Teyao

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Zell and Fenna were the most injured by his observations, Adam had the fortune of blocking most of the damage while Mac was agile enough to dodge everything sent her way, he was worried for Kass but trusted that the other man to come to him if his injuries required it. As soon as he finished mending his party members he set his sights on the other patients.

Looking at the excultists he couldn't help but remember the photos of post-disaster victims, the haunted looks, the fearful gazes, the way they seemed wary of every shadow or the glossy eyes too lost in their own minds.

They had talked about what to do with them so he supposed that it was his duty as the leader to make the announcement.

He let out a breath, better get to it.

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In the end it was easy to gather them all in an unused room, he chose against using the rooms where they fought for obvious reasons. Looking at them he couldn't help but feel pity, most of them were adults of varying ages but he could spy a couple of teenagers here and there, the youngest of them being 13 by his estimations.

They looked back at him murmuring something or the other that he couldn't make out.

Now how was he going to do this?

Ah!

With a flourish he pulled the anchor from his back and slammed it on the floor, keeping his hands on the ring at the top, he kept his expression stern but internally cringed as the villagers fliched, that hadn't been his intention "My name is James Sirius, Cleric and leader of the adventurer party Second Chance and as I am sure you all have discovered the Greater Wraith is no more" Remember, keep your voice calm but strong, relaxed but confident, non forced eye contact is good "I will not assume to understand what you have been trough but take reassurance, the gods shall no judge you for that which you had no control over and neither shall your fellow men" From what he had seen so far their society valued religious reasurance and that was something he could give freely "My party will stay the night and tomorrow we will make the journey back to Cherrad, if you wish to accompany us that is okay, if you desire to brave the wilds by yourself that is your desicion and we will not stop you, you are no longer under the yoke of that monster, you are free"

He would answer any questions they may have and then he would hit the sack, he felt like someone had punched his everything and he wanted nothing more than to pass out for a couple days.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I will post tomorrow

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

He didn't relax, not until he could feel the essence of the temple calm down, finally reaching a balance without an outside force fighting against it. Then, and only then did he allow himself to fall into his ass, he had exerted himself way too much more than he should have, it was a miracle that his wounds hadn't reopened or worse, mostly thanks to Kass playing defender for him and Adam.

Speaking of miracles.

He glanced at his hand where the crystal was shining, he still had a lot of questions about it but for the moment he was content on relishing in the invigorating feeling that came with Ascension, then just as he was beginning to relax he felt the now familiar feeling of another Blessing setting in his spell library accompanied by a ṯ̸̡̱̾û̶̳̜̻̜̺̟n̵̛̳͖̰̠̋͗͗͆̈̍ė̶̛͔̈́̑̓ he couldn't quite hear. With curiosity he closed his eyes and went to inspect it.

"... What the fuck"

He must be doing quite the expression now but he couldn't help it, the new blessing was just... bizarre was the only way to explain it. Before he could keep inspecting it he caught the sight of his friend making her celebratory rounds.

James she hugged, careful to avoid hurting his inuries. "You saved us all, at the end there," she told him. "A more perfect leader, I could not ask for."

Mac'n cheese

He returned the hung with gusto "Ah shucks, you are gonna make me blush" His participation was bad, he got injured for no reason and he almost had a mental breakdown during a tense situation. Of course, he was not going to bring down the mood by mentioning it "But it was you guys who did everything, really"

Then another of his friends decided to come talk to him.

Barracker went up to the leader of Second Chance, a man who he was even more fiercely loyal to, after showing leadership qualities of the finest commanders out there. “James,” Barracker saluted with a fist to his chest. “It is still nightfall. I would suggest that we rest up here until morning. Either make camp outside on the hill top or use the kitchen and beds inside here”. He bows his head slightly. “I leave the decision to you. Until then, if I may be excused, captain?”

Barracker "The Wall" Kassel

He snorted "Don't give me all that 'Captain' stuff Kass, you know I trust you in any decision you make, you saved our asses back then" He tough for a moment "Well, I think the village is a long way down and we could use a little rest"

And then another, he was really getting popular.

"Well," the Englishman said loudly. "I must say; I'm starting to enjoy these dramatic endings." He looked at James as he cast the spear away and strained himself to reestablish his usual cocky posture. "Just how many of those random-ass blessings have you got bro?" He grinned. "A party trick for every occassion, huh?"

He did his usual thing and touched base with everyone on the team - handshakes, hugs, pats on the back and "Yalrite?"s all-around. When he got to James, who happened to be the only party member who looked as beat-up as Zell felt, the swordsman couldn't help himself. "You look like shit, mate."

