Chapter 9

Draft

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You think this is because the weather is getting colder.

Hell is a place full of fire, its residents are heat-resistant and afraid of the cold. Even if they hibernate, it's not a strange thing. The weather's getting colder and colder. It's not enough to just keep the bathroom lights turned on. You install other heating equipment to ensure that the bathroom could be as warm as spring all year round.

When the heating was first installed, 177 began to look a little better, at least it didn't curl itself up anymore. It stretched out its body and then slowly began to make some attempts- these attempts to escape weren't serious, it was akin to escaping from prison by just attempting to walk out. Later, you remember that this was the last attempt to strengthen its spirit, but at the time, you thought it needed more time. A freshly frozen snake needs to crawl in the sun for a while before it can return to its original state.

177 didn't return to its original state, after a short period of improvement, it quickly deteriorated.

Lack of response, lack of movement, it seemed to have lost interest in everything, either sleeping or wandering away. Then it no longer took the initiative to eat, you have to urge it again and again. You tell 177 that it has to eat, otherwise, it'll be forced to use a needle or stomach tube to let it eat. It eats obediently under your gaze, chewing very slowly, and often going to a daze after eating, as if it has forgotten that it was still eating.

You turn the food into liquid and feed it to 177. This decision made the situation a little better, but only for a few days. One day you deliver the cup to 177's mouth. 177 doesn't move away like before and doesn't open its mouth. You had to pour it down. It choked, coughed for a long time, and blinked as if awakened.

"What are you going to do?" 177 asked.

It's like your feet was suddenly braked. You turn around and look at it. It hasn't spoken to you for a long time, you're almost surprised. You wanted to give it a different answer, but your answer hasn't changed at all.

"I don't know." You said.

177 looks at you.

177 looks at you, and a certain kind of epiphany arise in its eyes. At this moment, it suddenly understands that this isn't an excuse at all. Suddenly, sparks lightened its face, they also illuminate you. It laughed suddenly, beckoning to you with a radiant look on its face- you have seen this look on children; when they laugh at each other and pinch their ears, sharing very interesting secrets. Your heart pounds suddenly, you squat down in front of it and put down your cup.

"Do you know why?" 177 said mysteriously.

You shook your head honestly.

"Because your method isn't right." It said courageously, "It's useless to keep me here, you have to kill me."

You've done so much to keep it alive, why would you kill it now? You subconsciously wanted to refute, it covers your mouth- its palm is warm- so you can't speak. "Yes, you prevented me from committing suicide." 177 said, "But it doesn't conflict with you killing me. The important thing is not my life or death, but what you did, right?"

It was a little confusing but inexplicable rational. Its eyes lit up like there was a wildfire behind them; as if it had taken illegal doses of certain medicine; as if it was going crazy. You're attracted by this fire like a moth fascinated by the flame, but you know something's wrong. Your brother looks at you coaxingly in your head and stuffs the candy into your mouth.

A: Reject it——

You won't believe in a crazy demon.

"No." You say.

The fire in 177's eyes went out. Its hand lost its strength and slipped down as soon as you pushed it. "Okay." It murmured, "Okay."

Things went on like this.

One day it stopped getting up. You walked into the bathroom and it continued to lie down, looking at the ceiling, as if it didn't see you, even if you blocked its vision. You go to pull it, it falls to the bottom of the bathtub, like a heavy sandbag. You let it stand up, 177 looks at you with... a rather distant look.

Like how a tourist looks at a lion through the thick protective glass, it seemed to have gained confidence from nowhere, as if you can't touch it.

Of course you can touch it, the prayer on its arm burned it. 177 snorted, looking down at his arm, still not moving. You suspect that it's sick, but results show that it's quite healthy, demon blood is immune to most diseases, and you've never heard of a demon who had died of illness. It doesn't cooperate and doesn't prevent you from completing the day's schedule. You lower its waist on the bathtub and tie its hands to the water pipe. The effect was not as good as when it cooperated with you.

It has tried to commit suicide several times, every time it was stopped by you. It doesn't eat, you have the equipment from the hospital. It turns out the facilities used by humans could really be used by this half-blood demon. The devil is very easy to raise, this kind of hell worker ant won't have muscle atrophy or bed sores. Having said that, the increasing lack of response 177 shows still gives you a headache.

Prayers no longer work. It does react a little, but it can't be deterred and punished. You fuck it and feel like you're fucking a warm, breathing inflatable doll. It has muscle reflexes. It's just the spinal nerves reacting to you. Its brain doesn't.

It wasn't present. One day you suddenly woke up and 177 went into hiding.

This bloody demon was naked, without any armour, but it managed to turn its body into its last line of defence and hid. Its expression is blank because its spirit is not in its head. Where did it hide?

You found it in 177's arm. When you removed that arm, it came back screaming and looked at you in anger. That's good. It disappeared shortly afterwards. You go to look for it in its other arm. It's pulled back in horror, with only fear in its eyes.

