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 8: All the help I can get
Part 10
There were far too many things Bell Cranel learned from Riveria Ljos Alf during the night they spent together, an emotional night spent speaking nothing but the truth, for one to comprehend how fickle life was and for the other to finally lay down the regrets that built up over fifteen long years.
For how awkward their first meeting was, the private moment they shared together overwrote any lingering resentment in either's heart; It was a moment that lasted long, far too long, that before either realized it, the morning Sun warned them of just how much time they'd lost themselves into speaking their hearts out.
Bell never denied his feelings whenever Riveria asked him, and it was such brutal honesty that allowed her to continue laying bare her fears to him.
And when everything was said, and done, Bell knew there was someone new in his life that he would trust.
Riveria's soul and noise wavered several times during the night, but never once did she lie. Not even when it would've made her look better in his eyes, nor when it would've lessened the anger that Bell could've felt. The royal elf was honest, and with how much and for how long she carried those emotions which she released by his side, Bell truly felt she was someone he wouldn't mind spending his time with.
Again.
So, when the two left the bedroom on the second floor of the Hostess of Fertility, there was no mistaking how enthralled, tiredly satisfied, and assuaged the two looked while walking down the stairs, almost hand in hand, yet neither of the two felt like being away from the other for the moment, as the other was the living proof of something they needed in their lives.
It was this surreal, and bizarre, scene that the members of the Loki Familia who stayed behind to wait for Riveria were greeted with; those waiting for her were their mischievous Goddess, the upper ranks member, and some of the noisy, yet most trustful members of the Familia, and all of them stared with wide eyes at the two walking down the stairs.
Slight bags under both, Bell's and Riveria's, eyes, satisfied looking smiles, tousled hair, slightly frayed clothes, the silent dependency they had on the other, shoulders touching as if seeking for some remnant of comfort.
Really, there was no mistaking it.
Riveria got herself laid, and it only took her a century to find the one.
There were those who recoiled in horror, those who grinned in triumph, and those who voiced out their thoughts, loud enough to dispel the serenity surrounding the two lover birds.
"Papa!" Two mocha-colored women ran forward, the speed with which they approached Bell making him fear for the safety of his life until their words registered in his head a second before he was tackled to the ground, dogpiled below the two amazons.
"Eh?"
His brain, sleep addled as it was, wasted no time registering the sensation of their scantily clothed bodies pressing down on him, especially the bigger one whose biggest assets pinned his waist to the ground, while the other rubbed her cheek against his chest.
"We have a papa now too!" One of them, the flattest one, childishly exclaimed and started shaking Bell's shoulder back and forth.
What?
Perhaps it was the shaking and the feeling of their bodies, but Bell couldn't grasp what he was being told.
"Riveria," A golden glowing, shapeshifting rope tied into a noose, approached them and Bell felt his emotions stir when the Goddess was a few feet away from him.
"Yes?"
"Are you satisfied?"
Riveria's face spoke volumes of her feelings, and her words confirmed them, "Yes, quite so."
Bell heard a thud, and a glance at the other members revealed one of the two elves who had harassed him yesterday had fainted, and Riveria continued, "Bell was very thorough."
Another thud, and the second elf who harassed him joined her friend on the ground.
"Well, I'll be." Another gruff voice, murmured from the background and Bell glanced at the dwarf whose soul had the shape of a silver shield with a hammer emblazoned on it.
"And… Are you happy?" The Goddess continued her interrogation of Riveria, crossing her arms with a look of utter seriousness that did not match the shape her soul was taking, nor the noise it rang with.
Bell saw how the bespectacled nine-colored fairy yawned, rubbed her eyes, fixed her glasses, and gave a dopey smile before replying, "I haven't felt this way in years." Then that very same fairy turned to face him, hands twiddling together, "And I'd like it if you could give me some time from the Familia to deal with personal matters."
"I… Well, uh, damn, never thought this day would come," The Goddess scratched her hair, and glanced at Bell who did his best to control his emotions.
For once, the amazon bodies pressing down on him were actually helpful, and he would take those thoughts to the grave.
"I'm sure there won't be any problem with that, right Lady Loki?" The same boy – no, he was no boy, the same Pallum as yesterday approached them, "It won't take you long, right Riveria?"
"There's a chance," Riveria admitted with a frown, and just at that moment her lack of sleep made her head tilt slightly forward and her eyes glance down, more than what she was already doing by looking at the Pallum.
What looked like Riveria stumbling to keep herself looking prim and proper to Bell, looked to the others like the royal elf was looking down at her belly after those words left her mouth. There was a collective, synchronized, sharp intake of breath by the Loki Familia, and even the two amazons holding him down separated from him with looks of wondrous horror.
"Ah."
Freed, the young adventurer wasted no time standing up and dusting his clothes under the silent gaze of the Loki Familia, a gaze Bell pointedly ignored.
"… Take all the time you need, mama." The Goddess gave Riveria a weary thumbs up before she approached Bell.