The Party Idiot (non-derogative)

"I feel like shit"

He laughed with the taller adventurer, and man was that true, his healing spell did wonders but there was only so much it could do to soreness, next time they were in a safe space he was planning to sleep for a week straight. "That was one of my last tricks, the other ain't very useful sadly" It was dangerous to be honest "You appear hurt, let me patch you up"

Then he went around, giving bandages and disinfectant to the injured, infection would be an anticlimactic way to die.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I will post tomorrow

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

More and more pieces were falling into place, attacks, screams, and enemies falling into position, he couldn't bear to look directly at the flames- even knowing they were there was proving too much, luckily it seemed like this dance was nearing its last cycle. Five dancers had already chosen their finishing moves, a thrust, a slice, magic, a barrier, and a sneak attack.

They alone wouldn't be enough, the song required all participants to move in synchrony to finish it and there were still three people who had to move.

He didn't know what moves would Kazz and Mac decide upon but he placed his faith in them, as for himself... he found himself hesitating, both were dangerous foes and he didn't know if Adam's attack would be able to finish the other man. In the end he decided to follow his heart and go against the foe that he despised, the Listener may be the cause but the greater Wraith was the origin.

Shooting his final Light Beam at the Listener he grabbed his anchor, unlike the other weapons he was covered in calming permafrost, cool to the touch and gentle on the mind, he recalled a move he had seen not so long ago, from its original owner.

He didn't have the strength to replicate the feat so physics would have to pick up the slack.

Slowly he started swinging the anchor, back and forth, back and forth, a little faster, back and forth, faster, back and forth, faster! a complete revolution, faster!! and then another, and another, and another, faster!!! until he could barely control it! Until it hurt his hands and then faster!

"Eat shit!"

With a yell he let go of the anchor and the chain, it was almost cathartic, watching it move towards its target as if in slow motion, Arthur would have been able to throw it faster he was sure but he hoped that wherever he was now he had seen what he had just done.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I will post tomorrow

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Multiple pieces were moving in different tempos, friends, and foes attacked, dodged, parried, and acted in a great dance to some unsung ballad, where he half the strategist that some believed him to be then he would have been the conductor, careful guiding the orchestra with his magic, playing with puppets to his hearth desire and ensuring a quick and painless victory for himself and his friends.

“Are you okay, James? What do you need?”

The local tree hugger

"If I pass out you better catch me"

He was not the conductor, he was the asshole about to arm his team of dancers with swords.

He made sure to scream the words at the top of his lungs so his allies were not startled by the blessing.

"I beseech thee, Mother Iris, thou who are radiant and wise, ruler of the skies and bearer of the sun, Guide us with thy luminous light's gentle sway so that in thy name victory may be attained "

The effect was instantaneous, across the room his companion's weapons erupted in holy fire, the only exception being the anchor in his back which was covered in a layer of frost instead, and Adam who had to select a weapon for it to be effective.

His breath grew labored and he had to take support on the wood stick as he beheld the sudden fire covering parts of the room, he had known what the blessing did the moment he received it, standing before it he could tell that it was powerful, and order of magnitude stronger than any he had cast before, if his instincts were right it could be even cast as soon as it was finished, the only downside was the heavy price to pay for it and...

...he burned, he had rushed into the house desperate to help, to do something so he searched from room to room, after a couple of minutes he got lucky enough to come across the inhabitants trapped inside a bedroom, he had brought his uncle's crowbar just in case but it came in handy, opening the door and allowing them to escape. Sadly his luck ran out just as the goal was in sight. He remembered he had chosen to take the rear in case anything happened, he should have just scoped one of the kids and run away.

Instead he got to see how others crossed the threshold to safety while he remained behind, trapped under a fallen beam. To their credit they tried to help but it was no use, he had to scream at them for them to get the message that a single death was better than four.

The next minutes were agony.

