Lucilfer (ChrolloxReader)

Chapter 15

The time was around noon, and Chrollo and I were lounging in the living room after eating a late breakfast. Outside, it was cloudy and cold but there was no new snow, just the occasional white blots in the grass and the stone patio and the wild, unkempt garden. Inside, I was curled up in his lap, my head pressed to his chest and listening to the way his heart beat around the Judgement Chain, doing my best to gage the amount of energy I'd need to use for the exorcism. Currently, he was asking me light questions about how I planned to go about it while running his fingers loosely through my hair.

"How long do you think it will take?" he asked curiously, and I felt his jaw flex over my head with his words.

"Hmm," I hummed thoughtfully, pausing a moment before responding fully.

Smaller exorcisms usually took no longer than a few hours—I'd had to perform a few in the past. The human trafficking business I was victim to had great connections to black market Nen users, and I was always being commissioned to fix up their issues. Only once before had I ever come into contact with anything even close to the strength in this Judgement Chain, and it was a full day before that man was free of it. Still, Chrollo's curse was much worse—the user who inflicted him with it must have had serious conditions on both his end as well as Chrollo's. I could do it easily, but it would take some special preparation.

"At least thirty six hours," I mused, absently staring at the messy pile of books on the coffee table, "maybe two days. You'll be passed out, of course."

I almost felt the surprise coming off of him.

"Really? I suppose I hadn't expected that." His arm around me shifted, and he found my hand, twining his fingers with mine. "Why so long?"

I bit my lip and furrowed my brows.

"It just has to do with how powerful the chain user was, and how much weight he put on the restrictions." I shrugged. "It probably had to do with his own life or death. That law over your Nen is very tight—even the smallest lapse in control could kill you."

He nodded calmly, playing with my thumb.

"Is there a way you can decipher the best way to go about the exorcism?" he inquired. "Or do you just... do it?"

Widening my eyes, I lifted my head off of his chest and looked into his honest amber-gray gaze, that gaze which didn't seem frightened or anxious in the slightest. It was entirely peaceful, unreadable, expressionless.

"Yes, if I use Feeler again." I placed a hand against his chest, now clothed with a black turtleneck.

Chrollo blinked and nodded, giving me the go-ahead.

Inhaling deeply, I focused my aura into my hand and extended it directly to his chest. I surrounded the rest of his body in a thinner layer of it, as well, and I felt him stiffen around me just slightly—I knew for other reasons that my ability created a tingling sensation in the victim, but it was kind of adorable to see his reaction to it. Forcing myself to pay attention to his heart, though, I once again found the Judgement Chain. It was drenched in a powerful, resolved aura. Yes, I could remove it, but there was a risk I realized I'd be taking.

The shock from the attack of my Nen on such an immovable ability around his most vulnerable vessel will most likely enforce the use of Ren to guard against it.

Our bodies naturally reverted to defense mechanisms like that, but since the Judgement Chain was directly linked and intertwined with Chrollo's Nen, I knew that Chrollo wouldn't survive, even if he managed to suppress the urge and just the smallest amount of aura-usage was detected. Of course, there was the possibility that he would be able to ignore every fiber in his body screaming at him to fight back against the invading aura, my aura, but it wasn't likely. Worst case scenario: he couldn't hold down his Ren, and the Judgement Chain pierced his heart because he failed to follow the conditions set by it.