The atmosphere in the room grew cold, whether from the night's chill or the sense of danger Elias felt. He quickly masked his frightened expression with a smile.
"Why are you still awake at this late hour? And in my room?"
He walked over, feigning calm, and touched Luna's forehead. "Can't sleep? Are you worried about something?" he asked, rubbing his temple, preparing to leave the room to get her some warm water.
However, Luna suddenly disappeared from sight and reappeared blocking his path.
Luna slightly raised her lips, "Bro always likes to change the subject~"
"Huh?" Elias feigned confusion.
Luna narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him. "They say the first reaction never lies. Bro, you looked terrified seeing Luna. Are you afraid of me? "
"If you're that scared, then... were all your previous actions just a facade? Were you deceiving me?"
Elias, internally uneasy, maintained a steady facade. He chuckled and patted Luna's shoulder.
"What are you thinking? Why would I be afraid of Luna? Anyone would be startled by a shadowy figure suddenly appearing in their room!"
"And the first reaction... If I had a gun, my first instinct would definitely be to open fire on whatever it is!" Elias concluded, noticing the doubt in Luna's eyes fading a bit.
"Is that so..." she muttered, lowering her head. "Maybe Luna's just too sensitive... Sorry, bro..."
"It's okay," Elias replied with a gentle smile.
He thought he had managed to calm Luna, but then he felt a slight vibration in his hand.
Luna's shoulders and arms began to twist unnaturally, and the slithering sound of something like serpentine movement filled the quiet room.
Luna underwent a transformation, her terrifying tentacles becoming visible to Elias.
Two of them creepily attached themselves to his body, sliding into his clothes.
The touch of the slippery, wriggling tentacles made his skin crawl.
"Luna... what are you doing?" Elias asked with a forced smile.
Unlike before, Luna's eyes didn't show the usual murderous intent.
She just silently looked at Elias as her tentacles wrapped tightly around him, coiling around his arms, waist, and neck as if trying to engulf him entirely.
"Bro, are you scared of me looking like this?" she asked softly.
In the chilling atmosphere of the room, Elias felt paralyzed, especially with the tentacle wrapped tightly around his neck making it difficult to speak.
"Of course not scared anymore. This is Luna's original self... Why would bro be scared?"
Luna smiled sweetly. "Does bro like how I look?"
"Of course—"
Elias's mind was racing. If it was during the time when [Negotiation/Pacification (Master)] was effective, he would speak the truth.
Simply stating his dislike and then ordering her to release her tentacles could even make her feel guilty.
However, now was not the time.
"Of course, I like it."
Elias smiled, "Bro likes Luna, so no matter what Luna becomes, bro will still like her."
Luna immediately beamed with joy, her body trembling with excitement.
"Bro likes Luna!!!"
"Even if Luna is a monster... bro doesn't despise me! That's wonderful!"
"Monster... monster... monster..."
"Wait, am I a monster?"
"monster..."
As she repeated the word 'monster,' Elias noticed her slipping into a familiar, disturbed muttering.
While Luna was talking to herself, she completely failed to notice that Elias's complexion was turning increasingly wrong.
"Cough cough... cough..."
"Luna..."
He weakly patted the tentacle.
Luna finally realized something was wrong with Elias's condition; his face was beet red, and his eyes had started to roll back.
"Ah! I'm sorry, bro!"
Luna immediately released the tentacle, and Elias's body weakly fell to the ground, only to be gently lifted by Luna's tentacles again.
"Sorry, bro... Luna has been like this lately..."
She smiled apologetically, "Sometimes Luna just can't control her emotions, I'm sorry, it's just that Luna likes bro too much..."
Looking at Elias, whose face had turned pale again, Luna suddenly had a strange glint in her eyes.
Such a good bro, sometimes she just couldn't help but want to destroy him, even feeling a terrifying urge to mutually destruct, which scared even herself.
Perhaps it was due to her insecurities...
Luna was terrified, afraid that bro would be taken away by other women again, afraid of losing bro...
So sometimes she even thought that maybe there was only one way to be with bro forever...
Luna slightly lowered her head, trying hard to control her emotions, hiding the gleam in her eyes.
Bro likes Luna, bro doesn't despise her current form...
Bro hasn't lied to me...
So Luna couldn't do that.
On the other side, Elias opened the window, taking deep breaths of fresh air.
He then went out to pour himself a glass of water, finally beginning to recover.
That was terrifying...
He knew it, Luna hadn't changed at all.
The obedient Luna at dinner, who seemed like an ordinary girl, was not her true self!
Elias, who had been clinging to his last shred of fantasy, now felt completely disheartened.
Such a monster could never change; the only way forward was to continue the deception.
Until he had her completely under control.
"Are you feeling better, bro?" Luna's clear, lake-like eyes were filled with concern as she sat on Elias's bed, her usual calm and docile self.
The angelic face contrasted sharply with her twisted tentacles, creating an eerie feeling.
"I'm better, don't worry..." Elias adjusted his robe, feigning exhaustion. "It's late, I need to sleep. You should go back to your room too."
He gestured for Luna to leave, but she showed no intention of doing so.
"I can't sleep... I want to sleep with you, bro..."
"Eh... What?" Elias looked at her, baffled.
Luna blinked her large, pleading blue eyes. "Will you refuse me?"
Realizing she was serious, Elias leaned back on his pillow, patting the space beside him. "How can I refuse?" he said, half joking, half serious.
"Yay!" Luna beamed, bouncing onto the bed. Instead of lying in the indicated space, she wrapped her arms around Elias's waist, resting her head on his chest, and closed her eyes contentedly.
Elias, resigned, turned off the light. The room plunged into darkness, and sleep eluded him.
Though he knew Luna had let her guard down and wouldn't harm him impulsively, the warmth of her small body was comforting, yet...
She wasn't embracing her waist with both hands.
It was with six tentacles that she was embracing herself...
Sleeping while being embraced by several tentacles, who the hell could sleep like that??
Elias collapsed again, speechlessly closing his eyes.