Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 1590 1590: First Knight of the World End

Once foes, Adam and Liliane now faced the identical peril. Her arrival had been driven by commands to seize or eliminate him, yet their circumstances had aligned completely.

When Goen called forth his Nexus, they anticipated merely a basic armament. Of course, they realized it needed to possess immense power, fitting his formidable prowess.

Yet... inquiries outnumbered any resolutions.

From whence had Arika emerged? Could she be Goen's Operator? Should she serve as his Operator, why would his Nexus rely upon her so heavily? How was her physical form manifesting here, and was this occurrence genuine?

Adam possessed zero solutions to these riddles, merely speculations and hypotheses.

Furthermore, his current reflections shifted away from Arika, focusing instead on Goen's designation.

'First Knight of the World End?' Adam pondered while glancing toward Silvana. 'Are you familiar with any details on this?'

Silvana mirrored his astonishment, perhaps surpassing it in intensity. As an Operator herself, she inevitably pictured herself positioned in Arika's stead.

'No, I sensed Goen concealed secrets. Yet I never foresaw such revelations. His Nexus, this young woman, and... what significance does it hold?'

Her lip was gnawed until blood surfaced.

"He's human, yet bears a title? Such honors are exceedingly uncommon for our kind, but his appears utterly extraordinary. Why the excessive length? First Knight? World End? What could that signify?"

Chaos reigned in their thoughts, a turmoil equally gripping Alexia and Louis.

Questions plagued Liliane and her fifth squad as well. Their superior had offered no forewarning of such developments.

Fear stemmed not from the surprises alone, but from their status as Lords, rendering the astonishment as profound for them as for Adam and Alexia, the K4-Phantoms.

"Captain!" The ashen-faced warrior cried out while a circular shadow materialized on the earth behind Goen.

Ere Liliane uttered a word, the ashen warrior burst from the shadow, gripping his blade firmly in dual hands, intent on stabbing Goen's throat.

"We can't stop battling! This fiend must be slain!"

Liliane's gaze expanded in alarm as her limb thrust ahead. "No, halt—!"

SLASH!

Goen's blade arced through the air in a straightforward, fluid, and rapid motion.

BLAST!

Of the ashen warrior, naught lingered save a crimson streak, paired with suspended blood streams in the atmosphere, remnants of his form.

A tempestuous wind surge howled laterally, rattling the summits of leafless limbs. Serene clouds drifting across the azure heavens parted asunder, akin to a colossal figure wielding a blade that cleaved peaks with the simplicity of timber.

"The second falls." Goen bent at the waist while his sinews coiled tightly.

Terror flooded Liliane's vision as she gestured sharply.

"Retreat on my command! Immediately!"

Crash!

Goen's bound propelled a depression into the soil as he blurred beyond her sight, arriving before the azure-tressed maiden and the scarlet-tressed one.

In dread, they lifted their gazes, beholding the colossal knight looming over them.

"Remaining in place?" Goen remarked. "That suits me perfectly."

His fingers balled into a knot, then pounded into the azure-tressed girl. The immense impact burst her skull while the scarlet-tressed one merely pivoted gradually. Yearning to flee the horror, she found herself immobilized.

"FLEE!" The wielder of the axe bellowed at maximum volume. He charged ahead, striving to aid her.

Alas, delay had sealed their fate.

Goen's grasp seized the scarlet-tressed girl's nape. His might permitted effortless strangulation or cervical fracture, yet his intent diverged.

Scarcely anyone anticipated brutality of this magnitude.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Amid rending of tissue and dermis, Goen extracted the vertebral column directly from the scarlet-tressed girl, her vitality persisting.

Lacking pause, he whirled and, employing the spine as a lash, cleaved the axe bearer into halves, alongside several meters of terrain ahead, forging a broad chasm.

In that instant, clarity dawned upon all. Demise loomed exclusively for them henceforth.

Farko and Liliane shared a mutual look.

No words passed between them as they expended every ounce of vigor to escape the conflict zone at maximum distance.

Step. Step. Step.

Farko dashed with utmost velocity, direction unknown, solely prioritizing remoteness. Panic dominated his psyche.

'Damn! Damn! Damn! Quicken! Escape this place, or else—!'

Puff!

Before him, vapor materialized as Goen advanced with a single stride.

"Agh?" Bewilderment struck Farko just as Goen's knuckles collided with his visage.

BLAST!

The gory detonation preserved merely Farko's soles. Thus, Liliane stood as the sole remnant of the fifth squad.

Via an indigo gleam, she traversed the woodland, having covered over a kilometer already.

For an unexplained cause, Goen refrained from chasing her.

Had mercy prompted him to let her live?

Tap.

His blade was relinquished, suspending midair.

"Proceed. Yours is the final strike."

The blade ascended, piercing the firmament, where Liliane remained discernible amid her haste.

Whooooooosh.

The blade revolved and descended upon Liliane with colossal velocity.

"W-Wha...?"

Turning was all Liliane managed. The edge mirrored in her sight, terminating existence forthwith.

A subtle nod from Goen preceded his vanishment in vapor. The blade reverted to his hold, stained by Liliane's essence. Witnessing her end proved unnecessary; her aura's absence confirmed it.

Finality appeared achieved, yet Goen avoided nearing Adam and Alexia.

Another claimed precedence in his focus presently.

Step.

Goen advanced a pace, halting before the Old Horn.

"At last, recognition dawns upon you."

The Old Horn scowled, fingering his fractured horn.

"Indeed, forgetfulness eludes me. Those eyes... pristine clarity and ebony locks. You are Goen."

Goen inclined his head while brandishing his blade.

Depth intensified in his gaze.

"The moment arrives to conclude matters and claim your remaining horn."