A deal with the Devil

When I woke up, Harper and Liliana were in the room, and I immediately braced myself for what was about to come.

Looming over me, Liliana spoke. “The boss is looking for a new scientist, and he will visit this weekend but, for now, we'll have to do things ourselves. Why don't we resume where we left off, monster?" Liliana had a sadistic grin as she was staring at me. “Maybe you'll be more cooperative now that we know your weakness? I never expected the truth serum to have this kind of effect, but it's good to know."

I grit my teeth. "Why... Why are you so cruel?"

She looked at me with absolute disdain. "Cruel? That's rich coming from a disgusting demon! The likes of you have plagued this planet for far too long!" Liliana clenched her fists. “We will get rid of all of your kind. Now, tell me why you came here!"

I stayed silent, staring back at her.

"Tell me!” She activated the collar, shocking me and making me yelp in pain. "Why are you here!?"

"Fuck you… I won't answer questions coming from a despicable being like you..." I weakly retorted.

The collar activated again, my neck burning as my body was getting even weaker…

"Despicable?"

I managed to chuckle despite the pain.

"What's so funny?" She asked in a hateful tone.

"Maybe... not being human isn't so bad… I'd be ashamed to be of the same species as a cold-hearted monster like you..."

"HOW DARE YOU!?" She screamed in rage, activating the collar multiple times in succession.

The rest of the day continued like that. I kept refusing to answer Liliana's questions and got tortured for it. But I had to endure it. I would be free soon...

---

I met with Maia in my dreams yet again, smiling at her. She was the only friendly person I could talk to.

“Welcome, Ben!"

"Hi, Maia."

Examining me, she appeared worried. "The blonde one didn't go easy on you today either, hmm?"

I clenched my fists, the agony still vividly present in my mind even in a dream… "No, she didn't..." it was almost as if I could still feel the electricity jolting through my body.

Maia gave me a reassuring smile. Her cheerful face was something I started to like seeing.

"Tomorrow night will be time." Maia declared. "We need to talk about how we'll do it. Had I been alone, I would have just slaughtered them all without any care, but you're here. She casually said that while keeping a smile on her face, which was a bit unsettling. "Let's talk about your abilities in more detail. From what I've seen, you're a sort of slime being able to possess people, is that it?"

I nodded. "That's right, but I need to possess someone. I can't stay outside of a body for too long, or else I get weaker and die."

"And can you do anything else?"

"I can access my host's memories, allowing me to imitate them if needed."

"That's all?" She asked again.

Maia's question made me raise my eyebrow, a bit confused. "I... think?"

Maia chuckled. "We'll experiment later, but I think that you can do more."

"You think so?"

"Is your current host in good enough condition to leave the place?” She then inquired.

I shook my head. "I don't think so. The **** weakened us considerably, and it's not like we're well-fed either..."

"Alright, I'll find a good host for you before freeing you."

"Do you... plan to kill everyone in the castle?" I quietly asked, fearful of her answer.

Maia suddenly looked serious. "Yes. These humans deserve it. For what they did to me and to you. They are playing a dangerous game, I will destroy all of their research. Anyway, get ready for when I show up, tomorrow."

I gulped. I didn't like Maia's idea all that much, but it was my only hope of getting free.

"Alright..."

Smiling more warmly at me, she raised her hand. "Have a good night, Ben."

She then snapped her finger again, with me ready for what was about to come.

---

I woke up with Harper watching over me. "How do you feel?" She asked.

"I feel... sorry for Kira." I answered, Harper avoiding making eye contact.

Pain was continuously coursing through my body, the **** having weakened it considerably. "She's an evil person, but... I don't think that she'll be able to easily recover from this…

"I can understand that the chief despises your kind, but… Kira is still a victim, in the end..." Harper sighed.

"You don't seem like a bad person at heart, Harper… Why do you do that?"

Harper looked away, not proud of herself. "I can't go against the chief's orders. But… We're supposed to be security guards, not torturers. I never signed for this..."

