Volume 1 – 42. Explanation
“...The purification method is intercourse?”
Just as Lucien had expected, disbelief spread across Isolde's face the moment the explanation left his mouth. Her eyes widened slightly before narrowing again, as though she were trying to determine whether he was being serious or making some kind of joke.
Across the room, Sylphie reacted much the same way. The Nephilim's brows drew together ever so slightly, while Thane, who had remained stoic through most of the conversation, visibly paused before slowly setting his cup down on the table.
“Eh? We’re supposed to mate?” Kira blinked several times before scratching one cheek. “I’m not really interested in humans, though. Especially not male ones.”
The straightforward response caused Lucien to laugh.
“I understand. Trust me, I don't want that either,” he said, raising a hand in reassurance. “But it's the fastest method I've discovered so far. That said, the reason I'm telling the men about this at all is because I have another theory.”
“I’m only hearing about this now.”
Ava, who had remained unusually quiet throughout the explanation, finally spoke up from the sofa.
“Well, yeah.” Lucien glanced at her and gave an apologetic smile. “I only thought of it recently.”
He wasn't lying.
Until recently, physical intimacy had been the only purification method he could actually prove. The broader explanation was more difficult to bring up. After all, he couldn't exactly tell people how he knew it existed in the first place. Until yesterday, he had found himself wondering how he was supposed to introduce the idea naturally without raising questions he couldn't answer.
And judging from the expressions currently on Isolde's and Sylphie's faces, he was becoming increasingly doubtful either of them would ever agree to the original method anyway.
Isolde, in particular, looked as though she'd rather volunteer for a lone expedition into a Hollow-infested district.
“It seems this ability of mine is connected to Syndésmos, based on what Edric and Seren suggested yesterday, and frankly, I agree,” Lucien continued. “Syndésmos is heavily associated with bonds and relationships, which fits with the fact that my ability also appears to revolve around interpersonal connections. So far, purification has only worked through physical intimacy, but I’m beginning to suspect that’s merely one expression of a broader principle rather than the principle itself.”
“Syndésmos...” Sylphie murmured, considering the idea for a moment before giving a small nod. “I can see the overlap. When you say a broader principle, do you mean things like trust, emotional closeness, or personal bonds in general?”
Lucien nodded.
“Yes.”
His gaze shifted toward Seren.
“Seren and I have known each other for years. There's already a significant level of trust between us, and I'd consider that a form of intimacy too. Because of that, I'm curious what would happen if we avoided the usual purification method for a day and simply spent time interacting normally.”
He leaned back slightly in his chair, organizing the thought as he spoke.
“Actually, we've already seen something that points in that direction. A few nights ago, we tested whether physical intimacy itself was the important part. We slept naked together without doing anything beyond that, and the Corruption still decreased.”
At that, several people around the room shifted slightly.
Ava smirked.
“That's one way to put it.”
Lucien ignored her.
“The reduction was smaller, but it still happened. So now I want to take it a step further and remove that element entirely. No sleeping together, no physical intimacy, nothing. Just normal interaction.”
His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.
“If my theory is correct, Corruption should still decrease to some extent. Maybe not as efficiently, but enough to prove that the purification isn't tied exclusively to physical intimacy.”
Silence settled over the room as everyone considered the possibility.
Unlike the earlier explanation, this was something that sounded considerably more reasonable.
Edric was the first to break the silence.
“It would certainly fit Syndésmos's domains better.”
“It would,” Sylphie agreed quietly.
Seren lowered her gaze in thought.
When viewed from that perspective, the results they had seen so far were difficult to dismiss. The reduction during their first session had been significant. The later sessions had become increasingly inconsistent despite lasting similar lengths of time. If the process was influenced by the state of a relationship rather than a single physical act, many of those irregularities suddenly became easier to explain.
“I suppose testing it wouldn't hurt,” she said at last.
Lucien nodded.
“Exactly. Right now it's only a theory, but it should be easy enough to verify.”
Lucien already knew it should work.
At least, according to the System, it should.
The effect wasn't particularly strong, and it required him to remain within a certain distance of the other person, but if the information was accurate, Corruption would gradually decrease even without any physical intimacy involved.
“Well, that's considerably better than having sex with you.”
Isolde delivered the remark with characteristic bluntness before sending Lucien a thin, cynical smirk.
“Though I am curious what kind of intimacy you're supposed to develop with me.”
Lucien let out a dry laugh.
“I'm wondering the same thing.”
His gaze moved toward Sylphie, concern flickering across his face.
“What about you? I know your resistance to Corruption is weaker than most people's, but how do you feel about Inferni in general? Considering, well...” He gestured vaguely. “Inferni are closer to Hollow creatures than most races in some respects.”
Sylphie turned her pale silver eyes toward him. There was something about her expression that always seemed faintly melancholy, even when she wasn't sad.
“I feel somewhat uncomfortable around you,” she admitted after a moment. “But not to the extent that it interferes with my ability to think clearly.”
Her gaze lingered on him.
“Since you don't possess an Inferni tongue, you likely wouldn't be capable of speaking Zhar'keth. That would affect me more.”
“Ah, right," Lucien grimaced slightly. "They can do that, huh?”
He had heard full-blooded Inferni speak their native language before. Their tongues and throats were structured differently from those of humans, allowing them to produce sounds that shouldn't have been possible.
The language carried a strange quality that made his skin crawl and his thoughts grow irritable, while another part of him found it oddly soothing, likely due to his Inferni blood.
“As for whether I'd agree to your methods or not...”
Sylphie glanced briefly toward Isolde before looking back at him.
“I don't particularly mind them, including the physical intimacy.”
“...Really?”
A faint smile touched her lips, though it never quite reached her eyes.
“I already fell when I was exiled from Nordvaal. If not for Skóthos's blessing woven into this dress to conceal my aura, I would have attracted far more Hollows to this city than I already have.”
Her fingers brushed lightly against the dark fabric covering her arm.
“I can't really fall much lower than this.”
Lucien felt the corner of his mouth twitch.
Well.
That certainly made him sound like the villain in the conversation.
Judging by the expressions around the room, several other people seemed similarly unsure how to respond.
The awkward silence lasted only a few seconds before Thane cleared his throat.
“In any case,” the half-dwarf said, “both Isolde and Sylphie seem willing to try these methods, correct?”
His steady gaze shifted toward Lucien.
“I don't mind participating either, assuming it helps reduce Corruption. As long as Kira agrees, I think we can move on and start discussing the Southern Ruins expedition.”