Please Touch Me, Master

Bi Chen stroked his chin as he processed this new development.

'After killing the girl, I obtained her Essence and Leveled Up. This made her decompose rapidly, until nothing was left… but leftover Essence.'

Essence was essentially the fusion of Soul and Body. There was no way Bi Chen could have absorbed ALL of Imelda's Essence, because there was still a physical form left that was being decomposed.

However, after decomposition was complete, there seemed to be a spark—an ember left behind.

That was what the System detected.

'And it looks like it's only picking up this one. Does that mean the rest don't have Remnant Essence? Or the System isn't detecting them yet because they haven't fully decomposed?' Bi Chen naturally had a lot of questions, but he decided to focus solely on the most important one regarding Imelda and her leftover Essence.

Or… more specifically, what the System told him about it.

'I can choose her as my first Undying Vassal? I see… so that's what the Vassal in my Status Window was all about. It doesn't stand for slave, but more like a servant I can raise from Remnant Essence.' Bi Chen was an astute gamer who also delved into lots of comics and novels. He naturally had a lot of experience when it came to concepts like this. As such, even though this was the first time he was interacting with this information, he made all the right guesses.

Unfortunately, his Zombie mind was rather slow, so it took time for him to properly think about a lot of these matters.

It almost felt like a fog was in his head, constantly clouding his thoughts.

He couldn't use his intelligence to its full potential.

'Still, I think I know what to do.' Bi Chen stared at the System Panel and smiled. 'I'm not sure if the Vassal will be completely loyal to me, like a Slave, but it doesn't really matter.'

Bi Chen's initial goal was to simply die.

If the Vassal ended up inheriting all of the personality of the dead Imelda, and she wanted to claim his life, he wouldn't actually mind. 

He saw no hope in living in this world, anyway.

However, if she was completely under his control and he could make others his Undying Vassals, then perhaps all hope wasn't lost after all. Either way, he had nothing to lose, and depending on the results, he could gain something quite valuable.

'Let's do it!' His eyes shone with determination. "I chooooseeee yoouuuu assss myyyy undddyiiinggg vaasssaaal."

VWUUUUUM!

Powerful energy instantly surged, dying everything around in pale dark hue. The world trembled and began to lose color. The cube surrounding Bi Chen began to disintegrate, its energy absorbed by the dark energy that danced all around. 

The Labyrinth walls, ceiling, and floor also began to lose their lustre.

Everything went into the pale darkness.

Then—

FSHUUUU…

The energy dissipated, and the barely visible husk of the dead girl formed a cocoon that sucked everything into it. This cocoon began to pulsate with life, almost like that of a beating heart—constantly pounding and writhing, as if something inside was trying to break free.

Bi Chen watched all of this with silent curiosity… and expectation.

Whether or not he succeeded… he was fine with the results. After all, he was not really afraid of dying. He had convinced himself that it was because the alternative option was too dreadful to consider, but Bi Chen knew the uncomfortable truth.

—He had become desensitized to death as well as life.

Compared to his life on Earth, and even the first moments of his arrival in this world, he no longer thought much about the death of people. The Slaves that perished at Gwain's hands, and the noble girl he killed with his own blade… they didn't seem to linger in his mind or carry any weight of significance.

Bi Chen only saw Essence in the place of life.

He only considered profits, regardless of the road he would have to take to get there.

If dying early would minimize his suffering, he would choose that. If killing others would make him stronger, he would choose that. If perverting the last remaining spark of life of a total stranger would give him an undying servant… he would go for it.

Without blinking an eye, he was more than prepared to do whatever it took for his benefit.

And now—

'I wonder what will happen next…'

—He was finally confronted with a moment of truth; where the world held its breath and even he contributed to the moment of silence.

Watching… Waiting… 

… Until…

CRACK!

The hardened cocoon cracked. From a small crack, it broke apart in multiple other regions, like an egg hatching. Until, finally, the cocoon shattered like glass, its pieces vanishing like dust… dissipating into the air.

What remained was a petite, voluptuous lady. Her pale skin appeared delicate, yet it had a silver-like luster. She wore pitch-black shadows as a dress, and her hair danced in the air like white flames. 

Compared to the delicate flower of before, this new entity had the appearance of a deadly venus.

She was enchanting—strikingly beautiful.

This was the finest woman Bi Chen had ever laid eyes on, yet he remained composed—like he was staring at a slab of meat. As a Zombie, his undying body had no flowing blood or receptive vessels and nerves.

He could not get aroused, even if he wanted to—but that was not even on his mind.

The constant thing that played on in his head was a question: What was this Undying Vassal going to do next?

She slowly opened her eyes and stared at Bi Chen, pure darkness replacing the whites of her eyes, while an eerie blue glow rose from its depths. A smile crept up on her face, as her eyes suddenly snapped wide open and she rushed towards him.

'Ahh…' Bi Chen wasn't surprised.

After all, he had expected this outcome—her attacking him—as well.

But, much to his amazement, she actually didn't strike his exposed body. Instead, she jumped on him and gave him a tight embrace, her eyes filled with deep affection as she squealed in delight.

"You saved me, Daddy!"

Bi Chen was stunned for a moment, unable to think for some seconds.

Once his mental faculties began to operate once again, a question continuously popped in his nearly empty brain.

'D-daddy?!'