Endless Evolution: Last Star

Yes, the only reason Aiden threw Adam out of the lab in Dead Lands was because by doing so he was trying to create a new Natural Phantom.

Could an intelligent and cold-blooded free scientist like Aiden just forget the people inside the iron container time after time?

Of course not, it was simply impossible to allow such a thing to happen even once. It only took place at his will and initiative.

According to his statistics, it was obvious that surviving, becoming a Natural Phantom, and returning to the Citadel was unlikely, only 0.3% succeeded, and... Adam became one of them.

Well, that meant that on average, for the birth of one Natural Phantom, Aiden was sent to their deaths 332 young men from the slums who just came to take the test and get some food with credits, just like Adam on the day his whole life changed.

For Aiden, this was acceptable collateral damage.

It seemed to be a horrific ratio, as he would literally kill several hundred people so that only one of them would become a Natural Phantom.

True... that was the case in the eyes of ordinary people, for Aiden though, it was truly a favorable deal.

'A hundred people from the slums will never be able to defeat a Green or Blue Threat Level monster...' Aiden pondered while looking at the screen, 'Neither will the people inside Three Rings, but there is a significant difference between them...'

Aiden's musings continued:

'I can't secretly send people from the Three Rings to the Dead Lands and they are much more useful to the Citadel than the slum dwellers, both economically and practically...'

It was worth realizing that there was no room for morality in Aiden's thinking. It was pure pragmatism to which no such concepts as cruelty or mercy could be applied, it was simply a calculation based on facts and the actual reality of their world and society.

'The residents in Three Rings can at least become military officers, departmental workers, and so on, it's rare for anyone to get out of the slums... The number of monsters that an average Natural Phantom kills before dying goes beyond a few hundred.' Aiden inwardly muttered, slowly rubbing his chin.

Thus, even looking at this situation from a mathematical point of view, Aiden was exchanging hundreds of slum people's lives for hundreds of monsters killed, and... their quality as living beings was completely different.

Not just to Aiden, it was obvious to anyone that some Essence Thunder Demon wasn't just capable of killing hundreds of people, but on average did so by slaughtering the military and a few Phantoms before someone strong enough could stop him.

It was just that, unlike Aiden, ordinary people would never admit to these violent and immoral thoughts, it was unacceptable.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But, Aiden did it for another important reason.

True, for him, the life of one Natural Phantom was more valuable and effective for the Citadel, such a Phantom killed more monsters than people died because of Aiden's actions, and the materials collected from them were worth dozens of times more than hundreds of people from the slums could earn during their lives.

Potential.

Aiden realized that Natural Phantoms didn't just stand above ordinary humans, they stood above other Phantoms.

"Agh. The Government and Azure Lotus have a strict policy of secrecy about the existence of the Natural Phantoms, though it makes sense, but the safety of the Phantoms isn't the only thing they think about."

Aiden muttered, placing an open palm on his face, his amber eyes visible through the gaps between his fingers.

The government and Azure Lotus believed that while it was good that Natural Phantoms existed, it was just an exception to the rule that shouldn't be followed.

When they raised the issue, at the highest levels, their rhetoric stated that although there was a certain inequality between Artificial and Natural Phantoms, the gap could be overcome with hard work and perseverance. They believed that labor could catch up with talent.

"Well... They're right..." Aiden said slowly, glancing at Adam, "Hard work can beat talent, but... only if the talent doesn't try."

Aiden disliked Azure Lotus and their policy of equality, he thought it was the greatest nonsense of all.

It was inequality that allowed Natural Phantoms to exist, with equality there would be no free scientists like him or Magnus, willing to sacrifice the lives of others of their own free will for an illusory chance at success.

It was worth realizing that Aiden chose Adam at random, like hundreds of other youths from the slums who had participated in his tests and experiments.

Until that day, he hadn't known of Adam's existence, but Aiden was surprised that Adam had not only managed to survive but to achieve significant results in a fairly short period.

Whether it was Artificial or Natural Phantom, both weaklings died on their first missions and true demons of the battlefield, with each mission only increasing the magnitude of their accomplishments and defeated opponents.

Aiden saw quite a few Natural Phantoms die in their first weeks or months on rather simple missions. Some of them had been created by him, by his dark method...

Thus, even of the 0.3% who managed to survive Aiden's actions, only a few became truly worthy Phantoms.

However, Aiden was not upset. He continued to do it because he knew that although very rarely, during his actions appeared great Natural Phantoms.

Obviously, Adam had already become one of his most successful experiments in this category.

Sure, Adam wasn't the strongest Natural Phantom, but Phantoms that survived encounters with Plague Reaper and eventually defeated him were indeed few.

Aiden stretched his shoulder before glaring intently at Katrin.

"Well, perhaps due to her risk that turned out to be a success, I may soon have another option to create Natural Phantoms, a completely unique one..."

A sharp glint passed across his amber eyes, then they shifted to the side, aiming at Adam.

"You... I hope you don't stop at K2, you could be a great Phantom."

Continue your adventure with empire

Aiden took a deep breath.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to meet me soon. If you could have done that a few months ago you definitely would have tried to kill me, but... Will you want to do that when our meeting happens?"

Then, Aiden's eyes narrowed, becoming dark and sinister.

"During the time you were a Phantom, while you were killing monsters and getting stronger, there was a lot less of humanity in you..."

...

Step.

Katrin took a step forward, looking at Plague Reaper, who was lying serenely on the ground with his eye closed, only the wind fluttering his hair.

Her mind was slowly adjusting to what happened, to her new powers, to the fact that her dream was fulfilled, that she became a Natural Phantom, and that this day was finally over...

Crackle.

At the same moment, in the distance, came the sound of cracking bones and painful screams as if from a beast who had fallen into a terrible trap.

Adam and Katrin turned around sharply, looking in the same direction, making their eyes go wide for a moment.

They saw Nessa, wounded and barely conscious, tearing apart the monster that decided to attack her.

She did so with her powerful jaw, devouring chunks of flesh while the monster was still alive.

Distracted by this bloody sight, Katrin and Adam didn't notice that something more interesting was happening near them.

Flesh, like roots wanting to join together to heal their immense wound, was slowly filling the void inside Osana's wide hole in her body.