Éclair didn't have much trouble, he didn't even need to use a weapon to take these guys down.
The bandits, terrified, tried to flee, only to be startled when Éclair appeared right in front of them, delivering slaps that hit without fail.
One of them attempted a sneak attack on Éclair, but he was shocked to see Éclair's body disintegrate like electricity, only for him to reappear behind him without warning.
"Fools."
Éclair unleashed a spinning kick, slamming the attacker's head into the ground and knocking him unconscious on the spot.
"AGHHHH!!!"
Hearing the screams of the others, he turned to see Boss unleashing fire at the remaining bandits.
Éclair rushed forward, taking down the one closest to Boss, and the two ended up back-to-back.
"Boss, I don't think you need to use the Magic Gear. These guys are way too weak," Éclair whispered.
"Better to go all out just in case," Boss replied, landing another blow on a bandit.
The villagers watched as the bandits were defeated as easily as swatting flies. Some were even sent flying into the sky, disappearing entirely.
The number of bandits gradually dwindled until only a few remained.
The most scarred and muscular one, assessing the situation, realized he was at a dead end. He pulled out a vial.
Both Boss and Éclair noticed it immediately, their eyes narrowing.
When the bandit bit into the vial, his muscles began to swell with every passing second, his hair grew spiky, and his skin turned red.
"No mistaking it, it's a banned enhancement drug," Éclair said, drawing his rapier.
"I thought the Lotus Kingdom had eradicated all trafficking of that stuff. Looks like I'll need to work overtime."
"Please don't say that, sir. These guys are stubborn and won't fear us. Besides, let me handle him," Éclair said, slashing the air a few times as he locked eyes with the drug-enhanced bandit.
"Don't get hurt," Boss reminded him.
"Understood," Éclair nodded, dashing toward the enemy at high speed.
In real life...
[Éclair]
[Understood]
As soon as the guy with purple hair and a large scar by his right eye finished speaking, the screen went dark.
"BIG BRO, BIG BRO!!"
"Do you want to make me deaf?!" The older brother covered his ears, sighed, and sat down in a chair.
The image of a village appeared, but beneath the ground, there were many defeated bandits.
A line of text appeared in the middle of the screen:
Death is inevitable, but what matters is how they meet it.
A bandit, crawling on all fours, having lost his mind due to using the enhancement drug, gripped his sword tightly and rambled on.
"UHOOPPPP!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a purple lightning bolt struck down, revealing a young man with short purple hair and neat clothing. But his words were a bit harsh.
"Such a shame for you. Do you want me to teach you how to read?"
He pulled out a rapier and pointed it at his opponent.
Ready?
Fight!
The bandit leaped up, slashing down.
"Hmm, let's see what kind of character this is," the older brother said, pressing a few buttons.
The moment he pressed something, Éclair raised his sword in front of him. When the bandit's strike landed, Éclair transformed into lightning and appeared behind him.
He then controlled Éclair to thrust twice, slash upward, and teleport to another direction to perform a spinning kick.
"Looks like... a Mix-up?"
Just as Éclair prepared for the next strike, the bandit blocked it.
But then something unexpected happened—the next move was a surprise as Éclair appeared behind him, stabbing his shoulder and kicking him away. Éclair, who was in front of him, turned into lightning.
"Ah, it really is a Mix-up."
Suddenly, he remembered when he participated in a tournament and encountered a guy using a Mix-up character. That match had been incredibly frustrating.
The character used unpredictable moves, making it extremely hard to anticipate.
Gradually, as the bandit's health dropped to a few points, he used a special move that consumed an entire energy bar.
Éclair simply stood there, exuding an incomprehensible pressure.
The bandit attacked at that moment, and Éclair disappeared, only for a lightning bolt to strike the bandit directly.
Finish!
As the battle ended, Éclair sheathed his rapier and looked at his fallen enemy coldly.
"Ah, I think killing you is the fastest way to make you say 'help'."
Éclair Winner!
After seeing the victory screen, he stretched his hand out and looked at his younger sister, who was scrolling through her phone.
He immediately kicked her off the bed, causing her to fall.
"WHAT?! WHAT THE HELL, BRO??!"
"I'm done. My hands are too sore, so you can play next time."
"Huh?! But the game is hard!"
"Figure it out yourself. If you can't play, then don't play."
After saying that, he left the room, leaving his sister alone.
"Well... I hope there's no next match."
She sat back down, resumed her game, and continued playing.
In game...
"UAHHHH!!!!!"
The bandit clutched his arm, now pierced with a gaping hole, writhing in pain.
Despite the drug dulling his senses, the sheer agony snapped him back to reality.
