Endless Evolution: Last Star

Even before the appearance of Tirana, not to mention Thunder Demon, Jade Lady, and Obsidian Armadillo, Adam was pretty exhausted from three battles in a row.

First against Firebreathing Trinadon, then against Iren and Six-Winged Iron Stingray.

Sure, up until Adam finally decided to enter the fight, given the time it took Prago to get there, Adam had managed to regain some strength, moreover Resonance was doing its job, allowing Adam to squeeze the absolute maximum out of his body.

However, even in such circumstances, Adam could only use his Nexus one more time, First or Second Trait, in this case, it didn't matter. After that, all he would be left with was some Order, after all, he had used his artifact quite a few times already.

Thus, it was quite difficult to make a choice in a few seconds, but... when the end of this period meant inevitable death, Adam's brain was working at its limit.

Step. Step. Step.

Thunder Demon ran forward in massive strides, approaching one of the three main anomalies at lightning speed. He would kill Adam, and leave him to the cruel and uncontrollable thunderbolts.

There was a satisfied smirk on his face, watching Adam's hopeless face, who had no way of getting out of the Thunder Demon's grip. Neither needle nor fist blows could hurt the monster's arm badly enough.

But... Thunder Demon's overconfidence could have been fatal to him, for even when a silver sphere of hundreds of rapidly spinning threads began to appear between Adam's gloves, the monster didn't see it as a threat.

They were already leaving scratches on Thunder Demon's tough skin, but they were so shallow and not deep that Thunder Demon didn't even notice. All he could see was the approaching anomaly that was quite close.

"You think you can kill me just by holding my neck with your filthy paw?! Then I'll show you that you need something much more than that!!!" Adam exclaimed in a thunderous voice before swinging his hand up.

Whoooooooooooosh.

Before Thunder Demon could realize anything, the silver threads tore his wrist, the thinnest part of his arm, apart. Individually, these threads weren't really strong enough to injure a creature as formidable as Thunder Demon, but...

The number of threads and the speed of the sphere's rotation did their job, making it impossible for even the second-strongest Purple Threat Level monster to withstand the damage.

Thunder Demon's eyes went wide, as if not realizing what was happening. Drops of blood and shards of dark flesh flew aside while the silver sphere passed on.

Thunder Demon's gaze traveled to his hand that was heading towards the ground, torn from his arm. Even if it was possible to heal such a wound, definitely not during a dangerous battle.

Obviously, since there was nothing else holding Adam by the neck, they stopped.

Adam let out a heavy sigh and prepared to fight, expecting Thunder Demon to retaliate and attack right away.

However... Thunder Demon was different from the others for a reason. Sometimes, it was impossible to understand what he would do next.

Whoooooooooooosh.

Thunder Demon lunged forward, rushing past Adam and tossing him aside with a sweep of his thick tail.

Adam's pupils narrowed as he put up a block, raising his arms to defend himself at the last moment. However, it still wasn't enough to keep him on his feet, the impact threw Adam aside, forcing him to roll over the salt ground.

'Are you okay?' Silvana asked in a calm voice when Adam was able to stop, gradually rising to his feet.

Adam nodded.

"Yeah... Something like that. Considering what might have happened if I hadn't stopped him, I'm perfectly fine, but... what's that sick bastard doing?" Adam frowned, staring intently at the running Thunder Demon.

Blood was constantly flowing from Thunder Demon's left arm, covering the white salt wasteland, but the bleeding and pain didn't seem to bother the monster at all.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

Thunder Demon leaped forward, heading straight for his hand that almost fell to the ground before it touched the salt, Thunder Demon swallowed it, opening his powerful maw wide.

"Agh...?" Adam was puzzled.

'Did he just eat his hand? Right, surely he's hoping to save it to cure his arm later, isn't he?' Adam suggested it sounded more than logical to him.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Thunder Demon's jaw began to move as a loud crunch was heard as if from the grinding bones.

Fred, standing in the distance and watching the fight, frowned heavily.

"Holy shit... He didn't even think for a second before rushing forward and eating his own hand... It's scary to imagine what he'll do with that wound..." Fred muttered, glancing at the rapidly flowing blood from Thunder Demon's arm.

Even if it was Thunder Demon, there was no way to leave such a strong bleeding. Normally, an effective method to get rid of bleeding on the battlefield was to burn the wound or use lightning bolts to do so....

However, here on their battlefield, there was a natural means by which Thunder Demon could solve this problem, even though it would be even more painful than using lightning bolts.

Crackle.

Thunder Demon lowered his arm to the ground, plunging it directly into the cluster of salt that covered absolutely everything in this area. The salt crystals coated Thunder Demon's entire wound, absorbing both blood and moisture.

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAGGG!!!"

Immediately a hurt shout was heard, although the salt was an effective remedy, it was painful, and Thunder Demon felt it to the fullest.

"Rgha... Rgha... Rgha..." Thunder Demon was breathing heavily, coming to his senses, and then his gaze went to Adam, but there was no hatred or anger in his eyes, only elation that Adam hadn't turned out to be a weakling.

'Adam... Even though it looked strange, he did the right thing in his situation.' Silvana said, catching Adam's attention.

"Hm? What the hell are you talking about? He's a fucking psycho!" Adam waved his hand with a frown.

'Yes, but not only that. By eating his hand, he had regained some energy. Sure, he's considerably weaker now, but it shows he knows what he's doing, in every move he makes.

Adam nodded, his gaze filled with seriousness and steadfastness.

"Whatever. I only have one trump card left. If I can't use it properly, he'll kill me even without two hands..." Adam muttered as the silver needle appeared in his hand, conserving his remaining energy for something more.

Fred sighed heavily, staring intently at Thunder Demon and narrowing his eyes.

'Obviously, he won't be holding back any longer after this. Trump of the Thunder Demon... Shit, Adam, you should get ready. I'm not likely to be able to help you much with this.' Fred inwardly muttered, gathering energy for a powerful arrow.

This time, he would have more than enough time to make a perfect shot that would reach its target.

"Rgha...." Thunder Demon growled, before arrogantly raising his chin and aiming his remaining hand at Adam.

Then, the core in Thunder Demon's chest began to actively shake, releasing electrical discharges on all sides that completely traveled through Thunder Demon's body, filling it with power.

An electric shiver traveled along Thunder Demon's arm.

In a heartbeat, before Adam could realize anything, a crushing bolt of lightning rained down on him.