POV - Jonathan
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“Donavan! Get a healer out here now!”
Jonathan ducked under Tristan’s swipe but refused to retreat. Sam was behind him, so he couldn’t afford to back off.
She just clutched Cara’s body to her chest with a distraught look in her eyes. Daphne had collapsed, and by the growing pool of blood beneath her, she wasn’t getting up without help.
Tristan's blade dropped low, aimed at his ankle with lightning arcing off it. Stabbing his own blade into the rock helped block, and ground some of the charge behind Tristan's weapon.
Ethel's arrow had greatly hindered his speed for a while, but he was maneuvering better as time went on. She had not been able to hit a shot since, as Tristan was now too wary of her. But the fact she was there gave Jonathan an edge.
Donavan shouted for one of his men to go into the clinic and bring out whoever was nearest, but he had to readjust his grip on his blade to fend off Tristan's next biting strike.
Jonathan's muscles were screaming at him to end it, but even with Tristan's injury, Jonathan couldn’t push for an opening in his guard.
The electricity that bounced between their blades stampeded up his arms and burnt his flesh with each exchange. Only a weak defensive skill warded off the black lightning, the rest he bore himself.
Someone behind them ran into the clinic and Sam seemed to have woken up because she was also edging toward the door with Cara in her arms.
To create distance Jonathan used a small amount of his remaining Arua to send a crescent missile at Tristan's throat.
He managed to dodge the first one but then Jonathan brought his shortsword up vertically and released another projectile. His most recent acquisition was a short blade the system had termed ‘Sidefire’ and it allowed him to mimic whatever the effect of his main weapon was at a reduced Aura cost.
Sadly it still cost something, and right now he had to conserve his strength. What it did allow was for him to begin retreating toward the clinic, because the guy was not expecting the second slash and took a good portion of it on his forearm.
Jonathan blocked his wide swing as he tried to take advantage of the opening, but before he could even take a step, he heard the clinic door burst open again. This time followed by a scream which was cut short.
“Help, they got insid-”
Wanting to look but, unwilling to take his eyes off his opponent, Jonathan noticed a subtle change in Tristan’s demeanor. The corners of his lips lifted imperceptibly, his gaze steady and unwavering. Jonathan cursed, he hadn’t heard a thing, too busy contending with Tristan.
Sam screamed, rage filled her voice, and heat blossomed at Jonathan’s back, shortly after an explosion shook the area.
Then he heard Donavan's desperate voice.
“No! Abby’s still in there I need to-”
Jonathan noticed Ethel's arrows were not coming anymore, things were shifting behind him. Without much choice, Jonathan flicked his eyes back and saw disaster.
Ethel and Donanvan's teams were sending attacks toward the clinic, where Corrupted were attempting to crawl out of the building, falling over one another to get through the windows. Near the front entrance, a tall Naga hybrid slithered out of the building, poison dripping from its maw. but that was not the worst part, it was the faces of their own people staring at them hungrily.
From amongst the flames, their glowing yellow eyes seemed to ask why.
Jonathan looked away and ducked under the swing he knew was coming.
Their healers were dead, or at the very least trapped in the building until help could come.
This limited their responses greatly, but Jonathan couldn’t stop for a second or it meant death, bringing his katana overhead and deflecting the incoming attack.
They were caught on either side, they needed to retreat towards the base, perhaps draw them into a trap, but then things got worse.
Donavan’s voice came out shaky and desperate.
“Oh God Abby, No. Please not you…”
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The only response was the screaming sounds of Corrupted.
Donavan suddenly came into view out of the corner of Jonathan's eye, charging straight for Tristan. Jonathan wanted to shout but it wouldn’t have stopped him, the man's body was wracked with purpose and pain. Bringing his axe up to meet Tristan's blade. Tristan's strength dwarfed Donathans, but the sword is lightweight compared to the axe. Because of this Donavan got a string of heavy swings in, putting Tristan on the backstep. Jonathan rushed to help him press his advantage but then he felt Tristan's Aura building up to gargantuan proportions.
“Fall back!” Jonathan shouted, as he turned he activated a costly movement skill.
Closing the distance to Ethel in the blink of an eye, tackling her to the ground, and using his body as a shield.
Sam had already coated herself and Cara in rock by the time a ball of iridescent light exploded into their surroundings, stretching the shadows with purple light.
A bolt arced off and burned into Jonathan's back, seizing his whole body. Then a lumbering shadow grew to block both of them and the pain lessened.
By the time the explosion had subsided Jonathan heard Tristan speak to his fellow Corrupted.
