Chapter 185: First Encounter—An Extreme Chuunibyou Show-Off
"Damn it, damn! You little brat, stop looking down on us!"
The bandits swarmed forward like madmen, brandishing their weapons as they charged at Yukime.
But to Yukime, this was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.
Her elegant figure flickered through the crowd, her geta clacking as if performing a sacred kagura dance. Yet with each swing of her folding fan, she took a life.
Even outside her direct attack range, the wind blades she unleashed were enough to tear them apart.
Unstoppable.
Merciless!
And there was no need for mercy—the number of bandits they had eliminated over these past months was countless, including once wiping out a large bandit group of about three hundred people.
Yukime's rate of improvement could be described as miraculous, completely different from when they first met.
She had even grown a second tail, like a nekomata.
Her rapid growth in strength was partly driven by her thirst for revenge, fueled by hatred, and partly due to her exceptional natural talent.
It seemed fox demons weren't as bad at fighting as she claimed...
"Master, this humble one has completed the cleanup as you requested."
While he was lost in thought, Yukime had already eliminated all the bandits, leaving no survivors.
"Mhm, well done."
Mahiro stroked her silver bob-cut hair, and Yukime slightly narrowed her eyes in enjoyment.
Her tail wagged back and forth behind her, expressing her happiness like a puppy.
Even though she's a fox...
But it had to be said, these bandits were wealthier than the previous groups they encountered.
When he lifted the lid of the chest, it was filled with various gems and gold, even artworks, food, and... several merchant corpses?
Several merchants had their throats slit in their carriages.
Oh, so they had just robbed them and hadn't divided the spoils yet. That explained it.
Mahiro waved his hand and stored everything directly into his ring.
Although he could create these things himself, where was the fun in that compared to looting and plundering?
Especially when taking from bandits—he felt no guilt whatsoever.
Just then, Yukime saw something that made her scream in fright.
"What's wrong?"
"M-Master, please come look at this..."
Yukime tremblingly pointed at a cage in the corner covered with a cloth. From how the corners were securely fastened, it was clear the cloth had been deliberately placed there.
Moreover, the cage seemed particularly sturdy, as if they were afraid of either seeing what was inside or afraid of whatever was inside escaping.
What in the world could it be?
Mahiro walked over and lifted the curtain, his pupils suddenly contracting sharply.
"Holy shit!"
He was startled too.
To be honest, given his courage, there were very few things that could scare him, unless it was truly terrifying.
So, he tried lifting the curtain again.
Under the quiet moonlight, the unidentified object in the cage revealed its true form.
It was a mass of squirming flesh. Though one could barely make out a human shape, it was indeed a mass of flesh.
The facial features had all shifted positions, making it impossible to recognize its original form.
But it was still alive, with surprisingly vigorous vitality.
It felt like the form one would take after losing all sanity points in Cthulhu.
"Could there be Cthulhu in this world too?"
Mahiro instinctively scanned with his "Eye of the Spirit," immediately analyzing the truth of this flesh lump from the information body.
"?"
That's right—it was an elf.
The stereotypical elf of legend: pointed ears, golden hair, blue eyes, fair skin, preferring to live in forests, and generally possessing great magical power.
But for some reason, the mana within this elf was in an uncontrollable state.
Perhaps this was the fundamental reason it had suddenly turned into such a flesh lump.
After all, although the use of mana in this world was crude, the methods were somewhat interesting.
They infused mana into their physical bodies, enabling people to become strong enough to shatter giant rocks or run with swift, flying steps.
Similarly, if mana went out of control, it would cause irreversible damage to the physical body.
And most crucially, this elf's appearance seemed somewhat familiar?
However, just as he was pondering where he had seen this elf before, an unexpected intruder burst into the area.
"Master!"
Yukime immediately became alert, gazing toward the direction of the empty avenue, her folding fan slowly opening. On the path leading to the dark, dense forest, shrouded in night, it seemed as if something was there...
"Ah, I've found it."
Mahiro shifted his gaze from the flesh lump and slowly stood up.
"Since you're here, why not show yourself? Planning a sneak attack?"
"..."
Low laughter echoed from the darkness.
At the end of the path, a pitch-black figure appeared, walking gracefully toward them.
Black ankle boots, black trousers, a black inner shirt, and a black overcoat—everything was black, with only a few gold accents. The outfit could perfectly blend into the night.
The figure wasn't very tall; in fact, it was somewhat too short.
But the hood was so oversized that it was impossible to see what the person looked like.
Even Mahiro's "Eye of the Spirit" couldn't analyze it.
Because the analysis result was—
"Slime?"
That's right—that soft, blob-like creature was completely covering the person's body, acting like a protective shield.
It was somewhat similar to the Kudou Family's "Parade" usage, but much more tightly sealed.
This was the first time he had seen such a precise and interesting method, completely different from the locals.
