Teyao

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Before he could answer him the Swordman was already zapping across the battlefield, as much as he wanted to accompany him to check on Mac but it was Kass who needed his help right now. He moved as fast as his legs could carry him, the journey more difficult than he expected, the infusion spell had left behind a lingering sense of weakness that he was having some difficulty accounting for.

After a short track, he finally reached him.

The battle raged furiously behind him, last he saw everyone was finally arming a strong response against the ninja, but he couldn't allow himself to be distracted, not with a patient in front of him.

Kass was lucky to have that supernatural toughness of his, whether it was from his class or his vampiric nature it was obvious that without it he would be knocked out or worse, heck from what he could see the guy was holding on by sheer fucking will. That won't do, Lesser Restore flashed through his mind again before it turned gray and inert, spent for the rest of the day.

"Good job holding up Kass, here, its time to go back into the fight"

Now, where was his anchor?

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Of course the bastard could joke at a time like this.

"2 out of 10, too much brawn, not enough brain, you fucking idiot" Okay maybe he was angrier than he thought, but seeing Zell almost die like that brought back memories he would rather not deal with right now "Gather your strength, you should be able to return to combat soo-"

"Incoming, James,"

He acted by instinct, the moment Zell's warning left his mouth he automatically adopted a defensive posture, a small but strong profile with the anchor at the front. Sadly a weapon made from water was too difficult to block like that, the moment the javelin hit his anchor most of the water simply splashed back with all the force stripped from it, less than 20% however, slipped past his guard, cutting the right side of his brow in what would have been fatal had he been a few centimeters to the right.

"Fuck"

A hand went to his brow and returned red, it wasn't more than a tickle but it was worrying nonetheless. The moment his eyes saw the blood his eyes widened and looked towards his friend, he was defenseless!

That was when he caught sight of the tree.

"Adam, you fucking angel"

With some room to breathe he focused back on the battlefield, things were not good, Kass had a nasty injury and Fenna appeared wounded as well, Mac and Adam were better, he couldn't see Sil but trusted them to keep safe. They could win this! they just needed to- "Are those horses?" For a moment he allowed himself to hope, that reinforcements were sent from the guild in order to help them.

He didn't expect to see a dead man walking.

He watched, shocked and paralyzed, not having expected Clive fucking Michel to return from the dead -Again!- just to beat his killer. However his inaction ended the moment he saw their enemy on the ground, awe gave way to anger and viciousness. In a singular movement he casts Lesser Counterspell. He wasn't aware if his disappearing act was a spell or if his own would do anything, but this was an opportunity he was not going to pass.

"He is vulnerable, attack!"

Following his own advice he spun the chain and let his anchor fly against the ninja using the last flashes of strength bought with his spell.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Oh God, why are there so many puns!

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Had he the mental capacity for it he would no doubt be amused by his waking state, almost completely out of the bedroll and with his hair wiped in every direction, a distant part of his mind could also feel a thin layer of spite on his chin indicating he had likely been drooling in his sleep. He brought his hand to his chest while looking to the ceiling with his mouth slightly open, iddly he scratched at the bandages, head empty of any thought, . . . . . . . . . . . . . , perhaps he should have been more alarmed by the contents of his dreams -what he could remember at least as the memory was already beginning to disappear.

But alas, mornings did just not agree with James Sirius.

After some time simply staring at the ceiling he finally stood, zombie-like movements brought him to his pack and after rummaging a little he came across his bounty. A sealed rask containing some coffee beans, another with sugar, an ice box with frozen milk, and the necessary -if rustic- equipment to prepare it.

Slow steps filled the still-dark temple, some visage of his usual self remembered a kitchen and nothing could motivate him in the morning like the prospect of a hot coffee, it was no surprise he completely missed the presence of Adam despite being in the same room as the druid.

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It wasn't until Adam left and (he took a couple more zips) that his faculties finally returned to him, a sort of snap back to reality that had him calmly taking stock of himself "Friends" Adam just left and the rest was scattered, probably still asleep, "Garments" Same as yesterday so gross, "Weapon" on the bed, "Villagers" most had left the night before, "Coffee" empty, refill. After making sure that his cup was once more full he allowed himself to relax, it was done, they had managed to beat the undead crap of the wraith and his pet cultist. Even better, they had managed to do so without losing anyone else in the party.

He allowed himself to ruminate on the party members who were not with them, he was still worried about Lilliana and he hadn't heard from Joji since they split, but despite the worry, he was glad they were still alive, unlike his other two late party members, he would be lying if he said he had got over it, Clive and Arthur deaths had been quick and brutal and he was sure they would haunt his dreams for years to come.

All because that-

"THE NINJA IS HERE!!!"

One moment he was frozen, the next he was sprinting back towards his weapon, his cu no doubt shattered where he had thrown it but he couldn't care less about that. Moving as fast as he could he ignored the screaming, as much as he wanted to help he knew that if he appeared without a means to defend himself from a direct attack then that asshole would no doubt abuse it.

That didn't mean he had nothing he could do, he chanted as he ran, last time his crystal had ascended it had brought with it a new spell, he had just given it a glance but its use was beautifully simple.

"Source infusion"

Grabbing his anchor he sprinted towards the sounds of battle, arriving just in time to see Zell get stabbed multiple times, the sight made him angry beyond words but behind all that was pure horror.

"Not again!"

The moment the ninja dropped a smoke bomb he made his move, with a yell his anchor sailed through the air at speeds almost comparable to that of the late Arthur Baker, his aim not towards Zigmund.

His objective was Zell.

The rapidly expanding smoke didn't let him see if his aim was true but lacking options he decided to trust his luck and pull with both hands, out of the smoke came the bleeding body of Zell, he wasn't Mac so it made sense that his throw wasn't perfect, rather than fetching the larger man by the armpit the anchor had instead latched on his belt.

The result was the same.

As soon as the swordsman was out close enough he grabbed him and cast Lesser Restore, the wounds were bad but not the worst he had treated.

He just hoped the others were able to restrain the fucker long enough for Zell to finish healing.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Damn, you guys are writting a lot, I will post tonight

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.