Trapped in a Game Pt. 08 by Kousakacomplex©

“I got it. Launch me!” she yelled.

I bit my lip nervously, casting synergy to improve the timing of her attack, as I grabbed her clothes at her back, and after spinning to get some momentum, I chanted ‘Catapult!’ and fired her toward the stairs.

She curled into a ball, then swung with full force just as she connected with the stairs, and the structure exploded into a mess of stone, as the staircase crumbled from the point of impact to the base, leaving a gaping space between the middle of the stairs and all the way to the bottom.

I scanned the rubble worriedly, until Jessie burst out from a pile of stone, and shot me a grin, as she gave me a thumbs up.

She quickly began to clear out the remaining undead in that area, as I returned my attention to the battle ahead.

Kelly seemed to have made reasonable headway on clearing a path for the others to join us, but as I checked on Serra, I noted that they were having trouble keeping the necromancer distracted, while fending off the onslaught of his entourage.

She was firing lightning shackles at him, while engaging his guard in melee combat, and Mackenzie was firing the odd arrow at him as well, while trying to draw some of his guards away from Serra and the other two scouts.

But as the necromancer shook off Serra’s latest attack, he returned his attention to Kelly, and began to straight up ignore the attacks made on him, as he began to concentrate on summoning up his plague infused energy spell once more.

I took another look at Kelly, who was tearing through the undead waves, but she didn’t really seem to be aware of what was being aimed at her.

Would she be able to evade it?

My chest tightened, as my instincts told me no, and as Serra shot me a desperate look, I realized I would have to do something.

But… what?

I could use my swap spell, and take the hit for Kelly… but would I survive?

Given how much effort the necromancer was putting into the spell, it seemed unlikely; and even if I survived the initial damage, the sickness that came after would probably kill me anyway.

I took a deep breath.

I’d always prepared for this, hadn’t I? Dying valiantly for the woman I loved?

Except… she never wanted me to do that.

And if I died… what kind of life was I leaving her to live?

Think.

There had to be something else.

Something that I could do.

The swap places spell was obviously the only thing that could help Kelly at this range, but I needed to do something else on top of that.

What would Serra do?

If she was me.

I cast my gaze in her direction, as an intense desire arose in me for her help.

Maybe I could activate synergy?

And then what?

Read her mind?

Find out what she would do?

As I thought about synergy, however, the spell began to activate, and as Serra shot me a questioning look, I realized that she’d sensed the spell’s activation.

Focus, I thought, though my chest tightened, as the necromancer’s preparations seemed complete, and he began to gesture, as if aiming the attack in Kelly’s direction.

Help me! I thought, projecting the thought to Serra, and in that moment, I felt my stomach lurch, as my field of vision suddenly changed, and I found myself staring at… myself?

I took a quick look around, and sure enough, I was standing where Serra had been seconds earlier, except… I was still across the battlefield, at the top of the stairs, and as the Necromancer launched his attack, the other me raised his hands, and chanted ‘swap places!’ and I gasped, as Kelly appeared where he’d only just stood.

The other me had swapped places with her just as the necromancer’s attack fired wickedly across the sky, but just as it was about to collide with me in midair, the other me raised his hands and summoned an astral prison around the projectile in midair, and it exploded inside of the spell’s confined space just in front of me, with the noxious cloud that followed also contained within the walls of the spell.

As I fell out of the sky, however, the other me molded the prison to extend under me, and created a kind of slide which allowed me to soar through the air, and down to the floor safely, and as soon as I landed, I gasped, as I once again found myself in my own skin.

What the fuck was that???

I didn’t have time to think, however, as David and the others tore towards me, and I quickly joined them in trying to outrun the horde that was hot on our tails.

The other group was clearing some undead ahead of us, and as we drew closer, Aleisha and Kelly aimed a couple of fireballs just behind us, clearing out some of the undead on our tail.

I shot them a thankful look, as we turned and made for the ship, where Serra, Mackenzie and the two other scouts were waiting for us; and we all scrambled aboard.

“Hell of a fucking move, legend!” Jessie exclaimed, slapping me on the back and grinning broadly, and I frowned, as I knew that there was no way that I could have pulled that off.

Serra was studying me with a knowing smile, and I shot her a questioning look.

“Well, look at you… awakening your ascension ability,” Serra said, smiling as she shoved me playfully.

“Is that what that was?” I asked.

“Ultimate Synergy,” Kelly explained, nodding, and I blushed a little as she smiled proudly at me.

“Hold onto something, gentlefolk!” Serene called, as the ship immediately began to move, but as we picked up speed, I noted with interest that we were heading east, along the coast, away from the necromancer, but also not in the direction of where Hanamachi would be.

“Where are we headed?” I asked, and Serene swallowed uncomfortably, gesturing to the sea.

“We might be out of this mess, but take a look at those waves,” she said, and I noted that the wicked swells that had risen out of the sea when we’d encountered that creature before, now seemed to be catching up to us, all the way at this shore.

I cast a glance back at the necromancer, who now had a veritable mob of undead piled and waiting for us at the dock, then in the other direction, where stormy seas lay in wait; and I took a deep breath in, as the realization settled in that our struggle for survival had only just begun.

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