"You saw me, huh?"
Ye Xing turned to face Eriri, a hint of laughter in his eyes, but she couldn't help taking half a step back.
"Actually... I'm cosplaying."
Hearing this, Eriri was first taken aback, then frowned deeply.
"That lie is way too clumsy. Do you take me for an idiot?"
If Ye Xing had appeared in his Mask form from the start, Eriri might not have been able to tell—after all, once she learned his name, she'd searched online and found that article by Natsumi Suga, complete with photos, about him cosplaying as Mask.
But when she pushed the door open just now, she had clearly seen the black flames envelop his body and then form into that very outfit.
And now he was telling her it was just cosplay?
Who did he think he was fooling!?
"Such an elaborate lie, and it still couldn't deceive you? This is rather troublesome..."
Hearing Ye Xing's seemingly astonished tone, Eriri sighed and rolled her eyes.
"What kind of image do you have of me in your mind? Did you really think I'd believe such a clumsy lie? Do you take me for an idiot?"
Ye Xing nodded with complete sincerity.
"Well, pretty much."
"You..."
Eriri glared at Ye Xing with gritted teeth, then suddenly sighed again. Her body, which had been positioned at the fire escape entrance, ultimately took a step inside. After closing the fire escape door, she leaned her entire body against it, her expression complicated as she spoke.
"Revealing your true identity so easily... For someone as mysterious and widely watched as you, aren't you being rather careless?"
"The careless one is you, Sawamura-kun."
Ye Xing replied indifferently.
"You already know my secret, yet you're not running away. Aren't you afraid I might kill you right here to protect it? With the fire as cover, a few deaths would seem quite normal, wouldn't they?"
Hearing this, Eriri's body trembled slightly, but she forced herself to stand firm.
"I... I don't believe you'd do something like that."
"Indeed, I wouldn't - my moral standards are too high for that."
Ye Xing responded casually while drawing Onimaru Kunitsuna from his waist with one hand, chuckling lightly as he continued.
"But calling me careless... you're underestimating me quite a bit."
"If I'm not mistaken, that doujinshi stall owner should be your mother. Clearly, the doujinshi weren't drawn by her, but by you, Eriri-kun - the private art genius."
"Besides the doujinshi at that stall, I also saw several full-colour posters featuring Mask and Mask's assistants."
"Even I, as the actual person, couldn't find any flaws in them. Beyond your excellent artistic skills, achieving perfect reproduction of every detail means you must have watched the photos and videos from every incident Mask participated in numerous times. Or rather, you were originally Mask's devoted fan."
"You, as an outstanding student representative from Toyogasaki High School, came to Sobu High School for a one-day exchange program, and coincidentally ended up in exactly my class."
"Since you perfectly reproduced even details like each person's eye colour in the posters - things ordinary people wouldn't notice - plus the fact that I established a club, the club members, and most importantly, your knowledge about my extraordinary abilities... With just a little thought, you could match Mask and the assistants with me and my club members one by one."
"Since you were already close to the truth anyway, rather than letting you act independently, it was better to take this opportunity to reveal myself to you. From your reaction just now, you've already shown your stance."
"And also..."
At this point, Ye Xing glanced casually at Eriri, only to find her looking completely stunned, as if her brain was about to overload. He hesitated before continuing.
"You... have already come close to the truth, right?"
"Ah?"
Eriri seemed to snap out of a dream, quickly nodding her head.
"Right... right! I actually guessed it long ago!"
"You mean... You never even considered that possibility?"
"How could that be, I..."
Eriri initially wanted to stubbornly deny it, but when she saw Ye Xing staring at her, she deflated like a punctured ball, her golden hair finally reaching its limit inside her hat and popping out completely.
"I... really didn't think in that direction..."
Hearing this answer, Ye Xing finally felt speechless.
Had he...
Overestimated her?
Wait, was it his problem instead?
If it were people like Mai Sakurajima, Miko Yotsuya, or Rio Futaba, with such ample clues, they would have likely guessed his true identity long ago.
Not to mention Yukino Yukinoshita during that summer vacation - even without any solid evidence, without even knowing Ye Xing possessed special abilities, she had deduced the truth merely from fragmented clues and the changes in Kyoto City during that period.
Looking at Eriri's blank expression, as if she was still digesting what he had just said, Ye Xing confirmed one thing.
It really was his problem.
People like Soichiro Yagami, Natsumi Suga, Shizuka Hiratsuka...
After dealing with so many clever people, he had gradually lost the ability to accommodate those less perceptive and had somewhat overestimated others' intelligence.
So Eriri really hadn't considered that possibility at all?
"Forget it, it doesn't matter anyway."
Ye Xing waved his hand, his expression somewhat complicated.
"Let's just pretend you've already figured it out, alright?"
