50 3.12

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[Jonathan's POV]

We have officially crossed the half-way mark for our mission as only three days were left for our mission.

As shocking as it was, Alexander was still out there, warding off each and every attack from the enemy. Sometimes, he would have the Ame Orphans helping him, and at some other times we would be there to help.

However, despite his deteriorating state, he had asked, or rather demanded us not to come out unless a fight started. And by us, I mean our team along with the Akatsuki.

The Ame Orphans were a little upset, but Alexander had managed to convince them by telling them they needed to be in top condition for the fight that was to come on our last day. And that he was fine.

He wasn't. It was obvious to all of us. His face looked haunting, the white of his eyes had turned completely red, and the injuries accumulated.

Yet, he still stood. One curious thing, however, was what he did with the corpses of the enemy. Yesterday, although it felt like weeks ago with the number of attacks, Asher had managed to kill seven of the enemy Shinobi.

This was quite something, as they not only took three hours to attack us after that, but it was also the first time we had managed to kill anyone.

As for their corpses, Alexander had brought them to the building, and he always meditated with them around himself. It looked eerie, to say the least, with Alexander meditating in the middle of the shriveling corpses.

According to Yahiko, this was certainly a tactic used by Alexander to keep himself awake, using their putrid stench, but also to inflict fear into the enemy's mind, dominating them mentally before the battle even starts.

But I felt there was something more. I couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was, but sometimes, when it was my turn to come out and help with the attacks, I saw him go back to his meditation, while touching the corpses.

He was definitely doing something, but I neither had the heart to question him about it, nor say anything.

"Have you tried other spells?" I was brought out of my thoughts by Jordan, with whom I had been speaking.

I fiddled with my wand and replied, "A bit, but I've mainly been experimenting with Stupefy. It does its job, and training my aim with it will help with all my future spells."

Jordan nodded, uttering, "I'm curious to see what the Killing Curse would do to someone like Kaguya. Would it be an instant kill, or would she have resistance to it?"

I smiled, as I had wondered the same thing, "Probably resistant. Spells aren't worth that much, so they are probably limited in power."

Jordan was about to speak, when Maria, the other student in the team, walked up to them, and said, "I think I would have taken Nen from HunterxHunter."

Jordan scoffed, "Chakra is so much better."

Maria shook her head, "Nen is much more varied, and can work alongside other power-ups. All you need is to get upgrades that increase your life force and you can become OP as fuck."

I raised my wand, and grinned proudly, "Don't underestimate magic. Not only can I branch out into potions, but after this mission I'll get Ancient Magic, from Hogwarts Leg-"

I abruptly stopped as I heard ruckus outside. The three of us looked at each other, before I ran to the door, sighing.

The moment I got out, I saw Alexander being surrounded by five clones, as he parried their attacks with skill and precision. Waving my wand, I shouted, "Stupefy!"

The red light fired out of my wand, and landed on the back of one of the clones, destroying it right away. This time, it seems it was only me and him, as the rest were resting.

Alexander acted a bit strangely however, as the moment he managed to break the defense of a clone, instead of slashing it apart, he grabbed its head with his hand. And somehow, he made it dissolve.

I'm not sure of what exactly he did, but after that he resumed his usual attacks, that is slashing them apart with his sword.

Weird.

But as I thought of that, I saw something from the corner of my vision, and hurriedly stepped back. However, I wasn't fast enough to completely dodge the sword made of water as I felt a stinging pain in my belly.

I cried out as the pain muddled my mind, and I failed to utter my spell. All I could do was watch, as the blade descended upon me, about to cleave me in half.

But just as I thought I would die, the clone suddenly dissolved, and for a moment, I could swear I saw something fly out of him. I followed it, and found Alexander, still fighting. Did he save me? How?

In any case, I had to help him. I pointed my wand at his opponents, and muttered, "St-Stupefy."

However, nothing came out.

In the end, the fight ended a minute later, and Alexander had one additional cut on his left arm.

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[Jordan's POV]

It was only thanks to my watch that I knew we had reached the fifth day in our mission. When I first arrived, I was excited, but now, all I feel is tiredness. Every minute stretched out into several, hours turned unending as the days felt like we moved down a layer in hell each time.

Everyone was in a bad state in the team. The Akatsuki were rather fine, props for living in a war-torn country all their lives I guess, although they did lose a few members through the days, including Kie, we were in a far worse state.

We all had to fight at some point, and most of us got injured as a result. The world of Naruto… I once dreamed of reincarnating here, and how fucking wrong I was. This game must be the devil's.

Out of the entire group, Asher was in the worst state. Not only had she lost her friend, Ezra, but she was in a bad state herself. I'm still not sure about what it is, but Asher entered a special state for a moment a couple days ago, and while it allowed her to kill some of the enemies, it also almost killed her. Wasn't it for one of the health potions kept away and the Iryonin from the Akatsuki, Asher would have died of the aftereffects.

But even with this, she was slowly recovering, and she definitely wouldn't be in any fighting condition until the end of the mission.

As for Claire, the girl we had sent up North, we had no idea what happened to her. Maybe she had managed to reach her destination and get us the help we sorely needed, or maybe she died on the way. Or maybe she just failed to get any help. Or maybe she just went to hide.

Suddenly, the wall next to me exploded, sending large pieces of concrete falling as several shadows ran into the building.

I felt panic, but I still gripped my weapon tightly, slashing the sword with a roar.

The Shinobi I was aiming for, whose face I did not even see, parried my attack like a child had attacked him, sending my weapon flying easily. This wasn't a clone, I realized.

But before he could continue with his attack, pieces of paper converged from all over as they blocked his blade, and others pierced through him, killing him.

I looked back, and saw the Ame Orphans, defending us from the attackers. It was followed by several gunshots, and quickly, all the attackers had died.

I did not feel any relief as they died, however, as we suffered a casualty. It wasn't even from the fight itself.

Maria laid on the ground, her head crushed beneath a piece of concrete.

I threw up whatever was left in my stomach.