The Devil's Contract Lover - Chapter 11

“Xingkong, what… is that?” The voice was hoarse, and the smell of blood kept drilling into her nose. Her eyes were indeed covered, yet she seemed to be able to see the purple-clad girl’s sweet smile.

It must be a joke, did I get picked for a prank show? Where are the TV cameras…

How could a murderer be standing in front of me with an axe—”Haha, looks like the situation isn’t great, huh? Desperate times call for desperate measures~” Unexpectedly, the purple-clad girl’s voice was clear as a bell, like a spring flowing through a mountain stream.

Clomp, clomp, clomp-clomp-clomp.

Every step was accompanied by a strange metallic grinding sound, as the girl with the axe accelerated towards them.

If Xingkong wasn’t behind her, she would surely have fainted from fear.

Perhaps her mind was escaping the horrifying image, as her consciousness darted about: Will she win? Can Xingkong protect me? Will she protect me?

The answer was a resounding yes.

The sound of the axe cutting through the air abruptly stopped, followed by a heavy impact and collision.

Crack!

Was it the wall or a spine that shattered?!

Yao Yuan couldn’t help but move the shadow covering her eyes, and then saw an even more unbelievable transformation.

The purple-clad girl was still smiling, even though she was clearly broken in half.

The severed surface of her body bubbled like a boiling liquid. She raised her face and reached out towards Yao Yuan: “That was truly dangerous… I need…”

Pop, pop, pop—Large chunks of bubbles burst, and the purple-clad girl, along with the axe and the head, melted onto the floor.

Red mist accelerated the corrosion of the residual matter, sublimating into the air.

“Ugh.” Yao Yuan covered her mouth and dry-heaved. An extremely sickening odor violently forced its way into her mouth.

“Come, let’s go somewhere else.”

She had no strength to resist and was steadily picked up by Xingkong.

In a new hotel, Yao Yuan stayed in the shower for a full hour before finally emerging from the bathroom.

Her body had long been dry, but she still held a towel, continuously wiping herself. She had used up more than half a bottle of shower gel, and she was walking with a slight wobble.

“Hoo ah…” She collapsed onto the duvet, grateful for the first time that the hotel’s bed sheets were all pure white. She had originally thought them too plain, but now she only found them clean.

It was so good there was no bloodstain, and tears streamed uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.

It was the first time she had seen a severed head, the first time she had seen a killer, and also the first time she had seen a human dissolve… Was that truly a human? Could a person speak after being split in half?

She didn’t know, and completely refused to dwell on it; her mind rejected thinking about the terrifying scenes.

Xingkong leaned closer, giving her a surprising sense of warmth.

Once her shoulder and waist had support, her tense muscles finally relaxed.

Yao Yuan slowly leaned backward, greedily savoring this complete feeling of security. Even if she were to be corroded, it would be tomorrow, the day after, the day after that; she desperately needed some kind of strength to support her through this obstacle.

“Don’t worry, I will protect you.” The promise echoed in her ears.

Against the devil’s offensive, humans were powerless. At this moment, Yao Yuan could feel the sensation of falling, and she didn’t want to stop it.

In a comfortable environment, people easily let down their guard, and so a sentence slipped out.

“Xingkong, did… you get hurt before?”

“…”

Yao Yuan interpreted the devil’s silence as listening: “I could feel it when we signed the contract, those shadows—were they parts of a body? They looked a bit transparent.”

“…Xiaoyuan, what are you trying to say?” The tone was unusually gentle, and a fingertip slowly moved up her collarbone.

Misinterpreting this ‘gentleness,’ the human took another step into a wrong and more wrong abyss.

“I’m a little worried about you, what if you are also attacked by a terrible monster—” This time, what constricted her was not the back of her neck, but her throat.

A great force swept over her shoulder, swiftly flipping Yao Yuan over and pinning her beneath. Only then did Yao Yuan remember: Xingkong could easily lift her with one hand.

Half of the devil was engulfed in shadow, but she only noticed the blood-red eyes that were once again surging with color.

The malevolent eyes searched for any hint of weakness, seemingly ready to tear the confined girl to shreds if they detected even a slight trace of inappropriate emotion.

The caramel-like warm and sweet facade was torn open, revealing the destructive magma within.

“W-what’s wrong with you…”

Fear flooded her heart, and Yao Yuan could no longer control her tears, her eyes full of panic. Only her neck was being constricted, yet she couldn’t even make a movement to push her away.

