Ascension of the Nephilim

The sight of their Cardinal on the ground, broken, was painful for the Commanders. But they were helpless against the scheme of the Nephilim. In their experience, regrets and decisions in battle were not something they often thought of. But there was something sinister from the words of Kyros that made them feel great and deep regret.

The losses they faced were shocking. They had not even reached the Nephilim's base, and they had already lost nearly half of their men.

The Nephilim's total manpower and military might not be worth comparing in terms of firepower and attack. Even Kyros admitted such a disadvantage. 

Heralcus felt his mind go blank, and his confidence shattered. 

Destiny had chosen him to go for he was the best among his peers that could travel into this strange timeline. None of the Cardinals in his home planet who would be born further off in the future could compare to him. And in this world, he got even stronger as he took control of Middle and made his men bring and cultivate the darkness. But now, he could not help but feel how utterly useless he was.

Regret filled his heart. In his cautiousness to not use his all-out strength and use his power to command all souls, he had lost half of his army.

He kept replaying the scenes in his mind, again and again, carefully regretting each step of the way.

The fears that held him back were ambushes from the armies of the Nephilim, that he was being led into a trap of wasting more energy, and that the Nephilim would shoot the powerful attack which killed Lucas and Faust.

He had seen the memories of Faust that the Nephilim summoned a Temple which he recognized as a Divine Abode. So he knew that the [Holy Beam] was power borrowed from the Temple. But the actual attack that killed Faust and Lucas the first time was an attack made by directly summoning the Temple and using it to attack.

Because of fear of this attack, Heralcus always held back, took extreme caution, and readied enough energy to defend himself.

Then more and more of what had transpired entered into his mind. He recognized his many faults and how Kyros had duped him.

The more he saw the enemy's powers, the more he felt insignificant. His enemies clearly had potentials that surpassed their own. It was more than just knowledge and understanding of the Supreme Basics, but they were talented enough to improve on it and perform tricks that go beyond the level of Crowns!

But that was the ultimate distraction. At that time, his other armies were being massacred.

He fell into such great contemplation that his emotions leaked out, and even the souls he wielded were trembling.

"The souls... we have to get those souls! We need to know how they were defeated!" Heralcus suddenly realized it.

"Neteri. You are to go with me towards the place where Eredus and the rest died. We will summon the souls to see their memories, draw them in, and eat them. First, we need to know what their powers are and how my Commanders were defeated!"

"Yes! Cardinal." Neteri answered as she saw her Cardinal stand up.

"Qara, Darako, and Shellcross! You are to slowly lead the army and head towards the location where Eredus died. But check the grounds yourself! We cannot afford to lose another Champion! We'd be a fool to believe that there are no traps in this vicinity!"

"Yes, Cardinal! We will number our steps to the exact distance!"

"Neteri, let's go!" Heralcus ordered, and the pair flew with incredible speed towards the location of Eredus.

The three Commanders began to gather together and plan the ways.

"I will have to fly out ahead. I am the only one fast enough to evade his attacks." Qara volunteered.

"I shall stand the vanguard. I should be able to resist his attacks."

"And I shall use moving darkness to pave the way. I shall use the souls of the fallen to create the dark creeping ground."

"But we still have to be careful. That arrogant brat is too strong and cunning! So we always have to assume that he is watching us."

The three commanders began to execute the plan.

As they continued to move, everyone had already returned to the Temple.

The armies that ambushed the team were exhausted from the fight. Despite the many plans, a few of their own had died. 

Reptilia also moved in and had a somewhat embarrassed expression. She was the winner of the contest as she made a bold declaration. Whoever helped her the most, she would marry if she won.

And so, various knights, including Grugnyr and Gojirrah, rushed in to help her. This allowed her to retain her points as many simps willingly took the thrown objects and even made a human wall around her when her points had reached a certain level.

But due to the slightly underhanded means as it disrupted the purpose of the training, Kyros made one last order for Reptilia to allow her to be officially declared the winner.

"My tactics should buy us at least three to four hours. So this gives us fifteen to twenty hours. If we're lucky they might spend five hours outside. It all depends on the perfromance of Lady Reptilia. Did Lady Reptilia do as asked?"

