"… C-Chaos? What are you talking about?

" Long Yi asked, still trying to play dumb.

I sighed and folded my arms.

"I hope you realize… playing dumb isn't going to work. There is no other reason you would've followed Mei Gui and I out here. You wanted to find out more about my power, didn't you?

"

"…

" Long Yi gritted her teeth and glared at me.

"So what if I did?

"

"Then… I'm going to leave you with two choices,

" I said calmly, holding up two fingers.

"One, I kill you right here and now, since I don't want to risk you telling anyone of my power, and two…

"

I leaned in and whispered in her ear,

"You become bound to me.

"

"…!

" Her face reddened as I backed away, and she looked at me in fury.

"Y-You… what do you mean, bound?!

"

"It's simple, really. I place a spell on you — if I get hurt, you do too, but on a far greater scale. In other words, if I take a pretty heavy injury, you'll end up dying.

"

"Hah… I've never heard of such a spell before. You're bluffing.

"

"Just because you haven't heard of something means it doesn't exist?

" I scoffed.

"You haven't heard of Chaos either until today, no?

"

At this, she fell silent once again, contemplating.

"… You wouldn't dare to actually kill me,

" she said after a while, glaring at me.

"If I die, Long Lu, as my brother, will hunt down the killer.

"

"Don't forget, the big pile of ash is still back at the village, along with the mutilated bodies. I can simply say you were killed by that flesh monster — which I'm sure you saw as well.

"

"…

"

"I'll give you three seconds to think,

" I said, drawing my Chaos katana and holding it up in front of her chest.

"1…

"

Long Yi clenched her fists tightly, still trying to think of a method to worm her way out of this situation.

"2…

"

"O-Okay, fine!

" She blurted out, to which I smiled.

"A wise choice. Now then…

"

I strode closer and placed my hand on her forehead, closing my eyes. But to my surprise-

"Come, Battle Soul!

"

An energy field suddenly exploded around Long Yi, blowing both Mei Gui and I backwards.

"Ngh-!

" I crashed into a tree, falling to the ground. Mei Gui managed to stabilize herself by dragging her spear across the dirt to slow herself down.

"A Golden Monarch…? Well, this is surprising…

" I muttered.

"Hmph… you've underestimated me, junior.

"

Long Yi, with a dark purple aura around her, lightning crashing down on both sides, glared at me with hatred. Her Battle Soul was a lightning beast of sorts that took on the form of a lion, whose roar shook the entire forest. Leaves fell to the ground in its presence, and trees trembled in fear.

"Too bad…

" I muttered.

"… It's good that you know when you've lost, at least,

" she chuckled, folding her arms.

"Now… in return for threatening me-

"

"No no, you misunderstand,

" I said, crawling to my feet.

"I wasn't saying too bad for me. I was saying it… for you.

"

With a triumphant smirk on my face, I snapped my fingers.

"Wha-!

"

In an instant, Long Yi's body froze. Several metal chains radiating black and red energy suddenly shot out of the ground and locked the lightning beast in place, causing it to roar in fury.

"Y-You… what is this…?!

"

Long Yi was forced to kneel as her Battle Soul was brought to the ground. Her body refusing to move. After all, her soul was being held captive — her body naturally was as well.

I grinned and bent down in front of her.

"You almost had me… but unfortunately for you, I can cast spells instantly. By the time you blew me away using your Battle Soul's aura, I had already placed my curse on you.

"

"Ngh… but how… my Battle Soul…

"

"The spell's name is Soul Shackle. In other words…

"

I raised my hand and absorbed the lightning beast whole, sucking it into my body along with the chains.

"… Your soul is bound with mine now.

"

Long Yi fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Hah… hah…

"

"C'mon, Mei Gui,

" I said, straightening up.

"Let's head back.

"

"Yes, Master.

"

"Oh, and… if you ever expose me, just remember… I can kill you at any time I want without a trace.

"

Leaving these threatening words behind, Mei Gui and I prepared to leave, but-

"Wait!

"

I stopped in my tracks and slowly turned my head.

"… What?

"

"… I'm coming with you.

"

"Back to the village?

"

"No, I mean… until I can get this curse removed.

"

"…

"

After a while, I laughed in response.

"You're kidding, right? I'm never going to remove that curse.

"

"Which is why… I have to protect you, even though I feel like vomiting from the idea alone. I don't feel safe if I'm not there by your side… I won't let you get injured one bit.

