Sticky Affection

[System, what's going on with these monsters? They don't feel like the Evil Demons from before.]

Senju Kyogawa had already steadied his nerves, drawing his (pirated) Nichirin Sword and holding his ground for the time being.

Although these monsters looked repulsive, they merely circled Senju Kyogawa without making any aggressive moves.

Even the monster Senju Kyogawa had swatted off his neck continued to loiter around him after hitting the ground, extending a long, snake-like red tongue to lick his ankles.

Senju Kyogawa felt the wet, sticky sensation on his skin, and a chill shot straight from his ankles to the top of his head.

He wanted to stomp his feet in disgust, but it was futile; his feet remained firmly glued to the ground, unable to move, let alone shake off the hideous creature.

Senju Kyogawa resigned himself to his fate, trying his best to ignore the sensation on his feet.

He had no idea what kind of weird fetish these monsters had, to be so fond of licking people.

The system remained silent for a long while before finally replying: [Host, according to system detection, these "monsters" like you. The one currently licking your foot is the king of this group; without its command, the others wouldn't dare come up to lick you.]

[Please rest assured, Host. These monsters are creatures born from the collision between the ninja world and other worlds, existing within the Space-Time Rift. They do not carry the "Evil Demon" virus and are unrelated to this hidden mission.] The system paused before adding.

Senju Kyogawa fell into deep thought after hearing this:

[The Space-Time Rift?]

[If that's the case, then where am I right now? Am I not inside the stomach of that "wall monster"?]

The system seemed shocked by Senju Kyogawa's vivid imagination; the entire interface flickered with a string of meaningless garbled code before saying, speechless:

[The Host is certainly not in the stomach of that "wall monster." This is the Space-Time Rift. Furthermore, the "wall monster" you mentioned is actually just a "door" connecting to another place, not the "Evil Demon" we need to eliminate. Please cease such outrageous flights of fancy.]

Senju Kyogawa felt like he had just been mocked by the system.

[Even "Evil Demons" have appeared out of nowhere; you should reflect on yourself, System!] Senju Kyogawa retorted. [My entire worldview is being reshaped all at once.]

The system fell silent.

Inside Senju Kyogawa's mind, the "death countdown" ticked again, followed by a cold, electronic chime: [Cuddle Points +1].

That said, while these monsters were hideous and had the peculiar habit of licking people, they were indeed providing Senju Kyogawa with quite a few Cuddle Points.

The long, snake-like tongue had only licked him for a short while, and his Cuddle Points had already reached [-225].

Just as Senju Kyogawa was thinking he might be able to survive these few days by relying on these monsters, he felt the creature that had been leaning against his foot suddenly wrap itself around his ankle.

Senju Kyogawa couldn't take it anymore. He bent down, pinched the "monster" off the ground, and held it up before his eyes to stare at it.

Upon closer inspection, the "monster" had a deep red pattern resembling the Chinese character for "King" printed on its back. Its eyes were redder than those of its kin, and the fluorescent green on its body was even more glaring—perhaps this was why it had become the "Monster King."

[Why would it learn from a tiger and print a "King" on its back? It's much uglier than a tiger.] Senju Kyogawa couldn't help but mutter to himself, wondering what kind of ability this thing had to be wrapping itself around him for no reason.

Even though this thing was a "King," it only contributed one Cuddle Point to Senju Kyogawa, and he truly didn't find it particularly unique or powerful.

Seeing Senju Kyogawa staring at its appearance, the "Monster King" seemed to think he liked it, so it tried hard to twist its body, spreading its fleshy wings. Even the eyeballs dangling in the air glowed brighter, almost bright enough to serve as a lightbulb.

Senju Kyogawa looked away, unable to bear the sight. He couldn't stand it anymore; the thing was ugly to begin with, and now it was wriggling around like a maggot.

However, the slime on this thing was truly sticky. Just as Senju Kyogawa wanted to toss it away again, he discovered that the "Monster King" was firmly glued to his hand.

It seemed all the slime covering the ground came from these ugly things.

[System, System, I'm stuck—what do I do? How am I supposed to get out of here now?] Senju Kyogawa asked.

