Endless Evolution: Last Star - Chapter 678

Chapter 678: The Purple Rune

The Fortress of the Lone Serpent was larger than the Fume Cathedral, but that wasn’t a valid comparison. Even though they were two Strongholds, the Fortress of the Lone Serpent had a much higher status, both because of its location and irregular energy.

Though Adam couldn’t see the entire fortress from his perspective, but he could also see it from above from the fighter.

His mind immediately conjured up an apt comparison – with the Moon Colosseum, with all of it, not just the arena where he fought against Fromund.

The Fortress of the Lone Serpent was about the size of four of the Moon Colosseums, taking into account both the arena and the spectator seats along with the wide frame.

In other words, the site of the Fortress of the Lone Serpent could have been an entire neighborhood or small village from the Second Ring.

Step. Step. Step.

Adam entered the main courtyard, looking around at the complex structure of the fortress.

High walls formed passageways along with stairways leading up and down, purple torches burned brightly, filling every dark corner of the fortress, serving as a constant guide in this blighted place.

Wide slabs of stone with intricate patterns covered every level of the fortress, some of them cracked or covered in dark stains – someone’s long-ago blood.

Long pieces of cloth fluttered in the wind currents, hanging from long wooden beams placed at each passageway as an extra path for the most agile ones.

Broken urns and old wooden crates were natural obstacles, unsuccessfully trying to create the illusion that there was nothing to be afraid of in the fortress.

Then, Adam’s gaze locked on a few shadows in the nearest paths. Adam’s eyes went wide for a moment as he realized that they were not the Dark Watchers – the shadows were much shorter, with the height of the average man and their build was not as wide.

Thump.

A blob of darkness erupted a few meters away, and a similar shadow emerged from the wall as Adam watched it pass by him.

Even though they were monsters, like the Dark Watchers they were in no hurry to attack Adam, though they definitely noticed him and one of them slowly passed right in front of his eyes.

An anthropomorphic creature just over a meter and a half tall, slowly treading its bare feet on the stone-cold floor. Ragged, filthy clothes covered its gray skin, stretched at the points of its arms, legs, and neck.

Its pale blue eyes were deep-set, almost devoid of light, but its steps were light and almost silent. For K0 or K1 Phantoms, it would be nearly impossible to notice its presence even if it were at their backs.

Their only visible weapons were long nails, hardly sharp but possibly strong enough to tear through enemy flesh.

Yet, shadows shook around the creature, while a faint darkness enveloped it as if trying to shield it from the light.

Then, Adam heard Silvana’s voice, she knew what he wanted to know.

‘These are the Shadow Walkers, Mid Yellow Threat monsters and along with the Dark Watchers they are the main but not the only creatures in the fortress.’

“Hmm… They will continue to ignore me if I don’t attack first, but what reasons could I have for that?”

After the experience with the Fume Cathedral and passing through the gate, Adam’s thinking was different from what not-so-experienced Phantoms would normally do.

Upon seeing a monster they would immediately attack them, be it the guards in front of the gate or the Shadow Walkers wandering around, but… that would be a serious mistake.

‘If you’re attacking monsters while they’re not touching you, then you’re missing something and acting wilder than the monsters themselves. After all, I’m the only one here and there are many, many of them.’

At the same moment, Adam decided to use an ability that only K2-Phantoms possessed – the Gene Field.

A transparent field emerged from Adam, covering the space around him like an invisible dome. This allowed him to see many silhouettes moving behind the walls, all of them were the Shadow Walkers, however, it didn’t last long.

For some reason, the next moment Gene Field couldn’t see anyone anymore, this could only happen if the targets were stronger than Adam or close to him in terms of power.

However, there was another reason:

“Something’s wrong…” Adam narrowed his eyes trying to gaze into his Gene Field, “It’s not that I can’t see them in general, it’s that something is preventing me from spotting them, covering their faint silhouettes.”

After a few seconds, Adam realized what was going on here as his lips slowly opened:

“The Irregular Energy. Damn, no one warned me about this side effect. It could make it harder to…”

Thump.

Suddenly, behind Adam appeared two blobs of darkness as two Dark Walkers emerged from the walls passing within a meter of Adam.

Even Silvana watching from afar flinched, she was ready to tell Adam to dodge, but his calm expression made her maintain a tense silence.

Adam was not relaxed, he was keeping a close eye on the Dark Walkers who could appear in any part of the fortress at any moment, but there was no panic inside him.

The fortress was trying to trick him, to scare his instincts and make him act reflexively, but Adam had seen enough to avoid falling into such a simple trap.

Whoooooooooooosh.

At the same moment, bright purple flashes appeared from the distant parts, attracting not only Adam’s attention but also the Dark Walkers wandering nearby.

A dense light streaked across the intricate patterns on the stone slabs before stopping in the center of one of them near the main gate.

Burst.

A powerful stream of flame burst outward taking the form of a calm vortex, letting off light ripples spreading around before crashing against the walls.

Above the flames hovered a four-pointed rune of pure dense energy, a dark purple hue in contrast to the bright fire.

Adam didn’t know what it was, staring at the flames like a mesmerized soul, but he didn’t have time to ponder.

The pale eyes of the Dark Walkers grew deeper as they turned sharply, charging at Adam like wild hounds.