Chapter 1788: The Desire to Win vs. the Desire to Kill (Part 2)

All fighters in the world could be divided into two categories: those who want to win and those who want to kill.

It seemed that in many cases, killing and winning were the same, especially for the Phantoms in the Dead Lands. If a Phantom didn’t kill the monster in front of him, he would die, and that was it. There was simply no other choice.

However, at the Citadel and in the Dead Lands, there were many arenas where monsters and Phantoms fought.

It was not uncommon for killing to be prohibited by the rules, but some fighters simply could not control themselves and tried to kill their opponent, no matter the cost.

Such fighters had a strong thirst for blood. They wanted to kill, see blood, and hear screams of pain. They wanted nothing more than to watch their opponent’s face contort in agony, their gaze filled with despair.

Sano and Natta were definitely fighters of the second type, and in their lives, nothing stood in their way of doing this. On the contrary, they had all the conditions to gradually build up their bloodlust and increase their cravings.

Now that Adam had stepped up against them, their thirst for blood had reached its peak.

The thing was, they knew this was the final stage of their deal with Aiden. He had told them about the world and made them the Phantoms.

Now, the time had come for the finale, when he would let them fight against someone important, someone special to him.

Adam didn’t know that Aiden thought of him that way, but Natta and Sano were sure of it.

They could list an endless number of Aiden’s negative traits, but he always kept his word. They did not doubt that.

Flash!

With a bright flash, a greatsword with a wide blade, golden guard, and long hilt appeared in Sano’s right hand.

Adam raised an eyebrow, as disappointment flashed across his face.

"Is this your Nexus?"

Sano nodded. "Yes."

Without another word, she lunged forward. In a blur, Sano found herself above Adam, gripping her sword tightly with both hands.

With a calm expression, Adam raised his hand as the black needle appeared in his grasp.

The two blades clashed as a cascade of sparks flew off to the side before Adam’s emotionless gaze.

He had expected more. It was obvious to everyone.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Sano continued to bring her sword down on Adam, but despite having the advantage of striking from above, Adam didn’t even budge.

One hand was enough for him to block her strikes, waiting for her stamina to run out.

"Not bad! Not bad at all!" Sano exclaimed with a joyful smirk as she, for some reason, changed her grip.

Now, she held her heavy sword in one hand.

Adam was about to say something when his pupils narrowed in shock.

A zigzag line ran along the blade as her sword opened into a terrifying jaw with sharp fangs.

"Oh..." Adam gasped as Sano attacked again.

Instead of delivering a slash, she thrust her sword straight at Adam like a spear.

Adam narrowed his eyes, blocking her strange Nexus, but soon he realized it was a mistake.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The jaw began to bite his needle, trying to shatter it into tiny shards, and after just a few moments, the first crack appeared on the black needle.

The tiny fragment flew off the needle, whizzing past Adam’s frozen eyes.

"Hahaha! What are you going to do now? It won’t be a minute before I shatter your Nexus into pieces!"

Sano laughed maniacally, relishing Adam’s expression.

"You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you? You’re just a-"

BAM!

Before Sano could finish, Adam’s fist plunged deep into her stomach, sending her flying forward.

She immediately opened her eyes so as not to lose her momentum and return to the fight, but it was already too late.

Adam was right in front of her, his fist tightly clenched.

"Try breaking this."

Sano’s eyes widened as his fist slammed into her face.

Blood spurted in all directions, as crimson drops trickled down Adam’s knuckles. He was ready to strike again and end their fight right here and now.

Whooooooosh!

Suddenly, a shadow appeared behind him, causing him to slowly turn around.

Natta, who had been standing on the sidelines until then, decided to join the battle.

However, she was in no hurry to attack.

Adam glanced at her, then lowered his gaze.

"You two look alike, don’t you?"

On Natta’s hands were crimson gauntlets covering half her forearms like a knight’s. The gauntlets were rough, made of red metal with sharp edges, but that wasn’t what was remarkable about them.

On her right gauntlet, three eyes with red pupils were open, now staring at Adam with a wild hunger in their gaze. On the left gauntlet, three snapping jaws were open.

Natta nodded.

"Yes. I don’t think you’ve ever seen Nexuses like this before." She pointed at his needle. "From what I can see, you have a fairly common variant."

Adam didn’t say anything.

"Either way, I have to help Sano, or this fight will end sooner than we’d like."

Then, Natta raised her right hand as the three eyes on her gauntlet tensed, the blood vessels around them bulging.

Adam glared at her as three blood blobs swelled up next to Natta’s hand before trembling and bursting forth in a bloody spray.

Suddenly, Adam ducked, letting the shots fly over him. One of them nearly grazed his shoulder.

Step.

Natta stepped forward as the jaws on her left gauntlet opened, ready to attack.

At the same moment, three long tongues shot toward Adam, seeking to grab him.

Whooooosh!

In a heartbeat, Adam vanished, causing Natta to frown and spin around. She tried to find Adam, but for some reason, she couldn’t.

"Not looking for me?"

A voice came from behind, causing Natta to turn around, only to see Adam. He no longer held a needle in his hand, but red gloves, somewhat similar to hers.

"You see, my Needle, this isn’t my Nexus. These gloves, a gift from the queen, are my true weapon."

Natta’s eyes widened as Adam’s hand reached out to her, touching her shoulder.

Adam’s face turned grim.

"And unlike your Nexus, this weapon is capable of killing with a single touch."