The Song of the Nimernella 4/4

DanMachi: The Dragon's Return

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Warning: Nudity and mild sexual content. Viewer discretion is advised.

Chapter 7

The Song of the Nimirnella

Part 4 (Final)

Spirit Reading

…

Lefiya watched Michael in confusion as the old man muttered over Bell's unconscious form. He wrote strange runes upon Bell's skin: one on his forehead and one on each hand. However, the Titan had also removed Bell's shirt, writing a final rune over where Bell's heart would be. Michael then packed his pipe once more before snapping his fingers to spring the life of fire into the pipe's bowl. He puffed slowly on the pipe, still muttering with furrowed brows. When the old man finally returned his attention to the young elven girl.

"The preparations have been made," Michael muttered. "Still, I have yet to give you warning. What you are about to do is highly dangerous magic. You are going to enter into the mind of this boy and strengthen his consciousness."

"Why would I need to do that?" Lefiya frowned. "He'll wake up on his own, won't he?"

"No," Michael said bluntly. "The demi-god he fought not only damaged his physical body, but also his mind and spirit. The boy is in a comatose state, born from an evil, magical poison that the demi-god's power could produce. The poison itself is painful beyond imagination. In short, if the boy is not healed, it would be far more merciful to put a knife in his heart."

Lefiya heard Hestia choke down a sob, but the goddess could not hide the tears that were pouring down her face. Lili wrapped her arms around the goddess and two wept silently together. Tiona watched Bell with uncertainty, the worry etched into the face of the usually care-free Amazon was enough to make Lefiya wonder if she was looking at her same friend. Haruhime sat in a corner of the room, face bowed into her knees so no one could see her own tears. Only Ais was not crying, and it was only Ais that place a comforting and encouraging hand on Lefiya's shoulder.

"What makes this magic so dangerous?" Lefiya asked after a pause, unsure of anything else to ask.

"To simply put it, you would be fighting a spirit poison," Michael stroked his beard. "If you fail save the boy, he will die. If that happens, the poison could also spread to you. Depending on your strength, the poison may take its time, or it will kill you quickly. Even if the poison does not spread to you, you could also lose your spirit inside Bell's body. The poison would kill your spirit, destroying the falna Loki gave you and rendering you incapable of magic, thought, and emotion while also destroying your memories."

Silence filled the room as Michael watched over Bell. Tiona turned her eyes of Lefiya, and Lefiya swore she saw the tiniest glimpse of fear from the Amazon. Ais also showed a hint of destress, the Sword Princess seemed so powerless in the face of the doom that hung over Bell Cranel.

"And why can't you do this?" Lefiya frowned.

"Spirit-reading magic is intimate and requires a powerful mage," Michael puffed on his pipe. "I may have strong magic, but Bell does not know me, and therefore cannot trust me. The magic also requires strong enough caster that the person meeting the spirit of another cannot be thrown out. Haruhime is powerful in her bond with Bell, but this is magic she cannot work. Spirit-reading magic is magic that can only be used by the High Elves and the spirits, who taught those elves out of a sense of kinship."

"Kinship?" Lefiya's asked with surprise.

"Yes," Michael chuckled. "Did you think the High Elves received their status out of mere chance? No, the High Elves have the blood of spirits running through their veins as much as Ais does. I suppose I can tell that story at a different time, when we have time to spare."

"I have a feeling you have much that you aren't telling us," Ais frowned.

"Perhaps," Michael smiled. "But if I am, I can assure you that I have my reasons."

"Then you know about my mother," Ais clenched her fists tightly, staring at Michael as if he knew exactly where the Black Dragon was and how to kill it.

"I have watched the world with interest for some time," Michael nodded. "Yes, I know about your mother. But, now is not the time. I will tell you everything I know after Bell is saved."

Ais nodded before she looked over to Lefiya. The Sword Princess offered the elf a small smile. "I know you'll save him, Lefiya."

The elf smiled slightly back before sighing. She looked at Michael and nodded, nearing towards Bell. "What must I do?"

"The magic used is deeply intimate," Michael repeated. "Therefore, the casting of that magic must be equally so. In order to see the boy as he truly is, he must see you as you truly are."

"I don't understand," Lefiya frowned.

"The use of this magic is where you mortals get the concept of 'soulmates,'" Michael said bluntly. "In other words, you both have to be touching whilst naked."

The room went silent after Michael's words left his lips. The quiet sobbings of the Hestia Familia women came to a screeching halt as all eyes came to be on Michael. Lefiya then felt those same eyes fall upon her and couldn't help but sweat nervously under the stare of what she could only describe as death glares.

"Wh-what?" the elf choked out.

"I believe a major requirement is the holding hands in a locked fingers fashion whilst kissing," Michael muttered curiously. "You also need to be on top of the boy."

