Endless Evolution: Last Star-Chapter 543 The Rule of Power (Part 2)

Mariel, Zarot, Reinal, and many others were truly powerful Phantoms. After all, they were Light Nobles and held high positions in the hierarchy of their families, which wouldn't be possible without supporting their status with power.

Adam was a talented and promising Phantom, but he was still only a K2-Phantom who hadn't even destroyed his First Wall yet.

This wasn't something bad, as considering Adam was a Phantom for less than a year, it was an impressive result, but... he wasn't alone in this world. He wasn't the only one who sought power and had the desire to fight.

Thus, Adam would barely stand a chance of surviving the onslaught of dozens of auras raining down on him at a single moment.

Zarot, Mariel, and the others didn't even need to attack to kill Adam. His bones were ready to break in the next few seconds, and his body would be torn apart.

However, was that the actual power?

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Gladius's hair tips quivered before soaring upward, his eyes wide with an intense stare.

In a heartbeat, under the first gust of his aura, the white dye quickly came off his hair, returning his natural black as the abyss color.

Crackle.

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His lenses cracked, shards flying apart, removing the false green that covered his ocean-blue eyes.

Then, despite their fear, everyone saw the first traces of Gladius's aura.

Purple flames covered his shoulders, traveling down the outline of his torso, arms, and legs in a calm flow, while a hellish bonfire raged above.

Slowly, Gladius stretched his hand forward, as if he could wipe them out with a light sweep, not even leaving a bloody stain.

His aura, a purple flame, grew quickly, taking on a blurred but distinct silhouette.

Two long arms with outstretched fingers and black nails pointed like blades covered the banquet hall with their ominous shadows. An insidious grin spread across the demon's face, revealing its sharp, white teeth clashing together like the saw.

The two massive horns coming forward had one straight curve in opposite directions from each other.

Purple threads emanated from the demon's fingertips, swaying slightly over the guests as if a devious puppeteer were choosing his next puppets to capture their minds and souls for his own pleasure.

The demon's eyes were narrowed, peering curiously at the guests, glancing occasionally at Zarot, Mariel, and the other Phantoms.

It was the look of a hungry wolf staring at a flock of harmless sheep, unable to do anything but shiver in fear, occasionally thinking about how to escape from the clutches of this monster looming over them.

The black pupils and sharp cunning angles were the opposite of Gladius's current cruel gaze but mirrored exactly what lurked deep behind it.

"Bow down. Remember your place, for you are not strong enough to have the right to do what you want."

Gladius's cold voice echoed through the banquet hall as the demon's grin grew even wider and its eyes narrowed dramatically, leaving only a slim gap.

The threads went exclusively to the Phantoms, not touching the guests.

Mariel, Zarot, and the others tried to defend themselves from the demon's attack with their auras, but the bright flames burning on the threads tore their auras apart in a split second.

The threads bound tightly around their bodies, filling their eyes with pain. These threads weren't real, it wasn't even energy since it was just an aura.

But, Gladius's aura was powerful enough to make their bodies submit to the demon's will.

Mariel's face contorted in fear, her hands were pressed to her body, and her clothes were writhing as if they were real, steel threads that were gradually clenching around her body tighter and tighter, wanting to break her bones and tear her flesh.

They wanted to scream with the agony of suffering through the torture from hell, but no matter how hard Mariel tried, not a single sound escaped her lips.

Her mouth was open, her body trembling with waves of shivers passing in circles, reaching her heart.

She felt that she lost control of her body, without permission she couldn't even breathe or scream, it seemed that a little more, and without the demon's orders even her heart wouldn't dare to beat.

Then, Gladius strained his finger, curving it downward slightly.

The threads tightened like strings, trembling with anticipation.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

Mariel, Zarot, and the other Phantoms fell to the ground, one by one, roughly and violently, their faces hitting the stone floor.

No one could resist Gladius's will and the threads of his demon, it was a power beyond their comprehension.

The best they could hope for was to twitch their fingers, pressed against their thighs by the threads.

Click.

