Endless Evolution: Last Star

Unlike Glara, who didn't even know who Gladius was before he took her to Morton Observatory against her will, Franz and Rosalind were well acquainted with those at the top of the Citadel.

After all, Franz was a high noble, and Rosalind was his loyal assistant who knew many secrets beyond the reach of common people or even regular nobles, not of the Twelve Branches.

Crackle.

Immediately, without even taking a second to think about it, Rosalind rushed forward and raised her foot, bringing down a powerful kick right on Gladius's head.

Slowly and unhurriedly, Gladius lifted his arm, blocking Rosalind's kick with his palm, stopping her attack just a few centimeters from his face.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

Powerful torrents of wind like from an explosion or a wave hit passed farther along her kick's trajectory, destroying the tops of several nearby trees.

Splinters flew off to the sides, leaves were torn into small pieces, and branches were broken. Instead of powerful, tall trees, only stumps with sharp tips now remained.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Gladius smirked, assessing Rosalind's strike, even though his hand didn't even flinch.

Rosalind frowned, she felt a muffled pain as her leg went numb for a moment, even though she was the one who attacked. She felt like she had struck a steel beam with all her might.

Tap.

Rosalind bounced back sharply, assuming a fighting stance, one of her legs was set forward, the other behind her, her torso tilted and her hands clenched into fists in front of her.

"Oh, how cute, even though she has no chance of winning, she's still willing to fight. Well, I think it's worth ending this fight before it has a chance to start." Gladius smirked before extending his hand forward.

His finger pointing at Rosalind curved as if he was trying to press something.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Rosalind's eyes went wide as the air around her distorted, she felt as if she were at the bottom of the ocean, under the colossal pressure of many tons.

Unable to endure such a thing, Rosalind fell, first to her knees. Find your next read on empire

She tried to hold on at least in that position, but as soon as Gladius tensed his finger a little harder, her head immediately sank into the ground.

"Alright, stay in that position for now while the adults talk." Gladius said calmly, not intending to release the pressure on Rosalind.

It was hard for her to even move a finger, so Rosalind had no way to get up or resist in any way. The difference in their power was too great.

"Why did you come here?" Franz frowned.

He realized that even Gladius couldn't afford to kill a high noble for no reason. It didn't make sense.

"Well, I learned of your conversation with Adam. Did you offer him family protection and partial development of the slums? Clever, really clever, after all, Adam came from the slums."

Gladius shrugged and waved his hand, easing the pressure on Rosalind. This allowed her to lift her head from the ground, remaining on her knees.

Rosalind was breathing heavily, trying to come to her senses, but she made no move to say anything. She understood that Gladius hadn't come here to fight, which meant she did not need to interfere.

Franz frowned.

"Yes, and so what? It's my personal business, and what's more, you should know why I'm doing this. You know too much..." Franz's voice turned darker.

Gladius nodded slightly with a slight smile on his face.

"Sure, poor Nelya is still suffering from the incident of that day. But, that's not what this is about right now."

Gladius spread his arms out to the sides, glancing up at the blue sky.

"I came here to warn you."

"Hmm?" Franz's eyes narrowed, "What are you talking about."

Gladius lowered his gaze to him.

"After this incident, don't try to drag Adam even further into noble life. He's needed in the Dead Lands, he's supposed to be destroying monsters. He has too much potential to waste time on such things."

Gladius continued:

"And, you may not be discouraged about protecting his family. You can rest assured, nothing would happen to them anyway."

Saying this, an insidious smirk appeared on Gladius's face, and his aura increased like an eerie, black flame.

Franz clenched his fists tighter and took a step forward.

"Pffft, protecting his family is stated in our contract, so I'll do my part, whether it's necessary or not."

In response, Gladius only shrugged.

"By the way, before I leave and you start discussing my sudden appearance, there's something else I'd like to talk to you about."

Franz raised an eyebrow, slightly confused.

"Hmm, what are you talking about?"

Gladius's corners of his lips curved up.

"As you were saying... Oh, right. How about we raise the stakes?"

...

Crackle.

The door opened as Adam and Silvana stepped out of the car, following Rosalind.

'Hmm... Is it just me or is Rosalind different today? Has something important happened that I don't know about?'

Not about to dive into his thoughts, Adam shrugged his shoulders looking at the tall lampposts that were already burning brightly as it was evening.

"Mr. Adam, you do know that W0-Phantom will be fighting against you, don't you?" Rosalind asked walking across the bridge.

Adam nodded.

"Yeah, at first I didn't believe I had any chance of winning, but as I got a better understanding of how K2-Level works, I realized it would be a worthy battle."

Rosalind smiled slightly, showing that Adam was right, before regaining her serious expression.

"So, if I may I'd like to know if you were able to break the First Wall yet?"

Adam shook his head with an annoyed look.

"No, I took a few hits last night and one today. I got to 99.3%, but I couldn't get any further."

Rosalind nodded deeply, inserting the key into the steel lock.

"The wedding is the day after tomorrow, so you have another day and a half to make your most powerful hit. We're sure you can handle it."

Crackle.

The door opened, letting Adam and Silvana inside.

"For now, let me show you what outfit we have prepared for you. I hope you'll be pleased."