After remaining silent for a few seconds, Eriri whispered.
"Alright."
So embarrassing.
It was truly too embarrassing.
Eriri originally hadn't considered that possibility, but now that Ye Xing mentioned it, she finally realised with sudden clarity - this wasn't even about clues anymore, it was practically like the answer had been fed right to her lips.
Even then, she completely failed to realise it...
Hard to evaluate.
Just as Eriri was pondering which members of Sobu High School's Supernatural Society might correspond to the assistants around Mask, she heard rapid footsteps coming from below the fire escape.
Before she could react, she saw the Mask outfit on Ye Xing's body instantly dissipate. Holding the long sword in one hand, he strode towards the source of the footsteps below.
In the next ten seconds or so, there were first several gunshots, followed by the sound of something sharp cutting through the air, and noises resembling human bodies being sliced open.
"OK, resolved."
When Ye Xing came back upstairs, he casually flicked the Onimaru Kunitsuna in his hand, immediately leaving a dark red trail on the ground.
Eriri looked completely bewildered.
"Um... just like that? It's resolved?"
"Right."
Ye Xing took out a tissue and began wiping the blade of Onimaru Kunitsuna. This action wasn't merely for cleaning blood - after all, a spiritual object of Onimaru Kunitsuna's calibre didn't require special cleaning and could maintain itself autonomously. It was simply his way of rewarding his famous sword, much like petting a beloved animal.
"They're just ordinary humans controlled by evil spirits. Even if they're holding a few guns, they're just here to be cannon fodder."
Eriri's expression at this moment was almost turning into a chibi emoticon.
"Evil... evil spirits? Ghosts?"
"I'll explain it to you later."
"But... why aren't you wearing Mask's outfit?"
"Hoh, what are you saying? Do you think I wear that outfit just to show off? Well, that's part of it, but the main reasons are to conceal my identity and increase defensive capabilities. When dealing with a few ordinary humans in this camera-free fire escape, there's no need to waste extra power."
Eriri nodded with partial understanding, then a glimmer of excitement suddenly appeared in her blue eyes.
"You mean that outfit isn't ordinary clothing, but something condensed from your own power, just like transformations in those hot-blooded battle manga!?"
"More or less."
"Then..."
Eriri quickly closed the distance between them, coming right up to Ye Xing's face.
"Can you show me a complete transformation? I only saw part of it earlier."
"This..."
Seeing Ye Xing's reluctance, Eriri clasped her hands together, pleading with an extremely expectant expression.
"Please, please~"
"Fiiine then."
Ye Xing sheathed Onimaru Kunitsuna, and dark flames once again emerged across his body and face, forming a black mask with a white smiling face pattern and a set of black clothing.
"Wow, amazing!"
Having witnessed the entire process this time, Eriri's eyes were now shining with joyful light, staring intently at Ye Xing before her, completely mesmerised.
"Satisfied now?"
"Can you do it one more time?"
Ye Xing looked speechless.
"That's enough, do you think this is some monkey show at the zoo?"
Eriri knew her request was somewhat unreasonable, but mainly because she was genuinely quite excited at the moment.
Mask!!!
Oh my god, it's Mask himself!!!
She actually met the real person today!
Eriri had always been a devoted fan of Mask, and though her tsundere personality made her appear quite calm now, she was actually so excited that her entire body was trembling.
Seeing Eriri trembling with excitement, Ye Xing spoke softly with a concerned expression.
"Are you having an epileptic fit?"
"Screw you, you're the one having an epileptic fit!"
Eriri retorted irritably, then paused for a moment before suddenly extending her pale right hand toward Ye Xing. Her pretty face flushed red as she turned her face aside, pretending not to care, and muttered quietly.
"J-just promise not to tell anyone about me drawing doujinshi or being an otaku, and I'll guarantee I won't reveal your identity to anyone. How about it, can we reach an agreement?"
"Fine."
Ye Xing shook Eriri's hand, but withdrew quickly before she could properly register the contact.
Eriri felt somewhat disappointed.
What was even harder for her to accept was that she actually felt inexplicably happy just because Ye Xing had shaken her hand.
Oh no.
The mysterious hero she admired happened to be her saviour.
With these two buffs stacked, forget about Eriri - anyone would find it hard to resist.
As for Ye Xing, of course he hadn't revealed his identity to Eriri simply because she was good-looking.
The most important premise was that Eriri was a Mask fan. Just from her expression when she saw the life-sized Mask figurine and those exquisite fan-made posters created out of pure devotion, it was clear she belonged to the category of fervent fans.
Trustworthy.
Another, more practical, somewhat utilitarian reason was Eriri's family background.
If Ye Xing remembered correctly, Eriri's father came from a prestigious British noble family and served as a diplomat stationed in Japan.