Gladius snapped his fingers, the demon smirked one last time, pleased with the opportunity, and disappeared, along with the pressure that crushed the hearts of its victims.

"Agh...!!!!"

Mariel took a deep breath, as did the others. It seemed that if Gladius's torture continued for a few seconds longer, she would suffocate, it would be her ignominious end.

Franz and Rosalind looked over at each other. Their faces were pale and their eyes wide open as if they just stared at death itself.

They were not Gladius's targets, but the realization of what had happened was enough for a chill to run down their backs.

The guests turned their eyes, the shock of that sight still lingering in their minds. But, they all realized that behind the waiter's mask lurked a powerful Phantom, no... it was a terrifying monster whose anger was equivalent to signing a death warrant.

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The man with whom Gladius was sitting recently stared at him wide-eyed.

'That's not a man... It's a demon!' Exclaimed from the depths of his terrified soul.

Silvana was breathing heavily.

Thanks to Gladius splitting his aura into threads, the ordinary humans didn't feel the pressure, otherwise his aura would've just destroyed them. The minds and bodies of most common people were too weak to withstand even a few seconds.

However, that didn't mean that Silvana and the guests didn't see anything. The demon's silhouette, the suffering of the Phantoms, and Gladius's cold stare were clearly visible.

It was like watching an execution in the front row, feeling the horror of the executioner's victims.

'Turns out he was that strong...?'

That was the first thing Silvana thought of. Then, she quickly shook her head.

'No! Silvana, that's not what you should be thinking about right now, I'll deal with it later. What about Adam? He was right next to that monster!'

Silvana hoped he was fine, but she realized that even he couldn't help but be frightened by Gladius's power, being in the very epicenter.

What did Silvana see? What caused her to freeze in one place?

Slowly, like a gourmet tasting a complex dish, hesitant to make his verdict until he revealed all the secrets of the delicacy, the corners of Adam's lips lifted, creating a slight smile.

The sight passed through his mind in fragments, like a flavor filling a gourmet's mouth, showing him what pleasure was, what the real pinnacle was, and though it was only a glint, it was bright enough to outshine everything he'd seen before.

Adam's eyes grew a little wider, his gaze deepened with meaning, and a sparkling gleam passed through his pupils, disappearing without a trace the next instant.

Was he as frightened as the rest of them?

Sure, it was not a matter of bravery or courage, but of the body's instinctive reaction to the danger.

But, Adam's fear was not visible like the others, for another feeling completely overrode it like a powerful stream of water engulfing everything in its path.

Delight.

Adam was in awe of what he saw, his fingertips trembling, his body shaking slightly, but not because of fear but because of rapture and pure joy.

It wasn't mastery or physical strength that Damien demonstrated to him during their fight, it was what Adam appeared to be so desperate to see just once.

'True power... That's what he said, right...?' Adam internally muttered in a trembling voice.

In fact, ordinary people could also experience something like this if they were watching, for example, an atomic bomb exploding and destroying an entire mountain.

Most would be in fear and panic, for a valid reason.

But... there would always be those who would see something else in the destructive power of the explosion: technological advances, new opportunities, discoveries leading to inventions, or military dominance over their enemies.

The reasons could be varied, but they would all evoke in the hearts of these people the emotions that now overwhelmed Adam.

And... it wasn't just his body and mind that was reacting this way.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Adam's Evolution Tree was actively trembling, releasing energy from its branches for some reason.

However, the energy wasn't going to leave Adam's body, as it had a direct purpose The First Wall, was shaking slightly, completely black, the same as Adam left it decided not to touch it on the advice of his Evolution Tree.

Snow-white energy was drawn to it like a black hole, taking on an equally frightening color on the way, devoid of any light.

The First Wall's shaking continued for a few seconds until it absorbed all the energy and returned to a static state.

A lone gleam traveled across the First Wall's surface like a ghostly mirror, revealing some silhouette different from what the First Wall was willing to show Adam earlier.

Adam was unaware of what was happening in his inner space.

Then, for less than a split second, his blue eyes turned completely black as the depths of the abyss, before he blinked returning his blue color.