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What came out of Benladann's hands as "magic" was nothing normal!

This thing was… not an element of magic!

So why?

Why did she conjure this thing when she tried to use magic?

Wasn't she immune to this? How did it manage to sneak in?

Or… is it as I fear?

Benladann doesn't lack magic.

The mold can't transfer through worlds after all…

It all makes sense now.

The mold is not the same as her previous life.

This is… her magic.

The mold is her magic affinity, and her Mana Core is… where it is concentrated.

Of course… The only magic she possesses is the Mold itself…

I check her status and the Mold Skill is still suppressed.

But she can still conjure it as magic, this only means that what is suppressed is the mold from taking over her body?

But because this is actually magic, she can more or less… create it by using Mana.

And we had already seen how terrifyingly powerful the Mold is… Well, not so much against me!

But for anything else?

It can parasitize and enhance its zombies, give super regeneration, speed, abilities of all kinds, and it is vicious and near-immortal.

It could be said that its kryptonite is my own blood.

Benladann begins to tremble as she glares at the mass of ooze that falls over the ground with a loud splash.

Splash!

It begins to move around, glaring at Benladann and trying to approach her.

I can see in her eyes that she is not okay.

The light on them is gone, and her entire body is as stiff as a rock.

"Ah… Hahh… No…! Noo…! Get away from meee!" she cried, as she began to run towards my chest.

This damn thing is her magic… She won't be able to run away from it if she wants to grow stronger.

She has to confront it and tame it, and use it for her own power.

But… she seems too mentally affected by it.

What can I do to comfort her? Telling her to bear with it now will be way too bad.

"Benladann, calm yourself. Remember, we are immune to it," I said, as I extended one of my claws towards the small ooze moving towards me. It was gross, but it quickly latched into my claw, it tried to parasitize me, but it never worked.

"See? It can't harm us, even if it is trying to do that," I said.

"Ah… No… I don't want to… see that… No… Please…!" she cried, moving away as tears began to flow out of her eyes.

Okay then…

I quickly eat the mold, munch it, and swallow it, and it's gone.

"It's gone. I ate it, relax," I said.

"Y-You ate it?!" she asked.

"I ate most of the Molded Monsters… They are a nice snack," I said, trying to give her a bit of confidence that they are not bad for her anymore, as she is immune after drinking my blood.

"So you… ate it all…" she muttered.

"Yeah, that's how they're all gone. They're all gone inside my belly. Long ago already. Completely digested and down the toilet," I said.

"That's…" muttered Benladann. It seems that she had never thought that someone capable of eating it would exist.

"Can you trust me a little bit?" I asked her, glaring at her eyes.

Benladann slowly moved her face upwards, as tears began to flow out of her eyes again.

"Sniff… Sniff… Drake…" she muttered, walking towards me again as she hugged my chest… and started to cry again.

Yuki quickly came from outside while bringing a sack of fruit.

"Kyuu?!" she asked.

"Come here too, help me comfort the girl, will you?" I asked.

"KYU!"

Yuki immediately jumped towards us, using her fluffy fur to caress Benladann.

I gently caressed her head with my paw and caressed gently touched her with my snout.

"Calm down… It is okay. Everything is okay now… I won't force you to use it… We can get through it together…"

I tried to comfort her and to give her words which she could rely on, but she continued to cry.

Hahh… This breaks my heart.

"Will you… stay at my side… Drake? Sniff…" she asked out of nowhere, glaring at my eyes, snout was coming out of her nostrils as the tears covered her entire face.

"Of course… I… I already told you I would, calm down now, Benladann. It wasn't anything too much. I understand how you feel about that thing but… calm down," I said.

Benladann suddenly began to cleanse her face as she smiled weakly at me.

"Okay… I will be strong… Just… Just as you said… You said I was strong…" she said.

"Yes, you're strong, Benladann…" I said, caressing her a bit more.

Sigh…

"Kyu! Kyu!" Yuki tried to cheer up Benladann.

"Yuki says that she is also your friend, so rely on her too," I said.

"Oh… Yuki… Sure!" said Benladann, hugging Yuki, who was way warmer and softer than me.

After the whole thing ended, we decided to talk things out a bit, I tried to be as meticulous as possible to not trigger anything bad within her memories.

"Benladann… I believe that you do have a magic affinity," I said.

"Aside from… the mold?" she asked, her eyes filled with hope.

"No… The mold is your magic affinity," I said.

"Eh?"

Silence took hold of the cave again.

"It all made sense when I figured it out. Such a creature couldn't possibly come to this world, only our souls came here, and a physical entity as the mold couldn't possibly latch to you and become a Unique Skill… no, this Unique Skill was made differently. It was created by copying this… but its nature by itself is different than the original from your world. This thing is a purely magic-based element, a new element," I said.

"A new… element?" asked Benladann, her eyes shoed confusion and a bit of frustration.

"Sadly… Yes. That's what I believe. Your Mana Core harbors this element, the Mold… won't go away," I sighed.

"It won't… go away?" she asked.

"Fear not. Now that you're immune to it, it can't take over your mind. I am not asking you to do anything… But one day, you will have to master this power and tame the mold, using it as your power. If you ever want to become stronger and survive in this harsh world…" I said.

"Is that… so?" she wondered, glaring at her hands.

I wish I could see what she is thinking about…

-----

After all of this time… After everything I have gone through, I finally thought I could get rid of this thing.

Of this… thing.

This monster…

This abyssal darkness always dwelled within me.

When the Ice Dragon, Drake, freed me from this, I truly felt… blessed.

I have been slowly healing bit by bit with his help…

Drake… is probably the most amazing person I have ever meet…

And probably the nicest after my parents… I was… trying to finally build a new life…

Perhaps with him at my side…

Everything was going so well… and then…

It is still there…

The mold…

And he said… that it won't go away?

It is… my magic.

The mold is my magic…

I will never go away from it…

I feel despair, utter despair.

For a moment, I really just wanted to die.

But Drake… keeps comforting me.

And it feels so weird, this warmth within my heart.

He makes me so comfortable and happy…

I can't help but want to… try.

If even by a little bit, I want to trust him… and tame the mold.

Even if it not for me… I want to do it for him because he has hopes for me…

If he is at my side… perhaps… I can do it.

"Okay…" I said.

"Eh?" he asked.

"Okay… Drake… I-I will try…" I said.

"Benladann… thanks for trusting me… I will teach you everything I know about mana manipulation. You won't tame it alone, we'll tame it together," he said.

His words are always so perfectly said… he always knows what to say, and always knows the right thing to say…

I often wonder if he's really real or I am just hallucinating again…

With him, I feel safe… and when I hear his voice through his telepathy, my heart beats faster.

When I am with him… I want to live.

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