Holloway placed a finger against Evelyn’s wet back as she lay face-down, trembling.
His elegant finger slowly traced down along her spine before stopping.
Through the thin negligee, Evelyn’s slightly chilled body temperature seeped into his fingertip.
At the softness of her skin, Holloway pressed his entire palm against the small of her back this time.
Her bare skin was vividly palpable beneath his hand.
When his hand slid toward Evelyn’s waist, she hurriedly stopped him.
“……W-What are you doing?”
“Nothing in particular.”
Holloway gripped Evelyn’s waist.
Her resistance was so weak that Holloway hardly even registered it.
“Cough……”
Evelyn suddenly coughed up blood.
It spread around her.
Holloway’s expression remained indifferent.
The fact that Evelyn was dying wasn’t something that particularly concerned him.
‘If she’s eventually going to become like those things, then perhaps……’
Wouldn’t preserving her exactly as she was now be fairly nice?
Something strange stirred in Holloway’s lowered eyes.
Caught by an inexplicable impulse, he stared at the hand resting around Evelyn’s waist.
Blue veins stood prominently from his forearm to the back of his hand, almost as though he were restraining something.
Looking at Evelyn’s beautifully curved figure, porcelain-white skin, and mysterious violet hair, Holloway could almost understand why Suriel was so obsessed with collecting things.
If she were preserved, she could never leave his side.
She wouldn’t have to change.
If she never changed, he could look at her for as long as he wanted.
If the day came when Evelyn changed enough that he had to kill her—
he had the feeling it might leave him somewhat displeased.
‘So it might be better to preserve her like this.’
An unusual light flashed within his crimson eyes.
“Evelyn.”
Flinch.
Every time he called her name, Evelyn expressed her fear with her entire body.
Even that tiny movement drew laughter from him.
As time passed, Evelyn kept feeding the desire boiling up from Holloway’s stomach.
Her wet nape and pale skin looked ripe and enticing, continuously provoking an inexplicable thirst.
His large hand wrapped around Evelyn’s neck.
Holloway withdrew the sword and supported Evelyn’s head when she could barely hold herself upright.
He stared fixedly at her neck as she panted for breath.
Caught in an unfamiliar desire, Holloway slowly lowered his face.
Just before pressing his lips against Evelyn’s neck—
“What are you doing?”
Evelyn’s thoroughly irritated voice stopped him.
Holloway’s face froze near her slender neck.
“What do you mean?”
He shamelessly lifted his head again as though nothing had happened.
Yet the farther Evelyn’s neck moved away, the more that strange sensation seemed to engulf him.
“You held something against my neck, didn’t you? What was it? If you tell me honestly, I’ll forgive you.”
Holloway pushed aside that unfamiliar sensation and asked,
“Really?”
“No.”
“…….”
It felt like the blade near my neck had disappeared.
But no system window appeared saying the preservation ending had vanished.
Meaning I was still not safe.
The pounding of my heart seemed to echo through my entire body.
I tried to appear perfectly calm as I touched the bandage covering my eyes.
“By the way, can I take this bandage off? I lost so much blood that I’m getting dizzy……”
“Then sleep for a while.”
Would you be able to sleep in my position?
When that tactic failed, I desperately searched for another.
Then—
[The ‘Flamethrower’ is located in the direction indicated by the arrow.]
The system window appeared at the perfect moment.
I celebrated internally so intensely that my mouth practically formed a ▽.
I still had the revolver, but with my eyes covered, I would almost certainly miss.
And if I shouted three cheers before firing, Holloway would immediately know I was about to shoot.
A flamethrower, on the other hand, had a wide attack range.
Even if I missed, surely I could burn him a little.
It would be threatening enough even against Holloway—
‘……Would it?’
I had no idea whether anything could truly threaten that bastard.
Still, something was better than nothing.
Holloway rubbed his chin while watching Evelyn closely.
Moments ago she had been trembling with blue lips.
Now the corners of her mouth were twitching with joy.
‘She was terrified a moment ago……’
Holloway watched her abrupt emotional shift with interest.
A faint sense of anticipation began growing inside him.
He found himself curious about how she would escape this situation next.
Without even realizing it, Holloway’s entire attention had become fixed on Evelyn.
Unable to see anything, Evelyn pushed away the hand lightly supporting her face.
Holloway willingly released her.
