214: The Healer's Light, Part Twenty-One

The Healer's Light, Part Twenty-One

Neve fell to her knees. 

She took a few deep breaths. Physically she wasn't tired. {Relentless} made sure she wouldn't be. Mentally, however, she was exhausted. 

[Is it...?] 

"I tried, you know?" 

A voice suddenly spoke up. 

Neve looked to her left. 

Aphria was, of course, still alive, even though Neve had gained the EXP from the fight already. 

"I did everything in my power to save this world." 

"I believe you," Neve said. The healer went to sit by Aphria's side, not minding the way her outfit absorbed Aphria's blood. 

"From..." She coughed. "From the first fight to the last, I gave everything I had for my people. And, I never asked for anything in return, other than their safety. Even now, I only fought you because I hoped that if I won, the people who brought the Unity Trials to us would smile upon me, and save this city. Instead... Well..." 

She looked at Neve with a warm smile. 

"You were better." 

With a smile of her own, Neve shook her head. 

"Don't be fooled. All I am is... a little bit clever, every now and then." 

"Hehehe..." Aphria turned her face up to the ceiling. "Give yourself some credit. You did what countless abominations could not. You... You're incredible in your own right." 

Neve shook her head as she sat there. 

Her eyes fell on the bodies that filled the rest of the room. 

Countless monsters. Countless corpses. If every scar on Aphria's body represented one enemy she'd faced, then... 

"I guess I-" Neve stopped. "Oh... You're gone." 

Aphria had passed before Neve could thank her for that compliment. 

Admittedly, it did hurt a little to see that. Aphria looked like a wonderful individual. Neve wished she could have gotten to know her a little bit better. 

As she sat in that pool of blood, Neve spoke up in her mind. 

[What was the point of all this?] 

"Hm? What do you mean?" Tamira asked. 

Neve spoke aloud since there was no point in staying quiet. 

Especially since that last thrust from Aphria had broken the camera on Neve's chest. 

"Why bother showing me these worlds? Getting me attached to these people if you're just going to kill them off anyway? I mean, I get it," Neve added, "you're a sadist. But, is there any reason at all?" 

Tamira flew in circles in the air, grinning. 

"Well... For all the other Floors, I don't know. Their purposes seem to have slipped my mind! But, for this one... Well, the purpose is up to you to decide." 

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" 

"Hehehe... Neve," Tamira said. "Look at the reward you got for the Floor Quest." 

[Huh?] Neve thought, before realizing something. [Oh, right. I'd gotten a spell... I was so shocked by the fact that Aphria was the boss, I hadn't even remembered that.] 

She went through her spells and found the one she'd been given. 

Spell: Divine Intervention - 1000 MP

{Legendary}

{Class Req: Priest/Priestess} 

{Once per day, resurrect an individual who died in the last 24 hours. The person will be brought back to life with full HP, but will not be given back any items that were taken off their body before the resurrection. The user can cast this spell again once midnight arrives.} 

Neve's eyes widened the instant her eyes fell on the word "resurrect", but, disappointment flooded her body when she read "in the last 24 hours". 

Shaking her head, she looked over at Aphria. 

"Just this once, I will leave the decision in your hands," Tamira told her. "Do you believe Aphria's world deserves a second chance? Or, do you think they will repeat the same sins as before?" 

"What sins are you talking about?" Neve asked. 

"You still don't get it? Neve," Tamira flew closer. "Why do you think I would give this world a fail state? Simple. They're called the UNITY TRIALS!!! And yet, these people had Aphria fight for them day, after day, after day! It didn't matter to them whether she was tired or hurt, whether she was awake or asleep, whether she'd just been fighting for a whole day or not. They all, every single citizen in this world, sat back and let her fight for them. That's not an exaggeration, Neve." 

Tamira flew even closer, as though she wanted to make sure she understood. 

"No one else fought. As their people began to be corrupted, as more enemies appeared, as I tried over and over again to push them to act, they all said the same thing. 'Let Aphria do all the work'. And they all just sat there, watching her take on horrible monsters all on her own!" 