This time, fear consumed him as he looked at the figure before him. Éclair was approaching calmly, without haste or urgency, his every step deliberate.
"UHAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
The bandit swung his fist with all his might, desperate for a hit, hoping to land a blow on the man before him.
But Éclair vanished in an instant, reappearing right above the bandit's head.
The last thing the bandit saw was the tip of the rapier aimed directly at his eyes.
Slash!
Éclair plunged the blade through the bandit's eyes, straight into his brain. Then, gripping the blade, he twisted it violently, contorting the bandit's neck grotesquely.
Stepping back, Éclair jumped away from the lifeless body, abandoning his rapier entirely.
"Hey, is that how you're supposed to use the swords we make?" I asked, watching as Éclair wiped his bloodied hands with a cloth.
"We'll never run out of money."
"But that's such a waste."
"Says the boss of a Mafia organization who likes eating chocolate and fist-fighting criminals."
"You want me to dock your pay?"
We bickered back and forth, noticing the terrified stares of the villagers around us.
Well, I couldn't exactly blame them—Éclair's methods were a little excessive.
I removed my gloves, extinguishing the flames around me. My orange eyes faded back to black, and my hair returned to its normal state.
Looking around, I saw several injured villagers, some in critical condition. I couldn't even tell if a few of them were still alive.
"I think I left the supplies on the wagon. Éclair, go back and fetch them," I instructed. Éclair vanished instantly.
Suddenly, a young boy, covered in dirt, approached me hesitantly. His voice trembled with worry.
"Who… who are you? You're the other bad people, are you?"
Really, kid? Didn't you just see me save all of you? Or was our brutal takedown of those guys so over-the-top that you now think I'm one of the bad ones?
'How should I even answer this? Should I just say I came here to check out 100 girls- Wait, no, that makes me sound like a total creep.'
'Maybe I could say I saved them because they needed help? But that sounds too heroic… since when did the Mafia become allies of justice?'
While I stood there lost in thought, for some reason, the boy trembled even more, shaking like a leaf as if he thought he was next on my killing list.
"BOSS! ARE YOU INJURED?"
The shout of my subordinate rang out.
The villagers immediately grew wary, eyeing the approaching carriage.
My subordinate hurried over to check on me. After making sure I was unharmed, he used a cloth to wipe away all the dust before letting out a relieved sigh.
"Seriously... Anyway, how's the village doing?" He glanced at the villagers and then at the village itself.
"It's fine, although a few people are severely injured. But I'm not sure how to help them properly," I muttered under my breath.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"It's simple. They don't seem to trust me much. As someone who suddenly shows up out of nowhere and ruthlessly wipes out a gang of bandits—it's natural they'd be cautious. They might be grateful, but they're still on guard."
"So, you're saying you want to help them? Why don't you just say so?"
"Shut up."
Hearing that, my subordinate took a closer look at the village and seemed to recognize something.
"Wait a second. Isn't this the village where you decided to invest in that thing you called... rice? Am I right?"
"Rice? Wait, this place?!" I looked at my subordinate in surprise.
"Of course! It's right here on this list," he said, pulling out some documents and showing them to me.
...It was about a year ago, back when I was 14. I guess I had been so busy with other matters that I completely forgot about this village.
'Oh, so if this village is on my investment list... hehe.'
I smiled, then turned to my subordinate.
"Bring the latest version of the healing potion."
"Oh wow, so it's hero time now?"
"Shut up."
My subordinate immediately took out some healing potions and distributed them to the seriously injured or dying.
One of the village doctors seemed to recognize the potion and turned to look at me.
"W-Why are you helping us?"
"Ask your village elder. He'll give you the answer."
Hearing that, the villagers quickly carried their severely injured chief over and gave him the potion.
The wounds healed rapidly, astonishing everyone.
The village elder, now free of pain, felt as though a nightmare had just ended. He touched his abdomen in disbelief.
"Who are you...?"
"Free Bird. Does that name ring a bell?"
"Free Bird?! So you've finally come?"
The villagers looked at the village elder in confusion as he explained everything to them.
"So, they're good people!" A boy wiped his sweat away, no longer worried.
"Thank you for saving us!! We don't know how we can ever repay you!!"
The village elder clung to my leg, crying, which caught me slightly off guard.
"Oh, don't worry about it. Your area is quite important to me anyway, so helping is only natural," I reassured him.
"But if you really want to repay us... there's something you could do," I added mysteriously. The elder looked at me with concern.
"...Alright, tell me what it is!"
"Does your village have anything delicious to eat? We're planning to stay here for a day."
...Huh?