The Wrong Contract
“Ugh... I don't want this...”
“Kughhh...!”
Just thinking about it was horrifying. I'd wanted magic, sure, but I hadn't imagined living as the host of a tentacle parasite.
“Put me back the way I was... ugh...”
Tears welled up as I begged pathetically, but the tentacle showed no mercy. Instead, it thrashed wildly inside me, as if determined to break my will.
“Kahaaaak...!”
The abdominal pain grew unbearable. I flipped onto my side, clutching my lower belly tightly. The pressure made the tentacle go still and docile.
“Eup... kuh!”
Suddenly, my stomach bubbled furiously, and a sense of crisis surged up from below my throat.
“Ugh...!”
It felt like vomit was about to explode out. I clenched my throat, holding my breath to fight back the nausea. But the tentacle, with a mind of its own, ignored me and forced its way up my esophagus.
“Urk... uk...!”
It wriggled like a live eel thrashing in my throat. I clamped both hands over my mouth, but it was no use. Finally, with a wretched gasp, I vomited out a thick mass of tentacle.
“Huwk... uwweeeek!!!”
A purple tentacle blob, slick with stomach acid, slid out of my mouth. It was at least ten times bigger than when I'd first seen it—though still only the size of my palm.
“Phew~ Finally out in the open~”
The grotesque blob writhed, tilting itself toward the sky as if grinning in delight. Spotting a nearby rock, it hopped onto it.
“Come here to me!”
“Uwuk...”
The command made my skin crawl, but refusing felt impossible. Rubbing my sore throat, I shuffled over to the tentacle.
“Alright! Since we're connected by fate, let's introduce ourselves! I'm the parasitic tentacle Mahel! You've heard the name, right?!”
Mahel. I vaguely remembered seeing that name in an ancient tome buried in the corner of the library. A parasitic tentacle that took humans as hosts, expanding its territory until it stole their lives. It had spread like a plague, nearly wiping out humanity, before vanishing overnight for some reason. No one would have dreamed that the "exterminated" parasite was sealed in a Forbidden Book.
“Your name was Airi, right~? As you know, I'm an amazing being!”
“Th-that can't be...”
I wasn't denying the existence of parasitic tentacles. It was just that the Mahel in my memory dated back 4,000 years—an eternity I couldn't even fathom.
“Uwuk... Am I going to die too?”
My mind was a mess. All I knew for sure was that death was closing in.
“What? Puhahaha! No, no. I won't kill you~”
The tentacle shuddered as if mocking me. Even if it claimed not to kill, I couldn't trust a mere monster.
“Anyway, we'll talk the boring stuff later~ Let me explain the contract you idiotically stumbled into!”
“Idiot...?”
“Simple! You get to use the mana I've accumulated for ages to cast magic, and in exchange, you become my pet! For life~”
“What...?”
The blunt word startled me. Doubting my understanding, I asked the tentacle to clarify.
“Hmm~ Wrong word choice? Toy! Slave! Maid! You know, that kind of thing~ I want you to play that role, Airi~”
“Why? Why should I?”
“That's the contract~ No hard feelings~ I'm just bored~”
In other words, I was to be the clown entertaining the idle life of a parasitic tentacle. I didn't want that kind of existence—even if it killed me. Maybe... just end it now?
No time to hesitate. I subtly gathered mana, preparing a powerful explosion spell. But at that instant, my gut ballooned as if ripping apart, spreading agony through my abdomen.
“Kha... haaaak...!”
I collapsed, clutching my stomach and groaning. My knees slammed into the filthy dirt, my head thudding down, but I couldn't care.
“What~? Trying to kill me sneakily? FYI, what stuck out of your body isn't my main body. Hmm... think of it as just a part of the tentacle?”
“Kuh... ugh...”
“My true body will cling to you forever inside. So no pointless resistance. Don't even think about it. I know exactly what you're thinking and what you're about to do.”
It wasn't a lie. It knew my name without being told and saw right through me.
“Looks like you don't grasp your situation. Want me to help you get it~?”
“Eh...?”
The tiny tentacle blob melted and dispersed. Transforming into a thin purple membrane, it lunged at my face.
“Ugulp...!”
The membrane covered my entire face, sealing my airways. I clawed at it desperately, but it clung like an octopus sucker.
“Ubup... hek...!”
The facial membrane compressed like a vacuum. Then the sucker on my lips swelled, piercing straight into my throat in an instant. Agony beyond words surged up.
“Uwweeeek!!”
Retching, I flailed backward. This time, tentacles of moderate thickness invaded both nostrils.
“Kuhk... hek...!”
The tentacle monster sealed every breathing hole perfectly, allowing no gap. I scratched my face madly, rolling on the dirt, but it wouldn't budge.
“Kuhk...!”
Air cut off completely. I felt my brain cells dying in real time. Strength drained from my limbs...
“Huwk... kuh...!”
My body screamed its limit, but the tentacle stayed glued. Was I dying like this? As a parasite, could it puppet my corpse?
“Kuhk...!”
I'm dying. Dying. Really dying! The terror of death, felt for the first time, overwhelmed me. Legs rigid, body convulsing, I pissed myself in humiliation.
“Uwuk... kuh...”
My ass grew warm. As overwhelming fear and helplessness dragged me toward unconsciousness—
“Puhub! Scared enough to piss yourself? Got it now?”
“Uuueeek...!”
The tentacle peeled off my face. I convulsed, gasping huge breaths.
“Huuueeek...! Hek...! Kehehek...!”
Hyperventilating, I sucked in oxygen frantically. Tears and snot streamed down, ruining my face, but I couldn't care.
“Now, sit properly. Kneel politely and look at me!”
“Uwuk...”
My breathing steadied, tremors fading. With tear-filled eyes, I glared at the tentacle—the vile monster that could torment me anytime. Powerless, I had no choice but to obey.
“Ugh...”
Pathetically, I knelt. My soaked ass felt gross.
“Good~ That's it~ Obey my commands like that! Got it?”
“What... what do you even get out of this...?”
“Hm? Hmm~?”
Sniffling subserviently, I shot it a murderous glare. The wriggling tentacle finally replied after a pause.
“Still haven't learned your place?”
I flinched, dropping my venomous stare. I didn't want that suffocation again.
“No real reason! Just fun tormenting cute, pretty girls like you~?”
“Ugh...”
“Try being sealed like me for suuuuuper long~ Trapped sane in a pitch-black cave for thousands of years? Can't even go mad—pure agony~ Then you show up and free me!”
“It was coincidence... I didn't mean to save you...”
“Anyway! Thanks to you, I'm free again! So grateful, I even granted your wish. Gave a human mana they'd never dream of—fair trade for some fun, right?”
It was strength I never wanted. Basic magic would have sufficed.
“Plus, I'm a monster that feeds on human desires. If I don't slowly devour yours, I weaken.”
“Ugh...”
“So, let's get along~? You need magic too, right?”
Mahel looked down on me like it knew everything. Desperate for magic, I couldn't refuse.
“Please take care of me...”
“Great! And use honorifics with me from now on!”
“Yes, Mahel-nim...”
“Yep yep!”
Bowing to a fist-sized tentacle with polite speech was utterly pathetic. Still, I chose meek submission.