"Creating all kinds of monsters with just imagination…"
Riveria went a bit blank as she said it. A monster that simply absorbs mana just because someone imagined it into being—no normal adventurer should have access to something so overtuned.
"Imagination to create monsters, and to grant them real, specific powers… yes, that's terrifying," Finn said once he'd gathered himself. What he needed now were the limits.
"Loki, are you saying this creation has no constraints at all?"
"None. His ability has no hard limits—he can make a wide variety of monsters purely with imagination. That said, there's a lot we still need to test and dig up, so I can't guarantee the exact specs."
"At first I thought it should be categorized under 'Magic,' but it showed up under 'Skill.' That means the root of what he wields is imagination itself, and creating those monsters doesn't require mana."
"In other words, as Tsunayoshi's imagination deepens, as his horizons widen, his personal capability alone could rival the peak of the Zeus and Hera Familia in their prime. He could be a one-man army."
Loki said it seriously, still hooked around Tsunayoshi's shoulder.
Disbelief still flickered in Finn's eyes. He had trouble picturing a power this unorthodox and all-purpose—a power that didn't even run on mana, but on something he could scarcely conceptualize: "imagination."
"Absurd," Riveria murmured.
As a mage—and a learned elf—she understood exactly how valuable this was. If imagination alone lets you spawn all manner of monsters, then judging by that mana-eating specimen, even that single type could roll over every magic-using adventurer in Orario.
"It's practically a mage-killer."
"Mana is a mage's root. If the source is burned down rapidly, the deficiency hits the mind directly. In extreme overdraft, it's life-threatening for any mage."
"In just a few seconds, it drained a tenth of my reserves. If it had continued, I wouldn't have lasted a minute."
"And while the drain was happening, fine control of mana became extremely difficult. If released spells can also be absorbed, almost any magic becomes ineffective."
With Riveria's precise analysis on the record, Finn picked up the thread.
"Getting your mana pulled like that feels awful. I'm nowhere near as sensitive to it as Riveria, but the rapid loss still put me into classic depletion symptoms."
"If we'd had that monster three years ago against those two, the battle wouldn't have been so one-sided. But given what they could do, they wouldn't have stayed on the back foot forever."
"Mm. 'Silence' attacked through sound—and also had magic that countered other magic."
Finn acknowledged how frightening the ability was; even facing 'Silence' and 'Gluttony' at once, it could perform at a ridiculous level. Still, looking at just that one monster type clearly wasn't enough.
He also couldn't imagine 'Silence' and 'Gluttony' just standing there while their mana was stripped away.
"Hey! You two are analyzing this nicely, but why not ask the person concerned?" Gareth cut in, snapping them out of it.
Right—ask him. Finn and Riveria both turned to Tsunayoshi.
"Kid, three years ago we ran into two monsters to handle. One used sound as an attack and had the power to nullify magic—plus another spell with terrifying power, though their physical specs were poor."
"The other could eat anything, turn it into material to strengthen himself, and had a body tougher than this old man's—could flip a mountain on a whim."
"How would you deal with those two?"
Gareth stripped away the theory and went straight to the point.
'So the one who attacks via sound is "Silence," with anti-magic and one huge nuke of a spell. If they can nullify magic, then all magic loses effect. Question is—do monsters created by Monster Creation count as "magic"? If I'm planning for worst case, I should assume yes.'
Tsunayoshi marked Monster Creation as magic-type for risk planning: subject to nullification.
'Sound as an attack implies range and speed tied to sound propagation. In other words, if you're in visual range, it's basically instant on hit—unless you maintain a certain distance.'
'Troublesome.'
'"Silence" is a classic mage archetype: comprehensive control, weak body. So I just need to seal the anti-magic function and suppress space for sound manipulation to limit them to the max.'
A clean solution clicked into place in his mind.
"Why not throw them into another dimension?"
It was simple and brutal—but in Tsunayoshi's view, highly efficient.
"Whether it's the 'Silence' you mentioned or 'Gluttony,' once they're in a subspace, even Silence wouldn't dare spam anti-magic. If nullifying magic collapses the pocket, they'd be in a very awkward spot—possibly dead the moment the space unravels."
"…"
Who could even do that? Finn, Riveria, and Gareth were stunned by the sheer audacity.
The problem was… the boy before them probably could.
Thinking of it that way, if Tsunayoshi had been in their strike team three years ago, they might have sprung an ambush on Silence and Gluttony, sealed them in a dimensional pocket, and dramatically eased the pressure of fighting the Dark Faction.
A very easy solution—if only you had someone with the power to do it.
(End of Chapter)
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