A System That Beats Death

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 relationship 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.

She was entranced and took a while to recover.

"I"ll be in your care", she finally mumbled with a faint smile showing.

Itsuki did not catch the hidden smile and the hidden meaning behind her words.

He attempted to converse once again after that awkward moment but was interrupted by her growling stomach. She blushed in embarra.s.sment but he was noting that she seemed slightly emaciated. He sighed and brought out a pouch. He reached his hand into the pouch to conceal his s.p.a.cial Inventory and brought out a biscuit and a water skin.

She remembered that her hands were a bit unhygienic and hesitated. Itsuki uncapped the receptacle and poured crystal blue water on her hands.

After they were clean, she received the biscuit wrapped in a napkin.

Taking a bite out of the biscuit, she was surprised to find that it was still warm as if fresh out of the oven. Savoring the rich flavor, the biscuit melted in her mouth and she revealed an expression of ecstasy. The melted b.u.t.ter and pinch of salt delighted her taste buds along with texture akin to clouds which she did not believe food could possess.

Finishing the biscuit, she took a sip from the water skin. The water tasted slightly sweet not as if combined with sugar but as if it was from a spring which angels coveted.

She shyly asked for more which he gave without hesitation. Afterwards, he then asked about the pendant.

She revealed that she wasn"t the Holy Supremacy"s biological granddaughter but just someone he found on one of his many journeys. He had saved her after she was abandoned by her foster family and at the time of the encounter, she was surrounded by a demon horde and feeling hopeless. He decimated the demons and had seemed to believe their encounter was fated. He told her that the pendant was a way for her to meet someone special.

What the f.u.c.k? Atlas was definitely bewildered. How could the old monk have predicted his arrival. He had even attacked him during their first meeting but already foresaw their encounter over a decade ago?

"Where is he now?", Kirei asked with an expectant glint in her eyes.

Itsuki immediately dashed her hopes.

"Probably in h.e.l.l or something. I left him a weapon and he left soon after"

"A weapon? His Clan vowed to never use weapons"

"I doubt his Clan could have a restriction against my weapons", Itsuki said while snickering.

Even though he was proficient at crafting wooden swords, metal swords were a different story. After all, he was not a blacksmith and he had the Metalwork skill which was not identical to Forging. The weapon he gave to the Holy Supremacy was unconventional as it was a blade which weighed at least 40 kilograms and was enchanted with blood. An ordinary person could never wield it and Soul Energy was required to activate it.

The two talked a bit longer before Kirei began to yawn. She then went up to Itsuki and sniffed with a face which clearly expressed discontentment.

"How do you smell so nice and look so clean even though you"ve been in the woods?", she said as if she was somehow wronged.

She then sighed before saying, "It"s probably just the environment I was in"

Sniffing herself, her nose wrinkled as she hadn"t taken a bath in a while.

"It"s still night so you should forget about bathing in a river", Itsuki immediately interjected before Kirei was tempted to risk her life over something as trivial as body odor.

She frowned as she felt indignant. He was immaculate and hygienic while she had been locked in a room which was used for ritualistic ma.s.sacres.

She sighed as her hate for the nighttime grew along with her discomfort.

[System Piece Ring Activated]

[Task a.s.signed:

Objective: Bathe your lover

Reward: Tailoring D+]

A pseudo-system? Atlas was once again bewildered. It was great that he got another ent.i.ty that sent him quests however this one was far worse than his actual system. The quest was not even remotely related to resilence as shamelessness would be a more apt description. He briefly glanced at Kirei and questioned her judgement. They had barely met for a day and everything was already insinuating that they were lovers. Even so, he would not willingly bathe her as it would lower her impression of him and he had morals. Fortunately, he had a shortcut which was not perverted.

"Can you close your eyes and turn around?", Itsuki asked.

She was confused by the request but obliged.

As soon as she turned around, Itsuki unleashed a torrent of water which soaked her to the bone. The extent was to the point that she"d instantly contract the flu and her kimono clung to her body exposing all her curves.

He was briefly stunned but quickly emitted a pale green aura. The dirt, grime, and excessive moisture on her was instantly removed.

[Task Completed:

Tailoring D+ Acquired]

She then stared at him in shock as she experienced the sensation of being under a waterfall for a split second. Kirei then noticed that she was finally clean and thanked Itsuki.

"You should take one of the houses in the village. Their demon wards still work relatively well", Itsuki stated before pulling a futon out of thin air and laying it gently on the gra.s.s. He then laid in it and began to yawn.

Looking back at the village, she began to get unpleasant flashbacks and immediately decided against it. The futon looked quite comfortable and she swallowed her pride and asked if he had anymore.

Itsuki pulled out another one and handed it to her while indicating that she could place it wherever she wanted.

He then went into a deep sleep while Kirei stood over him.

His blood aura then released which would contest all ent.i.ties which he deemed hostile while he slept.

She felt that the blood aura was a bit creepy but somewhat cozy. She then stared at his sleeping form and thought that instead of being devilishly handsome, he was now quite cute with a peaceful expression and a lighthearted smile.

She then laid her futon next to his and went to sleep peacefully for the first time in years.