I felt some sympathy for Harper, even if she was the one responsible for my capture in the first place. The short time I spent as her and the brief interactions we had made me believe she was a good person despite everything.

"You know... I was human, before..." I decided to confess.

"What?" Harper stared at me, aghast.

“Until last week, I was still human..." I continued.

Harper was confused. "W-why are you telling me this?"

I chuckled. “You're... more sympathetic than your boss. Where is she?"

"She's... meeting with our contractor. She's telling him about you." After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "Were you... really human?"

"I was..."

She was clearly intrigued by my story. "What... happened to you?"

"I'll tell you later, if you're really interested… I'm tired..."

"O-okay..." It seemed that knowing that I used to be human perturbed her.

I closed my eyes and rested. Maia would arrive in a few hours. After a moment, I heard the alarms ringing, and opened my eyes. Harper was trying to contact someone on her walkie-talkie, but to no avail.

"What? What's happening?"

It's Maia… I realised, before talking to Harper. "Harper, free me..."

Harper turned to face me, absolutely confused by the situation. "What are you talking about?!"

"Maia will kill you... But I can save you if I possess you..."

"M-Maia?"

"The demon. She broke free, and is killing everyone." I explained.

"H-how?"

"I don't know yet how she did it, but I can assure you that it's true. You don't seem so bad, Harper. Let me protect you." I begged her.

"H-how can I... trust you?" Harper asked hesitantly.

"I have no idea... I can only beg you to trust me..."

We heard explosions and gunshots coming from inside the castle, alongside screams of agony and terror.

"It's... real?" Harper may be a trained security guard, but it didn't mean that she couldn't be afraid. And, at that moment, she was truly terrified.

Despite still being weak and in pain, I screamed as loudly as I could. "Harper! Please! Believe me!"

She was staring at me apprehensively for a moment, until another scream surprised her. She walked towards me, still shaken. "I-I hope... I'm not making a mistake... in believing in your humanity..."

She removed my breathing mask and the shackles. For the first time in three days, I could move, even if only slightly... "T-thank you, Harper..."

"W-what do I do, now?"

I tried to stand up, but Kira's body was too weak, and I had to use the chair as a support… "I... I need to enter your body... Through your mouth..."

"Like... what you did in the forest?"

I nodded. “Yes."

Harper leaned down to reach my level. "I don't like this..."

"Sorry, Harper. I don't like this either..."

I came next to her and kissed her. She was surprised, but let me continue. I quickly launched myself inside her, feeling my body dissolving as the pain from Kira's body faded.

After a few seconds, I slowly opened my eyes, as I was back in control of Harper. I stood up, relieved about being in a body in a good state again. I clenched my fists and stretched a few times.

"Thank you for believing in me, Harper."

"W-where... am I?"

Kira regained consciousness and started to panic, but before I could speak to her, Maia arrived, dragging a terrified woman behind her with vines. Harper's memories were telling me that she was named Risa.

"I'm here!" Maia declared with a friendly smile.

Her dress was covered in blood and torn in a few spots, but she didn't seem hurt at all, so I assumed the blood wasn't hers…

"T-the demon?!" Kira was shivering, utterly horrified.

Maia meanwhile seemed surprised. "Oh, you managed to switch hosts on your own? What a shame, my gift is useless now." Maia glanced at Risa, a sadistic grin plastered on her face. "I guess I just have to throw it away."

Risa closed her eyes, her body quaking. "P-please..." Some liquid ran down her thigh.

"Wait, don't do that, Maia!" I had to try something, I couldn't let her kill another person. Risa, from Harper's memories, was a sweet girl.

Maia raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

The conversation I had with Maia regarding my abilities came to my mind to help justify it. "Last night, you told me that we'd practice my abilities to see what I can do, right? But it's better if I have another host for that, don't you think?"

Maia smiled and nodded. "Indeed, that's a good idea. We can even practice now."

"Now?"

"Yes. I've met a few beings with a body similar to yours, and I know that they were able to split themselves and move both parts of themselves. Since you're also able to possess people, what do you think would happen if you made two parts of yourself enter two different bodies?"

