"Sigh..."
In the next moment, a sigh echoed beside Yue Dan's ear.
A chill suddenly ran down the back of the young werewolf. His gaze remained fixed ahead, yet the place where Takumi had stood moments before—he was no longer there.
Yue Dan quickly turned his eyes, only to see Takumi crouched beside Xue Ji, examining her condition.
"When did he move?!"
Yue Dan's pupils contracted as he instinctively gripped his broken blade.
But before he could react, an overwhelming wave of terrifying magic energy surged toward him.
"Ah!"
An intense pain engulfed his body. It felt like every bone had shattered. Yue Dan had no idea what hit him—his body was blasted backward like a cannonball.
The house collapsed, dust rose in a cloud, and Yue Dan lay crumpled in the debris, barely clinging to life.
"Don't worry."
Takumi reassured him, "I held back. I already calculated the force—you won't die."
With SR-level magic control, Takumi wielded his power like an extension of himself. While he couldn't yet flick away ants without hurting them, he had full confidence in holding back enough to not kill Yue Dan.
Takumi didn't know who this Yue Dan was. But he sure talked a lot—mentioning secret medicines, cults—clearly, he knew quite a bit.
Takumi decided to keep him alive for interrogation.
As for Xue Ji, after a careful examination, Takumi found that the sword strike had not only torn through her back but had also reached her spine and heart.
"Brutal. That was a definite kill strike."
He sighed. "Fortunately, I can heal this."
Silver-white magic streamed from Takumi's palm, transforming into fine threads under his control.
The silver threads burrowed into Xue Ji's wounds, stitching up her damaged heart. At the same time, he stimulated her cells with magic to induce rapid regeneration.
In this world, magic was incredibly versatile. Not only could it be used in combat, defense, analysis, and sensing, but even for materializing flesh and blood from nothing.
As for the severed spine, the silver-white magic began to materialize, replicating bone marrow and nerves, then reconstructing the missing parts.
'So warm...'
Feeling Takumi's magic, Xue Ji felt like she was bathing in a hot spring. Though she lay in the freezing snow, a deep peace and comfort washed over her.
Before long, her wounds had fully healed.
Takumi retracted his magic and helped Xue Ji to her feet under her dazed and amazed gaze.
"M-my body... Am I dreaming?"
The pain she'd felt was real—she was sure of that. But after such a grievous injury, she was alive, standing.
Was this even possible?
"Who are you really...?"
Though Xue Ji didn't know why Takumi saved her, he was undeniably her savior, and the white fox girl etched that deeply in her heart.
Takumi didn't hide anything. He told her everything—his origins and his purpose.
The destruction of Misty Fog Village, how he brought Momiji and the others to the Fox Village seeking refuge, only to find this massacre.
"I've let you down, Lord Takumi."
Xue Ji bowed respectfully, her fox ears drooping in sorrow and guilt. "As you can see, our village has been invaded. We can barely protect ourselves."
She then began to look around for Yue Dan.
Unfortunately, Takumi's earlier blow had flung him far away. He now lay unconscious several dozen meters off.
"You seemed to know him, so I held back."
Takumi explained, and Xue Ji clenched her fists silently.
She understood—he was giving her a chance to take her revenge.
"His name is Yue Dan. Son of the Wolf Village chief. Also, my fiancé."
But—her mother had been murdered. That blood feud was irreconcilable.
No matter the reason, no matter the relationship, this left only one path: fight to the death.
"Take your revenge. Then come with us."
Takumi had arrived too late—the only remaining magical signatures in the village were from the invading beastmen.
Some had fled, though.
Using magic, Takumi marked the escapees for later tracking. Since he had already decided to protect Momiji and the others, a few dozen more beastmen made no difference.
"I will follow your lead."
Xue Ji didn't ask Takumi for help in her revenge. She understood the nature of this slaughter. The attackers came from two major beastmen villages—enemies of them meant enemies of the entire eastern and western tribes.
To drag Takumi into that mess would be unforgivable.
Xue Ji despised traitors above all.
"There'll be a chance in the future."
Those words made Xue Ji's eyes light up. Silently, she followed him, her heart swelling with gratitude.
Takumi didn't plan to interfere in beastman politics.
But Xue Ji could.
If she chose revenge, he wouldn't stop her. The destruction of Fox Village by the eastern and western tribes warranted retribution.
Takumi wasn't some Buddhist monk who preached about endless cycles of vengeance.
Even if he were, he couldn't represent the dead.
"He's just ahead."
Soon, under Takumi's lead, they found Yue Dan lying unconscious.
Sharp claws shimmered into view in Xue Ji's hands. The magic flowing from her made it clear—they could rip out a werewolf's throat in an instant.
"Goodbye, Yue Dan."
Recalling all their past memories, then seeing the devastation around her and remembering her mother's death—tears rolled down Xue Ji's cheeks.
Her hand plunged into Yue Dan's chest before the tears hit the ground, crushing his heart.
Takumi didn't think she was cruel.
If one could forgive their mother's killer, Takumi would find that disgusting.
