Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 1591 1591: Repeating the Past

Hearing about an unidentified hunter safeguarding Adam Vinter made the Old Horn reluctant to take on the capture assignment.

He'd clashed with Goen previously, back when Goen showed no disguise. During that encounter, the Old Horn endured a devastating loss and even forfeited one of his horns.

This time, the Old Horn chose not to flee. He stayed put on the field of combat long after Goen had savagely wiped out the entire fifth team in a gruesome manner.

What drove him?

The explanation was straightforward: he couldn't ignore the chance to settle the score for his past shame.

"So, you've chosen to remain?" Goen inquired with steady composure. "Doesn't the fear of sharing the same fate as the rest grip you?"

The Old Horn rubbed the rear of his skull.

"Nope. Their leader instructed me to hold back from overdoing it. She intended for Liliane and her squad to handle the bulk of the effort, while I ensured their objective was met."

His eyes drifted to the crimson smears staining the earth.

"Anyway... Seems like I botched the job, but who cares?"

The Old Horn shook his head.

"She'll probably pin the blame on me, though nobody else will agree. Ha, even the five young Lords couldn't hold their own against you."

"Yet here you are," Goen remarked.

Following a brief silence, the Old Horn fished out an item from his pocket that looked like a tooth. It gleamed white with a faint azure hue, yet its unassuming look failed to mask the thick power surging within.

"What, did you think I'd bolt the instant you unveiled your real strength?"

Goen blinked once.

"You realize this isn't my full might, correct?"

The Old Horn gave a wry grin. Naturally, he was aware.

Despite how effortlessly Goen had demolished the fifth team, he hadn't deployed any skills—not the basic ones, much less his hidden aces, which every Phantom possessed.

"It doesn't change a thing. The only question on my mind is whether I've improved since our previous showdown."

Goen squinted his eyes.

"Death awaits you. You're aware of that, aren't you?"

Yet the Old Horn offered no reply.

He seized the pale fang and, without a second thought, drove it straight into his torso.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

His heartbeat accelerated wildly as his presence exploded outward.

"GRRRRHHHH!!!" The Old Horn bellowed in agony while the white fang gradually embedded itself deeper into his chest, infusing his form with untainted power.

Indeed, Goen could end the Old Horn in this very moment. A single sword stroke would suffice with ease.

But he held back. Unlike with Liliane and her group, he shared a history with the Old Horn. For that reason alone, Goen granted him a moment more.

"Agh... Agh... Agh..."

Ragged breaths echoed from the Old Horn as awareness slowly returned to him. The fang had vanished entirely, replaced by a pale mark on his chest and veins tracing across his upper body.

Clutch.

The Old Horn clamped down on his axe's grip and faced Goen.

Goen stayed composed: "How long do you have left?"

The Old Horn hawked up a glob of blood onto the soil.

"Under a minute."

Goen inclined his head solemnly.

"Understood. Then let's skip the delays."

In an instant, both the Old Horn and Goen vanished from their positions.

From their vantage point overhead, Adam and Alexia observed the skirmish in confusion.

"Hold on, what's his motive here?" Alexia stared in astonishment. "That first impact will finish him off!"

But the instant the axe met the great sword in their next exchange, Alexia's face went rigid.

Crash!

Showers of sparks erupted in front of Goen's serene gaze as the blast from their weapons' collision faded away.

Fissures spiderwebbed over the terrain, shattering it apart, flurries of snow billowed outward, and fierce winds whipped through the air.

The Old Horn's eyes turned red with strain, his boots dug into the dirt, yet he managed to endure Goen's full-force blow.

"Impressive—last time, that would've cost you a limb. You've truly grown more powerful."

"That's... far from everything!" The Old Horn bellowed with fierce determination as he lunged once more.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Every impact unleashed a blast that ravaged the surroundings, but neither fighter strayed far from where they started.

The moment one faltered in footing, the duel would conclude.

"How?" Alexia uttered in shock. "He's matching Goen blow for blow? Why hold back earlier? If he'd joined the fight then, they might've overcome him."

Adam, though, saw it differently.

"No way."

"Eh? What are you saying?"

"Goen's just humoring him. Yeah, he's way above the rest now, particularly after embedding that odd fang. But it's short-lived, and even at this, Goen isn't going all out. It's obvious to me."

Adam's assessment rang true, and the Old Horn recognized it too. Right from the start, victory over Goen was beyond his reach.

This Phantom was beyond his league, and another of his caliber might not emerge for millennia.

Nevertheless, the Old Horn opted to challenge him, and oddly, Goen couldn't fathom the reasoning behind it.

"How much time remains?"

"Five seconds," Arika's voice echoed in his thoughts, emanating from his blade.

Goen nodded.

"Then we'll wrap it up with a proper finale. Since this marks our final clash."

Goen halted, forgoing his typical swing to seize his sword in a two-handed hold, hoisting it skyward.

The air twisted from the overwhelming force gathered in his blade as the Old Horn's eyes bulged.

He recognized this strike would seal their fates.

Both anticipated as much, albeit from opposing views.

Tap.

The Old Horn drew a stone eye from his pocket, its vivid vertical slit pupil gleaming.

"Farewell."

Before Goen could respond, the Old Horn crushed the relic and dissolved into swirling white motes.