James woke to the sound of clashing steel and a chorus of voices. His chest was burning, and his body was left in a heap on the ground at the base of a tree. A hand grabbed at his face, rubbing at it, trying to get his vision to clear faster. When he got enough of the haze away he was greeted to several corpses covered in lacerations. Limbs from the bodies were strewn about in some macabre form of decoration. They were tall, lithe, and covered in some kind of leather armor from top to bottom. Pale white flesh showing in the few places that had been hacked away.

That head jerked upwards heart now starting to race, the shot of adrenaline pulling him instantly to the present, his body followed, getting to his feet, shaky at first, but then finding his stride. Left, then right, his eyes sought out L'sara, but he could only see more of those thin wiry beings grouped up around the source of the steel meeting steel he had initially heard, blocking out all but bits and pieces of two others.

There was a pause in the fighting as male voice seemed to boom out from the crowd, "You fight like a wild beast! Give us the host and we will forget the matter of you killing so many of my fodder, we'll even extend an invitation, I assure you my liege pays quite well." A low murmur rolled across the crowd, before the sound of someone spitting and sultry feminine voice cut them off, "Sorry. Need him, and something he's got I'll have to carve through you instead~"

Her voice was steady the whole way through, but seeing her would have shown a different picture, part of her armor had been shredded away, a finger was missing from her right hand, a gash deep in her left side, cuts littered her body. If the system was not supporting her, she'd likely have been dead already.

At the center of the ring, James could just make out the head of a beast far larger than the rest of the ones surrounding the combatants, it reminded him a lot of the form he had first seen Mondura taking, a minotaur, with two massive horns, deep red fur, and a large ring in its nose. That was the thing fighting L'sara. His heart lurched. He'd caught bits and pieces of her through the shuffling crowd, it was not a good picture. The self preservation in him kicked in, his head darted to the right, looking to the woods, could he make it? They were distracted after all.

Shes like this because of me. The words he had shared in moments before waking crept back into the foreground, pushing away any thoughts of running, his eyes zeroed in on the circle, fists clamping down tight. The sound of steel meeting steel had resumed. There are too many... When had that stopped him before? His brain was fighting itself, Mondura had affected him more than he knew. He shook head back and forth, hands moving to his hair, fingers entwining and pulling at strands in frustration.

His sporadic movements had alerted those closer to him causing a familiar voice to speak up in his head to cease the frenzy and indecision, STOP. Focus. I can assist if you let me, it is easier when you accept me. They were closer now, each of them wielding some form of weapon, sword, spear, dagger. How?

There is a spear to your right, on the floor, pick it up and put some distance between you and them. Put the points you have been saving into regeneration, my control will likely not be perfect. Its voice was choppy, as if it was struggling to make the connection, but he could feel it there, in the back of his mind, reaching out to every muscle the teen had. He lurched, diving for the spear that had been pointed out, one of the enemies entering the space he had occupied seconds before.

Hands wrapped around the shaft just as he hit the ground, sliding a few feet past where it had been landing. James quickly righted him self just as his pursuers began cackling at the clumsy movements. Loosen your muscles, and get ready to use your storage. It drains too much mana for you to enter fully, but just the spear should be more than enough to surprise them. Loosening his tense muscles was easier said than done, but he still attempted it. A hard swallow forcing down the thumping of his heart in his throat, thoughts drifting, looking for the unhinged detachment he was so used too, yet despite searching only Mondura was there speaking in his head, panic began to set in.

You will not find your other self. We had this conversation host. We will handle this. Once more weapons were beginning to circle him, trying to pen him in. He had shown no merit thus far so they were playing with their food, after all, why should their boss be the only one having any fun? James gnashed his teeth, trying to get his body to cooperate. It was not used to his mind staying present when dealing with a situation like this and it was proving to be extremely difficult.

Mondura, unable to get through to the teen felt like there was no other choice, Clench your teeth and avoid your tongue. Confusion flitted across James features as the warning came, only to be wiped away instantly. His back lit up like someone had stabbed him with a cattle prod, every muscle clenched to near its breaking point, sending him to his knees and causing the encroaching party to pause and look at one another in their own befuddled state.

Kneeling on the ground, eyes clenched shut having been unable to even scream, James looked like he had experienced a break from fear. That seeming fear caused yet another round of laughter after the confusion faded, opponents taking their leisure as they approached. A deep breath in, continuing to fill his lungs just until the breaking point, chest visibly expanding. He held it, counting to three, before finally the compression was reversed and he forced an exhale to empty his lungs back out through still clamped teeth.

Lids flicked open and his wavering eyes seemed to have a sharpened hone they had when he disassociated, Good. Now stand. Slowly he did so, his movements completely different than before, the pain and acceptance had been enough for Mondura to exert control, refining what motions James went through. It had not gone unnoticed either, as the enemies around him were instantly back on guard, brandishing weapons in his direction.

There are too many for me to both talk and guide at the same time. I will be here but silent host. When it went silent he was left to his own thoughts for the first time in his memory, yet, there was no fear, just an surprising calm. Pupils drifted from each opponent to the next. Life was simple like this, he found, unsure of why he even needed another "self". He needed to help L'sara, and he had to go through the targets in front of him. Adapt or die. He quoted Mondura and a smile flicked across his lips, not deranged as before, but rather acceptance.

The points he had banked were mentally assigned to regeneration and then his focus shifted back to the spear he held. Almost on instinct it was whipped upwards in an arc, only to come back down, moving far faster than it had any business going in the hands of a novice. Yet, he maintained control, bringing it to his side in a sudden snatching movement, hand just a little behind the middle of the shaft. Fingers tightened down and the sinew on his forearm pulled taut, legs followed suit, one in front of the other, thighs and calves bulging as he bolted to the side.

The motion was fluid, even curving as he change direction and charged towards the nearest sword wielding assailant. Spear in front, his eyes focused on the target he wanted. Just as he reached the edge of his Spatial Storage's range his hand and the spear disappeared from view, putting the assailants on guard. His opposite foot rooted itself on the dirt, using momentum and strength to propel the shaft through the secondary space. The tip of the spear reappeared a few inches from the leather cuirass of his target, slamming home with full force.

You have dealt 30 [Piercing] Damage to Unknown Enemy (1)

The spear and his hand reappeared back at his side once more visible to all just as the one hit slumped to the ground grasping at the new hole in his leather armor in shock. The group did not understand what had happened, and James for his part did not let up, targeting another busy gawking at the fallen one in disbelief. His body shifted and his weight was thrown into a new thrust, just the spear tip disappearing this time as he refined the attack, letting it reappear this time at the throat of the one being attacked.

You have dealt 100 [Piercing] Damage to Unknown Enemy (2)

Critical Wound Inflicted on Unknown Enemy (2)

Unknown Enemy (2) is [Unconscious]

As his spear retracted, the second hit the ground, this one not moving and chaos ensued. Enemies having vastly underestimated their opponent from not being prepared to deal with a spear demon that could conjure spears wherever he pleased. At least, that was the way it came off to anyone not familiar with the rare trait teleportation, or in James case, the unknown Spatial Storage, decided to turn tail and run to get more backup from the large group surrounding the other two fighting parties.