Mahiro's lips curled into a smile of interest, and the other party's footsteps came to a halt.
Then, they slowly spread their arms toward him.
"Well, well, thieves, business must be good. Hand over all the money you've got."
Yukime: "..."
Mahiro: "..."
A thief robbing thieves?
That was the first thought that crossed Mahiro's mind.
Unbeknownst to him, the other party was thinking the same.
They mistook Mahiro for a thief robbing other thieves, after all, this band of thieves' hideout was quite hidden—it had taken even them a long investigation to find it.
So, thieves—robbing them was fair game.
But female thieves were quite rare...
"Master, let me take care of them."
"No, I'll handle this one myself."
Yukime's eyes turned slightly cold as she prepared to strike, but Mahiro immediately stopped her.
Regarding this suspicious individual who had suddenly appeared before them, combined with the earlier elf, he already had some suspicions.
Thus, he revealed a friendly smile and asked the other party: "What if I refuse?"
"Then there's no helping it. This is a perfect opportunity to test the functions of my new tactical gear."
After speaking, a wriggling motion could be seen in the other party's hand, slowly outlining a slender black sword.
Thud!
The short boots forcefully stomped the ground as they charged toward him at high speed.
The speed was immense.
Even if Erika had activated an acceleration spell, she would likely struggle to keep up.
But—
He wasn't Erika, after all...
Clang!
The slender black sword descending toward his head was blocked—by a web of fine threads. Upon impact, sparks scattered, and the sound of clashing metal rang out.
Even though the sword the other used was composed of Slime, even though this guy's threads appeared no different from ordinary strings.
How interesting!
Both the figure in black and Mahiro slowly revealed smiles—the kind born of battle.
Immediately after, the two engaged in a storm-like battle.
Though that wasn't entirely accurate—only the figure in black unleashed a storm of attacks.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Haaaaaa!"
The figure in black swung the black sword with wild abandon, creating afterimages, while Mahiro merely defended, not even attempting to counterattack.
Not that he couldn't, but he didn't want to—there was no need. It was like a cat toying with a mouse.
Throughout the entire process, he didn't retreat a single step, remaining firmly in place. Every time the sword descended, he merely flicked his fingers, and the threads instantly wove into a protective net to block it.
These threads were made from the body hair of the cloud dragon he had hunted in the Akame ga Kill world—a Teigu that belonged solely to him. Coincidentally, in this world, he had also learned the ability to infuse objects with magical energy.
Thus, there was no need to worry about the threads being severed.
The only issue was that the process was somewhat boring, to the point where he had started yawning.
"Master is... so incredible..."
Yukime was utterly mesmerized by the battle before her.
This kind of scene, this level of combat—it was her first time witnessing it. She even felt that if she were to step into the fray, she would likely be instantly killed.
Yet her master could effortlessly handle the opponent's attacks.
Truly, as expected of her master!
However, the figure in black soon halted their assault.
"What's wrong? Not continuing? Is it over already?"
"Ha, don't get cocky! Try this move!"
The other party seemed exhilarated, even revealing a youthful voice.
The black sword was shifted to their waist, assuming a stance reminiscent of a draw cut. At the same time, beneath the dark hood, a pair of crimson pupils and a delighted smirk became visible.
To think that in the Slime's debut battle, they would encounter such an exhilarating boss fight—this was truly the essence of being a shadow ruler!
Swish—
In an instant, taking no more than 0.1 seconds, they unleashed a draw cut.
This draw cut was somewhat different from a typical iaido strike—the Slime softened and splashed out like water, transforming into a blade of darkness as it surged forward.
But did any of this really matter?
Mahiro once again hooked his finger, weaving another large net before him to block the opponent's draw slash.
That should have been the case, yet the next moment, the draw slash actually passed through his net!
To be precise, it was split by the threads into countless smaller slashes that surged toward him.
"Tch, such boring tricks."
With a casual kick, Mahiro sent a long sword from a nearby corpse flying up and caught it with one hand.
Simultaneously, he turned his head and said to Yukime:
"Don't blink during this next strike.
How much you can learn depends entirely on your own talent."
"Yes, this humble one understands, Master!"
Yukime nodded excitedly.
Was Master about to reveal his true power?!
Just as thousands of pitch-black flying blades assaulted them, the long sword in Mahiro's hand suddenly radiated a dazzling light, blazing like flames, even more brilliant than moonlight!
This was a phenomenon that only occurred when immense magical power condensed.
Then, he swung it down fiercely before him.
Whoosh—
With that single strike, all fell silent.
As if time had frozen, even the night wind blowing through the forest ceased abruptly.
And in the very next instant—
A white light erupted abruptly. The flying pitch-black blades, along with the long sword in his hand, were instantly annihilated. The pure white magical power transformed into countless blade edges, stirring up a fierce gale that counterattacked.
