Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 318: Midnight Crystal (Part 43)

Danger accompanied and appeared in everyone's life and it didn't matter if that person was an artist, a cook, or a military man. Everyone had their moments of danger from time to time, always had.

And... in Dead Lands, it happened with maximum frequency, but, those who were most often in mortal danger were not Phantoms.

Sure, Phantoms often had to take risks and fight for their lives, but the record holders in this ranking were monsters. Even the most aggressive and unlucky Phantom didn't have to face danger as often as the average monster.

Thus, it was monsters as a whole species, developed an instinct of self-preservation that surpassed the instincts of all other creatures.

In other words, it was the monsters who were the first to realize when danger was approaching.

What to do in such a situation? What should one do when danger is imminent? Maybe fight? Maybe try to defend against the threat?

Well, everyone knew the answer to this question, but people were too proud to recognize the obvious solution.

In a situation like this - one had to run away and that's exactly what Scarlet Pyromancer did. Running away was the most effective, safe, and pragmatic solution.

Yeah, it might have been a blow to pride, but better to escape and survive than to stay in the center of the battle and die proudly.

Adam, Katrin, Oskar, and the others glanced around. Normally a few words were needed to make a decision, even an urgent one, but now they understood each other simply by their wary looks and wide-open eyes.

Then, without wasting a second as Silvana had said, they ran towards Fume Cathedral. None of them knew what exactly lurked in that majestic and intimidating building.

Adam frowned. He didn't like this situation at all, but they simply had no other choice.

'Well, at least now Fume Cathedral isn't occupied by any strong monster, only the simple monsters that dwell there.

That's what Silvana said.' Adam pondered before looking away.

Oskar took Lero and Erla by the hand. Given that he was under Lero's enhancement and his powerful physical abilities, he would be able to quickly reach Fume Cathedral even carrying them on his back.

Thus Adam had the same task.

He received strength from the others, from the support, but that also meant that he had to help and protect them when necessary.

The supports were not subordinates, they were part of the squad with a special and important role. In large squads, they were the cores that held everything together.

Whoooooosh.

Adam appeared next to Katrin. He was running fast, leaving behind him a trail of powerful footsteps that would soon disappear because of the dust covering them.

They exchanged glances and Katrin instinctively jumped so Adam could pick her up without stopping. Then, he headed straight for Osana who was not far from Katrin.

Despite the complexity of the situation, she was the only one who remained completely calm.

Looking at Adam, Osana smirked and leaned forward so that he could throw her onto his shoulder in one swift movement.

Tap.

Once on Adam's shoulder Osana lightly tapped the staff on his back.

"Hey, careful, you're not carrying a sack of potatoes, but a valuable squad member!" Osana said playfully.

Adam frowned, but he didn't have time to answer her. His job was to get to Fume Cathedral before the monsters got to them and he needed to hurry. With each step, he could feel the trembling getting worse as the horde of monsters got closer.

Osana was getting bored, for all she could do was wait for Adam to carry her to a safe distance.

"Hey." Osana smirked glancing at Katrin who was on Adam's right shoulder, "Looks like we're literally sharing one man for two right now. Didn't expect that from you."

Osana smirked slyly, looking intently at Katrin.

Normally, Katrin was ready to respond to anyone, she had a sharp tongue, but right now she was just out of breath and blushing heavily.

"Shut up! Better think of a plan!" Katrin exclaimed irritably.

Osana turned away, resting her cheek on her hand.

"How boring..." Osana muttered before looking at the wave of monsters chasing them.

There were so many more monsters that amidst the thick black fog, the puffs of dust that they were kicking up under their powerful paws became visible.

"Come up with a plan? We just have to hope that we can take refuge in Fume Cathedral. It's not the safest place by itself, but it's better to fight the monsters there than to be torn apart by that horde."

Osana glanced at Katrin. When she looked at Adam her gaze was different, since in Katrin she didn't see the possibilities for herself. To her, Katrin was simply the support, though tougher than the naive and inexperienced Lero.

"Our best bet would be to follow Scarlet Pyromancer, for he's figured out where things are safest ten times faster than we could do it." Osana smirked, "We are pursuing Scarlet Pyromancer, your target, but not because we want to kill him, but because we want to escape from the other monsters."

Katrin frowned heavily.

Osana smirked caustically.

"It's rather ironic that it worked out that way."

Whoooooooooooooosh.

Before Katrin could say anything else, Adam accelerated sharply approaching Fume Cathedral and catching up with Oskar.

"Silvana, what do we have to be wary of?" Adam asked looking up at Fume Cathedral.

Now he could see the majestic building up close, as the fog was no longer hiding it from his view. Adam didn't see much, though.

It was still the same menacing-looking, gothic building with sharp peaks, different patterns all over the exterior, and dark panes of glass running down to the massive gate that was the entrance to this mysterious place.

The only thing was that Adam was wrong about two things. First, in the size of the Fume Cathedral. He was gazing at the building from afar and through a dense layer of black fog.

The Fume Cathedral was much larger than he had originally thought. The building was majestic as if to show that only momentous events could take place there.

Secondly, Adam hadn't noticed that near the gate and in several other places around the Fume Cathedral were massive statues over five meters high. The two statues near the gate were especially large, and they gave Adam goosebumps.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

At the same moment, the Scarlet Pyromancer approached the gate. Strangely enough, the huge flame beetle was able to fly inside, disappearing into the depths of the Fume Cathedral.

Adam didn't understand why he felt so strange, but for some reason, these statues made him nervous and anxious.

'Could they be alive?' Adam inwardly asked, 'No, it doesn't look like it. Moreover, if their job was to guard the passage, they wouldn't let Scarlet Pyromancer inside. Yeah, it's all just because of the complex situation effect and oppressive atmosphere.'' Read the latest on ???

Then, Adam jumped forward getting in line with Oskar.

"Do you know what's waiting for us inside?!" Oskar shouted from a few meters away from him.

Adam nodded with a serious expression.

"Monsters and it's unlikely that we'll be able to completely escape the horde behind us, but at least we can fight there. It's better than being surrounded by a hundred Light Yellow monsters in the middle of an empty field." Adam said before stepping onto the first step leading to the entrance of Fume Cathedral.