Endless Evolution: Last Star

What would happen if an ordinary human decided to fight a Phantom? In a fair 1 vs. 1, with no hidden conditions or advantages for either side?

Well, the answer was very obvious, the common man simply had no chance of winning. The only exception that became possible relatively recently thanks to exoskeletons was that a military man could win such a battle.

However, for this a lot of conditions had to be met - a military man, although a mere human, but not a civilian, knows how to fight, especially in hand-to-hand combat.

The exoskeleton enhances the strength of the military, as demonstrated to the public at the Scarlet Light Fair, several of them are capable of defeating a White Threat Level monster.

Thus, if one of the best military, wearing an exoskeleton, faces some Phantom rookie, a real youngster that hasn't figured out how to survive in this world yet, the military can win, thanks to confidence and tactics.

But... that was the maximum. No military man can defeat a Phantom who has been a Phantom for at least one month and is already used to his Nexus, abilities and instincts.

However... What about a hybrid?

Unlike the military and the Phantoms and even more so the common people, there was only one hybrid and it was in the Miracle Observatory under the auspices of Magnus Zephyr.

The exact power of the only hybrid - Nessa Zephyr, was known to a tiny number of people, literally almost nobody.

Adam was about to become one of them, for Nessa was attacking him right now, moving at an unexpected speed.

'Oh, that's impressive,' Adam muttered internally as the dark shadow appeared in one place and another before coming right in front of him.

In a heartbeat, Nessa's foot, like a deadly spear cutting through the wind currents swung towards Adam's head with the clear killing intent. She was more than serious.

Initially, Adam wanted to dodge, he even took a step back following his mind, but then he listened to his instincts and realized that it was not necessary - he was able to block Nessa's attack.

Tap.

Adam held out his palm, stopping Nessa's kick in front of his face.

Whooooooooooooosh.

A light shockwave accompanied by air currents moved to the side, causing Adam to shift back a little, but he didn't lose his balance.

"Damn, you're really perfect..." Adam uttered with a serious look spending a glance at Nessa's leg, then moving to her eyes.

Magnus smirked as he waved his hand.

"What do you think? Maybe it's not what I expected, but if ordinary people or the military saw it, they'd be shocked." Magnus clenched his fist with an excited smile.

Adam nodded deeply without rushing to judgment.

"Not bad, honestly it all happened too fast for me to have any expectations lined up, but I'm amazed. Over the last couple of months, I've realized that while White Threat Level monsters can still be fought by military personnel in exoskeletons and the huge cannons on the walls can hurt them, the stronger monsters are simply invulnerable to all but the Phantoms."

Adam's gaze grew more serious:

"Obviously I was wrong. Tell me straight up, what's your maximum? How strong of a monster are you capable of defeating?" Adam asked, staring intently at Nessa, "It's higher than Green Threat Level, isn't it?"

Nessa didn't bother to answer, instead, she attacked once more, turning around sharply and bringing her other leg down on Adam, top to bottom.

Adam grabbed Nessa's ankle before stepping to the side and smoothly tossed Nessa aside. After Nessa's first attack, it was clear to him that Nessa was weaker than him, however... the difference between them wasn't disastrous.

Adam was almost convinced that if they had met before the events in Fall Hill Prison or before Eclipse in Bastion Radon, he would have lost to Nessa due to a lack of experience, mastery, and sharp instincts.

Nessa deftly bounced off the wall, landing perfectly on the ground, and quickly got into a fighting stance, ready to take the next strike.

"Fine, I'll answer you. According to the latest information based on the tests, I am currently capable of defeating the strongest Blue Threat Level monsters or fighting the weak Purple Threat ones." Nessa replied completely seriously.

Silvana's eyes went wide. As an Operator, she knew very well what would happen if such monsters faced ordinary people.

No... it meant something more, Nessa was stronger than K0-Phantoms, after all, their level was White and Green Threat Level monsters, nothing more.

"At this point...?" Adam was slightly puzzled, then he grinned with a bitter smile, "I see... Well, even so, it's incredible. To have such power without being a Phantom. Even though I'm stronger, I still have a flame of envy for your body. Magnus wasn't lying, you're perfect."

Nessa didn't answer anything, no emotion appeared on her face, it seemed that Adam's words didn't matter to her. However... someone here knew that wasn't true and to Nessa, it mattered a great deal.

"Hey, Nessa, how do you feel when someone strongly praises you? Adam got his might by going through a lot of dangerous battles, what about his fight against Thunder Demon, it's a masterpiece, isn't it?" Magnus smirked, expecting some sort of reaction from Nessa. He seemed to know more about this situation than the others.

However... even now, Nessa hasn't responded anything. She just looked away and only Adam could notice something - Nessa was blushing slightly.

'What...? She blushed, but why?' Adam pondered in confusion, 'Because Magnus's words embarrassed her or because she got turned on for some reason...?'

Clap.

Not letting this situation go any further, Magnus clapped his hands together, bringing everyone out of their trance and getting attention.

"Fine, you've already gotten a feel for what Nessa is capable of, but how about seeing it in practice?" Magnus grinned widely, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

A moment later, a massive drone flew into their room with a pod attached to it or rather a cage with a monster inside.

"Operator, come on, do your job and tell us about this monster." Magnus smirked, looking at Silvana.

Silvana nodded as he looked at the monster.

Strangely enough, it was a Crown Type. The monster's pale skin was almost invisible as it was covered in golden armor like some knight from the Middle Ages. The armor was simple in appearance, but powerful, providing decent protection and mobility.

In the gaps between the armor, golden waves of energy were constantly flowing, some of which were directed to the monster's chest and back, as well as to the monster's weapon, a massive lance that could pierce any target with enough power.

"It's Golden Spearman, Green Threat Level, Red Book. Though White and Green Threat Level monsters don't have their ranking, that one is considered one of the strongest due to its skills and calculation." Silvana gave out a detailed reply.

Magnus nodded.

"Yeah, you are right. Adam, step aside. There's no need for you to fight that monster because Golden Spearman is only here so that Nessa can show you what she's capable of." Magnus waved his hand.

Adam nodded, bouncing back and standing in front of Silvana.

At the same moment, the drone lowered the pod and Magnus opened it, letting the dangerous monster out.