[DING]
[FAMILIAR AFFECTION INCREASED: 10%]
Amelia quickly turned her head away from Minato face, fiddling with the edge of the oversized black t-shirt he had lent her.
"Don't be ridiculous, Minato," she stammered, taking two steps backward. Her voice lacked its usual commanding tone and force.
She cleared her throat a few times and regained a fraction of her poise, adopting her cold, aristocratic tone. "I am Amelia Alexander Earhart, the Third Daughter of the Demon Lord! And I am not 'blushing.' That was... simply an adverse reaction to the sudden drop in atmospheric pressure caused by your desperate movements. And... and I'm not playing with my hair! I am simply assessing the structural integrity of this strand."
(Yapping)
"Ehh..." Minato tilted his head, looking at her in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing in bafflement. "I never said you were blushing."
Amelia froze in her tracks, her hand still clutching the edge of the T-shirt. "Y-You...!"
A slow and teasing grin spread across Minato's face. "But now that you mention it… You really are kind of red."
He leaned forward slightly; his tone was deliberately playful. "Does the Demon Lord's Daughter really get embarrassed this easily?"
Her bright red eyes widened for a moment before narrowing slowly.
Then she snapped her head to the side with a loud "Hmph!" and crossed her arms on her breast, though her fingers were still twitching against the shirt fabric.
"Do not flatter yourself, Minato," she declared while pointing at him, her voice straining between pride and fluster. "This is merely… a temporary reaction. Once I've adjusted to this realm's oxygen levels, it will vanish completely!"
"Hmm, sure, sure," Minato responded with a loud chuckle, clearly enjoying himself. "I guess I'll just have to keep checking your oxygen levels, then."
Amelia's jaw tightened, her cheeks betraying her words with an even deeper shade of pink.
"You… insufferable Asian."
She turned away quickly, trying to cover her flustered expression, placing the Realm of Eternity book on the bedside table with a rough gesture.
Minato said nothing for seconds. He watched her silently, noticing the tension in her shoulders and the way she avoided looking directly at him.
Her bright red eyes stayed fixated on the book, as though the table itself had suddenly become more interesting than anything else in his apartment.
The faint pink blush on her cheeks still hadn't faded yet.
Minato then leaned forward slightly, furrowing his eyebrows.
Out of the corner of his eye, through his apartment window, he noticed something strange outside... the clouds above Shibuya...
...were suddenly glowing.
A dark purple light spread across the sky and clouds, staining the ordinary gray clouds.
"What the hell is going on…" he muttered, squinting to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.
Amelia finally turned toward the window; her earlier blushes and embarrassment were completely gone, and her expression instantly hardened.
"Minato, that light…" she whispered, almost to herself. Then, louder, looking out the window: "It's a summoning breach. Something... or someone... is forcing open a portal to this realm."
Her red eyes narrowed in response to the purple glowing light.
"If left unchecked, that breach will drag more than just one monster thro..." before she could finish her explanation, the purple light opened a massive portal in the middle of Shibuya. It was glitching as if it were alive, sending a chill crawling down Minato's spine.
[DING]
[NEW OBJECTIVE: CLEAR AND DESTROY PORTALS]
[PORTALS DETECTED: 3/3]
[STATUS: CLEARED 0/3]
[PORTAL 1: Northern District, Shibuya Riverbanks]
[Systematical Condition: Stable. Moderate demon activity detected. Estimated Rank E–D creatures.]
[PORTAL 2: Eastern Commercial Zone, Near Shibuya University]
[Systematical Condition: Unstable. Energy readings are fluctuating. Estimated Rank D–C creatures. Host risk: HIGH.]
[PORTAL 3: Mountain Viewpoint, Hokkaido (Residential Block 12)]
[Systematical Condition: Critical. Breach is expanding rapidly. Estimated Rank ??? Creature imminent. Host risk: EXTREME.]
[REWARD FOR COMPLETION: +2 Rank Advancement, Access to More Vampiric Abilities Upgrade, More information about the ETERNITY SYSTEM]
[PENALTY FOR FAILURE: Host Death, Familiar death or Banishment, Realm Contamination]
[Time Remaining Before Full Breach: 168 Hours, 41 Minutes, 09 Seconds]
The Eternity System translucent screen floated in front of Minato's face; the dim red light mixing with the purple-colored cloud outside was reflecting in his eyes.
"Penalty for failure…" he murmured, breathing fast as he read the instructions.
Then his eyes froze on the end of the screen.
"Host death…!" Minato shouted out loud, his voice echoing in his small apartment.
He grabbed his chest tightly, panic flooding him as if the words had already taken effect.
He stumbled toward the desk, subconsciously grabbing his phone with trembling hands. His fingers tapped clumsily on the screen as he searched online...
"168 hours… 168 hours…"
The answer immediately popped up in the search engine.
(7 days)
His eyes widened, his throat started going dry. "One week…" he whispered loudly, his voice breaking. "I have just one week."
"Are you fucking kidding me…?" Minato's voice cracked as the weight of it all came crashing down on him. "I just wanted to sit at home and read my favorite novel…"
He slapped his face while laughing in despair, "And now look at me. Giants, Elves, vampires, System, death marks… all because of you."
His voice broke, louder this time. "You ruined everything, you old bitch. If I'd never met you that night... if I'd just gone straight home from my night shift... none of this shit would've happened!"
While he was lamenting, Amelia stood by the window in silence. Both her arms were crossed on her breast; her red eyes were following his every move. Her facial expression was unreadable.
She said nothing to him, only observing his panic attack with a calmness that almost felt unnatural.
"Minato," Amelia called out to him at last; her tone was somewhat cold but not devoid of all emotion. "I don't know what you saw that made you start panicking… but I don't think you'll be able to solve this problem by panicking."
"You don't understand." He exclaimed while biting his lips.
"Excuse me, I don't understand... Really?" Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Do you think I asked for this?" she shot back. All his apartment windows started shaking. "You think I wanted to be dragged into your Realm, and be bound by a spell I never agreed to nor heard of?!"