The Collar of Chaos
Chaos's business was roughly wrapping up.
The dwarf had stolen Chaos's Full Moon Stone, and Chaos had killed the dwarves.
Looking only at the sins, Chaos's fault could be seen as greater, but this was a fantasy world of survival of the fittest. In a place where the sword came out before the law whenever a wrong was committed, theft and murder weren't much different.
For that reason, I decided to hide Chaos inside my shadow and wrap up the incident by telling the dwarves that I had dealt with the ringleader who had occupied the mine. Fortunately, I still had the byproducts torn from the clone, so deceiving them wouldn't be hard.
"Before that, though, there's something I need to do."
"What are you planning?"
"Even if it's one of the Four Evil Beasts, it's still classified as a magic beast, right? I need to put a contract collar on it in advance. That way there won't be problems when it comes out of the shadow later."
"Indeed. If you bring it to the village like this, the people around will be extremely wary."
The black-furred Pomeranian tilted its head at my fixed gaze. The reason I had never found Chaos cute despite all its adorable antics so far was simple: it was constantly pouring out demonic energy that pricked the skin.
If I exposed demonic energy strong enough that even I found it stinging to ordinary people? Nine times out of ten a commotion would erupt. That was why I needed to leave a mark showing it was a tamed magic beast, or problems would follow.
"So I'm thinking of putting a collar on you. That okay?"
"Wang!"
Chaos started wagging its tail vigorously in approval. Would it really be fine even if the thing felt stifling? Subordinating a peril that had once raised a banner of revolt against the Demon King herself made me deeply uneasy. But I couldn't exactly leave it free either, so I let out a sigh and began drawing a magic circle on the floor.
"The catalyst will be Chaos's hide and my blood…"
I clenched Frach's blade tightly in my hand. Blood began to seep out as the edge bit deep. My brows furrowed at the pain of flesh being gouged. Having taken the Troll's Elixir, shallow wounds regenerated almost at once, so there was no helping it.
"If you faint again from anemia it'll be troublesome, so moderate yourself."
Don't worry. I don't want to lose consciousness anymore either.
I dripped a large amount of blood onto the hide torn from Chaos's clone. Bright crimson soaked into the black leather. At the same time the magic circle drawn on the ground began to glow.
"Among the contract terms, there are three main things I want from you."
First: without my permission, no attacking or threatening acts whatsoever.
Second: autonomous actions only within a three-kilometer radius centered on me.
Third: swear absolute obedience until the moment I die.
"If you keep just these three clauses, as your master I'll take responsibility and care for you."
"Those are far harsher restrictions than the conditions of your contract with me."
You can't do anything alone, but Chaos is different, right?
"If this body also gains the power of polymorph…!"
Say that after you actually get it.
"Kugh! Just you wait, Contractor…!"
I got sidetracked. Anyway, if Chaos doesn't accept the contract terms, I'll turn my back without mercy.
It could be called cold-hearted. But I wasn't trying to raise a pet. The other party was a magic beast—and one of the Four Evil Beasts, a legacy of the first Demon King. If I took it in with the mindset of keeping a mere cute companion, someday Chaos would sink its teeth into my throat. Therefore I had to push forward with a somewhat coercive attitude.
"If you've decided to accept, put your paw here."
Would Chaos accept the contract conditions? Before I could even grow tense, the Pomeranian lifted its front paw and gently stamped a paw print onto the hide. There wasn't so much as a speck of hesitation.
A dark-red leather collar fastened around Chaos's neck as it accepted the contract magic without a second thought.
"The one who doesn't back out isn't me—it's you."
"Wang!"
A matching leather bracelet fastened around my own wrist, letting me know that Chaos had been subordinated to me. Just as a hollow laugh escaped me at how completely it had accepted the contract without the slightest pause, Chaos hopped up, leapt into my arms, and began frantically licking the palm where I had cut myself.
With its excellent regenerative power the wound should already have closed. Yet the way it diligently licked as if trying to stop the bleeding was genuinely cute.
The contract ended so fast it almost feels anticlimactic.
"That means Chaos has fallen head over heels for you. Without realizing it, you've grown into a bad man capable of charming even a Four Evil Beast. This body is extremely proud."
Don't talk like you're my mother.
"Hahut!"
I flicked a finger against the sword, then slowly rose to my feet. Holding Chaos in my arms, I walked endlessly forward. Even without asking where the exit was, my sense was telling me it lay this way.
As I drew near the outer wall of the cave, Chaos—who had been panting contentedly in my arms—began to bark.
"Wang! Wang! Wang!"
The outer wall turned black and began to flow downward like slime. It seemed the place I had been until now was a private space Chaos had created separately inside the mine.