She crawled away from him on all fours.
She had lost too much blood to put strength into her legs.
‘Once I get that flamethrower……!’
I probably still won’t be able to do much.
But still.
Fortunately, I could see the floating arrow, so I merely had to follow it.
Several times, my hands accidentally touched something soft and unpleasant along the way.
Each time, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
But it’s fine.
The bandage around my eyes is getting wet because of sweat.
Not tears.
Holloway leisurely watched Evelyn crawl.
“A turtle?”
‘Enjoy acting relaxed while you can!’
At last, Evelyn reached the flamethrower.
The sensation of cool metal against her hand made her grin.
[Obtained ‘Flamethrower’!]
[Flamethrower
Feature: Capable of wide-area attacks. Can burn things in front of you.]
Demons too?!
[Perfect temperature for burning humans!]
‘……So not demons?’
That sinister, irritating description left me dumbfounded.
Still, it should at least hurt him a little.
I couldn’t see the flamethrower, so I awkwardly felt around and tried positioning it correctly.
Holloway watched Evelyn sit up with her back toward him while she fidgeted with something in her hands.
Then he strode over.
It only took a few steps for him to stop directly behind her.
Evelyn licked her dry lips.
There was no way she could fail to notice him.
Holloway’s chill brushed her back and made every fine hair stand upright.
“Finished crawling?”
The teasing tone tightened Evelyn’s grip around the flamethrower.
“You should be careful.”
Suddenly, confidence filled her voice.
Holloway glanced at the weapon in her hands.
What exactly did she think she could accomplish with something like that?
He nearly laughed, but instead pretended ignorance.
“Of what?”
“I may not be able to open someone’s heart, but I’m very good at opening mouths. Breaking teeth is one of my specialties.”
“Ah……”
At Holloway’s small sound of acknowledgement, Evelyn turned around and pointed directly toward his center.
Seeing how satisfied she looked, Holloway became mildly suspicious.
“Do you even know what that is? And how did you know it was there?”
“I saw it earlier.”
“…….”
Understandably hard to believe.
Even I knew that.
My heart pounded as I swallowed nervously.
Fortunately, no suspicion gauge appeared.
That was because Holloway didn’t particularly doubt her.
Knowing Evelyn, it wasn’t impossible for her to have noticed the flamethrower earlier and then gone searching for it later.
Based on everything she had done until now, she also possessed a remarkable talent for surviving monsters.
‘……Or maybe it’s luck.’
Luck was probably more accurate.
Still, he didn’t know whether her sense of direction was equally good……
[Holloway’s Danger Gauge increased by 5.]
“……!”
My eyes widened beneath the bandage.
I thought I was safe……
The more Holloway examined her actions one by one, the less sense they made.
‘She is suspicious.’
I deliberately muttered loudly enough for him to hear.
“Good thing it was somewhere easy to find……”
“…….”
She’s obviously saying that for me to hear……
Holloway narrowed his eyes.
[Holloway’s Danger Gauge increased by 10.]
I ignored the gauge rising against my will and continued my warning.
“As a mere human, this is the only thing I can do. If you don’t back away, I’ll fire.”
“A mere human……”
Did she emphasize that because she knew his identity?
Or was it simply something she said?
[Holloway has decided to observe you for now.]
[Holloway’s Danger Gauge will restart from zero!]
[From this point onward, if you behave suspiciously in Holloway’s presence 5 times, he will regard you as an enemy.]
[This condition will be completely revoked if Affection reaches 15% or higher.]
F-For now, I survived another crisis.
I released an invisible sigh of relief.
Holloway calmly took one step backward.
“You’re holding the flamethrower backward. What do you think will happen if you fire it like that?”
“The person getting barbecued would be…… me?”
“Correct.”
Fuck!
I awkwardly adjusted the flamethrower.
“No, wait. I feel like I was holding it correctly before. This feels kind of awkward……”
I kept tilting my head because the new position felt wrong.
“Why don’t you trust yourself for once?”
I trusted Holloway about as much as I trusted myself.
After hesitating, I adjusted it according to Holloway’s instructions.
He was the final boss.
Surely he wouldn’t kill me through something this absurd.
Watching Evelyn smile like a victor, Holloway finally covered his eyes and bent forward.
“Pfft……”
His body shook with suppressed laughter.
It was adorable how she had obediently believed him.
