Inside the part of Ardoros Continent belonging to the Devereaux Family, a small event that occurred half an hour ago left an indelible mark in form of broken building.
“This confirms your participation, Young Master,” the old man finally changed the way he referred to Ryuk’s title, standing outside the hall once known as the Flagbearer Confirmation section, now turned into rubble.
“Thank you, I will definitely remember your request,” Ryuk looked at a small mark embedded in his wrist, a seed-like tattoo which glowed when mana was added to it.
“Young Master, that seed represents the Devereaux Bloodline, which grows with time without any bounds,” the old man pointing towards his wrist informed him about the reason for the seed being the Flagbearer’s Insignia, a smile visible due to the young man’s calm personality.
Naturally, he was the head of this Flagbearer Confirmation Section, providing Insignia to selected Flagbearers. Not everyone, but some individuals get blinded by enormous strength, making them develop a weakness which could lead to death in a battle where not only an individual but veterans of branch families will take part.
Even going as far as using cannon fodders who have the Devereaux Bloodline to kill strong Flagbearers by making them target such individuals and trigger the Bloodline’s drawback, a simple way to deal with young men with irrational thinking.
But this young man never once showed arrogance or such an attitude, even after possessing such tremendous strength, making the old man reconsider his approach.
“Young Master, how about I tell you more about my granddaughter?” Seeing the young man’s eyes fixed on the seed in his hand, the old man tried to seize the opportunity to somehow have this seed in his possession before it could become a humongous tree and overshadow whole Ardoros.
“…I appreciate your words, but I would like to excuse myself,” Ryuk, already having obtained the Insignia, didn’t want to delay any longer, ignoring the old man’s attempt to set him up with his granddaughter. He turned towards Regina, asking, “Where is Lady Drishti?”
“She said she needed to bring something,” Regina informed about the last message she received from Drishti before she left, after her declaration of him surpassing our founding ancestor or something.
“I see,” Ryuk nodded before turning his attention towards the Insignia while focusing on his *Shunya*, towards that small area.
[ Host, wouldn’t it be a problem ]
Hearing the system’s voice, Ryuk understood the reason for its suggestion about the drawback of cutting off the Insignia’s energy with its functions.
The Insignia was a mark that warned when any Flagbearer was within a mile distance, alerting for the preparation of battle with some additional functions like address locator, voice communication, and a transfer star.
The transfer star would only trigger when one Flagbearer died, sending the Insignia which stored that individual’s name to his killer’s Insignia.
Finally, after the end of the Heir battle, everyone returns to Ardoros and uses it to display their number of kills to rise in rankings.
Right now, Ryuk was isolating the Insignia from revealing his location, cutting communication from other Flagbearers, but the drawback was that he was shutting down all the functions, including the Transfer Star.
‘I will free it when I kill a Flagbearer,’ Ryuk told the system about allowing the Insignia to function for a limited time when he would deal with a Flagbearer.
SWISH
With a soft ripple in the air, a figure started to materialize with a soft smile adorning her face, with eyes of deep amber shade adorned with long eyelashes, adding to her beauty.
“Hm, take this Ryuk, It was your birthday right?” Drishti offered a black masquerade mask to him, looking exactly the same as Regina’s but hers was white and this one was dark black.
“But, it was 23 days ago,” Ryuk reminded himself about turning 17 years old after sleeping for a whole 5 years and 8 months when he was just 11 years and 4 months.
“I had guessed according to the last time Alisia went out from here. Whatever, wear it,” Drishti revealed her information being based on his usual birth time and the last time Alisia departed from Ardoros.
“….I don’t think, only I need a mask,” Ryuk stated while looking towards the woman who wanted him to hide his face, despite having a beauty which was not less than 92, let alone in his sealed state where it reached 98.
Those words from Ryuk became an opportunity for Drishti to push him further, stating, “Do you really think I am that beautiful?”
‘…..’ Ryuk blankly looked at her, seeing through her intentions but choosing to keep his inner desires within. He replied, “Lady Drishti, I may be unknown to others, but you are a native of Ardoros. There are chances of people recognizing you.”
Of course, he knew that all three of them carried amber eyes, different in shades but still screaming their identity as Devereaux members.
“My Liege, Lady Drishti is famous for sleeping all day. She has never once ventured outside Ardoros. As for me, I am the commander of my battalion. I do not leave unless there is eradication of any race,” Regina interjected, not missing the chance to mock Drishti. She added, “But rest assured, I am aware of each race and location.”
“…. It’s good to hear,” Ryuk nodded before glancing towards Drishti, who seemed disappointed despite not showing any expression on her face, as if she had missed something important.
‘What is the function of this mask, system?’ Ryuk inquired, already aware that the mask given by Drishti couldn’t be a mere show piece.
[ Scanning…]
DING!
╔═══━━━──── • ─────━━━═══╗
Artifact name Noir (Celestial Grade)
Ability: Nourishing one’s Soul
Counterpart of artifact named Blanc (Celestial Grade)
Ability: Preserving one’s soul
Current owner: Regina Devereaux
╚═══━━━──── • ─────━━━═══╝
‘!?’
‘As expected from someone like her,’ Seeing the information, Ryuk couldn’t help but be reminded of Drishti’s strength, who was giving away such high-grade Artifacts.
Meaning, Mundane Grade < Earth Grade < Celestial Grade < Heaven Grade. This was the power system of Artifacts, showing how much value this mask in his hand held. Yet, Drishti had two of them, one she gave to Regina and the other to him. Which also clarified the reason for their familiarity with each other. "Are you using Appraisal on it?" "Sorry?" Ryuk, coming out of his thoughts, turned towards the source of the voice, looking at the woman whose narrowed gaze spoke volumes— She had just been rejected one of her theories. Meaning, she guessed that he was using an ability specific for Appraisal, and his confused reaction, caused by being entangled in thoughts, confirmed her suspicion that it wasn't that ability. "Hm, So, what could it be?" Drishti, observing the young man who seemed composed now, tried to understand the way he was able to discern someone's identity or analyze Artifacts. 'Did she just...', Ryuk, aware of her tendency to go to any length to fulfill her interests, understood. She intentionally gave him this mask to keep him thinking about its rarity while confirming her suspicions— a mere loss for her interests. Putting her speculation aside for another time, Drishti's eyes met Ryuk's, with a soft smile inquiring, "So, Ryuk, where do you want to go first?" Ryuk, hearing her words, reciprocated her smile before stating, "Isn't it obvious, Lady Drishti, Let's go to your bedroom first."
