"Even though I've healed physically, the flow of my Mana is still unstable. As a result, I could not control and direct my Negative Energy blast properly...otherwise, you would all be dead.
And it looks like I can't use any more Negative Energy attacks...without control, I could easily end up collapsing this entire space," Growled the Demon.
Seriously? That attack wasn't at full power? No, more like it wasn't at full intensity...she said she couldn't direct it, the energy must have spread out more than she wanted.
"Looks like her attack destroyed a lot of the vines. Hey, Kai...I want you to use Devour and eat up all the vines in the room, as fast as you can. I'll hold her off," Remarked Ariella, as she cracked her knuckles.
"Are you crazy? No way are you soloing her," I responded incredulously.
"No time to argue, we don't exactly have a whole lot of options here, and she isn't just going to stand around and-...," Began Ariella, before twisting her body across in alarm as, right on cue, the Demon shot towards her and drove her claws forward.
My eyes widened slightly as Ariella narrowly evaded the strike...no doubt about it, the Demon's definitely moving slower than she did before.
It must be a lingering effect from Mana Pulse...I don't know how long it'll last, but I can't afford to waste this opportunity!
"Okay, then, I'm leaving you to it!" I exclaimed, turning across and sprinting towards the nearest clump of vines, chanting to manifest Devour as the vines zipped out and shot towards me.
"Why, you-...!" Began the Demon, starting to chase after me, before crossing her arms in front of herself as Ariella drove her fist forward.
"[Double Impact]!" She exclaimed, the Demon's feet skidding back several meters across the ground as Ariella's fist slammed onto her arms, before adding as the Demon lowered her arms with an icy glare, "Come on, don't ignore me. You just might end up regretting it."
I raced away as fast as I could, chomping up the vines with the jaws of Devour...I won't be able to get all of them, some are high out of reach, but I can at least give the Demon a hell of a lot less of them to work with!
Ariella lunged at the Demon and drove her fist forward, the Demon evading it before Ariella leapt up as a vine came zipping in towards her right leg, before the Demon drove her claws forward.
Ariella swiftly reached out and grabbed the Demon's forearm, tightening her grip before swinging her head forward and slamming her forehead against the Demon's, dazing her upon impact.
As the Demon stumbled back, Ariella froze as several vines came converging in towards her from several directions, right as I zipped in and swung Devour around her, snapping its jaws repeatedly and rapidly, chomping up the vines surrounding her.
I then backed away as the Demon came charging forward, Ariella stepping in her way and raising her right foot, before chanting as the Demon began to close in...
"[Flame Stomp]!"
An intense burst of heat erupted out as she slammed her foot onto the ground, deep cracks spreading out across the stone slabs as the impact knocked the Demon slightly off-balance.
Ariella reached out and grabbed the Demon's right arm before she could regain her balance, giving it a sharp yank before driving her fist forward, slamming it against the Demon's face and knocking her back.
The Demon stumbled back as blood poured out of her nostrils, letting out a slight growl as she wiped the blood away, while I continued to eat up the vines.
I ducked as several vines whipped across at my head, evading them before engulfing them with Devour and swallowing them up, before I leapt forward as several more vines came shooting in towards me from behind, narrowly avoiding them before spinning around and sending Devour barreling out towards the vines, tearing them apart and swallowing them up.
"What's the matter? I could've sworn you were faster before. Guess you're weaker than I thought!" Called out Ariella tauntingly.
"I do not understand this...I already healed some time ago, why is my body still weakened?!" She snapped in frustration.
I think I get it, this must have something to do with the fact that Mana is a lot more vital to Monsters than it is to humans.
So, even though she's physically recovered, the damage to her Mana flow is affecting her physically.
Evidently, Monsters likely utilize Mana in their physical movements, perhaps without even realizing it, and with the flow of her Mana destabilized, she can't move at a hundred percent.
"Isn't that nice, you have a great excuse for when you lose," Smirked Ariella, provoking the Demon.
"I'll kill YOU!!!" Snapped the Demon, swinging her whip across while extending it out, sending it zipping through the air towards Ariella with immense speed.
As I continued to eat up the vines, most of the ones that were within my reach gone now, Ariella ducked as the whip closed in on her, whizzing past the top of her head before her eyes widened as it suddenly stopped mid-swing and zipped down towards her.
She leapt out of the way as fast as she could, narrowly evading it before sprinting away as it chased after her, steadily gaining on her.
As it closed in, she spun around and swung her fist across, striking the tip of the whip and knocking it away to the left, before she stiffened as the whip came to an abrupt halt before the end snapped across with a sharp crack, striking the side of her face before she could react and sending her flying across to her right, her shoulder thudding against a pillar painfully before she leapt of the way as the whip came zipping in towards her, slamming against the pillar as she just barely got out of the way.
She let out a slow exhale as she backed away and got some distance, a couple of trickles of blood running down the side of her face as the Demon retracted her whip, Ariella's right cheek starting to swell up as a trail of blood ran down the corner of her mouth, before she glanced at me as I finished eating up the vines with Devour, only the ones covering the entrance and ceiling left.
"I cannot use my Mana attacks in my current state, the Black Brambles are all but gone and I am not able to move as freely as I usually can. But that will not change anything...I am still more powerful than you humans are. Continue to struggle in vain, for it will not be long before you die," Declared the Demon, as she swung her whip across...