If that were all, it wouldn't matter much.
The key point was that Eriri's family environment differed from typical wealthy households. Her parents were extremely indulgent toward her, even going so far as to help sell doujinshi at comic conventions.
Having such an additional connection certainly wouldn't hurt.
As for Eriri herself?
She naturally had value too.
A heavy otaku and doujinshi artist, disguising herself as a flawless beauty at school, hailed as the unattainable flower of Toyogasaki High School...
Just this brief description made it clear Eriri was somewhat... eccentric.
Eccentric? That's exactly right.
Among those who awakened spiritual power, who wasn't somewhat eccentric?
There was Kyoto's top stoic Miko Yotsuya, the internally conflicted and suffering Rio Futaba, the gentle yet inconsistent Yui Yuigahama, Mai Sakurajima who nearly erased her own existence through her thoughts, Hina Amano who tried to sacrifice herself to save the world, and the complex, almost twisted Haruno Yukinoshita from faraway Chiba...
Then there was the heavyweight figure Light Yagami, who found the world increasingly boring and corrupt, yearning for pure justice.
Thinking of this, Ye Xing felt the weight on his shoulders grow heavier again.
Ah, only he remained a normal person.
Truly, the burden is heavy, and the road is long.
...
Elsewhere, in a certain narrow alley, Miko Yotsuya's originally golden right eye had turned dark green.
Through continuous development, she could now remotely control her soul's true form, Hyakume, while simultaneously connecting with its vision—essentially a spiritual power version of drone reconnaissance.
Just as Miko Yotsuya was searching the areas mentioned by Rio Futaba, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching from the far end of the alley.
When she looked up, she saw the dark muzzle of a gun aimed directly at her from less than five metres away.
"If I were you, I wouldn't make any sudden moves."
The person holding the firearm was a slender young man with bloodshot eyes, whose appearance was neither ugly nor particularly handsome.
Now, with those bloodshot eyes, he stared directly at Miko Yotsuya's mismatched eyes—one golden, the other eerie green—and let out a laugh tinged with killing intent.
"As expected, you special ability users in Kyoto are just as I imagined—showing up at the scene whenever there's an incident."
"Are these ordinary people really worth saving?"
Miko narrowed her eyes slightly. The moment she shifted her footing, the young man opposite waved his gun lightly and chuckled.
"Don't make any rash moves. Your spiritual power construct is far from here—completely unable to protect you in time. Or... would you like to test whether your movements are faster than my trigger finger?"
Miko frowned slightly. After a few seconds of silence, she seemed to abandon any thought of resistance and spoke slowly.
"You... are also a psychic?"
"Psychic? So that's what you call it..."
The young man laughed, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"The label doesn't matter. You just need to know that I possess the same abilities as you and your companions."
As if to prove his words, a dark green, flame-like creature materialised behind him.
Meanwhile, at the alley's entrance, a wall of dark green flames rose.
"To have such power—enough to overturn the world, completely beyond ordinary people's ability to resist..."
The young man looked at Miko Yotsuya, his eyes filled with disdain and contempt.
"Yet you play at being superheroes here. What childish brats."
"Then what are you?"
Miko asked expressionlessly in return.
"A maggot whose life is so miserable you crave creating tragedies to prove your own existence? How childish."
"You little brat..."
Provoked by her words, the mentally unstable young man was already on the verge of snapping.
"Hmph... just pointless stubbornness. Once I kill all of you, my abilities will grow even stronger."
"I see."
Hearing this, Miko glanced at the dark green flaming humanoid behind him and murmured to herself.
"Compared to our humanoid soul's true forms, this guy's soul's true form clearly resembles those twisted evil spirits more. Is it due to a different awakening method..."
Listening to Miko Yotsuya's murmuring, the young man holding the firearm was visibly stunned.
"Still muttering nonsense even when you're about to die..."
"I'm asking you."
Miko Yotsuya ignored his words. Even facing the threat of the gun barrel, her expression remained unchanged.
"Are you alone? Or do you have other companions?"
"Why should I answer you?"
The young man snorted coldly, his index finger slowly resting on the firearm's trigger as a fierce killing intent flashed in his eyes.
"Die."
"You seem to have misunderstood."
Miko Yotsuya shook her head, and a glow of spiritual power appeared on the pale golden ring on her right ring finger.
"From the moment your true body appeared before me..."
Before he could pull the trigger, he suddenly saw an afterimage flash before his eyes.
"You were already dead."
As his vision tilted and gradually approached the ground, the young man saw that pure white mask with pale golden patterns, and those golden eyes devoid of any emotional fluctuation. Only when he heard the dull thud beside his ear did he realise...
His head seemed to have fallen to the ground.