"Astonishing," Stell murmured, a rare note of genuine surprise in her voice. "This has exceeded my projections."
Before her stood a colossal, draconic beast. Its entire body was covered in jagged, overlapping black scales, each one pointing forward, forming a bristling, impenetrable shell.
A pair of immense, backward-curving horns, themselves composed of smaller, interlocking spikes, pierced the sky.
Its claws were like daggers, its limbs corded with muscle, and its long, armored tail, tipped with a wicked barb, swished menacingly.
But its most striking feature was its wings, vast, dark membranes that seemed to drink the light, yet shimmered with a faint, internal luminescence.
This was Alatreon, the Blazing Black Dragon.
A creature born from Stell's own memory, a monster from a game she had played in her past life.
The spell had taken the image from her mind and given it form, creating a perfect, living replica.
The only difference was that its power was dictated by the amount of mana she had invested.
And because it was born of magic, it was, in this world, classified as a "monster."
The creature was massive, its body tens of meters long. Stell, standing before it, was like an ant. The very air around it crackled with unstable elemental energy.
Flames erupted from the ground. Howling gales tore through the valley. Bolts of lightning crashed down from a cloudless sky, and a freak blizzard swirled around the dragon's feet.
Alatreon had only just been born, and it was already passively terraforming the valley into its own personal dominion.
And Stell stood in the center of it all, completely unprotected, calmly running her analysis.
[Data analysis complete. Replication fidelity: 80% compared to original data.]
[Due to deliberate power limitation during casting, subject 'Alatreon' has not reached its projected maximum strength.]
[Conclusion: Subject 'Alatreon' poses a severe threat to the native ecosystem of this world.]
In the game, Alatreon had been a god-like being, a force of nature. But it had also been reclusive, choosing to live in isolated areas to minimize its destructive impact.
This version, however, was a magical construct, a "monster." It had no such restraint.
But it was also a "monster" that now fell under the purview of another, more useful spell.
The great dragon's crimson, vertical-slit pupils were fixed on the tiny figure before it.
Because Stell had imbued it with the full knowledge and personality of the original, it was not a mindless beast.
It was intelligent. It was curious. And it had never seen a creature like Stell before.
But Stell had already decided on her next course of action.
If she waited any longer, the entire valley would be permanently transformed into Alatreon's "domain," a chaotic elemental wasteland where only it could survive.
The ecological damage would be catastrophic. This was her creation, and therefore, her responsibility to control.
A stray thought crossed her mind: Why didn't I try to create a Dragonia from No Game No Life? The answer was simple.
Her own logical, scientific mind had deemed it impossible. No While magic in this world was a function of imagination, Stell's own rationalism acted as a self-imposed limit.
She could not truly believe that such a creature could be brought into existence by this spell, and therefore, it could not be.
"True Endo: Beast Control"
She had to stop this thing, now. But the spell had a casting time, and Alatreon, its animal instincts screaming at it that the tiny creature before it was an existential threat, was already gathering its power.
A torrent of incandescent fire erupted from the dragon's maw, a ten-second-long blast that incinerated everything in its path.
Everything, that is, except for the small, golden sphere that now enveloped Stell.
The dragon's crimson eyes widened in what could only be described as surprise. It was the first, and last, attack it would ever make.
Before it could gather its power for another assault, a massive golden magic circle flared to life beneath its feet.
As a mere "monster," a magical construct, it had no defense against this. Its mind, already a fragile imitation of a true sentient being, was thrown into chaos.
And that chaos was the first sign of the spell taking hold.
….
By the time Takson arrived at the valley, the world had been turned upside down. Scorching heat and biting cold coexisted in a bizarre, unnatural harmony. The very landscape had been twisted and reshaped.
The only constant was his teacher. Stell stood on a small island of untouched earth in a sea of molten rock, completely unharmed.
The lava, the ice, the howling winds, the scorch marks from lightning strikes... Takson's expression grew grim. He had seen the colossal figure from a distance. He had heard its terrifying roar. So where did it go?
He looked at Stell, standing calmly amidst the devastation, and a suspicion began to form in his mind. But that wasn't important right now.
"Teacher! Are you okay?!" he shouted, running towards her.
"Answer: Takson, my chassis has sustained no damage. Conclusion: I am fine," Stell replied, her voice as flat as ever. Takson noticed she was holding a small, golden sphere in her hand, but he didn't ask about it.
"That's good," he said, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. "That's good." The creature's aura had been so overwhelming, he had momentarily forgotten just how powerful his teacher was. He had been genuinely worried.
But with his immediate concern for her safety assuaged, another, more pressing matter came to mind.
"Teacher, what was that monster?!" he demanded, grabbing my shoulders. It was a rare, almost unprecedented display of forwardness from him. His eyes were burning with a desperate need for answers.
I met his gaze, my own eyes as calm and empty as ever. "Teacher, please tell me," he said, his voice softening slightly. "I know there are things you don't think I need to know. But this time... please, just tell me what happened."
He was right. My policy had always been simple: I would not volunteer information, but if he asked a direct question, I would provide a direct answer.
So, I told him.
….
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