Author's Note: This chapter is a little short but it was a good cut-off point for this portion of the story. I hope you enjoy it regardless!

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Veloth had not seen the abilities Tara had used. She had slashed the air and charged at him. Veloth was curious about the slash, and soon felt its invisible impact as it warped around him. Veloth didn’t know what it was meant to do, but he did not notice any changes in his condition.

He had retaliated with his own spell and deflection but another peculiar thing had happened. The ice spear meant to incapacitate Tara had lost all its energy, just as his spells had done against the room earlier.

[So this is light mana. That must mean the mana polluting my mana-well is dark mana, which in turn must mean my original mana is a normal type of mana. Light mana and dark mana seem to directly counter each other.] Veloth’s brows furrowed in thought. [It seems my spells are still made partially of my original mana, although a majority of the spell is made up of the dark mana.]

“Stop this nonsense Human Tara, I do not wish to fight”

“Truly, what ARE you, beast?”

“I said so before, and I will say it again: My. Name. Is. Veloth. Tell you what, almighty hero, you are a hero, yes? We can leave this room together.”

“So you can back-stab me while my guard is down? I think not, beast Veloth.”

“Don’t be so damn stubborn, woman!”

“My stubbornness is what keeps me alive!”

“So damn cliché! Fuck it!” Veloth was now and truly in a rage. He looked within himself and pulled at the darkness within his mana well. This stuff was in the way, he would make a new spot for it. Drawing the darkness into a massive orb, he removed all the darkness from within his mana well and proceeded to use his primary mana to encase the orb, separated from his well.

“Hah! To think such a simple solution could work! NYAHAHAHAA!” Laughed Veloth in a manner that would make you ponder his sanity. Now unfettered from the restraints of the dark mana, he pulled harshly at his own mana and willed it to form.

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During their small argument, somewhere along the line, Veloth had snapped. Blue energies swirled amidst his already sparking eyes, his fur seemed to absorb the dark mana it was previously spewing forth. A beautiful snow-white fur took the place of the menacing void-black, and seemed to emit a greater cold and sense of danger.

Shivers ran down Tara’s spine and her skin pricked in goosebumps. This was not an enemy she should have fought. She needed all her mobility for what she felt coming, and grasped the small ice spear that had impaled her thigh early. With brief gasp of visible breath only seen on the coldest of days, she pulled the spear out and tossed it aside.

Before Veloth, who now was laughing madly, a sparking, crackling ball of a purplish energy about five feet in diameter formed. That would be difficult to dodge. Tara poured massive amounts of light mana into her legs. The wound on her thigh began to regenerate at an amazing rate, but this mana was not to heal. She would need to be very fast to avoid such an attack at this range.

“Die cliché chuunibyou!” Veloth roared and sent the energy ball forward at an astounding speed. Tara let the mana burst from her legs as she drove to her right to narrowly escape the ball of energy that singed her left arm’s leather bracer. The wall directly behind where she had been a heartbeat before was not blown apart, nor was it melted. It was completely disintegrated in a perfect hole matching the projectile.

Her sword held at the ready and another burst of energy ready to be released from her legs, as Tara began her counterattack, Veloth suddenly bolted for the new opening at an incredible speed that even she would have difficulty keeping up with. The last words Tara heard of Veloth that day surprised and confused her even further.

“Finally free! I’ll be back for you, gaudy demon asshole!”

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