"TOUCH MY BELL, AND I'LL KILL YOU!" Hestia and Lili screamed at the top of their lungs.

"I-I-I… WHY THE HELL DO I NEED TO DO THAT?!" Lefiya screamed back.

"Enough!" Michael cried sternly, thunder rippling from his voice. "Unless you all wish for the boy to die, this is all we can do to save him. Now, everyone else but Lefiya, out!"

The room went silent again under Michael's fearful gaze. However, one by one, each of the girls left, starting with Tiona and Ais, and ending with Hestia. Yet, before the left, each of them grabbed and squeezed Bell's hand in encouragement, silently praying for his recovery. Haruhime grasped his hand the longest, wishing she could save him as he had saved her countless times. After all the other girls had left, Michael started to write down on a blank scroll. Once the Titan had finished, he handed the scroll to Lefiya.

"Once I leave, you must remove your clothes and the rest of his," the Titan instructed. "The spell requires the touching of runes, so you must have the same runes written on your skin. As such, once the runes touch, and you have recited the spell I have written for you, the spirits of you both will come into contact with each other. I do not speak lightly about the warnings I have given you. Spirit reading is much like the palm readings you mortal females enjoy so much. Once you have access, you are able to know everything you could about each other. Your pasts and presents will become like open books to each other, you will able to see possible futures you could have with one another. As such, the fascination drives many who try this magic into drowning in the spirit of the other.

You must be cautious, and the only way to be cautious is to know what you're looking for. What you need to look for is the poison of the demi-god, and it will manifest itself in the appearance of trying to destroy everything you see around you. It will be very out of place, so the poison will be quite obvious. Still, finding the poison isn't the problem. The problem will be distraction. Resist that distraction and find Bell. The combined strength of your spirits will be able to put down the poison once you find each other."

Michael handed the scroll to Lefiya and smiled at the young elf. "You mortals are fascinating creatures, and always quite surprising. I wish you well on your mission."

The Titan quickly left the room after his parting words. Lefiya couldn't help but grumble a little, but admitted to herself that she needed Bell in her life. He was her rival, and she would not allow anything to take that rivalry away from her. The elf-maiden deeply breathed in and out before nervously removing her clothes. The coolness of the air kissed her skin, and she shivered, goosebumps forming on the milky-white color of her arms.

After she reluctantly removed what remained of Bells clothes, she sat on top of him. The elf-maiden gasped and shivers of raced up and down her back. Her cheeks grew hotter and hotter as she opened up the freshly written scroll and placed it next to Bell's face. Lefiya's breasts tenderly touched the Bell's chest, and squirmed as she felt her nipples rub against his skin. She panted heavily, unsure how any of this was able to support the spell, but the Titan did not seem one to lie for, what the elf could only describe as, "the sick amusement of the gods."

"I beseech the souls of myself and the one I am binding myself to, to come forth," Lefiya began her chant, resting her forehead to the forehead of her human rival. Out of the corner of her eye, she read the scroll, feeling more embarrassed as she felt her body rub against his in an attempt to get more comfortable.

"Join us, for we lay naked to each other without shame what would be our shame to strangers. We, who care for each other, now ask that our souls watch over each other for better or worse. Let us watch over each other in sickness and in health. Let us watch over for richer or poorer. Let us watch over each other in all things. Even if time passes between us, let us watch over each other still. Let nothing that is the heavens above, or anything beneath the heavens break apart what the Divine has brought together. Let us join together until death parts us. And if death does part us, may be meet again beyond the shadows of the Void in a place of eternal starlight and evergreen. Spirit Reading!" (1)

Lefiya then inhaled, closed her eyes, and crashed her lips upon Bell's. Electricity flowed through the body of the elf-maid, causing the shivers that had already enveloped her back to intensify. She moaned deeply into the kiss. When the electricity had subsided, and Lefiya had opened her eyes once more, she was in a white room with nothing but a door in front of her.

"I'll find you, Bell," Lefiya breathed. "And I swear I'll kill you if you remember any of this!"

When the elf-maiden went through the door, she at first saw field of wheat with the sun setting over it. On top of a hill, she saw familiar white-haired boy running to an old man dressed as a farmer. The pair were laughing together as the young Bell clung to the old man.

"Grandpa!" the boy smiled excitedly. "I found a story I wanted you to read to me before bed!"

"Oh?" the old man smiled back. "Another tale of heroes, I'm guessing? Which one do you want?"

"Dungeon Oratoria!" the boy grinned widely.

Lefiya couldn't help but give a small smile to Bell's behavior. Even as he was now, he was always thinking of heroes. However, the face that drew Lefiya's attention even more was Bell's grandfather. He seemed familiar to her somehow, though the elf could not guess where she had seen his face before. Though, the elf-maiden did have some recollection of seeing the face once in one of the many studies Riveria made her go through.

