[Spirit of Lust] Chapter 281: Together again. (Patreon)

Will had been questioning and second-guessing himself for a long time. His goals, his purpose, his talent… And though Ishtar brought with her all manner of troubles he didn’t like on top of abilities that also had him questioning the genuineness of his relationships… he had long gotten over his issues with the girl herself.

Ishtar is a hedonist from head to toe. Brash and nagging, too. But she made him move. She is, in various ways, his opposite and his complement. He tried to convince himself it’d be better for the two of them to go their separate ways, but truth is that something was missing inside him. Something intangible. Helga ripped them apart, leaving only a phantom pain. More than the power, Will simply wanted to be back with Ishtar, to hear her nagging in his head, to have her laugh at his dumb antics, to hear her opinions, to have his partner back.

Will felt her presence in his mind, or rather, close to it. She was trying to get in, to ‘possess’ him, but couldn’t. His mental defenses were solid. He wasn’t a broken mess of a person anymore, not to the level he was when she first found him. Add to that the natural magic resistance born from his awakening to innate aether and the big boost from drinking what was essentially a shot of magical energy. If he wanted to, he could’ve easily resisted. Instead, Will completely lowered his defenses.

Last time it happened when he was asleep. Now he could feel Ishtar’s very essence with every fiber of his body. It was like she was reaching for something deep inside him, and Will willingly offered it up. She touched the essence of his soul, but instead of simply staying there, she interwove her essence with his. Like two ropes weaving together, far cleaner than the tangled mess they became before, and also far stronger. This wasn’t a product of agreeing to cooperate after a forceful takeover. This was the entire goal. Two souls, still distinct from one another. woven together… sharing all the power. 

Will’s body burned and flared with power. He could feel the pain in his arms fading away, his legs regaining strength, the entire world regaining focus. He remembered feeling this when Ishtar used healing magic during sex. Did they have enough energy for this? 

He saw Reina blinking in front of him, trying to gather herself . She shook her head, felt her body up and eventually looked at him. She seemed glad at first,, smiling brightly, but then she looked… confused.

“W-Will? Is that… you?”

Will blinked. “It hasn’t been longer than a couple of days, right? Do I look that different?” he asked with a goofy smile, more relieved than he thought he’d be to hear her voice.

“Well… Your hair is purple.” she said.

“Wait, what?” Will stood up with some awkwardness. Not because anything hurt, but because he felt… unnaturally strong. Light, too. This was like the power-up technique he developed, using all his aether to strengthen his body to the maximum. Only this felt… less straining. Far less straining.

Despite himself, Will grinned. “Wait, you’re telling me I became a super… No, not the time.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Reina, get away from here. Not too far, but enough that they can’t see you. Can you walk?”

Reina checked herself again, lifting one leg after the other. “They feel a bit sore, but yes, I can.”

A side effect of Ishtar’s power coursing through her. Her body wasn’t used to it. “Then go. We’ll finish this soon.”

Reina pursed her lips, then clicked her tongue before kissing Will’s cheek. “Come back to us, okay? All of you.”

“That’s the plan.”

He watched Reina jogging away, and got worried when she stumbled once, but she quickly picked herself up. With her at a safe distance, he could move to other matters.

“So you’re here again, right?”

‘I was letting you have a moment. She was really worried about you.’

“I’d love to catch up and get emotional, but we have two people in danger here.”

‘Yeah, the angry man and the suit man. Will… We’re strong.’

“Haven’t we always been?”

‘Even more than before. It’s not just my power now. It’s yours and mine, multiplied. Will, we can kick ass.’

Will sighed. “I know how this goes, so better not waste any more time.” He kicked the ground, cracking the concrete beneath him, exploding into a dash.

‘The angry man is more dangerous right now. Aoi has the suit man in a stalemate, but with how she’s pushing herself, Johana’s gonna run out of gas first.’

Will rushed towards the warehouse, practically flying past the still-asleep mercenaries, past the knocked out Helga and past the struggling Johana to reach the man possessed by wrath.

“Oh, hey… You’re back together,” Johana gasped and laughed. “That’s neat.”

Seeing Will, the angry man, as Ishtar decided to call him, let out a loud roar as he stood back up again. He threw himself at Will, eyes locked on him and only him. He raised his fist, heavy with magic, and brought it down on him once more.

Will planted his feet and caught it with both hands, grunting as he did. It was indeed heavy, but unlike before, he could stop it now. And without missing a beat, Will threw a kick just as heavy at the man’s stomach, sending him flying until he crashed with the back wall.

“Think you have energy left to give Aoi some backup?” Will asked, briefly turning back to Johana.

She wasn’t there anymore. She had already darted towards the man in the suit, not wasting a second to back up Aoi. But perhaps more importantly… She judged that Will and Ishtar were strong enough to take care of this by themselves.