Ascension of the Nephilim

Krysta began to relay tactic after tactic. She even told everyone how to sense the shifting of the ground to determine if there were beasts that were buried.

"Don't be afraid of them if they dig toward us, they move at an extremely slow speed! Kill them when you sense the changes! Scouts and other sensory types can easily detect it!" Krysta ordered.

With her presence, the group was fighting well even as the hours passed.

But Krysta didn't understand how so many darklings appeared on the battlefield.

When she was on her first trip, her father who was a famed strategist and tactician made numerous preparations and performed various tests to understand the monsters within. It was there that her father taught her how to plan.

She was amazed at how his father was able to quickly analyze the flow of the battle and learned how to fight back.

But Krysta was starting to get worried at the unusual number. And then she recalled what Nightwing said.

"It's been hundreds of years!" She cursed as she realized it. Her pride got in the way and she was so eager to correct the errors of the people around them and not follow the very same advice his father told her.

It had been hundreds of years since her time inside this place and the number of Darklores would have doubled or tripled, or even quadrupled since her visit!

"Everyone! We can't stay too long! We don't know when these Darklings will end! Move uphill! We have to get out of this trap or we will be all killed by exhaustion! Those stings can affect you! Even though they are Captain level, a single sting can cause numbing and light paralysis that builds up with more stings! If we stay here, we die! Reach the top of the hill where the gravity spell is out and we can fly up to escape the horde!" Krysta commanded.

She turned towards the members of Body Snatchers and was tempted to ask for help. But fear and worry filled her heart. She gritted her teeth and kept fighting, deciding against asking that wretched incubus for help. The Body Snatchers also didn't speak to her any more than necessary and even approach her for any corrections with her tactic.

With her leading the group she tried to guide the group to move outside of the trap but the number of beasts was preventing them from moving uphill quickly. But with their teamwork and the Commanders who had already gotten used to fighting the beasts, the entire group was able to move, and very few losses were counted among them and those that died were quickly pulled back so that the beast may not get stronger.

The fight uphill got messy And because of the disadvantage of the terrain and how the darklings would pounce from the top, a Commander got attacked by the darklings' stings and his strength began to wither. With a Commander level fighter becoming weakened and paralyzed from the sting, their battle turned deadly as the opening the enemy needed finally appeared. The warriors were too used to fighting that the change in the routine of their battles which lasted for hours suddenly changed and exhausted everyone.

The captains and champions exerted more effort but were quickly draining their pool of Force and Magic energy.

The Commanders got more and more stings. More Champions died, and while the rest was able to stop the beasts from eating them, everyone was using all of their abilities and using all their pills, medicines, and special spells.

Blasts and explosions occurred all around as the Commanders all released their magic along with Krysta.

The entire space within a hundred meters was wiped out by the powerful spells and skills of the Commanders. Krysta showed magic that matched their strength!

"Everyone! Get back to formation!" Krysta ordered and the group followed.

But after the wipeout, the tide of Darkling beasts poured in from the top of the hills.

"They noticed that we were tiring to go uphill and many dug their way there!" A Commander realized the darkling's plan.

"Attack! Go all out! We have to move up that hill!" Krysta ordered and the Commanders acted.

More magic and force attacks rocked the top of the hill but more beasts tunneled out of it and dove in.

Waves of Darklings appeared and fell towards the team and forced all Commanders to use their attacks.

The Commanders were being drained from all the strong attacks.

Suddenly, a rumbling was felt on the ground and several larger forms of the same beasts appeared. They were three times the size of the Darklings and had powerful energy emanating from them.

"Is that...?" A Commander asked.

"That's the Darklore beast," Krysta answered back with her voice quivering. The Darklore beasts had gotten smarter and used this strategy. The group was too weary from the fight and more had received stings from the darklings.

The Darklore Beast began to charge and their Commander-level energy was revealed.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three more appeared and the hills began to quake as many more beasts appeared.

"Is... this it?" A Commander sighed as he saw four Darklore beast charge from a different direction.

"We're... doomed." A Champion saw the numbers and his heart gave up.

But then, Krysta saw something strange.

A strange silhouette was seen in the sky and it was not affected by the spell that prohibited flight.

"[Star Flare]!"

A voice was heard and four bright flashes of light fell on the path where the Darklore beasts were rushing through.

BOOM! BOOM!

Massive attacks that peaked the Commander level and could easily become Cardinal erupted around them.

"Who...?!"

"Nightwing..." Krysta recognized the form.

Suddenly, a cry of numerous people was heard as many people arrived up the hill.

Leading the charge were Sherah and Monica!

"Krysta! Get your team ready... A bigger beast is coming." Nightwing held on to his sword.

"I really hate doing this... [Skotos Eis Phos]!"

Nightwing turned into a being of pure white.

BOOM!

At that moment, a massive beast appeared right at the center. It looked like the same Darkling but larger.

"Show yourself, beast! I know you are not a darkling! They cannot absorb the energy of what they eat. Only those marked with greed will! Servant of Greed! Reveal yourself!" Nightwing called out.

A laugh could be heard as the large creature transformed into a being of bright orange color. The features of a large hog could be seen and the stings had altered its form and became like the tongue of a frog.

At that moment, the Darklings and the Darklore beasts all changed form. Their dark, doglike form disappeared and their true appearance which was similar to the form of the massive creature was revealed.

"Greedlings. And of course, a Coin of Mammon." Nightwing glanced at the pig.

"You recognize me! Why is an angel here?" The massive pig laughed as the ground beneath him quaked and many more Greedlings emerged from the ground.

"I'm here to eat bacon." Nightwing chuckled as he readied his sword.

"Krysta! Lead your men to attack! Let's finish this in an instant! Everyone! Let us be your strongest attack! Against a Cardinal level Coin of Mammon, I'll need everyone's help! No matter what happens, keep fighting! Trust me!" Nightwing raised his sword and imbued it with stellar energy.

"Go!" Monica shouted!

"Attack!" Sherah added and their teams at the top of the hills rushed down.

Each had a team of nearly a dozen of men and had other survivors!

"Go!" Krysta shouted and his team all charged toward the beast's horde and unleashed their attacks.

"[Supernova Stab]" Nightwing flew down and stabbed out.

"[Phagos: Estion]!" The Coin of Mammon ignored everyone at the side and opened its mouth as a strange vacuum appeared and Nightwing flew straight into it!

BITE!

The maw of the pig closed as it easily swallowed Nightwing!

"Keep fighting!" Monica shouted as she charged.

"Don't hesitate!" Krysta cried out.

"Foolish! That angel entered my mouth willingly! Don't you know that light cannot escape a black hole? My powers will devour that being! My darkness cannot be defeated!" The Coin of Mammon laughed.

But then he felt a strange turbulence within him.

"Child. Your darkness is too weak!" A sinister laugh could be heard.