"

"… Is this a love confession or something?

" I scoffed.

"Look, you're not coming with me. I have enough people surrounding me, and-

"

"Too bad. You put this ridiculous curse on me. It's only natural I have to come along to make sure you don't get hurt.

"

I turned around and walked closer to her, which surprised her quite a bit.

"What if I told you…

" I suddenly wrapped my hand around her waist and pulled her close, causing her cheeks to redden in response.

"… The cost for following me is your body?

"

"You pervert…

" She muttered, but didn't push away.

"F-Fine. If that's what it takes… I'll do it.

"

I blinked several times as we stared into each other's eyes.

"W-What?

" She snapped, biting her lip nervously.

"Uh… I just wasn't expecting that answer,

" I said, still not letting go of her.

"Well… my will to live is quite strong. And… um, you aren't particularly bad looking, either.

"

"I see. But…

"

I suddenly moved my hand from her waist and smacked her on the back of her neck instead, hoping to get her to faint.

"… Sorry, I still can't let you-

"

"Good try,

" she cut in, which caught me off guard.

"Wha… you aren't fainted…?

"

"Master, she has the Sleepless Body…

" Mei Gui explained helpfully.

"O-Oh, right… hm.

"

"We can tie her up somewhere,

" Mei Gui suggested.

"Nah, that's too dangerous for her…

"

"You're actually worrying about me?

" Long Yi asked, taken aback.

"Well, I don't want to treat you too harshly since you are under my command now anyway. You are still Long Lu's sister, and I would like to keep a good relationship with him if possible.

"

"… So you proceed to sexually harass his sister and force yourself on her?

" She challenged.

"Oh, that was a joke,

" I chuckled.

"I have enough women around me.

"

"Hmph… you're saying I am not as good as them?

"

"Ha! Nowhere even close.

"

"Grr…

"

"Why do you care so much about my opinion anyway?

" I asked, walking away.

"You're well respected by pretty much everyone. Isn't that enough?

"

"… It's all fake. Artificial.

"

She said this under her breath, quietly, but I heard it. Still, I had no intention of responding.

The three of us headed back for the village after that. I had gained a new ally, for better or worse.

*****

A few hours of rest later, everyone who wasn't murdered finally woke up.

"AHHHH! WHAT IS THAT?!

"

Several high-pitched screams came from within the inn, which I wasn't too surprised about.

"Yep… as expected,

" I muttered with a sigh. Mei Gui, Long Yi, Obsidia, Lin Luo, and I were currently out right in front of the inn, waiting for everyone to gather so we could tell them what happened.

Soon, all the young mages had gathered before us, confused and shocked.

"Xuan Kai… what's going on here?

" Ming Hao asked cautiously.

"While you all were asleep, a gigantic monster of flesh murdered some of us,

" I replied calmly.

"Would you believe that?

"

"I can confirm his words,

" Long Yi added helpfully.

"I see… if my sister is speaking up for him, then…

" Long Lu shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Brother Xuan. I was suspecting you to have been the one who murdered them, but I should have known better.

"

"Yeah… I won't lie, I thought you were suspicious too,

" Ming Hao agreed.

"I mean, you were already out here when everyone had just woken up.

"

"It was a spell placed on all of us by the fog surrounding this village when we arrived last night,

" I explained.

"Not that I expect any of you to have noticed.

"

"So… we were all deceived… even the elder?

" One guy muttered.

"Then how did you manage to survive?

" Another asked curiously.

"It's simple,

" I replied.

"Long Yi here has the Sleepless Body which renders her invincible to any type of sleep-inducing spell. When she noticed something off, my team just happened to be the closest ones to her, so she told us what she knew and well — here we are.

"

"You defeated the flesh monster on your own?

" Ming Hao asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Heheh, that's my good friend Xuan Kai.

"

"Actually, it was all Long Yi,

" I said briskly.

She turned to me like, 'this wasn't part of the script!' but I ignored her and continued.

"You see, she's actually a Golden Monarch. But even so, she needed some help distracting the monster while she prepared her attack, so…

"

"Wha… elder sister, you never told me…

" Long Lu muttered, blinking in surprise.

That's because it was supposed to be a secret!

That must be what Long Yi was thinking in her head right now. She glared at me furiously, clenching her fists.

But alas, there was little she could do against me now that our souls were bound together.

Playfully, a smile tugged on the corners of my lips.