200: The Healer's Light, Part Seven

The Healer's Light, Part Seven

Neve made her way back to the safe zone, with only Erin beside her. 

She ended up telling Viscera to wait for them back at the door. Given that she was a charmed enemy and not a summon, Neve figured that, perhaps, there wouldn't be a set range for the charm effect. If, tragically, the charm ended up wearing off and Neve would have to put her down, that would be sad but Neve would handle the situation accordingly. 

For now, before she even came around to that, she needed to see what Aphria said with regard to leading them on through to the next part of the Floor. 

So, Neve threw on her Bloodstained Rags, told Erin to wait by the camp's exit, and strode over to where Aphria was still sitting, taking slow, methodical sips from her tea. 

As Neve arrived at the table, the angel's eyes followed her, from the moment she appeared in view to when she sat down at the opposite chair. 

Aphria's eyes ran up and down Neve's body. As Neve settled in, she said: 

"You don't look particularly hurt. Am I right to assume your other fights went just as well as your first?" 

"Yeah." 

"Good, good," Aphria replied. "It would have been a shame if you managed to lose your pretty little head before you gave any to me. I am admittedly looking forward to you honoring your end of the deal." 

The smirk she aimed at Neve lit the girl's skin on fire. Setting that aside, though, she tried to get down to the matter at hand as quickly as possible. 

"I've been doing well, but we reached a, uh, obstacle."  The way Aphria's lips quickly straightened out made it seem as though she knew what Neve was going to say before she said it. "The path you put us on led up to a door that was blocked by a golden barrier. I couldn't get through." 

Aphria sighed, putting her tea down. 

"Yes, yes, I forgot about that," she said quietly. 

[Oh. Okay. Maybe this will be a little bit quicker than I thought.] 

"Can you... you know...?" 

Given that Aphria was already on the same page as her, Neve didn't want to come off too forceful. The Bloodstained Rags and their +100% buff to her persuasiveness would do most of the work for her, but Neve was still trying to be conscious of any potential pitfalls. 

Aphria took a moment to consider it. 

"Did you clear the way?" 

Her voice was a little bit shaky. Neve could hear the way she struggled to even ask that question, trapped between the fact that she knew Neve needed her to progress and that she absolutely, most definitely did not want to leave this camp. 

So, Neve replied: 

"Yeah. But, uh, there is one thing," Neve replied. 

"What?" 

"Um... So, I have this ability," Neve began to explain, "it basically makes it so that I can, sometimes, turn enemies into allies. I used it on one of the, um, corrupted warriors. She's back at that room and-" 

"If it gets close to me, I'll take its head off," Aphria cut Neve off. She stood up, stretching her wings. "Come on. Before I change my mind." 

"... Sure." 

---

With Aphria leading the way, Neve and Erin made their way back to that barrier. 

As Aphria flew into the room, her eyes were taken by the massive corpse lying at the back of the room. Thanks to this body, she completely ignored Viscera, who was standing at the corner. 

Aphria's feet hit the ground, landing in a pool of blood. Neve and Erin glanced at each other as Aphria stared at the corpse. 

There was an odd feeling in the air until Neve asked: 

"Uhm, did you know this guy?" 

Aphria did not take her eyes off his body. 

"I did. Do you have any fire-based abilities?" She asked suddenly. 

"Yeah." 

"Could you do me a favor, then? I would be rather grateful." Neve walked forward. "I would appreciate it if you would burn this body." 

"No problem," Neve replied, as she brought out her staff and began casting {Fireball}. As she did, she asked, "so, uh, who was he?" 

"Does it matter?" Aphria asked in turn. 

"I'm just curious." 

Aphria looked over at Neve for a moment, before bringing her eyes back to the body that was now on fire. 

"One of my closest friends," Aphria said quietly. "A guardian who took down over a hundred monsters single-handedly. Saved many civilians as well. But... It didn't matter. Nothing we did mattered." 

Before Neve could say anything to that, Aphria flew over to the barrier. She placed a hand on top of it, and after a couple of seconds, the barrier shattered like glass, with each golden piece falling to the ground and then disappearing. 

"It's done". 

Then, without another word, Aphria flew away. 