F̷̡̡̡̗͈̬̥̫̝̹̠̳̗͙͉̞͎͒̂͆͑̌͆͆̈́̈́̐̓̉̿̿́͐̔̂̑̏́̔͒̏̕Į̷̲̳͙͕̗̮̣͗͐̓̅̿̋́̊̐̄̆̐̽̔͝ͅR̴̤̱͕͐͂̃̚È̸̢̡̛̛̛̠̟̤̭̩̖̺̯̭̥̲̠̭̹̣͔̝̪̄̔̈͗̓́͛̃̀̾̀͒̅̎̊́̒̈́̔̑͘͝ͅͅh̶̢̧̧̡̨̺͔̼̺̪͔̬̘̗͈͉̙̪̺̮̆̐͂̎̐̈́̊̈̕͘̕͝͠ḙ̴̢̢̡̛̛̛̪͉͈͔̟͔̙̜̜͔͇̟̘͎̺̲̬̮̹͙̹̼̎̀͒̆̈̐̄̈́͌̉͗̎̈̒̾̌͗̇̾̒̚͘͜͝͝l̴̰͖͇̙̬̜̦̘̦͙͔͂̈́̈̀̊͑̐̈̾̉̈́͝p̴̡̨̖̼͔͖̳͙̼͍̬͓̌̑̌̅̐̚!̸͉͕̻̆́͐̏͑̏̽͊̇̎̀̆̿͑̋̒̈́̚̚͘͝͠F̴̗͚̫̻̰͓̻̞͓̼̫͎͉̬͈̩͚̟̰̬̝͗͜͜L̵̢̀͆̂̃̍̓̓͛͒͒̕Á̷̡̱̹̓M̵̯̭̜̪̩̗͊̀̈́̍̂́̊́́̀E̸̛̜̰̱͚͎̎̅͋͛̒͐̂́͊̄̉̅̽̒͌̆͛̾̅̃͘͠S̶̢̬̜͙̰͙̜̫̞̹̹̘̤̣̓̉ͅt̶̨̛̝͇̯̥̖͚͔̯̖̦͇̊̇͋̌̏̿̆̈̅͗͗̏͛̈͌̈̾̈͊͘̚̚͘͜͜͝ͅḧ̷͖̹̻̦̼̦͉͇̯͓̪͎͈͈̺͚͓̟̹͕̪͕́̎̓͊̇͐̍̈̒̃͜͝ͅứ̶̼̃͒̏͑͆͐̅͗̇̾̋̅̍̉͊̿̍͋̇͝ř̸͓̔̿̈́͑͝͝t̷̟̱͗̌̃̽͌̄̊̑͊́̈́̾̚!̷̨̨̹̗͕̟̯̪͖̩̻̘̬͕͇̦̱̑̈́̀̇̀̍̅͆͝P̷̧̛̟̖̦̲̟̼͈̱͎̖͚̯̱͌̒̉̂̈́̊͛̂͑̊̚͠Ą̷̨̡̨̩͈̝̰̠̬͈͉̖̮͚̰̤͇̣͇̦̳͍̜̥̍̈̍̈̕Ì̷̢̢̨̻͈̣̻͉̭̼͉͉̬̠̄̈́́̐̈́̊͊̋̌̈́͘͝N̵̢̖͚̠͕͓̰͇͓̞̗̟̗͚̖̖̔̈́͜a̸̡̧̛͚̮̖̦͈͕̗̭͔̗̱̲͇̱̎̀̀̿͗̓́͠ņ̴̧̗̺̗͋̆́̀̊͑͊́̿͗̈́͛̉͛͐̽̐̇̓̽̌̈́̕y̷̢̡̘̜̞͙̼̰̱̟̼̟̱͖̺̹̩̞̟̼̬̒́̓̌̅͑̑͘͜ͅo̵̡̤͚̩̹͓̹͈̪̱̤͍̹͙̳͈̜͂̀̍͂̽̔̀̀͜͝͝ͅn̴̛̳̪̣͌͑͐̉͑̽̑̄͐̃͒̈̆̀͌̈́̓̉̾̀̾̕̚͠ę̷̢̰͓̹̩̹͕̥̫̩͇̤̯̳̫͙͒!̶̡̮̖̪̺̞͓̲̻́̔̎̀ͅḞ̵̜̐̐͗͛I̴̖̙͓͉̝̲̝̋̽̍̽̄͌́̇̎͛͑͂̍̎̌͗̒̑̇̍̌̃̈̇̚͝͠R̵̢̗̦̞̼͉͈̲͎̜̭͑Ę̵̨̛̛̛̪̦͇̜̞̯͇̮̳͈̤̫̤͉̟̱͛͂̐͋̈́̀̉̑̿̂̊́̋̏̏̿̓͘͘͠͠͠͝ͅͅͅḧ̷̛̬̞͎̩͚̱́̐͋̊͆͛́͐̋̐̚͜ͅë̸̡͕͙̗̳̬͚̳̯̰̞̥̤̘̞͕͖̮̯͈̞̳́̐͌̉͗́͌̈͂͆̓̔̈̀̽̈̿̽͑̄́̚͘̚͜͜͜͜͝͝͝ͅb̵̧̢̮̲̘̫͚̪̻̗̳͙͕̮̙͍͍̖̀̀̔̈́̈́̍̒̐͛͜͠ų̶̛̫̺͔̳̯̱̣̙̯̠̿̐͂̐̔̓̆̾̈̐̐̀͐̓̾̚̕͝r̸̛̝̬̙̮̞̣͍̠̭̼̖̲̠̥̟̘͉̖̂̆̅̂̈́̇̀n̴̨͑͂̊͑̒̓͗͋̐̉͆̄̒̿̈́̀͂͘͘͝e̴̻̘̫̭̬͉̳͈̠̺̯̬̖͓͎͎̩͐̑̂̈ͅͅd̶̮̹̰͚̱͓̦͈̭̲͈͖̫̦͙̯͛͜!̷̨̧͍͙̬̻͓̞͚̘̥͎̙̭̤̠͚̣̻̰̫̮̆̊̀̌̈̋̐͜͝B̵̨̢̞̹͙͖̮͙̱̠̭̼͈̰̺͙̖̘̺̫̻̯͖̀̾̐̌͂̿͂̀͘͜͜͜U̷̢̨̙̙̬̫̤̖͈͔̲͖̼̠͇̙̤͉̳̗̭̞̦͓̞͊͌̉̿̈́͊͂̿̀̃͜Ŕ̸̡̧̡̞̘̯̳̩̺͙̠̳̩̙͖̪̘̟Ņ̶̛̛̯̳̳̻̣̺̤̤̹̤̩̯̳̝̲̞̹̙͈̳̒̂͆̇̉̎̀͒̀̋́̊͂̂͛̾̉͌͆͒́͐͠͝͠S̴̢̛͓͓̻̪̬̣̭̫̥͉͇̀̀̀̀̓́̓̋̅̈́̿̑̿̈

