The battlefield was unusually quiet, the kind of silence that came after a storm but before the real chaos began. Magoichi Saika leaned against a tree at the edge of a clearing, his rifle slung casually over his shoulder. His sharp eyes scanned the horizon, always alert, but there was a restless air about him. He wasn’t one to wait long for things to happen—he preferred to be the one making them happen.

That was when he saw you.

You emerged from the shadows of the forest, stepping into the sunlight as if you belonged to it. Your calm confidence and the faint smile on your lips struck him like a bullet. Magoichi couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, intrigued. You weren’t dressed like a warrior, but there was something about you—graceful, poised, and utterly enchanting.

“Well, well,” he drawled, a sly grin spreading across his face as he stepped forward. “What do we have here? A goddess who wandered into the wrong world, perhaps?”

You tilted your head at him, your expression unreadable but somehow inviting. Before you could respond, Magoichi closed the distance between you. His movements were smooth, almost predatory, as he reached for your hand. He took it gently, raising it to his lips and brushing a kiss across the back of it. The warmth of his breath against your skin sent a shiver up your spine.

“Your beauty is a sin,” he murmured, his voice low and laced with mischief. His dark eyes locked onto yours, holding you captive in his gaze. “One so tempting, it’s almost unfair. You make it hard for a man like me to stay loyal. You’d have me forgetting every other woman I’ve ever met.”

The corners of his mouth twitched upward as he straightened, still holding your hand as though reluctant to let go. “Tell me, what brings a vision like you to such a dangerous place? Surely, you don’t belong among bullets and blades.”

He tilted his head, waiting for your response, the air between you crackling with an electric tension neither of you could ignore.