"Something's not right."
Takumi was puzzled. "Why would the eastern and western tribes kill their own?"
If the attacker wasn't from either tribe, then who?
"The cult, perhaps?"
He recalled what Yue Dan had said earlier. "This cult might be something serious if they can send out someone that powerful."
Though they hadn't met, Takumi could already sense the incoming presence. It was far stronger than Yue Dan, the black-clad swordsman, or any beastman.
"Lord Takumi?"
Xue Ji, lacking Takumi's sensing abilities, noticed his pause and tried to ask.
"They're here!"
"What?"
Xue Ji blinked and followed his gaze.
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion erupted. Towering flames were sliced apart, hundreds of houses shattered, and a wave of stone debris surged toward them like a tsunami.
"What is this?!"
Xue Ji's pupils contracted. In that life-threatening moment, she didn't even register what was happening, much less react.
What surprised Takumi was that instead of fleeing, Xue Ji's instinct was to shield him. Though slow, her muscles betrayed her intention to take the blast herself.
Takumi smiled faintly. Silver-white magic enveloped Xue Ji.
Before the blast reached them, a brilliant silver light tore apart everything ahead.
With a screech of metal, a passage from south to north was carved straight through the village—silver light laced with purple magic.
"Hahahaha\~\~"
A childish yet arrogant laugh echoed from ahead.
It was a boy wearing a paper bag on his head, with holes cut for his eyes. His sharp gaze locked onto Takumi.
"Magic! What immense magic!"
To Cid, Takumi was like a dragon exuding overwhelming might. Just his presence made every cell in Cid's body tremble in excitement.
"Interesting!!!"
Cid had been hunting bandits to fund his Shadow Garden. Detecting beastmen movement in the north, he crossed the mountains and slaughtered them all.
He never expected that a random stroll would lead to such a powerful encounter.
Zzzzzz!
Midair, Takumi's palm clashed with a pitch-black sword. Sparks flew from the magic collision.
"Hmm?"
They locked for a moment. Seeing Takumi unmoved, Cid was shocked—but also thrilled.
"This is impossible!"
Xue Ji's eyes quaked. "Can a human truly wield such magic?"
Just one clash created a magic storm that could have razed the entire village if not for Takumi's presence.
Bang!
Cid's slime-forged sword shattered.
"What?!"
His pupils shrank.
In his view, Takumi's palm crashed through his protective magic with devastating force.
"So strong!"
Cid knew Takumi was powerful, but not *this* powerful. The density of his magic was above even Cid's.
BOOM!
Takumi's palm hit the ground, leaving a massive crater dozens of meters wide.
Even with her mental preparation, Xue Ji was still stunned by the sheer power.
"You're something..."
Takumi waved his hand. "But not much."
So this is the world I'm in.
Seeing the boy, Takumi understood—his outfit matched the protagonist of *The Eminence in Shadow*.
Such powerful magic—roughly one-twentieth of mine. But considering his age...
Shadow's growth level must be above SR+1.
The boy looked 8–10, while Takumi was 20. The gap made sense.
But his talent wasn't as insane as Takumi had imagined.
"His control is unknown, but growth is likely SR+4 or +5."
Strong, but not overwhelming.
Looks like SSR is even rarer than I thought.
As Takumi was about to speak, Cid asked first:
"Are there other strong bandits like you?"
"Bandits?"
Takumi blinked, then realized—Cid must have mistaken him for one of the attackers.
He remembered how Shadow always hunted bandits and slavers. Given the situation, it was logical.
Sensing the extinguished lives, Takumi wondered: Did this guy really kill all of them?
"I'm not a bandit. They..."
He paused, choosing not to explain further.
Watching anime never felt this intense. Shadow's logic was unhinged.
He killed all the beastmen without asking a thing.
Bandits? Just labeled the entire tribe as such?
So crude...
Takumi had no intention of defending those beastmen. Their actions were no different from true bandits.
"They?"
Cid looked puzzled.
"No... never mind."
Takumi didn't care about them. They meant nothing to him.
He wouldn't kill innocents, but wouldn't stop others from doing so either.
"Calling them bandits isn't wrong."
They slaughtered the elderly, women, and children. Takumi saw no need to argue in their defense.
Realizing he was in Shadow's world, Takumi thought of Xue Ji's identity.
So Xue Ji... she's that future Queen of the White Tower? The Snow Woman of the Nine-Tailed Foxes?
Now she chose to follow him. Given that, and that her enemies were just wiped out, Takumi figured he owed Shadow a thank-you.
"Can humans really do this?"
Xue Ji stared in awe at the aftermath of their clash. "It's like a natural disaster."
"Thanks for helping me understand where I am."
Takumi smiled. His figure vanished from her side.
A large hand blocked Cid's view. Takumi appeared before him and covered his face with one palm.
"Shame you attacked me..."
That earlier killing intent wasn't fake.
If Takumi hadn't been here, anyone else would've been dead.
"Don't worry. I'll spare your life."
If you attack, be ready for counterattack.
