Cursed contract

The thieving ghost thrashed desperately, trying to escape from John's body, but to no avail.

Then, it seemed to realize something and cried out in horror, "Human, is there something wrong with your body?"

John feigned ignorance and confusion, "I don't know, I thought I was a goner!"

The thieving ghost's face turned extremely ugly in an instant.

Being trapped inside was one thing, but not even having control over the body was driving it insane!

The situation had unfolded so suddenly that even the ghost was taken aback.

John, however, was secretly chuckling to himself.

The purpose of the Shadow Harmony Spirit Body was specifically to imprison ghostly creatures. No matter how powerful the ghost, once inside the body, it became a prisoner.

A ghost trapped inside had only two choices.

Either sign a contract with the host and choose to merge and coexist, or be slowly corroded and digested by the Shadow Harmony Spirit Body.

John knew he couldn't capture the ghost on his own; the only way was to let it possess him of its own accord.

The MythiCarn was just bait thrown out. The real trap was enticing it to possess him.

Soon, the thieving ghost discovered in terror that its own body was dissolving bit by bit, becoming more and more indistinct.

"This special constitution is corroding me!"

The thieving ghost's nine eyes trembled as it contemplated the severe consequences.

"Your situation doesn't look too optimistic, does it? Are you about to die?" John asked with feigned concern.

The thieving ghost had no mind to pay attention to John's words, frantically searching for a way out, thinking of the fate of being reduced to nothingness, it instinctively began to fear.

"Seeing as you're in a bit of a bind, I'll think of a way to help you out. I've heard that signing a cursed contract with the host and merging with a special constitution can save your life."

"Merge?" the thieving ghost paused, having forgotten this option.

But signing a cursed contract with a human was, for it, an unbearable humiliation!

Before the thieving ghost could speak, John continued, "Forget it, forget it. Merging with a ghost sounds pretty disgusting, and there's no benefit for me. If you're destroyed inside me, it doesn't seem to affect me at all. Why should I merge with you?"

John hastily corrected himself and even gave himself a light slap on the mouth, as if to chide himself for speaking out of turn.

The thieving ghost, however, suddenly had an epiphany.

Right!

Facing complete obliteration, what's the point of clinging to dignity?

It quickly spoke up, "Wait! Bro, I think your idea might work!"

John shook his head, "But I feel like it's a bad deal for me. This is my body, and to let a ghost reside in it... Never mind the potential risks, imagine making love to a beautiful woman while being watched by a ghost. How unromantic is that!"

The thieving ghost's body had become so blurred it was nearly transparent, and its consciousness was fading. It knew it didn't have much time left.

It urgently said, "Look, as long as you sign a cursed contract with me, you can set the terms of the contract!"

"You sure you want me to set the terms?"

"Positive."

John clicked his tongue as if he had suffered a great loss and said reluctantly, "Fine, seeing as you're being corroded so badly, I'll take the hit."

"Thank you, you're a good person. There's no time left, let me teach you how to do it!"

"No need to teach me, I know how."

John smiled faintly, bit the tip of his thumb, and began to draw an intricate pattern on the ground.

Ewan, who had been watching John talk to himself from the beginning, finally realized what was happening and exclaimed in shock, "Holy crap! You're not actually negotiating terms with that ghost, are you?"

John ignored Ewan, finished drawing the blood curse to initiate the contract, and said, "Your turn."

After speaking, John's other hand, wrapped in ghost aura, lifted unconsciously, and his thumb pressed down on the pattern.

"Ding, congratulations on earning the right to sign a contract with a ghostly creature. Please now establish the contract's death command. If both parties agree, henceforth both shall unconditionally obey the contract's command!"

John had already thought it through and quickly set the terms.

"Contract's command: Merge with the ghostly creature, unconditionally ensure the host's safety, and must intervene to prevent any fatal injuries!"

"Time limit: 1 year."

"Protect you for a year?!" The thieving ghost was taken aback, its expression quite unsightly.

"What else are you good for to me? You expect us to fall in love or something?" John said. "It's just a year, it'll fly by."

The thieving ghost remained silent.

"Time waits for no one."

"If you don't want to, forget it. I'm not too keen on it myself," John said with an indifferent tone, showing he didn't care much.

"Deal."

The thieving ghost no longer hesitated and agreed through gritted teeth.

Immediately after, John felt a warm current surge within him.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for successfully merging with the ghostly creature, with an A+ rating!"

"The host has obtained dominion and can choose any part of the body for the merged ghost to inhabit."

"The right hand." John thought about it and chose his right hand, which he used the most.

Although it felt like a bit of a raw deal to offer up his 'first girlfriend' as a dwelling for a ghost, my right hand would be the most convenient limb to wield in any future troubles.

Suddenly, John's right hand began to show a mass of black threads, spreading out like a spider's web, looking incredibly eerie.

Patches of mottled discoloration appeared on his hand, and the decaying stench was quite pungent!

"Ding, congratulations to the host on the successful fusion with the ghost, and for obtaining the ghost's information dashboard."

"Open the information dashboard."

Merged ghost: Blood-Eye Ghost

Rating: A+

Ability: Psychic Domain

Ghost Power: 3000 points

Ability Features: Nine cursed blood eyes, each opening doubles the psychic domination and ghost power.

"This merged ghost sounds pretty strong!" John mused to himself, having no concept of the relative strength of ghosts.

Just how powerful an A+ rated ghost was, he had no idea.