Several minutes earlier at the city square.

"The stronger you fight. The harder it will be" Loki tried to persuade Ann to no avail.

Collapsed to the floor on her fours, Ann's face was as pale as a ghost awaken from the dead.

The pain had weakened her body and mind to the extent that she was losing sense of her surroundings and self.

"Huff... huff..."

With each breath shallower than the one before, her state was far past the point of return.

Even if Ann was able to hold on for now, it would be only a matter of minutes before her heart gives out.

'I have to stay awake for a little longer. I need to leave this place'

Ann could feel her consciousness slipping away. She didn't want to hurt the innocent people in the city, even if it cost her life.

When the Archmage from the original novel underwent a mana outbreak, he had the female lead to help neutralize his mana with her extraordinary quantity of holy power. It was a touching scene between the overly cheesy dialogues when Helen held the unconscious male lead in her arms as tears flooded her eyes.

Right now, tears were flooding Ann's eyes but for an entirely different reason. Not to mention, she was severely lacking in the holy power department.

The only factor remaining between peace and one of Orion's worst tragedies was her willpower. The moment she loses consciousness, it would be game over.

With trembling hands, Ann reached for the dagger attached to her belt.

The eagle emblem engraved on the blade glistened under the light.

Seeing her face reflected on the blade reminded Ann of the simpler times as a kid.

With nothing to fear or doubt, running wild on the grasslands of Finnel mountain with Chirpy on the tow trying to catch her. They spent careless moments filled with laughter till she fell asleep under Maria's soothing voice singing a lullaby.

"Arghh!"

Ann dropped the dagger and clenched her hand.

Deep veins appeared in the back, as crimson red blood dripped from her enclosed hands leaving a dark stain on the pavement.

"Stop! You are killing yourself! You need to channel the flow of mana in your heart so it doesn't stop!"

Ignoring Loki's outburst Ann tried to get on her feet.

Although it was not the best of suggestions, in order to stay awake, Ann had cut herself in the palm with the dagger.

The stinging pain in her hand was enough to distract herself for the time being, until she figured out a way to leave the city.

"You crazy women! You're only making it worse"

"Your constant berating is not helpful!" Ann snapped, wabbling like a newborn fawn.

There was less than a ten percent chance for an average person to survive a mana outbreak.

From Ann's perspective, it was clear that she would not survive the mana outbreak unless a miracle happened.

'If I'm going out. I'm going out on my own stand!'

It would take at least an hour to reach the city limits on foot. By that time, she would have long turned into a doomsday machine and brought Parthellam to ruin.

The sky was the only option left. That way, the damage to the city could be minimized without endangering the people.

Still, there was a major flaw in the plan. Ann had neither the strength nor the means to enact the scheme.

'If only I had the ability to fly into the sunset, a lot of my problems could be solved in a jiffy'

Through her hazy vision, Ann was able to spot a cart full of fireworks on the opposite edge of the square.

The cart was abandoned by its owner back when the assassins gathered to confront them.

From looking at it, another crazy idea crossed Ann's mind.

The fireworks manufactured in Orion were different from those in Korea. Regardless of the size, each one of the rockets had more firepower than twenty normal crackers combined.

From the moment she had first laid eyes on them, Ann had wondered about the exact number of rockets that could launch a person into the sky.

Growing up, Lorenz Ashford's strict parenting policies banned any sort of fireworks within the compounds of the Ashford residence.

Since the policy lasted till the day she left home, it had completely slipped her mind to experiment until now.

'And it's their lucky day, the people in Parthellam are about to find out just that'

Leaving a trail of blood, she managed to drag herself a few steps without stumbling on the unconscious men on the ground.

Normally, Ann wouldn't test any of her crazy notions on herself that might risk her own life. But since the make-shift hammer throw stunt worked she decided it was worth the try.

Besides, she didn't have any other choices left to pick from.

"Just... a... little..."

However, Ann had pushed her body to the brink of break.

*BA-DUMP*

"!"

Falling to her knees, the world became dark.

As if struck by a bolt of lightning, electricity pulsated through her veins robbing her of light.

*BA-DUMP*

Ann's heart stopped.

A strong gust of wind flew thrust across the square with Ann at the center of it, sweeping away everything in its path.

*SWOOSH*

Windows shattered and doors rattled, crumbling into pieces.

The shock from the wind, extinguished the mana lamps leaving nothing other than the moons hidden under the clouds to illuminate with a pale shadow light.

As if waiting for a verdict, the city succumbed to silence.

"Err..."

Waking up from the wreckage, Jade looked around in confusion. He was thrown into the display window of a store just as he tried to reach Raeden.

Dusting off his jacket, Jade stood up and jumped out of the window to search for the others. The streets were dark and gloomy, even the night sky was overtaken by the clouds.

Being a leopard beastman, Jade was able to see in the dark with ease.

