– 2 Hours Earlier –

“… I’m going to the bathroom,” Finn said quietly, then exited the room, Evelyn following him with her gaze.

Of course, he wasn’t actually going to use the bathroom, and Evelyn knew that. It was just something Finn said in case there was someone spying on them.

With the sword on his back and fully-clad in Voidheart armor, Finn entered the washroom and checked around to see if there was anyone else here. After confirming he was alone and making sure there were no security cameras anywhere in the room, Finn entered one of the stalls. Once there, he pulled the sword off of his back, and glared at it through the narrow visor on his helmet.

“… What do you want?”

Indeed, he had come here because the sword had woke up from getting electrocuted, and was quite furious, to say the least.

“Heh… kid, I can’t believe ya actually did it,” the sword growled with a deep demonic voice that shouldn’t have existed in the first place, and Finn cocked an eyebrow, though it was impossible to see that beneath his casque.

“You were practically screaming at me. Other people can’t hear you, but I can thanks to this Voidheart armor. I’ve already lost my vision once, and I do not want to go deaf. So… cut the crap. What do you want?”

“I’m not talking about that!” The sword yelled. “I’m talkin’ about how you managed to see through my trick!”

“… Oh, you mean, taking control of me? Sorry, but there’s already someone else… though I’m sure you’ve sensed that already, haven’t you?”

“Hmph. Got that right. There’s a powerful spirit inside your body, but I can’t tell what it is. It seems to have a very… obsessive attachment to you, though, and I don’t want to mess with that.”

“So are you going to shut up?”

“No!” The sword screamed. “I have a deal for you, young man. Hear me out, will ya?”

After some slight hesitation and careful thought, Finn accepted with a nod.

“… Speak.”

“Alright. I’ve been listening in to your conversation with that hot woman earlier, and uh… ya got a fight later, don’t ya?”

Finn nodded briskly. “What of it?”

“Trust me. As you are now, you won’t stand a chance against that guy.”

“… What?”

“He uses the Dreamweaver Angelica. He will infest your mind with nightmares you can never escape from, death loops that you can never live in… until you finally succumb in the real world and die. On the surface, it will just seem like a few seconds, but in your mind, a lot longer than just that will pass by.”

‘The Dreamweaver Angelica, huh… that monk earlier did mention something about psychokinetic abilities…’ Finn thought silently, then turned to the sword once more. “And you’re saying you can help me defeat him?”

“Mhm. You have to rely on me, kiddo. That spirit within you is asleep right now, though I don’t know why. It seems she won’t be up until a few months at the very least. If you want to live from this fight, believe in me.”

“And what, exactly, will you do to help me defeat Nightmare?” Finn asked, still skeptical.

“Uh, that’s… you’ll find out when we actually do it, right? For now, just form a pact with me…”

“… Hmph.” Finn snorted, then stretched his arm out and dangled the sword above the toilet basin. It wasn’t even flushed. “… Trying to trick me again, are you?”

“E-Eek!” The sword demon let out a high-pitched yelp that was unlike his normal composure, then squirmed and fought to get out of Finn’s grasp. “W-Wait, please, I was wrong! I’ll tell ya, okay? I’ll tell ya, so don’t drop me in that—!”

“Talk first,” Finn said. “I’ll make my decision after I hear what you have to say.”

“A-All right, all right, fine!” The sword yelled in a panic. “Basically, uh… you’ll need to fall asleep during the fight, right after it begins, and let me take care of the rest.”

“… Oh? Falling asleep on the spot is not easy, you know.”

“Heh. Of course it ain’t. But ya got that hot woman to help you, don’t ya? This is the underground, from what I’ve observed. Fighting fair will get ya killed.”

“… I see. But how do I know you won’t betray me and slice me down instead while I’m unconscious?”

“That’s simple, kiddo,” the sword said with a smirk—or rather, it would’ve smirked if it had a mouth. “We form a pact.”

Finn tilted his head slightly, still dangling the sword above the dirty toilet bowl. “A pact?”

“Yup. All ya gotta do is sacrifice one of your senses to me, and we’ll be contracted. If ya die, I die too. How does that sound?”

“That sounds… like a pile of utter bullshit, like what you’re about to get dropped into.”

Finn lowered his arm a bit more, bringing the sword’s tip dangerously close to the ‘bullshit’ within the toilet.

“E-EEEK! Wait! I ain’t lyin’, kid! By sacrificin’ one of your senses to me, you’re essentially turning me into that sense of yours! And since I’m your sense, if you die, I die too!”

Judging from the sword’s personality thus far, it gave in to threats very easily. If he was still claiming he was speaking the truth even in this position, then…

“… Fine. I accept.”

Finn moved the sword away from the toilet, and the demon let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, man… I can’t believe I’m gonna have ta get contracted with a kid, but it is what it is. Which sense do you want to sacrifice?”

After a long period of silence and thought, Finn answered.

“… My sight.”

“… Huh?” The sword’s eye blinked several times. “But… didn’t ya just get that back?”

“Yes. And I’ve found it is utterly useless to me,” Finn replied. “I have become so accustomed to being blind that regaining my vision now means little. I discovered that while walking around with my vision today. And besides… if I ever need eyes, I have a certain girl to rely on.”

The sword pondered Finn’s answer for a moment, then gave a little chuckle. It wasn’t evil, just a light-hearted, friendly chuckle.

“… Heh. Ya got guts. I like that. Maybe becomin’ contracted with ya ain’t so bad after all, kiddo.”