"Loki, I know you're not one to joke around, but what you just said is… a bit much."
Finn trusted that Loki wouldn't make such a claim without a reason, but even so—it pushed the limits of what he could believe.
"Loki, you haven't forgotten what kind of pressure we were under back then, have you? If Gluttony and Silence hadn't gone easy on us, almost none of us would've made it out of that war alive."
Even now, Riveria could recall the overwhelming pressure Silence had unleashed upon her back then. Just a single exchange, one glance, had been enough to make her feel she could be obliterated in an instant.
Even with all her current strength, Riveria wasn't confident she could withstand even a casual strike from Silence as she'd been three years ago. If Silence and Gluttony hadn't chosen to hold back and give Orario a fighting chance, the Great Strife would've ended in total victory for the Dark Faction.
Riveria's gaze shifted toward the boy Loki had brought. She couldn't quite believe that this young man could one day surpass even those two.
Gluttony, Silence… those sound like epithets, Tsuna thought as he quietly listened to their conversation, piecing together the fragmented information in his mind.
So, the Great Strife three years ago must've been a massive event. And from what they're saying, those two weren't true villains—they must've just chosen to fight on the opposite side for their own reasons.
Seems like this world of swords and magic isn't any less complicated than mine.
A hand suddenly clapped him on the shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts.
When Tsuna turned, Loki was staring at him with a look that mixed exasperation and amusement.
"It's about time you showed them what you can do."
"…Miss Loki, I get that you want me to demonstrate my ability," Tsuna said, scratching his cheek awkwardly. "But how exactly am I supposed to show something that matches what you just said? I have no clue how strong those two even were."
"Oh, right." Loki smacked her forehead. She'd gotten too excited and completely forgotten—Tsuna had just arrived in this world. There was no way he could know any of its history or standards.
She tapped her chin thoughtfully for a moment, then her eyes lit up as her gaze landed on Riveria. A mischievous smile tugged at her lips.
"Alright, Tsuna—can you create a monster that absorbs magic power?"
"A creature that absorbs this world's energy—'magic power,' was it?" Tsuna tilted his head. "Yeah, I can do that."
"Perfect. Then have it target Riveria and Finn."
There was no point trying to describe the strength of Gluttony and Silence. Loki figured it'd be faster—and far more convincing—for her children to feel it firsthand.
Tsuna glanced at the three of them. He didn't really know what "magic power" was, but it probably wasn't too different from Dying Will Flames—just a different form of energy. In that case, the principle was the same.
He closed his eyes and pictured a beast that could devour magic power, letting his imagination take shape.
In the air before him, something began to form—a mass of material swirling into existence, quickly solidifying into a floating, spherical creature.
The Devouring Beast.
It didn't move, didn't release any visible force—but a wave of unseen energy pulsed outward, locking onto Riveria and Finn. In the next instant, it began drawing something from their bodies.
Even from several meters away, the energy was being drained at a shocking rate.
"!?"
Finn's vision blurred. The world seemed to waver around him, and a heavy drowsiness tugged at his eyelids.
"What… is this…?"
Riveria's expression hardened. As a mage, her sensitivity to magic power was far greater than anyone else's—and she could feel it leaving her body far faster than it should. In just a few seconds, nearly a tenth of her total reserves had vanished.
It's really absorbing magic power.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the hovering sphere.
What was that thing? For someone as well-read as Riveria, it was almost terrifying—she couldn't recall any creature in existence capable of doing this, let alone one that could drain magic so swiftly.
Finn wasn't a mage, and yet even he felt the drain tearing at his stamina and focus. That was the unmistakable sign of rapid magic depletion.
Without hesitation, Finn snatched up a pen from the table and hurled it at the floating sphere.
Thwip!
The pen shot through the air like a bullet, piercing straight through the Devouring Beast before embedding itself deep into the wall behind it.
So fast! Tsuna's eyes widened in disbelief.
He'd barely even seen the motion—just a blur, and the creature was gone. The pen had buried itself in the stone wall, cracks spiderwebbing out from the point of impact.
He could only imagine how much power was behind that throw.
"Haaah…"
With the Devouring Beast gone, the draining sensation vanished as well.
Finn took a moment to steady himself, breathing through the dizziness that lingered. The brief but intense loss of energy had left him feeling unpleasantly hollow. Once he'd recovered a bit, he turned back to Tsuna.
"So that's… his ability?"
He hadn't tried to dodge, hadn't raised his guard—he'd simply allowed the strange creature to target him out of curiosity. But even in that short span, it had drained an alarming amount of his magic.
Riveria didn't look much better. From the corner of his eye, Finn could see the pallor in her face. She'd clearly gone through the same thing.
"Heh~ that's right," Loki said, a smirk tugging at her lips. "That's Tsuna's power. He can create all kinds of magical beasts just by imagining them. You two just got a firsthand taste of how dangerous that can be—especially for a mage."
Watching their stunned faces, Loki couldn't help but laugh quietly to herself.
"This is the power of Tsunayoshi Sawada," she said proudly. "The power I believe can stand on equal ground with those two."
Unlike most abilities bound by logic or rules—this one simply didn't care about either.
Through imagination alone, he could create any beast with any power he desired.
Which meant that, as long as he had the right information, Tsuna could face any opponent in any situation—with an overwhelming advantage tailored precisely to their weakness.