198: The Healer's Light, Part Five

The Healer's Light, Part Five

"She's under your control?" Erin asked as she and Neve stared back at the archer the healer had kissed. 

"Yeah," Neve replied, raising a hand and holding it up in front of the enemy-turned-ally to see if she'd respond. The creature didn't even flinch. "She's wounded pretty badly, though, so I don't think she's gonna be standing for too long." 

"Ah, and, you cannot heal a monster, right?" 

"Yeah, I can't. I might be able to now, though, since she's not technically an enemy anymore. Uh, let's see..." 

Neve aimed her staff at the archer and leisurely cast {Great Healing Dart} three times. 

Nothing happened. 

"Mhm, even though she's on our side now, I still can't heal her." 

"Hm. Very well, what do you want to do with her, then?" 

Neve pondered that matter for a moment. 

Having a third party member like this could be incredibly valuable, but Neve did have a couple of reservations. For one, she recalled that the Charm effect's description had read: 

{Charm (on enemies): The opponent will briefly obey the user's commands. Duration is based on the gesture that is done.}

["Briefly",] Neve thought. [I mean, we've been standing here for a while, and she's still under my control. With the duration being based on what gesture I do, I imagined that it would last a long time since I kissed her. But, I can't actually see the- WHOA!] 

In the middle of her contemplation, the heart-shaped pupils faded from the archer's eyes. 

In an instant, she raised her bow. Before she could even pull an arrow back, however, Erin ran a claw through her neck. 

EXP Gained: 140

EXP: 630/710

WST Gained: 500

WST: 72000

The enemy fell. Neve sighed and re-summoned Erin before the timer could make her disappear. 

"Okay... So, how long was that? A couple of minutes or something, right?" 

"I believe so." 

[Huh. With the duration being based on what I do, I wonder how long her Charm would have lasted if I...] 

Neve started to pace from one side of the room to another. The {Candlelight} above her head almost glowed even more brightly as Neve put her mind to work. 

Slightly amused, Erin said: 

"What are you thinking?" 

"Um..." Neve scratched the back of her head. "I got... an idea..." 

"I'm sensing a 'but' here..." 

"But," Neve continued, "I... Well..." 

Erin kept a brow high as Neve fumbled her words. 

"Could we find another one?" Neve finally asked. "There's something I want to try." 

And so, once Neve's mana had fully regenerated, the two of them walked out of the path at the back of the room, leading out to the next part of the Floor. 

From here, they could still see the main corridor to the right. Enemies continued to wait patiently at their stations, weapons ready for any potential players who could be arriving soon. 

[Yeah... Lots of fighting if we went down the main path... Though, I'm guessing we'll have to go down this path anyway soon. I doubt this hidden area leads right to the boss or anything.] 

Eventually, something happened. 

Two more fallen angels descended from the skies, flying right at Neve and Erin. 

This was an even worse arena than the one before, as the two of them were currently on a narrow catwalk as the enemies engaged them. 

Both opponents were spear users. Once again, one of them was a man, the other was a woman. 

That was highly relevant information, of course, given that if both of these enemies had been males, Neve would have thrown her plan into the trash. 

Level 72

MP: 550/550

Level 71

MP: 530/530

Neve and Erin ended up with their backs pressed against each other. The two opponents stood before them, the man facing off against Erin while the woman fixed her blank eyes on Neve. 

Casting {Field of Brilliance} first, Neve then cast {Encourage} and {Bolstering Presence} as usual, tapping Erin's shoulder with the back of her blade to try and remind her to keep the plan Neve had come up with just a moment ago in her mind. 

MP: 1175/1300

Erin nodded, and dashed toward her opponent, activating {The Lamia's Hunt}. 

Given that this time, Neve's opponent was a spear user and not an archer, Neve needed Erin's fight to end as quickly as possible, as the best she could do against this enemy was just to stay alive. 

The enemy charged at her. 

Neve cast {Flash Shielding} just before her opponent's spear could have found her head. 

MP: 1150/1300

Sure, Neve could have rushed in and gone for a smooch right now for the Charm, but she worried such an attempt would end with that spear kissing her throat instead. 

The enemy kept thrusting her spear in Neve's general direction, but Neve cast {Flash Shielding} continuously, knowing her mana was depleting quickly as a result, but deciding that the cost was worth it. 

