Chương 273: Chapter 256. Anna's Quick Thinking

Anna Ericsson's Point Of View /BANG! / Land! I firmly landed on the ground after regaining my balance in the air. With a flip and using my weight, I was able to land pretty safely. My thoughts however, were anything but happy. Thoughts of how we were definitely out of our league and being at a loss on how to land a definitive blow were the only things whirling around my mind. But the one that sat on top of everything was something that made my heartache massively. I just...

Want to go to John's side and make sure he's okay... But that bastard is stopping me from doing that. I had hoped that handing a dagger that was imbued with the Nature Goddess's Mana to Alice would allow us to score an attack, but he just continued to dodge or block the attacks. And now Sarah and I were thrown out of the fight. Well, for now that is, I can see that Sarah is already preparing to run back into the fight. She's losing her mind to her emotions though. If only John were here to help calm her. /THOOM!

/"!" Kick! He just used that ability to teleport in front of the girls while holding Alice by her throat. I need to help her. I begin running back towards them with my dagger at the ready. Sarah, whether still capable of thinking or just going on instinct, was also rushing towards the girls." Ah, you 2 again. I've decided to save you both for last, he has a habit of trying to save you, he cares a great deal about you both, that's why your deaths will be perfect right before his." /THOOM! / Grip! Fly!" Ah!" /Thump!

/ He threw me again. He's going to spare us? Why?" /THOOM! / I open one of my eyes to see who he was attacking next, it was Sarah, he said something to her and swung her like me. He's already captured Cindy, Gasha and Tana... No, he's also capturing Alice as well. He's wrapping them in black vines that are coming out of the bottom of the robe that he was wearing. Sarah was our last hope, but before long, she was thrown in the same direction as me. Where are we going?

I look back and see that we're heading to the same wall that John hadn't moved from yet. Flip! Land! /BANG! /... /CRASH! / Within moments of each other, Sarah and I both land near John in different ways, I was able to catch myself in the air and land on my feet after the momentum had died down a little, Sarah, who seemed to still be in a wild state, crashed next to John." Hah! Hah!"

Sarah was a little banged up, not from the fight itself mind you, but from the repeated times she fell on the ground after letting the swing of her sword carry her body. She seemed tired, her eyes showed me that she was looking for the enemy, her eyes only fell onto me though. /Bang! / Without much of a warning, she jumped at me. I was in no mood for her to not have her mental capacities." Sarah! Now is not the time for this!"" RAGH!" Pivot!

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. She's starting to sound like Fracks when John began to fight him. She swung her halberd at me, instead of our regular sparring matches, where her swings were sharp... smart and deadly, befitting someone who's trained with her weapon her whole life, these slashes were clumsy and slow and wide. Easy to dodge and easy to counter.

I struggle to find the reason why these so called "Calamity Classes" are supposed to be so cursed and feared? Maybe since she's tired, I'm not really fighting a true example of a Calamity Warrior? Maybe because I fight Sarah nearly every day, her labored and mindless attacks don't work too well on me? Maybe my Job Class of Divine Channeler is a fine match up for it?" RAGH!" Her mana is intensifying, regardless of my thoughts.

As she never truly explained everything about her Job, I wonder if she knows everything about it? Her mana, it seems to grow stronger the deeper she sinks into her bloodlust. Maybe when her body gets more accustomed to her Job, these outbursts will get worse and worse? I wonder if her Job can Evolve past this disadvantageous side effect? Well, knowing Sarah, she probably will find a way. For now, I need her to wake up. And I think I have a good idea." WARRRH!"

Perfect, she's coming right towards me with a terrible swing again. I channel the Goddess of the Underworld as she boosts my speed the most and I begin to move behind her. Kick! Grip!" GRAARRRHHH!" Perfect, I have ahold of her. I switch my channeling to the Goddess of the Earth, as she has the best boost to my physical strength, with it I turned Sarah from facing away from John to viewing him as he was still stuck in the wall from saving me from that man's attack.

He was bleeding slightly, but I could see he was breathing steadily, and his eyes were moving under his eyelids, it seems that he was dreaming. Struggle!" GRAHHHhh--"..." J... John...?" Still... Good she's regaining her sanity." John!" She tried to move but I was still holding her tightly. Release! I let go and she immediately moved to John's side. I, of course, join her now that I don't have to deal with her berserk self.

She looks at me with a hint of shame in her eyes, but I can't blame her, I was just as angry after all. Together, we finally lay him on the ground. Now that I can take a look at this place, it's the Southern wall to the Church for the Faith Of The Dark Gods." He's okay... He's... Dreaming?" Sarah makes an observation, using my eyes, it seems that she's right." He is sleeping. That's good, it means that he isn't that badly injur-" /Snap... /"!"

"!" Sarah and I both stood up immediately as we heard a sound coming from the direction of our enemy... We waited patiently as we waited for our enemy to appear." SARAH! ANNA!"" Wendy!? Ellie!?" I call out to the two girls as they run towards us with tears in their eyes." Ellie? Wendy? Are you both okay? Did you escape?" Wrap! Tight! Sarah was as confused as I was. The girls came towards us and Wendy hugged me tightly and Ellie did the same to Sarah. The girls took a moment to calm down.

As they were, we began to hear more and more footsteps around us, before long, another snap of a twig followed, and Byron had also walked out of the dense foliage of trees and bushes that sat on what used to be the outside of his mansion property." Lord Byron?"" Hah... Hah... Yes, it's me." / thump... / He walked towards us and fell to his knees from his exhaustion. He doesn't seem to be used to such intense situations.

Perhaps Sarah and I wouldn't be either if it wasn't for how our lives have changed since John entered them?" Sarah! Anna! He took them! He just took them!" Wendy started to try and explain what had happened. But her explanation left a lot to be desired." Where did he take them?" Wendy lips seemed to be stuck together, it was almost like she couldn't believe what she was about to say either. Eventually, an answer came, but not from Wendy." He took them with him in the sky. He can fly it seems...

He also said something about making "loyal dogs"... I don't know what that means, do you?"" No, we do-" /WHOOP! / Suddenly, a large Barrier had formed around us, I looked at the only one I knew who could make a Barrier like this. John was still not conscious, but his hand was supplying mana to the Barrier to sustain- No, he was making it larger." Is he okay, Sarah!?"" Yes, he's not doing anything besides raising his hand!? Why woul-" /BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

/ While Sarah was answering my question, large banging sounds began to ring out all around us. It sounded like the Barrier was defending boulders being launched at it." What is going on!?" Ellie was very scared and confused, I used my eyes to take a look using one of their abilities. There were impact zones on the Barrier, but nothing was there, I took my sights downward. I found what it was." Seeds?" I said the name of the thing I was staring at.

Black seeds were littered around this Barrier that was protecting us. I looked back at John as I thought about what was happening." He knew..." How could he protect us when he's unconscious.... Unless... Is he talking to Angela? That would explain it... Sarah seems to think the same thing as I do, she looks at me and I nodded to her, she returns to nursing John, I continued trying to calm Wendy and Ellie down.

Now that I have an answer about this Barrier and how the 3 of them made it here, my next question is where are our Friends? With my eyes, I can see them, they're above Zana. He's just sitting up there, the girls are all wrapped in black vines still, they're just floating. Why is he sitting there? If the seeds did come from him, I doubt he could accurately hit everyone with those black seeds of his from that high in the sky, at best he'd maybe cover around a 5th of Zana...

As I was thinking about these things, an answer about what those black seeds did came knocking on our Barrier.