Endless Evolution: Last Star

"Trici, be quiet, it\'s not that simple here... right?" Adam muttered intently, looking into Layla\'s eyes.

Perhaps if the onlookers who were clapping in honor of the military\'s triumph saw Layla now, they would be disappointed. However, Adam had a very different emotion - understanding.

"You have won. That\'s the main thing. None of you are injured, and the monster has fallen. For a first public battle, you did great, but... that\'s not what you\'re worried about, is it?" Adam asked, taking Layla\'s hand.

Quick tears fell onto his palm, dripping down in thin streams and soaking into the dry earth.

"Yes... I thought I was truly strong with my new gear, but... that\'s not the truth. Watching the Phantoms fight and helping them by firing rifles is different from facing a monster in close combat..."

Layla continued, tilting her head down as if she didn\'t want to show the world her tears and pitiful state.

"If I had made a mistake, the Triple-horned Buffalo would have pierced me with its horns. I managed to dodge, but... what if there had been more than one? What would happen if the fight was long and there were dozens of such attacks? Sooner or later, I would have made a mistake..." Layla spoke lower and lower, soon shifting to a whisper.

Adam could hear her clearly. However, he would have understood her even if she hadn\'t said anything. He had once been in an even more desperate position than Layla.

Layla smiled bitterly.

"Hah... I thought that soon, with the development department\'s progress, we would be able to fight even Green Threat Level monsters, 1 vs. 1! Damn... how stupid I was to think that... The three of us barely defeated the weakest monster, and now I\'m sitting here...

trembling in fear..."

Layla looked at Adam and asked, shivering violently:

"In your eyes, I\'m nothing, right? You would have killed that monster in one blow. You wouldn\'t even have to use your abilities!"

Adam sighed heavily.

Then, he shook his head and stared at her with a sharp look.

"You\'re not nothing, you\'re human, and that\'s your mistake." Adam said confidently, causing Layla to get a puzzled look on her face.

"You did the Phantom\'s job while acting like a human. You shouldn\'t think that sooner or later, the monster\'s horns will sink into your body and kill you. You have to think that if you dodged once, it will be much easier to do it again, and soon the monster will be helpless against you."

Adam continued, while Layla listened to him as if mesmerized. There was a wide gap between the military and civilians, but between the military and the Phantoms, there was an abyss.

"I didn\'t realize it right away either, but with time... Khm, you\'ll even start to enjoy it, and the more dangerous the situations are, the more adrenaline will be in your blood. Fighting monsters isn\'t an exam where you have to do everything right, it\'s a primal process where you must adapt and get into the flow."

Adam squeezed Layla\'s hand tightly, rising from the ground and forcing her to get on the same level as him.

"The monster isn\'t afraid to kill you or get hurt, so you must act the same way. You now have the weapons to handle the weakest monsters, which means there will only be more to come."

Layla gulped, she didn\'t know what to say, for she felt strange. Sure, Adam was a K1-Phantom, his status was much higher than hers, but... he had been a Phantom for a little over a month and was much younger than her.

Layla, like many, had trained since childhood in the military academies, then promoted for many years, flawlessly following hundreds of orders and visiting Dead Lands frequently.

However, Adam\'s words were filled with wisdom and experience, like a truth engraved on a grail that everyone needed to know in order to survive in a world dominated by monsters!

"Brother, lift me up!" Trici exclaimed with puffed-up cheeks, stretching her arms up.

Adam nodded, throwing Trici onto his shoulders.

"Good luck. Our world is a dangerous place, but not a hopeless one. We can handle even the most dangerous monsters, I\'ve learned that for sure." Adam waved his hand, heading towards the food truck where the others were.

Layla smiled bitterly, taking a deep breath.

She looked up at the sun that was heading towards the horizon line, slowly disappearing behind the walls of the Citadel.

\'Damn... For a moment, I even believed in Azure Lotus... They were so active saying that exoskeletons and FNs were a way for humans and Phantoms to match, but... it\'s not about the weapons. \'

\'Unlike the military, the Phantoms fight in Dead Lands all the time, which means that those of them who survived didn\'t do it solely because of their abilities... They were able to do it because of the personalities they became, not by fearing monsters, but by hunting them...\'

Then, for Layla, came perhaps the most important day of her life.

Sure, the military was one of the most loyal groups of people to the Phantoms. But, watching the Phantoms fight and trying to step into their shoes were very different things.

Layla glanced at the generator in the chest of her exoskeleton. Compared to the first two versions, this one was 20% more efficient and most importantly - more stable.

\'Hmm... They were able to improve this model pretty fast, but... How long will it take for the development department to create a completely new, more powerful exoskeleton?\' Layla pondered with a detached gaze, looking off into the distance.

...

At this time, Adam returned to the others, while Alexia looked at him with a sly smile. She was obviously up to something, and Adam had to be involved!