The Cure
DISCLAIMER: Danmachi belongs to its respective owners. Everything that occurs in this story is of my own creation and the characters abide by the fictional laws in the setting.
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Chapter 5: Gods and Their Secrets
Part 7
With a resounding crack like thunder rumbling in the skies, the shadowy being's scythe connected with the stream of magic from the Silver Saint and sliced it apart. From both cut edges, the bisected magical stream imploded.
Alfia's improved reaction time thanks to the Falna allowed her to feel the sudden shift in the magic around her, "Ataraxia!"
Something hit her magical barrier and took a massive chunk of her Mind with it, and then she saw her nephew running towards the healer a meter away from her.
Whereas Alfia had her Skill to take the brunt of the damage from whatever had happened, Airmid did not have such protection and she was not so lucky.
Like fireworks going off, Bell watched in horror and ran towards the unprepared doll-like girl as the bisected magical stream imploded at several points, every implosion occurring closer and closer to her.
And just before Bell could try and stop the being's interference, the last implosion went off in the Silver Saint's stomach.
"Guh!" Airmid's spittle flew as she curled forward, then another resounding implosion went off. As if hit in the stomach by a higher-ranking adventurer, the healer was sent flying backwards.
Right into Bell's arms.
"Oomph!" Bell went along with the ride, his back impacted against the wall behind them, but he had managed to catch Airmid in his arms at the very least.
She was secured, but not safe yet.
"GYAH!" Airmid screamed and trashed frantically in Bell's arms, one of her elbows connected with his side, something cracked, and he released her. The healer fell to the ground, twisting and curling into herself as pain continued wracking her body.
Bell disregarded his pain to trigger Iremía again, and he saw a shadowy haze surround the silvery soul of the Healer, and with a cackle, the haze impacted against the healer's soul.
Airmid twisted painfully in response, tears freely falling as another impact wracked her very soul.
Alfia was not sick; A God had cursed her. Airmid, in all her saintly benevolence, tried to cleanse the Godly curse because he had asked, and now, that curse was attacking her for trying.
Bell bit his lip until he tasted blood, he knew his mom's skill had protected her, he felt and heard, her activate it. Airmid did not have such a skill, she did not even expect to get hurt for trying, and with another painful wail and twist of the girl, Bell made a gamble with his own magic.
If he could see souls, then surely, his magic could interact with them through Iremía, right?
Bell firmly planted his palm between Airmid's chest, right where he could see the concentration of her soul, and he called forth his entire magical reserves. His 'noise' vibrated under his skin and made his skin tingle, yet it had no shape yet. His magic had no chant, but that didn't mean he couldn't mold it by giving it one!
"Serenitas Eden!"
Airmid stopped moving all together.
"Haa~" Airmid gave one long relaxed exhale a second later, her body involuntarily sprawling out.
Lax purple pupils met glowing crimson irises, and then stared at the blood trailing down his nostrils.
Iremía did its job; Bell's 'noise' surrounded Airmid's silvery soul in an invisible cocoon which bounced off the attacks from the shadowy haze, every hit created a black spot in Bell's vision, but he didn't give up, through sheer will he manipulated his noise to surround the shadowy haze which shrilled in retaliation.
And he squeezed.
"Omph," Airmid coughed when Bell's face landed on her stomach, the muffled thud echoing in the quietness of the winery.
Not a second later, Alfia appeared besides her nephew, taking the unconscious boy into her arms and carefully inspected his condition. Hephaestus kneeled beside her a second after, her concern rivaling Alfia's, "Is he fine?"
"Mind down," Alfia replied while wiping clean the blood from her nephew's face before her mismatched gaze settled on the quiet healer, "Your name was Airmid, right?"
Airmid gave a muted nod.
"Thank you for trying," Alfia wholeheartedly thanked for going along with her nephew's whims, "But never try to heal me again." And sternly scolded her for, also, going along with her nephew's whims. "I can hear your passion for your profession, but don't let emotions get in the way of your work. You were lucky this time."
Airmid could easily agree to that.
Alfia hadn't seen what her nephew saw, but she felt and heard the magical implosions around them and the rattling noise of the recovering healer until Bell had taken care of it. How? She didn't know, but once he was awake, she would find out.
"Sorry Airmid, I was not expecting something like that to happen," Hephaestus sheepishly apologized and helped the silver-haired girl to her feet, the later shaking her head then closed her eyes for a second.
