[Spirit of Lust] Chapter 200: Giving in to temptation. (Patreon)

It was bad. Aoi sat at William’s side and kept her hand on his forehead. She did so to keep an eye on the flow of her pupil’s aether, but it also made her notice how his body was burning. His fever was high, he was sweating and looked in pain. More than that, the flow of his aether was a mess, as she had explained to the other girls.

Aether is directly linked to one’s physical condition. A constant, undisrupted flow will naturally enhance one’s physical abilities and general health. As a result, people who could use aether rarely ever fell sick from conventional ailments. However, an irregular flow would, in turn, cause a plethora of negative effects on the body.

Aoi grimaced. That was what she had been taught, and through her years of experience, had found it to hold true in every case. But what of a Higher Spirit? What of a person whose soul is connected to a spirit with such intense aether it dwarfed common sense? To begin with, a thing like ‘lust-attuned aether’ was already something that lay outside common magical theory. Humans, and even most supernatural creatures, could have an affinity to a certain type of magic, yes, but to a concept? To be able to learn any spell from any school of magic with ease so long as it was vaguely related to the arbitrary concept of lust? It would defy nearly everything Aoi had been taught since youth if not for the fact her teachers had also told her that Higher Spirits themselves defied common sense.

If things went as they should, William would make a swift recovery in a few days if left alone. He wouldn’t have a pleasant time, but he would recover. Of course, they were pressed for time now. William needed to work with Nanami and finish the elixir or risk dishonoring a deal made with an even older Higher Spirit. Aoi had to help in some way, but…

Through direct contact, she could feel his disturbed aether, yet couldn’t… interact with it in any way. For starters, the intensity and power of his aether meant his magic resistance was of the highest level. It was unlikely that any mage from this world and this era could directly touch William and Ishtar’s aether, much less put them under any spell.

Then there was also the fact that his aether felt… foreign to her. This lust-attuned aether felt different to that of any other person. It was… warmer, sweeter, fragrant, softer, beautiful. In a single word, it was alluring. Was it because she was a woman? It was inviting her to partake in it, to come closer and drink deep, offering promises of untold, unthinkable pleasure. Given first-hand accounts and even her own short-lived experience, these were no false promises.

Both these factors prevented her from doing as she had promised the girls. It was midnight already. She had been trying for the last three hours with no results. She tried to use her own aether to guide his towards the correct flow, but she couldn’t. His aether rejected interference.

Aoi bit her lip. Ruth and Reina had an awakening thanks to William, and because it was him, theirs was also lust-attuned aether. They could probably do a better job than Aoi, but they lacked the necessary skills to deliberately control their own power. Anna, Amelia and Cynthia seemed to be on their way to an awakening as well, but weren’t quite there yet. Nanami’s aether had awakened long ago and was relatively normal, but while her control was worse than Aoi’s in some areas and far superior in others, this was one area she would struggle even more than Aoi.

What made everything worse was that, as Aoi kept thinking and racking her brain over what to do, the aether kept calling to her. Because it was the aether. It had to be. William’s handsome face had nothing to do with it, nor was the fact that they had to take his shirt off.

Aoi swallowed as an idea came to her. It all came back to lust-attuned aether. If such a thing defies common sense, then adapt your thought process to account for its… peculiarities. His aether rejected hers, but… what if she added the concept of ‘lust’ to her treatment?

She felt her heart begin to race and denied to herself that it was from excitement. She needed the young man in good health and had already promised to see to it. There was no point in hesitating.

Aoi took her hand away from William’s forehead and moved it over to his hand, brushing down his elbow as she did. Gingerly, she interlocked their fingers. There was little to no reaction from William other than a soft sigh. Of course holding hands wouldn’t be enough.

She took a deep breath before she leaned down, holding her long hair from falling on his face with her free hand. Then, her lips met his. It was nothing but a faint brush, yet Aoi felt a soft and electrifying wave of pleasure rush through her from head to toe. More importantly, she felt his aether stir. Too early to know if it was having the desired effect, but it was a better reaction than she had gotten in the last three hours, so she pushed forward.

She pressed her lips more tightly against his for a moment, kissing him once, twice, thrice while staring at that cute, sleeping face. If anything, it seemed like doing this was helping with the pain, since William’s grimace began to soften.

God, she hadn’t kissed anyone in so long. Five years, at least. Relationships were never her forte to begin with, and her line of work made them even more of a hassle. Even so, she was well aware that the tingling she was feeling was, in part, unnatural. And… she wanted more.

Aoi slid her tongue between his lips. William put up no resistance. Was it because he was asleep or… did he like it? Dammit, she was doing this because she needed to in order to help him. If he had any memories of it afterwards, she’d apologize, but she was sure he and everyone else would understand.

She found his tongue and tasted it. It was every bit as sweet as she’d imagined. She flicked the tip of it against his, then leaned further down so that her breasts pressed against his bare chest. Aoi had come to dislike her huge breasts during her training years. They were heavy, got in the way and made for, well, more of her to attack, but pressing them against William sent such a nice wave of pleasure that it made her toes curl. Even while asleep, he was the embodiment of pleasure.

Then his tongue moved with hers.