Endless Evolution: Last Star

Nessa stepped into the XH-01 with an uncertain step. She had been on SH-01 fighters many times before when she had secretly participated in missions in Dead Lands.

But... XH-01 was something else entirely.

Inside it was filled with massive tanks of blue liquid, they were against the walls and the tubes from them went down to somewhere else, it didn't look like they went to the engines and the liquid was for something else.

'Good. Nessa, consider me to be your Operator for this mission. Consider it the greatest privilege you could have, considering you're not even a Phantom.' Refesa said calmly.

Nessa nodded with a great frown at her words. She wasn't going to hold back this time.

''Yeah, I'm not a Phantom, but I can easily defeat Snow Follower and many other monsters that most K1-Phantoms can't do anything against. And... You're not an Operator either." Nessa said confidently.

Refesa's eyes went wide for a moment, she hadn't expected Nessa to be able to answer her so boldly. She wasn't angry, but rather surprised.

Magnus grinned widely, with narrowed eyes, clearly pleased with what had happened.

"Hehehe, though our blood is different, she is still my daughter. Refesa, I advise you to be careful. If you put your finger in her mouth, she will rip your arm off, and that's not a metaphor, she can literally do it."

However, Refesa was not at all an easy person to take this situation personally.

"Pffft. I'm better than the Operator, I'm smarter and more creative. But, you just got +1 point from me, you can be proud." Refesa said calmly, reaching out her hands to the control panel.

Before Nessa could say anything, the fighter's engines came into motion, as did the platform beneath it.

Nessa lost her balance from the surprise and almost fell, but she stepped on her foot in time to regain her balance.

Then, the platform moved the fighter into another hangar, before lifting it up a special elevator that was more like a shaft for launching a massive missile.

"Sit in the pilot's seat and enjoy the flight. Given the distance and speed, you'll arrive at Fume Cathedral in just 5 minutes and 35 seconds." Refesa said while the fighter went outside to the wide area behind the Iron Observatory.

Then, underneath XH-01 activated two additional small vertical engines that effortlessly lifted the fighter above the ground.

"Good luck. It'll be especially hard when you get to Fallen Crypt. Plague Reaper made sure no one could get there, but... You're safe in XH-01, I can guarantee it." Refesa said confidently, pressing the button.

Nessa was about to say something, but suddenly the entire XH-01 shook vigorously before turning into a black flash with a blue plume, instantly breaking the sound barrier, making a loud clap, and leaving a ring of air over Iron Observatory.

From such speed, Nessa was shocked. She was nailed in her chair, as it seemed to her that her bones should have broken at any moment from such pressure. Well, that was an illusion due to the sudden increase in speed.

The XH-01 was safe inside and unless one was looking forward through the windshield, the speed wouldn't be felt as much. Refesa made sure that this fighter could be flown by a pilot if needed, that is a simple human, not a Phantom.

"Hey, are you sure about this? I mean, I trust you, but the black air from the Plague Reaper can get through the gaps in the plane's plates and get inside. Even if Nessa doesn't die from it, she'll lose consciousness and be seriously injured." Magnus asked seriously.

He didn't want to waste time so he rushed this whole mission, but if he wasn't sure of Nessa's safety he would cancel the mission. Until she got to Fallen Crypt, Refesa still could turn XH-01 around to return to Iron Observatory.

Refesa nodded.

"Don't worry. The black air won't even be able to touch XH-01, that's what the artifact inside this fighter is for."

'An artifact inside a technique...? What...?' Magnus said to himself, unsure if he heard everything correctly, 'The artifact inside the fighter. Hahaha, I've never seen her use that feature of the XH-01 before. This is going to be curious.'

Magnus began to chuckle evilly, before looking with a wide grin at Refesa, who was sitting relaxedly in a chair watching Nessa's flight.

...

Crackle.

A few minutes before Magnus and Nessa arrived at the Iron Observatory, the head of the last monster that had been trapped inside the Fume Cathedral by Plague Reaper's will fell onto the cold, stone floor.

"So... What's the plan?" Katrin asked, looking around with narrowed eyes.

The massacre by Plague Reaper continued for several minutes. Fume Armors' swords killed dozens of monsters, with no one left alive.

Sure, they were Light Yellow Threat monsters and they fought back, but... they were only able to kill three Fume Armors when there were over twenty of them.

"I still insist that we should try to escape from here." Oskar swung his hand looking towards the side gate.

Oskar pointed his sword there.

"If we all attack at the same time we can definitely destroy them, I'm sure of it."

Erla and Lero looked at each other uncertainly, they were still not ready to go against Oskar's decisions, after all, he was their leader. However, the last member of their squad had long ago decided to switch sides, realizing that Oskar was useless as a leader in such a critical situation.

"Nah." Osana snorted, rolling his eyes arrogantly.

"What?" Oskar exclaimed indignantly.

"We had to do it while Fume Armors was busy killing monsters. Although, even if you had decided to do it earlier, I would have refused. It's a useless plan."

Oskar clenched his fists tightly.

"Then what should we do?!"

Step.

Adam stepped forward, heading towards Plague Reaper.

"I mean, it's obvious. We have to fight and make his serene gaze fill with anxiety and fear of death!" Adam aimed his needle at Plague Reaper, who was standing in front of the throne.

At this time, Katrin's gaze traveled upward as Scarlet Pyromancer still lurked on the beams beneath the roof of the Fume Cathedral. He was able to conceal his presence completely, blending into the shadows and waiting for this crisis to end before leaving this place.

Katrin narrowed her eyes, biting down hard on her lip almost to the point of bleeding. Despite her earlier words, her desire to fulfill her goal and change her life still hadn't gone anywhere.