Don't do it.
Deep breathes, Bell, deep breathes.
Control yourself.
Loki placed her palm on his shoulder, and it felt like his skin was burning at the point of contact, "You better keep our mama safe, ya' hear me!?"
…
What?
Well… There was a chance Alfia wouldn't take Riveria's appearance kindly, and his aunt would react in a violent way – scratch that, she was definitely reacting badly, so it wasn't all that farfetched from the Goddess to ask him that. At least it showed the Goddess cared about Riveria's safety, more than she let on.
"I will."
His definite response made the amazons swoon, and for the Pallum and Dwarf who'd spoken earlier to give him discreet thumbs up.
Uh… He was starting to feel that something was amiss.
"If you would excuse us, there's something we'd rather take care of now before it's too late." Bell carefully moved the Goddess's hand from his shoulder and moved to Riveria's side again.
"Sure, but I want her home before midnight!"
The Goddess grinned, and with a wave of her hand, her Familia made a path for the two to walk straight out of the Hostess of Fertility, the two fainted elves being the only obstacle in their path.
"Oh, and before you leave!" Loki shouted to gain their attention just before they crossed the door, and he turned to show the goddess gained his attention. "I'm naming the child!"
…
What?
Whatever, the further away he was from Loki, the better.
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Bell had a busy day ahead of himself, what with introducing or better said, reintroducing Riveria to his aunt, training his skill and learning more about being a runemaster by Hephaestus before noon, and then meeting with Airmid in the Dian Cecht clinic to train, and learn, under her about curses.
There was also the promise he'd made with Alise about meeting with her for lunch, though they hadn't decided exactly where they would eat together but knowing her, and the fact that she was a regular in the Hostess of Fertility, it seemed he was bound to return to the place where he experienced so many new things in his life.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to eating with her, if only because, as obnoxious as her noise was, she brought him out of his zone of comfort and he knew he needed that, to grow and mature into a proper adult that wouldn't have difficulty interacting with other people in the future.
Not that he planned on interacting with many people in the future, but at least it was better to be safe than sorry.
"I'm feeling like there's too many eyes on us," Bell commented to Riveria as he wearily glanced around the streets, many of the adventurers giving him, and his elven companion, confused stares.
"Don't let them bother you," Riveria hid her mouth behind her lips, and Bell saw how the bespectacled fairy yawned and stretched, "They must be wondering whether you're a new recruit in the Loki Familia or not. That said, I didn't quite catch yesterday which Familia you belong to."
"Hephaestus Familia," Bell took Riveria's words to heart and completely ignored the onlookers, instead he focused solely on the expressive soul of the somewhat stoic Riveria.
"But you're not a blacksmith, no?" Riveria tilted her head.
"Hephaestus has faith that I will become the new Familia's runemaster," Bell scratched his cheek, "Though that's a long-term goal for her, since right now I'm focused on another thing…"
"Your… Teacher's cure?" Riveria decided against using names, as she knew there could be some nosy people around them at any time, and she didn't want to bring more trouble to Bell, more than she already did.
If only she knew.
"Yes," Bell confirmed and fixed his only yukata's sleeve. He blinked repeatedly as the bespectacled fairy started jumping and shouting with several light bulbs going off above her, "Do you have an idea…?"
Riveria shoulders lowered slightly, "I do… There's a secret elven remedy that can potentially help her, or at least extend her lifespan a little longer."
Bell grasped her sleeve, "Really?"
Riveria met Bell's intense gaze, a little bit surprise by the contrast between the fierceness of his eyes and the fearful trembling of his hands holding onto her sleeve, "Yes."
Bell breathed out, "You're not lying."
It was not a question.
He could clearly see the bespectacled fairy giving him a thumbs up, and her noise echoing of positive possibilities.
In three days, he had learned more about something he had devoted his whole life to, Airmid was a literal saint that showed him the reality of his aunt's sickness, and a visible end goal that he could work towards to, and now Riveria was offering the possibility of making certain that he had enough time to reach that goal.
Bell, for all his self-imposed maturity, lacked the emotional capacity to hold back from pulling Riveria into a grateful hug and whispering into her long-elven ear a soft, filled with hopes, "Thank you, Riveria."
And Riveria, a woman who'd admitted feeling guilty and regretting over how her inactions fifteen years ago led Bell to live the exact life he had until just now, accepted the hug with one of her own; his existence and gratitude was proof that she was making amends, "You're welcome, Bell."
It was a sweet, emotional moment.
One that happened exactly in front of Hephaestus home, and one that the last person that should've seen it bore witness to, as the door to said Goddess's home snapped open.
"Nine Hells, you have three seconds to let go of my son and you're already down to one."
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Bell knew Alfia would react badly, so as soon as he felt his mom's presence within his skill's range, Bell triggered Serenitas Eden and silenced 'The Silence' before she could cast her own magic. Something only possible because she'd always left a breach in her defense to his, and his noise, alone.
