Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 1602: Secret of the Battle (Part 1)

Upon Zargos's arrival, neither Adam nor Alexia felt any anxiety. In contrast to Liliane and her fifth team, facing only a single Lord didn't faze them, since they recognized Ramilo's prowess from Goen's confidence in him, which carried significant weight.

Therefore, Adam felt confident that Ramilo would triumph after just a couple of exchanges, allowing them to press onward toward the Primal Lands' exit.

However... things didn't unfold as straightforwardly as he'd anticipated.

'Hold on, how did he land that strike?' Adam thought in astonishment. 'Even worse, Ramilo's hurt! It's merely a scorch mark... but could that imply Zargos outpaces Ramilo?'

Ramilo, however, brushed it off without much concern.

"Tsk, Zargos, I'll reek like I tumbled into flames the whole day now!"

"Hah, that's on you," Zargos sneered. "You could've evaded or parried my blow, or... Are you simply too sluggish for it?"

Ramilo's eyes tightened as he charged ahead.

Initially, he resembled a massive bull charging to bulldoze Zargos, yet shortly after, his body started quivering.

He flickered in and out of sight around Zargos's position, aiming to disrupt his footing.

"Take that!" Ramilo shouted while striking from the left side.

Zargos whirled abruptly to retaliate.

A shockwave erupted from their clashing fists, ringed by blazing fire.

Ramilo's gaze sharpened further as he lunged once more, materializing on Zargos's right, though the outcome remained unchanged.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Strangely, Zargos held back from initiating any assault. He let Ramilo come at him first and countered every time with perfect timing.

"Come on, fat ass! Show me what you’re capable of!"

"Or..."

For the first time in their skirmish, Zargos's expression turned grim.

"I’ll have to turn you into a pile of ashes!"

Crimson flames surged over Zargos's arms clear to his shoulders, intensifying his aura dramatically.

This time, Zargos took the offensive, and that spelled trouble for Ramilo.

Clang!

Their fists smashed together, shaking the boulders in their wake.

"Agh?"

Ramilo's eyes bulged wide as a streak of fire raced along his arm.

"Look at me!" Zargos bellowed, driving his foot right into Ramilo's chin.

The blow's power hurled Ramilo backward a great distance. Under normal circumstances, that might not matter, but not here.

Regardless of the chaos unfolding overhead, the earthworm kept burrowing onward, clearing its route.

As a result, rather than landing on firm terrain, Ramilo plummeted right off the earthworm.

Zargos stayed atop the colossal worm, grinning widely down at Ramilo.

"Wait, was this his plan from the start?!" Adam wondered to himself in alarm.

Regardless of Ramilo's strength, his absence left them vulnerable without protection.

Suddenly, Adam and Alexia grasped another harsh truth—they had no path to flee, trapped on this relentless creature with no way off.

"HHHHHAAAAAA!!!!" Ramilo inhaled deeply, his form expanding to balloon-like proportions.

Alexia arched a brow in confusion.

Ramilo swung his arm, summoning a cluster of blue energy beside him that detonated in the instant after.

The blast's force propelled him sideways, where he rebounded off the tunnel's walls. Each bounce accelerated him more until the following leap brought him near the earthworm.

"Don’t think you can get rid of me that easily!"

Ramilo slammed down onto Zargos from overhead.

Had that strike connected with the earthworm itself, disaster would strike for all, yet Zargos chose to meet it head-on.

BAM!

Ramilo's punch sent Zargos flying off the earthworm, but unlike Ramilo, he swiftly adapted.

Whoooooosh!

Crimson flames wrapped around Zargos's legs as he dashed along the tunnel walls, encircling them in a fiery loop from up high.

Adam swallowed hard. He couldn't fathom the velocity needed to match the earthworm's pace while clinging to sheer inclines.

'He must be able to soar with his flames, like dual rockets, yet he's sticking to his feet?'

Adam's brow furrowed.

'Does he adhere to the rules? For a guy aiming to snatch me for bounty, isn't Zargos behaving too properly? This guy's odd.'

Blast!

A subsequent burst of fire snapped Adam from his musings as a barrage of strikes hammered Ramilo.

"Come on! Ramilo! Is that all a member of the Old Light is capable of?!"

Bam! Bam! Bam!

In brief instants, Ramilo and Zargos blurred into motion so rapidly that Adam and Alexia caught only hazy outlines amid their forms.

They could merely hold their breaths, anticipating the victor of this clash, desperately wishing for Ramilo's success.

Yet...

"GHA!!!"

A scream of agony reverberated through the passage as Ramilo crumpled nearby Adam and Alexia.

Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.

His muscles spasmed wildly from surges of torment coursing through him. Each of Zargos's hits proved lethal, shown by the burns riddling Ramilo's body. No spot remained unscathed.

Meanwhile, Ramilo's efforts had merely grazed Zargos's shoulder and left cheek a bit.

"Ramilo, it’s now or never!" Zargos declared in an overly dramatic, piercing tone.

Phat!

Ramilo coughed up a glob of blood, rising with a grumpy expression.

"Tsk, is it so hard for you to accept defeat? Why did you have to make me do this?"

Still, Zargos stayed silent. He crossed his arms behind him and observed, aware Ramilo had no alternatives.

Ramilo shook his head before drawing in a profound breath.

"Ghhhhaaaaa!"

His inhalations persisted, his exhalations turning icier bit by bit, while his muscles quaked fiercely.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

His muscles swelled like inflated orbs to massive proportions, making him look like a grotesque mutant from a botched lab creation, immense and hideous.

However...

The moment Ramilo blinked, his eyes shifted to blue, and a torrent of scalding vapor erupted from his frame.

A shroud of steam concealed Ramilo for several heartbeats until a sudden breeze unveiled him.

Adam and Alexia's eyes stretched in sheer amazement.

Rather than the oversized, swollen Ramilo or his typical cushy build, an entirely different being now faced them.

His stature had shrunk, even dipping below Zargos's height, with a chiseled face like etched stone and sinews akin to iron bars rippling under his azure skin, clad solely in sparse fur.

Before them loomed no longer the jolly, oversized feline fond of pranks, but a lethal weapon boasting claws keener than the sharpest edge.

"Great, that’s what I wanted to see!"

Zargos cheered with the glee of a kid earning praise for his hard work.