Salvation?
The magic circle that had been gleaming with an ominous light was on the verge of spewing something forth. Then—
"Urgh! Aaaaah! Uuuuuaaaagh!!"
"?"
Suddenly Jeong Siyun canceled the spell and clutched his head.
"Darling! Are you alright?"
"Uuuugh..."
Lilith rushed to his side in an instant and held him up. Jeong Siyun continued groaning, clearly in agony. Then he looked straight at me and began to mutter.
"That appearance... it's exactly the same... as I once was..."
"Darling?"
Lilith stared at him, puzzled. At that moment the blond, blue-eyed man crumpled in the corner voiced his complaint.
"Hurry up and proceed with the wedding!"
"...Wedding?"
"That's right! My wedding with that wench!"
"What are you..."
Jeong Siyun suddenly fell silent, as if he'd realized something. After a moment of deep thought he spoke to the blond man.
"Ayeon clearly kept her promise, yet you ignored it, didn't you?"
"You agreed to it too! Proceed at once!"
"Aah... so that's how it is. Urk!"
Jeong Siyun clutched his head again. Yet even through the pain his gaze remained fixed on me, and he spoke once more.
"If you fight this man and win, I will do as you wish."
"What nonsense is this! I told you to obey me!"
"Shut up."
Unlike his earlier blank expression, Jeong Siyun now radiated a quiet, seething fury. The man was so overwhelmed he couldn't utter another word.
Jung Ayeon, however, sneered at her father with open contempt.
"Do you intend to offer this lady such worthless hope yet again?"
"No. This time is different."
Jeong Siyun gently moved Lilith aside, closed his eyes, and stretched both arms toward me and the man as he muttered. A massive red magic circle began to form above his head.
I begin the oath.
Three harpoon-tipped chains shot from the circle and pierced my heart, Jeong Siyun's, and the man's. It didn't hurt, but the visual was far from pleasant. More than anything, the forced contract pissed me off.
"You bastard! How dare you!"
"Wait! Why are you forcing the terms agreement, mister!"
"The victor claims what he desires. The defeated must accept the outcome."
The chains burned an even deeper red.
"Stop it!!! Listen to me right now!!!"
"Fuck! Bring the actual contract!"
"Those who disobey shall die in greater agony than at any other moment."
A white mass rose from Jeong Siyun, traveled along the chains into the circle, then split in two and flowed into me and the man. When it reached my heart I felt a distinct pulse.
"The same fate awaits those who forcibly break the oath."
The pulsing vanished instantly. Only a faint, foreign sensation remained near my heart.
"I, Jeong Siyun, stake my existence to conclude this oath."
The circle disintegrated at tremendous speed. Jung Ayeon, who had witnessed everything, stared with eyes wide in disbelief.
"Y-you! Have you lost your mind? Truly?"
"...Yes. This should make it clear. Aaaaaaaaagh!!!"
"Darling!!!"
Jeong Siyun screamed in even worse torment than before, hands clamped to his skull. Then he looked at me and whispered.
"I'm... counting on you."
Unlike the first time I'd seen him, his eyes held perfect clarity when they met mine. Then his movements froze abruptly and the light in them died once more.
Meanwhile the man who'd been forced into the same contract was muttering in a panic.
"Why? Why? It was supposed to be perfect..."
He suddenly glanced at Jeong Siyun, confirmed the man had returned to his original vacant state, and roared.
"Undo the oath right now!"
"Impossible. I would die."
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
After a long string of curses the man shouted again.
"Get lost! You useless piece of shit!"
"As you wish."
"D-darling! Let's go together!"
The pair fled the scene in a hurry. The blond man, still fuming, pointed at me and bellowed.
"Exactly one hour! Don't be late!"
"Hey, make it two hours."
"Why!"
We were busy stuffing the spilled goods back into the delivery bags. Elsia and Jung Ayeon were replenishing whatever had fallen out. I forced the Golden Mecha Dinosaur decoration inside and looked at the man again.
"Since it's a wedding, I'll go enjoy the unlimited refills."
"......Fine."
Two hours later.
The only people missing from the garden in front of the mansion were the blond man's group. Everyone else—us, the countless succubi, Lilith, and Jeong Siyun—had gathered there.
They had apparently obtained government permission to use our abilities here for a fair duel.
This is why Korea is such a great place for rich people to live.
While I was observing the crowd around us, a question popped into my head and I asked Jung Ayeon.
"Why didn't you eat?"
"Release these handcuffs first and then speak!"
"Oh, right."
"Haa... hurry and undo them."
Jung Ayeon sighed, turned around, and held out both hands. However—
"I lost the key."
