The Suspicious Contract
The man's face twisted under the growing pressure of my grip. Thick veins bulged along his neck while his face flushed crimson, as if drunk. His frost-laden eyes blazed with murderous intent, radiating killing intent so intense it made my skin crawl. Cornered rats bite cats, or so they say. My counterattack had completely shattered his momentum, and for a moment he faltered. With his neck fully seized, throwing me off the cliff was no longer possible. Only then did the arrogant man finally sense the danger and frantically move his hands.
First, he grabbed my outstretched arm with his free hand. Crack! As expected, a hunter's grip far exceeded imagination. In that instant, the arm caught in his hand twisted with a grotesque sound. But what came next was even more astonishing. Even though the arm had been reduced to a useless rag, the hand gripping his neck refused to let go. If anything, the pressure only intensified, as if spurred on by the damage.
“!!!...” The man's expression shifted from confusion to sheer terror. Realizing the situation had turned dire, he released my hair and desperately tried to pry both of my hands from his throat. Yet no matter how hard he struggled, the grip around his neck would not loosen.
Of course, I wasn't immune to the pain. The sensation of muscles tearing and bones shattering in my arm was beyond anything I could compare it to. But in that moment, my determination to drag this man down with me outweighed the agony. All these factors combined to create an absurd scene: a powerless civilian matching strength with a hunter of far higher stats. It was the desperate, all-or-nothing counterattack of a human pushed to the absolute limit, defying all reason.
As time dragged on, he was the one growing desperate. Unable to breathe properly, his face turned deathly pale. “What the… Hey, leader. You okay?” One of his party members finally spoke up, sensing something was wrong. Realizing he might actually die, he tried to call for help, but the chokehold prevented even a scream.
At that moment, the sword hanging at his waist caught his eye. Even a mediocre hunter who only tackled low-rank dungeons was still a hunter who had survived countless battles. In that split second, he made his decision and reached for the blade. Drawing the gleaming longsword in one motion, he drove it straight into my abdomen without the slightest hesitation. The entire sequence took barely three seconds.
“Aaaagh!!!” I screamed as sudden pain erupted from below. Seizing the opening, he knocked both of my hands away with a single strike and began raining punches down on my face without mercy. “You worthless piece of trash! How dare you—how dare you!!”
Thud! Thwack! Thud! Blood gushed from my nose and my facial skin tore under his relentless blows. Even after I had clearly lost the ability to resist, he didn't stop. His face contorted like a demon's; the fact that his life had been threatened for even an instant had driven him completely mad. His fists focused entirely on my face until my vision began to blur. Yet even in that state, I refused to lose consciousness.
While he was distracted by his barrage, I stealthily raised my ruined arm. “!!?” By the time he noticed, it was already too late. My hand had already seized the blade that had pierced my stomach. Drip. Drip. Drip… The price of gripping a sharpened sword so tightly was severe. Deep gashes opened across my knuckles, and blood poured out without stopping. It was fortunate that the weapon was a straight sword rather than a curved blade; otherwise, my fingers would have been severed the moment I grabbed it.
Startled by my incomprehensible action, he flinched for a brief moment. That tiny gap proved fatal. “Huh? …Huhhh?!!!” Gathering every last ounce of strength, I grabbed his collar with my remaining hand. Then, releasing all tension from my body, I kicked off with my good leg and threw myself backward with everything I had—straight toward the bottomless abyss below the cliff.
My final decision, driven to the edge, was mutual destruction. From the very beginning, this had been the best option available to me. Even if I escaped his grasp, the rest of his party stood waiting. Survival was impossible. So I resolved to at least take the man who orchestrated all of this with me. I had been conserving every bit of strength for this exact moment.
He realized my intent too late and tried to regain his balance, but it was already impossible. His upper body had tilted more than halfway forward. Maintaining his footing in that state was beyond hope. The cave ceiling flipped into view as we plummeted, and a weightless sensation enveloped my entire body. The look on his face as he fell with me was unforgettable—like he had never dreamed he would die here. But for a man who had killed so many innocents in this exact manner, no ending could have been more fitting.
I thought everything was over. Dying here was unfair, but at least my revenge had succeeded. Yet the world turned its back on me once more, denying even my final wish.
