[NR] Pulled Around - Chapter 686

Courtney notices the wisps in the surrounding area seem to be disturbed and turns around. There was something coming?

Then, through the spectral fog that had covered the area that spiritual cloud monster had passed through, out hopped Lily. “Huh”, Courtney poked Rosha, “Look who just showed up.”

Rosha turns around and is shocked silent.

Courtney nods, “Yeah, not everyday you see a tiny rabbit headbutt ghosts.”

Rosha shakes her head, “Jason got his fight.”

Courtney shrugs, “And here we are, unable to head over and help.”

They both turn back the way they had been staring. A wall of spirit shards grind away at a magical barrier. The only thing keeping the storm of souls back is the continued application of Mana. Both having already drained themselves, now waiting for their pools to refill.

Rosha sighs, “So, what should we do about this?”

Courtney, “Well, even if we did head over, we’d be useless right now. Whatever spirit was sent after the townsfolk isn’t going to be all that vulnerable to your plain arrows and I’m even worse off. I say we just keep Lily safe. She hasn’t died yet and it would suck for that chain to be broken.”

Rosha nods, “We’ll keep her safe. Though with our current state, it will probably be more about her protecting us, if it comes down to it.”

Courtney, “And we should go and tell whoever’s in charge about this. It was expected, but knowing for sure is always nice.”

Of course, all this does in the end is add another group of people to the list of those who will rush to the shelter as soon as possible. Not a bad thing, but no immediate aid on the horizon.

Back with Jason, things aren’t actually looking bad. Well, they don’t look good either, but he isn’t losing. Rather, he is in a stalemate with the undead bug.

Elbow strike, after kick, after punch rain down on the monster’s elbow joint. Marks appear one after another, but the exoskeleton remains whole. However, the bug doesn’t even get a single hit in.

Though, as with any fight of attrition against an undead, Jason was destined to lose if he couldn’t make a breakthrough. He still had Stamina, something undead famously didn’t have to worry about. The undead would win in the long run.

So in the end, this was a fight Jason could not win. The only victory would be to hold out long enough for help to arrive. Jason gave himself good odds to do so. Though he couldn’t help but feel the seeds of dread begin to sprout in the pit of his stomach.

He didn’t let it stop him. Dodge to the side, duck in, attack the joint, and repeat. A pattern Jason needed to follow closely as the undead insect was like a robot. A pattern he also couldn’t get too caught in because even an undead can change their attack pattern.

Honestly, this alertness was the worst part as the seconds turned into minutes. As his limbs began to feel heavy, as the bug’s attacks got closer. Still, he kept going.

Then the attacks began to connect. Not by a lot. Barely worth calling paper cuts. But it showed that the situation was degrading.

The first major hit took a chunk of flesh and broke a bone by his offhand wrist. The next broke further up the same arm. The third broke that shoulder as Jason systematically sacrificed his arm to keep fighting. Things are not looking good for him or the civilians.

Outside, the defenders finally gain some breathing room, having reduced the uncountable swarm of spirit shards to a still uncountable, if more manageable, number. A group of five break off from the defense, two melee, two mages, and a healer. They charge down into the bunker, though it takes the mages a moment to unlock the door and throw it open.

With that, though, the two melee fighters burst into the room just as the undead humanoid bug takes a massive chunk out of the bicep of his other arm. Though not without Jason having sacrificed, sometimes inch by inch, of his own flesh. Arms still attached though only by the grace of his inner void clotting up things and wiping away the strikes that broke bones.

The two fighters are shocked to find him still fighting, but they don’t lollygag. Since the enemy is a physical threat, they don’t even pause for a moment. Their shock passes over their faces while they charge at the two.

One spikes the monster on the head with a double hammer fist. The force struck it down, knocking it off its feet and onto the floor. Followed up by the second warrior bringing their axe down onto one of the splayed limbs, severing the scythe arm from the body. In a small bit of chance, it was the arm Jason had been working on and the cut took it at the elbow joint.

Behind the two fighters, the healer is barely a moment behind and grabs Jason by the neck of his vest. Said healer then uses what felt to Jason to be an extraordinary amount of strength to pull him out of the fight. All before even applying the first healing spell. Though once away from things, the hand grasping his vest sends a pulse of healing magic through his body.

All ending when the two mages have secured the door from closing. No longer held up by that, the two of them are able to get up close to the undead and send bursts of power directly into their skull. This ends the fight.

Though that doesn’t mean they’re done. The two melee go around to collect reports of what happened. Those mages use spells to seek out any potential follow up attacks. Oh, and of course the healer is pumping as much of their Mana pool into Jason as they can manage. He actually begins to heal at quite a decent clip. His void drinking up all the healing magic it can to solidify the border. Damage ticking down and wounds sealing up.