Chapter 46: The Horrified Vaccine Man
Nothing is scarier than a sudden silence!
Nothing is scarier than the inexplicable submission of both body and mind.
An energy blast the size of a marble had long since condensed in the small Vaccine Man's palm. However, more than ten minutes had passed, and it still maintained the posture of firing the blast. It had neither fired it nor dissipated it. It just stood there rigidly, as if it had become an eternal sculpture.
king, likewise, said nothing. He just silently watched the small Vaccine Man. *You little punk. I heard you were acting all cocky just now. Come on, hit me! Hurry up and hit me! Hmph, now I'll see how you get yourself out of this.*
Neither of them spoke, locked in a stalemate.
The air was thick with an element called "awkwardness."
After a long moment, cold sweat began to bead on the small Vaccine Man's completely bald forehead. Beneath his cruel exterior was absolute terror.
*Why… Why do I suddenly have the urge to prostrate myself and worship that human? Why do I want to submit at his feet? Why do I want to obediently listen to his words? Why do I want to defend his dignity and safety with my own life? Why do I want to kneel and shout "Long live my king"? Why…*
A hundred thousand "whys" flooded the small Vaccine Man's mind. A moment ago, just as it was preparing to release the energy blast to kill king, its body inexplicably trembled. Then, all purpose was lost. In just a dozen short minutes, its life had done a complete 180-degree turn. Its body and mind had bizarrely knelt in submission before king, unable to muster the slightest will to resist.
Drip!
A bead of cold sweat from its forehead dripped onto the floor and shattered into several pieces, representing its current emotion—heartbreak!
*Calm down. I must remain calm. I can't let that guy across from me notice that something is wrong. Yes, maintain an arrogant expression, a stern tone, a disdainful smile. Make myself look powerful.*
The small Vaccine Man waved its hand casually, extinguishing the energy blast in its palm, and said with a cold laugh, "I've thought about it. After all, you have shown me the grace of incubation. Although I'm not a fan of gratitude, I was just born today and I'm in a good mood. I'll let you off the hook. You... disappear from my sight immediately!" *Yes, this is the cold, lofty tone I need. It maintains my powerful and willful demon king aura.*
"..."
king didn't speak, silently staring at the small Vaccine Man. *Go on, go on, go on. You little punk, please continue your performance.*
At the same time, the System's notification sound rang out again: "Beginning to scan host's pet level..."
*Hm? What's with this guy? When normal people hear that someone won't kill them, shouldn't they have already fled in a panic? But why is this guy in front of me still staring at me without blinking? Did I not speak clearly enough?*
The small Vaccine Man's brow twitched slightly. It adjusted its pronunciation. *Common spe... Common spu... Common ha... Oh, it's Common Speech.* It made an effort to speak more clearly, "Hey, seeing as you've shown me the grace of incubation, I won't kill you. You can go!"
*Hmph, my pronunciation should be standard enough now!*
Heh heh!
The corner of king's mouth lifted. *You little punk, I've already seen through everything. Keep acting. I'll see how long you can keep it up.*
*Hm? Why is this guy still not moving? Damn it, looking at his dazed appearance, I really want to blast him to death with an energy ball. But, but whenever that thought arises in my mind, a twisting pain shoots through my soul, strangling my rebellious thoughts and making me willingly submit to him. What the hell is this feeling? It's so infuriating!*
The small Vaccine Man crossed its arms and looked askance at king, a thousand thoughts racing through its mind. *Hmph, looking at his idiotic appearance, perhaps he's a local aboriginal who hasn't learned the common tongue. Naturally, he wouldn't understand what I'm saying. Ugh, how should I express my meaning to him? Wait, I have an idea!*
It pulled a piece of white paper from its sleeve, then used a felt-tip pen to quickly scribble on it. A few simple sketches took shape. It held the white paper up to king's eyes and pointed at the drawing on it, saying, "Please look at the picture. The meaning I want to express is all in here."
The first picture was of a fierce, what-the-hell great demon king and a trembling matchstick man. The second picture showed the what-the-hell great demon king turning to leave, with the matchstick man unharmed. In the third picture, the matchstick man was running away on his two bamboo-pole legs, with a few "v"s specially drawn to represent a breeze, indicating the matchstick man was fleeing at high speed.
The meaning of the drawing was: A great demon king appears, the matchstick man is terrified, the great demon king doesn't kill the matchstick man, and the matchstick man runs away in ecstatic joy! Hmph, which is to say, the small Vaccine Man won't kill king and is telling king to scram.
*With such a simple and clear drawing, that guy across from me should understand now!*
The small Vaccine Man thought to itself.
king was speechless. Was this a fucking "look at the picture and tell a story" from an elementary school textbook? *Sigh, forget it. Looking at it now, it has absolutely no self-awareness of being my pet. It seems I'm the only one who can remind it.*
He cleared his throat. "Ahem, uh, you've already been bound as my pet."
"Hm? Pet?"
The small Vaccine Man's eyes widened in shock. "What kind of joke is that? I am an apostle of Earth! How could I possibly become your pet?" *This guy, calling me his pet? Damn it, this is a naked insult! This is unbearable!*
Its face grew cold as it extended its palm and opened it. The energy blast once again converged. "I was originally prepared to let you go, but... you're too arrogant! An inch-grabbing bastard! Go to hell!"
king was speechless: "..." He just quietly watched the small Vaccine Man.
After a long moment, the small Vaccine Man trembled inwardly. *It's no use. I absolutely cannot bring myself to attack that guy. In fact, just by having the fleeting thought, it's inexplicably strangled by a mysterious power, making me feel an impulse to submit to him. Forget about hurting him; if even a single one of his hairs fell out, I couldn't help but want to protect that hair. Damn it all! How did I inexplicably develop the thought of submitting to this guy before me? And what's more, this thought is impossible to dispel. It constantly circles in my mind, gripping my heart, leaving me unable to resist.*
"Hmph, forget it. Today is, after all, the first day I have received life. I don't want your filthy blood to stain this sacred day." The small Vaccine Man dissipated the energy blast and snorted coldly. "However, my patience has its limits. If you dare to insult me with your words one more time, I will definitely kill you. Now, leave! I don't want to see you again. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist killing you."
*Yes, that's right. Scare him like this, scare him away! And even more, dispel this damned impulse to submit in my heart!*
king sighed helplessly. *Can't Monsters understand human language?* He said very meticulously, "Vaccine Man, stop deceiving yourself. In reality, your body and mind have already submitted to me. You are incapable of resisting my commands. In essence, you have already become my loyal servant."
*Ahem, better change 'pet' to 'servant', so as not to provoke its pride again.*
"Hiss~"
As soon as king's words fell, the small Vaccine Man's eyes instantly widened, and it sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. *This guy... This guy knew about my body's condition from the very beginning?! Or could it be that he was the one who forced me to have this impulse to submit? When did he make his move on me? Why didn't I ever see it? Could it be... could it be a powerful and invisible aura? Yes, only an invisible aura could have taken me down without my knowledge, leading to my current state where I have no chance to resist.*
This guy's power... is too terrifying!
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I just realized something! Did 'Glasses of Myriad Virtues' tip me yesterday? My heavens, I didn't even notice! Glasses, are you Shinpachi? The one who wears human glasses? Alas, to apologize, tonight I'll... solemnly say to you, 'Happy National Day'!
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(end of chapter)