Chapter 22 – Demonic Mana

 The walk back to base was silent. The only thing to break it was Matthew's light sobbing on occasion. No one knew what to say.

 Matthew went straight to his room To shower and clean off all the blood he bathed in. The Blue Moon was getting far making the already dark surroundings darker still. Vanessa and the others went to the crystal exchange. There was an expert in dismantling beasts there that separated the crystal, the meat, the bones and all other yields one could gather from the hunted creatures.

 The dismantler scolded the group about the state the Roth carcass was in. The leather was completely useless. While he started his work, the 3 adventurers sat down on a bench near the store.

 "What was that?" Michael broke the silence.

 "He's not well. He went through a lot recently." Vanessa justified Matthew's behavior.

 "That was Demonic Mana, Ness." Paula said while petting Lumi. "It made all the spirits nearby afraid. Where the hell did he get that?"

 "He was in Saint Helen's Inferno." Vanessa explained. Saint Helen's Inferno was how the media was calling the incident of the hospital being dragged into Hell.

 "He was one of the survivors?" Michael asked out of surprise.

 "Yes." Vanessa replied. "I didn't ask much, but the reports say they were in there for 7 hours. They were attacked by a horde of demons. The ones who survived were tortured until rescue came."

 "Poor kid." Paula sympathized.

 "He fought in there… Gained a lot of XP."

 "XP with Demonic Mana then?" Michael clarified.

 "Most likely. He showed us his stats. There wasn't an Impiomancer nor a Warlock class there. The only explanation for the Demonic Mana has to be exposure in hell." Paula said.

 "I had no idea he was that bad. He seemed fine." Vanessa lamented.

 "We need to find a priest and purify his Mana." Paula pointed out.

 "It's already night on Earth. I'll take him to one in the morning. You 2 can stay and hunt while we get him purified."

 "I want to go with you." Michael said.

 "He will not hurt me, Mike. He's a good kid. He just went through a lot."

 "You don't know what Demonic Mana can do." Michael admonished Vanessa with a serious look.

 Paula averted her eyes while embracing herself. She was clearly scared. She had history with Demonic Mana and Vanessa knew it.

 "Ok, we'll take him." Vanessa conceded. "Paula is coming too?"

 "No…" She trembled. "I think I'll stay away until he gets healed."

 "Ok…" Vanessa said not wanting to bring back bad memories.