[John POV]
"Don't tether Little Angy to guilt and addiction but tie her to love and Let go child…"
The silky yet oddly maternal voice of Lady Death echoed through the dark void of my sleep, sounding exactly like it had back in RNGesus's Pachinko parlour.
Suddenly, a firm hand clamped onto my shoulder, violently shaking me out of the most deserved rest I had ever experienced in my life.
"Mas… ter… Master… sigh, it looks like you've laxed while I was away."
"Ummm… Nakime, not now…" I mumbled into my pillow, my half-asleep brain floating in a delirious fog. "I need, like… a month-long sleep."
"Master, it's not Nak—"
I cut the voice off mid-sentence, blindly reaching out and pulling her down to lie on the Bed next to me. Before she could even fidget, I patted her head, my hand lazily sliding down to feel her soft cheek.
Even in a half-paralyzed state of exhaustion, I deserved some comfort.
But as my hand moved across the face next to me, all I felt was a stiff, prickly sensation.
"Umm, Master…. That's not me…" Nakime's meek voice suddenly floated in from the doorway behind me.
My eyes snapped open.
My hand wasn't rubbing Nakime's soft cheek. It was pressing directly against a pristine, white stubble.
"Huh… Nakime? Did the RounDeer fusion not wear off…?" I mumbled, tilting my head up only to find a pair of golden eyes staring back at me with a deadpan expression.
It was only when I yanked my neck back to take in the full face that my brain finally rebooted.
"Se… Seb… SEBAS!!!"
I screamed at the top of my lungs, lunging forward to tightly hug the old butler right there on the mattress.
"Master…" Sebas sighed, his voice rumbling against my chest. "While it's really good to see you in such strong health, perhaps we could limit your excitement to Lady Nakime and spare this old man the embarrassment of…"
His sentence made me take a frantic double-take, only for me to realize I was lying in bed, half-naked, hugging an old butler while my girlfriend stood in the doorway, desperately clamping a hand over her mouth to hold back her laughter.
"I've been trying to wake you! Pfft… but you've been knocked out for two straight days… pft…" Nakime wheezed, her shoulders shaking as she lost the battle against her giggles.
I scrambled backward, jumping out of the bed and wrapping the duvet around my waist like an Ecchi anime heroine.
"Perverted GiGi! Taking advantage of a young boy in his sleep!" I yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him.
[Image Here]
"Oi. Master."
Sebas stood up slowly as a deep purple aura erupted around his body, warping the air in the room until only his glowing golden eyes remained visible through the killing intent.
"I am a noble warrior, created by Lord TouchMe himself! I will not stand for slander!!"
He vanished.
In a fraction of a split second, he reappeared directly behind me. His hand chopped straight toward the back of my neck, ready to strike.
My body, now rewired by the brutal fights, moved entirely on autopilot.
I didn't even try to block with my hands and let my left leg snap straight up into the air.
Sebas's fist stopped exactly one millimetre from my nose. The wind from the punch literally flattened my hair against the floorboards.
But my heel was securely hooked right behind the back of his neck, locking him completely in place; we stayed frozen in that absurd stalemate. I was lying flat on the floor, and he was looming over me, caught in a flawless checkmate.
The room was dead silent.
Then, I dropped my leg and sat up; I hugged him again, burying my face in his coat this time, properly processing the guilt that had weighed heavily on my heart.
"Sebas… I'm so sorry," I choked, my tears soaking into his lapel. "It was all my fault… if only I hadn't given you the order to save… if I had just been stronger… if only—"
"Master." Sebas wrapped his strong arms around my back, returning the embrace and patting me gently. "We are your servants. It is our duty to fulfil your orders. Even if I did not know you possessed the power to revive us, familiars."
"But that's not fair…" I ranted, my voice cracking as Sebas interrupted softly.
"Thank you for being such a kind boy… John."
'God, I'm so lame,' I thought, openly sobbing like a child who had just heard praise for the very first time.
"Now, now, Master," Sebas said, giving me one final pat on the back before stepping away. "You have others waiting to meet you, too."
"Huh? Who else is—"
Before I could finish the question, the frantic clatter of hooves hammered against the wooden floorboards outside my room.
I turned toward the doorway as I saw a massive cow skidding into the room; she was dressed in elaborate ceremonial garb I had ever seen: a stiff white cloth draped over her back, a tall, absurd hat perched between her ears like a mockery of a priest's mitre, and two long red sashes hanging from her neck.
