Ascension of the Nephilim

Martha was moving at her fastest speed. She teleported several times, but the scent of the dragon she ate always gave her way out. Even with her impressive maneuvers, the Wyvern was still chasing.

The speed was so fast that Martha had to capture several shadow beings that they found along the way and teleported into the Separated Realm.

Martha was exhausted and began to devour the shadow beings that Puff managed to grab.

"Can you attack her?" Martha asked Puff as she continued to eat.

"No. By the time you open that portal and when I step out, she will sense me. Wyverns have high mobility and unbelievable dexterity. My fastest and strongest attacks as a Wyrm would definitely miss. The same goes for my drake form. And if I assume a hybrid form of a Wyvern or a Thane, the attack would be too weak!" Puff explained.

"I thought as much. I already considered creating a portal in front of her to send her into the Separated Realm, but it seems her dexterity can allow her to move at such speeds that she can do an extreme stop..."

"Yeah... Wyverns do those things..." Puff sighed.

"... What was that?" Martha asked.

"What was what?"

"That sigh? Were you in love with a Wyvern or something?"

"Master! Focus on the fight!"

"I am focusing. It's just that I don't see a way to win. Even Fate is dead quiet!"

"Master, are we... going to die here? Why did you choose this strategy that will put us in harm's way? Even with Lord Kyros's strategy of hiding and carefully using all of our abilities, I doubt that we can kill Commanders."

"I'm guessing you think it smart to fortify ourselves in the temple and wait for the commanders to come to us, right?"

"Yes! Here, we are divided, lost, and can fall into the traps of the enemy! We could have waited and had the power of the Temple helping us!"

"Because it would take too long. It's clear that this tribulation is a challenge that is meant to last for a long time. If we cooked up the meat of the Dragon or Crab Commander and those other living creatures, we would have a source of food. But what about water? Most of those in the Temple aren't vampires. They need water, unlike us Dark Dependent cultivators. The Temple can heal wounds and restore magic and force energy. But from what I've experienced, it can't satiate hunger or thirst! The knights did well and kept a huge stock of water inside the Temple, but it won't be enough. Father-in-law, my husband, Diana, and Branze are humans! We can't turn them into vampire ghouls as they are Light cultivators. Unless they became one of Lord Kyros's Coven, turning them into vampires will only hinder their abilities! So while we still have water, we have to use them and fight!"

"But we could have made a collaborative attack or defense with everyone together!"

"We did, and we barely defeated one. If all of us grouped together and attacked another Commander, the other Commanders, along with the Cardinal, would arrive and kill us. Or... they could move in and destroy the Temple directly. But in this way, we keep them divided. And in this, there might be a chance to win against them. Lord Kyros is out looking for the Cardinal, and we are distracting the enemy armies giving Branze and Diana time to get the rest of the Steele and the Coven to be strong enough to help us."

"But even then, this plan is suicide! That Wyvern alone is too fast! All of these commanders can kill us with a simple punch. And that Commander has the advantage of dealing with us since her speed is the fastest! And honestly, that father-in-law of yours shouldn't have separated from one! He could have stayed with your husband, Master Aron!"

"You've seen my previous tribulation against your cells. This is the fight of Fate Challengers. We always have to go against incredible odds. And 

Don't underestimate my father-in-law. He may not have the sharp sword of my husband or the defensive skills of Branze. He has a little bit of both and cunning that is comparable to Lord Kyros." 

Suddenly, the Separated realm trembled.

Martha stood up and used her power to peer into the outside.

Outside of the Separated Realm, the Wyvern had coated itself in dark energy and was opening its largemouth as strange dark energy was being absorbed into its mouth.

All the nearby dark energy was being absorbed into her.

"How is the wyvern doing this?!" Martha asked.

"She's an Abyss dragon as well! This is dangerous! Master, that is wyverns that harnesses Time and Space magic! It's such a rare dragon breed that even I hadn't slain and devoured an Abyss Dragon! It's very rare that we've only heard of this form of dragons in stories! I thought myself to be the first Abyss Dragon through your power, but..."

"This is expected. Destiny will help them find us. And that includes having us fight monstrous beasts that break the norm! It looks like we have to flee with everything we got. Get ready, Puff. I may need you to act. We're moving out!" Martha called out, and a portal opened up.

As soon as the portal opened, Martha rushed outside with the small figure of Puff, and both fled with all their might.

The portal was several kilometers away from where the Wyvern was.

Not even a second has passed since Martha left the Separated Realm. But the Wyvern immediately gave chase.

BOOM!

The flap of her wings created a shockwave as the Wyvern flew. The dark energy around the area would manifest and be devoured as she flew.

"Master!' Puff cursed.

"I know!" Martha opened another portal and teleported another great distance of several kilometers, and when she did, the pair would rush for several seconds before opening another portal.

Yet even then, the Wyvern was gaining on them. The space and dimensions around the area grew erratic, making it more difficult and costly for Martha to open portals. Moreover, the portals she opened could now only make her teleport with several hundreds of meters as the Wyvern was getting close.

"No choice. We have to fight!" Martha sighed.

"Master..." Puff spoke once more.

"I know. I've felt it too. To think that I would face another fight of desperation much more dangerous than the one against those Thane Dragons." Martha glanced to her left and glared at the approaching figure.

Compared to the Wyvern, the energy that this figure released was so strong and so thick that it was incomparable.

The figure of the handsome prince was revealed, and the man gazed lustfully at Martha.

Back on the other side of the battlefield...

The magic that shamans had was not like the usual magics that most cultivators use. Most cultivators use Magic Force that springs out from their physical bodies and is harnessed and earned through training, magical fruits, cores, and certain magical enforcing processes that stronger magic practitioners perform on cultivators for a steep price.

The path of magic itself was so expensive that the Steele Family held no hopes or desires to walk that path for its huge expenses.

But even more mysterious and rare are Soul Magic Cultivators. They do not draw out magic from any items but from their very souls themselves.

The magic of shamans invoked so much forbidden magic that had to do with souls. Mezal knew that his father-in-law had great magics that even managed to hide him from Fate! And beyond Fate, Mezal believed that that magic hid his family for a time from Destiny.

Mezal developed [Death Stance] from observing how the shamans, who were very weak physically, could draw out the magic that could match enemies several levels higher than themselves. The Village Shaman Elder himself had powers that could challenge a Champion!

And now, that mysterious magic was used to draw in a power that no Champion could comprehend.

"Army of One!" The Shaman began as she started chanting.

"She making the entire army her body!" Mezal concluded.

"What?!"

"Shoot her down! We cannot make her complete that form! She will have power and body that is may even surpass a Cardinal!" Mezal ordered.

The wraith army was vanishing and, turning into a bright, bluish-white mist, moved towards the Shaman.

"Quick! Let's use the Emberbombs!" Demerus shouted.

The Emberdons did not hesitate and brought out a small orang crystal and channeled energy into it, and placed it on the tip of their scepter. The crystal began to melt, and a bright orange flame glowed on the scepter.

"Fire!" Demerus shouted.

Together with Demerus, Faye, Triona, and Ressi, all shouted out loud as they channeled and commanded the massive energy at the tip of their scepter to be fired out.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The explosion was so massive and strong that Mezal took to the front and activated his [Force Wall] to shield themselves from the fire. But even then, they were still blown back from the force of the explosion.

"Quick! Retreat!" Mezal ordered as he knew that such an attack wouldn't be enough to kill the Shaman.