11 Many Realms (1/2)

On the outskirts of a village, Itsuki stood. The gold pendant he held pulsated violently as if it was about to reunite with its long lost lover. Hanging in the air was the scent of potent kegare and an eerie silence.

Night had set upon the world once again. Bringing with it the swarms of demons and another temporary era of hibernation. As usual, another group of people were caught off guard and lured in by the village.

Donning the Concealment Mask, Itsuki subtly joined the batch of sacrifices.

The village consisted of 2 dozen buildings. Most of those were locked warehouses and a few were houses. The biggest house was village elder's and somehow seemed the only one which was hospitable and offered hospitality.

The person at the forefront knocked on the door gently. After a few minutes, a middle-aged man with gray hair and wearing white robes responded.

”Have you seen a woman wearing a kimono with the dianthus flower on it?”, one of the group asked.

The middle-aged man calmly shook his head. He then invited the group in as it was night time and he indicated that the forest would be filled with demons soon.

”Doesn't that mean Ayumi-sama is dead then?”

”What do we do? If we can't find Ayumi-sama then we might as well die”

”Why not take this chance to escape?”

”You idiot. The rest of us have family still there. If we ran then we would suffer the consequences”

Part of the group began silently bickering amongst themselves as they began to fear for their future. If they left the forest before finding the lady then they would be executed for failing to properly guard her. If they stayed in the forest then they would inevitably have to deal with demons and still die. This village was their last hope and if they couldn't find her, then they should at least find the philanderer which lured her away and accuse him of murder.

Meanwhile, Itsuki silently watched with an amused expression behind his Mask. n.o.body had noticed him yet. He didn't even need to activate Stealth as somehow he was invisible to the group. He was being treated in a similar manner as something taken for granted would be which gave him zero presence.

Is this how the ghost haunting people in horror movies feel?, Atlas thought. Anyways, he decided to explore the rest of the house if the man wearing white robes couldn't notice him.

The villager with white robes promptly escorted each member of the group to a separate room. He then amiably stated that they could stay the night and dinner would be prepared for them soon.

The villager then finally a.s.signed the last member of the group to a room before leaving Itsuki standing there by himself.

Surprisingly presence is more effective than Stealth, Atlas thought.

”System, are there any abilities regarding presence?”

”Affirmative. Currently host has Intimidation and Phoenix Aura. Intimidation has an upgrade available”

[Intimidation Upgraded: Domination(-1000)]

I wonder how contradictory effects will affect each other, Atlas thought. The Concealment Mask basically made others perceive one as the background while Domination would force others to notice what seemed like an overlord.

Itsuki was about to try out his new ability but the gold pendant began to pulsate once again. Understanding that the Holy Supremacy's granddaughter was nearby, he held out the pendant and slowly rotated until the pendant indicated the direction to go towards.

[Rank Quest Path Completed:

50000 Points Added]

In the room where the village elder stood, the floor was covered in runes written by blood. At the center lay a pile of corpses. In a corner, a man hid trembling with trepidation.

That's Ayumi-sama's kimono in the pile!, the man thought.

Intending to sneak back to warn his comrades, he began to furtively leave.

”Don't bother. They're all dead”, the village elder suddenly sounded. Without turning his head, he threw a dagger which immediately incapacitated the man.

”Same with the rest of you”, the village elder continued but this time, referring to the other villagers. Their faces portrayed confusion which later turned into one of shock. As they began to run from the sacrificial room, the village elder activated the blood array.

Immediately the pile of corpses turned into ash. The villagers felt their blood being swiftly drained and collapsed soon after.

Out of the ashes rose a demon of high ranking. It had the appearance of a pale-faced youth, his features could cause most females to salivate l.u.s.tfully, but a slight decay could be seen throughout the other parts of his body.

”Lord, I have succeeded”, the village elder said before kneeling and awaited for further instructions.