"Wait, mom! I can explain," Bell moved to protect Riveria with his body, and it proved to be the correct decision by him because not a second later, despite not being able to use her magic, Alfia was still a level 7 and 'The Monster of Talent', and she delivered a swift blow to Bell's stomach that made her nephew double over and cough blood onto her face.
Her mismatched gaze met his, and Bell could clearly see and hear the anger in her mom's soul, one directed solely at him for breaking his promise of not interacting with the Loki Familia.
At least Riveria was not her target, for the moment, so Bell could work with that.
"Listen to m-"
Alfia didn't and delivered a swift right kick to Bell's left ribs that cracked when it hit the intended target and sent the boy flying several feet until he impacted with some crates, breaking them on impact. She gave Riveria one cold stare that froze the high elf before she jumped to continue her son's punishment.
Bell knew what was coming, and despite his left side groaning for him to stay still, he entered his hand-to-hand combat stance and received the next kick Alfia came at him with by dodging low and letting it fly over him. His aunt was fast, extremely fast, so much that he couldn't follow her with his eyes but what he could follow her with was her noise within the space of his Skill.
"Mom, wait!" Bell tried again, and Alfia switched her roundhouse kick mid-flight into an axe kick that Bell crossed his forearms and caught with, he was not surprised to feel his forearms and legs to creak under the pressure, nor did he have time to care about his feet breaking the stone beneath him.
She was not going easy on him, and he could understand why. He really could, more so after everything he learnt from Riveria.
But again, his mom would have to suck her anger up because he was doing all of this for her.
So, despite his arms feeling like jelly, Bell forced them to move and grab onto his aunt's ankle, Alfia narrowed her eyes and with the dexterity he knew she possessed, used Bell's own grip on her ankle to deliver a kick with her other leg.
She missed her target.
But still hit him, as instead of hitting Bell's head, her nephew caught her second leg under his armpit which sickly crunched on impact. Bell grit his teeth through the pain, and with both palms firmly grabbing his aunt's thighs, used his magic again.
Alfia's sight blurred as Bell's magic disrupted her noise and used it against herself.
Silentium Eden made a layer around herself which kept her noise tightly compressed within herself, and blocked any outside noise from affecting her, however, Bell had used that very same layer against her by stirring her noise and making it bounce wildly against her own self-made seal.
He was doing the only two things that could even the playfield between them, one 'Silencing' her magic and the other 'Disrupting' her magic to the point it negatively impacted her overall performance.
Sadly, for Bell, he still was a level one against his mom's level seven.
Alfia let her upper body fall backwards, back arching as her palms touched the ground, and despite her insides feeling like she was being shaken in all directions at the same time, easily used Bell's firm grip on her thighs to pull him upwards, over her, and smash his head against the concrete was her backward flip finished.
She would give it to her nephew that through the heavy blow, he still kept her magic sealed and disrupted.
Bell's back hit the ground, hard, after his head did, and Alfia allowed her body to be taken along with his body's momentum. She fell butt-first on her nephew's stomach, her entire weight making him cough blood as it aggravated the wound to his side, yet his hands hadn't left her thighs, and a challenging gaze found itself on his face.
She didn't like that.
Alfia raised her hand high in the air.
"Please stop already!" Riveria grabbed said hand seconds before it could impact with her nephew's face, a face that had flinched at the last second. It was only thanks to that flinch that Riveria managed to stop the blow, but it was something that she would never know. "I know there's bad blood between us but please listen to us!"
Alfia leveled another freezing glare at Riveria before she turned to her nephew who was starting to have trouble breathing, and she felt the seal and disruption of her magic disappear.
Her magic hummed alive.
"Mom… I love you."
...
Really, this child.
Whatever anger in her disappeared with those words, and Alfia released a deep sigh, "You better have a good explanation for breaking your promise, Bell."
Riveria released Alfia's hand at that and kneeled to evaluate Bell's injuries.
"And… I love you too."
Bell gave his mom a bloodied grin before he passed out.
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Riveria wearily glanced at Alfia who still sat on Bell's unconscious lap.
"Why did you hurt him so bad even though he's…" Riveria let the question hang there. Bell did say Alfia was his aunt, but she raised him like a mother, and he loved her like one, but Riveria didn't know whether Alfia was fine with being called either term, so she played it safe.
"That's between me and him, Nine Hells." Alfia grunted, and placed her palm on Bell's chest, her magic thrumming beneath her fingertips, "He's promised me an explanation, and I'm certain you can start it, no?"
Riveria could feel some heat in Alfia's voice, but the Silence would have to wait longer, "After I've healed him."
Alfia glared at Riveria, "No need."
Riveria wanted to glare back but the hum in the air alerted her of The Silence's magic being active, and she glanced down at Bell to see Alfia's hand glowing and healing him already. It took several minutes of silence between them before Bell was healed to a more manageable state, then after another glaring contest between the two strongest sorceresses in Orario, the unconscious boy was picked up by his aunt and brought into Hephaestus home, the High Elf following closely behind.