"You shouldn't show yourself to the dwarves for a while. First, go into the shadow."
"Wang!"
Chaos slipped out of my arms and landed on the floor. With quick little steps it approached my shadow and dove underneath. Assimilating with the darkness, Chaos temporarily vanished from sight.
"Bern-nim!"
"Ah…"
The moment Chaos disappeared, a familiar voice called from behind. There was only one person who attached an honorific to my name. Even in the dark mine, the silver-haired woman faintly glowed—Rene.
"Are you all right?! Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm fine! As you can see, perfectly fine."
Rene ran up and examined me this way and that. There were bloodstains here and there, and dirt, but no wounds. I had fought with everything I had before taking any major injuries, so even if I was hurt it was only internal muscle damage from the recoil. Externally, at least, I was clean without a single noticeable mark.
"You look more hurt than me, though. Small wounds all over your body, and you're sweating like a flood."
"Because I kept running around looking for you, Bern-nim! After the black dog dragged you away I scoured every corner of the mine! But even so I couldn't find you…!"
Rene began to sob, as if she had been deeply worried. From her urgent voice I could tell how startled and how frightened she must have been. I should have come out earlier to reassure her; I even felt I had done something terrible.
"Sorry for making you worry."
"Hic…!"
I pulled Rene into my arms and patted her back. With a heart as soft as hers, tears were only natural. Moreover, today she had been fretting over my safety to an almost sensitive degree. In the middle of that she had watched me get dragged off by a monster—hadn't the shock nearly broken her mind and body? Thinking from Rene's perspective, it felt heartbreaking.
"Bern-nim…"
"Yeah."
"Being held tightly by you… I've calmed down a little."
"If so, that's a relief."
"But you know… why did the smell of a bitch's saliva come from Bern-nim's palm?"
"Ah…!"
Rene was smiling brightly—yet she was not smiling at all. I had completely forgotten. The original dog I had been keeping was right here.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
God is alive.
When does a priest feel that way? When first baptized? When healing people with holy power? Or when performing miracles through prayer? There could be many such moments, but at least right now Sherin was worshipping and praising God more fervently than at any other time in her life.
A necklace that had been naturally placed on her desk when she woke. At first she had been furious at the bizarre form—two ice picks driven into the chest area. But looking at the note left beside the necklace, Sherin's anger subsided.
Here is written the purpose and efficacy of this necklace.
A gift sent by a guardian angel who cheers for true love.
Sherin trembled with joy so hard her whole body shook. Not only was God watching over her love—He was even cheering for it! Was there anything happier for a priest than that?
"With the strength of that will, I will definitely reclaim my love…!"
Sherin clasped her hands before the necklace and offered up a prayer. Hot tears streamed from her eyes. That was how deeply she had been moved. This was the last chance to reverse Kang Junhyuk's love that had grown so distant. She vowed she would not waste it.
Without even once suspecting who had actually given her that chance, of course.
Clearly, if it had been the old Sherin, she would have doubted at least once. But countless curses had driven her mind to the brink. Even a rotten rope was something she could still grab.
Sherin tightly gripped the necklace in both hands and pressed it against her flattened chest.
"I need to make a plan right away…!"
Kang Junhyuk, exhausted by Sherin's endless obsession, had cast a tracking magic on her—magic meant to let him flee no matter where she appeared. Because he had grown faster than anyone else and reached a certain level of mastery, Sherin could not undo it on her own. Even though she desperately wanted to use the artifact, she could not; Kang Junhyuk fled like a ghost the moment she drew near.
Thus Sherin selected a time when Kang Junhyuk would be unable to escape, and a perfect opportunity presented itself.
"In two weeks there's that bitch's handshake event—the one who stole Junhyuk from me?"
There, Kang Junhyuk would definitely show himself. Moreover, she could be certain he would not run away even for the sake of shaking hands.
"Hahat…! Kyahahahahaha!"
Sherin began to laugh madly. She waited only for the day when she would swear eternal love together with her revenge.
Meanwhile, the white-haired girl preparing for the handshake event two weeks hence was lost in a different worry.
"My Lord will come. He won't come. He will come. He won't come. He will come…"
She was telling fortunes by pulling the teeth from a skull one by one, like plucking flower petals. After doing so for a long while, when the fortune that he would not come finally appeared, she hurled the skull to the ground. She felt she needed to devise another plan rather than waste time like this.
To attract the attention of my great Lord, I must prepare a far greater gift…!
Hades had hoped Bern would watch over her monumental first public event and had tried to draw him in. Now she began to lay plans while gazing at the mountain of gold coins piled high.
And so the day of the decisive battle that so many people had been waiting for slowly drew near.