"He has proficiency for healing," Airmid commented after finishing her self-scan; Despite the torture she endured minutes earlier, there was no residual pain after the white-haired boy had cast his magic. The moment his magic entered her body, it felt like nails were taken out of her flesh before the holes left behind were healed by his magic. And that wasn't even considering the tranquility it granted her immediately after. "Lady Hephaistos, I'm charging you double for this."
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One tenth of a fortune paid and three hours later, Bell woke up to the room spinning around him and his tongue feeling like he'd lathered it with salt and left under the sun for too many hours. He tried lifting himself off the softness he was enveloped in, but it tugged the back of his head hard and pulled him deeper into whatever it was.
It took several seconds for his brain to recognize the scent and warmth radiating of his mom, and after blearily looking up, he found his mom's sleeping face inches away from his.
And she said he was the clingy one.
"Mom?" Bell weakly voiced out and Alfia's eyes snapped open.
A glare was the first thing that Bell received before her mismatched gaze softened, "How are you feeling?"
"Depleted?" Bell tried to give a word to the sensation he felt within him.
"Never forget that feeling then, you suffered a Mind Down." Alfia taught, and scolded, at the same time. "Hephaistos, Airmid have many questions, and so do I."
"Can they wait until I don't feel like you dragged me through a marathon of sword training?" Bell was very specific with his pettiness, way too specific.
"Interesting comparison to a Mind's Down, but no, they cannot wait." Alfia released her nephew's head from her bosom, her index finger pressed against his forehead, "At least not this time."
Bell grumbled quietly as he feebly extracted himself from his aunt, only know seeing she had carried him into their bedroom in Hephaestus's home, though he should really start calling it their home too with how comfortable his aunt had made herself in it. "Is Miss Airmid fine?"
"If being disappointed in her inability to heal someone means fine, then yes, she is." Alfia quipped back while she fixed her dress. "She mentioned you have an affinity for healing, and I agree with her to an extent."
"I wasn't healing her," Bell replied and with trembling arms, pushed himself off the bed and staggered for a couple steps before finding his balance. "I feel like shit."
"Language," Alfia smacked the back of his head, and Bell actually glared at her.
"I feel like putrefied exc-"
Another smack later, the two were out of the room with Alfia serving as Bell's crutch.
"What were you doing, if not healing her, then?"
"You're not sick." Bell grumbled.
"Then pray tell, what is it I'm suffering from, my dear?" There was an edge to his aunt's tone, but this one time, she'd have to suck up her anger for a little longer since they entered their Goddess office.
The doll-like lady stood ramrod still next to Hephaestus who was reclined against her desk, a bottle of wine in her hand without the cork and judging by the heavy scent in the room, already half gone.
"Alfia's cursed by another God," Bell didn't wait for any sort of invitation to speak, and he wasn't surprised to see the bottle of wine hit the floor and roll to his feet.
"Well, that explains why my sickness is shown as a Skill," Alfia bit her fingernail as Airmid and Hephaestus released a synchronized, "What?"
Bell continued, "I saw him; The sickle held by skeletal fingers under a purplish, almost black, robe covering its entire body." Bell felt his aunt tense in his arms, she most likely knew the God he was talking about or had an inkling already. "Miss Airmid's spell was working but the curse's divinity reflected her magic back to her, with a portion of its own."
Hephaestus's surprise turned into horror as her gaze switched from Bell to Airmid.
"I nullified? It, sorry that might no be the correct term but it's not affecting Miss Airmid." Bell eased his Goddess worries, her shoulders sagged in relief. "Goddess, which God did I see?"
"I'm, I'm not sure Bell," Hephaestus sighed, fingers coming to rest on her eyepatch, "When it comes to curses, God's don't show their physical form and there's far too many that fit that Divine description."
"I see," Bell clenched his fist and his aunt's hand fell over it, easing it open. "Mom?"
"It does not matter whether it's a sickness or a curse, right?" Alfia, for the first time since Bell had vowed to find a cure for her, encouraged him, albeit in a roundabout way.
"No," Bell smiled, "Now I know where to start looking again." The young adventurer's gaze switched to the deep in thought Airmid, and with two steps forward he bowed at the waist. "Please teach me all you know about curses."
"Huh?" Airmid stumbled back in surprise.
"Your magic can heal my aunt! All I have to do is get rid of the curse; If I nullified the portion that attacked you, then surely, I can nullify hers!"
Really, that child.
"… You will work part-time in the Dian Cecht clinic, under my direct command." Airmid stated her conditions and Bell, not able to contain his happiness at her response, crashed into the composed doll, earning a yelped "EH!" as he lifted and hugged her.
