Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 2056: The Response to Defeat

Silvana was confused.

Every time she defeated her opponent, the energy flows created a new seal before her that was supposed to lead her to the next battlefield.

However, she knew that Breydar was Adam’s last serious opponent worthy of her and his attention.

Sure, quite a few events had taken place since the battle against Breydar. Adam had met Kamora, who had fought against Durand, a True Lord who had come to the Gray Sea to kill him.

But Adam had merely been an observer. He and Durand had never been opponents, and their powers differed too greatly.

"Maybe I’m about to face the Nova Hail?" Silvana muttered.

Then, she shook her head.

"No, that can’t be the case. It was more of a trial than a battle. What the hell is going on...?"

Silvana frowned as she recalled everything that had happened afterward.

"Wait... After we left Azure Island, we went to meet Farla, and right after that... Gladius appeared."

True, they hadn’t fought Gladius, it wouldn’t have ended well if they had.

But someone else was at the atelier.

"R-Relana?"

Silvana’s eyes widened as the energy sword in front of her glowed brightly.

The next time she blinked, she found herself in the training hall located deep beneath Relana’s atelier.

Silvana saw the same scene Adam had - the walls covered with various types of weapons, as well as numerous stands.

Standing opposite her was Relana, calm and composed, and something immediately set her apart from the rest.

"Choose your weapon."

Relana’s deep voice echoed, leaving Silvana speechless.

Until then, no opponent had ever spoken to her, even though many of Adam’s enemies after the Plague Reaper, whether Phantoms or monsters, were capable of speaking.

She realized this was a limitation of her memories, but for some reason, it didn’t apply to Relana.

’Is it all because of Relana, or because I didn’t know about this fight?’ Silvana grew wary.

She had a hunch about what had been happening at the atelier and the reason Adam and Relana had left, leaving Silvana and Gladius alone.

"They were fighting." Silvana narrowed her eyes. "And now I’m about to take part in a battle I know nothing about."

Silvana understood that none of those memories could be considered a real battle, not only because the memories differed from what actually happened, but also because she already knew everything about those fights.

She knew what Adam’s opponents were capable of, what to expect from them, and where their weaknesses lay.

Also, to some extent, she herself had participated in those battles. She had seen the same things Adam had, even though she hadn’t actually been on the battlefield. She could sense energy levels perfectly, even better than Adam, since she was an Operator.

But she knew nothing about Relana.

The fact that Relana and Adam might have fought under the Atelier banner was merely her assumption, and the only evidence of this was Gladius’s sly smirk.

"Stop wasting my time."

Relana repeated in her powerful voice and took a simple hammer from the wall.

"Pick your weapon and start fighting."

Silvana nodded and ran over to the nearest stand.

Strangely enough, she made a choice similar to Adam’s. He chose a simple sword, while she picked up two blades.

"We fight without using any abilities, just your energy and body. There are no other rules."

Without waiting for Silvana’s reply, Relana lunged forward, appearing in front of Silvana in the blink of an eye.

BAM!

Relana’s hammer crashed down on Silvana, and she barely managed to withstand the blow.

"What the...?" Silvana’s eyes widened as Relana leaned her torso to the right and her hammer slammed straight into Silvana’s shoulder from the side.

The impact was strong enough to make Silvana’s eyes widen in pain and send her flying to the side.

Whooooooosh!

Before Silvana’s feet could touch the ground, Relana caught up to her and swung her hammer with both hands.

Silvana’s face filled with terror as the hammer slammed straight into her jaw from below.

The blow sent Silvana flying upward with such force that her head smashed through the ceiling as her body was half-embedded in the stone slabs.

Crack.

Cracks ran across the ceiling as Silvana’s body crashed to the ground a few meters away from Relana.

Blood flowed from her nose and eyes, and a searing pain tore through her head.

Just two strikes were enough for Relana to win.

But something else mattered now.

Silvana realized she didn’t stand a chance against Relana.

’I don’t know who she is, but... a K4-Phantom couldn’t possibly possess that kind of strength. No... not even a regular Second-Rank Phantom could be that strong. She’d probably be able to defeat even Durand..."

She reached this conclusion not only based on those two strikes, but also on Relana’s confident gaze and her energy. She’d only ever sensed such strong and calm energy from a few warriors Adam had faced.

Relana wasted no time as she raised her hammer, ready to deliver the next and final strike.

Silvana didn’t know what Adam had done, whether he’d lost or won. In fact, even though she’d lost after just a few strikes, Adam had expected the same outcome. Relana could easily have defeated both of them, no matter what weapon she used: a hammer, her bare fists, or a sword.

For Silvana, in this trial, there was only one question left before her inevitable defeat:

Would she continue to fight, or would she decide it was pointless?

THUMP!

Relana’s hammer cut through the gusts of wind, closing in on Silvana.

At that moment, Silvana bit her lip and clenched her fists as tightly as she possibly could.

She knew it was all just an illusion, that if she lost, nothing bad would happen, but... did she then have the right to stand beside Adam on the battlefield?

"Damn it. Why am I even thinking about this? The answer is obvious!"

A flame flared up in her heart as she hurried to get back on her feet.

"Adam wouldn’t have given up. He would have kept fighting until the very end!"

At that very moment, the threads were reflected in her eyes - the purple ones that, at her command, shot forth to stop Relana’s hammer.