Thump. Thump. Thump.
One Phantom after the others fell to their knees, looking up at the rays of sunlight, at their salvation. No one else had the strength to hold on, much less think of fighting.
"Monsters..." the man muttered, staring ahead, "They're leaving."
The eyes of the girl beside him shone brightly as she hugged him tightly:
"Yes! We did it!"
"Hah... it looks like it... but at what cost..."
Although the monsters were retreating, not all of the Phantoms felt victory, for this was not the case.
The man slowly turned around, noticing the many corpses, whether it was from the Crimson Monarch's attack or the long battle against the monsters.
Of the total number of Phantoms, no more than 30% survived.
The man's face darkened, the joyful smile quickly dissipating.
Tap.
At the sa ti, another Phantom placed a hand on his shoulder. The man turned around to see a phantom just like him managing to survive this hell.
"I know we shouldn't forget our fallen comrades, but..."
The Phantom pointed upwards, looking at the rays of sunlight coming through the ruined walls.
"We went through too much this night. We all need rest and now is the best ti for it. The eclipse is over, which ans no one else will die."
Though he spoke to the man, his words echoed in the soul of everyone in the fortress. No one needed the guilt, not at a ti like this.
Viron and Gnash were no exception to this rule. Even though they were outside the fortress, they could hear the conversations between the Operators well.
"Agh... This night has co to an end."
Viron scratched the back of his head, shaking his head from side to side as if trying to push away the urge to sleep.
srized, Gnash stared at the slowly rising sun for a while. She blinked a few tis to jerk sharply toward the serpent spire.
"Adam... We have to help him! Even if it's already dawn it doesn't an his fight is over!"
A bitter smile ford on Viron's face.
"Hah, co on, you should already realize everything from their auras, but... If that's not enough for you then just listen to the Operator."
"What?"
Then, each Phantom heard the voice of one Operator, but strangely enough, it wasn't Silvana.
'Hey, this is Alan, Katrin's Operator. I'd like to announce that Adam Vinter slain the previously never seen Overlord Type monster - the Crimson Monarch. Dawn has begun, we have successfully survived the eclipse. The military contacted - help will arrive soon.'
Joyful expressions were reflected on the faces of the Phantoms. They couldn't contain their emotions, nor did they want to.
One Phantom didn't have a smile on his face. Ironically, he was above them all.
Gray particles like sand swept before Adam's deep eyes.
The Crimson Monarch's body, no... Kyros's body was gradually disappearing. Unlike the other monsters nothing would be left of him, on his last attack in an attempt to shake Adam's path, he spent 101% of his life force.
A bright smile remained on him until the very end, even though his eyes had long since gone blank, and his aura was fading.
Moira, the purple snake was strangely trapped in Adam's inner space, but he didn't know what to make of it yet. He, like the others, wanted to rest.
A few seconds later the last particles passed through Adam's fingers, he was left alone on top of the destroyed serpent spire.
"That's it..."
A cold torrent of wind blew by his side, rippling the tips of his black hair. Strangely enough, the sun did not interest Adam at all, for he could sense that the two auras were not yet at rest.
Putting aside his rest, Adam summoned the needle and jumped down, thrusting the sharp blade halfway into the serpent spire.
Under Gnash and Viron's stares, he quickly made his way to the foot of the spire. A few ters away was Katrin, but his gaze was directed forward.
The Dormant Lord and the Blind Sinner were still on the battlefield. Like Adam, during the endless clashes against the Crimson Monarch, they had taken quite a few wounds and expended a lot of energy, but they were not exhausted to death.
With a great desire, they still had the opportunity to unite and attack Adam.
They could do it right now, each of them realized that.
Step.
Adam stepped forward, his aura as calm as his gaze.
"What are you going to do? Are you planning to fight to the very end like monsters or are you warriors...?"
Instead of an answer, the Dormant Lord and the Blind Sinner glanced over. Recently, they were enemies like Adam, but a common goal forced them to beco allies.
They no longer needed to maintain an alliance, but... there was nothing to compete for anymore either.
The Dormant Lord wouldn't be able to get the External Artifact in the fortress, the Blind Sinner lost the Stronghold that was practically his ho now.
If they started a three-way battle, it would just be a bloodbath, without aning or purpose.
Slowly, the Dormant Lord raised his sword, pointing first at the Blind Sinner, then at Adam.
Strangely enough, the Blind Sinner exactly matched his motion, accepting his silent promise.
Adam shook his head feeling like a child.
"Hah... This is so stupid..."
Nevertheless, clutching the hilt tightly, Adam raised the needle. In fact, he didn't know what exactly he promised the two monsters, but he felt that he was unlikely to regret it in the future. At least it was much better than continuing the battle.
Satisfied, the Dormant Lord nodded deeply and with a sharp movent of his hand thrust his sword into the ground, not far from the point where the weapon originally appeared.
His fra shuddered as he was hundreds of ters away in a few leaps.
The Blind Sinner was in no such hurry. He stared at Adam, their blue eyes crossing.
"Grha..."
With a deep sigh, the Blind Sinner put his sword behind his belt, slowly walking off into the distance. He lost his ho, so it was ti to go in search of a new one.
Step. Step. Step.
Called back through the steps, Katrin slowly raised her head, seeing a silhouette she knew well.
"So you won... Again?"
Adam nodded deeply.
"Yeah, it looks like it. We'll be ho soon, just like always."
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