Neve glared at her. 

"So you judged this world as a failure because they were lazy!?" 

"No. I judged this world as a failure because Aphria was the only one sacrificing her own body to fight for it. They're called the Unity Trials and yet, there was no unity here, Neve. Buuuut..." 

She flew over Aphria's corpse. 

"That is why I'm leaving this decision to you. Maybe there's something I'm missing. Maybe my existence prevents me from seeing something here," Tamira said. "So, I will leave it in your hands. Use {Divine Intervention} on Aphria and I will resurrect every citizen in this world. But, I will also resume the Unity Trials here," Tamira told Neve. "What happens from there is up to them. If they make Aphria do all of the fighting again, they'll end up in exactly the same position. But, if they put their own bodies on the line, if they join her in the fight, then... Maybe things will be different. You decide." 

"..."

Neve stopped to think about it. 

If it hadn't been for one important part of what Tamira just said, the decision would have been simple. Neve would have just resurrected Aphria and walked out of the portal that appeared on the other side of the room. 

But, as she said, the Unity Trials would resume here. 

That was enough to make Neve pause. 

There were too many things to consider. What would the people of this world want? What would Aphria want? And, as Tamira asked, could these people change? 

But that last question ultimately made the decision as easy as it would have been initially. mainly, because if Neve's own, personal plan was to work, she had to believe that the answer to that question was "yes". 

So, Neve waited for her mana to come back. 

And, once it did, she aimed her staff at Aphria lazily and resurrected her. 

Tamira smiled, before disappearing. 

Aphria's body repaired itself. 

Her corruption did not, however. She still had one black wing and one white one, along with one long, curving black horn on her head.  1

But, she had her consciousness. 

"Neve?" 

"Hey," the healer greeted her. "It's, uh... Nice seeing you again." 

The angel flapped her wings and pushed herself into the air, arriving at a standing position. 

She grabbed Neve by the shoulders. 

"H-How...?" 

"I'm a healer," Neve replied. "It's what I do. Anyway," she put her sword away and waved a hand in the air, "your people are getting a second chance. Congrats." 

"What?" 

Sounds began to ring out from outside this room. 

Both Neve and Aphria walked out the door. 

The city itself began to transform. 

It reconstructed itself before Neve's eyes. The game-like structure morphed into something more livable, and the bodies on the ground began to resurrect. 

Unlike Aphria, however, they did have their corruption erased. 

Aphria watched it happen with a glint in her eye. A tear fell and Neve felt quite happy for her. 

"I should warn you, though," Neve said. "The condition for the city's resurrection is that you don't fight anymore." 

"Huh?" 

Aphria turned toward Neve. 

"You can't be their hero anymore," Neve shook her head. "The monsters will return. And, these people will have to defend themselves. You have to stop doing everything for them, or, you'll all end up right back where you started." 

It was easy to see that Aphria was conflicted about what she just heard. 

But, as more angels were resurrected, as more people began to speak outside the room, asking what had happened and why they were in the positions that they were, Aphria set her doubts aside. 

Instead, she turned toward Neve, leaned down, and planted a kiss on her lips. 

Neve blinked as Aphria pulled away. 

"Thank you," Aphria told her. "Come on, let's tell them what happened!" 

She tried to pull Neve out of the room, but a barrier prevented that from happening. 

[Shit.] 

"Your time in the Final Challenge has come to an end, Neve," Tamira told her. "Say your goodbyes and then walk through the portal. We have much to discuss." 

[Oh, you bet we do,] Neve thought. 

The moment had finally arrived. 

But, before that...

Neve asked for Aphria to come back in the room. 

Aphria did so. 

And Neve stood up on the tips of her toes, giving the much taller lady a kiss on the cheek. 

"Good luck," she said. "I wish I could stay for a little while longer, but... Nah, never mind. Go celebrate for me, will ya?" 

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