Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 1538 1538: Stone Demons

[The trial's conditions were altered by the more dominant side of the agreement.]

[For succeeding in the second trial, you need to... There's absolutely nothing within your power.]

[Your only option at this point is to endure and stay alive.]

In the gentlest terms, this outcome was far from what Adam and Alexia had anticipated after believing they'd finished the second trial.

The Ancient Voice was supposed to proclaim their victory and hand over the prize, just like it had with the Pale Spider Pearl, yet the master of the Frost Oasis obviously intended something entirely different for them.

"What in the world is happening?!" Alexia burst out in rage.

The illumination from the glass ceiling vanished, leaving just a dim shimmer tracing the mirrors between the pillars. The sole clear sight was the crimson glow shining from the eyes of one stone demon.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The splitting sounds originated from the side as the Stone Demon began to stir. Its body quivered, the rocky covering shattered, and its wings spread out broadly, rendering it even more terrifying.

It leaped down from the archway, causing the ground to rumble, and touched down right in the hall's center.

At this moment, the beast, exceeding six meters in height, with shadowy hide, quaking sinews, and wings vast enough to eclipse the light, loomed above them.

The sneer across the Stone Demon's visage indicated he viewed them as no real challengers. In his eyes, they amounted to mere starters for his meal.

Adam squinted while observing the blue fairy vanish into a fissure in the floor.

'I get it. Initially, it concealed the true guidelines from us, but now some entity or force has outright modified them?'

Step.

Adam advanced, gazing at the Stone Demon.

"Hey, Alexia, it arrived quicker than anticipated, but seems like we're returning to the fundamentals."

"Agh?"

The white needle materialized in Adam's hold as a faint grin curved his lips.

"To progress, we need to eliminate every foe ahead. Couldn't get much more straightforward, huh?"

Alexia required no further urging, summoning her Nexus and slamming her fists as one.

"Hell yeah!"

Sparks erupted before her vision while she positioned herself beside Adam.

The Stone Demon paid it no heed; instead, his grin stretched broader before he balled his fist hard and drew it rearward for the strike.

It appeared the Stone Demon moved sluggishly, his limb shaking with red energy streaks flowing over his strained muscles, yet abruptly, the scene shifted.

Whoooooooooosh.

Adam's pupils constricted as, in one blurred instant, the Stone Demon's fist loomed before his features, a massive peril that could smear him into gore without delay.

Neither he nor Alexia had foreseen such a bulky and weighty creature capable of such velocity.

All Adam managed, driven by reflex, was to position the needle defensively ahead.

BAM!

The collision hurled Adam away like a projectile, crashing his spine against the closest pillar.

"GRHA!" Adam coughed up blood while surges of agony ripped through his frame.

Step.

Alexia retreated a pace. The moment for play had ended, and even she grasped that.

"Louis, did you catch that? What the hell was that?"

She ground her teeth.

"Is he truly that swift? I hardly perceived a thing!"

Regrettably, Louis offered no reply. He regarded the Stone Demon pensively, who smirked with arrogance after his effective blow.

"Continue battling. You lack sufficient details. I'm uncertain regarding his quickness, but observe Adam—this fiend possesses immense strength without doubt."

Alexia dipped her head as a frosty haze packed with minuscule ice shards materialized by her side.

She was unsure which armament would prove optimal against the Stone Demon, but she possessed a reliable all-purpose tactic.

Wheeez!

She breathed out and lifted her arms as though grasping an object overhead.

Simultaneously, the pale vapor formed into a colossal axe featuring a broad curved edge.

"DIE!"

Alexia yelled while swinging the axe toward the Stone Demon. Certainly, the Stone Demon was a massive brute who could demolish an ordinary dwelling with one blow, but the enormous frozen axe speeding his way was no trifle to dismiss.

Then, an event unfolded that widened Louis's eyes.

Step.

The Stone Demon sidestepped, letting the frozen edge sweep past his torso. The axe smashed into the floor, carving a profound scar, yet the Stone Demon stayed unscathed.

"W-What?" Alexia whispered, stunned. "Why did that jerk just evade?"

After witnessing the potency and rapidity of the Stone Demon's earlier strike, Alexia had assumed the Stone Demon would attempt to parry her axe or shatter it outright.

"Damn, he's sharper than I figured!" Alexia stomped in frustration.

Louis pressed his lip. 'No, Alexia, I believe it's—!'

SLASH!

Before Louis could conclude, a lengthy gash appeared on the Stone Demon's torso, initially undetectable even to him.

"Gh?" The Stone Demon glanced down as blood spurted from the severe wound across his chest.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Crimson droplets successively plummeted to the floor, broadening the grin on Adam's countenance.

In his grasp rested merely his needle, but a single energized slash sufficed to wreak such havoc on the Stone Demon.

"I see..." Adam's resonant tone resounded across the somber chamber. "You're no fearsome, mighty demon; you're merely a frail one, aren't you?"

No one comprehended Adam's words, leaving all baffled—from the Stone Demon and Alexia to Louis and Silvana.

As Adam's black staff and gloves emerged in his possession, every gaze shifted toward him.

Tap.

He struck his staff against the ground, and instantly, he perched atop the Stone Demon's skull.

The Stone Demon's eyes bulged in terror while Adam's fingers clamped his horns firmly.

"You appear massive and robust, but truly, you depend on deceptions, don't you?"

Adam murmured while yanking his hands skyward.

Blood sprayed from the Stone Demon's cranium as the ripped horns now rested in Adam's clutch.