Inside the privacy of the Hephaestus home, Riveria started her explanation of how she met Bell, a very hasty explanation of how she'd mistaken his actions of holding onto her precious, inebriated, elven friend and pointed her weapon at him. It was only thanks to Bell assuaging Alfia's anger before he fell unconscious that she did not smite Riveria then and there.
Didn't mean she didn't receive another freezing glare from the woman, though.
Alfia gave a blank stare at her nephew when Riveria spoke of how he accepted the offer to let bygones be bygones, and then proceeded to stay as far away from the Loki Familia with his newly made friends, those being the inebriated elf and her red-headed friend who asked for his help to bring her back home and brought about the initial misunderstanding.
It was obvious how mixed Alfia feelings were, on one hand, Bell didn't know his first two friends were from the Loki Familia and he'd only met them by mistake too, on the other hand, he stayed with them even after learning they were from the Loki Familia. She would have to speak with him about that.
And no, she was not going to hit him, again.
Seeing him flinch broke something in her.
Riveria continued her explanation after they entered Alfia's private room in Hephaestus Manor, and The Silence sat on the bed with her nephew's head coming to rest on her lap where she could run her fingers through his hair, while Riveria sat in front of her in one of the many luxurious chairs watching the scene with honest curiosity.
"His magic, Serenitas Eden, his appearance, and then his confirmation of his teacher being 'sick'… There was only one person I could think of after hearing that, and…" Riveria's shoulders sagged, "What happened to your Familia is an order I've always regretted following."
Alfia aptly raised an eyebrow, "Regret? I find that hard to believe."
"I never understood why Loki was so set on ousting the Hera and Zeus Familia out of Orario, but orders were orders… Or at least that was the excuse I deluded myself to believe in." Riveria hid her face behind her hands, an attempt to hide her emotions from Alfia who could easily hear the regretful noise within the Royal Elf. "We ruined so many lives in the name of our Goddess… And I was too blind to see that until Evilus attacked."
Alfia stopped running her fingers through Bell's hair, "Evilus… The attacks started ten years ago, no?"
Riveria regret snapped into surprise, and her jade eyes fell on the mismatched, and unamused, gaze of Alfia, "You know!?"
"How would I not?" Alfia scoffed, "Those vengeance seeking fools… Twisted and rotten to the core."
"But… They were…"
"Members of the Hera and Zeus Familia, I know." Alfia started running her fingers through Bell's hair, "They tried to lavish their intentions as an act of preparation for Orario, but in the end, all they cared about was having their revenge on those who cast them out."
"Preparation…?"
"We were not prepared for the One-Eyed Black Dragon, so the best those fools could come up with was preparing others for that task, even if it meant playing with the very evils we'd been fighting for years," Alfia scoffed again, mostly at herself for almost becoming another one of them had it not been for Bell. "I heard an elf took care of Evilus's remains after the failed trap in the dungeon."
"You even know that much…" Riveria leaned back, slight admiration and concern crossing her features, "Yes, those two friends Bell made yesterday were the cause for Evilus's final breath in Orario. We lost a lot in the dungeon that day, and those two went against their Goddesses will and dispatched the remaining Familias affiliated with Evilus during the following year."
"This does not explain your regrets, Nine Hells."
"… I learned Loki's ploy against your Familias were only whims to have more power in Orario…" Riveria clenched her fist, "And those whims of hers, and Freya, brought about the catastrophe that was Orario's dark epoch where so many lives were lost… All because we… because I went along with Loki's orders."
"Yet you remain by Loki's side."
"Loki's changed."
Alfia snorted.
"I'm serious!" Riveria shouted, an act that perplexed Alfia since she knew the Royal Elf was never one to let emotions get the best of her, "Freya played Loki like a fiddle, and after losing complete control over Orario to the Freya Familia, Loki regrets ousting the only Gods that could hold Freya accountable."
"Hah," Alfia laughed, "Such a hypocrite Goddess."
Like nephew, like aunt.
Riveria did not deny that insult, as it was the truth. Loki was a hypocrite, but it didn't mean the Goddess hadn't changed after that… Right?
"I can understand where your regret comes from now," Alfia flicked her hair over her shoulder, "That does not explain the reason you were with him, nor the… embrace you two had."
"That…" Riveria blinked at the abrupt change in topic, mostly because she expected Alfia to give her some harsh words about her actions, not disregard her words like they were nothing, or was it she cared little about the past compared to what happened with Bell?
"I don't believe he would've given you any sort of physical affection if you hadn't given him something he considers extremely valuable, and there's few things he does, so tell me, Nine Hells. Why was my son embracing you?"
Oh.
She definitely cared more about Bell than whatever regret Riveria had.
"I offered him a sacred branch of the elven tree, for you."
Alfia blinked, and then pinched Bell's cheek, hard. "Of course, he would react like that to that… This child… Really." He truly meant it when he would do anything and everything if it meant curing her, even if it meant he had to break one of the very few promises she had asked of him. "What did you tell him?"
