I quickly drifted into sleep. The bed’s softness felt divine, like I was sinking into the very essence of relief itself. It was as if I were floating through the realms of gods and fairies—weightless, untouchable. Truly, it was bliss. If anyone dared to wake me up, I might actually kill them.

  POV: Hessien

  Just ignore it, she says.

  Just pretend there isn’t a monster still in the toilet? Has that girl lost her damn mind?

  I seethed, yanking open the cleaning room cabinets with reckless force.

  Her mother, Aunty Shalla, once mentioned that she had accidentally dropped Lumine on her head when she was a baby. I had assumed Lumine turned out relatively normal despite that.

  Guess I was wrong. Poor kid.

  At last, I found a cabinet stocked with spray bottles and glass containers.

  There was writing on them, but I couldn’t make sense of the language. It vaguely resembled Arabic. More importantly, many of the bottles were marked with skull symbols and ominous warnings. In other words, poison. Well, they were probably just super toxic cleaning agents.

  Same thing.

  I grinned as I loaded them into a basket. But that wasn’t enough. I needed something with a bit more... bang.

  Tapping my chin, I made my way to the kitchen. I scanned the room, looking for potential tools.

  Hmmm...

  I strode over to a peculiar triangular stove, surrounded by various implements—mostly rods with buttons and switches. Experimentally, I pressed a few. Some did nothing.

  One emitted light. Not interested.

  Then, at last, I found what I was truly looking for.

  A press of a button ignited a small flame at the tip of a rod about an arm’s length long.

  Alone, it wouldn’t do much. But with a little experimentation...

  I rolled my shoulders and stretched my arms and legs. Time to go into scientist mode.

  The only thing missing was a pair of goggles and a lab coat. If this went boom on a large scale, I was so dead.

  I started by opening the containers marked with warning labels, cautiously sniffing each one. I was probably poisoning myself, but hey, just one sniff wouldn’t kill me.

  After going through five of them, I realized none of them smelled remotely like gasoline or kerosene. Disappointing. That meant I’d have to determine their flammability the old-fashioned way—trial and error.

  I set a bowl in the kitchen’s corner and poured in a generous amount of the dangerous liquid #1.

  Then, as a precaution, I flipped the heavy dining table onto its side, using it as a makeshift shield.

  With everything in place, it was time to either witness a glorious explosion, trigger a chemical reaction that would unleash an even deadlier gas... or, in the worst-case scenario, awaken something far worse.

  I sat cross-legged behind the table, rubbing my chin. What if these are some weird fantasy nonsense? Like sealing liquids for a thousand-year-old demon lord or a lich?

  ...Nah.

  Sure, this was a fantasy world, but let’s be reasonable here.

  So, I concluded it was either flammable or toxic. I couldn’t afford to be as paranoid as Lumine.

  Taking a deep breath, I ignited the lighter.

  Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, though I couldn’t understand why. I wasn’t nervous. This was just me being cautious.

  Bracing myself, I cautiously brought the flame to the liquid, ready to pull my hand away at a moment’s notice.

  The moment the fire touched the liquid...

  Nothing.

  It fizzled out pathetically.

  How disappointing.

  I pulled the bowl back toward me, about to toss it aside—then hesitated. What if I went into scientist mode x2?

  Curious, I mixed in another liquid from a different container. Another test. Another failure. Though... I swore I heard a faint noise.

  Again!

  Minutes passed as I continued my experiments, mixing more and more substances, determined to get some kind of reaction. Eventually, I ended up sitting right next to the bowl, legs crossed, utterly bored and thoroughly disappointed.

  Every time I tried to ignite the mixture, the strange sound would briefly return—then vanish. It almost seemed like the liquids wanted to catch fire, but something was holding them back.

  Drowsiness crept in, but I refused to give up. I absentmindedly twirled a finger through the mixture.

  If I die, Lumine will just rewind time to save me. Sorry, Lumii.

  Then—

  "Free... at last..."

  A low, breathy whisper sent a violent shiver down my spine.

  I shot to my feet, eyes darting wildly. "Who?! Who’s there?!"

  "Free... free... free!"

  Oh shit!

  Panic surged through me. I bolted for the door, slamming it shut behind me.

  Not enough!

  Mist swirled around my body—a defensive reflex. It was light, barely obstructing my vision. Which worried me. If I could see through it, so could they.

  Terror clawing at my chest, I sprinted toward the bedroom. Lumine had to save me!

  Wait.

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  Didn’t she only have a short time-freezing ability? That useless-ass power!

  No, no, wait—she’s strong now! She can handle this!

