A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

"Ah!" Henry yelled as his hand struck the armored chest of a Knight faster than said Knight could whip around and attack him.

The blast from the lightning strike of [Shocking Grip] sent the Knight flying but before he even hit the ground, the red spirit that had been possessing him pulled free, letting out a screech as the electrical current of the spell crackled around its immaterial form.

"Hah!" The Mercenary who had been battling the possessed Knight yelled out and took a step back knowing the Spirit would come for him next once the pain of the electricity around its form was gone.

But then, Andor was there. He stabbed out with his Spear and unleashed his Mana surge in a burst that destroyed the Spirit in a single blow.

As the second time they had performed this combo, Henry and Andor realized what made it so effective. The Spirits ordinarily were faster than the average Fighter or Knight on the scene and while their only means of attack so far was possession, they were still difficult to handle.

However, the lightning from [Shocking Grip] incapacitated them for just enough time for Andor to get his burst attack in.

Henry was already on the move again.

He got between an ongoing two-on-one battle with two possessed Knights against one Mercenary. Henry leaped in and kicked the Mercenary back at the same time he slammed both his hands against the chest of both Knights.

It wasn't a perfect maneuver as he would have hoped and a sword grazed his side.

[You have lost 20 Hit Points]

[Hit Points: 41/330]

But he gritted his teeth at the pain and channeled the spell to do something with it he had never done before;

*Shocking Grip* being imprinted on the back of his left hand didn't stop Henry from casting it with the right as he had done a few times since he got it. But never had he channeled the spell with both hands at the same time. Fortunately, this didn't count as attempting to manipulate the spell with the 'Intelligence' stat because it was still as strong or as weak as ever. He was technically just casting it twice at the same time.

Shocking Grip!

Shocking Grip!

*Brrrzzztttt!!!*

*Brrrzzztttt!!!*

"Ahhhhh!!!"

"Arrghh!!!"

In an almost uniform yell, the two Knights were tossed away and their Spirits pulled free just in time for Andor to stab into one with his Spear and unleash the Mana burst. He tried for the next but the single second he spent destroying the first was enough for the second to recover.

*Screeechhhh!!!*

The Spirit floated off to the side, dodging Andor's stab but right before it could attempt to possess him, a thin ray of silvery light stabbed through it and caused it to implode into red mist.

Andor looked around wide for the source of the silver ray and his eyes soon fell on Meryna and the other Cleric with Eloise and the de-possessed Marla standing close.

"We'll go one at a time now," Henry told him.

"Because of me? No," Andor said shaking his head.

"It will be dangerous for you if you get possessed again," Henry said, concerned.

"I'll be fine," Andor insisted, "If you get a chance to kick two of them out, go for it. I'll get them."

As though to prove this, Andor let out a particularly powerful Mana burst to destroy another ejected spirit.

"Pace yourself," Henry said with a little chuckle and a shake of his head. But he took Andor's words under advisement.

A few feet away, just after Meryna saved Andor from possession, Meryna asked the Cleric,

"What are they doing?"

"Some kind of exorcism," Meryna answered. Seems effective enough.

*SCREECCHHHHH!!!*

The sound came from far too close.

"They've spotted us," said the second cleric already conjuring a silvery beam, "They'll be coming for us any second."

And sure enough, a horde of Red Spirits were floating their way.

Eloise glanced at Andor and saw him perform another Mana burst attack,

"If Mana's the key, let them come," she said and let her Mana surge in preparation to unleash arcs.

"I'm with you," Marla said and unleashed her Mana surge as well, letting it flow to her sword.

"It's not just Mana," Meryna said shaking her head,

"It takes a bit of purification or some other otherworldly sort of energy to dispel spirits like those."

"Then how is he doing it?" Marla asked and gestured at Andor, "And in one-shots no less!"

"I don't know. It could have something to do with his weapon. All I know is, just Mana is not enough. Sure, if you could get the spirit to stay in place, maybe you can whittle it down but I'm not sure you'll get that chance."

The screech sounded again and Meryna just completed her seals to erect a silver dome around them. The Spirits slammed into the dome unable to break through.

"It won't hold them for long," Meryna said and then glanced at the male Cleric close to her,

"Veron…"

"On it!" Veron said already condensing a star-shaped symbol priming to fire.

"If it's purity we need…" Eloise said and trailed off as she closed her eyes and bowed her head in prayer to her patron.

As she was still proving herself, there were conditions to harnessing the pseudo-divine energy she was afforded and, unsure if the conditions had been met appropriately, she sought her Patron's favor.

"Get ready," Meryna told Veron. Concentrating on keeping the dome over them made casting nearly impossible.

Marla just watched while gritting her teeth in frustration at feeling like a sitting duck.

*Crack*

Following the first sound and sign of fissure, the entire dome collapsed at the same time Veron unleashed the star-shaped symbol priming in his hand. It shot out ten Beams. Five missed.

Veron gritted his teeth. That was the disadvantage of the burst attack. Aiming was difficult.

Fortunately, five misses meant five hits.

Unfortunately, the Spirits were more than five.

"Damn it," Meryna yelled and hurried to cast an attacking spell or say a prayer to her goddess for some intervention.

And then Eloise stepped forward. Her body exuded the aura of her Mana surge along with the empowerment of her oath and to top that all off, the serene energy of the pseudo-divine energy her Patron had permitted her to wield.

She swung her sword in an arc but spun around so widely that it came off as almost a complete circle. The trail of the energy from her sword cut through every single spirit, destroying them all at once.

"Wow," Marla let out almost begrudgingly. When she and Eloise had let out their Mana surges, she had known she was the stronger of the two but this— this could cover up the difference too well.

"That energy…" Meryna started to say before she was interrupted.

"Meryna, look," Veron called and pointed to the far side of the field where the other two Clerics had been standing under the protection of the Former Slaves.

When the issue with the Spirits began, the Clerics had become the protectors as the ones better equipped to handle that sort of thing. Alas, their protection failed and not one, not two, but every single one of the Former slaves was now possessed and had turned their weapons against them.

The Clerics themselves had almost been corrupted and had only managed to avoid that predicament thanks to the fact that they were so attuned to the spiritual.

The two Clerics were attempting exorcism but against such a large group, they were sure to fail.

So Meryna and Veron had to interfere. Eloise joined them still armed with that pseudo-divine energy. Meryna took advantage of the lack of attention and slipped away. Not that anyone cared at the time.

Meanwhile, Henry and Andor had just exorcised the last possessed Knight and as they all stirred with their chest aching at the pain of the attack that jolted them out of possession, he turned his sights now on the Possessed Mercenaries.

Boyle was leading the Knights who had not been possessed against the Mercenaries who had been. In fact, at that moment, he landed such a powerful attack on a Possessed Mercenary's sword that sent said Mercenary down on his ass.

Boyle heaved his sword and made to cleave his target in two. But Henry and Andor were suddenly there using their gun and spear respectively to keep the weapon away.

"What are you doing?" Boyle asked with narrowed eyes.

"Helping!" Henry answered while struggling to hold Boyle's sword. Had it not been for Andor, he would not have been able to.

Even with the two of them, his arms still vibrated from the force and Boyle's sword still got close to the target and marked him. Fortunately, Boyle saw reason and paused his move when he saw who intercepted him. Even if he did sound angry.

"How is this helping?!" He asked. It seemed he hadn't noticed the Exorcism feats Henry and Andor had performed already.

"Like this," Henry answered…

Shocking Grip!

… And slammed a crackling hand against the downed Mercenary's chest.

"Arrrghhh!!!" He yelled.

The Spirit pulled free and Andor was ready with a Mana burst that turned it to red mist.