211: The Healer's Light, Part Eighteen

The Healer's Light, Part Eighteen

Aphria was left looking at a woman who was the spitting image of her. There were only a couple of key distinctions. 

The woman at the center of this vast, lonely room, filled with nothing but the corpses of old monsters that looked like they'd been plucked out of a child's nightmares, had one horn on her head. Her skin was grey like it was on the way to becoming the same as the other corrupted angels but hadn't quite gotten there yet. And, one of the wings on her back was white, while the other was black. 

Aphria's lips parted. Her mouth remained open, but no words came out. 

[Who is that?] Neve wondered. [Her sister? Her mom? I mean... It looks a lot like her. Way too much, actually.] 

The quest had been completed. A barrier appeared behind Neve, preventing her from walking out of the room. The boss marker on the minimap pointed right at this one last angel. 

This was definitely going to break out into a fight. Neve just wondered when exactly that would happen. 

Erin must have been wondering the same as she snuck a glance at Aphria from the side and then locked eyes with Neve. 

The healer inhaled sharply, gesturing at the half-corrupted angel. 

[... I guess all we can do is walk over to it.] 

"Be ready." 

Erin nodded, silently following Neve as the mage approached the woman. Selene followed behind them, limping along, wounded as she was. 

Aphria remained where she was, still stunned. 

The dead monsters surrounding the lady kneeling at the center of the room looked far scarier than anything Neve had faced. Eldritch abominations that would put most horror movie creatures to shame, all dead, presumably killed by this one, singular angel. 

Temporarily, Neve brought out her Bloodstained Rags. 

[This might come down to some Speech check I need to pass. Just to be safe, I should wear this for now.] 

Wrapped in that different outfit, Neve walked over to the boss of this Floor. 

The angel's head, previously so low that her hair had been covering her face, was lifted up. 

Like the rest of her body, it was divided. One eye was blank, the other was golden. 

The instant that Neve drew close, both of them fell on her. 

The angel did not say anything. 

She did not seem like she cared much for conversation, though she did look curious. 

Instead, she stood up straight and a pair of swords as bright and golden as Neve's own materialized in her hands. 

[Wait,] Neve thought, her eyes widening. [What?] 

Erin gently pulled Neve back, getting between her and the angel, and whispering:

"I don't think she's too interested in a conversation. You're probably better off getting out of that outfit." 

"R-Right." 

Neve brought her Angel Set out once again, as a diplomatic approach was now clearly not an option. 

Selene took to the air. 

Erin slithered up slowly. 

And, finally, the angel charged at them as her level appeared over her head. 

Level 86

MP: 500/500

As quickly as she could, Neve cast all three of the spells that formed part of her normal setup. Just after she finished casting {Bolstering Presence} on Erin, the lamia met the angel in the middle of the room. 

MP: 1175/1300

Their exchange was so fast that Neve could barely glimpse it, but she caught sight of the moment that mattered. Erin's right hand was coated in flames as she went for {Dragon's Divine Swipe}. 

The angel closed the gap, getting into Erin's space. It was a trick Erin herself had taught Neve, so she was obviously aware of it. So, she responded by trying to wrap her body around the angel, using this closed distance. 

The angel's response, however, was to fly up, front-flip over Erin, and land behind her. 

Neve thought that was all she'd done, but a second passed and it became clear it wasn't when a large amount of blood spurted out from a cut in Erin's neck. 

The lamia fell forward and disappeared. 

The angel's eyes fell on Neve. 

The healer was almost too stunned to move. 

Almost. 

Quickly, she resummoned Erin. 

MP: 875/1300

Because the lamia had fallen, Neve had to cast both {Encourage} and {Bolstering Presence} on her a second time. 

MP: 825/1300

Erin didn't charge forward anywhere near as excitedly as she had a moment ago. 

Neither did the angel, actually. Instead, she walked forward calmly, with the kind of demeanor that subtly hinted at the trio in front of her that, maybe, they were better off just lining up and throwing themselves at the tips of her blades to make this faster. 

Erin was hesitant to do anything, now, after having been beaten so easily. Neve felt many different variables dancing in her mind, trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together to form a decent plan, but struggling. 

Selene, however, was likely incapable of fear. So, she simply pulled an arrow back from the air and shot it at the angel. 

The arrow flew at the angel as quickly as a bullet, but the boss still dodged it, leaning out of the way. Noticing Selene now, the angel took to the air as well. 

Instantly, Selene dropped any intentions she had of being on the offensive and simply flew away, perhaps knowing that if she slowed down for even a second, she was screwed. 

Erin took that moment to say: 

"Neve, I'm not sure what other tricks you have up your sleeves that I haven't seen, but don't pull any punches. I can already tell that is the toughest enemy I've ever faced. I assume the same applies to you." 

Having said that, Erin turned away and slithered toward the angels, who were flying in circles, trying to follow them. 

