I quickly fall asleep. The softness of the bed feels absolutely heavenly. It's like being surrounded by the concept of relief itself. Like I'm being drifted in the realms of the gods and fairies. Truly, it's great. It's so good that if anyone were to break me from my sleep, I think I would honestly kill them.

***

POV: Hessien

Just ignore it, she says.

Just ignore that a creature like that is still in the toilet?! Has that girl lost her damn mind?!

I think nonstop as I rampage through the cleaning room cabinets.

I knew her mom said she once accidentally dropped Lumine on her head. But I thought Lumine was somewhat relatively normal despite that. Sadly, it's now evident that it isn’t the case. Poor child.

Finally, I find a cabinet filled with bottles and containers.

There's written text on them, but I don’t understand the language. It kind of reminds me of Arabic. Anyway, they have skull signs and other warnings on them. In other words, they're poison. Well, to be accurate, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have other uses, like for cleaning.

It doesn’t matter to me.

I put them in a basket with an excited grin. Yet, that isn’t enough. I need something with more of a bang.

With my hand on my chin, I make my way to the kitchen. Upon entering, I scan the kitchen.

Hmmm. I walk over to the weird triangular stove and see a bunch of tools around it. Most of them are rods with buttons or switches. I click on them. Some make no sounds or have no effect.

One of them generates light, but I’m not interested in that. Then finally, I find what I truly desire. Pressing the button, a small flame is ignited from the mouth of the arm-long rod.

It alone isn’t going to be useful. So I prepare to do some experimenting. I stretch my arms and legs to get ready. I'm entering my scientist mode.

The only thing I'm lacking is goggles and a lab coat. If something goes boom in a large magnitude, I'm a goner.

I first open all the containers with the warning signs, taking a small whiff of them. I'm probably killing myself, but it's only a single whiff.

After doing that to around five of them, I realize not a single one of them has a gasoline or kerosene-like smell. I'm a bit disappointed, but it only means I have to find out how flammable they are through trial and error.

First, I place a bowl in the corner of the kitchen and then pour dangerous liquid #1 in it. After that, I take the huge table and gently flip it to the side to use as a shield.

With that done, it's time to either die in an explosion, trigger a chemical reaction that will create a much more powerful gas, or perhaps something even more sinister.

Hmmm. I cross my legs and think about it. Would it be possible if they were some fantasy bullshit? Like seals of a thousand-year-old demon lord or lich? Nah. Sure, it's a fantasy world. But we have to be reasonable here.

So flammable or super gaseous toxin it is. I can't be as paranoid as Lumine.

I press the button on the lighter.

Beads of sweat form on my head, which confuses me. I'm not nervous. Sure, I'm currently behind the table, using it as a shield, but that's just me being smart.

Anyway, I take in a deep breath as I torch the liquid, preparing to jerk my hand in an instant. But as soon as the flame touches the liquid, all it does is fizzle out. How disappointing.

I take back the bowl. I'm about to throw it, but then I think... what if I go into scientist mode x 2?

I open the other container and add it to the bowl. Once again, I try to ignite it. It fails. Although, I swear I hear a weird sound.

Again!

It takes about three minutes of me adding more and more of the liquids to try to get a chemical reaction. I'm even sitting near it with my legs folded, bored and immensely disappointed.

Each time I try to ignite it, the weird sound comes and goes. I think it means the liquids are going to catch on fire, but nope!

Fighting the sleep, I decide to twirl my finger in it... If I die, Lumine will just rewind time to save me. Sorry Lumii.

“Free… at last…” A low-pitched feminine whisper suddenly appears!

Every single part of my body shivers as I shoot up, asking, “Who? Who is here?!”

“Free… free… free!”

Oh shit!

I dash out of the kitchen, slamming the door shut in the process.

But that isn’t enough! I create a mist around me. It oddly never disturbs my sight. But that's probably because of how light it is.

Which makes me worried it also won’t make it harder for them to see me!

With the fear of the devil spelled in my bones, I finally reach the bedroom! Lumine has to save me! Wait, but doesn’t she only have a time freeze? A short-ass one at hand! Wait, no no! She also is strong now!

