Chapter 65: Nephilim Evolution

"Stop."

The Nephilim barely heard him.

"Manager, this really isn’t the time!" Rhea shouted as she ducked beneath an attack.

Reinhard continued watching the battlefield. "You’re all fighting the wrong battle."

"Explain," Seraphine called back.

Reinhard pointed toward the center of the battlefield. "They aren’t surrounding you." He paused as another group of Abominations shifted positions. "They’re herding you."

Seraphine’s expression changed immediately. She began watching the monsters differently, following their movements instead of simply observing their attacks. "Toward the center."

"Exactly."

Reinhard pointed toward a distant Abomination that had barely moved throughout the battle. "That one."

Kael followed his gaze. "It’s doing nothing."

"That’s why it’s important."

Reinhard explained that the creature wasn’t fighting at all. It was directing the others. Whenever the Nephilim moved left, the swarm shifted left. Whenever they moved right, the gaps closed almost immediately.

Seraphine’s eyes sharpened. "You’re right."

"If you keep killing the swarm, another group will replace it," Reinhard said. "The one controlling them is the real target."

"So we eliminate the controller."

"Exactly."

Reinhard activated the Merchant King’s Lens, and the world changed again as the relics carried by the Nephilim became far more detailed in his perception. Their energy consumption, activation conditions, elemental properties, hidden characteristics, and inefficient usage patterns were suddenly laid bare before him.

It didn’t take long for Reinhard to realize that every one of them was using their relics inefficiently. None of them were fighting badly, but they weren’t using their weapons anywhere near their full potential either.

His gaze settled on Rhea first.

She was attacking constantly, using her Fortune Cleaver over and over while burning through enormous amounts of energy. "Rhea."

"Yeah?"

"Stop attacking."

She stared at him. "What?"

"Three seconds. Don’t attack."

An Abomination charged toward her, and Rhea instinctively raised her weapon.

"Wait."

She gritted her teeth and forced herself to dodge instead of attacking. The creature’s body opened as it passed her.

"Now."

Rhea swung, and the Fortune Cleaver struck with dramatically greater force than her previous attacks, sending the Abomination crashing across the floor.

Rhea stared at her weapon. "Oh."

"Your relic becomes more effective when you allow probability to build before committing to an attack," Reinhard explained. "You’re wasting that advantage by attacking constantly."

"So I’m supposed to let them attack me?"

"You’re supposed to make them think they can."

Her grin widened. "Manager, I like you."

Reinhard’s attention shifted toward Adrian, who had been blocking attacks repeatedly but released the energy stored inside his Kinetic Guard almost immediately each time. "Adrian."

"Yes?"

"Stop releasing the impact."

Adrian blocked another attack. "If I don’t, it’ll overload!"

"It won’t."

"How do you know?"

"Because your relic was designed to absorb it."

Adrian hesitated before raising his arms again. "How much should I store?"

"As much as you can."

Another Abomination slammed into his guard, and the relic brightened. Another attack came. Then another. The energy inside the Kinetic Guard continued building until Adrian’s arms began trembling.

"Manager!"

"Keep holding."

Adrian gritted his teeth and absorbed another impact.

"Now."

He released everything, and the stored force exploded outward, launching several Abominations across the battlefield and crushing two against the far wall.

Adrian stared at his hands. "I could do that?"

"You just did."

A smile appeared on Adrian’s face.

Reinhard moved to Rika next. She was already one of the most aggressive fighters on the field, but she was wasting the potential of Crimson Death by changing her attack angles constantly. "Rika."

"What?"

"Three strikes."

She frowned. "Three?"

"From the same side."

"Why?"

"Trust me."

Rika attacked three times from the same side, and Crimson Death began glowing brighter with every strike. The next slash released a massively amplified burst of elemental energy that tore through several Abominations at once.

Rika laughed. "That’s ridiculous."

"It’s efficient."

She glanced at him. "You’re definitely strange."

Kael presented a different problem. His Echo Sense allowed him to detect residual supernatural energy, but Reinhard noticed that he was constantly trying to predict where attacks would land.

"Kael." He looked toward Reinhard. "Stop predicting where they’ll attack."

"Then what should I predict?"

"Where they won’t."

Kael’s eyes narrowed. He studied the battlefield again, this time paying attention to the areas the Abominations avoided, and quickly noticed that certain spaces remained strangely empty, the creatures deliberately steering the Nephilim away from them.

Kael stepped into one of those dead zones. An Abomination attempted to flank the group, and Kael was already waiting, his blade flashing, the creature falling.

He glanced toward Reinhard. Reinhard nodded. Kael returned the gesture before turning back toward the battlefield.

Mara was trying to coordinate everyone individually, but Reinhard stopped her as well. "You’re trying to control too much."

"Then what should I control?"

"The battlefield."

Mara understood immediately. Instead of telling everyone exactly when and how to attack, she began assigning positions. "Adrian, center. Rhea, right flank. Rika, wait for my signal. Kael, rear. Seraphine, control the terrain." The formation tightened almost immediately.

Reinhard smiled. Now they were beginning to understand.

Seraphine looked toward him. "You’re not commanding us."

"No."

"You’re optimizing us."

"Exactly."

She glanced toward the others, already moving around one another more naturally, each person beginning to cover the weaknesses of the others. "Then you’ve already succeeded."

"We’re still surrounded."

"But we’re no longer fighting separately."

That was enough to change the way the six Nephilim fought.

Mara controlled the formation and created openings while Adrian held the center, absorbing attacks that would have overwhelmed anyone else.

Rhea moved along the flank, baiting Abominations into attacking her before turning their aggression against them, while Rika waited for the openings Mara created before unleashing devastating strikes.

