199: The Healer's Light, Part Six

The Healer's Light, Part Six

Continuing through the elevated section of the Floor, Neve and Erin both kept one eye looking over their shoulders at the grey-skinned angelic woman trailing them. 

The spear-wielding monster maintained a calm expression as she followed behind Neve. Erin, as she had been this entire time, struggled to keep herself from laughing. 

"Say, shall we give our new friend a name?" 

"What?" 

"A name," Erin reiterated. "Something to, you know, yell out in the case that either of us ends up in some form of danger, or if  we need assistance, or if you just want to moan out a name for other reasons." 

Neve rolled her eyes. 

"I say we call her... Viscera. She strikes me as a Viscera." 

"Call her whatever you want to," Neve muttered. "She's gonna be fighting right next to you, and I can't heal her, so she's probably just gonna die anyway." 

"All the more reason to treasure the time we have with our new ally. You hear that, Viscera? What's your opinion on the inevitability of your own demise?" The fallen angel in question didn't even blink. "No? Nothing? Ah, a lady of few words, I see. Is that more so your type, Neve? I-" 

Erin stopped speaking. 

Judging by the way her face instantly changed from one full of mischievous mirth to one of concern, the healer guessed she heard something that Neve herself hadn't. 

"What is it?" Neve asked quietly. 

The lamia held up a hand, asking for Neve to stay where she was. Neve did so, and as it was her that Viscera was following, the grey angel did the same. 

Slithering down the metal corridor, Erin went all the way up to a metal gate ahead. One that had been left open. Here, she looked from one side to another and Neve watched as her eyes remained aimed in one particular direction. 

Neve went along with her. 

This led them to a space that was walled off from the rest of the Floor. No longer could they see the main path off to the right, which they would have followed had Aphria not chosen to take them here. Instead, now, all of their focus was funneled into a spacious hall leading up to one massive individual. 

Another fallen angel, one that may as well have been a giant, hulking lump of muscle, holding a hammer bigger than Neve herself. 

From here, Neve could see his level. 

Level 76

MP: 500/500

[Another miniboss? Already? At least there's just one, I guess.] 

Neve went to prepare herself, going through her usual setup. Obviously, the fact that she and Erin had one extra member helping them was a new variable in this fight, but given that Neve's supportive spells couldn't affect her anyway, the healer didn't bother to change her plan much. 

She would cast {Field of Brilliance}, {Encourage}, and {Bolstering Presence} all back to back, as usual, before focusing on dealing with the enemy. 

MP: 1175/1300

Buffed beyond what could be considered reasonable, Erin went to engage the opponent. 

The fact that she was the only one who did so prompted Neve to look to her left, wondering why that was. She found her charmed angel, Viscera, as Erin named her, standing there with a calm expression on her face. 

"..." Neve blinked. "Uh... Can you...?" Neve pointed at the enemy. 

Finally, Viscera ran forward, moving toward the opponent. 

[So, I actually need to verbally order her to do stuff. Okay then.] 

Despite the enemy's intimidating appearance, Neve wasn't too worried about this battle. With Erin's stats and the buffs on top of her, Neve could probably just sit down on the floor and wait for the fight to be over. 

However, she kept watching the fight closely, just in case the monster did anything that might hint at an ability other opponents might use later. And, to see what Viscera could do. 

Judging by the fact that most of the wounds on the monster were deep scratches, it was clear Erin was doing most of the work, but Viscera was trying. The angel dashed from one place to another, using its black wings to back up and avoid getting hit before using them to close the distance again and stab the moving, massive clump of flesh with her spear. 

[She's not doing too bad,] Neve thought, keeping her eyes on the enemy she'd charmed. [It's obvious she's really good with that spear, too. Extremely good. Every attack she makes looks calculated. Powerful. Hm... I wonder, could...] 

Something happened that took Neve out of her thoughts. 

As Erin slithered around her opponent, moving far too quickly for the enemy to react, it finally had enough and roared. 

