A rush of energy filled Zoe, different from the mana burning her from the inside out. Along with it came a fierce determination. Before the chieftain could react, she put everything she had into {Heal Wound}.

Mana poured into the ability, flooding it until it could hold no more. But it barely held any at all — and even as her torn muscles and shattered bones began to knit and meld themselves back together, she knew she needed more. But the skill wouldn’t take more mana.

{Heal Wound is operating at maximum capacity!}

Zoe grit her teeth. The cultist chieftain tried to pull his staff back, and she let him. But at the same time, she switched to putting everything she had into {Kinetic Manipulation}.

Caught off guard by Zoe suddenly letting go, the chieftain was carried by both his own momentum and her kinetic ability, being flung backwards onto his back. He groaned.

Hauling herself up, Zoe switched once more to channeling {Heal Wound}. Feeling still hadn’t returned to her lower body, so she pushed it harder.

{Heal Wound is operating at maximum capacity!}

Fuck you. I have six hundred mana.

This time, Zoe didn’t just try to put more mana into fueling the ability — she used the mana itself to power it, using the fire eating away at her to overload her healing. The system resisted — the mana build up — and then it gave way.

{Heal wound has leveled up! Heal Wound is now level 2.}

The level up notification came at a nice time, but it wasn’t the most important thing. It seemed that the increase in level did help her use of the skill, but the main thing was that she had stuffed it with what felt like ten times the amount of mana it was supposed to take.

Pain returned to her lower body, and she rose to her feet. Turning around, she saw the cultist chieftain rise to his feet as well — and he did not look happy.

Zoe checked her mana.

{Mana: 445 / 10}

Not bad at all.

Of course, the massive excess energy was still burning her alive — but she also had healing.

Now that her legs were working again, Zoe shifted {Heal Wound} to working on the damage that the crimson fire of her rampaging mana was causing. To her surprise, it actually worked — the pain receded, her magic fighting against the flames as each undid the other’s work.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

{Your body has exceeded its limits! You body has restored itself! Your body is adapting!}

The flames burned brighter, but they only fueled her healing power. Even as the chieftain glared at her, Zoe began directing the flames to guide her {Heal Wound}, pumping them through her worst injuries.

{You have learned Mana Manipulation!}

{You have learned Purifying Flames!}

{Error: ability Purifying Flames is incompatible with race: Lesser Demon of Wrath!}

{Ability: Purifying Flames has become Cleansing Hellfire!}

The flames took on an even deeper crimson hue — and they suddenly felt pleasant, soothing even. But where her feet touched the stone below, it sizzled and cracked, turning to blackened dust.

But while this was all well and good, Zoe still had the cultist chieftain to contend with. And now that he had realized she wasn’t as helpless as she had first seemed, it appeared that he was willing to use his full strength.

He kept his distance, but he raised his staff — not to strike at her like before, but to channel his own magic. Zoe glanced around while readying herself to dodge. The rest of the cultists had formed into a circle around the two of them, but none of them moved to attack.

What were they waiting on?

Zoe didn’t have time to consider this for very long, as the chieftain summoned a ghastly, colossal pitch black hand exactly like the one that had pinned down the paladin. Rising up from the ground, it rushed towards her — blocking her view of the caster.

Just as she prepared to leap aside, the monstrous construct crumbled to ash — just in time to reveal the chieftain and the paladin tumbling across the ground in a heap. Alexander had tackled the other man, and now he pinned him down, raising his gleaming fist. “Forgot about someone, didn’t you?”

While the chieftain’s body was pinned, his arms weren’t, and he caught the blow with his own hand. “What the fuck are you all waiting for?!” He screamed, his voice suddenly shrill and hoarse. “Attack her!”

Half a dozen different magical projectiles hurtled towards Zoe, forcing her to fall to the ground to avoid them. As soon as the air was clear, she sprinted in a random direction, charging the pair of cultists right in front of her.

The two black robed figures held their ground, preparing to cast something — but Zoe cast first.

Without giving it too much thought, she tried out {Mana Manipulation}. She still had several hundred mana over her pitiful ten mana capacity, so she didn’t bother holding back.

A chaotic jet of glowing crimson energy blasted out from her outstretched hand, impacting the nearest cultist in the chest. He collapsed to the ground instantly. It looked like the attack had gone straight through, and the rear wall of the chamber was singed.

{You have gained multiple levels!}

{Mana Manipulation has leveled up! Mana Manipulation is now level 2.}

Zoe checked her mana.

{Mana: 371 / 30}

Dammit, that had taken far too much mana to be sustainable for taking down the rest of the cultists. She would either have to cut back or be more efficient. Probably both. The other cultist she had charged didn’t stay idle either, and she completed her spell with an audible pop.

A stream of blue bubbles floated out towards her. While they looked fairly innocuous, Zoe absolutely didn’t want to find out what they might actually do to her. Dropping down to her knees, she slid.

Even though the stone floor of the chamber was fairly smooth, it still hurt like hell against her naked skin. But she bore through the pain, tackling the cultist from below. As the woman collapsed to the ground, Zoe wasted no time in climbing on top of her and punching straight through her skull with a mana infused fist.