"Everything."
"I see," Alfia sighed, and Bell chose that exact moment to groan and waken up.
"… I feel like,"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence."
"… a carriage ran over me." Bell groaned out, and with some difficulty elevated himself from his aunt's lap, one palm holding his throbbing forehead, "Mind Down sucks."
"I'm surprise you woke up so soon," Alfia gave her nephew a stern glare.
"Wouldn't even have fallen unconscious if you didn't attack," Bell complained with another groan of discomfort as he nursed his left side, "You didn't hold back."
"You broke our promise."
"Sorry mom."
"It's… fine, I understand why you did it now." Alfia scuttled closer to Bell, and much to the surprise of the Nine Hells silently watching the exchange, pulled Bell's head into her bosom and placed a kiss on his forehead, "I'm sorry."
Bell snorted, and hugged his aunt's midsection, "We're a lost cause, aren't we?"
A mother who didn't hesitate to deliver a brutal punishment, and a son who didn't hesitate to break their promises for her well-being.
"The Nine Hells has explained why she was with you; However, I want to hear what you did yesterday from your own mouth." Alfia asked, no more like ordered, as she pushed Bell apart to give him another stern glare.
Bell glanced at a clock on the wall, stopping before he could see the time since the silent visage of Riveria's bespectacled fairy twiddling her fingers over its chest caught his attention.
What was it with elves and them having extremely cute souls!?
Alfia flicked Bell's forehead. "Focus."
Ah, right.
Bell gave an accurate if short recount of his meeting with Alise, the misunderstanding and apologetic behavior of Ryuu, his joy of finding his first friend in Alise, and then the panic that set in when he faced the Loki Familia before finishing with a brief recount of how he had spent the night with Riveria.
"… You what?"
"We spent the whole night talking." Bell felt his Mind had regenerated enough to use his magic to heal the last remains of his aunt's beating, "I understand why you never told me what happened behind the reason you were exiled, I couldn't even face them," Bell pointed at Riveria, "properly without letting my emotions get the best of me…"
"You're mature for your age, but your heart's still that of a child." Alfia confirmed what Bell had learnt about himself the previous day.
Bell gave a hesitant glance at Riveria, "Riveria has also… uh… said she would teach me about her magic."
Alfia raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms under her bust, pushing it up. "In exchange for?"
Riveria chose that moment to interrupt and speak for Bell, "I want to learn your method of utilizing magic, Miss Alfia."
"… I see," Alfia nursed her forehead for a moment, then glared at Bell, "You certainly don't waste any opportunities, don't you?"
Bell awkwardly laughed and scratched the back of his head, "I need all the help I can get to lift your curse…"
"Curse?" Riveria interrupted again.
"Yes, it seems my sickness is not a sickness, but a curse, and it's the reason the first elven branch did not undo the ailment. I trust you not to divulge said information, as part of coming under my tutelage." Alfia flicked her hair over her shoulder again, "I do not mind teaching you my way of using Magic, however, you must swear that anything you learn from me, and my nephew, to never leave the privacy of your own mind, are we understood, Nine Hells?"
Alfia trained Bell despite her desire of never wanting him to wield a weapon, because he should be the one to decide his own future and she gave him all the tools he needed to craft it with his own two hands. If it meant that he would become the Hero she'd been seeking to train by almost joining Evilus herself, she cared not.
As long as he didn't die before she did, which back then, she truly believed it would be the case.
… But now, there was someone whom she knew could become a pillar in the final fight to come, and someone who, if nurtured right, could fight what she didn't' want her nephew to fight.
Or at the very least, stand beside her nephew when such a time came.
If there ever was a more gracious offer than that in Riveria's life, it would be the time she'd been offered an escort to escape her family's forest, and their clutches.
And just like that time, Riveria accepted it.
"I'll be under your care, Miss Alfia."
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It was an awkward affair for Bell to explain to his goddess what happened during the morning at the gates of her home, his magic coming in clutch as he used it to his advantage and massaged Hephaestus shoulders as both, an apology for his aunt's actions and for him missing their morning class.
Thirty minutes of a very thorough magical infused back massage by Bell later, Hephaestus moaned out her forgiveness of Alfia's actions, Bell missing his morning session with her, and allowance of Riveria entering and leaving her home because of her new tutelage under Alfia.
A tutelage that started right after Riveria accepted Alfia's offer.
Bell was glad that he would no longer be the only one being thrown around like a ragdoll during his aunt's practical magical lessons. He left the Hephaestus manor with such thoughts in mind by midday, and he rushed to the Hostess of Fertility where he was not surprised to see Alise standing by the door, impatiently tapping her feet while a pale-looking Ryuu stood beside her.
And the snow fairy of Ryuu's soul puking her guts out.
Huh, souls puked rainbow colored.
"Hey," Bell greeted Alise with a wave.
"… You're late…" Alise crossed her arms with a frown, but it soon turned into a smile as she slung her arm across his shoulder, "But I'm glad you made it."