The damage was far worse than anyone could have imagined. Thinking back to the picture he had seen before being blown away, he could easily guess that the masked men and Ann were somehow associated with each other.

A little away from him, he found the twins and Eugene scrambling to their feet between the debris. But Raeden was gone and so was his scent.

It was then, he saw a small spark in the distance.

*BA-DUMP*

Jade's ears twitched.

In the dead silence, he could hear the faint sound of a heartbeat.

*BA-DUMP*

Jade felt a light breeze brush past his skin. The weather, which had been calm for days changed in a fraction of seconds.

*thunder*

The sky above the plot began to roar, lighting up the solemn city in flashes, while the wind gradually gained strength as if a storm was coming.

*thunder*

Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the center of the city square, pulverizing the Theodore statue into bits.

Taking a proper look, rather than the statue, the lightning was attracted to the figure next to it, concealed behind the smoke.

"Oh no..." Jade muttered, recognizing the face of the figure inside the smoke.

"Oh my god..." exclaimed Eugene.

He was followed suit by Noah and Oliver, who had recovered from the initial shock. It was only then, did they finally understood the true meaning of a mana outbreak.

The Nero mercenaries, the imperial army, and the people hiding in every nook and cranny of the vicinity witnessed with wide eyes as Ann slowly started levitating in the air like a lifeless marionette.

As the purple sky continued to rumble, sparks of lightning enveloped her limp body.

*thunder*

The mana storm converged around Ann, suspending her at the eye of the storm as bolts of lightning struck one after the other. This made it impossible for anyone to get close to her even if there were to try.

"Is that a storm?" asked Oliver and looked at his brother.

None of this would have happened if they had gone to the tavern with the others instead of wandering on their own.

It was not only the square but, the storm clouds were spreading throughout the city, enough to send the already panicked people into fright.

"No... that's An-"

"That's Ann"

Before Noah can reply, he was interrupted by Jade, who had just caught up to them.

"She's creating it. Or at least I think she is"

*BA-DUMP*

Ann's eyelids flashed open.

Her emerald green eyes were clouded by a bright golden light.

In a catatonic state, she was no longer in control of her surroundings.

*BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP*

As her heartbeat accelerated, the lightning increased in intensity forming a column of fire that raised tall as far as the eyes could reach, high enough to be visible across the horizon.

Engulfed within the flames, Ann was no longer in sight. The fire had whirled around her like a snake, forming a tornado that brightened the city as if the sun had risen from its slumber.

Unlike normal fire, the flames created by pure mana had the tendency to melt through metal making it the most lethal weapon.

True to that, the debris pulled in by the vortex incinerated on contact, turning it into ashes.

Sucked in by the spiral, the cart of fireworks hurled towards the fire and set off rockets in all directions, exploding into mesmerizing colors.

The only issue was that they were in no position to admire it.

"Help!"

The Nero mercenaries heard the voice of a child.

Following the source of the sound, they found a little boy clinging onto the edge of a broken window.

He was the same kid Ann saved from Priest Hansom earlier. He seemed to have been thrown out the window when he tried to peek at the fireworks.

Alarmed, Jade tried to reach him.

But he was too late. The little boy's hands slipped before Jade could catch him.

"No!"

"Ahhh!"

Just as he was about to be sucked into the vortex, Raeden jumped over and caught the little boy in his arms.

"You alright?" Raeden asked the tear-stricken child.

"hmm..."

Even though he was trembling in fear, the little boy managed to nod at Raeden by mustering up his courage.

"Phew..." Eugene sighed in relief at the sight of Raeden.

After having a close brush with death twice, the little boy was clinging to Raeden's clothes as though it was his last lifeline.

With the arrival of Raeden, the Nero mercenaries had finally assembled together. They might have managed to save the child from falling into the vortex.

Still, the real danger was the tornado gradually expanding in diameter, which was melting the pavement like lava as it grew in size.

Even if they were to evacuate the city now. They wouldn't be able to outrun the storm.

*thunder*

A bolt of lightning hit again, this time right in front of the Nero mercenaries, leaving a deep hole in the ground.

With no means of escape, they were trapped like fish in a barrel.

Eugene glanced at his friends. The look on their faces was enough to convey the unspoken words.

For years they have stood together as a pack facing countless obstacles.

And it was together they were till the end of the line.

*thunder*

Right as everything seemed bleak,

"What was that?" Noah looked back.

He was hearing the same buzzing sound, he had thought he imagined. It was getting so loud that even the others started to take notice.

*VRRRRR*

"It's the relic. The noise is coming from the relic" Noah pointed out.

The buzzing noise was coming from the Orion relic, almost as if it was reacting to the storm.

"Told you it was making weird noises" said Eugene, recalling the times he was told of being paranoid of the supernatural.

Together they moved the debris blocking its path and pulled it out of the wall.