"Holy FUCKING Cow!"
I screamed in shock, recognizing the best cow in the whole damn world.
I ran toward her with my arms wide open, ready for a hug.
Her happy 'moos' instantly warped into a rage-filled, demonic roar. She lowered her head, raised her horns, and charged me like a freight train, driving her skull directly into my gut, launching me off the floor and rocketing me straight into the wooden ceiling of the bedroom.
"MOOOOO!!!"
"Master!" Nakime called out in panic, immediately striking her biwa to shift the castle structure and bring me back on the floor.
"Ms. Moo! I understand your anger, but please calm down! No matter how much of a punk he was, he is still your Master!" Sebas said, rushing forward to rub the Holy cow's fur in an attempt to soothe her.
My emotionally bruised brain finally connected the dots. When I first dropped into the middle of the Guardians' massacre at the GDA, I had panic-summoned Holy Cow to block Omni-Man, only for her to be instantly obliterated a split second later.
'Of course she's pissed at me…'
"Wait a damn minute!" I yelled, clutching my stomach as I stood up. "You were just a temporary summon! How the hell are you even here?!"
A holographic blue screen abruptly popped up in the air.
[Feat Achieved: Find a loophole in the Gacha System! {It's been permanently mended and can't be abused anymore}]
[Reward: 1x Random Gold Gacha Ticket]
"MOO!!" Holy Cow, dug her hooves into the wood for a second charge.
This time, I was ready; I quickly slipped past her horns, threw my arms around her massive neck, and activated Greater Head Pat and Embrace simultaneously.
They worked like magic as the violent tension melted out of her massive muscles. She let out a long, huffing breath, finally calming down as her tail began to wag in time with the rhythm of my pats.
"I'm so sorry, Ms. Moo… was it?" I whispered into her ear, hugging her tightly. "I owe my life to you. Thank you for saving me."
'Damn, this skill combo is terrifyingly effective,' I thought as she nuzzled against me. 'Maybe I should've just tried petting Conquest instead of...'
My blood ran cold at the thought.
"Nakime! Conquest?" I snapped my head up. "Where is he? Any sightings?"
I hadn't received a system feat for killing the Viltrumite, meaning he was still breathing, out there somewhere.
"Relax, Master." Nakime answered smoothly, stepping further into the room. "There has been no news of any big commotions in the outside world. If Conquest were anywhere on Earth, Cecil and the GDA would handle him, since he'd be drastically weakened from having a piece of his soul severed by the Katana."
"Hmm," I nodded, though a cold knot of anxiety twisted in my chest. The suffocating horror of fighting that madman for an entire night, nearly dying over and over, and finally dying for real just to push him back, wasn't something I could just shake off.
"Can you please call Pepsiman and Neel back for a meeting?" I asked, pushing the dread away. "I need to thank everyone properly."
"Right away. I, too, need to extend my gratitude to Sir Pepsi for his timely assistance against that beast," Sebas added, giving Ms. Moo a final scratch behind the ears. "And this Sir Neel… he was summoned after my death, so I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting him."
"Where's Ship?" I asked Nakime, looking around the empty corners of the room. "I had a gift for the boy."
"He's currently playing with the Maulers in their lab," Nakime said. "After they got those 3D printers running from your Gold—"
"My what?!" I yelled.
Nakime instantly stopped talking, turned on her heel, and briskly walked out the door.
One Hour Later
I sat in the center of the grand sofa in the main meeting hall, dressed in a flawlessly tailored three-piece suit.
My found family surrounded me. Nakime sat directly to my right, dressed in a stunning, deep crimson kimono. Ship rested happily in my lap, his green neon circuitry glowing softly with every breath he took.
Sebas sat in a high-backed armchair to my right, with Ms. Moo standing proudly beside him, eagerly leaning into his hand for scratches.
'It seems those two have really hit it off,' I noted with a smile.
On my left, Pepsiman sat stiffly on the couch, offering Neel, our in-house Mr. Ceo, a chilled can of cola, who sat right beside him, adjusting his expensive tie.
I leaned back against the cushions, thinking that before all this started, I was so lonely.
I had blood relatives, sure, and I had played my part in a 'fake' family. But sitting here, looking at this bizarre collection of demons, aliens, corporate executives, and livestock… I finally understood what they meant by found family.
[A/N]: Be ready for waters works for the next few chapters...
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