Beast Evolution Forge

Chapter 20 Corrupted Mana Pt. 2

"Die?" You want me to die?

"Yes. You'll need to start over." If I remove the corrupted mana from your body, you will revert to a human state and be able to level up.

He sat down, tired after fixing his core. He wanted to sleep but had to finish this first.

"That's fine. If it means I can progress, it's worth it."

She looked determined, and he was drawn to her eyes.

"Sit down. Face the wall."

"Okay."

She sat eagerly, but her expression changed when Vell touched her. It tickled, but she liked it. As her back warmed, she felt strange.

"My mana is inside you. Just relax. I'll start extracting the corrupted mana."

Got it.

His hands touched her skin, firm but gentle. His fingers traced her spine, sending shivers through her. He could sense the corrupted mana within her.

"This might hurt," he warned. "The corrupted mana has been part of you for a long time. Removing it will be hard."

She nodded and closed her eyes, ready for the pain. She felt pressure at the base of her spine, a deep, radiating throb. Vell's hands seemed to be connected to her core, his mana seeking the darkness.

He started to pull the corrupted mana out, using his fingers like tools to remove it from her essence. Yenna gritted her teeth and trembled as the pain grew. It felt like her insides were being turned inside out; the corrupted mana was fighting to stay.

Vell's face was serious as he poured more of his mana into her. The corrupted mana resisted, like a trapped animal. He was determined.

The pain was too much, and Yenna's vision blurred. She wanted to scream, but she bit her tongue to stop herself. This was her chance to change and break free. She wouldn't let the pain win.

As the last of the corrupted mana was drawn out, Yenna felt a sudden release. She fell forward, out of breath and sweating.

Vell took his hands away, shaking from the effort. He was tired but kept going. The hardest part is done, but there's still work to do.

"How do you feel?" he whispered.

Yenna took a moment to catch her breath. "Empty," she said, her voice shaking. "But also free. I can breathe for the first time in years."

Vell nodded and smiled. "That's a start. We need to rebuild you. With help, you can rise again."

Yenna looked at Vell, her eyes full of gratitude and fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of starting over. But there was also hope.

"...Are you sure we should be sleeping here?"

"What do you mean?"

"This forest is a very dangerous place, mainly because it's unpredictable which monsters show up. So people always try to avoid it because the monsters here are unique."

He looked at her with a blank expression before a smile slowly crept up on his face.

"So what you are saying is that this place is the best place for us to train?"

"...Please no..."

"Hehe, no need to worry. We might just die, no big deal."

"...yeah....Yeah, no big deal at all."

They set to work gathering wood for a fire and setting up a makeshift shelter using branches and leaves. As they worked, Yenna couldn't help but feel a sense of camaraderie with Vell. Despite his rough exterior, he was proving to be a reliable companion.

Once the camp was set up, they sat by the fire, the flames casting flickering shadows on their faces. Yenna stared into the fire, her thoughts drifting to her former teammates and the betrayal she had suffered.

"How did you deal with it?" she asked suddenly, her voice breaking the silence. "The betrayal, I mean."

"Did I tell you about that?"

His eyes looked empty as he asked, which scared her a little.

"Y-Yeah, I am sorry, I should have asked that."

He was quiet for a moment, his gaze fixed on the flames.

"....I didn't, not at first," he admitted. "I let it eat at me, let it fuel my anger. But eventually, I realized that holding onto that anger was only hurting me."

He looked at Yenna, his eyes reflecting the firelight. "You can't change the past, but you can control how it affects you. You can let it destroy you, or you can use it to make yourself stronger."

Yenna absorbed his words, letting them sink in. "I want to be stronger," she said finally. "I want to show them that they can't break me."

Vell nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "Then that's where we'll start. Tomorrow, you'll begin your training."

"Right!"

They ate their fruits and were getting ready to head to sleep until something caught Vell's eye, a shadowy figure up in the trees just watching them.

'Who the fuck is that?'