I was stunned by Maia's suggestion. "Y-you think I can?"

Maia moved Risa in front of me, grinning. "You won't know unless you try."

"D-don't kill me..." Risa whispered. The poor woman was trembling like crazy. Not that I could blame her, considering the situation.

"A-alright..." I said, approaching Risa. "I won't hurt you, don't worry, Risa."

Without a second thought, I kissed Risa, and tried to do as Maia said. I had to succeed to save Risa. By focusing hard enough, I managed to feel a part of me split up from the rest, and I sent it inside Risa. She gagged as my body dissolved inside hers.

I took a few steps back, witnessing how me possessing someone looked from the outside. Risa quivered for a few seconds, until I felt new sensations. I got in control of Risa's body and tried to open her eyes, but the double perspective made me feel dizzy, forcing me to close Harper's eyes."

"It... worked?" I asked as Risa.

I could see Harper, and Kira hiding behind the **** chair. And I could still feel Harper's body as my own. It was such a surreal sensation.

I closed Risa's eyes again, focusing on how to be able to control both bodies at once. I have two brains, right? I just need to learn how to use both... I need to focus.

I opened Harper's eyes, now feeling a bit less dizzy. I tried to envision my two bodies as parts of me.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it, Maia." I said as Harper.

"C-can you let me free, please?" I then asked as Risa.

Maia removed the vines surrounding me, grinning from ear to ear. "You're even more interesting than I first thought, Ben."

"Thanks."

I turned to face Maia as Risa but, when I saw her, I started to quiver. I saw glimpses of Risa's colleagues being killed by Maia in front of her, traumatizing her...

I shook my head, trying to calm down. "W-we should go, now." I said as Risa, avoiding looking at Maia.

Maia stared at Kira with murderous intent. "Go ahead, the path is clear. I have a score to settle with the one behind you, first."

I felt guilty, but I knew just how much had Kira made Maia suffer throughout the previous weeks. Experimenting on her without a care in the world, only seeing Maia as a test subject. I could relate to her, as I hated Liliana as well for what she did to me…

Seeing Maia's eyes convinced me that there was no way to save Kira as well, Maia would never forgive her…

"O-okay..." I simply said, quickly exiting the room as both Risa and Harper.

“N-no… D-don't... come..." Kira begged.

I did my best to ignore Kira's cries for help and left Maia alone, as I started to walk back towards the main entrance of the castle with my two bodies, walking over the corpses of the other guards and scientists. Risa's trauma was still affecting me, even if I managed to somewhat control it. I grabbed a gun for her, just in case...

When I reached the hall, I saw Liliana, gravely injured, resting next to a pillar, alongside a few more corpses and hundreds of flowers growing everywhere. Seeing her triggered something in me, mainly coming from Risa…

I see…

"R-Risa...?" Liliana weakly asked. "N-no! Y-you're..." As soon as she saw the gun in Risa's hand, her attitude changed. Risa hated guns, and would never carry one. "L-leave her body! Harper... W-what are you doing... with this thing?"

"So..." I started as Risa.

"Even a sadist like you can care about someone?" I finished as Harper.

I walked closer as Risa, kneeling in front of her. "You really care about your half-sister, I see..."

Her eyes widened as she heard me. "H-how..."

Harper-me cut her off. "How do I know?"

Risa-me then continued. "When I possess someone, I'm not only controlling their bodies, but I also get their memories and emotions. Risa... loves you a lot."

“Harper as well. She highly respects you. I think I understand why you hate demons so much." I spoke as Harper.

Using Risa's mouth, I decided to ask a question to confirm a theory. "Your biological father, he was killed by one, isn't it?"

Liliana's deafening silence was the answer I seeked. Liliana's father died while she was still young. He was a detective and got sent to investigate a strange phenomenon, before being killed mysteriously. Her mother married someone else a few years later, and gave birth to Risa. Liliana joined the police to learn the truth about her father's ****, before getting injured and doing security jobs instead.

"Leave... her body... Don't... harm her..." She begged.

