CHAPTER 27: CRITICAL HIT

Wade watched, his sword held tightly, as the wraiths leapt over the pews, some stumbling between the seats, and others leaping from chair to chair.

This slowly reduced the number of wraiths that finally reached them, with more still climbing out of the mirrors behind them.

Sebastian met them with a roar, swinging his axe and loping off the head of the lead wraith, a red wave of energy erupting from his swing to take out three more wraiths before they reached him.

As the battle erupted around him, Wade had his own opponents to fight. Though, due to the formation, he’d ended up facing the pulpit, where there were no mirrors, that didn’t mean the wraiths didn’t stream towards him.

He took a step forward, baiting the wraith. As it lunged at him, he skipped back, letting it overextend itself. His sword descended upon the wraith’s head.

There was a loud sound of shattering glass, with cracks appearing on the wraith’s head, but the monster didn’t die.

Instead, Wade’s sword bounced back, half of the force he had put into the strike reflected by the wraith’s mirror-like skin.

Cursing, he ducked under the wraiths reaching claws, slamming his shoulder into the wraith’s torso.

The beast stumbled back, its torso splintering, but holding.

Wade took the chance, bringing his sword down on the same spot. The wraith shattered into pieces.

’Fuck.’ He panted, parrying the claws of a wraith and skipping back from the swipe of another at the same time. ’I have to hit them in the same spot at least two times to kill them.’

The reflective wraiths had the ability to reflect not just spells but also the force of physical attacks. Fortunately, they don’t reflect the entire force or effect of the attack. Only about half.

He swiped at a wraith, knocking it back, creating a basic Ward behind himself. A wraith slammed into the ward, dispelling it, but stumbling back from the unexpected barrier.

Wade took the chance, his sword tearing through the same spot, the wraith shattering into pieces.

His perception screamed at him and he rolled to the side, three wraiths colliding where he had been standing. One of them shattered into pieces, the remaining two stumbling back, disoriented by the impact.

As he surged to his feet, his sword ascended at an arc, taking out the two wraiths at the same time.

It was at that moment that bright light filled the chapel, reflected from one of the skills Rowan had used on a wraith. The light filled the room, forcing Wade to shield his eyes.

An instant later, the light cleared. Wade blinked rapidly, opening his eyes just in time to see a wraith in the air, claws reaching at his face.

An arrow speared out of nowhere, sinking into the eyes of the wraith and shattering it. As glass shards sprayed over him, cutting lines on his face, with a stinging cut appearing just below his eyes, Rowan’s voice filled the air.

"Sorry!"

Wade had no time to complain, rolling to the side, the shards digging into his palm as another wraith landed where he had been standing.

As he rolled to his feet, something slammed into his back, sending him sprawling on the floor.

As he fell, he rolled to his back, his sword raised. The wraith fell atop his sword, the blade sinking into its belly.

It shattered, spraying glass shards all over him. In the blink of an eye, more glass shards rained over him, Ingrid’s arrows taking out the wraiths that had leapt at him, intent on taking him out as he was down.

He rolled to his feet with a quick "thank you" to Ingrid, his sword bouncing off another wraith, pushing it back.

There was no time for him to rest, and before long, he found himself breathing heavily, the wave of wraiths seemingly unending.

He had no idea how much time had passed. All he knew was that he’d been fighting for his life for what seemed like an hour, sweat dripping down his face, and a dull ache under his armpit from where his breastplate had been scrubbing against his skin, his tunic a small barrier of protection between metal and skin.

Even with the inconvenience, he couldn’t risk removing the breastplate. It now sported deep scratches, looking like it had survived a war. It had saved him more times than he could count, and he was grateful for it.

He’d already used up more than half of his remaining mana, his basic ward making up the other part of his defense.

He rolled to the side, avoiding another swipe of claws, swinging his sword as he rolled through his feet. The wraith shattered, and another wraith leapt through the falling shards towards him.

Wade skipped back, intent on dodging the claws, when his boot landed on some glass shards, the shards slipping under his boot and sending him falling to the ground with a yelp.

Before he could roll away, the claws landed on his right leg.

[Critical Hit!]

A red haze appeared across his vision as pain flared through his body, warm blood spraying through the air.

A yell of pain tore its way out of his throat before he could even stop it.

"Man down!" Ingrid’s voice filled the air, and in the same breath, her arrow speared through the wraith, taking it out of commission.

Wade groaned at the pain, his inventory appearing before him.

With a grunt, his hands pressed down on the wound to stop the blood loss, he mentally selected what he wanted, and the vial appeared in his hands.

Removing his bloody hand off the missing chunk of his flesh, he unstoppered the green liquid, pouring it into his mouth.

The healing potion burned its way down his throat, its effects spreading through his body immediately, his wound sealing shut, and new flesh growing to replace the missing chunk.

His health points filled back up, returning him to peak health.

"Man up!" He yelled as he stood, wiping his bloody hand on his trousers before gripping his sword with both hands.

The three remaining members of his party finally spaced out, opening up his side of the formation for wraiths to enter once more.

Wade snarled, brandishing his sword. "Bring it on!"