Bam. Bam. Bam.
Energy projectiles rained down on the fourth lesser gates one by one, under Adam's gaze.
He seed to be frowning, but he was simply taking his task seriously. They didn't have much ti left.
"Damn it," he snorted. "I've been trying to do this for ten days now, but all I've accomplished is a few cracks."
The fourth lesser gates proved to be much stronger than the previous ones, just as the Evolution Tree had said. He opened the three gates in other ways, yet the differences in durability were obvious.
Adam glanced at the Stellar Flow. "Well, that makes sense, doesn't it? Two gates hold as much power as the three gates before, and four orbs are given the zero one.
"But..."
His eyes narrowed for a mont heading towards the fifth gates.
"If there's about 50% of its power left of the Stellar Flow, then most of it is concentrated in the last gates, isn't it?"
[Stop thinking...]
The Evolution Tree interrupted his musings.
[If we're unlucky, the Light Legion will arrive at the scarlet cliff in four days... They'll almost certainly notice the auras lurking inside the caves from this distance.]
After a few monts, the Evolution Tree shuddered.
[You must try your best and open the fourth lesser gates... Sure, we may have another ten days, but you must always be prepared for the worst...]
Adam rolled his eyes but didn't argue. He realized that the Evolution Tree was right.
Ti was short, and work was plentiful.
Then, Adam clenched his fist tightly, stopping the energy clots and throwing them out of his inner space.
His plans changed.
"Fuck it. This isn't what I'm supposed to do. Every gate has conditions for opening them. Why am I trying to break them?"
[Khm... Because it's the fastest way... We're trying to make a shortcut... It takes too much ti to open the fourth lesser gates in the common way...]
Under Adam's gaze, the Evolution Tree had no choice but to continue.
[In a way, you need to go back to the beginning... Even before you beca a K1-Phantom... When you had a limited number of abilities, weak but always ready to help you in battle...]
Several more questions remained unanswered.
Adam didn't know what it was. Did The Evolution Tree not want to tell him the terms or just didn't know anything more itself?
"Either way, I didn't like the idea from the start," Adam waved his hand irritably. "I'm a Phantom, not a monster. Screw the energy from the environnt, I'll do things the normal way."
Then, Adam opened his eyes, finding himself in the real world.
Off to the side, two great serpents were fighting against Risha. Their auras were threatening, but Risha felt no fear, only a desire to win.
Bam. Bam. Bam.
She tried to block their attacks, but she wasn't fast enough. She could only hold out against Grita and Torz for a few minutes, trying to get to the sa goal as Adam - to open the fourth lesser gates.
At the sa ti, Vorx and Heret were fighting on the sidelines, but in their human forms. This was necessary because one of them would fight against Kreyna and the other against Arnoth.
Soon, they noticed that Adam stopped absorbing energy and turned to him, baffled.
"Adam, is sothing wrong?" Vorx tilted his head. His right eye was already in place, healed.
Ironically, it was that wound that made Kreyna believe in his version of the not strong enough Phantom he had to kill and co back with nothing.
His wounds showed that the battle against the Phantom was over, that it was a serious opponent but not for soone like Arnoth.
Kreyna was cruel but not stupid. She realized that it might take so ti to find a suitable Phantom, but not too much.
Even if she wanted to hurry, she would not do so in fear of Arnoth's punishnt.
Step. Step. Step.
Adam stepped out of the dark field, saying nothing, only his cold gaze showing his determination.
Heret and Vorx looked at each other as they shrugged.
They didn't know what the matter was, but they didn't make a big deal out of it.
However... when Adam's aura intensified dramatically, they beca alert.
Risha, Grita, and Torz stopped practicing, turning their attention to the side.
"What's going on...?" Risha gulped in disbelief.
In a powerful burst, a gust of energy rushed from Adam, and white flas billowed from his body, spreading ever further.
"Radiant Mirage..." he wheezed. "How much energy can you block? I don't want Arnoth, Kreyna, or the Light Legion to notice us..."
Strangely enough, only a few seconds later, a strange, chanical voice rang out.
[You're not so powerful that I'm worried about it... If you don't attack the red pillars and mirrors directly... even a few S5 monsters wouldn't reveal themselves here...]
In response, Adam nodded faintly.
"Good."
Vorx stepped forward, extending his arm. "Wait! Adam, if you want to fight, this is a bad idea. It won't accomplish anything, and we'll just lose our powers. Keep using the energy to weaken your gates! It's the best way we have."
"No."
His harsh reply made them flinch.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
Shaking the space, the crimson energy enveloped his arm, forming a gauntlet, cape, helt, shoulder pads, and a long chain going to his hand to grip the hilt of the terrifying sword.
The four-pointed star appeared in his right eye intersecting with the amber grid, while threads ran down his body next to his swollen veins making him stronger. The energy from the Global Gene enveloped his legs in an active fla.
The dark coat covered his body, the snake eyes under his collar remained closed while silver threads tied around his hands like battle bandages.
Toward the end, his rings flashed, running down his body in a crimson wave, and a black wreath appeared on his head.
Since the battle against the Crimson Monarch, Adam had never been in such complete fighting form.
"We'll do things my way."
Adam's voice thundered.
"If it doesn't work, then I'll listen to you. But first, you'll need to survive my thod."
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