Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation

"Feliciana, you don't have to fight Camille's whip head on. Remember how Brennan used his whole body as weapons? Be creative!" Adrian shouted encouragement from below.

"Huh?" I was confused by his sudden advice and didn't fully understand. But Camille's long whip came lashing towards me again, leaving no time to think.

This time I intentionally kept more distance, avoiding a direct clash. Relying on the Purify spell's unreliability, I barely managed to avoid getting hit.

Of course, my companions on the ground also helped. Whenever Camille tried something nasty, there would always be arrows shot over to disrupt her moves. She easily dodged them, but it did annoy her.

However, the difference in our power levels was difficult to overcome. After a few exchanges, history repeated itself with my longsword tangled up in her whip again.

"What will you do now?" Confident she could disarm me again, Camille flew above while pulling her whip backwards. From that vantage point she could watch for attacks from below while my companions' support would be less effective.

But I didn't want to rely on my friends twice in the same situation. Adrian's earlier reminder made me realize what he meant.

If I can't overpower her pull, I'll just go a different direction!

Taking advantage when she pulled the hardest, I suddenly flapped my wings upwards, stabbing my whip-entangled sword towards her.

Camille stumbled back several meters in surprise, barely managing to flap her wings sideways to dodge my attack. But in that split second, two small spheres of light from below struck her.

"Ahhhhh!" She screamed as she plunged from the sky. Although far more powerful than the Face Flies, she barely managed to steady herself before hitting the water.

"Who shot those Purify spells!" She looked down at us in panic, thinking someone else had sneak attacked since she saw me stabbing with both hands.

"It was me!" I called back, casually kicking another light sphere towards her.

"You can cast Purify with your feet?" Camille cried out in surprise, as if seeing that for the first time.

She was similar to me, lacking battle experience despite her fifth-tier power. She had the strength but didn't know how to utilize it well.

Adrian's reminder about Brennan made me suddenly understand.

"You tricky angel! I shouldn't have let you escape before!" Camille angrily summoned the black spheres from earlier to absorb my incoming shots. But I had already lifted my sword, slicing towards her again.

From now on I would be on the offensive, deeply realizing attack was the best defense. Her speed was remarkable, always finding gaps between my spells and strikes to dodge.

But while avoiding me, she couldn't also evade the others. Another arrow shot up from below, followed by a jet of water.

Unable to fully dodge both incoming attacks in her flustered state, Camille barely twisted away from the arrow only to get splashed in the shoulder by the water jet.

That jet felt incredibly powerful, like a super-soaker. It moved as fast as the arrow despite being shot later, blasting a bloody hole in the succubus' shoulder. It didn't fully penetrate but still hurt a lot.

"Got her!" Eleanora excitedly punched the air down below. That water blast must have come from her. My first time seeing water magic used offensively.

"Ganging up isn't fair!" Camille clutched her wounded left shoulder. The bleeding was slowing so she seemed to be recovering, but more slowly than Claudia.

"We're all weaker than you! Who else can fight you alone!" I retorted, immediately swinging my sword at her again while kicking more Purify shots. A rain of arrows and water jets flew in concert. Even Selene pitched in by randomly throwing holy bolts.

"You jerks!" Overwhelmed dodging and blocking everything in her injured state, Camille soon grew desperate. She raised her whip to block my next strike despite her wound.

The whip was hard to avoid - fast, tricky angles. I accidentally got hit several times, leaving red marks but no serious damage since she lacked power now.

Finally, another foot-cast Purify sphere struck home as she again tangled my sword. With two prior hits and now injured, Camille couldn't endure a third blow. My kick smashed her into the lake waters.

"Yes!" I shouted excitedly, overjoyed at this revenge.

"Feliciana, watch out!" My friends suddenly screamed warnings, confusing me. Hadn't we won?

Before I could react, a gust of wind slammed into my back, sending me crashing towards the lake uncontrolled.

"Humph! Camille is Lady Michelle's chosen confidante. You dare strike her down!"

Twisting as I fell, I finally saw my attacker - Claudia! Her severed arm hadn't regenerated but the bleeding had stopped. Freed of having to clutch the wound, she moved much quicker now.

Where was Nicola? Don't tell me something happened to her!

Hitting the water, it rapidly flooded my nose and mouth. I used to be able to swim but now my body refused to respond, like that time I'd passed out drunk in the karaoke room on Earth.

Except this time, instead of a bright white void, everything sank into darkness. The surface lights grew further away as I felt my consciousness fading.

Crap, I'm going to drown at this rate!

That was my last thought before the world went black...

...

"Gisphrael, Gisphrael, wake up!"

"Alright, I heard you!" Annoyed, I took off the virtual reality visor and rubbed my eyes blearily at the person standing before me.

"Liana, you're so annoying!"

"I'm annoying? Look who's talking!" Liana retorted angrily, all six gray wings bristling behind her like an peacock's display.

"You need rest, not browsing data this late! Without me you'd play all night!"

"It's not playing! I just got a little carried away!" I jumped up in protest.

"Those human worlds are so interesting!" I gushed enthusiastically. "Their astrology and fortune telling rarely works, so everyone's fate is unpredictable. It means endless hope and possibilities for them!"

"I know, it's that outdated quantum uncertainty theory Zero told me about." Liana sounded dismissive.

"Too complicated for me! But that's been disproven incomplete!" I countered. "There's new theories like..."

"Go to bed or I'll tell Zero to cut the connection!" Leena snapped angrily.

"Why are you so grumpy!" I muttered sullenly, shuffling towards the doorway. Passing by, I deliberately smacked her with my aquatic blue wings.

"Stop right there!" She grabbed my wing, making me panic. I hadn't expected her to take it so seriously.

"Let go, let go!" I cried as she twisted painfully. I quickly reverted the wing's matter into energy to escape her clutches.

"Looks like someone needs their bossy big sister's discipline!" Liana glowered at her empty palm.

"Big sister? You just incarnated seconds before me!" I scoffed under my breath. Forcing an innocent grin, I placated, "It's just that I'm working hard to find your cure! Zero calculated that in a few weeks you'll..."

"Enough." At the reminder, Liana's face softened. "Destiny cannot be changed. I've tried leaping ahead countless times already..."

"Don't be like that. I'm still searching those databases - I've barely looked through half so far..."

My heart clenched seeing her hopeless expression. As expected, she suddenly hugged me tightly, sobbing into my shoulder.

"Thank you for trying, but I've accepted my fate. Just having a little sister like you has brought me joy."

"Don't talk like that!" I cried, even more anxious now. "There must be another way! See, humans don't have this issue. Maybe ask the Captain..."

Liana silently declined. "Don't bother the Captain. He's very busy."

"Then what do we do?" I asked, on the verge of tears myself. "I swear I'll save you! Never giving up!"

I pulled the unresisting Liana back to the terminal, grabbing a nearby visor and pressing it into her hands.

"Let's search together. Two people will be faster."

"Useless." Liana held the visor without putting it on. "You've been searching for days..."

"How can we know without trying?" I argued, determined. Snatching the visor, I plopped it onto her head myself before donning the other one.

"Have faith, Liena. Don't lose hope yet..." I murmured.

...

"Feliciana, Feliciana, wake up!"

I awoke to anxious faces hovering as I was shaken awake.

"Wha...what happened?" I mumbled groggily, taking long moments to recall nearly drowning.