The strong had a right that the weak were often deniedâthey could do what they thought was necessary, what they themselves wanted, not what anyone else wanted.
Norax could have stayed out of it, and then Adamâs fight against Ureyn would have gone according to Gareynaâs plan. But he had a different opinion on the matter.
He wanted to see what Adam Vinter was capable of.
Targon and Gareyna knew who he was, so it wasnât a problem for Norax as well.
"Adam Vinter?" Nollura raised an eyebrow. "Is that your name? Pffft, it doesnât suit you at all!"
"What? What does that have to do with anything?!" Adam exclaimed with a deep frown.
Silvana, in turn, noticed one important detail.
âHmm, Norax said, Adamâs name so casually, as if he had known him for a long time. At the same time, it was definitely the first time Nollura had heard Adamâs full name. Interesting... If Norax and his ilk were following Adamâs achievements, what about the other Phantoms?
Clap.
Norax clapped his hands, drawing attention to himself.
"Adam, your time is running out. I think you understand that as well as I do."
Then, Adam looked around, noticing many figuresâtheir eyes were focused solely on him, because of the two fighters, he was the only one left.
Sure, the fact that Ureyn was coming out of his mill didnât mean that the String Duel would start immediately, but what choice did he have?
If he didnât agree, Adam would simply attack him anyway because he needed the Connected Heart.
Also, when many from the Forgotten Mills gathered to watch their fight, and many more would come after the fight began, they had no other options.
Nollura was an additional factor in Ureynâs favor. Defeat and the loss of some of his power were far better than death.
A few moments later, Adam glanced at the Black Cut emblem and nodded deeply.
"Alright, what should I do?"
Norax waved his hand carelessly.
"Just stand in front of Ureynâs mill, put your energy into the emblem, and think about your goal. The main thing is to be careful. Hahaha, it would be bad if you died before the fight started because of carelessness!"
Adam and Nollura exchanged glances. Neither of them knew how to use the seal properly, but they had no other choice.
Nollura stepped aside, pressing her palm to her chest. Either way, Ureyn would now have to fight the clearly talented and powerful Phantom. Whatâs more, it would start with him being forced to leave his mill.
Tap.
Suddenly, Norax was behind her, patting her on the shoulder several times.
"Donât worry. Whatever the outcome, Ureyn will definitely gain valuable experience from this battle. Iâm sure of that."
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
Adam did as Norax said, as his energy directed itself toward the seal, causing the space to tremble. Gradually, its power increased while a threatening darkness gathered around Adamâs hand.
"This Phantom... or rather Adam, he doesnât seem like a bad person, although he can be quite hot-tempered. Iâve already figured that out," Nollura muttered and turned to Norax. "Mr. Norax, it seems you know more about Adam than I do, r-right?"
Nollura was clearly nervous. She dared not forget that if it werenât for this whole situation, she would never have had the opportunity to speak to Norax in this way, especially considering her current level of power.
However, Norax did not refuse to talk and nodded deeply.
"Yeah, as far as I know, you fought him in your nest. So, you should have understood that his abilities are similar to ours and to the monsters that inhabit these lands."
Nollura gulped. "But why?"
"Well, the abilities of Phantoms are usually much more diverse than ours, monsters, especially before the Second Circle. And, his abilities develop using the power of the first monster they killed as a foundation. This is what makes their Evolution Tree grow."
"Wait, doesnât that mean that?"
"Yes, Adam Vinterâto become a Phantom, he most likely killed a monster that came to humans from our lands. Sure, there are other territories similar to ours, but the chance of that is smaller."
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The trembling reached its peak when Adamâs eyes flashed, and the seal broke free from his hand, soaring above the ground.
Sensing the threat from the seal, Adam took a step back, which was the right decision because in the next moment, the seal exploded.
However, instead of flames, thick darkness burst out of the seal, and a long blade shot forward at tremendous speed, somewhat comparable to Adamâs Imaginary Cut.
That was enough to fly dozens of meters in the blink of an eye, and Ureynâs mill, literally cutting it in two.
Adamâs eyes widened as he did not expect Noraxâs method of challenging Ureyn to a duel to be so straightforward.
"Hah, the main thing is to achieve the result, and the methods are not so important, right?" Adam smiled bitterly.
With a diagonal cut, the upper part of the mill came crashing down, falling to the ground with a crash. The dry tree broke into pieces, destroying the walls surrounding the lower level, revealing what had been hidden behind the gates all this time.
Adam and everyone else stared at the gray sphere hovering in the middle of the mill, just a few meters above the ground.
These were active wind currents that had taken this shape to give time and peace to the one inside, originally behind several walls, both physical and wind.
Naturally, Ureyn could not ignore such destruction, even if his mind was completely immersed and focused on another goal.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
With a slight tremor, the sphere shattered as the wind currents scattered in different directions, rushing over the tips of the grass.
The young man in the loose robe fell to the ground, slowly raising his gaze. His gray eyes were calm, and his gray hair fell to his shoulders like free wind currents.
"I see..." Ureyn muttered, looking around.
It took him only a few seconds to understand what was happening here.
He looked at Nollura, but his gaze stopped on someone else.
"So youâre my opponent, Phantom? The String Duel isnât what I expected..."
Adam grinned widely, his excitement growing with every passing second.
"Indeed, and thereâs something I want you to know before we begin."
"Hmm?"
"Seven years is an eternity, Ureyn!"