[Spirit of Lust] Chapter 150: Aoi arrives. (Patreon)

Aoi rode her motorcycle through town as the first rays of sunlight began to appear over the buildings. She’d gotten around three or four hours of sleep, but it would be enough. She was used to it, and she wouldn’t have been able to sleep much more even if she had the time. Today was the day they put an end to Jack Evans.

Aoi parked her bike outside Will’s apartment building and headed inside, going down to the basement. She knocked on the door, and she was greeted by a girl she didn’t know, but recognized. The young woman with auburn, almost red long hair was a receptionist at Ladies Magazine and Cynthia’s secretary, if Aoi wasn’t mistaken.

“Ah. Nanami’s aunt, right?” The girl’s smile was professional. Too professional for someone wearing nothing but a white t-shirt clearly too big for them. Her hair was a bit of a mess and her cheeks were red.

“Yes, I’m Aoi.”

“I’m Anna. A pleasure. Come in.” Anna moved aside for her. “Um… Sorry for the…”

The girl didn’t finish the sentence, and Aoi could understand why. Sorry for what? Her state of dress? The strong smell of sweat and sex that permeated the room?

Will’s girlfriend, Reina, was blissfully drinking tea on the couch, dressed in a long black t-shirt. Nanami was sitting at the kitchen counter with several glasses in front of her, working on diluting the potion, as planned. William was nowhere to be seen.

“He’s in the shower,” Reina said. Her smile was calm, gentle, satisfied. “Good morning, Ms. Aoi. Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Don’t call me ‘miss.’” Aoi chuckled. “And yes, please.”

So he had clearly spent a good chunk of the night having a threesome here, huh? There was nothing to hold against him. That was simply the way his powers worked, there was nothing to do about that. If he was going to be in his best condition today, this was only to be expected.

Still, the strong, lingering scent of sex was… intoxicating.

The door to the bathroom opened, and from it came William in nothing but tight-fitting boxers. Aoi looked at him reflexibly, and immediately regretted it.

A fit, muscled body. Strong arms almost twice the size of a normal man. Chiseled abs. Athletic, toned legs. Damp blonde hair, bangs nearly reaching his deep blue eyes. Combined with the scent in the room, her mind traveled places.

It’s just the Spirit of Lust, she tried to convince herself. That body was because of Ishtar, the attraction she felt a side effect of the nature of his aether. The strength of the effect was getting to her head.

So she told herself, conveniently forgetting her magic resistance should let her ignore such passive effects without effort.

“Crap, sorry,” William said, walking to his wardrobe and taking out a shirt. “You’re here earlier than I thought.”

No, don’t cover up…! Shut up! Ugh, worst was he could most likely tell. He knew she enjoyed the sight of his body. He used it against her during their serious fight. Regardless, Aoi had to keep a semblance of control and dignity.

“We have work to do. The sooner we start, the sooner we get it over with,” she said.

Reina set a cup of tea on the coffee table. “It’s ready, Aoi.” After a smile and a nod, the woman walked to William, put a hand on his chest and kissed him. “I’ll take my turn in the shower now.”

William watched her go, eyes glued to her lower back. He only snapped back to reality when the door closed behind her.

“Still, this is no way to receive a guest,” he said, causing Nanami to snort.

“Oh, but when I come over you receive me with a woman on top of you?” She sounded teasing, surprisingly.

Aoi saw Anna blush and fidget in place. William covered his face with one hand and dragged his finger down.

“That was…! Reina opened the door without telling us,” he said, then groaned. “No, no excuse. God, what am I becoming?”

His actions may be socially inappropriate, but they were comparatively benign. With such a strong influence possessing him, Aoi could still barely believe he had achieved a measure of coexistence with the spirit. She didn’t know how he was before, but that he would change after the possession was an inevitability. His values, his priorities, his goals were all being affected by the Spirit of Lust. It always happened.

“Nevermind that. How’s progress, Nanami?” Aoi asked.

“Almost done. It’s taken me too long to do what a pro would have finished in an hour.” Her niece grumbled. “I can see the components just fine, but I’ve never worked with half of them.”

“Maybe if you hadn't stopped your alchemy studies…” Aoi saw Nanami’s shoulders tense and stopped right there.

Her niece, Nanami Nakano. A girl naturally born with the ability to use aether. Her power wasn’t high. She wasn’t a combatant and would probably never be, but her talents lay elsewhere. She had always been able to feel things others couldn’t, see things invisible to everyone else. Talents thought lost bloomed again in the family, in Nanami.

She would never be a combatant, but there were so many other areas she could master that were outside anyone else’s reach. Nanami was trained in divination, warding, alchemy and even summoning. The girl hated everything.

In a family who had taken upon themselves the duty to investigate and fight the paranormal, Nanami was a girl who wanted no part in it. Every member of the family wanted a say in her education, even Aoi, but the final say was always her parents’. Faced with the question of whether they would let their daughter live a normal life or let her talents go to waste, the answer was clear. Nanami hated it all. Her parents were lucky she was a good girl, with a sense of responsibility.

In an attempt to give the poor girl a semblance of freedom, Aoi suggested she come to this town to work with her. She’d gain field experience under her, and she’d be able to get away from her parents’ control. Seeing as she wasn’t making much progress in her studies, her parents agreed, surprisingly.

Soon after, the organization she worked with was destroyed. By Aoi herself.

“Nanami told you the details of the plan,” William quickly interjected, pulling her away from those dark thoughts. Had he noticed? Probably. He could read emotions easily. “But if we’re going to use that other world, and the entrance in that building, we’ll need to tell Amelia. She owns the place now, and it wouldn’t do to have people around for any reason.”

“Yes, I was thinking the same. I’ll talk to her,” Aoi said.

“I should do it. I owe it to her.”

“No, I’ll do it,” Aoi insisted. “If I understand you like I think I do, you’ll probably tell her everything, from Ishtar to Jack Evans.” William flinched. “See? It’s not the time for that. I’ve already told her that the rumors of the place being haunted may not just be rumors. She doesn’t entirely believe me, but knows the building will need to go through a big inspection before it sees use again. I’ll ask her when she plans to have that inspection, and if it’s today, convince her to delay it.”

“She has a point, Will,” Anna said, walking up to him. “That’s something that should be talked about calmly, my situation notwithstanding.”

William bit his lip. He didn’t like it. “Very well.” He turned to the secretary. “Anna, could you check on Cynthia? See if she’s doing okay. If possible, try to ask her if her husband has any plans today. If we’re going to call him, I’d rather do it at a time when it doesn’t rouse suspicion.”

“Yes. Don’t worry, I’ll get it out of her.”

“The potion is ready,” Nanami announced, pouring it all back on its original container and closing the lid. “We can start whenever you want.”

It was time. It was finally, finally time.