  I reached for the doorknob—

  Something seized my ankle.

  A cold sweat drenched my body as I turned around, dreading what I’d see. My breath hitched.

  Oh… damn.

  "Hello there."

  A woman stood before me, red hair cascading down to her hips. But her appearance wasn’t what sent chills down my spine—it was her dress. A gothic ensemble, adorned with jagged blade shapes protruding from every angle.

  Her skin was ghostly pale. As if that wasn’t unsettling enough, her crimson eyes glowed ominously, black bat-like wings stretched from her back, and—

  Holy hell. Her tits were fucking massive. Like... what was her name... that porn star. Angella.. migte? Bright? Can't remember. Anyway...

  Nope. Nope nope nope. Don't look.

  She's trying to seduce me to drain my life force.

  "Hey-o. Can you, uh, kindly let go of my leg?" I asked, gripping the doorknob tightly.

  "I would love to," she purred, "but since you were the one who freed me from those cursed seals, I’m quite curious about your motives… and where I am."

  My eyes darted around anxiously. "Uh… does answering your questions trigger some weird skill condition?"

  "What?"

  "I said—"

  "I heard you. That question just confused the hell out of me." She sighed, rubbing her temple. Then, her eyes sharpened. "Wait a second… you have no flow patterns."

  "Yup…?"

  She clicked her tongue in irritation before releasing my leg. "I see. So lowering your guard so I can take over your body and slaughter everyone in this house is pointless. Bloody hell."

  "EXCUSE ME?!" I jabbed a furious finger at her. "So your questions were a trick for a skill!"

  "No…! Wait—do you even know what I am? How the hell would I be able to use skills, you fool?" She jabbed her finger right back at me.

  "How would I know? You’re either a vampire, a spirit, or a demon."

  “I am a Despetamor! A mighty being, born from pure skill energy! I embody greatness and power! My name strikes fear and awe into all!”

  “I don’t know who you are, missy. And I can tell you this—having big tits isn’t going to make me pretend to know who you are.” I shook my head. “Not at all. Not in the least. And if you think that’ll make me drop my guard, you’ve got another thing coming.”

  As I spoke, my gaze remained fixed on her chest, studying the way they moved with every drastic action she made, unwilling to look away for even a second.

  It must have some strange hypnotizing effect... I thought. And just how tall is she...?

  If she had somehow made her breast hypnotic, she likely added some effect to her height as well.

  I grinned to myself, acknowledging that she was stripping away my agency.

  Her eyes twitched, and before I knew it, her enormous chest disappeared, replaced by a flat one. Her dress morphed with the spikes vanishing in the process. And the most shocking change of all—her height shrank by about nine inches, bringing her down to 5'7".

  Damn it. Maybe I do have a weakness for women taller than me.

  She placed her hand on her chin and asked, “What species are you? I’ve never seen anything like you in my mere existence.”

  “Humans. We’re crazy powerful. We were descended from the heavens. When we die, our memories and power pass down to another human, who is bound by a contract to avenge or mourn the deceased.”

  She floated around me. “Is that so?”

  “Yep. So, don’t even think about killing me—it would spell trouble for you—”

  I immediately recognized how flawed my plan was when a wide grin spread across her face

  She grabbed my face and forced my mouth open, then she transformed into white energy and forced herself into my mouth.

  I felt nothing but tasted something strange!

  Was she trying to possess me?

  If I ran into the room and warned the three, she would undoubtedly kill them and body-hop for their power.

  I had to end this myself...

  Suddenly, my mouth moved on its own, and I vomited her out. She rolled and slammed into the wall, bewildered, surrounded by a pool of my saliva. It was as though she had seen something that shouldn’t have happened. Her eyes darted around, finally locking onto me.

  “Why can’t I bind your existence to mine?!” she shouted in frustration.

  Ha. As if I knew.

  Honestly, it was impressive how the three hadn't heard this commotion. Are they really that deep in sleep?

  She sat up and leaped into the air, attempting to fly away. But as soon as she flew four meters away from me, a chain of white light appeared, and she froze in midair, nearly losing her balance.

  Eh.

  Her face turned bright red as she shouted, “No. No. NO!”

  Oh. This crap.

  I pointed at her. “Sit?”

  She didn’t fall to the ground, much to my surprise.

  Isekai’s cool and all, but I didn’t want a slave. It wasn't about moral or ethical reasons; I just didn’t want that reputation. Worse again, she was a chick. People would definitely think I am fucking a slave. My reputation is too damn clean for me to start being called a rapist.

  “Sit?! Do I look like a damn animal to you, mortal?” She rushed toward me, fury burning in her eyes. “I have a better idea!”