Neve may have been mistaken, but the angel's eyes looked watery. 

[Looks like I was right to not have Viscera open this thing up. I'm guessing there are going to  be other blocked paths that Aphria will have to fly over and unlock.] Thinking about it from the perspective of a level designer, it made sense. ["Nothing we did mattered", huh? I wonder what that's about.] 

"Well," Erin said, slithering forward. "That went a tad bit better than we expected. However, I am sorry to say that it does not exactly seem like she's in the right state of mind for a round of passionate sex. You may end up missing out on that, as tragic a notion as that is. Anyway, shall we continue?" 

"Erin." 

"Hm?" 

The lamia had been about to slither on forward, but Neve's call stopped her. 

"Uh... Before that, there's something I wanted to do." 

"What is it?" Erin asked, curious. 

Neve looked away, slightly embarrassed. 

"This outfit I'm wearing has a... effect. Another one, I mean. You know how, uh, doing what I did with Viscera turned her into an ally? Well, if I do something similar with someone who's already an ally, it makes them stronger." 

Erin's brows raised all the way up to the ceiling. 

The grin that immediately manifested on her face let Neve know she already knew where this was going. 

"So, before we go on, I was thinking I, uh..." Neve's throat felt dry. "I could, you know..." 

She tried to do the same thing she'd done with Aphria before, trailing off so she wouldn't have to say it. 

Erin wasn't having that, though. 

"Yes?" 

"You know..." 

"I believe I do not, no. Go on, please."  2

Erin drew closer as Neve narrowed her eyes up at her. Her face felt like it was on fire. 

"I..." Neve swallowed. "I want to kiss you." Neve turned away. "So we can see how many stats you get from it." 

"Ah, I see! Where?" 

"..." Neve immediately turned back around. "What?" 

"Where?" 

"Where what?" 

"Where do you wish to kiss me?" Erin asked. "Am I going to get the same treatment as our newest party member?" 

"A-"

A graceless sound escaped Neve's lips, but nothing else came out. 

Erin slithered up to her, getting so close her chest was almost resting atop Neve's. 

"Come to think of it, isn't it a little unfair that someone we met not even a day ago has already gotten to be closer to you than I have? Surely, this means you plan to give me an even better experience?"

Neve's mind was short-circuiting. 

Giggling, Erin leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on Neve's lips. 

Gentle, but long-lasting. 

As Neve's eyes opened, she found Erin looking back at her with a great amount of warmth. Additionally, Neve felt she could see a hint of sadness in her eyes as well. 

"I was joking," she told the healer. "As appealing as the thought is, if we are to one day cross that line, I'd rather have it happen because you want it to happen, rather than because you want to make me stronger through some strange sex magic." 

"..." Neve looked down. 

What Erin just admitted did not slip past Neve's mind. 

[... She does want to, though,] Neve thought. [She just doesn't want it to happen because of this Charm stuff.] 

At that moment, a voice slipped into her mind. 

"I wonder when exactly you'll entertain your summon," Tamira said. "Surely, you've gotten over Ahlakan's death by now, right? I'm sure her spirit wouldn't mind if you finally slotted her out for-" 

Neve moved up a step. 

"Mm!" Erin flinched as Neve kissed her. 

Tamira stopped talking. 

That was exactly what she'd been looking for. She knew this was simply an attempt on the snake's behalf to get her to feel guilty, and, no. Neve wasn't having that anymore. 

"... I see," Tamira said, before exiting Neve's mind. 

A message popped up. 

Status Effect Applied!

Charm

{Attributes increased by 2 for 10 minutes} 

Erin Leynall

Level 67

MP: 170/170

EXP: N/A

Activity Points: N/A

WS Tokens: N/A

Mood: 85% (Close Friend)

---

Endurance: 57

Speed: 72

Precision: 87

Strength: 47

Arcane: 17

As Neve backed off, finally, Erin looked down at her. 

"Neve..." Erin said, quietly, as another message appeared. 

Mood: 95% (Near-Lover)

Neve's eyes widened as Erin laughed a little. 

"You shouldn't take people by surprise like that. You might make a maiden's heart skip a beat." 

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