Bell would forever deny smiling back at Alise that time.
"Sorry, a lot happened this morning," Bell awkwardly scratched his cheek as Alise helped Ryuu inside the restaurant, and the three sat by the counter where Mia greeted them with a bright, confident, smile.
"Didn't expect to see you around here so soon," Mia told Bell after she took Ryuu's and Alise's order.
"I'm not unwelcome here… right?"
"As long as you pay, you're always welcome," Mia grinned, and Bell felt the same sense of reassuring comfort radiating from her as he did from Alfia.
His order was taken, and while they waited, Alise leaned onto his shoulder to whisper directly into his ear.
"Soo… I heard you had a long night?" Alise teased with a good-natured smile.
"Better than Ryuu's, at least." Bell looked over Alise's shoulder to the elven woman who reclined her upper body on the counter, "Will she be fine?
"Don't, ugrh, worry Mister Cranel, I'll be… fine." Ryuu's faced paled further, and that was saying something what with her snow-white skin, and she ran off towards what he imagined must be the bathroom.
Well, wasn't that reassuring.
"That girl…" Alise shocked her head, "Say, Bell, you haven't gone into the dungeon yet, right?"
"Not yet, I've been focused on other things," Bell replied.
"Would you like to explore with us, then?" Alise grinned and reclined her cheek on the palm of her hand.
"I would only drag you down," Bell shocked his head, denying the offer. "Riveria's told me about you two…"
Alise looked away, frowned, then looked back at Bell with an even brighter smile than she received him earlier, "Yet you still came…"
Bell had to look away at how bright and loud Alise's soul was with her words, "I'm glad you went out of your way to become my friend, I… don't think there's anyone else I could trust as much as you."
And if Ryuu had been there, he would've included her in his praise too.
Everything Riveria had told Alfia, she had also told Bell.
What Alise and Ryuu went through in the dungeon, their losses, which spurred them to leave their original Goddess's side and avenge their fallen family… Truly, if there was anyone Bell would trust, it was someone who was willing to kill for those they cared.
Alise and Ryuu fit that mold perfectly, and he knew, despite how conflicting their friendship could, and inevitably would become, it was one that he would never let go.
"Good, because you're not getting rid of me that easily!" Alise slung her arm across his shoulder and ruffled his hair as Ryuu reappeared and threw herself against the counter, her seat being to the left of him.
"Ryuu?" Bell worriedly called out her name, "Would you like some help?"
Ryuu tilted her head so she could look at Bell, "… please."
"I will need to touch you anywhere, is that okay?" There was no way he was having a repeat of a misunderstanding.
Ryuu nodded and slid her hand across the counter, palm up, until it was close enough for Bell to gently grasp and vibrate his noise to ail Ryuu's soul, the snow fairy blissfully sighed in relief as Bell's noises surrounded and rubbed her spiritual cheeks.
The elven woman complexion slowly regained its healthy white glow, and by the time the food arrived, Ryuu had no problems sitting properly, however, she was all but leaning against Bell's shoulders as his noise continued comforting her.
"Adorable."
- 0 – TC – 0 -
Lunch with Alise and Ryuu was a fun, if short, affair for Bell, yet it was one that he enjoyed. Alise invited him again to explore the dungeon with them, and Bell gave in and told her that when he was ready to enter the dungeon, he would tell them.
After that, it was time to meet up with Airmid in the Dian Cecht clinic and start his first day working under her and learning from her.
To Bell, it felt like the pieces of his life's ambition puzzle were finally coming together. Hephaestus blessing returned a lot of vigor to his mom, Riveria's offer for the elven remedy made sure his aunt would live long enough for him to learn how to dispel her curse with Airmid's teaching, and then, Airmid could finally heal her.
Just a little bit longer, and Alfia would finally be cured.
So, Bell hurried to reach the clinic as fast as he could, almost bumping into several city folk on his way, and by the time he arrived, he was out of breath.
But his spirit was still willing, so despite huffing and puffing, Bell crossed the doors which jingled his arrival, and not a moment later the silver-haired doll made her appearance behind the counter.
"Good afternoon, Mister Cranel," Airmid expressions were the same as always, stiff and giving that doll-like impression.
Sadly, for Airmid, Bell could hear specks of embarrassment emanating from her noise.
"Hello Miss Airmid, I'm not late, right?" Bell paused for a moment to gather his breath.
"You arrived just on time," Airmid glanced around, and after she saw nobody in the lobby of the clinic, rang the bell to call one of the other Familia members.
An older lady, dressed in very much the same clothes as Airmid, appeared from one of the backdoors and made her way behind the counter.
"Bernadette, take care of the reception." Airmid stepped back to give the older lady access to her place, "I will be at the back teaching Mister Cranel, if there's a need, do not hesitate."
The older lady bowed, gave Bell a curious look, and then smiled benevolently at him.
"Mister Cranel, follow me." Airmid didn't wait for him to reach her side and started walked to the same door the older lady appeared from.