[Host, I suggest you sign a contract with these Spacetime Rift Derivatives. They usually possess immense power. Since they like you so much, you shouldn't refuse.] The system suggested.

[Sign a contract? But these things are so ugly, and I don't even know why they like me. What if they want to eat me? Also, System, you haven't told me how to get out at all. If I don't leave, how am I supposed to complete the hidden mission?] Senju Kyogawa complained. He felt the system had ill intentions, and these things were simply too ugly—they clashed severely with his aesthetic sense.

[If the Host wants to know why they like you so much, why not just ask them directly?] After saying this, the system stopped responding to Senju Kyogawa entirely, no matter how much he called out to it.

Could these ugly things even understand human speech?

Holding onto a "try it and see" attitude, Senju Kyogawa asked:

"Do you like me very much?"

The "Monster King" held in Senju Kyogawa's hand heard the question, shook its body happily, flapped its fleshy wings even faster, and couldn't stop making "Sss-ha~ Sss-ha~" sounds.

Well, seeing this reaction from the ugly thing, it was clear it liked him an awful lot.

But since this thing clearly couldn't speak, how were they supposed to communicate?

Just as Senju Kyogawa was feeling puzzled, he noticed the other ugly things that had been motionless around him suddenly begin to squirm.

He watched as their fluorescent bodies stacked themselves in an orderly fashion, forming the words: [I like you].

[Fine, fine, I get it. This ugly thing really is the "King."]

"Then why do you like me?" Senju Kyogawa asked.

The "Monster King" stopped shaking its body this time, and after a long while, it began to twist its body again.

The monsters on the ground also rearranged themselves to form: [Fire].

?

[Do you like my "fire"?] Senju Kyogawa pondered.

Immediately after, the ugly things rearranged themselves again into: [I'm hungry].

Senju Kyogawa was dumbfounded. These ugly things liked to "eat" his "fire"?!

[System, System, so the reason I can't use my flames is because of them? Are they eating it all?] Senju Kyogawa hurriedly called out to the system, asking.

[Don't be anxious, Host. Since the Spacetime Rift Derivatives like to eat it, let them eat. You can't use it anyway.] The system replied.

Senju Kyogawa was speechless; he felt that this system was much more infuriating than before.

Senju Kyogawa circulated the "flames" within his body once more. This time, he sensed it carefully and discovered that, sure enough, a portion of the flames in his body was flowing toward his left hand holding the Monster King, while another portion was flowing through his feet into the slime.

Sensing Senju Kyogawa circulating the "flames," the Spacetime Rift Derivatives became noticeably more excited, and "hiss-hiss" sounds constantly reached Kyogawa's ears from all around.

The Monster King in Senju Kyogawa's hand also twisted more joyfully.

Alright, the case was solved; Senju Kyogawa's inability to use his "flames" was indeed related to these ugly things.

However, thinking about it carefully, the fact that the flames which made numerous Senju clansmen "tremble with fear" during the war were being eaten by these Spacetime Rift Derivatives was enough to prove that these ugly things actually had some ability.

"Ugly thing, I want to discuss something with you."

The Monster King in Senju Kyogawa's hand seemed dissatisfied with being called that, twisting violently before flapping its fleshy wings against Senju Kyogawa's hand.

"Sss! You guy actually hit quite hard." Senju Kyogawa felt his hand go numb instantly.

The Monster King thought Senju Kyogawa was praising it and proudly flicked its snake-like tongue.

"Are you willing to sign a contract with me?" Senju Kyogawa asked.

The Monster King excitedly swung the red eyeball dangling from its eye socket.

Good, there was no need for the other ugly things to spell it out; Senju Kyogawa knew it was willing.

Just as Senju Kyogawa was about to set some ground rules with the Monster King, he suddenly discovered that the ugly thing in his hand had vanished. At the same time, his palm went numb for a split second, followed by a sensation of coldness flowing from his palm up his arm, finally coming to a stop at his heart.

"Master~" An androgynous child's voice suddenly appeared in Senju Kyogawa's mind.

So, does this mean the contract is finished?

Senju Kyogawa didn't understand, but he was greatly shocked!