The blade energy swept across the ground, carving out countless terrifying, abyssal scars upon the earth.
The storm charged straight into the forest, destroying countless trees as if intending to pierce through the woods.
"Ahhhhhhhhh—!"
The black-clad figure at the storm's epicenter let out piercing screams, as if struck down by the heavy sword wind.
Yet, he clearly hadn't been blown away by the sword wind.
What terrible acting.
Mahiro dropped the remaining sword hilt and silently watched the other's performance.
After all, despite the grand spectacle, this strike hadn't even used half of his strength.
He estimated that if he had used about twenty percent of his power, this youth would likely be truly doomed.
Beyond even the King of Hell's ability to save.
"Just kidding~"
The black-clad figure suddenly climbed up from the ground nonchalantly, continuing his act.
"O mighty one, I particularly admire this strike of yours. Excellent, truly magnificent! I permit you to state your name."
Mahiro: "..."
The corner of his eye twitched involuntarily, but he let out a slight sigh and said, "Yotsuba Mahiro."
"Hmm, Yotsuba Mahiro... I shall remember thy name. I am Shadow, he who lurks in the shadows, hunting shadows!"
"O mighty one, until we meet again!!"
Having said this, the self-proclaimed Shadow turned and leaped away, disappearing into the forest.
So it really was this guy...
This level of chuunibyou speech was probably exceptionally rare even across the entire anime world.
Indeed, if his memory served him right, this fellow called Shadow's real name should be Cid Kagenou, the famous newly-ascended king of pretension, a severe chuunibyou patient.
Everything he did was either for showing off or preparing to show off.
Despite possessing power enough to crush the world, he was content to play an extra, an ordinary person on the surface, never fighting back even when bullied.
An absolute eccentric.
"Master, is it really alright to let that suspicious person go like that?" Yukime stepped forward and asked with concern.
"Ah, it's fine. I know that guy. Though he's a complete weirdo personality-wise, he's not fundamentally bad."
You could just call him willful—self-centeredly willful. The type who'd use anyone to accomplish his grand posing ambitions.
But if this guy is Cid Kagenou, then this world must definitely be "The Eminence in Shadow."
If that's the case, then isn't Yukime one of the three leaders of the Lawless City in the future?
And that mass of flesh...
"Never mind, let's deal with this flesh mass first."
"Eh?"
Yukime didn't understand his muttering at all, only watching as Mahiro walked to the cage, casually cut it open, then lifted out that grotesque, rotting mass of flesh and carried it toward a nearby dilapidated house.
At least there wasn't any strange smell.
"Master, wait! This humble one will help too!"
The little Yukime, snapping back to reality, pattered after him on her short legs, wooden sandals clacking.
Mahiro carried the flesh mass into the house and casually tossed it on the floor.
Surprisingly, not only did it squirm, it was quite bouncy too, actually bouncing several times after hitting the ground.
But what to do next?
Using "Regeneration" to restore it definitely wouldn't work.
Because Magical Power Outburst was mainly caused by losing control over internal magical power. While "Regeneration" could take effect, it would just turn back into a flesh mass again after recovery.
"Let me think... how was it done in the original work? I think it was about injecting magical power into the flesh mass."
Though he couldn't clearly remember the exact method, he decided to experiment with this approach anyway.
After all, even if it died, he could just bring it back.
So he placed his hand on the surface of the flesh mass and began transmitting magical power.
A massive flow of particles instantly surged in, causing the flesh mass to instantly swell to several times its original size, almost filling the entire house!
The rampaging magical power became even more violent, overflowing energy transforming into a particle storm that threatened to destroy everything.
"AAAAAAHHHH—"
Such screams even emerged from within.
"Could I have done it wrong? No, it must be a matter of dosage, right?"
Mahiro thought, then opened the valve wider, forcibly increasing the flesh mass's threshold for magical power.
He reasoned that if he raised the threshold high enough, the magical power would naturally stop going out of control, and it would return to normal.
To accomplish this, he even took out an Enhancement Drug fused with Tyrant's evolution genes and infused it into the mass along with the magical power.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
The screams continued for who knows how long before the Magical Power Outburst finally subsided.
The moment complete control was achieved, the flesh mass before them suddenly dissipated, replaced by a golden-haired loli elf appearing before them, exactly matching the intelligence descriptions.
Her flowing golden hair spread out magnificently like blooming lilies, cascading down as her body descended.
But just before she hit the ground, Mahiro caught her in his arms, simultaneously wrapping her skillfully in a blanket.
Behind him, Yukime was blinking her small eyes, watching the scene with a completely bewildered expression.
Just what had she witnessed?
She only knew that her master crouched before the fleshy mass, extending his hand to channel magic into it. As the mass swelled, she couldn't discern what he took out before stabbing it into the flesh.
Yet moments later, the fleshy mass vanished, transforming into a beautiful elven maiden?!!!!