Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1538 1538: Stone Demons

[The terms of the trial were changed by the stronger party to the contract.]

[To pass the second trial, you must... There is nothing you can do.]

[All you can hope for now is to survive.]

To put it mildly, this was not what Adam and Alexia expected when they thought they had completed the second trial.

The Ancient Voice should have already declared them the winners and given them their reward, as it did with the Pale Spider Pearl, but the owner of the Frost Oasis clearly had other plans for them.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Alexia exclaimed in fury.

The light from the glass dome disappeared, leaving only a faint glow running across the mirrors among the pillars. The only thing that was clearly visible was the red light emanating from the eyes of one of the stone demons.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The crack came from the side when the Stone Demon started moving. His frame shook, the stone layer broke apart, and his wings opened wide, making him look even more frightening.

He jumped from the arch with the earth shaking, landing in the middle of the hall.

Now, the monster, over six meters tall, with dark skin, trembling muscles, and wings wide enough to block out the sun, towered over them.

The smirk on the Stone Demon's face showed that he did not see them as worthy opponents. To him, they would be nothing more than an appetizer.

Adam narrowed his eyes as he watched the blue fairy disappear into a crack in the ground.

'I see. At first, it hid the real rules from us, but now someone or something has simply changed them?'

Step.

Adam stepped forward, looking at the Stone Demon.

"Hey, Alexia, it happened sooner than we thought, but it looks like it's time to go back to the basics."

"Agh?"

The white needle appeared in Adam's grip as a slight smirk formed on his face.

"If we want to move on, we have to kill everyone in front of us. It couldn't be simpler, right?"

Alexia needed no more encouragement as she summoned her Nexus and clapped her fists together.

"Hell yeah!"

Sparks flew before her eyes as she stood next to Adam.

The Stone Demon didn't mind; on the contrary, he grinned even wider before clenching his fist tightly and pulling it back to attack.

It seemed like the Stone Demon was moving slowly, his arm trembling and red energy lines running along his tense muscles, but soon everything changed.

Whoooooooooosh.

Adam's pupils narrowed when, in a single frame, the Stone Demon's fist was in front of his face, a giant threat that could turn him into a bloody stain in an instant.

Neither he nor Alexia expected such a large and heavy monster to be able to move so fast.

All Adam could do, acting on instinct, was to hold the needle in front of him.

BAM!

The impact threw Adam aside like a cannonball, slamming his back into the nearest column.

"GRHA!" Adam spat out a mouthful of blood as wave after wave of pain coursed through his body.

Step.

Alexia took a step back. The time for fun was over, even she understood that.

"Louis, did you see that? What the fuck was that?"

She clenched her teeth.

"Is he really that fast? I barely saw anything!"

Unfortunately, Louis had no answer. He looked thoughtfully at the Stone Demon, who was grinning smugly after his successful attack.

"Keep fighting. You don't have enough information. I'm not sure about his speed, but look at Adam, this demon definitely has tremendous power."

Alexia nodded as the frost mist full of tiny ice crystals appeared next to her.

She didn't know what weapon would be the best choice against the Stone Demon, but she had one universal solution.

Wheeez!

She exhaled and raised her hands as if she were holding something above her head.

At the same moment, the white mist took the shape of a giant axe with a wide crescent blade.

"DIE!"

Alexia shouted as she brought the axe down on the Stone Demon. Sure, the Stone Demon was a large monster, he could destroy a simple house with a single punch, but the giant ice axe hurtling towards him was not something he could ignore.

Then, something happened that made Louis's eyes go wide.

Step.

The Stone Demon stepped aside, allowing the icy blade to pass in front of his chest. The axe crashed into the ground, leaving a deep gash, but the Stone Demon remained unharmed.

"W-What?" Alexia muttered, caught off guard. "Why did that bastard just dodge?"

Having seen how strong and fast the Stone Demon's punch had been earlier, Alexia expected the Stone Demon to try to block her axe or even break it.

"Shit, he's smarter than I thought!" Alexia stamped her foot in anger.

Louis bit his lip. 'No, Alexia, I think it's—!'

SLASH!

Before Louis could finish, a long line opened up on the Stone Demon's chest, at first invisible even to him.

"Gh?" The Stone Demon lowered his gaze as blood gushed from the deep cut on his chest.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

One crimson drop after another fell to the ground, causing the smirk on Adam's face to widen.

In his hand was just his needle, but one slash full of his energy was enough to inflict such damage on the Stone Demon.

"I see..." Adam's deep voice echoed through the grim hall. "You're not a scary, powerful demon, you're just a weakling, right?"

No one understood what Adam was talking about, everyone was puzzled, from the Stone Demon and Alexia to Louis and Silvana.

When Adam's black staff and gloves appeared in his hand, all eyes turned to him.

Tap.

He tapped his staff on the ground, and in the next moment, he was on top of the Stone Demon's head.

The Stone Demon's eyes widened in horror as Adam's hands gripped his horns tightly.

"You look big and strong, but in reality, you just rely on tricks, right?"

Adam whispered as he pulled his hands upward.

Blood gushed from the Stone Demon's head as the torn-off horns were now in Adam's grasp.