Chapter 1256: A Skein of Threads

The Red Bloom’s roots were powerful enough to suppress the Thorn Hunter and pose a deadly threat to Garrah.

She knew this, so she couldn’t expect Adam to destroy every one of them with a single attack.

“W-What the hell…?” The Red Bloom’s eyes widened as she watched the silver threads cut through the roots, one after another.

Without hesitation, Adam lunged forward as their eyes met. He wasn’t going to stop.

He could defeat the Red Bloom, and that was exactly what he was going to do to get out of the dark forest and reach the Glass Bridge.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Moving like a shadow, one leap after another, Adam found himself on the pieces of the great roots, approaching the Red Bloom.

All his threads returned to the discs, which no longer spun. But everyone understood that as soon as he needed the threads again, he would be able to use them.

“If you think you can defeat me just by cutting my roots, you are deeply mistaken!” the Red Bloom exclaimed as she folded her palms together, gathering energy in the center.

Soon, a red orb, like a seed, appeared between her hands. As soon as the seed touched the ground, a bright flash momentarily covered the battlefield.

Even Adam was no exception; he had to cover his eyes with his hands.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

A dark stalk with a red crystal tip burst out of the ground, heading toward Adam like a deadly spear.

The Red Bloom wasn’t worried that Adam would dodge, because with a slight wave of her hand, she could completely control the stalk.

But she realized too late from Adam’s gaze that he had no intention of dodging. His plan was different.

Before the stalk reached him, Adam waved his arms, releasing silver threads from the discs. With his energy and Lone Blaze’s internal control, he could feel every thread.

Now, Adam understood how to control them, their speed, length, bend, and even weight—all calculated in his mind in a fraction of a second. For him, it became as natural as breathing for any living creature.

With a precise movement, the silver threads cut the stem, right where the crystal tip began to grow.

The disarmed part of the stem flew past Adam’s left side with wild gusts of wind that ruffled his hair.

But that wasn’t all. His threads were capable of more, and he could feel it.

‘Alright, now is the best time to test it. I think if I do everything right, I should be able to…’

A slight tremor ran through all the threads, removing the shine that indicated their extraordinary sharpness.

Then, Adam’s fingers trembled, causing the threads to bend and wrap around the red tip.

The Red Bloom gasped as, with her next breath, the massive crystal was already flying towards her, even though it had been created by her and was intended to hurt Adam.

Rumble!

With a crash, pieces of rock and splinters from fallen trees flew in all directions, and only a dull red glow was visible through the smoke screen.

Adam did not rush to relax, he understood that the Red Bloom was alive. Even if she did not expect him to attack her with her own weapon.

But…

Adam didn’t feel that the Red Bloom could win. She wasn’t the opponent he had come here for, that was true in every sense.

Still, the Red Bloom could be an important step in his power, in his understanding of how to use his new abilities.

‘Desire of Beyond… I don’t know what it is, but the Red Bloom doesn’t seem worthy of holding such a thing. She simply must disappear to free the forest and my path to the Glass Bridge.’

Soon, his pupils narrowed as he noticed roots growing out of the ground next to the crystal. Before the next gust of wind could arrive, four flowers opened wide.

Flames emanated from their centers as lasers resembling the first rays of the sun headed toward Adam.

“Let’s see if your threads can cut through this!” the Red Bloom exclaimed, throwing her arm forward for a flaming volley.

Adam’s eyes widened for a moment.

The Red Bloom was right—he couldn’t cut through the dense energy lasers or throw them aside as he had done with the roots and stem.

‘She’s right, I have to dodge… She probably wants me to do that and is preparing something, but do I have a choice?

Adam was ready to create a cluster of energy beneath him to use as a platform, but something made him stop at the last moment.

‘No, I don’t need to do that. If I want to test my limits, now is the best opportunity!’

With a gleam in his eyes, Adam waved his arms, causing the discs to spin at full speed to stretch the threads to their limit.

Then, a multitude of threads formed a solid grid in front of Adam, but could it protect him from the lasers? Perhaps if the threat were a sword, a fist, or some large projectile, it would work, his threads acting as a large net.

However, the threads and discs weren’t the only features of his new ability.

Lone Blaze and her flame hadn’t disappeared. Most of the time, it was just an additional resource for Adam’s threads, but when necessary, the flame could become both a sword and a shield.

At the last moment before the lasers collided, waves of fire ran through the threads, dense and bright enough to become a barrier.

Silvana, watching from the sidelines, smiled faintly.

‘Hah, he finally got some protection. Although… If it weren’t for Lone Blaze, he wouldn’t even have that.’

The Red Bloom’s eyes widened in disbelief as the white barrier stopped the four lasers, completely absorbing their energy.

Then, for just a moment, she remembered what she had heard about the Phantom with threads and needles, the one who had arrived at the Dark Shore too early.

‘Could it be that the First Star chose him… But… How valuable is he then?!’