From her brain to her fingertips, she was consumed by anxiety over the unknown method of annihilation.

The eyes seemed satisfied, as the bright red gradually faded, but the fingers pressed against her neck still hadn’t withdrawn.

“Xiaoyuan, let me tell you something.” The devil gradually lowered her center of gravity, pressing almost tightly against her cheek: “Showing us pity is an insult.”

“No, it’s not pity, it’s just, just…” Her tongue was trembling, and the word ‘worry’ was stammered out.

A sharp fingernail ‘gently’ traced over the tip of her tongue: “Very good. When it comes to boundaries, you must be careful. How cute, I can’t bear to hurt you.”

“L-liar…”

“Liar? I have never lied to you.” The devil’s tone grew increasingly gentle: “The souls of those who dare to offend us should suffer a hundred, even thousands of times the pain of bodily disintegration.”

Her lips slowly approached, as if the crack was about to be sealed with sweet syrup: “I know you are very afraid of pain, more so than other humans.”

“Wuu…”

“So I’m not going to punish you. See, as long as you make sure next time you don’t—” The subtly enticing devil was suddenly pushed away by a burst of strength: this slight force was certainly not enough to push her away, but she consciously yielded.

Yao Yuan didn’t know where she got the courage to break free from the restraint, but she violently tumbled off the bed: “Didn’t you say you were my ‘lover’?! You big liar, what kind of lover are you?!”

She roared and stumbled into the restroom, locking the door behind her. The sound of distressed crying echoed inside the door. Yao Yuan sat on the toilet lid, frantically pulling out toilet paper.

There was more grievance than fear in her tears, and this made her… extremely angry!

She wasn’t angry at the devil, but at herself: she had decided a long time ago to resist the devil, right? Her decision not to fall into the trap was like meaningless chatter.

If the devil hadn’t revealed her true colors today, she really would have started to like her…

Trash, fragile, disgusting!

“Xiaoyuan.” Xingkong leaned against the door, making a soft sound of contact.

“Don’t you dare come in! Stay away from me!” The scream of a hamster-like voice came from behind the door.

“Okay, I won’t come in.”

And so she truly didn’t barge in.

Yao Yuan cried until her throat was hoarse, her head ached, and her legs felt sore. The restroom was nowhere near as comfortable as the bed.

A person shouldn’t fight with themselves. She scooped up cold water and vigorously wiped her face, then coldly opened the door. She ignored Xingkong, who was waiting quietly on the side, and walked quickly straight to the bed.

Picked up the blanket, put her legs in, pulled up the blanket—perfect.

She tightly closed her eyes, her body instinctively curling into a ball, nestled against the far right side of the bed.

A short while later, the blanket beside her moved, and Xingkong also lay down.

Yao Yuan shuffled to the right, almost falling off the bed.

A pair of arms tentatively wrapped around her waist, and even when Yao Yuan angrily twisted twice, they didn’t let go.

“Let go, who wants to see your role-playing? It’s totally fake.”

“I said I would protect you.”

“You’re the most dangerous one, aren’t you? Please, I beg you, when I die, my soul will still—” A kiss gently landed on her earlobe, carrying a clear apology.

As if under a stasis spell, a blush spread from her ear root to half her face.

Yao Yuan opened her mouth, completely unsure how to react. This was the first time she had been this intimate… with anyone.

Even if this intimacy was just an act.

“I’m sorry, I misunderstood you.”

“…Oh.”

After saying ‘Oh,’ she was filled with resentment towards herself: What good is ‘Oh’? Who can ‘Oh’ convince? But at this moment, besides ‘Oh,’ there seemed to be no other choice.

Yao Yuan gritted her teeth and spat out the rest of her sentence: “I understand. Can you please let go? Your ‘claws’ are going to interfere with my sleep, thank you.”

“No, if I let go, you won’t be able to sleep.”

“I can’t sleep with you not letting go…”

Swoosh, the unguarded Yao Yuan was pulled completely into an embrace.

Before she could loudly complain, Xingkong had already adjusted to the most comfortable position, her arms slowly relaxing and gently wrapping around her.

“Come, forget the terrible things. I’m right here beside you, and I won’t leave.”

This is the most terrifying thing, isn’t it… Yet, her consciousness gradually sank. Yao Yuan was truly too tired.

Even if she didn’t want to admit it, the fear from seeing the bloody scene was indeed slowly forgotten because of Xingkong’s presence.

She sank into a lightless slumber.