I grab the doorknob, but suddenly something catches my foot. A cold sweat runs down my body as I turn behind me, expecting to scream to the high heavens. I breathe heavily as I finally see the person—oh damn.

“Hello there.” A woman with long red hair that touches her hips smiles at me. To be honest, that doesn’t catch my interest the most. What does is her weird dress. It’s a match of a gothic with many blades spiking all over it.

Her skin is also very pale and if that isn’t bad enough, her damn red eyes, black bat wings, and huge tits make it clear to me that she's trying to seduce me to drink my life force!

“Hey-o. Can you kindly release my leg?” I say as I tighten my grip around the doorknob.

“I would love to, however. Since you are the one that released me from those cursed seals, I am interested in knowing your motive and where I am?”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I look at her and around her anxiously. “Um… 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 sighs. “Wait a second… You have no flow patterns.”

“Yup…?”

She clicks her tongue, irritated before releasing her grip from my leg. “I see. So trying to lower your guard for me to take over you and kill you and everyone in this house is pointless. Bloody hell.”

“Excuse me?! So your questions were a trick for a skill!” I point at her with fury.

“No… Wait, don’t you even know what I am?! How the hell can someone like me use skills, fool!” She jabs her finger at me too.

“How would I know, monkey?! You are a vampire spirit or demon!”

“What?! I am a Despetamor! A great powerful being! Manifested out of pure skill energy! I am the definition of greatness and mightiness! My name brings both fear and awe to all

!”

“I have no clue who you are, missy. And I can tell you, having a big chest isn’t going to get me to pretend to know.” I shake my head. “Not at all. Nada. Matter of fact, if you think that was going to get me to drop my guard, you got another thing coming.”

As I say that, I keep my eyes on her chest, not leaving it for a second. I see. It must have a weird hypnotizing effect. Indeed indeed! And how tall she is too...

Am I weak...? No! if she has a hypnotizing effect on her chest, she clearly added one to her height. As if her being 6"4 could make me feel so weak towards her.

I smile to myself, acknowledging agency is being taken away from me.

Her eyes twitch before her huge chest vanishes and instead, it's replaced with a flat one. Her dress also morphs, the spikes vanish in the process. And the biggest crime of all… her height is reduced by around 9 inches, making her about 5”7.

Damn it. Perhaps, I had a weakness for women taller than me.

With her hand on her chin, she asks, “What species do you belong to? I have never seen something like you in my mere 200 years of living.”

“Humans. Crazy powerful beings. Descended from the heavens. When we die, our memories and power are passed down to another human, and a binding contract is placed on them, forcing them to avenge or mourn the dead human.”

Please believe my lies. Don't be like the rabbit man that could see through the intestines exploding bullshit.

She floats around me. “Is that so?”

“Yep. So don’t even try killing me—it would only spell bad news for you—“

I realize what I said was bad news as a huge smile suddenly flashes across her face.

Immediately she shoots towards my face and literally becomes white energy as she forces herself into my mouth.

I taste nothing but feel something!

Does she plan to take possession of me?! Did she actually believe that?!

If I ran into the room to make it known to the three, she would most definitely kill them and body hop for the power.

I think about my options at hand; I have to end things with my own hands. Suddenly, my mouth moves on its own, and I puke her out. In my pool of saliva, she lies near the wall, baffled. It's as if she saw something that shouldn’t have happened. Her eyes move about before locking on me.

“Why the hell can’t I bind your existence to mine?!” She angrily shouts.

Pft, like as if I knew. But I will take it as a compliment that she couldn't.

Honestly, it's amazing how the three aren’t hearing this. Are they just that deep in their sleep?

She sits up and then hops into the air before trying to fly away. But once she distances herself four meters away from me, a chain of white light suddenly appears and she immediately stops in her tracks, even nearly falling over.

Umm… Why is the chain of light coming from my chest?

Her face turns red as she cries out, “No no no no! How the hell can the binding think your existence has greater weight than mine?!”

