12 Engagemen (1/2)

While Itsuki conversed with the System on the specifics of Worlds, a feminine face paled in terror.

Taking her eyes away from the spectacle, her breaths became partially ragged and cold sweat developed on her alluring visage. The events which she had witnessed ,albeit not in detail, were just too shocking.

Is that the true leader of this village, Kirei thought. Having been in the village for a decent amount of time, she was quite familiar with the strength of the people who lived here. The village elder and the high ranking demon were immensely powerful yet were somehow still afraid of him. What kind of ident.i.ty does the masked man have?

Deciding not to tarry any longer, she stopped trying to eavesdrop and began to step away. She was not qualified enough to be their foe and would only be courting death if she tried.

Suddenly, her body ceased listening to her and she felt petrified. An intense killing intent permeated her soul and her body began to feel fatigued while her kimono drooped as if a vacuum formed on the floor.

No wonder they afraid of him, she thought. This type of pressure had the capacity to allow someone to kill without lifting a finger.

”Do you think you can leave now?”, a voice said as the person continued towards her.

Hesitantly looking back, she saw a man whose face was covered by an unique mask. She intensely stared at the mask as she instinctively felt that she would forget its very existence if she blinked and lost sight of it.

Itsuki stopped a few feet away from the girl and gazed at her a.n.a.lytically. Despite the conditions imposed upon her by the village, her beauty still shone through. She possessed black hair which was partially covered in dust and displayed signs of being starved. Her verdant eyes which reminded one of nature, however revealed determination and refusal to be bogged down by her circ.u.mstances. With her dainty figure, heavenly countenance, and jade like skin, she was a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms and even Atlas acknowledged that she was pleasing to the eyes.

If Itsuki was the typical male then he would've expended every effort to court her. Atlas however, remained vigilant. This was a world of demons and someone of such beauty could easily be a succubus. Or maybe not. Her soul was not demonic and she didn't seem to possess a flirtatious nature.

He released the pressure from Domination and decided to properly greet her.

”I'm Itsuki, your grandfather's disciple. Your name is?”

”I-I'm Kirei, but I don't have a grandfather. You must be mistaken”

Could she possibly have amnesia? Atlas thought for a bit but then presumed that the Holy Supremacy was not one who seemed to visit often. He then took out the gold pendant and showed it to her.

”Does this ring a bell?”

She immediately recognized the pendant. It was identical to her own which abruptly began pulsating on her chest. Her savior had not forgotten her which warmed her tormented soul.

She brought forth her own pendant... only to have an unexpected golden radiance blind the both of them.

The pendants simultaneously reacted to the golden radiance and began to transform. The chains shattered and the pendant seemed to curl around their finger.

When the radiance dissipated, the two stood confounded. Their pendants had somehow trans.m.u.ted into rings which were attached onto their ring fingers.

Reading the engravings and using System inspection, Itsuki could only glean negligible information.

[Ring of ???]

(The true effect can only be seen by your lover)

Lover?! Atlas was utterly bewildered. The System could not properly interpret the ring and it had even labeled a stranger as his lover. The downsides of keeping such a risky item were already showing. Did the d.a.m.n geezer intentionally do this?

For a whole minute, Itsuki tried to remove the enigmatic ring. It never budged and he even began to believe that it was just an illusion. He was slightly tempted to hack off his finger but that might've been too extreme. He finally decided to ask his ”lover”.

Kirei stood there in a daze while staring at the newly formed ring. It reminded her of an engagement ring and she then received a prompt.

[System Piece Ring Activated]

[Which ring will maintain visibility?]

She immediately chose Itsuki's as if her's had vanished then a misunderstanding might be avoided.

He decided to inspect her ring and surprisingly it worked.

[Ring of Resolve]

(Grants the user power and enables the user to go through many tribulations for their lover)

”Somehow, I can see your Ring's effect but not mine”, Itsuki said with a hint of irritation.

He then stretched out his hand for her to inspect. She grasped it and noticed that his hands were slender and soft despite being a swordsman. Clearly, he was quite handsome however that was concealed by the unique mask, she thought.

She then looked at his Ring and faintly blushed.

[Ring of Affection]

(Enables the user to take the initiative in his relations.h.i.+p and grants mental resilience towards vixens)

Not wanting to ensnare him, she said, ”I can see your's. It's called Ring of Resilience and calms the mind”

”I see.. Ring of Resolve and Resilience being in a pair makes sense”

He then remembered that he still had his Mask on. How terrifying, Atlas thought. The Concealment Mask could even cause its owner to forget its existence.

Taking off the Concealment Mask, he then stretched out his hand towards her.

”Your grandfather has entrusted me to help you”

Similar to how Itsuki gazed at her, she gazed at him albeit more pa.s.sionately. As his face was hidden by the mysterious mask, she couldn't detect his general outline or even his actual voice.

Even though she suspected that he was handsome, the truth was shocking to her.

Now that the device was removed, his unveiled visage stunned her. He had black hair the color of obsidian and somehow seemed to glisten. His crimson eyes exuded profundity which matched his calm demeanor and he possessed a countenance which could defy the heavens.