Dead Girls Talking -1-
Meanwhile, while Seokgil was reading the memories of the Evil Eye collector, two women were chatting as they gazed at the rings he'd given them.
“Auu~ Uuu~”
“Uue~ Eeuu~”
To any normal person's ears, it sounded like gibberish that could hardly pass for conversation. But they had no need for human language anyway. Through their mental link as familiars, they could instantly share thoughts without the inefficient medium of words.
So why bother with those clumsy vocalizations? It was because they'd picked up on Seokgil's subconscious fancy that they might look cute doing it—and now they were playing up the charm for their master, acting all coy and affectionate.
Their usual innocent demeanor was much the same. If we translated their exchange into words a human could understand, here's what Kangjang and Dena were saying.
The woman called Kangjang—or the jiangshi—stared blankly yet rapturously at the ring on her right ring finger, the one adorned with a red gemstone her master had given her.
“Aah~ Seriously. In my memories, rings and the like—stuff you wear on your fingers—were just useless, annoying trinkets...”
The being from her memories, Borshijin Langfang—the foundation of her birth—was haughty but impatient, with a bit of a hot-tempered streak. She never cared for finger jewelry. As someone who fought mainly with her fists, such baubles were nothing more than fragile decorations that would shatter easily.
“I agreed with that memory to some extent...”
And though she'd been reborn as an undead from different source material, changing her essential nature, she couldn't fully escape the influence of her original's personality. Over half the knowledge in their minds came from those originals' memories, after all.
So she'd viewed rings as little more than cumbersome accessories. Especially now as an undead, human treasures like gold and jewels held zero value for her. If anything, she might have despised them even more than her original.
But
“Hehe...”
She stroked the ring on her finger with an irrepressible smile of delight, her touch brimming with unmistakable affection.
“Oh my~ Isn't that right. But for someone saying that, you've been staring at it an awfully long time~”
Then a gentle voice, laced with a mischievous undertone, reached Kangjang's ears as she fondled the ring in a trance, much like Seokgil when he caressed her chest. It came from Dena, the undead born from the corpse of Zhan Ark Caesar—Langfang's closest friend in life, and thus Kangjang's origin as well.
Dena's personality mirrored her original's too. Always smiling brightly with a heroic spirit, kind to everyone, driven by a princess's sense of duty as a Hero, and harboring a subtle playful streak—the empire's beloved imperial daughter. Well, the undead transformation had stripped away the “kind to everyone” bit and the Hero's sense of duty, but the playfulness remained.
In response to Dena's teasing question, Kangjang straightened up a bit and replied.
“Of course. This isn't just some worthless trinket. It's something he gave us... a piece of him...”
“You're right. How could it not be... It's from the one we love...”
-Vrrr...
Both wore blissful, ecstatic smiles as they gazed at their rings.
“Aah... A ring made from the eyes of our absolute master...”
-Vrrr...
Dena raised her hand, peering at the ring on her own left ring finger just like Kangjang. The faint trace of Seokgil's magic within it rippled. It was the core of their essence—Seokgil's magic itself. Dena caressed it, entranced.
-Swish... Swish...
Dena's ahoge swayed slowly but happily, softly tracing heart-like curves side to side.
“It's pure ecstasy... Like he's watching me all the time...”
“Yeah, exactly. The gaze of our one absolute master...”
Someone constantly watching you? For most people, that'd be horrifying. Just think about why stalking's a crime.
But for them, that gaze wasn't surveillance or restraint. Undead minds weren't structured like humans'. To them, restraint wasn't a horrific punishment stripping away freedom—it was a blessing of enslavement to their master.
“Every time I look at this ring... Every time I feel his gaze... I get this feeling I've never known before. This body doesn't breathe anymore, doesn't have a heartbeat...”
And yet, Kangjang said, it felt alive.
Dena smiled warmly in understanding and spoke.
“Of course. It's the same gaze we felt when he created us—when we first awoke to self-awareness.”
The gaze that came with his words at their birth: I desire you. Just sensing it still upon them filled them with boundless bliss and rapture.
Kangjang's lips curved slightly upward.
“Every time I meet his eyes, I feel it. My flesh, this cold blood—it's craving something. A longing I never knew in life... I want to stay by his side forever, that kind of desire...”
“Nothing like this in this body's memories. But now... Wearing a part of him on my finger, existing under his gaze... It's too good. Ecstatic...”
Dena nodded solemnly in agreement.
Then Kangjang shook her head proudly.
“Good? That's too tame. You can't sully this feeling with such a weak word. I'm never taking this ring off. Not for the rest of my life. Hell, I can't even think of removing it. From now on, this is... part of my body. An extension of my flesh...”
-Nod nod
Dena nodded with a smile, as if in full understanding.
“Right. Our originals never would've thought like that. But we're different from them.”
-Hehe
Dena let out a quiet chuckle.
“We belong to him completely now. Everything we couldn't give anyone in life—we can offer it all to him.”
Aah, so happy...
Dena's smile was pure and radiant. But beneath it lurked a fanatic loyalty and twisted love that bordered on madness. To any normal onlooker, that beautiful woman's charming grin would send chills down their spine.
-Smirk
Kangjang gave a small smile in return. After a brief silence, she spoke softly.
“Yeah. Only in death did we become whole. This is our most perfect state. Death purified us—burned away the dross of emotions, directing us solely toward one person...”
Affection, desire, loyalty—they were all one and the same for her. Existing under their master's gaze. Living as part of their master. That was their entire reason for being. No explanation needed. It was the absolute truth decreed from the moment they came into this world.
-Smirk
Dena shot Kangjang a playful glance through their rings and spoke, a mischievous grin like a naughty child's spreading across her face.
“In that case... Shall we ask him directly who’s more perfect?”
Kangjang met her teasing gaze with a haughty, prideful smile.
“No need to decide. He already knows. Who was first shaped by his hands. Who first held his gaze. And who first received his love.”
I'm his first slave, his first servant.
Her eyes brimmed with pride over it—a bizarre sight from someone whose high-nosed original would never stoop so low, proudly boasting her chains like a slave.
-Sloooowly
Dena wrapped her arms around Kangjang from behind, still smirking playfully.
“Sure, sure. You're the most perfect. Be grateful I won't make you ask him~ Kangjang.”
Her teasing words poked gentle fun, laced with sisterly affection—and the tiniest, subtlest hint of jealousy that she wasn't first. But it vanished instantly. Harboring envy toward a fellow possession of their master? Utterly irreverent.
Kangjang flinched, suddenly feeling she'd gone too far, and averted her eyes from Dena's still-smiling gaze. She muttered lowly.
“...I was kidding. We were both reborn by his hands. Everything born from his touch is flawless. No better or worse.”
“Yeah. Nothing changes the fact that we're his. And...”
Dena raised her hand to gaze at her ring again.
“Hehe... In the end, we're just rivers flowing toward the same sea.”
A satisfied smile lit Dena's face. And then—
“Girls, cleanup's done. Come here already.”
Their master's voice called for them.
“Ahht...♥”
“Huht...♥”
Just hearing him summon them filled them with immense joy and happiness—he needed them.
“Yess~ Your slave's coming~♥”
“Your servant's on her way~ Master♥”
I watched Kangjang and Dena respond to my call with eager vigor.
“Waa~ Uuu~!!♥”
“Uue~ Eeuu~ Ee~♥”
-Blush
A smile crept across my face as the two stunning women in their lewd outfits approached me with loving expressions.