Everyone was in a state of shock, including Winona, who was in charge of the protective barrier, but she couldn't do anything about it. It dawned on her all of a sudden that the quantity of cannonballs that were about to hit their ship might make it impossible for her to maintain her hold on the protective barrier.
When Hrod told his wife, Winona, "Don't put too much strain on your mentala," he meant it literally. He had a great deal of concern for his wife, especially if she were to abuse the abilities she possessed. Winona had been making significantly more frequent use than usual of her mentala over the past few days.
Hrod was anxious that Winona would be in a bad position once she drained out of the body if she continued to behave in this manner. Everyone else in Paradexia was aware that mentala had steadily decreased in availability over the course of the years within their realm. And the prerogative to have the opportunity to amplify their spirit energy was only given to those who held positions of authority. However, those who were of the same kind as Hrod found it much more difficult.
Regrettably, Winona and Hrod are both members of less noble orders of creatures in the world of Paradexia. Their existence was not necessary, in contrast to that of those who were born from high-ranking creatures, particularly those who were blessed with specialized Bantao abilities. Winona's mastery of the bantao was the only reason she was allowed to survive the ordeal that she had been dealt by fate. Without it, Winona's existence would be reduced to nothing more than a number, and it is highly unlikely that it would be acknowledged in any way.
"Hrod, I am well aware of what I am doing. Bring Freida to a place where she won't be in danger." Winona responded instead.
In spite of the fact that she was getting dangerously close to her physical and mentala limits, she continued to demonstrate her bravery and her abilities.
Winona desperately attempted to halt the steady stream of cannonballs that was coming into the ship as they were being fired. She continued to overuse her mentala abilities despite the fact that she was well aware of the negative effects they would have on her body. Winona had been motivated to keep going by an unyielding desire to safeguard the wellbeing of the ship's passengers and crew members who were still on board.
The fact that the majority of them were Yajel's men was not something that bothered her in the least. Winona believes that all of the men, regardless of whether they were Yajel's men or not, deserve to live the same life that she does.
By adhering to a principle such as this, Winona was able to proceed with the fortification of the protective barrier. However, in spite of her unwavering conviction, it would appear that their adversary has no plans to change the course of action that they are taking either.
"Winona, put an end to that right now or you'll deplete all of your mentala reserves and die!" Hrod raised his voice and yelled at her.
Hrod was unable to advance much further toward Winona's side because of the powerful force that surrounded her. And this obstacle triggered Hrod's anxiety even further, making the situation even more precarious. He desperately tried to get closer to his wife, but it was nearly impossible for him to do so because of the powerful force that was surrounding Winona.
It seemed as though whenever Hrod attempted to get closer, the force would double its strength and make it difficult for him to move forward. This caused him to move backward. When he saw his wife sacrifice herself for the sake of the well-being of the many, it was an uphill battle for him.
Ever since then, he had a dream of providing Winona with a life free from the repercussions that typically befell those who were bestowed with extraordinary abilities in order to study the Bantao encantacion. However, regardless of the number of times he attempted to rescue his wife from the course of events that had been predetermined for her, it would appear that fate always had a way of drawing Winona closer.
"Stay where you are, Hrod." Winona warmed Hrod as he attempted to come closer to her once more. Hrod was thawed out by Winona as he tried to reestablish contact with her. She sucked in a deep breath and then said, "Didn't I tell you to take Freida to safety? What in the world are you still doing here?" Her tone went from being sweet to becoming much more threatening, which was something that Freida hadn't heard from her before.
Freida had always heard Winona talk in such a calm manner that nobody would dare feel ill will toward her. The only exception to this case was Yajel, who had a different situation.
To Freida's surprise, feelings of remorse and anguish began to surface on her body. The mere act of looking at Winona and Hrod made her feel completely helpless. As the cannonball fired by the Commandos made contact with the surface of the barrier, she was powerless to intervene while Winona continued to ensure that everyone remained safe.
However, above all of these things, the fact that Yajel had completely abandoned them and shut himself up in his cabin caused her to feel the most rage inside of her. She was unable to wrap her head around the fact that Yajel was able to ignore the lives of the other people on board his ship while he remained secure in his cabin. Freida hated his attitude, but since neither Hrod nor Winona could change it, she didn't see what else she could do about it either.
"Winona, please give Hrod a chance to speak to you for once. If you keep working yourself too hard, you will turn out to be exactly what he was so worried would happen."
What Freida had said had come as a shock to Winona. It took an instant for it to reach her, during which she came dangerously close to losing control of the protective barrier.
Despite Freida's best efforts to persuade her to change her mind, she did not waver in her stance. Winona was adamant about her plan to exhaust every last bit of her mentala in order to save the people who were trapped on board. Because she wanted her life to have some sort of purpose, she persisted in her actions in spite of the numerous entreaties from Hrod and Freida to give up what she was doing. She desired to be able to use her ability to cast a bantao encantacion so that it could fulfill its function.
