The Time I Got Reincarnated As An Extra - Chapter 138

Chapter 138: A Smile Lost In Time [2]
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Amon’s vision darkened, taking away that gruesome scene from his sight.

Darkness enveloped him whole, leaving him alone in the black space.

But right now, his mind was a mess.

The Smile….

That eldritch horror…

Was Derek—a human.

He couldn’t wrap his head around this new information.

“At that time, the only thing that coursed through my head was my wish for them.” A hoarse echoing voice resounded in the space.

Amon’s head turned, finding the horror standing there.

With long emaciated legs, its arms stretched out far, with multiple claws protruding.

A large jaw that stretched into a wide smile, showing off its dirty bloody long teeth.

“You are…” Amon’s voice trailed off.

“Yes human, I’m Derek.” He said, looking straight into Amon’s gaze with its hollow pearly white eyes.

“Or….as you may know me”

“The Smile.”

“B-but h-how>?” Amon’s voice stammered, not knowing how to ask his thoughts.

“I don’t think you are in the position to ask me any questions, human.” It said.

Amon’s eyes widened as he realized he had no control over the mana inside his body right now.

“I can kill you if I so want.” It told him.

Amon gulped.

He had to find a way to get out of this situation.

The only things he could use right now were his Herald and Void skills.

He was about to take a stance when the Smile spoke, surprising him with its question.

“But before I do that, how?” It asked, looking at Amon with its maniacal smile.

Amon tilted his head.

“How did you figure it out?”

Huh?

What was he talk-

Ah.

About that.

“It was easy,” Amon answered. He had to be honest right now.

After all, this was a 6th tier horror.

And it was easy if he had to be honest.

After he was arrested and the horror escaped, Amon knew it was the best chance for it to place him in his grasp.

And it confirmed it for him when he was knocked out when coming outside.

When Amon woke up, he was about 90% sure that he was in an illusion.

And this was why he used [Void Decay] on Matthew after killing him.

He knew that his [Void] element was very close to reaching the next point.

And so after using [Void Decay] on Matthew for 2 minutes and taking the risk, it was the final stroke on the nail for Amon.

After all, if he wasn’t in an illusion, the system would reward him for using that skill on someone right?

But there was no notification from the system as well.

The illusion was unable to replicate the system window, that much was sure for Amon.

This was also the reason why he didn’t hesitate to kill the guards.

Because he knew.

All those screams of Zephyra.

Those guards.

The class he saw…

Everything after he woke up was an illusion created by the horror.

He explained this all to the entity, who listened to him, intrigued.

Of course, he excluded the system part and everything, not expecting it to be understood, and changed it to some other excuse.

After Amon was done, the eldritch horror was silent for a few seconds.

Then, it looked up at Amon, its voice creaking.

“Three.”

“You have three questions human. Ask me anything before I kill you.”

It raised its 3 long claws, also indicating to Amon that he chooses his words carefully.

Amon suppressed a gulp.

He knew that after these 3 questions, he was as sure as dead.

So the only chance he had right now was to find some way to strike a deal with this horror.

Pondering on it for some seconds, Amon asked the first question on his mind.

“Why were you targeting us students?” He asked.

The smile looked far off into the boundless darkness for a few seconds before turning to Amon.

“To learn what it means to smile.” Its hoarse voice echoed in the void.

Amon remained silent, expecting it to continue.

“Long since I became this horror, I yearned to feel what it means to smile.” It started walking in the darkness.

Amon followed behind.

“Despite my smiling appearance, I feel nothing inside. No joy, no emotion.”

For a moment, Amon almost felt as if the smile on the horror entity wavered.

“You youths are energetic and full of life…” Its harsh voice trailed off as if reminiscing about something.

It was probably his children.

“You smile every day in the shine of life. That smile unwavering and full of joy.”

“Looking at you people, I longed to see what you humans felt when you smiled. It was something that could only be seen in you bright youths.” It explained.

“But…”

“It never worked.” It stopped walking.

“No matter how many young people I took over, I never felt anything while smiling. Not a single speck of emotion.” Its deep voice cried in the void.