“Fall back to the Monarch!”
At this point, Jonathan managed to turn over and see Boe wreathed in a blue protective light. Boe’s lips quivered, bearing his gums at the approaching Corrupted. Jonathan stumbled to his feet to be ready for the next hit, only to see Tristan’s form retreating amongst the dust and destruction. Confusion hit but there was no time to wonder about Tristan’s motivations.
Dozens of darts sunk into the tar in front of Jonathan, bringing him back to reality.
Boe’s thick coat blocked a majority of them as he moved to shield Jonathan and Ethel once more.
From the air, Jonathan could make out one very pissed-looking Corrupted. Cara had called the thing Dante, and he looked at Ethel with a hatred that only a vengeful person could. His perfect features were gone and in their place was a twisted creature akin to a hairless bat.
By the look of it, he wanted revenge for his sister, but he wouldn’t get his way as long as Jonathan could still move.
When he dove, Jonathan used Boe as a platform to launch himself upward in the creature's direction. Not expecting the maneuver, Dante’s eyes widened for a second and then narrowed happily. He suddenly turned on his axis and barrel-rolled right past Jonathan's jump, narrowly avoiding his blade.
Jonathan cursed but he had to kill this creature. Calling the last of his Aura to his side, Jonathan turned around in midair and used [Edge of the knife], bracing himself against the blade that came into being at the soles of his feet. Transferring his forward momentum to his knees and springing back in the direction he had come.
Dante didn’t expect Jonathan to recover so quickly, but he didn't lower his guard entirely, because he twisted his body at the last moment, and instead of being bisected equally.
Jonathan’s short sword cut through Dante’s left wing, separating the two of them midflight and sending both of them careening in opposite directions. Gritting his teeth Jonathan squeezed everything left in his body and pushed off the air once more. The sudden vertical drop turned horizontal and Jonathan tackled the creature out of the air. Both of them crash-landed, skidding to a halt with Jonathan using Dante to break the fall.
Jonathan's blade had coincidentally landed flat against Dante’s chest and fear sparked in his eye.
“Wait! I-” he pleaded with his one good arm raised defensively.
Jonathan did no such thing, flipped the blade up and sheer through his neck, not even lifting it to get momentum. Simply using downward pressure, similar to a guillotine. The odd angle and lack of power behind the blade cause Dante’s dark blood to burst across Jonathan's face and chest. Jonathan was mildly surprised by the fact the blood was warm but got to his feet shakily and observed that area.
Sam had surrounded herself with writhing cords of darkness that looked straight out of a Lovecraftian nightmare.
She had wrapped the Naga up in tendrils and was slowly squeezing the life out of it, along with several other Corrupteds.
The look on her face was equal parts agony and hatred as the coils of shadow seemed to have a mind of their own.
Jonathan never lowered his guard and searched the area for additional threats, the Ghoul-thing had been thoroughly reduced to dust and both siblings were dead.
Ethel and Maggie were safe, along with most of Donavan’s team but they were regrouping while Sam dealt with the infested clinic.
Which reminded him, that Donavan had been near the center of the blast radius, but when he’d refused to retreat he’d had to leave him. The thing was Jonathan was sure he saw Tristan retreating with a body over his shoulder. He would bet his blade that was Donovan, but the reasoning made no sense. Chasing them was impossible right now so instead Jonathan moved toward where he’d last seen Daphne.
She lay unmoving on the ground and Jonathan searched his memories for any way to help. Reaching into his inventory he brought out the last of the potions Cara had given him. He’d decided to keep one for a situation just like this, but as he turned her over his heart fell. Jonathan pursed his lips and instead lifted her toward his chest, standing slowly as his body popped and groaned at the abuse it had been through in the last couple of hours.
Turning towards Sam he stepped up beside her.
Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks but no sounds came out of her mouth as a creeping frost consumed the Naga. Now that he was clear Jonathan could see it had the face of a woman plastered above its maw.
As the thing died, so did many of the surrounding Corrupted and Jonathan spotted Abby’s hungry face amongst them. Pale skin littered with black veins reaching up her neck, the creature was responsible for this.
As things began to succumb to Sam’s winter, another tremor went through the city. Closer this time but not as earthshaking as the first. The sound of an explosion going off in the distance joined the chaos.
Scattered fires around the clinic caused an erratic plume of black smoke to rise into the cold sky, with clouds almost as dark.
When everything around her was frozen, Sam began to advance and Jonathan stepped up beside her. She clutched Cara to her chest protectively, muttering to herself as they crossed the threshold.
“There has to be someone left in there”