Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 2041: Does it matters?

Step.

Adam took a step back, feeling the heat radiating from the cut on his chest. A wound like that couldn’t throw Adam off balance, but he was terrified of what would follow.

Using the brief moment he had, Adam tried to close the distance between himself and Relana, but Relana was far faster and more skilled than he was.

As soon as her foot touched the ground, she leaped forward, using all the strength in her legs to save time.

Before Adam could step back far enough, Relana was already to his right, and the spear was already spinning in her hands in a deadly whirl.

"You’ll be wounded, Adam. You’ll have to endure a lot of pain because you’re not strong enough to avoid my attacks." Relana’s calm voice echoed through the training hall.

She wasn’t threatening him. She was merely stating what was bound to happen.

Adam gripped his sword tightly as he tried to block her oncoming strike.

But...

Relana had no intention of attacking him with the spear blade. Instead, she used the hilt, striking his jaw with the blunt tip.

A clot of blood spurted from Adam’s mouth along with one of his teeth, and it was that tooth flying past his face that filled his eyes with fear.

"W-What? Is that my tooth? But... Was her hit really that powerful?"

In fact, Relana’s previous attack had been far more dangerous for Adam, and he wasn’t in as much pain now as he had been before. But each of Relana’s strikes was precise, hitting exactly where she intended rather than just landing a broad blow.

Tap.

She twisted the spear in her grip as the blunt edge slammed into the back of Adam’s head, driving his head into the ground.

"Slow, though that was to be expected given our current difference in strength." Relana’s amber eyes remained cold, almost indifferent, while her hands continued to wield the ordinary spear as a deadly weapon.

Without hesitation, she gripped the hilt firmly, directing the sharp tip straight at Adam’s neck.

If he didn’t do anything, the spear would pierce his neck, and it wasn’t certain that Relana would have time to save him from such a wound.

Perhaps it was just an ordinary spear, but it was imbued with Relana’s energy, which meant this weapon could kill a Lord with a single precise strike.

Crack!

Adam slammed his fist into the ground, shattering the concrete slab. He used the concrete slab as a foothold to twist his body aside.

The spear blade whizzed right past Adam’s face, leaving scratches on his cheekbone, as his grip tightened.

Relana’s rapid strikes caught him off guard, but he had enough experience to quickly devise a plan of action and see how he could win.

SLASH!

He swung his sword, cutting Relana’s spear in two.

Without wasting a moment, Adam stood up as a smug smirk formed on his face. He saw Relana’s eyes widen as only the hilt of her spear remained in her hand.

"You’re wrong, Relana! Even if you’re stronger than me, that doesn’t mean you’ll walk away from this fight unscathed!"

With eyes full of excitement, Adam brought his sword down directly at her.

Relana let go of the hilt and shifted her stance. Her feet planted firmly on the ground, and energy surged into her fist.

With no fear in her gaze, Relana thrust her fist forward, shattering the sword blade into tiny fragments and splitting the blade itself in two.

"Ah?"

Adam was confused.

’She... She’s not playing by the rules! How am I supposed to land even a single strike on her if her bare fists are stronger than my sword?!’

If Adam had been wielding something more substantial than his usual sword, such as his needle, then without her full powers, Relana wouldn’t have been able to pull off such a move.

If her fist, even one covered in energy, had collided with Adam’s needle, she wouldn’t have been able to simply shatter it. She would have been left with a deep wound or lost her hand.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons she had set such conditions for Adam.

"It seems you still don’t understand what I want from you, Adam."

Relana stepped forward as she grabbed half of his broken sword.

"I know you’re capable of winning, but I don’t want to see you win or lose, to do that, it’s enough for me to watch one of the many records about you."

Her eyes flashed.

"What I want to see is whether you’re worthy."

Adam didn’t understand what she was talking about, and Relana didn’t give him time to think about it. Her movements were cold and ruthless as she used whatever she could, whether it was her fists or her opponent’s weapon.

THRUST!

Relana plunged the broken blade straight into Adam’s shoulder, causing his face to contort in pain.

In the next moment, white energy enveloped her fists as a barrage of strikes rained down on Adam.

Adam could barely see anything, as her punches were too fast, just shadows that attacked him over and over, causing his body to tremble and new waves of pain to surge through him.

Step.

Adam took a step back in an attempt to dodge the blow, but Relana saw it coming and immediately closed the distance to continue her attack.

All Adam could do was wait for Relana to stop. He had to endure it, since his body was strong enough to withstand dozens of direct strikes.

Still... his mind had to help him. It forced him to focus not on the pain, but on his thoughts.

’She... What does she want from me? What must I be worthy of? What is Gladius up to...? Is this their joint plan? Are they somehow connected? Or... Maybe Aiden is behind all this?’

A flood of questions raced through Adam’s head until they all faded away, leaving room for only one voice.

’Come on, Adam, does it really matter?’

It was the Silver Weaver’s voice.

’Since when do you care about other people’s desires? The only thing that matters is what you want.’

"R-Right..." Adam muttered.

"So, what do you want, Adam?"

Adam’s bloodshot eyes turned toward Relana.

"Win... I want to win..."

The Silver Weaver smirked.

"Good. In that case, that’s exactly what we’ll do."