She was pointing a weapon backward while trusting the words of the man threatening her.
“I’m not over there. I’m here.”
Evelyn slightly changed direction.
“No. Not there. Here.”
“Here?”
“No, no. Here.”
“H-Here?”
“Here.”
After repeatedly pointing in the wrong direction, Evelyn finally exploded.
“Aagh!”
Where the hell are you?!
I’m just going to fire!
Just as Evelyn was about to press the trigger, Holloway caught her hand.
“How can you trust people this easily?”
“……What?”
“It’ll fire backward.”
“No, but you said……”
You told me I was holding it backward!
This confirmed it.
Never trust a demon.
Evelyn engraved one lesson deeply into her bones:
her own judgment was more reliable than anything a demon told her.
“I saved you again, big sis. Right?”
“……What kind of nonsense is that?”
You nearly killed me and now you’re calling it saving me?
It was absurd.
Holloway, however, was completely sincere.
Even with her eyes covered, Evelyn’s dumbfounded expression was so amusing that Holloway laughed freely.
Afterward, he wiped away the tears that had gathered at the corners of his eyes.
Watching Evelyn’s lips chatter endlessly, he finally admitted something.
‘It wouldn’t be fun to take a comedian’s life.’
Even if she remained unchanged after being preserved—
the thought of those full lips never moving again created an unpleasant sensation inside him.
Holloway’s laughter abruptly stopped.
That was not a good sign.
Evelyn, completely unaware of Holloway’s complicated thoughts, suddenly heard a fanfare.
Fireworks burst across her vision.
[Congratulations! ☆٩(｡•ω<｡)و The ‘Beautiful Evelyn, Preserved Forever’ route has been permanently deleted!]
***
[The surging Possessiveness is beginning to calm.]
[Possessiveness decreased by 11%.]
[Possessiveness decreased by 20%.]
[All values have returned to normal!]
[Affection increased by 8%.]
[Attachment increased by 7%.]
[Affection: 18.5%
Attachment: 18%
Possessiveness: 19.2%]
[Congratulations! ☆٩(｡•ω<｡)و The ‘Beautiful Evelyn, Preserved Forever’ route has been permanently deleted!]
I-I did it!
Success!
I finished the ninth story quest.
And I managed to calm his exploding Possessiveness too.
I-I’m alive.
I survived……
“Considering how endlessly you’re talking despite knowing what I held against your neck earlier, you really are impressive. And now you’re even threatening me with that?”
Maybe I haven’t survived yet.
One long finger carefully removed a strand of hair stuck near my mouth.
[Your body is beginning to malfunction due to excessive blood loss.]
As though waiting for that warning, chills swept over me.
The hand holding the flamethrower started trembling.
It hadn’t seemed particularly heavy before.
Now it suddenly felt like a block of iron.
Even breathing became difficult, like a boulder was pressing against my chest.
I could vividly feel the horrifying sensation of blood draining from my body.
Trying to stay conscious, I forced my swaying body upright.
Then Holloway suddenly pressed hard against a wound on my arm.
“Agh!”
The sharp pain instantly snapped my fading consciousness back into focus.
Holloway completely ignored my scream and kept pressing against the wound.
Pain crushed through my arm.
Unable to endure it, I threatened him tearfully.
“That hurts! Stop it! Or I really will fire!”
Ignoring my long, empty threat, Holloway asked,
“What are you going to say next?”
Forget what I’m going to say!
I grabbed his hand and begged desperately.
“Let go of my arm first!”
It hurts like hell!
“Oh, this?”
Instead of releasing me, Holloway pressed even harder.
“Aagh!”
Tears sprang into my eyes.
Fuck it.
I don’t know anymore.
I’m shooting him!
The moment I tried, dizziness struck.
All strength drained from me so abruptly that I dropped the flamethrower.
[You have become incapacitated due to excessive blood loss.]
Holloway firmly caught me as I collapsed.
“Answer me before you faint.”
You’re still doing this now?!
I gritted my teeth and spat the words out through them.
“Watch your back at night……”
I couldn’t see Holloway’s expression or know his thoughts.
But there was one thing I could tell.
[Affection increased by 4%.]
[Attachment increased by 5%.]
He didn’t appear displeased.
Apparently, he had mistaken my threat for the concern of a kind person wishing him a safe night.
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