MP: 1125/1300

MP: 1100/1300

MP: 1075/1300

Neve was tempted to take a look behind her and see how Erin was doing but she kept her eyes on the enemy in front of her, until Erin finally appeared after an EXP message popped up, dashing toward her opponent. 

EXP Gained: 150

EXP: 780/710

Level Up!

WST Gained: 500

WST: 72500

Now, Neve decided she could spare an attack or two. 

[I don't want her HP to get too low, since I can't heal her back up, but getting a small amount of damage in might make this next part a little bit safer.] 

So, Neve cast one {Fireball}. The sphere crashed into the woman's abdomen, searing it. 

Erin took that opportunity and grabbed the woman's hands, raising them up. From here, the lamia wrapped her body around the opponent. 

All the while, the blank-eyed enemy, who tried to shake Erin off her, showed no emotional reaction at all, keeping an expressionless face on as Erin yelled: 

"Go for it!" 

Neve did just that, swapping out her Angel Set for the Bloodstained Rags and bending forward to plant a kiss on the enemy's lips. 

Her eyes gained some heart-shaped pupils. Her thrashing stopped. Erin let go and Neve breathed a sigh of relief. 

After getting Neve got Erin's re-summon over with quickly, the lamia asked: 

"Now, what is it you want to try?" 

Hearing that, Neve's face gained a deep red shade. 

She swallowed, before saying: 

"I want to..." 

---

Level 72

MP: 1300/1300 (+300)

EXP: 70/720

AP: 3690

IP: 90

WST: 72500

---

Endurance: 60

Speed: 50

Precision: 43

Strength: 10

Arcane: 100

A couple of minutes later, the spear user was standing before Neve and Erin on the catwalk, with those heart eyes still on. 

The healer and her summon stood next to each other, in silence. 

Mostly in silence. 

Erin was trying her damn hardest not to burst out laughing while Neve took slow breaths to try to get the blood in her face moving again. 

"Fuck you," Neve said quietly. 

"I didn't even say anything!" Erin told her. 

"Y-You don't have to. Look, I did it for science," Neve declared. "And, LOOK! The Charm is even stronger now!" 

"Oh, I can understand that. I'd be pretty charmed too if you did that to me." 

"F-Fuck off..." 

Giggles spilled out from Erin's lips uncontrollably now as Neve walked up to the spear-wielding monster. 

That last word bounced off the walls of Neve's skull. 

[God, she- this thing's not even human and I just...] 

She felt like puking. 

Still, Neve could not deny that the results spoke for themselves. 

Several minutes passed. 

The enemy was still Charmed. 

More time passed, with an embarrassed, seething Neve sitting next to a quietly laughing Erin on the catwalk and, eventually, Neve thought: 

[... Is the Charm permanent? She- it- whatever, isn't becoming hostile.] 

"Well, my dearest summoner, it does seem like this enemy has fallen quite hard for you. Shall we continue? It's been quite a lot longer than it took for the last woman's mind to clear up. I don't think the, ehm, spell you've cast over this enemy is going to slip anytime soon." 

Hearing that, Neve stood up. 

Those heart-shaped pupils tracked Neve's movements as the healer went to stand in front of her. 

[Maybe I should test the Charm's limits a little, first.] 

Gesturing for Erin to get closer in case something happened, Neve then went and flicked the woman's forehead. 

Nothing. 

The healer then dealt a light punch to the enemy's stomach. It hurt her hand more than it probably hurt the enemy. 

Nothing. 

Finally, Neve brought out her {Priestess Dagger}, not wanting to use her sword on this enemy as doing so would cause severe Bleeding Neve wouldn't be able to heal away. With her dagger, Neve cut a shallow line down the same abs she'd just punched. 

Nothing. 

The entire time, the enemy's eyes, unblinking, remained fixed on Neve's face. 

"Uh... Well... Looks like she's not budging," Neve muttered. 

"Ah, so that little performance earlier gained you a permanent follower? Ah, well, a common attribute among conquerors throughout history, at least in my world, is their wonderful ability to use their mouths. I suppose it makes sense." 

Neve didn't even have the energy to curse at her anymore. 

[I'm going to cut my fucking tongue off, I swear.] 

Alas, that would have to wait.  2

For now, they, Neve, Erin, and an expressionless, fallen, angel with a spear, had a Floor to continue getting through. 

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