The sun reflected on the surface of the river and its white light reflected on the water.
A refreshing early summer breeze with a faint scent of grass. A gentle breeze, like an exhalation stirred the grass of the riverbed, caressed the bangs of the boy standing on the bank. It was a quiet weekday afternoon.
He, Eisuke Tsurugi, took the juice straw in his hand and sipped it noisily. At first glance, he looked quaint⊠but anyone who looked closely would notice.
He was dressed strangely in a uniform and denim jacket, and although he had a reasonably well-developed face, his expression with which he looked was so mean that it made him look like a miserable person. And then there was his daring behavior in spending his free time on the embankment instead of going to high school during the week. It would be clear to anyone who saw him that he was no ordinary high school student.
But it didnât stop there.
As he took a sip of his juice, Eisukeâs cold black eyes looked down the embankment to the riverbed below the overpass.
Eisuke took the straw out of his mouth and sniffled through his snot. His expression showed neither indignation at such vileness nor sympathy for the high school girl.
âŠOn the contrary.
âA perfect day for Yankees[1], huh?â The edge of his mouth twisted as he spoke to himself in amusement. If one had to describe his expression, one could say it was one of anticipation and elation.
Eisuke was not a tall boy. He was rather thin and his height hovered around 170 centimeters, so he wasnât that tall compared to the delinquents. But he was smiling fearlessly at a situation that most people would have passed over without looking.
Eisuke deftly slid down the slope of the embankment and landed on the riverbed.
âHey, hey, have fun with me too, you rotten yankees!â
He laughed fiercely and that told them that he was looking for a fightâŠ
âŠFor a few seconds, the wind blew, thenâŠ.
Eisuke took another sip of the juice still in his hand, and let out a sigh. This time, it was more exasperated.
âHaha⊠this is just that, a triviality.â
There were bodies. The unconscious delinquents lay in a horrible state at Eisukeâs feet. The scene was like a desert where a storm had passed and everything had been washed away. And so it must have been. The sight of Eisuke tormenting, battering and overwhelming the delinquents. He was just a storm in himself.
By the way⊠there was some sort of urban legend that had been whispered lately.
Rumor had it that there was a mysterious guy who picked fights with groups of delinquents and troublemakers for no particular reason, and that he just crushed and destroyed them.
The boy, who could be called the God of Death, wore a blue denim jacket that gave off a strong presence even when blurred by the darkness of the night. The light red stains on his body were said to be the blood of those he hunted.
The âYankee Hunter,â as he called himself.
His real identity was that of a high school student, Eisuke Tsurugi.
âNo, theyâre too weakâŠ. too weak to even be worth talking about. I also donât think thereâs anyone stronger out there that I could enjoy moreâŠâ
Eisuke shook his head in disgust. The craving for the strong. That was the driving force behind his actions, or rather, his survival. No matter how much power he wielded and no matter how many delinquents he fucked up their day, his heart was never satisfied. Because his real strength wasâŠ
âAh⊠aahâŠ!â
âHmm? Oh, right, you were thereâŠâ Then Eisuke noticed the presence of the high school girl who was cowering and scared. He casually approached her, âYou too, be careful from now on. If it wasnât for me, youâd beâŠâ
âYou monster!â
She shoved Eisuke with a thrust. The juice slipped out of his hand and the ice it held scattered on the floor. But she didnât look back and immediately ran away. Eisuke was stunned.
ââŠA monster, huh? Well, sheâs not wrongâŠâ He scratched his head and muttered to himself. As he bent down to pick up the plastic cup, he saw a reasonably sized pebble near him. He nonchalantly picked it up and stepped out from under the elevated train tracks into the sunlight. Next, he waved his right arm like a pitcher, âThere⊠you go!!â. At that moment, he threw it into the sky and the air exploded.
The stone pebble easily passed through the atmosphere at a speed well above Mach 10, and was absorbed by the blue sky.
ââŠI didnât intend to throw it that hardâŠâ Eisuke complained with a cold expression on his face.
Eisuke Tsurugi was an ordinary high school boy living in the modern era.
However, the word âordinaryâ here only meant that he was born into a normal world, into a normal family, and had lived a normal life.
His growth rate was abnormal, and he was on the borderline of what defined a man from a beast.
He spent his days fighting yankees and troublemakers, training stoically, and before he knew it, Eisuke had acquired a level of strength far beyond that of a human. There was no particular trigger. Simply put, he was a mutant rebel who had grown at an accelerated and unstoppable rate. This was Eisuke Tsurugiâs true identity.
ââŠHaa, how boring.â Eisukeâs voice came out tiredly.
For him, fighting was a way of life where he could test his strength without any rules. âŠBut Eisuke could no longer experience the kind of fights that made his heart boil. It was no wonder. If you compared anyone to Eisuke, who had acquired skills far superior to those of ordinary people, no matter how many people there were or how dangerous your weapon was, youâd be no better than a worm, just like the criminals before.
âI wonder if thereâs a guy somewhere whoâs as strong as a monsterâŠâ Eisuke said to no one in particular, annoyed. It would be unbearable to have someone as strong as Eisuke around. His joke disappeared into the air without even getting a punchline.
âŠOr so it was supposed to happen.
âFinally⊠I finally⊠found you!!â
ââŠHuh?â
The âvoiceâ came out of nowhere, and Eisuke looked around warily, but his senses understood why.
âŠThe voice had spoken directly into Eisukeâs brain.
âW-who is itâŠ?!â Eisuke held his temples and asked towards the mysterious person. But he got no answer.
Instead, a magic circle with a geometric pattern appeared under his feet.
âWhat!? W-what the hell is thisâŠ!?â
Eisuke was unusually uneasy. The voice echoed in his brain again.
âWe need your power⊠please come⊠to our worldâŠ!â
A strong light shone from the magic circle and seemed to erase all the contours of the world.
âHey, it canât be, are you serious? It canât beâŠâ Eisukeâs vision was tinged with white and disappeared from his world.
âŠHe had left. He was going to a world that was much bigger than his small home, and a world that would be more suitable for him.
[1]Â In this novel, the mc use the word Yankee to refer to thugs.