Bell went after her, stopping for a second to give a greeting bow to the older lady, before he crossed the door and jogged to walk behind Airmid who didn't miss a single step.
"This will be my first-time teaching," Airmid suddenly admitted after they turned a corner and climbed two set of stairs. "And I'm uncertain of how useful I will be, to be completely honest, I do not know where to start, even after thinking about it the whole night."
Bell hummed, cupping his chin, "How about we do this in an interview like manner?"
Airmid hummed in response, "General question, detailed questions, then specialized questions. Yes, that can work, it will allow me to gauge how deep is your current knowledge, here." Airmid opened a door on the third floor of the clinic, one that opened up to a studio-like room very similar looking to Hephaestus office except that instead of weapons adorning the walls, there were shelves upon shelves filled to the brim with books and various colored flasks of different sizes.
"This is my personal office, though I use it very little," Airmid pointed at the only table in the middle of the room, one surrounded by two dark-green sofas. Airmid sat first, hands primly resting on her lap as Bell carefully sat down in the one across her. "Give me a rough scope of your current knowledge."
Bell took a deep breath, "I have a general understanding of the body's anatomy and minor wounds care, my stronger fields are type of ailments, the remedies for those ailments, and folklore remedies."
"Lady Hephaistos trusted me with the description of your skill, Iremia." Airmid's expression switched the slightest bit to show her curiosity, "I'm curious as to how your 'visualization' of the souls works, and how that affects your magic."
Bell looked down in thought, "I'm uncertain of how it affects my magic, as both the skill and my magic don't have a definite scope, but I can try to explain how everything looks like to me, if that would be useful?"
"Yes."
"To my eyes, every living being's soul is localized somewhere around their chest, and each one's different from everyone else. Be it in their shape or their colors, the colors can also change depending on their emotions, and in the case of my aunt, or when you were afflicted with the portion of her curse, a third-party shape will appear around the soul and inflict harm on it."
Bell gathered his breath as Airmid processed his words, "I've also been able to see Gods' souls, and all of them have this golden glow around their soul's shape, I've come to relate that golden color to divinity, and… in your case, there's specks of divinity around your soul."
Airmid blinked, "Interesting, my ancestors supposedly closely interacted with Gods thousands of years, and our bloodline has been blessed. Your visualization proves those stories were real, or as close to real as they could be."
Bell nodded, "That is from my skill, what my magic amplified by the skill does is give me a better understanding of what my aunt, and me, have to come to call the 'noise' within people."
Airmid tilted her head. "Noise?"
"Iremia allows me to see the soul, my magic allows me to hear it?" Bell scratched his cheek, "For example, earlier… um… I could hear how you were still embarrassed about my actions yesterday, and sorry for that by the way, and now I can hear how mortified you are, and your soul's turning red in anger, and I'll shut up now, sorry."
Airmid's lid on her emotions boiled over, and she groaned out loud as she hid her face behind her hands, both in equal parts embarrassment and anger, "Nobody can lie to you if that's the case, but this does give me an idea of where to start your training, and how to utilize your magic and skills to their best."
"The last thing I can do is use my own 'Noise' and Magic to interact with the souls of others. When you were afflicted with the portion of Alfia's curse, I surrounded the foreign entity attacking you and crushed it with my noise." Bell raised a hand to pause Airmid's question at that, "Depending on how my magic makes my 'noise' vibrate it can either silence everything in an area around me, silence something specific at the cost of my Mind, or resonate with the 'Noise' of others, and with the help of my magic, restore any irregularities within them."
"… By interacting directly with the soul, you're able to influence the physical host of it depending on your intentions." Airmid summarized his skill and Bell was grateful she put it into such few words. "Have you tried using your magic on Miss Alfia already?"
"Far too many times," Bell grumbled, "The best we've managed is to alleviate the pain she feels for a day before it returns the next day. We've theorized that because I do not understand what, and how, exactly the curse harms her, my magic is ineffective."
Airmid nodded, "Yes, that would be the case with most healing magic too. Healers not only need to learn how the body looks like, but how it works, and then they can use their magic to guide the body to heal itself at the expense of both the user's and the wounded's Mind."
"I've read that it's the same for curses and sickness," That came from Bell's past knowledge from reading books.
"It is and isn't. Wounds are physical aspects the body can heal itself in the long run, magic only accelerates the process whereas sicknesses, or illness, slowly wear away at the body and the body itself accepts this as a 'natural' phenomenon, so healing magic must trick the body into believing the sickness, or illness, is foreign and then it can heal itself."
Oh.
If someone caught a cold, the body would see it as a foreign state, and try to fix itself; however, if someone has a decaying sickness from birth, the body will already see it as something belonging to it and won't try to fix it.
"And curses?"
"They're more closely related to magic, or the spiritual aspect of the body. Normally, curses can only be found in items, however there are cases of curses being cast on living beings, and they cover the individual in layers of multiple afflictions that trick the body into hurting itself." Airmid sighed, "Curses work in the exact opposite of how healing magic does, in the sense that healing magic tricks for good, and curses trick for harm."