The ground, the entirety of it, began to glow a bright gold. 

[Huh!?] Neve looked down. The ground beneath her feet felt hotter. 

Neve had no clue what was happening. Erin had no clue what was happening. 

But, one of them did. 

The instant the ground began to glow like this, Viscera had dropped everything she was doing and flew right back at Neve. 

Neve held her weapons up. The speed at which Viscera changed targets from aiming her spear at the enemy to flying all the way back at Neve had almost made it feel like her charm had worn off and she'd become an enemy again. 

That was not the case, however. 

Grabbing Neve by her waist, Viscera lifted the healer into the air. 

Just in time to avoid the pool of flames that had suddenly been created below. 

Erin screamed as the flames wrapped themselves around her in an instant. The giant angel, unaffected by its own magic, ran up and swung its hammer right into Erin's face. 

The lamia was sent flying through the room, nearly reaching Neve and Viscera's current height, before falling by the door that had taken them here. 

Neve healed her up from her position, firing three casts of {Great Healing Dart} at her. 

The fires faded. Erin lifted herself up. Viscera flew to the ground, putting Neve down before flying back at the enemy. 

Neve was going to ask Erin if she was alright but the lamia charged at the enemy before she could do so. 

Looking rather furious, Erin used {Dragon's Divine Swipe}, running a claw up the giant's front, then used {Rorvan's Flurry}, attacking the monster continuously for a few seconds until it stepped back and her attack missed, and, finally, just before her minute ran out, she punched the enemy in the face. 

This sequence dealt enough damage to where, as soon as Erin disappeared, Viscera was able to finish the monster off, stabbing it through the neck. 

EXP Gained: 300

EXP: 370/720

WST Gained: 1000

WST: 73500

Neve breathed a sigh of relief. 

Viscera's fighting stance loosened up until she stood up straight, as though a fight hadn't happened to begin with. 

There was a bad bruise on her left shoulder, where she must have taken a bad hit. 

Instinctively, Neve went to heal her but quickly remembered it was pointless. 

"Hm..." She walked over to Viscera, placing a hand on the spot that had been hit. Viscera had no reaction. "You, uh... Are you alright?" 

Viscera did not even blink, the heart-shaped pupils in her eyes fixed on Neve.  2

"... Right." 

Neve re-summoned Erin. 

The lamia appeared with a rather annoyed expression. 

"I don't recommend standing in those flames from earlier," she said. "That... ranks quite highly on the list of the most painful things I've experienced. Ever." 

"Damn." 

"... It's fine, let's just continue." 

In Neve's eyes, she looked quite shaken, though. 

[It's been a while since we took a break. Maybe I can, I dunno, cheer her up somehow when we get back to the camp.] 

It occurred to her then that such a thought likely wouldn't have come to her mind back when she'd been chasing Thomas. She couldn't think of too many times where she'd made sure her summon, no, her friend, had been doing okay. 

[There is one thing I wanted to try... Maybe, it might help her feel a little bit better. Plus, it could help a lot going forward, too. Maybe.] 

At the back of this place, was a door. 

That door was circular, with a golden barrier on it that Neve walked up to investigate. 

The healer placed a hand on it. 

A message appeared. 

{Access Denied} 

"A dead end?" Erin asked. 

Neve disagreed. 

[No, it's a lot more likely that the same woman who showed us this path is meant to open it... Actually,] Neve's eyes roamed to Viscera, [she could probably open it too, but no. This is probably the best excuse we're going to get to have Aphria walk out of the Safe Zone. And, it's clear that I need her to do that, since I haven't completed the Floor Quest yet even though she helped me.] 

"You're thinking of having Aphria help us?" 

"Was it that obvious?" Neve asked. 

"It's the logical answer," Erin shrugged. "I agree we should ask her. There's, ehm, only one issue..." 

The issue she was talking about was obvious. 

[Right,] Neve thought, looking at Viscera. [What do I do with her?] 

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