Endless Evolution: Last Star

"Brother, do you know these people?" Trici asked pointing at Katrin and Kody. They were in the center of a short skit, fighting demonstratively and occasionally throwing out clichéd remarks.

Adam nodded as a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Yeah. I've been on a few missions with them, and I can tell you that at this rate they'll soon be stronger than me." Adam watched Kody and Katrin intently.

Ordinary people couldn't sense it, but Adam focused on their auras.

In the time he stayed at Bastion Radon and took to rest before the Scarlet Light Fair, Kody and Katrin had reached K1. Sure, it had taken them longer than Adam, but they certainly hadn't gotten into dangerous situations like he did.

Gradually, there were more and more people, and soon Trici couldn't see anything. She tried to stand on her toes, but it was unlikely to help her.

Whoooosh.

Adam abruptly lifted her up, throwing her over his shoulders, giving Trici a whole new view. She was now above everyone and could see absolutely everything!

"Fall dark hero!" Kartin exclaimed, swinging her sword and tossing Kody aside. He did his best to fall as naturally as possible, he would make a pretty good actor.

"Argh... I... I lost..." Kody muttered, holding his sword with a trembling hand before letting go of his weapon, and closing his eyes.

It was unlikely that adults and experienced people would be impressed by such a performance in some theater, but this was happening at a cosplay exhibit at a fair! If people were here, they had come hoping to see something like this. Thus, everyone was satisfied.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The applause spread, and Trici clapped especially vigorously. Adam and the others were not left out.

Kody and Katrin bowed low, leaving the stage and making room for the next actors. They weren't the first, and they wouldn't be the last, by this point over ten different scenes had already passed.

"Hey! You guys did great!" Zera waved her hand, approaching Katrin and Kody.

"Hmm? You two know each other?" Adam raised an eyebrow, tilting his head in confusion.

Zera nodded.

"They were with my squad on a mission recently. Honestly, I didn't want to take them since they just became K1s, but Hazel talked me into it, and I haven't regretted it. They're great Phantoms!"

"Adam! It's so good to see you!" Kody exclaimed, walking over to him and shaking his hand.

Then, his gaze traveled to Trici, who with a broad smile, waved at him.

"You're a badass! I wanted you to win!" Trici pointed at Kody with shining eyes.

Katrin's eye twitched.

'At first I thought she was cute, but now she pisses me off, just like Adam in the beginning!'

Alexia stepped forward, drawing attention to herself.

"Are you two going to be discussing this child's play for long?" Alexia smirked, "You can go on if you want, but then you'll miss something interesting!"

Everyone stared at her intently, waiting for an answer.

"The war rodeo!" Alexia exclaimed, clenching her hand tightly into a fist.

"What...? What's a rodeo?" Adam tilted his head as he looked at Silvana.

Silvana sighed.

"I'll explain everything along the way. The military rodeo starts in ten minutes. It will be one of the highlights of this fair. Alexia is right, we should hurry."

"In that case, let's go!"

Oddly enough, it was Trici who said this, with her arms stretched upwards and eyes sparkling with excitement. However, the others were curious too, so with their large group, they headed forward.

Louis joined them on the way, before passing through a tall iron fence divided into several sections or rings around the arena.

The third, second, and first rings were spectator areas, but only the Phantoms could enter the first ring, the closest one. It wasn't about their privileges, but that it could be deadly for ordinary people!

"Are you sure you want to take her with you?" The military officer at the entrance asked, pointing at Trici, then he looked at Silvana, Jena, and Louis, "Your Operators could be in danger too since the first ring is the highest risk of being attacked."

"Under attack by who?" Adam asked, slightly puzzled.

The military man was about to reply, but Louis overtook him.

He put a hand on Adam's shoulder and said, "The monster. The military has caught a monster and will fight against it as if trying to ride it. Why is it called a rodeo? Well, you'll find out for yourself soon enough."

Adam nodded walking on. He wasn't worried about anything happening to Trici or the others.

There were five K1-Phantoms among them, even Steel Knight or North Keeper would be powerless in such a situation. Obviously, the military would not fight such dangerous monsters, especially, right in the center of the Citadel!

As time passed, more and more people gathered, they knew what would happen in this arena - the first public battle of humans against monsters!

Sure, the military could kill a White Threat Level monster with laser turrets or huge amounts of explosives, but in that case, White Threat Level was the limit.

However, something special was going to happen today. The military department was going to demonstrate how the military could deal with the monsters using the latest developments.

Soon, a military man stepped onto the platform, speaking confidently into the microphone:

"I request silence."

His powerful voice was enough to silence even the children who usually liked to make noise.

"We have been testing and developing special equipment for a long time, allowing ordinary people to fight monsters." The military man said seriously.

However, that was enough to get all the people's attention. Yeah, they knew that the military would be fighting a monster, but they didn't know the details.

"Right away, I want to say that there's still a long way to go, and equipment will never be able to surpass the power of the Phantoms, that's an undeniable fact. However, we have already taken a big step forward, and this is just the beginning of our path!" The military man exclaimed, waving his hand.

At the same moment, four platforms appeared from the ground - one large and three much smaller ones.

On the large platform, in an ice cage, was a huge bull with a long metal tail covered with spikes and three massive horns.

It was a Three-horned Buffalo, White Threat Level, White Book. It was one of the weakest monsters, but it had good speed and strength without having any dangerous abilities in its arsenal.

On the three platforms were military - two men and one woman that was familiar to Adam, it was Layla. She was the one who had wanted to fight Adam in Orin's Forge when he had first used his Nexus and injured Silvana.

Layla had been one of the first to get a taste of the newest gear, a still unfinished version. However, they were now wearing fully completed exoskeletons, all tested and ready for actual combat.

The crowd looked curiously at the black military suits, covered with protective plates for defense and mobility. In the center was a generator from which emanated mechanical threads throughout the suit.

"This is the Andromeda Exoskeleton - V03S. The third, stable, and newest version of the only exoskeleton type, so far." The military man explained, "However, that's not all the development department has been able to accomplish!"

At the same moment, the military opened their cases, which contained special weapons.

"This is the False Nexus or FN!" The military man majestically exclaimed, "With FNs, the military will be able to defeat this monster!"