"That would mean that to heal a curse, you must know what kind of affliction is causing each layer and overwrite it?" Bell tilted his head, "Sounds a lot like Hephaestus's teachings of how rune works."
Airmid gave him the first smile of the day at that, "Because items can only be cursed by engraving harmful runes into them or come in close contact with a spiritually heavy being, such as Gods or spirits."
"Eh?"
"Lady Hephaistos must've understood your magic from the moment she met you and knew that with your ability to interact so deeply with magical effects, you could become the runemaster she needs in her Familia." Airmid explained, then summarized for him, "You can read magical formulas and your Magic amplified by your Skill allows you to interact with said formulas, and if you ever obtain the runemaster ability, then you will also be able to engrave lasting formulas on items, which is exactly what Lady Hephaistos does to all her weapons."
"Wait, wait, wait, but doesn't that mean that anyone with enough magical knowledge can become a runemaster?" Bell waved his hands frantically.
"Yes and no, again." Airmid started smiling, something that probably stemmed from finding someone she could speak at length about her profession, "A sorceress like the Nine Hells or The Silence can understand magical formulas, however they can not interact with them. Think of it this way, if this paper was a curse, you can write on it, whereas they can only try and rip it apart to have any effect on it."
"Us, healers, can change the paper properties itself, and decide what its new effects will be." Airmid paused for a moment to look up, then gave another example, "Healers change the bad into the good, Sorcerers or Mages destroy or empower the bad, and Runemasters do whatever they want, when it comes to curses of course."
"Then… Runemasters can't heal, except for basic things; Sorceress and mages can heal to a higher extent, and Healers can fully heal," Bell tried summarizing what he understood.
"Exactly, but you fall into all three classes," Airmid eyes suddenly glinted, "In a way, you are like my own Magic. With my knowledge, there's nothing I can't heal unless I do not possess enough Mind. You too only need the knowledge to affect the soul however you desire."
"… I'm… dangerous…" Bell suddenly whispered and Airmid gave him a look of sympathy.
"Yes, but… I trust you will never become what you are fearing, right?".
…
To affect the soul itself…
What a stupid and absurd magic…
But…
It was the only one that would be capable of curing his mom.
"Never, my mom would kill me before that happened."
And as much as Alfia loved him, if Bell ever turned into an evil person, she would kill him with her own two hands…
And then probably kill herself.
Knock
Both Airmid and Bell jumped when there was a knock on the door, and not a second later it slowly slid open, and Bell was assaulted by a noise he'd already heard once before.
One that reeked of divinity, ever-shifting unfulfilled desire, and when Bell looked at the Goddess possessing such foul soul, it was to see a soul in the shape of a woman hanging upside down, bleeding from the chest.
"I'm sorry for interrupting your little reunion, my dear, but could you please wait outside for a minute?" The Goddess spoke, and Bell heard Airmid suddenly stand, and soullessly walk out of the room.
"…"
"Don't look at me like that, dear. You didn't come when I was working, so I had to come see you instead." The Goddess sat down, thick legs sensually crossing over one another, and her arms purposely rested on her elbows, pushing her bosom from the sides.
Bell could feel the goddess's foul noise surround his own and try to pummel it into submission with unbridled desire, yet his soul remained true and didn't waver against the assault, "Who are you."
"I'll tell you after you hear me out first, yes?"
"It's not like I can say no."
"Fufu~ Very smart too, good." The Goddess leaned forward, her arms making the flimsy clothes covering her breasts fall down, "You remind me of someone I wanted, but could never get, and you're even more interesting than her… Would you not like to come with me?"
Ah.
There was only one Goddess who could act like that, only one Goddess that could do what she did, and only one Goddess that cared little for her actions.
"You have exactly three seconds to tell me what you really want, Freya, or I'll become the first Godslayer in this God infested world."
Freya gave him a fanged, lustful grin, pupils all but turning into hearts as she climbed on the table between them and sensually approached him, "Tut-tut, it's not about what I want this time, my dear. But what YOU want."
"Two seconds."
"I can tell you everything you want. I know everything you're looking for…"
"One second."
She draped herself over his lap and chest, her mouth coming sickeningly close to his ear, and she sensually whispered:
"I can give you the cure you're seeking."
…
…
…
He would do anything and everything for his mom, after all...
He needed all the help he could get.
"Go on."
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Author's Note: Interesting ending for the first 10 parts eh? I'm glad to tell you that the commissioner has already requested even more updates for this story, so expect to see it being updated at least once weekly, or so~ There won't be any update for a week to let me rest and continue working on other commissions, however after this rest week, we're back on track for updates in The Cure~
I hope you're liking it as much as I'm liking it myself, and don't be afraid to review with questions about the story, I'll try to DM and reply back to those reviews!
Until the next update~
- Jas / Shiiva