Endless Evolution: Last Star

It is unknown what would happen if Adam continued to press Plague Reaper further. Perhaps his claws would have torn the monster apart, or the black air would burst through the wind veil, leading Adam to the gates of death.

Well, neither Adam nor Plague Reaper would ever know how their clash would end, for they were separated by someone intervening from the outside.

Adam's eyes went wide, as did Plague Reaper's. Neither of them expected to be interfered with. And... they were both outraged, for it was unknown which of them would win their fight.

Before Adam or Plague Reaper could realize or do anything, the root pulled Adam towards Katrin, with Osana standing next to her.

It was clear from Osana's gaze that this was her plan. She understood better than anyone what her ability was capable of.

"What the fuck! Why did you do that?" Adam exclaimed, irritably approaching Katrin.

"It wasn't my idea!" Katrin waved her hand before looking at Osana, "She made me do it. She said it was too dangerous, and you could die."

Then Adam's fiery gaze headed towards Osana as if he were trying to burn through her.

Osana narrowed her eyes.

"Calm down. Our lives depend on you. I can't let you die, even if the odds were unknown. The black air nearly destroyed my wind veil, a few more breaths and you'd be lying on the ground with a blank stare with foam flowing from your mouth."

Adam gulped. He realized it was a possibility, but unlike Osana, he was willing to take the risk.

Step. Step. Step.

Erla ran up to them, but... she wasn't going to talk at all. Her hand was covered in energy, condensing and turning into several arrows that hovered above her.

"Die!" Erla shouted furiously, throwing her arm out towards the Plague Reaper, who was still against the wall.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

White arrows flew in front of Adam, Katrin, and Osana, quickly heading toward the Plague Reaper, leaving a faint trail that quickly dissipated as the arrows traveled.

Plague Reaper furrowed his eyebrows before darting away, hiding behind the columns.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

In an attempt to catch up to the shadow, the arrows crashed into the columns, partially destroying them but also eliminating themselves.

Watching the arrows and Erla's actions, Adam and the others noticed too late that Plague Reaper's goal was not to dodge Erla's attack.

He experienced a real fear of death, for it was possible that if Katrin had not intervened, Adam would have killed him. Plague Reaper realized that, against Adam in his current state, his physical abilities and the strength of his coat were not enough to win.

Moreover, Plague Reaper couldn't ignore Katrin and Osana, they made Adam even stronger than he was and were also serious opponents and worthy K1-Phantoms.

It seemed that Plague Reaper was in a completely losing position, but... in the heat of battle, they all forgot that all this time, Plague Reaper had been fighting unarmed.

Sure, his abilities, physical capabilities, and strange coat were real weapons in themselves, but it wasn't something that could cut, destroy, or shatter.

With a squeak, the Plague Reaper came to an abrupt stop, leaving two streaks on the ground due to its high speed.

Then, Adam's and everyone else's eyes went wide, realizing that they let Plague Reaper get to Fume Throne, no... they let him walk up to the coffin buried in the ground.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

With a deep sigh, Plague Reaper swung his hand, tearing off the top lid of the coffin along with the hinges.

The lid flew off to the side, spinning in the air, before sinking its sharp edge into the ground, showing how heavy it was.

Then, thick black smoke came out of the coffin, covering everything around it. Only a few seconds later, when the smoke cleared, everyone could see what was inside the coffin.

It was a tall scythe with a bone hilt and a long, curved blade as black as the night itself.

Katrin gulped, instinctively taking a few steps back.

Though the scythe looked quite normal, albeit a bit strange because of the bone hilt, Katrin felt an eerie aura of death from the weapon. She couldn't explain it, but her legs moved without her knowledge, forcing her to walk a few meters away.

Clutch.

Plague Reaper gripped his weapon tightly with one hand before struggling to pull the scythe from the coffin.

It wasn't just because the scythe as well as the coffin weighed a lot, but also because the coffin was literally holding the scythe inside of it.

The black hands lurking inside did not want to give up the scythe, they gripped its hilt tightly, but Plague Reaper was stronger.

Whooooooooooooosh.

Taking a step backward, Plague Reaper swung his scythe once, causing the wind currents around him to become active.

Then, his gaze directed towards his enemies, his posture changed, his shoulders slightly raised, and his back bent forward.

Plague Reaper did so in order to hold his scythe with both hands, the blade of which began to shake actively, faster and faster with each passing second.

Soon, the trembling stopped before an eerie, piercing scream began to emanate from the black blade like a wailing siren.

HOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!

The sound waves quickly reached their ears, instilling fear. Goosebumps ran down their bodies, and their minds were consumed by nothing but terror. The scythe acted like a demon thirsty for blood and, at the same time, a desperate soul whose fate was to serve the Plague Reaper.

'What a nasty scream...' Osana thought, looking at the Plague Reaper with narrowed eyes.

She cast a glance at Adam and Erla. Their reactions were different.

Erla was frightened, her face pale and her gaze blank, while Adam's gaze became more serious. He realized that Plague Reaper had now shown its full power, and it was unknown whether they would be able to deal with the consequences.

Step.

Plague Reaper stepped forward, his intentions unknown.

Strangely enough, the first to guess what was going on was Osana. Unlike Adam, she had a lot more experience with dodging or fleeing, so her instincts made her make the following decision...

Whoooooosh.

A flash of smoke covered the Plague Reaper before his silhouette shuddered, disappearing like a shadow.

"Agh...?"

Adam gasped as he felt something crash into him. Glancing to the side, he saw Osana, whose eyes were filled with regret and sadness. She jumped at him, clutching her arms tightly around his waist, to get as far away from that point as possible.

Before Adam could say or realize anything, he saw a black flash pass in front of them, which was the Plague Reaper.

But...

Besides Osana and Adam, there was someone else standing in that spot...

"What...?"

Erla muttered, raising her eyes, only to see a long black blade that pierced her forehead.

Several trickles of blood flowed downward, just as slowly as life was leaving Erla's gaze, who still hadn't fully realized what just happened.

Whooooosh.

Plague Reaper's hand slid over the bone hilt of his scythe before swinging his weapon.

The black blade ripped Erla's head from her body, dooming it to fall somewhere in a corner amidst the dust and dirt.

There was no respect or applause here, as there had been for Lero.

The Plague Reaper simply killed his next victim. Erla was just one of the many thousands whose lives he took along the way, nothing more.