Chương 102: A Wild Card
Ater was a Bakeneko.
It was a creature of utmost malevolence and deceit.
According to legends, it often caused mischief and wrought misfortune upon any land it trod.
Its desire was nothing beyond absolute chaos.
But now, under a Master it could not resist, the creature had been tamed.
Its will wss tied to its master, and for the first time… it had to follow an order.
"My true form…" Ater had no choice but to utter words of honesty to its master.
"… I can't remember."
As a creature of darkness and chaos, it had changed to so many forms that it couldn't even remember what it looked like from the beginning.
"I can be whatever you desire." Ater whispered, its head still bowed very low.
It could feel the weight of its master's gaze upon him.
No one needed to tell it before it could realize the gap in the abilities—how powerful its master truly was.
In a way, it came as a relief to the Absolute Beast.
At the very least, the one who subdued it—whom it was forced to call Master—was much stronger than it.
"I see. Take on another form, then. I don't feel very comfortable seeing you as a cat."
The Bakeneko nodded instantly.
It could feel that its master was being genuine with it, and so it had to obey.
It scoured its thoughts, searching for the perfect form to please its master.
The best thing that would make its master comfortable.
'I see…' The Absolute Beast grinned as it began its transformation.
Darkness swirled around its body like a mist, completely shrouding its full form as it began to grow in height and weight.
It lost its tail and fur, instead taking on the skin of a human.
Blood red hair danced on its humanoid head, and its eyes were now human.
Other than its slit pupil that looked like that of a cat, it had crimson irises, and the whites of its eyes were filled with blackness.
Then, its slender form began to grow some muscles, and its naked form was shrouded in a pure black suit.
It had black shoes, a black tie, and a completely darkened appearance.
Its skin was immaculate ebony, and from head to toe, it was sculpted to perfection.
Ater had become a handsome man, shrouded in mystery and a forbidden allure.
"Haaa…" Steamy white breaths escaped from his perfect lips as he stared at his master with a calm demeanor.
He fell to his knees and bowed his head almost immediately, expressing genuine respect to the being that transcended his absolute self.
"I hope this form pleases you well, Master."
Ater waited in silence as his Master didn't say or do anything.
'Did I do anything wrong?' He wondered, puzzled by the lack of response he was receiving.
Was he perhaps meant to turn into something else? Did his master find this form to be insufficient?
As Ater began to panic, he felt the overwhelming presence of his Master close in on him.
"M-Mast—!"
Before he could react, his shoulders were being held by the masked monarch before him.
He dared to raise his head and look upon his master's eyes. They were filled with an emotion Ater couldn't decipher.
"You've done well, Ater…" Was what his Master said.
There seemed to be some other emotion hidden within those words, but Ater could not understand them.
He could only nod and smile at his Master's kind words.
"Thank you, Master."
Thus, the creature of untold horror and carnage—now called Ater—became completely tamed by the man he would eventually know to be Rey Skylar.
*********
'He's too handsome!'
Those were Rey's initial thoughts when he saw Ater's appearance.
The man had a charm that exceeded most women and even trumped Adonis by far.
'He's the most handsome guy I've ever seen. What the heck?!'
Rey could only imagine what would have happened if Ater had transformed into a girl.
'I'm so thankful he didn't.'
Before Rey realized it, he had begun to address Ater as a male. It was at this point that he understood why Alicia decided to attribute feminine qualities to her Grand Beast.
Since it was convenient anyway, and Ater would be taking on this form for the duration of their interaction, Rey decided to go along with it.
"Rise to your feet." He commanded his new Familiar, and the latter obeyed instantly.
'He's taller than my form as Ralyks, and he appears to be in his early twenties. I suppose that's doable.'
There was no need to hide Ater's identity with a mask since he could always change it anytime.
Plus, whenever he was 'Rey', and didn't need Ater around, he could always send him on an errand or keep him in his Grand Inventory.
Anything like that...
'According to Alicia, you can only have one Familiar at a time, so it seems I'll be stuck with him for a while.'
Rey figured with Ater's abilities, he wouldn't be a liability to him at all.
Especially once he started to Level Up.
'His Alignment is still Chaotic Evil, so I can't let my guard down around him.'
As his Master, Rey knew Ater wouldn't harm him in any way. However, there were still other factors to consider.
'There's a chance he'll cause damage and destruction if I order him too carelessly or I don't supervise him too much.'
As Rey stole one more glance at Ater's smiling face, he couldn't help but think about a devil.
'Looks like I've got myself a wild card.'
It all depended on how he used him.
"Since you're my Familiar, there's no use hiding my identity from you." Rey sighed, removing his mask.
He revealed his face as Ralyks, causing Ater's smile to widen even more.
Rey felt like the man wanted to devour him, but based on the 'Bond' that they shared, he knew that Ater was simply happy.
"I am honored to gaze upon the face of your transformation."
Rey's eyes flickered a little as soon as he heard that.
"So you noticed?"
Ater nodded with a smile. "I wasn't sure if I was supposed to mention it, since I am not meant to question my Master in such a way."
Rey—his face still as Ralyks—narrowed his eyes and broadened his own smile.
"So why did you mention it?"
"I thought you could be testing me in some way. Also… by showing you my capabilities in perception, I felt you would grow to trust and depend on my abilities even more."
According to what Rey felt as a result of their 'Bond', he knew Ater was telling the truth.
He couldn't help but be impressed by his Familiar's intelligence and personality.
'Compared to that Rabbit, having someone like this is a lot more useful.'
Rey didn't regret his choice to choose the Absolute Tier for his Summon.
"I understand. Before I show you my real form, though, I'd like to ask you a question."
Ater bowed his head, showing subservience to him.
Rey then went ahead to ask;
"If I decided to kill you, right here and now, what would you do?"
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