Contract (2)
Kang Jia tilted her head at the sudden proposal. "Contract..?"
"..I hate this world. I hate this world where Altered Common Sense and real powers exist so much it makes me want to die."
"..."
Kang Jia clenched her fists and bowed her head. From her perspective, she wouldn't like hearing me deny the power of Altered Common Sense that had connected us in the first place.
"So I want you to help me. Help me escape this world."
Crunch.
"..No."
To her, restoring the world to normal meant parting with me. It meant going back to those miserable seven years of living as strangers. Of course she'd hate that.
"I won't.. help with something like that.."
Crack, crack. Was it because my words stirred up her anxiety too much? Her outer shell was starting to shatter. A sinister madness was about to burst out.
"S-Something like that, I absolutely.. absolutely won't help with!!"
But I had the perfect way to restrain her. I stared straight into Kang Jia's pitch-black eyes and spoke in a sly tone.
"Really? If you helped, I was planning to live happily ever after with the real you in a normal world forever~ Too bad~"
The strength drained from Kang Jia's startled eyes. "...!! Wh-What.. what did you say..?"
"You're not completely satisfied with it either, right? Turning me into a puppet brother with your suggestions and commands. It's not real. So... I'll make it real. Without any suggestions or whatever, I'll become the relationship you truly want. Whether that's brother or something else."
Gulp!
"R-Re-Real? Th-Then you'll stay with me forever? You'll keep loving me forever and ever?"
Even from several steps away, I could hear Kang Jia gulping hard. Her reaction showed just how tempting this proposal was to her.
"Of course~ I was gonna do anything for you. You want that too, don't you? Deep down, you don't really want to cut off my limbs and use them as meat dildos or whatever. Right? If I have legs, we can go on dates. If I have hands, I can hug you, stroke you, do all sorts of naughty things. Isn't that right?"
Of course, if we returned to the original world, I had no intention of doing any of that. I'd report her to the police or run away... whatever future me figures out. The important thing right now was turning this world's most powerful weapon into my limb. For that, I could tell as many vile lies as needed.
"Y-Yeah.. yeah.. D-Dates.. Hnng.. ughh.. hehehehehe!"
Whatever she was imagining, her cheeks flushed bright red as she cupped them with her palms, grinning creepily.
"But since you said no, nothing I can do! Maybe I should just die?"
I dramatically raised the knife with exaggerated gestures.
"Gasp!? D-Don't! Don't do it!!! Please! I'll help, I'll do anything! I'll do whatever you say.. please don't die.. sob.."
Only after dying four times, my head half-turned, and pressing the knife to my throat did I finally reach an equal footing with Kang Jia.
..To deal with a crazy bitch, you have to become a madman. No other way.
"Good. Then promise me. No more 'commands' to me from now on. No targeting me when I'm defenseless to cut off my limbs or do anything vicious."
"I promise!"
That wasn't enough. I needed to push one step further. Not sure if it'd work, but it was worth trying.
"Then command yourself. 'From now on, I'll obey oppa's every word.' 'From now on, I'll never do anything harmful to oppa.'"
Her using her suggestion ability to make me her possession was just a suboptimal plan. Like I said, what she really wanted was my voluntary love and affection. She'd do anything for that.
"From now on, I'll obey oppa's every word!! From now on, I'll never do anything harmful to oppa!!"
For a moment, the air felt heavy, like it was sinking, and Kang Jia's eyes glazed over. Whether it was acting or not, assuming it took effect properly, I now held her leash perfectly in my hand.
"What are you doing? Come here."
I dropped the knife to the floor and beckoned Kang Jia.
"Y-Yes!"
"Stick out your tongue. We need a kiss to seal the promise."
"Ugh..! O-Okay!"
Kang Jia scurried over, closed her eyes, and stuck out her tongue. Hers tasted faintly sweet.
* * *
"Not yet?"
"Soon, the final sanctuary will be dyed in chaos."
A pitch-black space with no light source.
Two robed figures were conversing.
"Why is the boy still alive?"
"I don't know. A twist of fate, perhaps.."
An incomprehensible conversation.
"..The end of the world is near. All that's left is the boy's little nest."
"It will be crushed. I'll send an apostle."
They spoke in human language, but not with human voices. Grotesque sounds not produced by vocal cords or any animal organ.
"Good."
As if no more words were needed, the two stepped back from each other. They moved as if bidding farewell.
And from their faces, something burst forth.
Fwoosh! Purple-glowing tentacles. Dripping horrific slime.
A totally different atmosphere from their calm conversation. Far too grotesque for mere farewell rites among heretics. Fanatical gestures. You felt a fragment of the madness in their motions....
Like a camera zooming out, the viewpoint slowly pulled away. Just before their forms vanished from sight.
A glinting gaze met yours. Your eyes met his. He peered into your soul. The one behind him peered into the contents of your soul.
Distant eyes. Distant eyes. Distant eyes. Infinitely distant eyes, you felt your soul melting under that hollow stare.
Thud-!
"Hiiiaaaaaah!!"
"Eek!? O-Oppa, what now..! Hiiing.. You're having nightmares again?"
I'm going insane. What the hell was that dream? Locking eyes with some alien octopus-faced freak....
Wait.. '..Was it really just a dream?'
Were those things born from this Altered Common Sense too? Or did they create it? Maybe my brain's gone haywire from dying four times already, but it felt meaningful.
Squeeze♡
Kang Jia gently wiped the cold sweat from my cheek with her soft hand and hugged me tight. After our contract, we'd ironed out various details. One was that we must sleep hugging in the same bed. No different from childish pretend play, but it had to be followed. Otherwise, Kang Jia would lose it again. Even leashed, she wasn't someone to let your guard down around.
Her soft, squishy body and warm temperature melted me away. The tingling in my brain faded quickly.
Pat pat.
"It's okay now, Jia. Thanks for hugging me."
"Mhm! I'll hug you anytime! Hehehe."
I sat up in bed. Time to meet Su-hee again soon. Needed to get a car too... In this world, the more allies, the better.
But first... how to coax Kang Jia? Even with the contract, she'd probably try to kill Su-hee the moment she saw her, calling her a bitch in heat or whatever.
Ah. There was a way. A good idea hit me. Use something she likes again this time.