So what if he's the protagonist?
No one acts tough in front of Takumi!
"So fast!"
Cid's pupils shrank. All he could do was layer his body with magic like armor.
It didn't help.
Crack!
Takumi's palm broke through Cid's defense effortlessly.
"Impossible?!"
Since arriving in this world, Cid had never felt this shocked. His magic shattered like paper.
BOOM!!
Two figures soared through the air, tearing apart everything in their path.
"Amazing..."
Xue Ji felt her heart nearly stop. Her fox tail trembled—an instinctive response of beastmen to overwhelming power.
Between the debt of life and Takumi's godlike strength, her instincts stirred beyond her control.
Shhhh!
Before she could recover, purple magic flared from the forest outside the village.
It sliced down all trees within a kilometer like blades.
And it wasn't over.
Second slash, third, fourth—hundreds of magic blades stormed toward Takumi.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Takumi's silver-white magic wrapped him in a divine glow.
Yet that faint light blocked every single one of Cid's attacks.
Not one left a mark.
"Your magic is strong."
"But mine is stronger."
Takumi's calm words filled Cid with frustration.
He was supposed to be the Eminence in Shadow. But Takumi seemed more like the image he pursued.
"Magic!!!"
Cid instantly understood.
Magic compression!
In this world, combat was about magic.
But Takumi had far more than Cid.
If Cid attacked with 100 units, Takumi defended with 1,000 compressed into ten times the quality.
That's why Takumi's condensed attacks tore through Cid's defenses.
"Are you kidding me?!"
For the first time, Cid doubted his own strength.
His family couldn't match even a fraction of his power.
He always sipped tea and watched from above. That was the Eminence's style.
But now\... he was being looked down on?
Takumi's calm gaze stung.
"Don't underestimate the Eminence in Shadow!"
"Huh?"
Takumi frowned at the nonsense. "Chuunibyou logic... hard to follow."
"Hmph?"
As Takumi sighed, a sharp sword light pierced the sky—purple magic condensed into a line.
Cid formed a rapier of pure magic. He gripped it tightly, its tip pointed at Takumi's heart.
"Excellent control. Impressive."
Still calm, Takumi observed every move.
He raised his right hand, bent four fingers, and pointed one finger forward.
Ding!!
"Wha..."
Cid's worldview shattered.
His strongest strike was blocked by a single finger.
"That level of magic?!"
He felt it. Takumi had compressed ten times his own magic into one point.
"I told you. My magic surpasses yours."
With a flick, Cid's sword, shield, and body shattered.
A force overwhelmed him, leveling the forest behind.
But it wasn't over.
RUMBLE!!
"T-the mountain... it's been split..."
Xue Ji trembled.
The northern forest was gone. A distant mountain had been cleaved in two by a single beam of light.
Godlike power.
That was the only way she could describe Takumi.
Cough! Cough...
From the rubble, Cid stood.
Tattered, bloodied, noble garments reduced to rags.
"Impressive instincts."
Recalling the moment, Takumi approached.
He had barely missed delivering a fatal blow.
So this was the protagonist of this world?
They had no grudge, but Cid attacked him relentlessly.
Takumi had no reason to take it lightly.
"He who kills must be prepared to be killed."
Protagonist or not, attack Takumi and expect a deadly response.
"Ha... hahaha!"
On the brink of death, Cid wasn't afraid—he was excited.
"Yes... this is what training should be!"
Eyes locked on Takumi, blood tears streaming—he didn't care.
Buzz\~\~
Purple magic erupted from Cid, dissolving flesh.
But he didn't care.
"There was once a man who challenged a nuclear bomb."
"He gazed at the sky, aware of his smallness, yearning for power to match it."
"But no matter what, he could not surpass it."
Magic surged like a flood, covering the earth and sky, forming a massive barrier.
"This is..."
Takumi recognized it—Cid's signature move: *Atomic Destruction*.
Seeing it firsthand, Takumi felt differently.
"Are you insane?"
With his gift for magic control, Takumi immediately saw through it.
The technique converted magic into matter, then triggered internal fission—releasing thousands of times its base energy.
But it was volatile.
Lose control for a second, and Cid would die instantly.
"Hahahaha\~\~"
Seeing Takumi shocked, Cid felt joy he hadn't experienced in ages.
Originally just a concept, *Atomic Destruction* had finally been realized in desperation.
"Through countless trials, I reached a conclusion."
"To surpass the bomb, I must *become* the bomb!"
"Now!"
Cid raised his right hand, declaring with dramatic flair:
"Feel the roar of the earth and sky!"
"I! Am! Atomic!"
As Cid's words echoed, a pale purple pillar of magic soared into the sky.
Xue Ji and even Momiji, hiding in the mountains, saw it.
A light column several kilometers wide rose into the heavens. Mountains crumbled, earth turned to ash, and all life vanished in a heartbeat.
No one knew how long it lasted. When the world finally went dark and silent again, all that remained before Xue Ji's eyes was a wasteland—unrecognizable, utterly destroyed.