"Thank you so much Miss Airmid!"
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For a healer, Miss Airmid packed quite the punch. Or dare Bell say, quite the slap.
The young white-haired adventurer of the Hephaestus Familia nursed his swollen, red cheek, as he walked under the scorching Sun of Orario. After everything that happened the last day, Hephaestus had ordered Bell to take a day off before he threw himself back into his fervent research for the cure of his aunt's sickness – No, her curse.
The last thing Bell remembered from the previous day was hearing a girlish "Unhand me!" before his face twisted to the side and he knew no more, until today morning that he woke up to his aunt continuously poking his swollen cheek that both Hephaestus, and Alfia, refused to let him heal himself.
Of all the times they could let their jealousy show, it had to be when he was hurt.
… Was it even jealousy to start with? Or some sort of women's retribution thing he didn't know about?
If only the Old Man was around to ask him… Not that he expected the old man to give him an actual answer, but at least he could have someone to talk to.
On that same note, Bell realized as he continued walking in front of a restaurant, that besides his aunt and Goddess… He had yet to make any friends in Orario.
…
"You don't have time for friends, Bell," Bell told himself, slapping his cheeks to drive away any unneeded noise created by those thoughts and not a moment later, an incredibly vibrant and red sword? Slapped him on his back and made him stumble several steps forward. "Urgh, what the hell?"
"Oops, sorry about that!" The excited, vibrant red, sword loudly apologized to him, and Bell triggered Iremía off to see a young woman of vibrant long red hair held in a ponytail, a cheeky grin matching her cheeky olive gaze.
Her ensemble was interesting, a plate armor covering her breast and shoulders, yet left her collarbone exposed and hidden under her pinkish shirt with the top buttons undone. Short black pants with what looked like half a dress skirt hanging off the left side of her half-thigh tight covered legs, her feet covered in high brown boots.
"I was too excited to meet my friend that I didn't see you in the way!" Her excitement was almost palpable, and Bell felt her noise bounce all around him as she walked closer and placed a hand on his back, where she'd hit him by mistake, "I didn't hit you too hard, did I?"
He really needed to get his magic and skill back under control because her loudness was annoying, kind but annoying.
Bell "Don't let me keep you waitin-"
A knife flew past Bell's nose, cutting the slightest bit into the skin, enough to draw blood but light to not feel the wound at all.
"You have two seconds to separate from my friend."
…
Okay.
Sure.
Whatever.
It's not like he wasn't having a shitty day.
Or a shitty week.
Or a shitty year.
Or a shitty life.
Raging crimson eyes met furious sky-blue eyes.
"Apologize."
"One second."
"Apolog-"
The snow fairy moved to attack and instantly stumbled as her sense of balance disappeared.
"-ize, now. I have absolutely no idea why you just attacked me, nor do I have the slightest idea who do you think you are, and quite honestly, I don't care. Actually, I don't even have the time for this either." Bell took a deep breath, his magic coming back under his control and letting the snow fairy recover from the sudden loss of her sense.
A serene smile graced Bell's face as he turned to the stunned red-haired woman, "Have a good day Miss, thank you for reminding me why I don't have time for friends."
And Bell was going to leave with that parting comment.
Emphasis on was.
"Now hold on a second mister!" The vibrant red sword grabbed his shoulder, quite painfully. "What did you mean by that last comment!?"
"Alise, you do not need to concern yourself with that kind of man."
"And you!" The vibrant red sword turned to the snow fairy, her voice exploding in anger, "Just what do you think you're doing!? Honestly." Before trailing off in disappointment.
"Miss, if you would please release me," Bell clenched his fist, turning around to face the vibrant red sword, "I have things to do."
"Not until we've talked about that last comment, and you receive your apology." The woman glared at her friend.
"I don't have the time for this," Bell tried to extricate himself from the red-haired woman's grip to no avail, how did his aunt tell him to deal with this kind of people again?
"No! Okay, look. We started on the bad foot. In a really bad way, alright?" The woman tried to bargain, and Bell relented to her apologetic noise.
Deep breathes, Bell, deep breathes.
Don't let the noise consume you.
"Alright," Bell whispered. "I'm fine without an apology, your friend must've been excited to see you too."
Alise smiled in victory.
"Now unhand me."
And her smile fell.
"Ara~ What's going on over here?"
…
Crimson met Light Gray.
"Who are you?"
And Light Gray glowed.
"No, who are you? Fufu~"
Divinely.
-0- Chapter End -0-
Author's Note: Well... Talk about another interesting first meeting, eh?