This is useful at first, just like every effort you made. If you catch it, it'll stay with you for a while until the next time it escapes. But the time 177 stays is less and less, the more you look for it, the more afraid it is; the more afraid it is, the faster it runs away. Like a handful of sand, the harder you hold on, the more you can't hold to it.

Next spring, there was nowhere else to hide.

The demon with only its head and torso lies on your bed, quiet as a rag doll. 177's still hot, still panting, the wounds are recovering well. You're a very good caregiver, you have the confidence in keeping this body clean and warm. As long as you live, it can live on forever.

But 177 isn't there.

There was nothing else to remove, where can it hide? You hold it and touch its body inch by inch. It's now light and small, well-behaved and warm, like a warm pillow. You can keep it with you, touch it every day, and sleep with it, but what's the point? You look at its blank expression and suddenly realize that you've been fooled.

177 successfully escaped, at a time when you didn't expect it. That demon escaped from you, like a snake shedding its skin, the golden cicada emerged from its shell and escaped. You failed and got nothing.

You put your hand on the neck of this body, and the panting snake makes no response.

Click.

It immediately stopped breathing, its neck is twisted to one side. It looked inseparable from the demons others you've killed before. You dispose of the corpse, stowed away the hospital equipment, and removed the unnecessary heating. You took a rest day for cleaning and it was okay. You're now free again. You have a lot of time, too much.

If there are no accidents, this would be your last day of absenteeism.

B: Believe it——

Anyhow, sugar is very sweet.

"Alright." You say.

177 grinned, he let go, and looked at you, waiting expectantly. When you opened its collar, it didn't attack or attempt to escape.

Your fingers encircle its neck, it stretches its neck and tilts its head. Its eyes are gleaming, as if you're about to crown or baptize it. It's so beautiful, you began to feel a little hesitant, and 177 took your hand urging: "Come on!"

You tightened your fingers.

Its skin is quite warm and currently getting redder. 177 began to suffocate. If its legs kicked, if it wants you to remove your hand, you'll immediately stop.

But 177 didn't resist. Its hands covered yours. It squeezed tightly because of the pain but didn't pull your hand away. It just squeezed it tightly. You can feel its rapid pulse on the palm of your hand, it's beating under it, alive. It feels like holding a gushing spring, a living heart. Your heart beats with its rhythm. Your hands are clasped and your skin is close, like a pair of lovers dancing together. The blood of the devil surges under the skin as it dies. It's like a pump, allowing your consciousness of the blood flowing inside your body to become more and more vivid.

You feel the essence of life, very ironicly, as you strangle it. At this moment, you feel that you did indeed get something from 177.

177 began to spasm all over. Its pupils began to dilate, and it became erect. Its penis pushes against your robe. You're very sensitive to signs of dying. You know it's dying. Your eyes don't blink, this last moment of existence is recorded through your eyes. For a short moment, 177 looks at you. It saw you.

177 saw "you". At this moment, you almost feel like it understands you. This is the look from the offshore traveller to the seer-off, the adventurer who sets off waving on the boat: goodbye, poor friend! I'm leaving, pity you still have to stay.

It doesn't move anymore.

You hold it up and don't let it fall into the bathtub. It falls towards you, into the socket between your neck. You find that you're gasping terribly, as if you have faced death just now, your undulating chest leans against another chest that doesn't have a heartbeat anymore.

You feel like you're falling. Others will compare this experience to a roller coaster. When you reach the apex and suddenly rush down. You've never taken a roller coaster and has never been to an amusement park. Naturally, you won't be able to think of such an analogy. You think of an inflated balloon that floats all the way to the peak. The high air pressure makes it expand and expand, bang! At the climax of rippling joy, you suddenly fell.

Your chest is stuffy and your stomach is cold. You want to find out what's going on. It's like looking for a piece of broken glass in the wound. You found nothing; "nothing" is indeed the answer.

177 didn't lie to you, killing it did bring you something, but it wasn't an acquisition, but a very short lease, which disappeared without a trace before you understood what it was. This isn't very good. You've become accustomed to being empty, but these gains and losses make you unaccustomed again. You hug the corpse of 177 and snuggle against it. It has your marks on its neck, you have its fingerprints on your wrist.

A sense of emptiness engulfs you.

You raise 177's wrist and kiss its palm. Its palm has begun to cool. You stick out your tongue and lick it; you taste blood.

It doesn't matter, you'll get better, always.

You have so much time to get used to it again.

[ bad ending 3 spark {火花} ]

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Author: (Congratulations on the collection of the two bad endings! This article has n not-so-good ending branches, but the main ending will be HE (happy ending), please wait for the next update~)

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PastTimer: I've already read this but there are certain times where I find things and details that my brain flew over. and yes, at times I do feel like I'm tl'ing torture porn. The spark ending is actually one of my favourite endings, personally, I think it's the most canon.