Since she was dying, I decided to tell her the truth. “You know, it's because of you all that I became a monster."

"Remember the intruder that came last Tuesday night and stole some chemicals?"

"It was me. Until that night, I was still just a normal high school boy who noticed something shady going on and got curious."

"Y-you?" Liliana dropped her gun in shock.

"I just wanted to find a way to become normal again, that's why I came back here in the first place.” I finished explaining, scratching Risa's hair. "I won't harm her. I possessed her and Harper to protect them from Maia."

"I'm not the monster you think I am, Liliana, even if I hate you for what you did to me." I declared as Harper.

She coughed some blood, she most likely didn't have a lot of time left.

I hugged her, Risa's feelings for her influencing me at that moment. "I will take care of Risa, I promise you."

"I'll... come back from Hell... if you don't. Protect... her. I'm... sorry... Risa… and you…" I kept hugging her for a few more minutes, until I noticed that her breath had stopped.

I stood up, covered in her blood. I could feel tears starting to run down my cheeks, both from Risa and Harper's bodies, their emotions overtaking me.

"You might have been awful in some aspects...But you were a good sister..."

"And a good chief… Rest in peace, Liliana. I will find a place to bury you, in respect of Harper and Risa."

I carried Liliana's lifeless body with Harper and left the castle, shivering. Both Risa and Harper really liked Liliana, and their emotions were hard to control."

I reached the garden and took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air filling my two pairs of lungs.

“It's only been four days, but..."

"I really missed that..."

Using Harper's more athletic body, I started to dig a grave with a shovel I found nearby. At the same time, as Risa, I turned to face Harper. I observed both of my bodies through the opposite pair of eyes, something that was really strange to experience.

As I was doing that, Maia's words resonated in my mind. "Using my abilities how I see fit, huh?" I muttered as Risa.

But I also remembered what happened with Kira when they used the truth serum on me."Kira regained control of her body.... There must be a way for me to let my hosts in control even if I stay inside them without having to fall ****."

Maia arrived, grinning as she was removing some blood from her claws with a piece of cloth. "Sorry for the wait. I'm done cleaning out the trash." She declared in a far too jovial tone considering she just slaughtered a building full of people.

I was taken aback, but tried to stay calm. "O-once I'm done with digging a grave for Liliana, I'm going to Harper's house. Do you want to come, Maia?"

She chuckled. "Of course! We've just met, it'd be a shame to part ways so soon!"

"H-heh... Follow me, then."

I finished the grave and prayed for Liliana to rest in peace, promising again to take care of Risa. Afterwards, with my two bodies and Maia, we walked to Harper's apartment. It was the closest one between hers and Risa's. Thankfully, no one was around at this hour to notice Risa's bloodied coat.

We walked in. Harper's apartment was small, a studio made for one person, but it'd be enough for tonight. Both her and Risa were exhausted. I removed Harper's combat gear and put on some sweatpants and a t-shirt that she sometimes wore to sleep. I also quickly got rid of Risa's clothes and threw them in the washing machine.

"Ah, it was pretty fun. Finally breaking free and punishing them, it was cathartic." Maia declared proudly.

"I suppose..." I shyly said as Risa. It was hard to look at Maia as her. I had to try my best not to shiver. "My bodies are tired, so I'm going to sleep, Maia. You can join us in the bed, if you want, there's enough space for the three of us."

She smiled. "That's tempting. Even a demon of dreams such as myself needs to sleep, after all."

After tossing Maia's clothes into the washing machine as well, the three of us laid on the bed, my two bodies next to one another, and Maia by Harper's side, hugging my arm.

She's... really cute.

She had an adorable face when sleeping, it was hard to imagine that she slaughtered dozens of people by herself when you looked at her in that state.

As I was blushing and turned my head the other way, I saw Harper's face as Risa. It made me remember the tortures I went through, and I started to shiver again…

I... I won't let that happen again...

I had a hard time falling asleep, and started to hug my two bodies together. It might have been weird, but it calmed me down, and I slowly managed to drift off.