Kael moved through the blind spots of the battlefield, cutting down anything attempting to flank the formation, and Seraphine reshaped the terrain around them, creating barriers and pathways that forced the Abominations into positions where the others could attack safely.

Reinhard watched through Emperor’s Insight as the battlefield gradually changed.

The Nephilim were no longer simply reacting to the swarm; they were beginning to control its movement, forcing the Abominations into positions that allowed the others to cover one another.

"Seraphine," Reinhard called.

"The controller?"

"Yes."

"Mara."

"Already moving."

Mara shifted the formation without hesitation.

"Adrian, hold the center."

Adrian planted his feet and prepared for the incoming swarm.

"Rhea, draw them right."

"With pleasure."

Rhea rushed forward, pulling several Abominations away from the center.

"Rika, wait."

Rika tightened her grip and held her position.

"Kael, don’t let it escape."

Kael disappeared into the swarm.

Seraphine raised her hand, and the ground erupted beneath the controller, forcing it into the open.

"Now."

Adrian released the energy stored inside his Kinetic Guard, blasting away the surrounding Abominations. Rhea darted past the opening and drew the remaining creatures away while Kael intercepted the controller’s escape route.

Rika stepped forward, her Crimson Death igniting as she delivered the final strike.

The blade tore through the controller, and the creature collapsed.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the entire swarm lost its coordination, the Abominations attacking randomly, colliding with each other and leaving openings everywhere.

"Finish them," Reinhard said.

The Nephilim charged, and the remaining creatures fell one after another. When the last Abomination collapsed, the battlefield finally became quiet.

Almost.

One enormous creature remained, larger than the others and covered in layers of twisted flesh and hardened energy. The team was already exhausted, their breathing heavy after everything they had just endured.

Rhea looked at it. "Please tell me that’s the last one."

Reinhard activated Emperor’s Insight. "It is."

Rhea exhaled. "Best news I’ve heard all day."

The creature charged, and Mara immediately raised her weapon. "Formation!" This time, no explanation was necessary. Everyone moved.

The creature slammed into Adrian’s shield, and Adrian absorbed the impact. Rhea used the opening to draw it toward the right. Rika attacked from the opposite side. Kael intercepted its movement. Seraphine trapped one of its limbs beneath a layer of compressed terrain. Mara coordinated the entire formation.

The creature roared and broke free, swinging toward Rhea. Reinhard’s eyes sharpened. He didn’t have time to warn her. Spatial Step activated, space compressing beneath his feet, and Reinhard disappeared and reappeared beside Rhea, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the attack before the massive limb could crush her. The creature’s strike slammed into the ground.

Rhea stared at him. "That was close."

"Focus."

She nodded.

Reinhard immediately activated the Merchant King’s Lens again, studying the relics, the battlefield, and the creature. Then he made his next move. "Rika, attack its left side." She didn’t question him. "Seraphine, freeze the ground beneath its rear leg." Seraphine moved immediately. "Adrian, absorb its next attack." Adrian took position. "Kael, wait until it turns." Kael nodded. "Mara, keep everyone moving."

"Understood."

Reinhard raised his hand, and a cluster of Ice Shard Bullets formed in the air and shot toward the creature, the frozen projectiles striking its joints and forcing it to shift its weight. Rika took advantage of the opening, her blade crashing into its left side. The creature roared.

"Now!"

Reinhard released Demon Roar, a violent wave of force exploding outward, and the creature staggered as its movements slowed under the stunning effect.

"Go!"

The Nephilim attacked together. Adrian released his stored energy. Rhea’s Fortune Cleaver found the opening Reinhard had created. Kael struck from the blind side. Seraphine reinforced the terrain beneath the creature. Mara coordinated their final movement. Rika delivered the finishing blow, and the enormous Abomination crashed to the ground.

The Nephilim stood around it, breathing heavily. For several seconds, nobody spoke. Then Rhea dropped onto the floor. "That was insane."

Adrian looked at the others. "We actually fought that thing together."

"We did," Mara said.

Reinhard smiled. They were finally starting to understand each other.

But before anyone could celebrate, Reinhard noticed something else. Several of them were bleeding. Rika had a deep wound along her side. Adrian’s arms were shaking from the strain. Kael had several cuts across his shoulder. Even Mara had taken a heavy hit.

Reinhard stepped forward. "Hold still." He raised his hand, and Mia appeared first, the small healing ability immediately spreading across the wounded Nephilim, closing the worst injuries and stopping the bleeding.

Rika looked down at her side. "That’s convenient."

"You’re welcome."

Reinhard then used Taru, a wave of strengthening energy spreading across the team and reinforcing their attacks. Sparu followed, increasing their speed. Finally, Varu strengthened their defenses.

The Nephilim immediately noticed the difference. Rhea moved her arms. "Oh, that’s nice."

"You’ll need it," Reinhard said.

Everyone looked ahead. The hallway beyond the battlefield had changed. The walls were covered in strange golden markings, and at the end stood a completely empty room. In its center sat a giant clock. Nothing else was inside.

Kael frowned. "That wasn’t on the map."

Reinhard activated Emperor’s Insight. Nothing. No hostile signatures. No hidden creatures. No source of energy that resembled an Abomination.

"Don’t touch it," Seraphine warned.

"Wasn’t planning to."

Tick.

Everyone looked at the clock.

Tick.

The second hand moved backward. Reinhard’s expression sharpened. "That’s not normal."

Golden light began spreading from the clock, and within seconds, it consumed the entire room. The ruined headquarters disappeared around them, leaving the Nephilim standing in complete darkness for a brief moment.

When the light faded, they found themselves standing in the middle of a massive battlefield.

Buildings burned across the horizon, roads had been reduced to rubble, and an unnatural red sky hung above the remains of what had once been a vast city.

Something streaked across the sky.

A meteor.

Everyone froze.