Reborn As An Evolving Monster

"The name is Elisa. How do you do?"

Mark's eyes widened.

A Monster with a name stood in front of him.

Both Mark and Levi walked a bit closer.

Fighting while remaining on the narrow staircase could've posed a problem.

Elisa was, now, about 5 meters away from them.

"Well? Anything to say?" She asked.

The silence was killing her.

"Huh? Don't tell me you... No. There's no way, right? I'm sure I heard at least one of you talk..." Elisa whispered to herself.

Levi positioned himself in front of Mark.

"Who are you? What do you want?" He asked, and her face lit up.

"So you can talk! Ouf. Got me worried for a bit. Hahaha!"

Silence-

"I'm... Uh... Elisa, as I've said. And what I want is..."

The look in her eyes changed, and Mark's hands twitched.

His body's instinct was to extend his claws.

The wooden floor creaked behind Mark and Levi.

Something had entered.

Elisa took a sudden big breath, as if she were about to scream.

'Wind Blast?' Mark asked himself as he raised his guard.

Electricity started permeating throughout Levi's body.

Both were ready to fight.

And yet, the jingling sound of dangling bracelets resonated behind them.

The bracelets around her ankles.

She had disappeared.

No.

She had moved past them at a speed that left them unable to even realize she had moved.

And the two were frozen in both time and space.

Elisa was fast. Too fast.

As if she and the wind were one.

They turned around slower than they wanted to, perhaps fearing what they would see.

And what they found is...

"My... OH MY! YOU'RE SO CUTEEE!!" Elisa shouted.

She was on her knees, with her arms extended forward.

And between her hands was...

Meow-

Mark and Levi froze once more.

"You're so fluffy! And your pelt... Why is it so cold? But it's so clean and fluffy!" Elisa shouted as she brought the Moonlit Feline closer to her chest.

MEOW-

"It's so beautiful!! Too cute! And your eyes...!"

Krista's eyes shone.

"I can see you take care of your pelt properly!"

Mark's eyebrow twitched as Krista was buried between the stranger's breasts.

'It's so nice... Seeing something other than madmen and Monsters... Finally...' Elisa thought to herself.

She could almost cry.

A Moonlit Feline.

A cat, one could say.

A pet, in a stranger's hands.

Fragile and frail.

'Come.' Mark telepathically ordered as he extended a hand.

"Huh?"

The Moonlit Feline escaped from Elisa's grip with ease, proof that the latter wasn't exerting much pressure.

Krista nimbly jumped onto Mark's palm and climbed up to his shoulder.

'You prefer that? Really? That?' Elisa thought to herself as she studied both Mark and his Underling.

She slowly rose from the ground.

Levi walked up to her.

"What do you want?" He pressed as he looked down at her.

She was much shorter than both him and his Lord.

"Which one of you am I talking to?" Elisa bluntly asked.

She turned to her left, and found a white-scaled Monster.

Levi didn't step away.

The white-scaled Monster stood centimeters from her.

They stared at each other in silence.

Mark thought about activating his "Berserker[SSS]" Skill, since he couldn't react to her speed.

She thought about...

'If it's you then... Ugh... But if that Moonlit Feline isn't scared of him then... Perhaps...'

Elisa put her hands up and shower her palms.

"What I want I'm not willing to share. Not yet anyways. But I don't want to fight at least."

They silently stared at each other.

Mark believed her words.

But he didn't believe in his instincts.

After all, this was the first encounter of the sort ever since his Rebirth.

In the silence's midst, Krista jumped off Mark's shoulder and onto Elisa's.

The latter barely managed to catch her.

Mark stared.

'This again...' He cursed internally.

Mark stared at both.

They had met.

And formed the perfect duo.

Uneasiness & Uneasiness.

Mark was starting to understand where that feeling was coming from.

He was starting to understand its cause.

"We're trapped here, aren't we?" Elisa's slender fingers danced with Krista's fur.

Mark let out a grunt.

One of the only sounds he could produce.

And Elisa took it as a "Yes".

"I want to make it out of here... I've been..." She seemed to get lost in the Moonlit Feline's crystal clear pupils. "I've been here for a while... For a long time... Too long."

Grunt-

"It's time for me to leave. And if you're planning on doing so too, then I'll accompany you..." Elisa turned to stare at the white-scaled Monster. "If you'll have me."

Mark remained silent for a bit.

'Was that... Thing she did to show her strength? To prove she could be useful? Or was she just that excited to see Krista? What she wants, huh? A negotiation then? I don't like that. I don't...'

Krista turned to face Mark.

He seemed deep in thought.

With a jump, she landed on his shoulder once more.

Mark stared at the Moonlit Feline on his shoulder.

'The closer I get to the exit... The harder getting new Underlings became...'

"Are you worried I'll stab you in the back?" Elisa was sick of the perpetual silence.

Mark stayed silent.

So did Levi.

"I'll take it as a yes. If that's the case, then..."

A green Aura appeared over her index finger.

The next second, what seemed to be a digital scroll hovered in front of Elisa.

One all could see.

Her finger moved on that scroll as if a pen.

"Let's start with this." The scroll started rotating so that Mark could read what had been inscribed. "Our first, and maybe last, contract. From me, to you. I'm sure you'll see that it's as fair as Contracts can be."

[

Contractor: Elisa.

Contractee: [Fill up the missing information].

Contract Clauses:

Clause 1: Each Party swears on the Mana that fuels their bodies not to attack or injure the other Party.

Clause 2: The attacked Party has every right to defend itself.

Clause 3: Each Party reserves itself the right to terminate the Contract at any point, provided they inform the other in advance.

Additional Information: The Contract's Duration is yet to be determined and will be, for now, accepted as a short-term Contract.

Additional Clauses and Information can be added in the future, provided both Parties agree on the Additional Clauses.

Contractor's Signature: [Present]

Contractee's Signature: [Link your Mana to the hereby Contract if you wish to enter it].

]

'What the hell is this?