Grab! The man's body, moments from plunging into the abyss, stopped just before the fall. The reason was simple: the old man named Park, who had been watching for anything suspicious, had seized him by the scruff of the neck at the last possible instant. It could only be called a miracle. At the same time, a powerful gust of wind from a diagonal direction shoved me backward. Having already lost control of my body, I was sent flying helplessly, my grip on his collar slipping away.
Falling alone into the darkness-filled precipice, I saw it. In the direction the wind had come from, a woman stood with one hand outstretched, staring at me. Her face was a mixture of terror at what she had done and unmistakable relief. I only glimpsed her for a few seconds, yet that brief image burned itself into my mind far more deeply than the leader's vicious expression. Perhaps it was the betrayal of the woman who had given me false hope without any sense of responsibility.
Time flowed once more, bringing the situation to the present…
“……”
The thing that had spoken of a contract continued rambling, insisting I should trust it and that this was no scam. I stared at the bizarre creature still spouting incomprehensible words before me. If I had known this would happen, I should have bought a lottery ticket. After obtaining an unbelievable stroke of luck, being betrayed in the most ridiculous way, and now encountering this suspicious existence—I couldn't believe it. Nothing about it looked normal.
Especially its appearance. It was impossible to call it an ordinary living being. Its expression shifted like an emoticon depending on its emotions, crossing the line from strange into outright alien. Dungeons were filled with unpredictable magical beasts, but I had never once heard of a creature that looked like this and spoke like a human, despite all my time exploring them.
As I pondered the being before me, I suddenly let out a hollow laugh at my own situation. What did it matter now? I was going to die soon anyway. Whether this creature was a ghost or some new type of magical beast, it wasn't my concern once I was gone from this world. So I decided to simply enjoy the moment. I didn't know if this was a dream or a hallucination at the brink of death, but at least it would provide a brief distraction.
“Cough!… Fine… Let's hear what kind of contract this is, then.” Spitting out the blood clot caught in my throat, I finally spoke. The creature seemed delighted by my response and bounced around me before answering.
It's super simple! I'll give you power, and in return, you'll become a hero who carries out justice for me. That's all there is to it!
“Justice…?” I echoed the word without thinking. The creature nodded vigorously.
Yes! Exactly what the word means—beating down the wicked. The kind of justice hero everyone talks about! Something like that!
A hero… Hearing that word suddenly brought back old memories. When the world turned into this hell and hunters with new powers began to appear, I had once dreamed of becoming someone who saved others. Of course, after the aptitude test revealed I had no abilities and was just an ordinary person, I had given up immediately. It was ironic that such thoughts would surface in a situation like this.
“But… even if I gain power, I can't even stand up right now, let alone escape. It's already too late.” Though the darkness hid my body, I knew my condition better than anyone. When I pointed this out, the creature nodded without hesitation.
Of course. Ignoring the bruises covering your entire body and the fact that the bones in all four limbs are shattered, you've lost far too much blood. Even the strongest recovery magic couldn't revive that body. …So we'll just have to give you a new one. Don't worry! I have a way.
For a moment, I thought its eyes glowed red, but my consciousness had already reached its limit and couldn't register it. My vision darkened, and strength drained from my body. Whether I wanted to or not, I understood that this was death. Sensing my end was near, the creature hurriedly spoke again.
You need to decide quickly. Once you're dead, even I won't be able to do anything…
The unidentified being urged me to make a decision. As my consciousness faded, even sound grew distant. Facing death so close at hand, I slowly closed my eyes. Then, almost unconsciously, I gave my answer.
“Yeah… If I'm being given another chance, living that kind of life… might not be so bad.”
Wowwww!!! You really… thought it through!… @#@$#!!..…. First… congratulations…! You've become a magical… @&…!
After that, it seemed to say something else with great enthusiasm, but I could no longer hear it clearly. With that, the consciousness I had barely maintained finally extinguished, and I sank into deep darkness. Thus ended the life of a man who had never seen the light, enduring nothing but hardship. But as someone once said, an ending is also a new beginning. The fate of this insignificant human encountered a massive change at this very moment. What that would do to the destiny of the world, no one yet knew.