Ascension of the Nephilim

Kyros and his six vampires left quickly.

"So... When am I going to have my thanks for giving you such a monstrous son?" Aron laughed.

"Monstrous is a very poor way to put it. A vampire is monstrous. But a young boy who could turn a level 90 being into his ally? Not to mention those Jeweled Golems... I managed to ask the Red one's level, and he told me he should be at level 40. But based on my calculations, no one under 50 can defeat him! And my son commands one? The Golem King broke the body of the green one without hesitation! It valued the favor of my son more than the strength of that green one!"

"You're not bothered that he's a vampire?"

"A vampire? Open your eyes, brother. He's more than a vampire. Didn't you notice? His body..."

"Yeah, I know. He didn't have that Undead, Dark Dependent body. It was clearly alive. This Temple must have done something to him."

"Done something to him? It didn't do anything to him! I think this temple sealed him!" Branze laughed.

"Sealed?"

"Geez, brother. You're quite slow. Look at where we are sitting. There used to be four pillars there and something in here in the middle. It's at the very center. Something was sealed here. And if the Golem King immediately became very subservient to Kyros, it's obvious that there's something more to the boy than just being a vampire!" Branze pointed out.

"What?!"

"What excuse did he say when you found him?" Branze pressed more.

"Well... his family died. Killed by the lizards-" It was then that it dawned on Aron of the lies of Kyros's family. It would have been impossible for Kyros's family to be slain by lizards now that they know that the lizards lived beyond the Golem City.

Kyros has shown to be strong and powerful. He had just saved them from certain death with impossible odds. How was it possible that he failed to protect any of his family?

"He lied to me?! Then what exactly is he?"

"I don't know! You spent more time with him. You should tell me!"

"Ugh. It's sort of awkward to bring it up now."

"Then don't. Besides, my son's really smart. He probably already knows that we know."

"What a troublesome smart pair."

"And you're the idiot brother who adopted him for me."

"What are they going to do up there?"

"Since we still have a lot to talk about, it doesn't make sense why he left immediately. But because he did, I'm guessing he sensed that Fate already has some enemies headed this way now."

"What? So fast! Fate really is cruel. What's he up to?"

"I'm still going through the letter. But if it were me, I'd be going up there to cause a lot of havoc up there to prolong the arrival of our enemies. That would give you more time to train and complete the mission." Branze began to go through the letter. His expressions were confused at first. But then, realization slowly appeared.

"What's the plan?"

"I'm not sure yet. But by the looks of it, he's planning something really interesting."

"Interesting? Why do you have a strange look on your face."

"Because it's an insane plan. I got a son smarter than me and more reckless than you..." Branze shook his head.

"And you, brother, have an important mission as well. The instructions in this letter imply that you need to be a fully-fledged Force Paladin that can equal the real thing. And part of this plan requires more Force Paladin. This means you have to train our men while another group helps me in my mission.

"Well, if that's the case, we can split the tasks. You can take care of Kyros's mission while I train the men. Since we have all awakened our Mana pool, it's possible to train that. And with the temple present that can restore our mana, we could go all out. Unless, of course, there is some healing limit of this Temple. Regardless, we should keep training to our limits before trying to heal ourselves." Aron laughed. 

Branze ignored Aron and kept reading the letter.

"What's in that letter, anyway?"

"The first part... looks like quest items of some sort. It could be related to this mysterious Temple connected to him. Our job is to collect these things. Were there trees and flowers in the place you fought?"

"Not that I recall. But then again, we were running for our lives."

"I see. The second part is what's interesting. Is he thinking of doing that? That's very daring!"

"What's the plan?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure yet. I'll try to figure things out. It's like Kyros intentionally gave me cryptic orders without telling me his intentions! This is just great! I already have a reckless brother giving me endless trouble. Now I have an insane son?!" Branze cursed.

Aron laughed.

"He was pretty bold and insane back there. So I guess this is to be expected. In any case, you do the thinking, and I'll train the men. But I need to train you as well. The faster you learn how to be a Force Paladin, the easier it will be for you to impart the theories to the men. I'm thinking of training by actual combat where we use real swords. Too bad Kyros took most of his crafted sword."

"You plan to have our men fight to near death?"

"Yes. I also have to fight you too. I now have a higher level than me. Since our goal is killing a Champion, you should gather more data for this fight."

"Hmm. We'll see about that. I might lose the first few rounds, but you won't stand a chance once I gather enough data."

"Oh, brother... You're so cute when you say that. So how long will Kyros be gone? I got very attached to that kid."

"Leaving the cave should take about a day with their speed. That's why he took only the vampires among the knights. They'll be probably be moving without stopping or resting. And we don't know how long he will be up there."

"Do you have any idea what they plan to do? I mean, he said some strange thing and now gave you a letter full of different instructions. What did he mean by kill people and suck their blood?"

"I've never been a vampire, brother. How should I know?"

"Then guess. What do you think he plans with that letter? Is he planning to create havoc to stop people from going inside this place?"

"That's what's confusing. With what he said when he left, I assumed that he plans to cause a lot of havoc but, at the same time, keep the family strength of the Steele family within a certain limit. If it were me... I'd turn more people into vampires and send them in a suicide attack to kill as much of the people led here by Fate."

"Cruel and ingenious as always, brother. Where's the confusion?"

"Because the instructions of this letter assume that we will be having a lot of guests coming here. So I think he will delay the arrival of men for a few days but will then lead an army of friends or enemies here! This means... that he could be planing to give our enemies Golem City!"

As the knights continued to rest, the Coven of the Nephilim continued to run at great speed.

As vampires, their stamina is different. They had drunk a lot of blood, and the life source in their body allowed them to move without growing tired for the next fifty or so days. This is what it meant to be an Undead who relied on the lifeforce of others. Drinking the blood of a single human provided the vampire a great source of energy, and their body would not deteriorate or go through the process of metabolism.

As vampires, they didn't need to sleep, and as long as they are kept fed, they don't get tired.

With the various cloaks, robes, and armor that Branze brought, the entire team was outfitted with the dark outfit. They all held an Earth Sword and had a hood to hide their faces. A mask covered their faces, and only the red in their eyes could be seen.

Leading the dash was Kyros. Behind him were the six dark-clothed people. Three were adults, and the other three were kids.

"For the last time, Calaminus! We are not drawing red clouds on our dark cloaks, and I won't put metal screws on my face or wear a swirly-swirly mask!" Kyros cursed.

"Sheesh! What a killjoy! I'm just bored."

"You're level 2, right? Has anything changed? You should be able to help me more, right?"

"As level 2 Soul Wisp, I think I can move further from you now. I could only be some fifteen meters away from you before, but now, I think I should have the ability to move some thirty meters!"

"That's great! That and Soul Tap, we'd be unstoppable!" Kyros smiled.

"What? Unstoppable? What can splash do?"

"You'll see." Kyros smiled.

"Coven of the Nephilim! Listen up! I'll be telling you the plan now!"

"What is our next mission, Lord Kyros?" Scarlet asked.

"Well, for starters, you can't call me Kyros."

"Becky?" Avary asked.

"No. Let's go with that other name."

"Cracky Batcheeks the Naked Offender?" Avary confirmed.

"Yup." Kyros gave a helpless sigh. But he had no choice. He has to use that name.

"You shall all identify yourself to be the Bloodline Vampires of Ancient Cracky. And we are the Coven on Crack."

"Do you know what that means?" Calaminus laughed.

"Of course I do. But think about it. I'm planning to let our enemies have Golem City. What else am I on if not crack?" Kyros laughed.