Oh. This shit. I point at her. “Sit?”

She indeed does not suddenly fall to the ground sitting. That is a relief, I like isekai a lot, but I don’t want a slave. As much as I would love to say it's for moral and ethical reasons, it isn't.

It seems gross and I don't want that reputation. Hell no.

“Sit?! Do I look like a damn animal to you, mortal?” She rushes to me, eyes full of rage. “I have a better idea!”

Her fingers shift into claws, and before I can react to It, they dig into my face—or I expect them to. The tips of the claws literally stop right near my skin. She is forcing all her willpower to try to make it touch my face.

“Hahaha…” I grin. “You can't harm me? You can't harm me!”

I charge my fist and strike her right in her stomach.

But as I anticipate, the same thing happens. My fist doesn’t make contact. So we can’t harm each other. I understand now. We are both treated as equals by these binding chains…?

No, it couldn’t be. She stated that it viewed my existence as having greater weight.

She is still trying to claw at me. I can even see tears nearly escaping her eyes in her desperation. That is what you get for trying to take over my body.

I rest on the wall, now very confident in my safety. I ponder on what advantages I could have…

Oh!

I walk back towards the kitchen.

She remains suspended in the air, shouting, “You think I am just going to follow you like some pet?!”

After distancing from her by four meters, she is forcefully pulled towards my direction.

Oh, that was an advantage I didn’t think of; she must ‘orbit’ me.

After entering the kitchen, I take a knife.

She looks at it and me. “You are aware that you can’t harm me?”

“Ye.” I smile.

“So…?”

I prick my shoulder.

As soon as I wince in pain, I notice she looks at her right shoulder too.

“So we share damage…” I throw the knife in the sink.

I was hoping she would have to protect me from harm by default. But it's good knowing that she couldn’t set me up to die. But it also means that I can’t get rid of her no matter what.

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

A crude smile creeps up her lips. “A man with a receding hairline and a small dick such as yours sure is bold with his words.”

I stare at her. “How the… How… HOW DO YOU KNOW?!”

She taps her head. “I made up the last part.”

“Oh… I was joking about that.” I try to save face.

“No. No, you weren’t.”

I sigh as I slope to the floor. “All I wanted to do was kill a toilet fiend; how did I get caught in this mess?”

I just know I’m going to hate my time dealing with her.

“To be frank, regardless of your species origin, you should be godly excited that a woman such as me is bind to you.”

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

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

“Something weird; weirdo.”

“You are a dumb bitch.”

“What did you mean, then?! You used the damn word ‘bind’! Not a positive word! Who the hell thinks of good stuff when they hear bind?! Like, attached or with sounds a lot better. If you said those, I could agree! if we got to know each other first... I liked 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 answer, “I don’t know. Besides, it’s kind of clear that I can’t force you to do shit. So it isn’t like I can use you as a Pokemon and be like, ‘Weird miss, go! Use… sharp claws!’”

"Pokemon...?"

"A battle beast?"

She thinks deeply, even floating with her legs folded. “You are right… I am the one that should be excited! If your existence has greater weight than mine! That means you must command a lot of power behind your cowardly demeanor! Hehehehehehehhehehe! I can have my revenge!”

She giggles and begins flying around in a frenzy. “It will be a massacre!”

After laughing like a madman, she points at me with a serious expression. “Okay. Let's start killing some kids.”

I look 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 ask. “Other than the ones that sealed you, I guess? Although, you probably did something to deserve it.”

“Nah, that’s the only reason.”

“No way.”

“Yup. I believe in collective punishment. You see now… long time ago—“ Before she could finish, three individuals rush in with a spear and stab into her back.

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

Ghomas and Vacinay run their mouths while I clutch my back, screeching in agony. These guys… why do they have to show up now?!

***

POV: Lumine

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

The woman who is floating in the air turns towards me with an angry look.

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

I 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 possibly make bug-like ones as a trick to keep it alive, right? Right?”

Vacinay bites her lips. “I think we have to run….

The woman growls before dashing at us. "I am going to gut you!"

I raise both thumbs. “Time freeze!”