Now that Eugene thought about it, every time he had heard the buzzing noise, Ann was in close proximity to the relic or at the most beside the carriage. It wasn't his hallucination but the relic unconsciously reacting to her presence.

However, Eugene's moment of triumph was cut short when the relic began to shake violently.

*VRRRRRRR*

All of a sudden, it disintegrated into a million pieces and flew towards the center of the square like a swarm of bees.

"Whoa!" Eugene exclaimed, dodging the pieces that flew over his head.

The pieces of the relic surrounded the tornado, swirling along in the same direction as the wind until it completely covered its surface.

"The fire. It's absorbing the fire!" Shouted a spectator.

In an unexpected twist, the reddish metal pieces from the relic steadily absorbed the fire diminishing its intensity.

As the wind died down, more and more people began to peek their heads out of their shelters.

"Look over there!"

"Someone's walking into the fire! How is he not on fire?"

"That's a royal guard!"

"Is he insane?!"

A group of people commented, watching a shadow walk past the firewall and into the vortex.

Soon the fire was reduced to a thin veil.

*clink* *clink*

Small pieces of dark metal rained from the sky, having absorbed mana to fit their full capacity. It was not only the fire but also the storm was clearing, restoring the beautiful night sky.

*clink* *clink*

The light in Ann's eyes flickered. Her body was drained of power.

When the last piece of dark metal fell to the ground, the transparent layer of fire shielding her was extinguished.

Like a puppet whose strings were cut, Ann fell from the sky.

"An Angel!" Voiced a child to her mother, enarmed by the beautiful sight.

Like a rainbow at the end of the storm. Under the clear moonlight, she appeared like an angel falling from the heavens.

Before Ann could hit the ground a pair of arms caught her in a tight embrace.

"Hmmm..." Ann furrowed her brows.

She felt a cold sensation in her palm. Blood dripped from where she had cut her hand in order to stay awake.

"You always have me chasing after you..." Spoke a deep virile voice Angelica had never heard before.

Despite the fact that she was exhausted, she felt safe from the familiar warmth.

Who was it?

Was it Maria? Was it Rosaline? Lorenz? Or...

As the dust settled down, Angelica's eyelids fluttered open.

Through her blurry vision, she was able to see the face of the person holding her.

"!"

Dark hair like the night sky, ruby-red eyes, and a face that was chiseled by the finest craftsmen.

Angelica was instantly able to recognize who it was.

"Wife"

It was the man haunting her dreams.

His name stuck to the tip of her tongue, she prayed for years not to say.

"E-Ed... Ed... Edward?" Angelica called out his name one last time before her eyes were forced close.











Thousands of miles away in the holy Vatican City, Andre Halifax, the Captain of the Holy Knights Templar navigated through the long empty corridors. The pressure was blatantly visible in his black eyes, his neatly trimmed green hair waved as strode forward.

He stopped in front of a large white door and hesitated for a second before knocking on the door.

*kerchack*

Soon the door opened to reveal a vast garden filled with flowers of various kinds as distant as the eyes could meet. Standing under a gazebo located at the center of the garden was a beautiful man dressed in a long priest outfit.

*coo* *coo*

The doves under the gazebo fluttered their wings to shake off the water particles and pecked on the rice crumbs the man was feeding to them.

"Your Holiness"

Sir Andre kneeled on the ground and bowed his head. He had just returned to the church after receiving the news they were waiting for from the Knights undercover in Parthellam city.

"We found her" He paused unable to say the words,

"But..."

Hearing him stutter, the man's hand stopped and asked in a melodious voice,

"But?"

"The Archduke got to her first. Their army seized control of the city and the outskirts"

"..."

*COO* *COO*

At that moment, the doves shrieked and flew away in all directions prompting Sir Andre to raise his head.

The man was looking down on Sir Andre with a sweet yet sinister smile that sent a chill down his spine.

"Dare not fret Andre" The man spoke as he stepped down the gazebo.

His long pink-blonde hair and silver eyes coupled with his slender figure made it seem as if the great god Theodore himself had graced the land with his presence.

"Let me tell you a secret" He whispered and placed his hand on Sir Andre's head.

"The future is yet to be forged"

A bright silver light emitted from his hands, clouding over Sir Andre's head.

Once the light faded, Sir Andre got up on his feet and walked out the door without saying a word.

Watching Sir Andre leave, the man said with a cold smile,

"The game... has just begun"

****************************



Aaaaaaaaad, this marks the end of Part 2 of 'Surviving As A Cannon Fodder'

A never-back-down cannon fodder and an equally stubborn husband, it's the perfect combo of chaos.

With new foes and obstacles on the way to freedom., catch Angelica in her exciting adventures in the upcoming chapters.

I'll be back with part 3 after a small hiatus.

See you after a short goodbye...

- Akane.