How To Survive A Calamity

Now then.

I looked forward and barely restrained a scowl from rising on my face.

It seemed like Don was finally ready to follow up his next attack.

-Whoosh!

The bloodlust emanating from his form thickened, and powerful winds began to gather around his figure.

The cloud of dust was swiftly dispersed, revealing Don in all of his crazed, madened bizzaro glory.

The black haired cadet, who was obviously clearly going through some serious stuff in his life right now, turned to face us from where he stood, surrounded as the centre by carnage and destruction.

The ground underneath his feet had sunken and shattered, a groove of twisting cracks forming an intricate web against the broken surface.

I held Deandra gently, conscious of her wounded state.

"Can you move?" I asked in a low voice.

My gaze swept the vicinity ones.

It looked like the other three cadets had been fortunately wiped out of the picture, at least.

I thought that was good.

I wasn't sure if they were dead or just incapacitated, though. But Don's attack had more or less been a good thing that worked in our favour, one way or the other...

I glance at Deandra who was wincing in pain but next to me but trying to hide it.

'...More or less.'

"... I'm fine." Feeling my gaze, Deandra readily said.

"..."

"When i arrived in this... place Don was with me, unconscious like he was before. But then he woke up and he was like this ever since." She curtly explained and filled me in briefly on the details.

"I see."

"At the same time, i was suddenly ambushed and attacked by another group of cadets who were also acting strangely. Some of them were mumbling incomprehensible things, and while some were even crying and pleading. Yet i watched them brutally tear each other apart and murder themselves." Deandra struggled with her words at this point. She looked as if she fought with her recollection of a memory that was unpleasant.

"I see. So that's what you meant." I said, in understanding.

It was just like before.

Outside in the desert, the cadets, and even we had acted strangely and surreally out of nowhere.

The system identified it as some kind of diabolical mind or mental attack. It was a strange unidentifiable skill that overwhelmed you with so much emotions all at once, you would wish you were just dead and never even born.

It was...

...painful.

Now i could understand why it seemed like Don and the three other Cadets were in pain and anguish.

It's because they truly were.

"We just have to stop them, right?" I said ambiguously.

"Don already helped us out with the other three, so all that's left is him. He's just one kid, how hard could it be?"

I tried to sound as casual and unperturbed as possible to try to alleviate some of the tension off Deandra as much as possible.

And perhaps.... maybe for my sake as well.

Deandra shot me a bloody incredulous look from the side.

"Yes, and we're both injured and exhausted. Don meanwhile has been unconscious for a while and has undeniably recovered enough Mana and is an Aerokinetic Supernatural Awakened. How hard could it be?" Her voice rose slightly.

Keeping my eyes on Don all the way and averting Deandra's piercing gaze, i smirked emptily.

"Speak for yourself, class rep. I still haven't broken a sweat yet."

Deandra's look at me became even more absurd.

"...Gods. You truly are shameless." She exhaled bitterly.

"We still have to immobilise him somehow, without killing him, too."

My nonchalant, dry expression cracked right there.

"Now that's where we might have a problem.

"What?!" Deandra exclaimed greatly in a loud voice. Shock and disbelief were written all across her face as she stared at me with wide, ghastly eyes.

I felt a little overwhelmed and was unable to look her in the face.

Deandra raised her voice sharply like a mother scolding her child.

"Number 1499, are you seriously implying we kill Don, a team member amd a cadet of the academy?

"Huh? What?! No! Well, I mean... No! Wh-who said anything about... No! G-gods! But i was just... Ahem. I mean, that idiot is annoying and all. But, practically speaking, if we had to be real and put up a reasonable suggestion...that doesn't mean I'm saying anything explicit, though! I was just saying, it'll be hard to immobilise that guy!"

Why was it so hard to look Deandra in the eyes right at this moment?

Just then, as if he had had enough of our annoying banter, bizzaro Don roared in a twisted voice and emited a wild blast of wind pressure from his body.

"Aaarghhh!!"

Powerful glaes swept the collapsing vicinity once more and scattered through my hair and over my face.

The force of the wind was threatening enough to make both Deandra and i wince.

It was almost as if it was Don's irritable way of saying, 'shut the fuck up.'

'Alright. Point received, you bastard.'

The short burst of wind pressure sharply ceased at once, and i heard Deandra's sharp, icy voice immediately after.

"Number 1499, we are not killing a member of our team, a classmate, and a cadet of the academy. We are going to save Don, and knock him out..." Deandra paused and pulled an odd expression. "Or back to his senses."

I pursed my lips.

"And how do you suggest we do just that?" As i said so, Deandra hesitated at my words.

She was uncertain, wavering, and unable to say anything.

I felt an irritating tingle at the back of my neck and groaned in exasperation seeing her behave like that.

For some reason, i didn't like seeing Deandra waver uncertainly like that.

"Fuck it. We just have to give the bastard a good punch to wake up, right?"

"H-huh? Uh, yeah, I guess." Deandra replied blankly.

Don was standing across from us, huffing and panting as pale white- yellow foam continued to bubble at his mouth.

His expression was twisted and pained, and red tears of blood continued to stream down his face from his rolled back eyes.

He kept twitching and tweaking, making weird sounds and moans that left his mouth. It was like watching a caged animal in anguish.

It was revolting.

It was unsettling.

"Can't you do what you did before?" Deandra said in a faltering voice.

I glanced at her from the side and raised a brow.
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"Excuse me?"

"At the desert, you managed to bring everyone back to their sense. I don't know. I-i... i'm not sure and might be wrong. I don't know what's happening at all." She said and shook her head sideways with a dreary sigh.

Then Deandra looked up and gazed emotionally at Don who had begun to pull out his hair and tear his skin.

"You remember what happened with Barns..."

"..."

"Don... he's in pain right now. So much anguish, maybe even more right now than we could imagine."

I felt her grip on my clothes tighten.

Deandra raised her head to look up at me pleadingly.

"Please, Victor...save him."