She shook her head, remembering Michael's stern warning to her to not become distracted. The elf slowly left the scene, thinking about how peaceful everything seemed here and wondering why she and Bell got tangled up in this mess. Lefiya continued to wander, and she saw many of his memories, the fondest of Bell's memories clearly being of his grandfather. The more she saw the old man, the more Lefiya couldn't help but wonder where she had seen him before. Her heart broke for Bell when she learned of his journey to Orario over his grandfather's death, and she couldn't help but enjoy seeing pieces of his journey until now, even if his interactions with Ais did frustrate her.

Still, the elf-maiden pushed forward, constantly reminded herself that she needed to push forward for not only Bell's sake, but her own. Eventually, she came to a place that was clearly not one of Bell's memories. The elf-maiden stood in the high tower of a ruined city overlooking a vast forest. The city itself was under the shadow of a large tree that even dwarfed Orario's Tower of Babel. The world around her was beautiful, but at the center of the tower-top was a little girl with long white hair and blue eyes. She knelt over a white rabbit with red eyes, seeming to have a conversation with it. The young girl held a dagger that Lefiya recognized as the Hestia Knife.

Suddenly, a figure of black smoke emerged behind the girl, and formed into a large, black snake with eyes that glowed orange. The white-haired girl growled, clinching the Hestia Knife in her fist as she turned to meet the snake. Lefiya's eyes widened as she felt her strength start to fade in front of the snake. The monster moved forward, ready to attack the girl, but Lefiya threw herself in front of the girl, and bared the snake's fangs with her staff.

"Attack it, now!" Lefiya cried to the girl. She nodded and desperately slashed again and again at the snake.

Her movements were much like Bell's, as was the determination in her eyes, but the strength of the girl was far weaker. Lefiya glared at the snake, trying to keep its attention upon her. Thankfully, the elf-maiden was able to do just that, casting short chant spells to keep the snake's attention on her. However, as the snake grew weaker, the girl grew stronger. And as she grew stronger, Lefiya grew more hopeful that she could defeat the poison threatening to kill Bell.

But then the snake struck Lefiya with its tail, sending the elf-maiden flying a few feet across the tower's top. The elf struggled to get up and saw in horror that the snake was about to bite and swallow the white-haired girl whole. But white rabbit leapt in front of the girl, and turned to brilliant white flame, tackling the snake with all its might. However, the rabbit collapsed after it struck the snake, its body pooling blood on the stone floor. The girl then screamed in anger and jumped to attack the head of the snake. And when Lefiya saw the girl trying to be a hero like the rabbit that just saved the girl, she cast Arcs Ray. A javelin of light struck the snake in the back of its neck while the girl buried of the blade of the Hestia Knife deep into the snake's head. The vile creature screamed in agony before it went up in smoke, and the smoke vanished.

Lefiya felt her strength returning to her as she panted, but the white rabbit still bled. The girl softly wept over the rabbit, gathering it into her arms. However, Lefiya went over to the rabbit and cast what healing magic she could. The blue eyes of the elf met the blue eyes of the girl, and she smiled at Lefiya before placing her forehead on the elf-maiden's.

The next thing Lefiya knew was that she was staring into the eyes of her rival, whose eyes were just as wide as hers were. Their lips were still locked, and the elf could feel his heart pounding in his chest as her heart was pounding in hers. The elf quickly pulled away from Bell's lips, but not before feeling something hard pressing firmly against her underneath her body.

"L-L-Lefiya?" Bell squeaked nervously.

"You…," Lefiya growled in rage, tears forming in her eyes. "YOU PERVERT!"

The screams of Bell Cranel being hit by the elf-maiden could be heard throughout Hearth Mansion.

…

1. I'm not going to lie, the idea for this spell actually originated from Goblin Slayer. For those of you who haven't seen the anime, read the manga/light novels, etc., there is a scene in which Goblin Slayer lost too much blood after killing a "Goblin Champion" that almost killed him in kind. In order save Goblin Slayer, Priestess worked some kind of magic that could only be done by a virgin priestess that the Sword Maiden taught to her. A part of the spell required that Goblin Slayer and Priestess had to sleep an entire night together naked. Well, the Sword Maiden also slept naked next to Goblin Slayer, but that's simply fanservice out of her deep love for the guy. In either case, I felt that recreating the spell under the pretext of marriage vows being its chant best suited the nature and impact of the spell's work. There was a part of me that to name the spell first as "spirit joining," but the concept of "reading" I felt had greater impact in the sense that "reading" means Bell and Lefiya could hide nothing from each other.

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