Endless Evolution: Last Star - Chapter 899

Chapter 899: Last Measure
Hours passed, dozens of slashes and three full healings of Reinz from near-fatal wounds, but Adam could accomplish nothing.

Julia had nothing left to do but lean against the wall and watch him try to change Reinz’s mindset.

‘Well…’ she thought looking at the bloodied Reinz, ‘I can’t say Adam is a bad teacher. I’d do pretty much the same thing. However, it doesn’t seem like it would be enough. Learning the Outer Energy Control isn’t easy at all.’

Throwing a glance at Adam’s cold expression, Julia smiled bitterly.

”Hah, it looks like he has some plan? At least I hope so otherwise I’ll have to explain to Erik why I wasted a day of training.”

Bam.

Adam’s knee plunged into Reinz’s stomach, causing him to collapse to the ground, only his outstretched arm saving him from falling.

“You don’t have to try…” Reinz wheezed, “It won’t help… You did it fast… I realize you expect me to do the same, but… I need more time.”

Oddly enough, Adam stopped, his sword pointed downward, and his face unconcerned.

Realizing it was time for a break, Reinz spat out a clot of blood and crawled back to the stone slab, leaning his back against the wall.

“I’m sorry, but it seems I’m not as worthy an opponent as you thought I was.” Reinz shrugged his shoulder staring at one point, “If you want me to catch up with you, I’m afraid you’ll have to back off.”

Naturally, Reinz was not thrilled with what he was saying. He had never before encountered a situation where he was significantly worse than another Phantom of the same level.

Julia shook her head about to join them and resume training as normal.

But, Adam’s grip loosened releasing the hilt – the blade half embedded in the ground as he took a step forward.

Before Reinz could realize anything Adam had taken him by the collar roughly slamming him into the wall.

“Argh!”

After a painful groan, Reinz glanced at Adam.

“And…? Are you going to try to make me stronger by beating me up? That’s too dumb even for you.” Reinz snorted, blood streaming from the corners of his mouth.

“No…” Adam replied dryly, his grip getting stronger, “I’m just wondering what Chloe would be thinking right now if she saw you in this state?”

In a heartbeat, Reinz’s eyes went wide quickly filling with anger. He found the strength to control himself, but his fists were tightly clenched.

Deep inside Adam’s mind a sly smile appeared, but his face remained devoid of any emotion, showing Reinz only cruelty in his eyes.

“As far as I know Erik forbids them from using the shared sight, it turned out to be a lifesaver for you didn’t it?”

Adam lifted his chin arrogantly.

“Hah, she would have seen how insignificant and weak you are. A high nobleman from the first great family? Hah, just a disgrace. I bet Chloe would be greatly disappointed to see that her Phantom isn’t even capable of controlling energy!”

His gaze turned dark.

“You see…? Maybe it’s not too late for her to find a decent Phantom? Heh…” an evil smirk covered Adam’s face, “Just think of how many Phantoms would want a nice girl like her as an Operator.”

Whoooooooosh.

A wide slash split Adam’s chest in a flash. The energy built up at the tip of the blade, leaving a deep cut that spewed out a stream of dark blood.

The impact, from the force and speed of the swing, went through Adam’s body, throwing him back dozens of meters like a projectile.

A shocked Julia quickly bounced off the wall, deftly finding herself behind Adam, who was in flight.

She touched his shoulder, put her other arm around his bloody chest, and tensed her legs. Dust kicked up from the black streaks on the ground until they stopped a few meters from the wall.

Julia raised her head sharply to look at Reinz.

“Agh… Agh… Agh…”

Hot steam came out with each of Reinz’s heavy breaths, but not from the wounds he had received earlier from the beating, but from the fiery anger bubbling up inside him like lava.

His eyes were bloodshot like a wild beast’s, his teeth gritted, and his arms were full of veins ready to explode.

But… that wasn’t what caught Julia’s attention since her eyes darted to the left.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The steel sword shook vigorously from its overflowing energy, white particles escaping through the tip. From time to time, splinters flew off the edges, and the simple weapon was unable to withstand the amount of energy Reinz was pouring in.

“BASTARD!”

Reinz’s scream echoed throughout the arena, resonating the walls like a thunderous blast.

With a trembling hand, Reinz pointed the sword at Adam.

“Don’t you dare speak of Chloe ever again! She is my Operator, and I am her Phantom! We chose each other and no other way! If you dare to do such a thing once, I swear on my family’s name I will cut you into pieces! I will burn you to a state of ash!”

It seemed Reinz’s curses at Adam’s address would never end as suddenly Julia shook her head, stopping him.

“Enough.” Julia took a deep breath, glaring at Adam, “He can’t hear you.”

“What…?” Reinz’s gulped, looking down with a shudder.

Adam’s eyes were closed, blood flowing from the wide wound covering his chest, and a slight smile of victory on his face.

Tap.

In a deft motion, Julia threw Adam onto her shoulder, heading for the exit.

“I’m out of Erik’s blood, I’ll have to go to him. You stay here, keep practicing while you have energy.

“And…”

She turned around with a kind smile, looking at the discouraged Reinz.

“You were lucky that your opponent at the Twilight Palace was Adam Vinter. He knew how to piss you off, because he values his Operator, his Silvana, as much as you do to Chloe. This time, he was a much better teacher than I, because… I’m not the Phantom.”

Then, she and Adam disappeared into the shadows of the passageway, leaving Reinz alone.

…

At the same time, Silvana turned to Erik. Oddly enough, they were sitting on chairs in the distance, watching Chloe, who was left alone in the center of the room at Erik’s instruction.

“Why did you tell her to use shared sight?”

Erik smiled slyly, watching as Chloe’s eyes quickly became wet.

“Because it was a good opportunity to break down the wall between them. I never miss an opportunity.”