NOVPUBThe Phantoms were in mortal danger from the Crimson Monarch, he almostmpleted his attack, however, all the Phantoms were already prepared tounter-attack.
Many layers of barriers and various energy objects floated over theurtyard,vering even the tops of the towers.
Those without defensive abilities kept their charges one step away fromming down, as soon as the Crimson Monarch would unleash his full power upon them, they would retaliate in an attempt to weaken his strike so that the barriers would hold.
However, the two Phantoms decided that this was the best time to settle things between them.
Ironically, none of the hundred Phantomsuld stop them since these two were their strongest fighters, the leader and the unknown one.
Katrin gulped, sheuldn’t take her eyes off the needle in her throat, if she even twitched, the fiery tip would pierce her head, and burn her brain to ash.
Then, with a calm gaze, Adam swung his arm slightly.
"So, I’m going to ask you one more time. Do you want to fight me, or would you rather fight together like before?"
Aldness ran down Katrin’s back, wild and primal. She was a fairly experienced Phantom, she saw plenty of brutal monsters that wouldn’t stop at anything, so she knew that Adam was deadly serious.
Clenching her hands firmly into fists, Katrin raised her head, looking at him intently.
"Are you going to help us? Now that your mission hasme to an end, will you fight with us?"
However, she didn’t get the answer she expected.
"It depends." Adam said slowly, then he raised his hand, pointing at the Crimson Monarch, "He’s my opponent. I have an obligation to someone, I have to kill him - tonight. For now, all other problems are on you."
For a while, Katrin just stared ahead. This was originally part of their new plan Adam had to fight against the Crimson Monarch, only heuld do it, yet irritation was tearing Katrin up from the way Adam said it.
Realizing that there was no more room for argument, she nodded deeply and stepped forward, not afraid that the needle would move.
Lone Blaze hesitated for a moment, but Katrin wasn’t going to fight anymore. The needle backed away, returning to Adam.
"Fine, but should I fight alongside you against the Crimson Monarch? Will you accept my help?"
Oddly enough, Adam responded immediately with a deep nod of his head.
"Sure, remember it will be your decision. If you make a mistake and set yourself up for a lethal attack, I won’t save you."
After a sigh, hentinued, the bright red light reflected in his blue eyes.
"For in that case, I will die as well. Katrin, this isn’t the Plague Reaper, this isn’t a deadly and fast fighter, the Crimson Monarch can kill you at any moment, by his own hands or by giving orders to the monsters. It’s a different level of threat..."
His purpose was not to scare Katrin, on thentrary, it was a warning to make her understand all the risks.
Katrin bit her lip. Deep inside she was scared, she failed even against the Dormant Lord, but if she had the chance to bme stronger by oveming her limits, then this was her best chance.
Several Phantoms breathed a sigh of relief. If Adam and Katrin would start fighting, the odds of survivaluld be forgotten.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
At the same moment, the Crimson Monarch finished preparations. The sphere clutched between his hands was shaking vigorously, it was the size of his body, spinning rapidly as if a wild whirlwind was trapped inside.
"Trying to defend against my attack?"
The Crimson Monarch’s voice thundered along the lands. Rolls of thunder ran amidst the dark sky, his eyes shining like bloody rubies full of energy.
"What a pity... Only one of you must survive, for it is my will."
Then, the Crimson Monarch abruptly swung his arms in opposite directions, splitting the sphere in two.
Two intense red flames remained on his palms, following his lightning-fast movements.
In fullncentration, the Crimson Monarch drew a full circle through the air, stopping his left hand at the bottom, right hand at the top.
Two bright stars left a red trail, together creating one large circle capable ofnsuming its creator.
The Crimson Monarch’s eyes grew darker, he took a deep breath slowly taking a step back, his wing moving imperceptibly.
He watched as the two red stars drifted towards each other, slowly approaching the circle’s center to bme a whole again.
"Farewell Phantoms... I won’t hide it, deep down inside I am sorry that your young lives ended somewhat sooner than they should have. This is your price for getting in my way."
At his words, the stars finallyllided. The energy tried again to take the shape of a sphere, but without the Crimson Monarch’sntrol, stability was missing.
The vibrant burst fell upon the fortress for a moment, then a massive ray the width of a great towerllapsed upon the fortress with all its might.
Space distorted, wind currents raced away from the strange, creaking sound as if the world itself was struggling to withstand the Crimson Monarch’s might.
Not a fraction of a snd later, dozens of Phantoms attacked back. They waited for this moment, every cell in their bodies looking for the right moment tounterattack. Their survival directly depended on it.
Numerous multlored projectiles, lightning, fire, wind, and other attributes mixed in a single stream,lliding with the crimson ray in the middle of its path, preventing it from hitting the barrier before its time.
Whooooooooooooosh.
The crimson ray delayed for only split sndsntinuing its momentum, soonllapsing into the multi-layered barrier.
Cracks quickly ran through it, objects made of energy shattering one by one, while aggressive electrical discharges shot in through the gaps.
It was obvious to everyone - the barriers wouldn’t even last ten snds.
Step.
Adam stepped forward, black chains quicklyvered his left hand, dense electrical discharges headed towards his fingertips.
"Well, looks like it’s my time to sacrifice something. I should never have fallen here."
In a serene way, Adam took the first sweep, leaving a lightning line in the air, but he knew it wasn’t enough.
His trembling hand headed upward, about to take a vertical swipe, the snd one when even one was near the limit.