“I- I even tried inflicting pain on myself like in my death to feel something, feel the power of a smile. That joy!” It roared.

This explained the death of cadets.

“But to this day, I was never able to feel a single emotion while possessing people. Countless tries….”

“Yet no success.” It finished the topic there, not wishing to speak on it further.

Obliging with its wish, Amon moved to his second question.

“Why was I put under the illusion? Why target me?”

He asked and for a moment, he saw the entity’s expression scrunch up in pain.

“Because of your mental resistance.” It said.

“Out of all the youths out there, you were the most hardest for me to control.”

“Your mental state was like a void.”

It raised its claw.

“Nothing affected it.”

“No illusions, no possession, no nothing.”

Amon looked at the entity with a complex expression.

Was it because of his [Void] element?

Well even taking that aside, his mental resistance was pretty high because of the pain he usually had to endure.

“You were the only variable in my plan…The reason why it all failed.” Its voice turned deeper and more cold.

It looked at Amon, its smile widening.

“Which is why you have to die.”

It extended its claws.

“What about the third question?” Amon asked, staying right in his position.

He had a plan.

This was the only way he could currently get out of this situation.

“It was my gift to you for making it this far. And now I take it back.” It hissed.

And its claws inched further.

But just as they were about to strike Amon, he talked up once more.

“Let’s strike a deal.”

Silence ensued in the void before the furious entity raged.

“Do you really think you are in a position to deal with me human?”

It slashed its claws at Amon.

But suddenly, the next words made it pause in its place.

“You want to learn how to feel joy right? How to feel emotions?”

The Smile raged harshly.

“Where are you going with this human?”

But Amon didn’t care and continued.

“Three Years.” He raised three fingers.

“Let me go and stay with me for 3 years. In those 3 years, I’ll make you feel true joy. What it means to really smile…” Amon proposed.

Silence ensued at his words, as the previously raging entity turned completely silent.

It would accept…

Surely.

“You can betray me human.”

Amon nodded.

It was a reasonable argument.

“Yes. I can. The humans are known for this quality of theirs.”

But just as it was about to rage, Amon continued.

“This is why we will make a mana contract.”

“What is that?”

Amon nodded, and quickly started to explain to it what it was.

Mana contracts, as the name suggested, were contracts made between two parties A and B using mana as a foundation.

Conditions would be set between the two parties and a time limit would be set for the contract.

Both parties had to abide by the rules of the contract until the time limit was over.

Failure to do so would result in a mana-related penalty that would be set between the two parties.

Amon explained it all to the entity.

Listening to his words, the Smile pondered on it for long before opening its mouth.

“Very well. I shall take this offer of yours human.”

It voiced its agreement, sending a wave of relief in Amon’s body.

But then it hissed.

“However…”

“If you fail to comply by what you promise…”

“The penalty would be the first thing you would wish for.”

Amon nodded. He understood it all.

“I understand. Do not worry, I don’t intend to go back on my promise.”

Then, he extended his hand and the entity looked at it.

“What?” It questioned.

“For us to set the contract and the terms, we have to link our mana by shaking hands.” He explained.

“I see.” It nodded, staring at the end momentarily.

Then, its whole structure suddenly started to change.

All its facial features and body size quickly started morphing.

And in a minute, it was finally done, making Amon’s eyes widen.

‘Derek…’ Amon muttered inside his mind.

Yes.

The smile had just turned into its human form.

Derek extended his hand.

“Hurry up human, I can’t hold this for long.” It explained.

Composing himself, Amon nodded and shook his hand.

Instantly, he felt a locking sensation on his heart.

As if someone was gripping it.

And within a few seconds, the mana contract was finally done and their hands separated.

Derek turned back into its horror form.

“I need to break this illusion now.” The horror entity explained.

“I’ll meet you again human.” It said before Amon’s vision cracked.

As his vision started to shatter and darken, Amon looked at the wide smile on the monster’s face.

The smile that he had always tried to give his children.

The smile that he longed for so long…

Yet now that it had it, it felt nothing.

It was nothing but a simple smile that his kids were unable to see their whole lives.

A Smile Lost in Time.