Chapter 1224: Flash Swap (Part 1)

Like everyone else, Adam used his trump cards toward the end of the battle. However, this time he pushed the situation to the extreme because his opponent was using someone else’s power, and they were not evenly matched.

If Adam didn’t defeat Bathild right now, it would be all over for him. He and Silvana understood this perfectly, as did Marhen and Fromund, who were watching from the sidelines.

However… Bathild, like him, had run out of tricks. The power of the Exarch from the Dark Shore was her last chance to turn the tide and defeat Adam to claim the title.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Bathild’s lightning bolts roared in all directions, trying to break the red threads. Gradually, she was succeeding, but she was using all her strength, and… it was clearly not enough.

The moment Adam waved his hand twice, Bathild realized that it was all over for her.

He hadn’t shown these abilities before, so she didn’t expect Adam to be able to pull something like that out of nowhere.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The x-shaped blade was small, but in less than a heartbeat, the x-blade grew dozens of times larger, becoming dangerous enough to cut the hill in half.

Bathild blinked as the x-blade closed the distance between them, coming close enough to send shivers down her spine.

She blinked again as crimson light reflected in her wide eyes, filled with fear of inevitable death.

In the final seconds, even her instincts stopped screaming for her to run, as she realized that there was no way she could escape the red threads, and the X-Blade had already caught up with her.

Sure, Bathild wasn’t the type to accept her death with dignity. She wanted to keep fighting, no matter what it took.

But…

By the time she clenched her fists and gathered energy around herself, the X-Blade had already passed through her, cutting her body into four pieces.

As if sensing that it had fulfilled its mission, the X-Blade scattered into red particles. In reality, Adam had run out of energy.

Thump.

Along with Bathild’s body, Adam collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily.

“Agh… Agh… Agh…”

A sharp pain in his chest accompanied each breath. He didn’t look to his right, at his arm. He knew what had happened to it.

Even with the increased strength he had gained from absorbing the Twilight Crystal and the regeneration from two sources, it wasn’t enough to save his arm.

Fortunately for him, he hadn’t lost his arm, but he didn’t even feel like it was there. The skin was cracked, the flesh torn, and several broken bones protruded with their sharp tips.

If his arm had fallen into a meat grinder, it would probably have looked better, but even such wounds, Adam would easily be able to heal once he returned to the Citadel.

“Hah…” Adam croaked. “At least I won’t have to look for a Regenerative Monster again, right?”

Silvana nodded weakly as a bright light appeared to Adam’s left.

Strangely, Silvana appeared in her spectral form with a slight smile on her face as she looked at Adam.

“Wait…” Adam gasped. “You shouldn’t waste your energy on this.”

“I don’t think it matters anymore.” Silvana shook her head as she pointed ahead. “She lost. There are no more threats. There’s… practically no one alive around here.”

Step. Step. Step.

At the same moment, footsteps sounded behind them, one pair steady and the other limping.

Turning around, Adam saw Marhen helping Fromund walk forward so he wouldn’t fall.

“Hey, looks like our mission is finally over?”

Adam smiled weakly as he turned to Marhen. The moment their eyes met, they both understood what was going on.

“I know you’re hiding something.” Adam smiled bitterly. “So, what are you planning to do next?”

Marhen shrugged. “Nothing specific. I’ll just absorb the remaining Twilight Crystals and return to the Thunder Peaks. I hope you don’t have a problem with those terms? Otherwise… there could be conflict between us, which I’d like to avoid.”

“Sure. Do whatever you want. I mean, we’re not in a position to argue, right?”

For a moment, Marhen grinned.

“Exactly.”

Then, their gazes turned forward. A stream of energy flowed out of Bathild’s body, calm and serene, retaining the lightning and power that belonged to all monsters of her kind.

This energy was not aggressive, since Bathild was dead. The only reason this energy appeared was because Adam and his Path Construct saw the need for it.

Fromund’s eyes widened for a moment as a single tremor ran through his Path Construct as well, but it quickly disappeared as this energy did not suit him.

“This…?”

Adam gulped, slowly getting up from the ground.

“How strange, this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Adam’s initial star had three conditions, two of which he had already fulfilled, leaving only the third, but Bathild didn’t fit any of the options.

She wasn’t a Hybrid, so Adam couldn’t get the Dark Heart from her, and he didn’t feel any connection with her either. They had different origins, so it wasn’t a Connected Heart either.

Then what was it?

That was the only question that interested Adam, and he had one way to find out.

Tap.

Silvana touched his shoulder as they took their first step together.

“Let’s go… If that’s what your Path Construct wants, then it must be something valuable. It will help us become stronger.”

Adam nodded confidently, picking up speed with each step. Right now, increasing his strength was especially important.

Previously, it had been a matter of survival, but now it determined whether Adam could save his world in the state he had grown accustomed to. He didn’t want to lose his family and turn into a hollow shell seven years later, knowing that he had had the opportunity to change the course of events.

Gradually, Adam found himself in front of the energy emanating from Bathild’s body.

Sensing his approach, the energy moved toward him, turning into a mirrored fragment, inside of which various silhouettes could be seen—Adam’s enemies, especially the Essence Thunder Demon and Bathild.

[Memory Fragment obtained.]

Then, Adam heard something he didn’t expect.

[Path Construct ready to be replaced.]