Besides, Yue Dan had just tried to kill her.
As for information gathering, with so many beastmen in the village, at least a few should know the details.
In fact, during that short time, Takumi had already picked up several keywords like "cult" and "secret medicine" through his magically-enhanced hearing.
"Sorry you had to see me like this."
Xue Ji stood, her blood-soaked clothes clinging to her trembling hands, emotions far from calm.
"Sigh\~\~"
Takumi shook his head. He could only lament how brutal this new world was.
Where exactly had he ended up?
He finally found people he could talk to, only to witness one village massacre after another.
Was this world really that cruel?
'So this is another world...?'
Takumi sighed, 'It's a bit terrifying.'
"Hmm?"
Just as he was preparing to leave with Xue Ji, Takumi suddenly stopped.
"Someone's coming."
At that moment, a foreign magic signature entered his perception.
It was fast.
One moment it was outside the village, the next, it had already arrived and was rapidly approaching.
"Incredibly fast."
Before Takumi could identify the newcomer, multiple magic signatures suddenly vanished.
Takumi frowned, "Did an expert from the eastern or western tribes make a move?"
The vanished signatures were the adult beastmen invaders.
'No, something's off.'
Why would those tribes kill their own?
If not them—then who?
'The cult?'
Takumi remembered what Yue Dan had said. 'This cult must be something else, to send such a powerful person.'
Though they hadn't met yet, Takumi's senses told him this individual was far beyond Yue Dan, the black-clad swordsman, or any other beastman.
"Lord Takumi?"
Xue Ji lacked Takumi's sensing ability. Seeing him stop, she was about to ask.
"They're here!"
"What?"
Xue Ji froze, then followed Takumi's gaze.
"BOOM!!"
A thunderous explosion tore through the air.
Flames surged skyward, hundreds of houses obliterated. Shards of stone surged toward them like a tsunami.
"What?!"
Xue Ji's pupils shrank.
In that life-threatening moment, she couldn't react—she didn't even understand what was happening.
But what surprised Takumi was this: despite the danger, Xue Ji's instinct was to shield him with her body.
Though slow, her muscle response told him she meant to protect him.
"Bang!"
Takumi smiled, silver-white magic enveloping Xue Ji.
Before the explosion reached them, a brilliant silver light tore through everything ahead.
With a clashing of metal, a path from south to north cut through the village, blasted open by that light cloaked in purple magic.
"Hahaha\~\~"
A boy's wild, youthful laughter rang out.
He wore a paper bag on his head, with only eye holes cut out.
Through them, sharp eyes locked onto Takumi, who had stopped his test attack.
"Magic! Such immense magic!"
In the boy's senses, Takumi was like a magic dragon of overwhelming might.
Just standing there, he made every cell in the boy's body scream with excitement.
"Interesting!!!"
Cid had been hunting bandits to build his Shadow Garden's war chest.
Noticing beastman activity to the north, he crossed the mountains and annihilated the village raiders.
But never had he expected a simple stroll would lead him to such an opponent.
"Zzzzzz!"
Midair, Takumi's palm clashed with a black, ink-like blade.
Magic exploded into sparks.
"Hm?"
For a moment, they stood locked. Seeing Takumi unmoved, Cid was shocked—but also thrilled.
"Impossible!"
Xue Ji's eyes shook. That burst of magic—"Is this really humanly possible?"
Their clash alone had created a terrifying storm of magic.
Without Takumi there to block it, she had no doubt Cid could have wiped out the Fox Village with the stray force.
"Bang!"
Cid's slime-forged sword shattered.
"What?!"
His pupils shrank.
In his vision, Takumi's palm, carrying immense force, smashed through his defensive magic.
"So strong!"
Cid had known Takumi was powerful—but not *this* powerful.
His magic quality even surpassed Cid's own!
"BOOM!"
Takumi's palm struck the ground, creating a massive crater tens of meters wide.
Even though she'd been prepared, Xue Ji still stared in awe.
"Not bad."
Takumi casually waved his hand, looking at the boy at the crater's edge. "But not that great."
'So this is the world I'm in.'
Seeing the boy, Takumi understood where he was.
That outfit—it was exactly like the protagonist of *The Eminence in Shadow*.
'Such powerful magic—about one-twentieth of mine. Considering his age...'
'The magic growth potential of Shadow must be SR+1 or higher.'
Judging from his appearance, the boy was 8–10 years old. Takumi was already 20.
Given that age gap, it made sense Cid wasn't as powerful yet.
Still, his talent wasn't as exaggerated as Takumi had imagined.
"Magic control unknown. Growth rate... maybe SR+4 or 5."
Strong, but not mind-blowing.
'Looks like SSR-level power is rarer than I thought.'
Just as Takumi was about to speak, Cid asked first:
"Are there others like you among the bandits?"
"Bandits?"
Takumi blinked, then realized.
Right—Cid, as Shadow, was always hunting bandits and slavers.
From the looks of it, he had mistaken Takumi for one of the invaders.
But sensing the lives wiped out earlier—'Did this guy kill everyone?'