"Yes. Before we killed most of the surviving souls, we did that. It was amazing. Lady Reptilia owned it." Hunter reported.

"Yeah. That was awesome. She could make a lot of money doing that." Aron praised.

Martha gave Aron a painful pinch from the back.

Branze did not comment, but he could feel the dangerous glare of Diana.

Reptilia was red.

"Alright. Then since Reptilia gets the bonus points, she can make a request. What will you request of the Steele family and me? We will give you everything according to what you wish." Kyros promised.

Martha and Diana held their breath. This was one of the things that they dreaded. Will this beautiful lizardwoman ask for Branze of Aron?

"Lord Kyros... I wish to be part of the Steele family. Therefore, grant me a position equal to Lady Martha and Lady Diana."

"You want to be my aunt?"

"Yes. I have seen how you bestow gifts to them. If I were to seek the greatest power, then as your aunt, you would oblige my selfish desires. Even if it's attacking and liberating the lizard kingdom in my real world." Reptilia listed her demands.

Everyone was amazed at Reptilia's offer.

"Oh? I never thought about that. If I were Kyros's uncle, that would indeed give me the highest levels of power, honor, glory, and prestige!" Demerus realized the brilliance of this request.

"That request resolves a lot of things, including your position in the Coven. Very ingenious. No wonder you were willing to do that awkward dance. We accept. Henceforth, shall you be called Reptilia Steele." 

Suddenly, a strange light occurred at the Temple, and it immediately bestowed a strange power to Reptilia.

Shown at the top was the projected stats of Reptilia. But this time, her true name was now Reptilia Steele.

"Welcome to the family, aunt Reptilia." Kyros smiled.

"Now, we will hold our celebrations later as well as the funerals for those who have passed away in the battles earlier. Right now, we are making the final preparations for the fight. Some of us have even gained a lot and increased our levels by at least one rank. The Temple has also leveled up at the Commanders' deaths that we managed to sacrifice in the Temple. This has allowed us to gain access to the Enlightenment Chamber. It is a powerful artifact that enhances the meditative powers of one person who will stay inside it. It seems to have the power to spur the Codes or Corruption inside someone and help them grasp it."

"What?! That's amazing!" Demerus shouted.

"Yes. It will be of great use. But, it costs a lot! Luckily, the corpses you brought in can fuel. We roughly have at least 3 hours, which equals fifteen hours here. So I will take a lot one hour for certain individuals. One hour to my grandfather, father, mother, uncle, and aunts. One hour for each of the five Emberdons, one hour for Scarlet, and one hour for Mechiel."

"M-me?" Mechiel was surprised.

"You have the Blood Calamity in you. But, just like Scarlet, you both already have an awakened Corruption and Code. So you will be among the last to move in. From here on, then, you try to meditate on that power. As for me, I will take the remaining time, whether it's one or two hours. Any complaints?"

The group was silent.

"I have a request, Lord Kyros, can I enter right before you or right before... erm... niece Mechiel?" Reptilia was unsure how to call Mechiel now."

"We're not married yet, Aunt Reptilia." Kyros laughed.

"In any case, I wish to ask assistance from brother Branze to teach me True Cut." Reptilia requested.

"I also wish to learn. Now is the time to learn that since I need more power in my attacks. Branze and the two of us can enter the chamber after everyone else. He can teach us what he knows on the first few hours, and we will meditate on what we have been taught in the last."

"That sounds wise, mother. Everyone else, improve your skills! We've lost some men from that last clash. I don't want anymore to die! Emberdons, good job ensuring a zero death rate among the Wings of the Nephilim. But your team was still unable to block all the vampire threats in that some of those who teleported died as they tried to defend against it. Grandfather. Uncle. Some of those who died were Steele family servants and knights. Two servants and a knight, to be precise. Do what you can to ensure no one else dies in this last clash." Kyros gave strict orders.

"Yes!" The Emberdons, Mezal, and Aron felt the stabbing words of Kyros. But he was right. They all vowed to ensure a zero death rate.

"Everyone, go and make your final preparations. You all know the plan. Coven! On me. It's time for us to enhance our bloodline!" Kyros declared.

As the final preparations were being made, Heralcus and Neteri arrived at the battlegrounds. 

"Let's begin, Neteri!" Heralcus ordered without wasting a single second.