"Are you fucking kidding me right now!"
There was no way to unlock them. While Jung Ayeon was fuming, the blond man's group appeared on the opposite side. Most of the faces were new, but two were familiar.
One was the pig bastard named Nakadashi who'd tried diving at us earlier. The other was—
"Huh? Fake D Spencer!"
"It's Spencer!!!"
Unlike before, Spencer had removed her fake breasts. The current Spencer stood firmly on the blond man's side. Her confident, pad-free appearance actually looked much better, but—
"Hey, you wanna die? Take those pads out."
"Hic!"
Hyeji had appeared beside her at some point and now pressed a jackknife to Spencer's chest. Classic Hyeji, the certified chest appraiser.
Terrified and hiccupping, Spencer began removing the pads one by one with trembling hands. Hyeji stared at the now even flatter chest and muttered expressionlessly.
"Still bigger than mine, huh? If I catch you stuffing pads in again, you're dead. Understand?"
"I'm sorry! I'll never do it again!"
Spencer apologized with a tearful face. Whether it was actually something worth apologizing for was debatable, but since Hyeji was terrifying, no one pointed it out.
Once Hyeji returned, Spencer shouted at the blond man in a voice thick with resentment.
"Brother Rick! You have to win!"
Rather, it looks like the sister took all the good genes.
The only resemblance was the blond hair and blue eyes. Other than that they shared no visible traits. It was as if Spencer had stolen every last superior gene that should have gone to Rick.
While I was lost in thought, Lilith gently stroked Jung Ayeon's head and spoke with a kind smile.
"Still, you have wonderful friends. They came all this way just to save you, Ayeon."
"Indeed. They are far too good for someone like me."
Jung Ayeon smiled faintly in agreement. The sight was genuinely that of a warm mother-daughter bond.
Meanwhile Rick pointed at me and declared.
"If I win, that wench becomes my property! Clear?"
"You insect fuckboy. Then if I win, what will you give me?"
Rick snorted.
"Hmph! If you win, I'll generously give your entire group hamburgers!"
"That's too much! What kind of condition is that!"
Jung Ayeon fiercely objected. Of course, our side reacted differently.
"Shinwoo, he said he'll give us hamburgers. Fight like your life depends on it."
"It better be Burger King. If it's Lotteria I'm actually going to die."
"I want extra bacon and patties!"
"Fuck! Was this lady's worth only a single hamburger?"
Jung Ayeon looked genuinely shocked that her value amounted to fast food.
At that moment Elsia—who rarely showed a strict face—cut in.
"Everyone is being too harsh! Just hamburgers?"
"Miss Elsia..."
Jeong Bia gazed at her with moist, moved eyes for the first time.
"To be fair, please add large fries and cola too!"
"......I must have been a fool for expecting anything."
Jung Ayeon's eyes dried up in an instant. Lilith watched the exchange with a slightly awkward expression.
"......They certainly have strong personalities, these friends of yours."
"......I appear to have chosen my friends poorly."
Rick suddenly looked at Jeong Siyun as if remembering something.
"We'll make it two-on-two. Understood?"
"Yes."
Jeong Siyun answered in a hollow, unfocused voice. I looked at Rick, who was boldly trying to ride the bus, and asked.
"Insect fuckboy. Isn't this supposed to be one-on-one?"
"Hmph! Our family's true strength shines in two-on-two!"
"How unsightly. Then I'll bring someone too?"
"Do as you please!"
A woman slowly stepped out beside Rick. She wore a white short-sleeve shirt and black hot pants, yet she clearly wasn't human. A pair of black horns, membranous wings on her back, a thick tail, and reptilian yellow eyes proved it.
Just look at this fucking broken balance.
Anyway, I headed toward my group to pick a partner. Normally I would have chosen Hyeji, but that wouldn't be enough. This fight was ultimately meant to shatter the life that had been forced on Jung Ayeon. Freedom handed to you by someone else can never be fully understood. Only freedom won through your own struggle holds real meaning.
So without hesitation I walked up to Jung Ayeon. She noticed me, lifted her head, and met my eyes.
"Will you fight with me?"
"If this lady's meager power can be of any use, I shall fight with all my strength."
Jung Ayeon answered with a smile. When I picked up a nearby sword she silently turned her back and held out her hands, clearly asking me to cut the cuffs. I sliced through them without pause, then turned my gaze toward Rick.
"Let's go, Jung Ayeon."
"Wait one moment."
She stopped me. When I looked back, she wore an awkward smile.
"You cut me."
"Ah, sorry."
Sure enough, a thin line of blood trickled from her hand. We still had a little more time before the fight began.