Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 1565: Bloody Heart

Silvana gnawed her lower lip until blood trickled down. She had been convinced her earlier strategy would wrap up the clash. Much like with Alexia, she braced for triumph as the twenty phantom swords stabbed through Vaarh’s form.

Yet at this moment, the entire scenario had shifted.

Vaarch looked utterly unstoppable, and to compound the horror, she possessed no counter for Adam. No fix existed in her mind.

"I don’t know, Adam. All I can do is give you all my energy and activate the Stellar Resonance. Your only chance to win is to fulfill one of the three conditions for the Third Grand Star. Perhaps if you, like Alexia, gain a new ability, it will become your trump card."

With a subtle nod, Adam charged back into the fray. He refused to delay.

The four-pointed star blazed in his left eye, boosting his speed to new heights. He bounded from edge to edge, aiming to disorient Vaarh, though this tactic was fated to flop.

Whoooooosh.

The phantom sword slammed toward Vaarh, who dodged with ease. The broad edge whisked by his torso while his knee drove into Adam’s wrist.

"Enough of this nonsense!" Vaarh bellowed, batting the phantom sword from Adam’s hold.

Adam reached to seize the sword, yet Vaarh moved swifter.

Lightning crackled at his fingertips, unleashing white bolts that blasted the phantom sword into shards.

Adam held enough power to forge a handful more phantom swords, but that marked his ceiling, bolstered solely by Silvana’s energy and the Stellar Resonance.

To claim victory, pragmatism was key. He couldn’t squander his leftover power on mere phantom swords that Vaarh could shatter with simple electric bursts.

Thus, Adam leaped away, gearing up to call forth his needle.

Yet an odd sensation halted him.

"What? Running after your weapon?"

Vaarch’s commanding voice thundered as he advanced. His gaze intensified, with the azure eye spinning like a massive vortex.

"Didn’t you come here to win and become stronger?"

Clutch. Clutch.

Vaarch balled his fists, his muscles coiling like iron ropes, and even the protective scales on his wrists fractured from the strain.

"You came to the Primal Lands, and your opponent is a dragon! Fight like a warrior, Adam!"

In an unexpected twist, Adam heeded the challenge.

The needle failed to materialize in his grip, but his right eye shifted to green.

At this point, Adam entered his most unadulterated combat state given the circumstances.

"Alright, great dragon..." Chilly vapor escaped with his words. "Let’s see which one of us reaches the limit faster!"

Both figures quivered at once before vanishing from sight.

BAM!

Their fists smashed together amid the battlefield, unleashing a shockwave. Every ounce of power fueled this strike, probing the other’s might.

’He’s strong...’ Vaarch gritted his teeth. ’But, unlike him, there are no secrets for me in our fight!’

Without glancing rightward, Vaarch spotted Adam’s incoming foot. The azure eye captured it all, so he intercepted with his palm before contact, mirroring his block on Alexia.

A smug grin flashed across Vaarch’s features, only for it to twist into shock moments later.

Energy surged along Adam’s leg, igniting a fresh surge of force and velocity akin to a rocket blasting beyond the atmosphere for extra thrust.

Vaarch’s eyes bulged as Adam’s foot crashed directly into his side.

The blow hurled him aside, exposing various blade cuts as blood spurted from several spots.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Vaarch’s body bounced off the earth multiple times until halting beside the frozen spire and the terrified creature.

The creatures lingered nearby, yet fear kept them at bay.

"What the hell was that..." Vaarch rasped, forcing himself upright.

Adam gradually lowered his leg, wisps of scorching vapor rising from it.

’Even if he can see all my movements, that doesn’t mean he’s invulnerable. It’s unlikely that I can be so much faster than him that he won’t even have time to react with the azure eye, but...’

His gaze sharpened.

’What difference does it make whether he reacts to the attack or not if he doesn’t know what kind of attack it is? He was preparing for a simple kick, but received a strike filled with energy. In that case, the azure eye even hurts him.’

Thump.

Vaarch attempted to rise, but buckled onto his knees. Unlike Alexia with her shattered limb, his state was marginally superior, though strength eluded him.

"I need energy... I need strength if I want to continue..." Vaarch murmured, his eyes locking onto the gray creature beside him.

The creature grasped the intent instantly, its fear-stricken pupils contracting as it bolted sharply away.

Gathering every reserve, Vaarch pounced ahead, slipping into the shadows to the creature’s right.

Clutch.

His vise-like hold seized the creature’s skull, yanking it free in a brutal twist that ripped skin and snapped bones.

The creature barely registered the event before Vaarch’s hand plunged into its torso, extracting the still-pulsing heart with a fierce yank.

"What the..." Adam choked. "He’s actually going to do—!"

Vaarch’s fangs tore into the creature’s heart, ripping away a hefty piece like a feral predator before gulping it down.

"Gha." Vaarch exhaled as fresh vitality flooded his veins.

In that instant, the heart in his grasp quivered, while gray-crimson power swirled about his forearm.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The heart warped, shriveling rapidly to utter exhaustion. Moments prior, it resembled a ripe, succulent fruit; now, it lay as a withered husk, stripped of any vital essence.

Vaarch flung the heart away, wiped the blood from his lips, and fixed his stare on Adam once more.

"Shall we continue, human?"