During the time that Winona's brother Trauss was still alive, she was unable to carry out such an action. She feels guilty that she has to go through life trying to get over the fact that she couldn't save her brother from the accident that took his life. She had the intention of protecting Trauss from Yajel at the time, but she knew that if she did so, the betrothal that was sent after her and the elderly man to whom their father owed money would have her life to take instead.
Back then, she was filled with terror. She was terrified for her own well-being because she couldn't protect Trauss as she would have liked to in order to stay alive. Winona could still vividly recall the look that Trauss gave her before Yajel stabbed the blade through his chest. He had been looking her directly in the eye. It was the most agonizing moment in Winona's life, and she found it difficult to move on from it.
If there was any way for her to turn back the hands of time and return to that particular moment so that she could save Trauss one more time, she would do it. However, that wouldn't be possible under any circumstances. Even in the world of Paradexia, where such things as powers do exist, it would be impossible for there to ever be any kind of magic that could stop the passage of time.
"Winona, I beg you to please hear what I have to say." Freida pleaded. The pressure of the wind that was coming from the force that was surrounding Winona wiped the tears off of her cheeks just as her eyes started to well up with tears.
"It's best if you go now with Hrod, Freida. Your safety is not guaranteed here. Please keep away from this area and board one of the smaller boats to make your escape."
"No one is going to escape. If you choose to remain where you are and make the sacrifice necessary, then we will do the same thing." Freida protested. But Winona, however, refused to listen to her. She was steadfast in her efforts to prevent the cannonballs from passing through the barrier she had set up.
"That's an insane choice to make. I am not going to make this sacrifice in the hopes that the two of you will just squander the opportunity to be saved."
"Then what is it that makes it any different to your decision to sacrifice your life either? What about the other people in your life who are still concerned about you? Do you not wish that you could continue living so that you could be with them?"
"This is not the appropriate time for such a discussion, Freida. Get out of here while I still have enough strength to stop the cannonballs from hitting the ship."
"No! It doesn't matter what you say, we're not going anywhere."
"This will all be pointless if we're all going to die!"
"This will indeed be pointless if you will die because of saving us! Please, Winona, even if you can't do it for the rest of the people here, at the very least do it for the one person whose life would never be the same if you weren't in it.
The words that Freida had just yelled at Winona had an immediate and profound effect on her. Winona had, for some time, amnesiacally blocked out the reality of that situation. She was so focused on the plan to divert the cannonballs so that they didn't strike the ship head-on. Because she had been so preoccupied with that conviction, she had completely disregarded Hrod's affection for her.
After all, Hrod was still her husband even after everything that had happened. In front of the holy mountain of Makila, they have taken an oath to remain together through good times and bad, ill or health, plenty and famine, and so on, for as long as it takes for their mentalas to go into drought.
However, it appears that the opposite was actually taking place. Winona had forgotten all about Hrod, who had offered to help her with her ordeal. She exerted her control over him to the point where he had no choice but to turn away while she suffered alone. And despite Hrod's best efforts, she continued to drive him away, completely oblivious to the fact that what she was doing was in direct violation of the solemn promise that they had both made.
"Winona, you don't have to go through this ordeal by yourself. You don't have to endure everything on your own. Just look around you." Freida eventually added.
Winona was taken aback when, in response to Freida's request, she cast a cursory glance around the area, only to discover that the rest of the ship's crew had already begun to maneuver around them while clad in full combat attire. Even the cannons that were already installed on the ship were primed and ready for action.
Winona's face betrayed a renewed sense of optimism at that very moment. As she took in her surroundings, gratitude lit up her face, and her eyes sparkled. She had the mistaken impression that she was the only person on this ship and the only support they had against their usurpers. However, she could be mistaken in the end.
Winona's attention shifted back to Freida, and Freida quickly seized the opportunity to address her once more. "All of us are prepared to fight for our lives, Winona. You don't have to worry about keeping the protective barrier for any of us anymore."
This time, Winona gave in and agreed to remove the protective barrier that had been in the way. The cannonballs were reduced to dust by an explosive effect before the barrier vanished entirely. Almost immediately after that, it began to rain powders above the sea blue sky, but the sea breeze moved quickly enough to sweep it all away before it even had a chance to reach their scalp.
The crew and passengers on board the ship immediately began yelling and cheering in unison. Winona, on the other hand, passed out, and Hrod was able to catch her in the nick of time before she could have fallen to the ground. The rest of Yagel's crew members who were still on board were overjoyed because there had been no string of successive cannonballs that surged next. But what the rest of them didn't know was that two cannonballs were already coming very close to the ship at a rapid pace.
Everyone started worrying about the situation once more. A retaliation cannon was fired by the rest of the crew at the oncoming. A successful blow was delivered to the first one in the blink of an eye. The second retribution cannon, however, failed to hit the second forthcoming. And Winona was already at a point where she couldn't muster the strength to construct another defensive wall.
What made matters even worse was the fact that the second cannonball was heading in a direct hit to where Freida was currently standing...