  Her fingers morphed into claws, and before I could react, she swung them at my face. The ends of the claws stopped just shy of my skin. She started exerting every ounce of her willpower to make them touch me.

  “Hahaha…” I grinned. “You can’t hurt me? You can’t harm me!”

  I swung my fist at her belly.

  But, just as expected, my fist didn’t make contact. We couldn’t harm each other. I get it now. We’re both treated as equals by these chains...

  She continued to claw at me. I even saw tears welling in her eyes, but she wouldn’t stop.

  That’s what you get for trying to possess me.

  I leaned against the wall, now confident in my safety. I started considering what advantages I might have...

  Ah! I had an idea!

  I walked toward the kitchen.

  She stayed suspended in midair, shouting, “You think I’m just going to follow you like some pet?!”

  After I covered four meters of floor, she was yanked toward me, as if some invisible force had pulled her.

  Oh, that was an advantage I hadn’t considered; she must orbit me.

  After entering the kitchen, I grabbed a knife.

  She glanced at it, then at me. “You’re aware you can’t harm me, right?”

  “Yeah.” I smiled.

  “So…?”

  I pricked my shoulder.

  I winced in pain and noticed she glanced at her own right shoulder.

  “So we share damage…” I tossed the knife into the sink.

  I had hoped she would be forced to protect me from harm by default. But it was good to know she couldn’t set me up to die. However, it also meant I couldn’t get rid of her no matter what.

  I sighed. “If you were still hot like before, I wouldn’t have minded. Alas, now you’re short and meh. It’s bothersome that I can’t get rid of you.”

  She raised an eye at me. "You..."

  I sighed as I slumped to the floor. All I wanted to do was kill a toilet fiend; how did I get caught in this mess?

  I just knew I was going to hate my time dealing with her.

  “To be honest, regardless of your species’ origin, you should be ecstatic that a woman like me is bound to you.”

  “I don’t know, mate. I’m kinda not very interested in you.”

  She looked at me with a bland expression. “What did you think I meant by that?”

  “Fucking you?”

  “You are a dumb bitch.”

  “What did you mean then?! You used the damn word ‘bind’! Not exactly a positive word! Who the hell thinks of good stuff when they hear ‘bind’?! ‘Attached’ or ‘with’ sounds a lot better. If you said those, I could agree! If we got to know each other first... I’d like to be wine and dined first. But bind?! BIND?! And in such a context?! What else could it mean?!”

  “Power, power, power, POWER! I command a lot of power! Who the hell wouldn’t be excited to have a powerhouse bound to them?!”

  Oh. That sounds a lot better.

  I answered, “I don’t know. Besides, it’s pretty clear I can’t force you to do anything. So it’s not like I can use you as a Pokémon and be like, ‘Weird miss, go! Use… sharp claws!’”

  “Pokémon...?”

  “A battle beast?”

  She thought deeply, even floating with her legs folded. “You’re right… I should be the one excited! If your existence carries more weight than mine, that means you must command a lot of power behind your cowardly demeanor! Hehehehe! I can have my revenge!”

  She giggled and started flying around in a frenzy. “It will be a massacre!”

  After laughing like a madwoman, she pointed at me with a serious expression. “Okay. Let’s start killing some kids.”

  I looked at her, confused and bewildered at the same time. Did this creature just talk about killing kids?

  “What’s your deal with killing people anyway?” I asked. “Other than the ones that sealed you, I guess? Though you probably did something to deserve it.”

  “Nah, that’s the only reason.”

  “No way.”

  “Yup. I believe in collective punishment. You see, long time ago—“ Before she could finish, three individuals rushed in with spears and stabbed her in the back.

  “Time freeze to the win!” Lumine saluted. So she could do something else other than hold her waist...?

  Ghomas and Vacinay kept talking while I clutched my back, screeching in agony. These guys… why do they have to show up now?!

  POV: Lumine

  Eh. I expected a much more appreciative response. Waiting patiently to sneak up and stab her took a lot of work!

  The woman, still floating in the air, turned toward me with an angry look.

  Our spears were still stuck in her back, so… please tell me why she was still alive?!

  I took a step back. “That was an accident, to be honest. You see, there was a huge bug on your back. We thought it was just a spawn from the rabbitman, like the rabbit it made as a distraction near the spring. Well… at least I thought it was one. I mean, it could’ve possibly made bug-like ones as a trick to keep it alive, right? Right?”

  Vacinay bit her lip. “I think we need to run…”

  The woman growled before dashing toward us. “I’m going to gut you!”

  I raised both thumbs. “Time freeze!”