Chapter 1158: Youngest Second Rank Phantom

Adam returned from missions many times during his journey as a Phantom. Most often, upon returning to the Citadel, he was greeted by military personnel. Sometimes it was Silvana, but she preferred to visit Adam a little later, when he had rested and recovered.

Neither of them was dependent on physical contact or sentimental moments; on the contrary, the best rest for both of them after a hard battle was time spent in silence and alone with themselves.

But this time, Adam was not greeted by the military or even a member of the Gamma Division; it was someone else entirely.

“Hey!” Damien smiled as he waved his hand. “The shockwave almost blew you away, right? Hah, Frida always goes a little overboard. Half the power of her spear would have been enough for those weaklings.”

Puzzled, Adam stepped off the platform and approached Damien uncertainly.

“Damien… What… What are you doing here?”

Sure, they had met a few times, but Adam had no illusions about that. He understood that even now, Damien was out of his league.

Frida’s attack was just another confirmation of that.

“Well.” Damien shrugged carelessly. “I wanted to see how you’ve changed. By the way, Douglas and I have been watching your fight since you cut that crypt in half. Hah, you and your Operator have a cool ability.”

A few moments later, Adam nodded slightly.

“I see. And… What next? You didn’t come here just to praise me, did you?”

“Of course not. I want to know which star you chose in your first constellation and what you need to do to get it. I’m sure you won’t disappoint me!”

Half an hour later, they found themselves at the top of one of the luxury hotels in the First Ring. In addition to wealthy people, many military personnel and government officials spent their time here, and the staff knew who Damien was and always had a suite available for him.

Moreover, it was one of the few places in the city where Damien didn’t have to hide his identity or wear a disguise to avoid being bothered by crowds of people.

In fact, Adam’s popularity was already quite high, but he spent too little time in public places, restaurants, and shopping malls to feel it.

Click.

Damien opened a strawberry-flavored soda as he glanced at the nighttime landscape of the Citadel. Thousands of lights burned in the skyscrapers and streets of the city, and even more were located beyond the First Ring.

Ironically, but in seven years, most of those lights would still be there, because the First Ring would remain intact, unlike the Second and Third Rings.

“So, the Path Construct, everyone goes through it?” Adam asked uncertainly. He felt uncomfortable, as he hadn’t expected to find himself in such a place with Damien this evening.

However, he was going to learn more about the Path Construct anyway, but he thought he would do it through Silvana, not Damien.

Damien nodded as he took his first sip.

“Yes, as you understand, everyone has different conditions and different numbers of stars. Usually, everyone has two stars, but… You’re clearly not that case, am I right?”

Adam nodded weakly.

“I don’t think it’s a mystery. It’s because I have energy from two star crystals, right?”

“Yeah, something like that. If you go further along the Path Construct, especially when you move on to the next constellations, there will be many more stars, more choices, and more reasons for their appearance.

“Don’t think about it too much. Right now, your main task is to light the first star. Once you do that, you can focus your attention on the next stars and so on until you reach the end.”

Adam was silent for a moment.

Then, he looked up and asked:

“The end? What’s at the end of the Path Construct?”

A grin spread across Damien’s face. “Isn’t it obvious? Once you build your path, you’ll discover a direct way to the very top—to the Second Rank.”

Adam nodded deeply in understanding.

There could be no other answer.

Like the Two Walls and the Crystal Gates, the Path Construct was the main obstacle for every K4 Phantom.

“But…”

Adam faltered.

“What’s the hidden problem? I mean, the Second Rank Phantoms are much smaller than the K4 Phantoms. Is it that difficult to fulfill the condition of every star in every constellation?”

Adam waved his hand.

“Sure, it will take a lot of time and involve danger, but I don’t see anything in it that could stop most of the K4-Phantoms. When did the last Second Rank Phantom appear?”

In response, Damien took another sip, staring at the glowing lights.

“Not long ago. Kogen Noukx. You met him when you fought at the Moon Colosseum. When he returned a few years ago to avenge his uncle and regain control of the ninth ring, that’s when the Citadel got a new Second Rank Phantom.

“His uncle was a pretty important Phantom himself, one of the most brutal, powerful, and strong K4-Phantoms. That’s why he was able to seize power in the Noukx Family in the first place. But, as you can imagine, against the power of a Second Rank Phantom, that doesn’t mean anything.”

Adam gulped.

He remembered well how Gladius had told him about Kogen’s past. Kogen had many flaws and problems, especially with his head, but no one could deny that he was incredibly strong and that the speed of his evolution was terrifying.

Kogen Noukx was not only the youngest head among all the Twelve Branches, but also the youngest Second Rank Phantom currently in the Citadel. Most were several hundred years old, while Kogen was just under thirty.

Every Second Rank Phantom was crucial to the Citadel and all of humanity. Kogen was no exception to this rule.

“What about the problems with the Path Construct? Well… there are so many problems that it would take a long time to list them all, but the main one, the one that destroys most K4-Phantoms, is the wrong choice.”

Damien’s expression became serious.

“Every star could be the last.”