Dark Mana

"Wow! That was a very sad story, " said Amos, I feel greatly sorry for you."

"It's okay. Sometimes one must go through hell to get to heaven."

Amos took in what she said.

Suzuiya's ordeal life of sorrow started to become something she was used to. The pain was there but to her feelings, it was nonexistent. The pain hurt her no more.

The pain broke her no more.

It built her. She started to become mentally stronger because of it.

Amos looked at her, "I really want to help you."

"With what?" she inquired.

"Your life, your depressive life."

"Huh?"

"I hate listening to someone struggle. It reminds me of my past."

"How can you possibly help me with, my life?"

"I'll put an end to your sister's evil!"

"Ohh really?"

He pounded his chest, "Yes!"

"Do you not know that my sister has been storing up Mana from the powerful people she had murdered since she was little? Up to this very day, men fall for her looks, they get blinded by her looks — My looks, and when they do so, she'll wait for a precise moment to strike through their blindness and kill them. After assassinating her enemies, she then steals their mana and converts it to Black Mana."

She frowned.

Dark Mana, often referred to as Black Mana, was a very powerful type of Mana. It was created from the base of the typical positive Mana, but if that positive mana were to be injected with powerful streams of negative energy — hatred, envy and aggression, that Mana consequently becomes corrupted and alters itself to be used by an evil user, thus, Black Mana is created.

Black Mana tends to be even stronger than normal Mana. Just like a virus, it has the capability of infecting normal Mana. It feeds off of hatred and evil. The stronger the user's evil, the more powerful the Black/Dark Mana becomes!

Amos scratched his head, "Black Mana?"

"Ohh, you probably know it as 'Dark Mana'."

"Not ringing a bell."

"What bell?"

"I don't know what's Dark Mana either."

"Really? How can you not know? Are you not an Archerian?"

"Uhhh, about that..."

"Black Mana is something I thought was vastly known around the world. They literally tell stories about it."

"Can you tell me how powerful your sister is?"

"As I said, she's been storing up Dark Mana her whole life. I think she's out of your league, considering the fact that you do not possess any mana."

Amos mischievously looked at Suzuiya and smiled, "Who says I don't have any Mana?"

"Well, my magic did. When I first met you. I scanned your body for the presence of mana, but unfortunately, you had none."

Geez, it seems everyone in this world scans you to see how strong you are!

Amos got up and started stretching, "We'll see about that, which way is your sister now?"

"You can't be serious."

"I'm not making any jokes."

"My sister would beat you by just looking at you!"

He raised his shoulders and then lowered them, "Meh..."

"Then she would eat all of your internal organs, feed your bones to her dogs and take your soul as fuel for her Dark Magic!"

He gulped down the air in his mouth.

Suzuiya then Iooked away and said, "Thank you for at least thinking about defeating her. You're just a kid, maybe when you grow up you'll be stronger."

She looked around, "Amos?"

Then as she looked closely in the distance, she saw Amos walking.

"Where are you going!" She shouted.

"To defeat your sister!"

"Wait, but I haven't told you where she lives yet!"

He stopped, "Ohh, " turned around, and started walking back to Suzuiya.

She looked at him as he approached her, "You know, I was about to tell you that you were too smart for a little boy."

He scratched his head and giggled.

He then stood in front of Suzuiya, "Which way to the Witch?"

"I'm not telling you...you are too young to go witch-hunting."

"Girl, I'm not six, "

"Then you're seven."

"Suzuiya, " he brushed back his hair with his hand, "Don't be fooled by my youthful appearance."

"Whatever. I am not going to send some stupid skinny seven-year-old boy on a mission to kill a witch."

"Stupid?"

"I was joking."

"You're choking? Let me help."

"Huh? You really are stupid."

He smiled.

"Okay, I'm not going."

"Yay!"

He sat down beside Suzuiya, "I really dislike your sister by just hearing about her."

She looked down at her fingers, "Despite her evil actions, I still love my sister "

"Where can she possibly be hiding?"

"She lives in a swamp, very near Atridorne. I saw her walking there sometime. She also knows where I live."

She looked around in confusion, "Amos?"

She then saw him walking in the distance, "Amos you're walking towards your death!"

"Can't hear you!" He shouted.

Suzuiya smiled, "He really is stupid."

Highly skeptical, Amos was about to step into a bear trap that would cause him pain for the rest of his life. He also disregarded his last thing to do on his daily task — The ten-minute run!

He thought about nothing but Suzuiya. He wanted to put an end to her sadness and an end to her sister's evil.

He then arrived at the conspicuous Kingdom Of Atridorne. Despite living far away, Suzuiya could even see the Kingdom from her front door — It was that huge! As Amos said, it was like the size of an island.

Amos knew that he would not have gotten directions to the swamp from Suzuiya, so he sought help from the people of Atridorne. A few steps later, he arrived at the gateway to the Kingdom.

There were many men leaving the Kingdom on horses, so he asked one of those men for directions.

"Hey, dude, I heard there is a swamp near this Kingdom, happen to know where it–

The man on the horse ignored and bypassed him.

Amos looked at him, "So rude." He said, making it clear for the man to hear on purpose.

The men on those horses were walking to their deaths, just like Amos. Except that they weren't going to kill a single Witch, they were going to war — A war that could change everything. A war that would cost the King many great soldiers.

The soldiers mentally prepared for battle and they packed their things after their training and was headed for the battlefield.

Amos didn't know this.

Amos put his hand on his chin, "Hmmm, let me see who else I can ask."

He decided to ask a normal-looking man who wasn't wearing heavy armour while on a horse.

"Hey, guy, happen to know where is the swamp near this Kingdom?"

He stopped, "Yeah, I do."

"Thank you, buddy!"

"You just have to head straightforward and pass the Kingdom from here."

"Thank you!"

"No problem!"

Amos was then heading towards the swamp. His legs were already tired after walking to the Kingdom, but at the moment there was only one thing on his mind — Slaying that Witch!

I honestly don't care if that stupid Suzy begs for forgiveness, I'm going to make her pay for sure. But then again, Suzuiya still loves her.

He put his hand on his chin.

Okay, I'll only kill her if things get out of hand.

***

After walking for ten minutes, he had arrived at the swamp.

As soon as he had stepped into the dark swamp, he sensed a rigorously powerful presence of utmost evil. It was very dark, even though it was in the middle of the day and Amos smelt fresh blood in every angle.

It was a very peculiar environment for Amos. To him, it was the first place that wasn't glittering with prettiness. There were no living things, just skeletons and spiders. As he walked through the wet and muddy ground, he heard his name being whispered several times.

To Amos, the scary part was that they called him "Axel Woods", the name his parents had given to him after being born on Earth — His real name.

He also felt his hair being pulled and turned around several times and saw no one.

Even being stupid as Suzuiya calls him, he knew for certain, without any doubt, that the swamp was being roamed by evil spirits.

He thought about many things, but he never thought about turning back. Besides, he had already arrived at Suzy's house.

After wandering for an hour, and going in a complete circle until it was night and pitch dark, he followed a light to an ancient brick house, with the exterior decorated with skulls and vines. Moss ran in every area of the stone brick-walls.

Suzuiya was correct. Amos was stupid. Despite being warned by even the evil spirits themselves, Amos, without even a weapon at hand, started to walk up the stairs to the house — The home of an utterly evil witch!