The cold feeling of his anchor snapped him for a moment but he could still feel the FLAMES! memories scratching at his brain. Still, he had one last thing to do. Clutching his wooden cane as a lifeline he focused on the cabinets at the end of the room, where once was a barrier there was nothing, his little IT BURNS! episode distracting him from noticing who cracked it open, the result was the same, a vulnerability that could be exploited, and he knew just the person for the job.

"Mac! The phylactery should be a vessel! A locket, a skull, a fucking vase, as long as it is meant to contain something it can be the phylactery!" His attention switched to the Druid (who thankfully didn't have a burning weapon) by his side "Adam, you are our best crowd control if you can fuck with them do it"

Now all that was left was to shoot Light Beams to the Listener until it was dead. He pointedly ignored the FLAMES as much as he could, he just knew that if he got close to one of them he would lose it.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

@TeyaoThis week, I may not be able to post until Friday or Saturday, but I was thinking that MacKensie would easily be able to zip over to the cabinets with her gauntlet and get the phylactery. So if you want to leave that part of the battle to me, I'll write it up at the end of the week. Also, if you want to use this info in your post somehow, like James tells her to go in place of Barracker, maybe shouts a description of the phylactery across the room or covers her as she flys over. Or something of your own invention, I can work with anything.

Or if you have other plans, or have an idea for James getting the phylactery, that's fine too xD

@Zool

Having finally read everything I will have James do something nice and MacKenzie can zip in and snag it

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Post tonight

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

"Thanks"

It was awkward walking with a cane but he would be lying if he said he didn't appreciate it. The sting of the cut was still acutely felt even if the injury itself was almost fully closed he supposed. At the very least he was sure he would be able to remain mobile enough to not fall at the stiffest breeze.

Thankfully he was the most inured one.

After that was made clear, he unbuckled a few straps on his armour, then halfway took off his shirt to reveal a bare arm and shoulder. The wound was a nasty purple colour, an eight inch open cut across his shoulder just creeping onto his chest. "Bloody hell," he muttered. "I didn't realise it was that bad." No wonder he couldn't use his arm. "Alright, talk us through what I need to do. I'm useless at first aid."

Zell

"Looks bad, but not the worse that I have treated, what we got to do is..."

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As he looked at the Greater Wraith a memory surfaced in his mind, not so long ago he had read about something similar, a necromancer who had become a lich, one of the hated enemies of Hades and his followers, in the story the lich almost managed to slay the party thanks to his regenerative abilities but the rogue of the party, fortunately, stumbled upon its phylactery, had she not destroyed it in time the story would have a very different ending. They shouldn't be able to stray too far from it so considering the room they were in...

"Guys! Seek the phylactery, it will be a bitch killing him without destroy-!" He shut his mouth before he managed to finish his sentence, with quick motions and an even shorter chant he managed to cast a barrier right in front of him, barely able to protect him from the scorching ray of light cast by the enemy necromancer. "Search the cabinets at the back of the room and destroy its phylactery!"

His piece said he started casting his lesser counterspell, he could tell it would just delay the inevitable but that was better than nothing. He would trust his party to take care of the smaller enemies.