight of the World End

Though Adam and Liliane had been rivals, she had arrived to execute her mission by seizing or eliminating him. Yet in this instant, both found themselves trapped in the identical predicament.

When Goen called forth his Nexus, Adam and the others braced for the emergence of a straightforward armament. Of course, they recognized it needed to be a formidable device, one that aligned with his immense power.

However... doubts overshadowed their comprehension.

From whence had Arika originated? Could she serve as Goen's Operator? If indeed she acted as his Operator, why did his Nexus rely so heavily on her presence? How was it possible for her to manifest here in flesh and blood, and was this occurrence genuine?

Adam possessed no resolutions to these enigmas, merely speculations and hypotheses.

Besides, at present, his thoughts shifted away from Arika toward Goen's designation.

'First Knight of the World End?' Adam pondered while glancing at Silvana. 'Are you familiar with any details on this?'

Silvana mirrored his astonishment, perhaps surpassing it in intensity. As an Operator herself, she inevitably envisioned herself in Arika's position.

'No, I suspected Goen concealed secrets. But I never imagined anything like this. His Nexus, that girl, and... what significance does it hold?'

She gnawed her lip until blood surfaced.

"He's human, yet he bears a title? We all know how uncommon that is, but even this title feels abnormal. Why such length? First Knight? World End? What could it possibly signify?"

Their thoughts swirled in utter disarray, a turmoil echoed by Alexia and Louis.

Liliane along with the fifth team grappled with their own uncertainties. Their superior had offered no forewarning of such developments.

It wasn't mere fright that gripped them, but the realization that even as Lords, the revelation stunned them equally to Adam and Alexia, mere K4-Phantoms.

"Captain!" The ashen-faced man cried out as a circular shadow materialized on the earth behind Goen.

Before Liliane could utter a word, the pale man burst from the shadow, gripping his blade firmly in both hands. He aimed to drive it into Goen's throat.

"We can't stop now! We have to slay this monster!"

Liliane's eyes bulged in alarm as she thrust her arm ahead. "No, you must—!"

SLASH!

Goen swept his blade in a fluid, effortless motion.

BLAST!

Only a streak of gore lingered where the pale man had stood, with twin streams of blood suspended midair, remnants of his shattered form.

A ferocious windstorm erupted laterally, rattling the barren treetops. The serene clouds drifting across the azure heavens parted asunder, like some colossal force had cleaved them with the effortless stroke of a blade that could bisect a peak like mere timber.

"That marks the second." Goen bent slightly as his sinews coiled tight.

Horror flooded Liliane's gaze as she gestured frantically.

"My command is retreat! Immediately!"

Crash!

Goen's bound propelled him skyward, carving a depression into the soil as he blurred past her vision, halting before the azure-tressed girl and the crimson-locked girl.

Terror-stricken, they lifted their faces to behold the imposing knight looming over them.

"Stay put?" Goen remarked. "That simplifies matters."

He balled his hand into a fist and drove it into the blue-haired girl's skull. The impact shattered it utterly, while the red-haired girl merely pivoted sluggishly. Desperate to flee the horror, she found herself frozen.

"RUN!" The axe-wielding man bellowed at full volume. He charged ahead, intent on aiding her.

But the moment had already slipped away.

Goen's grasp seized the red-haired girl by the nape. With his raw might, snapping her neck or throttling her would prove simple, yet his intent lay elsewhere.

Scarcely any among them anticipated such brutality.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Amid the rending of muscle and hide, Goen extracted the spine from the red-haired girl's living body.

Without pause, he whirled and lashed out with the spine, bisecting the axe man along with a swath of earth stretching ten meters ahead, carving a broad chasm.

In that instant, clarity dawned for all. Death alone loomed for them now.

Farko and Liliane shared a fleeting look.

No words passed between them as they channeled every ounce of their vitality to escape the fray, distancing themselves maximally.

Step. Step. Step.

Farko sprinted at top speed, direction irrelevant, only the greatest separation mattered. Panic consumed his mind.

'Damn! Damn! Damn! Quicker! I need to flee this place, or else—!'

Puff!

A burst of vapor erupted before him as Goen advanced a single stride.

"Agh?" Farko stared in bewilderment before Goen's knuckles smashed into his features.

BLAST!

The gory detonation spared only Farko's boots. Thus, Liliane remained the sole survivor of the fifth team.

In a surge of azure light, she darted through the woods, having covered over a kilometer already.

For reasons unknown, Goen refrained from chasing her.

Had mercy swayed him?

Tap.

He let go of his blade, which hovered suspended.

"Proceed. The final mark is yours."

The sword ascended, slicing through the firmament, where Liliane's form stood stark despite her velocity.

Whooooooosh.

The sword rotated and plunged toward Liliane with blistering velocity.

"W-Wha...?"

All Liliane managed was a glance backward. The edge gleamed in her pupils, extinguishing her existence the following heartbeat.

Goen dipped his head faintly and vanished in a cloud of mist. The sword flew back to his hold, slick with Liliane's vital fluid. He required no visual confirmation of her demise; the vanishing of her aura sufficed.

It appeared the ordeal had concluded, yet Goen held back from nearing Adam and Alexia.

Another figure claimed his focus at present.

Step.

Goen advanced a pace, coming to a halt before the Old Horn.

"At last, recognition dawns on you."

The Old Horn scowled while fingering his fractured horn.

"Indeed, how could I not recall? Those eyes... pristine as crystal, and raven tresses. It's you, Goen."

Goen inclined his head as he brandished his sword.

His gaze intensified.

"It appears the moment has arrived to conclude this and claim your remaining horn."