When I reached the area where the Eldritch monster stayed, I was surprised to see how few chains were left.
Even if I didn’t do anything, it seed like it would escape all by itself eventually.
But... if I didn’t take my chances when they were given to , I’d be an idiot.
Like always, I approached the edge, closed my eyes, and then jumped down.
The fall was as long as I rembered, but oddly enough, because of everything that was going through my mind, it felt particularly long.
Yet when I reopened my eyes and saw that the ground was just inches away from , I quickly turned my body into lightning and repositioned myself.
Once I stood on both feet, I glanced over at the Eldritch monster. For a mont, I was left in awe.
All the bones that had previously been here were gone now. The ground was surprisingly clean, and as for the walls, they had neat scribbles on them, which was weird, since the Eldritch monster shouldn’t even be able to reach the wall.
...Unless it detaches itself like before?
Still...
"Hey there. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?"
I waited for a reply, yet none ca.
"I had a bunch of fun over on the continent. It just sucks that it looks like humanity might end soon, you know? Got any tips on how I could defeat all the demons and stop them from descending?"
At this point, I was just grasping at straws.
But it seems like I grasped the right straw.
[Demons are unbeatable.]
[You are also different...]
[What happened to you?]
Its voice was still a screech like before, but oddly enough, I approached the giant Eldritch monster and sat down in front of it, feeling like I was safe.
And since I had a lot of ti to kill, I decided to do so story ti.
I told the Eldritch monster about all my encounters, from the mont I boarded the ship to the Western continent to the final mont when I grabbed Clentine and flew away.
Even though I was the one talking, and it took hours to explain everything, once I was done, I felt like a weight was lifted off my chest.
[I see...]
[I have not seen those beings in a very long ti.]
[It is amusing to that they still live, especially since they were once fodder for the humans in their fight against the demons.]
"Fodder, huh? I kind of find that hard to believe," I said.
"One high-Grade Angel could wipe out half of humanity. At least in the current day, that would never happen."
At my words, for the first ti since eting the Eldritch monster, I heard it scoff.
[You should’ve seen humans when they first descended into this world.]
[Stupid, reckless, and greedy...]
[They haven’t changed much. Their thods for being stupid, reckless, and greedy have evolved, however.]
"Fair enough."
I let out a chuckle and then leaned back slightly.
"Say, would you like to make a contract with ?"
[...]
[A contract?]
"Yeah. I do sothing for you, and all you have to do is not do sothing to . What do you think?"
The Eldritch monster paused for a mont.
[Tell what it is you seek.]
Hearing that, I felt a little relieved.
"For starters, I want you to never hurt or the people I care about. I’m sure you’ll find that especially easy, since I don’t care about a lot of people in this world."
"Also, that applies to any indirect ways of trying to kill too. Whether that is through another being or by dropping a teor on . Got it?"
[I understand.]
Good.
"One more thing, I want you to not ntion anything that happened here, from the mont I first saw you till now. This’ll stay just between us."
After all, the last thing I wanted was for this Eldritch monster to go tattle-telling everyone that I used it as a punching bag for nearly half a year.
That would definitely be a route-ender.
[That is simple enough.]
[I do not hold grudges. Especially over sothing as feeble as an ant massaging every now and again.]
Am I the ant here?
...Ouch?
[I believe it’s ti for you to tell what you want to do for .]
At the Eldritch monster’s words, I nodded.
"In return for you doing everything I asked you to, I will free you. Or I guess I will unseal you. Whichever makes it so that you can walk out of here and roam the world again."
Just like that, my offer stood on the table.
I was very confident in what I offered, and I knew for a fact I didn’t ask for too much either.
Still...
After nearly five minutes of complete and total silence, I felt like the answer I would get wouldn’t be very pleasant.
And when the Eldritch monster spoke again, it seed like I was right on the mark.
[Last ti, I asked you to kill .]
[That is all I want.]
[Freedom is an oddity I do not wish to taste once again.]
"I thought you might say that."
Not really.
"But what if I told you that soone actually asked to co here today and free you?"
I stood up and straightened my back.
"I’m talking about Elise. I t her in her strange realm, and she slled you on . She asked to free you, and the two of us ford a contract."
Letting out a sigh, I glanced at one of the Eldritch monster’s eyes.
"I really don’t care what you do after I free you. I’m just really eager to do so, since the technique I’ll get by freeing you might be the difference between life and death."
With that, I fell silent once again.
I knew the answer might still be no, since I ditched deceit and switched to honesty.
A minute passed, then another, and another...
I felt the tension grow, and so I instinctively stepped back.
The mont I did, I realized that the Eldritch monster’s body had shrunk considerably. With every passing mont, its body got smaller and smaller. The eyes had begun to vanish too.
And in just a few seconds, the blob of sli that used to be the Eldritch monster was gone.
What replaced it was a malnourished white-haired woman who had chains around her ankles and a single chain strapped to her neck.
Her white eyes were hollow, and despite them looking so similar appearance-wise, I could tell that her will to live was just not there.
She moved her mouth as strange sounds ca out, almost like she was trying to calibrate her throat.
And before long...
"How is... my sister?"
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