"What a hassle..."
With the leisurely pace of someone strolling through their own backyard, Mahiro walked into the abandoned factory.
When he encountered doors blocking his path, he simply tossed a Decomposition spell at them, ensuring smooth passage.
But Mayumi, following behind him, was quite different—her CAD gripped tightly in hand, her expression grave and cautious.
It seemed this was her first real combat experience.
Though Mahiro complained aloud, he still slowed his steps, positioning himself protectively in front of her as much as possible.
Mayumi noticed his protective gesture, and her cheeks flushed slightly.
However, it seemed the enemy had spotted him unexpectedly early. A harsh, buzzing alarm sounded inside the factory, as if they had prepared a welcome ceremony.
In the main hall, they stood openly in formation, waiting.
"First time meeting you—welcome, Yotsuba Mahiro! And the little princess behind you must be Saegusa Mayumi, correct?"
The man who spoke appeared to be around thirty years old, still relatively young.
But this man seemed to have a strong desire to perform, his exaggerated and self-indulgent behavior utterly nauseating.
"Blanche Japan Branch's leader, Tsukasa Hajime, right?" Mahiro wasted no time, cutting straight to the point.
"Hahaha, forgive my rudeness. Indeed, as you say, I am Tsukasa Hajime, leader of Blanche's Japan Branch."
"Good. Saves me the trouble."
Mahiro stepped forward, shielding Mayumi behind him, and said bluntly, "Since you were kind enough to introduce yourself, I'll do you the courtesy of following protocol—"
"Here are your two options: surrender and keep your corpse intact, or resist and die in pieces!"
"Hahahaha, you're far too arrogant, Yotsuba! Though our operation at First High failed, you've got some nerve walking into our base without hiding. Even the most skilled magician dies when shot, don't they?"
"You're welcome to try."
People die when they are killed.
This is common knowledge.
But for Mahiro, it was different.
Even with the explicit threat of being shot, his indifferent reaction completely caught Hajime off guard.
The Blanche leader couldn't help but show surprise, his expression darkening.
"Then let's test it!"
With a forced bravado, Hajime raised his right hand. On either side of him, over thirty Blanche members simultaneously raised their guns and took aim.
Though magic development was prioritized, by 2095, high-tech firearms had also become incredibly powerful.
Faced with the barrels of countless guns, Mahiro's expression remained unchanged, while Mayumi visibly tensed, her finger already pressing the button on her CAD in secret.
Preparing to cast magic.
But the next second.
Click!
Perhaps there was such a sound, perhaps not.
What was certain, however, was that the firearms in the terrorists' hands had all been disassembled into parts, clattering noisily as they scattered across the floor.
"N-no way!"
Tsukasa Hajime panicked.
There had been no signs of magic activation from the opponent—how was this even possible?!
"Weren't you going to shoot me with bullets? Why did you stop?"
Mahiro spoke in a nonchalant tone as he stepped toward Hajime one stride at a time.
The dull thuds of his hard-soled shoes against the concrete floor reverberated like footsteps crushing Hajime's heart.
One step.
Then another.
Hajime staggered backward, cold sweat already dripping down his face.
He didn't know exactly how terrifying Yotsuba Mahiro was, but he did know one thing—his close combat skills were monstrous, capable of countering magic with bare hands!
Coupled with this faint yet suffocating pressure, his heart was already pounding wildly!
But when he looked at Yotsuba Mahiro, Hajime noticed that Mahiro didn't seem the least bit guarded. Instantly, an idea formed in his mind.
That detestable smirk reappeared on his face.
If you want to blame anyone, blame your own carelessness!
"Yotsuba Mahiro, join us as our comrade!"
With a theatrical flourish, he tossed aside his non-prescription glasses, swept his bangs aside, and locked eyes with Mahiro.
A sinister glow flickered in his pupils as an invisible wave surged straight into Mahiro's mind.
Just as Hajime had anticipated, Mahiro stopped in his tracks.
"Mahiro-kun, you...?!"
Seeing him standing motionless, Mayumi's heart skipped a beat.
Something seemed to have gone terribly wrong!
"Hahaha, useless, useless! He's already fallen under my Evil Eyes! So what if he's a member of the Ten Master Clans? Now he's nothing more than my obedient captive!"
Hajime laughed maniacally, his face contorting with glee.
To deal with Mahiro, he had taken extra precautions—gathering all the Sunstones here and equipping everyone with firearms and daggers.
But now, it seemed like all of that had been completely unnecessary!
Hadn't he already subdued him with just his Evil Eyes?!
"If I'd known it would be this easy, I wouldn't have bothered using that useless sow Mibu Sayaka! I should've just done it myself! Hahahaha!"
With Yotsuba Mahiro as his trump card, Hajime felt he could accomplish anything now.
Even if Mahiro was a discarded heir of the Yotsuba, he could still serve as a pawn to infiltrate the Ten Master Clans, paving the way for his grand ambitions!
Hajime indulged in visions of the future, as if he could already see himself reigning supreme over Japan's magical society!
Every last magician would grovel at his feet!
Hajime's arrogant display finally pushed even the usually gentle Mayumi past her limit.
Gripping her CAD tightly, she began activating her magic—
"Huh?"
A hand clamped down on her device. When she looked up, it was Mahiro!
There wasn't the slightest trace of him being controlled!
"Ohhh~ So the rumor about me dating Mibu-senpai at school—that was your doing?"
Mayumi froze, as if she had just heard something unbelievable.
Wait, so Mahiro-kun hadn't been dating Mibu-san after all?
For some reason, a corner of her heart inexplicably felt relieved!
"Hah, of course! Too bad that useless sow was so stupid. I went to all that trouble to help her, and she still couldn't even snag a freshman... Wait, why aren't you under my control?!"
Tsukasa Hajime suddenly realized something at the end of his speech and immediately looked across.
To his surprise, Mahiro was staring at him with an odd expression, a playful smile curling at the corners of his lips—his gaze as if looking at an utter fool.
"An extra-systematic consciousness-interference magic called 'Evil Eye,' but in essence, it's just a hypnosis magic of the light-wave vibration system... You must have used this to alter Mibu-senpai's memories, right?"
"Though, I never expected you'd dare to use such a simple hypnosis magic on a magician from the Yotsuba family."
"Do you truly not understand what the name 'Yotsuba' represents..."
"Or are you just looking down on me?"
The calm demeanor on Mahiro's face had completely vanished, replaced by a terrifying killing intent that radiated from his body.
It draped over him like a cloak.
The Yotsuba family's heritage lay in mental interference magic—such as Yotsuba Genzou's "Grim Reaper," Shiba Miya's "Mental Design Interference," and even the branch families had varying degrees of expertise in mental interference!
And Mahiro was an anomaly even among them!
Not even Shiba Miya, hailed as the "Mistress of Lethe," could rewrite his mental structure. Did they really think mere hypnosis could control him?
Daydreaming wasn't supposed to work like this!
"How... how is this possible?! You brat!!!"
Now, Tsukasa Hajime was completely panicked.
He had no choice but to panic—his most prized technique had failed!
But to Mahiro, this was nothing more than a trivial matter.
He raised his hand toward Tsukasa Hajime.
"If you refuse to surrender, then it's time for you to go."
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