14 Soulseeker (1/2)
”Here's the shop”, Kirei said before motioning Itsuki to head into the shop with her.
He followed silently while wearing the Concealment Mask. She had insisted that he wear it or many maidens would swoon and covet him. Hearing this Itsuki laughed in disbelief. She clearly forgot the stigma a.s.sociated with being a Darkblood and how much people fear Darkbloods.
Along their journey through the town, Itsuki noticed that Kirei had plenty of admirers. Seems that she is unaware of her own beauty, Atlas thought. It made sense though as throughout most of her life, she was shunned and had muck undermine her beauty. It would be difficult to develop any vanity after being treated as undesirable for so long.
He stepped closer to her as if to form a barrier against the lecherous curs who dared to have designs on her.
Apparently, his presence was quite daunting as Domination combined with Concealment Mask created an aura akin to a great demon. It immediately made oglers turn away and deterred those who had wanted to make moves on her. How could they dare to offend a family that could hire such an oppressive guard?
After consulting the merchant, she asked Itsuki for a few demon carca.s.ses. He furtively grabbed a bunch from the s.p.a.cial Ring and threw them towards the merchant.
The merchant crouched to inspect the corpses and exclaimed in delight, ”Ooh! These are really good. The demons aren't battered which increases the quality of the meat”
He immediately turned towards the masked individual but slightly hesitated when faced with the great pressure.
”...Someone as strong as you.. Do you have anymore of these?”
Itsuki nodded before he then asked after noticing the variety of products which the store sold.
Pointing at one sign which said,
Sanguine Gra.s.s Crab
, he asked, ”Demons are edible?”
The merchant then pridefully struck his fist against his chest and enthusiastically nodded.
”Of course! Even if some demons look disgusting, many of them can be considered hidden delicacies”
He then began to ramble about the different kinds of demons and which ones were delectable, which ones were only edible, and which ones required special preparation methods. Some of them could be used as medicine, some could be used as poison, while others were purely for enjoyment. Atlas inwardly grinned as he began to think of the variety of poisons he could ingest and gain immunity towards.
The Sanguine Gra.s.s Crab's flavor could be considered barely inferior to King Crab and was more chewy. The merchant then continued to go through the flavor of various demons before mentioning legendary demons which he would never hope to be able to taste but couldn't help having the desire to. A few of the many he mentioned were the Flaming Warhorse which had an amazing smoky flavor which also made one resistant to high temperatures and the Ingrained Soulseeker which every female desired.
Hearing this, Kirei immediately asked him to elaborate.
”Ooh! As expected, an ojou-sama like yourself would definitely be interested in this. The Ingrained Soulseeker is a demon with a pearl as its core. Legend says that if you mark the pearl with your blood, it changes color based on the closest person to you. Your soulmate will change the pearl's color to iridescent. If they are your soulmate then the pearl will react and release unique pheromones which repelled everyone other than your companion. The effect only stops if your soulmate also marks the pearl with their blood. Once that happens, the pearl splits in two and can be ingested”
”What happens after it is eaten?”, Atlas asked. It wasn't everyday that he heard of edible jewelry. The flavor might be exquisite.
”I heard that when both take it, part of their souls are exchanged. It binds the two's fate together and can be used to avoid death. I doubt it's real to be honest”
Kirei couldn't help but secretly glance at Itsuki while listening about the Ingrained Soulseeker.
A pearl that binds souls? Interesting, Atlas thought. Could it have any relation to soul energy? This world proved that souls existed and he could even use souls as a subst.i.tute for magic. That pearl might be good for finding subordinates.
As Atlas entertained the many uses of an Ingrained Soulpearl, Kirei memorized the description of the Ingrained Soulseeker.
”What do you think of soulmates?”, Kirei asked curious of Itsuki's opinion.
”Slightly intriguing. The concept isn't farfetched as souls do exist”, he indifferently replied.
”Anyways, do you have any silk?”, he asked the shopkeeper.
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Underneath the collapsed Fallen PaG.o.da, hordes of demons congregated in the recesses of a deep ravine. To the front of them lay a giant torii with spiritual fluctuations. As with every torii, it was red but this one lacked sanct.i.ty and the red resembled the color of dried blood.
At the center of the torii was an upright whirlpool which refused to still. It emanated an aura of trepidation, suffering, and despair. The purple hue of the whirlpool signified a connection with Purgatory which was currently fragmented into 5 shards. Half of Purgatory went to the Diabolic One while the remaining eighths went to the 4 Demon Dukes.