Neve heard that and nodded to herself. 

Her first move was to cast {Rorvan's Spirit} on herself to boost her mana regeneration. Thanks to the Ring of the Prolific Mage, Neve's mana regeneration was already at +50%. With {Rorvan's Spirit} activated and after inflicting a quick cut on herself, Neve brought that regeneration up to 100%. 

MP: 775/1300 (+100% regen)

Next, she looked up. 

Selene was trying her absolute hardest to fly away, but the angel was right on her tail, seemingly without trying too hard. 

That last part was important, Neve felt.  0

[She's not trying her hardest. It's scary because she's already kicking our asses without even putting in much effort, but it shows something. This boss has a personality. Maybe I can abuse that somehow, like with Lia.] 

The angel reached Selene. 

Neve cast {Flash Shielding}, trying to protect the archer. 

MP: 765/1300 (+100% regen)

At the same time, Erin used {Dragon's Divine Breath} from below. 

The angel's swords bounced off Neve's shield, just before a wall of flames separated her from her target. 

Neve watched as the gears turned in her mind. The angel looked at Selene, who flew away a safe distance and prepared to fire more arrows, then at Erin, and finally, her eyes fell on Neve. 

The calculating nature of that gaze sent chills down Neve's spine. She felt like she was being dissected by those eyes. 

The angel inhaled sharply. Neve wrapped her hands around her weapons tightly, ready to react to whatever her next move would be. 

The angel flew straight at her. 

Neve had guessed this would happen and cast {Flash Shielding} on herself the instant the angel flinched. 

The angel's swords bounced off the barrier she'd made. Any later, and Neve knew she would have been skewered. 

The angel did not stop there, however. She jumped up, looking to kick Neve from above. The shield Neve had just made was still active, and a barrier stopped the angel. 

But the boss used that same barrier as a boost, kicking it and launching herself off the shield, straight at Selene. 

This time, she was too quick for either Neve or Selene to react to. 

The angel's swords went straight through Selene's body, bisecting her. 

[Shit!] 

Before the charmed enemy's body had even hit the ground, the angel kicked the ceiling and used the momentum to launch herself back at Neve. 

Erin was there to stop her this time, though. 

The lamia used {Freezing Gaze}. The angel was paralyzed in midair, falling to the ground like a rock. 

Both Neve and Erin knew just how valuable an opportunity this was. 

The lamia charged straight at her while Neve fired off three {Fireballs} back to back. 

Only two of her {Fireballs} landed, and Erin didn't get to hit the angel at all before her paralysis wore off and the enemy used her wings to get herself out of danger. 

MP: 785/1300 (+110% regen)

The boss's body was covered in flames. A half-pained look appeared on her face. 

She looked shocked. Like she hadn't been wounded in ages. 

"Don't let up!" Erin cried out and Neve understood why. They'd created a small amount of pressure. They had to use it. 

Additionally, however, the angel's reaction confirmed something to Neve. 

[All of my max HP damage went through! That's why she reacted like that!] 

This meant that, in this one moment, Neve had managed to do 40% of the boss's HP in damage. 

3 more {Fireballs} would outright kill her. 

Erin engaged the angel. Instinctively, Neve understood that the lamia wasn't so much trying to win the fight herself, but rather, wanted to create an opening for Neve to land more {Fireballs}. 

That plan went out the window immediately, however, as the boss turned her eyes toward Neve. 

Her eyes glinted purple. 

A {Silence} rune appeared beneath Neve's feet. 

Erin disappeared. 

Status Effect Gained!

Silenced

{Cannot cast Spells for 15 seconds}

The angel flew straight at Neve. 

The healer reacted as quickly as she could. 

The instant the angel had tried to make her way over to Neve, the world went quiet and all Neve could hear was her own heartbeat. It was as though {The Undying Coward} had kicked in, even though Neve was still healthy because she knew one hit from this lady would be enough to kill her. 

The boss slashed at the spot where Neve had just been, amused when she realized Neve had dodged it. 

Something caught her attention, though. 

Neve hadn't realized it herself, but she'd been backing up so much that she ended up right in front of Aphria. 

Which meant that now, the boss was left staring back at that angel. 

The boss stopped. 

"..." Neve breathed in and out, calming her nerves as she watched this moment unfold. In her mind, she was counting the seconds until her {Silence} would be lifted. 

The boss took a step toward Aphria. Aphria did not back away. Instead, one of the boss's swords faded away and both angels lifted a hand, tentatively reaching out to each other. 

The instant their hands touched, both angels froze. 

Aphria fell to her knees, staring down at the floor. Her hair fell over her head, covering her face. 

The boss took a step back. 

She turned toward Neve. 

A smile then appeared on her half-corrupted face. 

Suddenly, a few words escaped that boss's curling lips. 

"Come on..." She said quietly. "Let's dance, Sunset." 

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