The Ex-Machina on Dimensional Travel

In a cave somewhere on the mountain.

A thin, strange-looking man wearing a cloak and a mask woven from the hides of various animals resided there.

Countless animal corpses were scattered before him, leaving only the central area empty.

A pair of hard black horns protruded from the man's head, marking him as a Demon.

He stood in the room piled with bodies, one hand aimed at its center as he muttered an incantation...

Black energy then rose from the Magic Circle on the ground, seized two corpses—a brown bear and a bird-like Monster as large as a bear—and wrapped them together.

Behind the mask, his pitch-black pupils, devoid of whites and resembling bottomless holes, stared fixedly at the "thing" being kneaded together by the black energy within the Magic Circle.

Like someone playing with clay, the energy formed a massive hand, crushing the two corpses into a lump before flattening and reshaping them.

Then, a bizarre Fusion Beast was born, with the body of a bear, the lower body of a bird-like Monster, and a pair of wings.

Once the shaping was complete, the black energy burrowed into the freshly created body.

Yet the very next second—

The strange monster's flesh began to dissolve, turning into a puddle of liquid before vanishing without a trace, as though it had evaporated.

"Another failure. It seems these two creatures cannot be stably combined."

The man looked at the empty ground before him, his voice carrying the slightest hint of regret.

"Then again, even I can't imagine what these two creatures would look like after fusing."

Magic was a world of imagination. If even the caster could not imagine something, then the Magic naturally could not succeed.

Magic was not wish fulfillment. It could not accomplish things the caster could not imagine, and successful casting also required the caster to possess the relevant knowledge and understanding.

For example.

Take "flame."

To cast flame Magic, one had to understand how "flame" was formed and clearly grasp every detail and reaction involved in its creation before finally being able to successfully Shifuru flame Magic.

Simply put, imagination was indeed important, but imagination alone was not enough. A Magic User also needed detailed relevant knowledge. After all, if you could not explain it, how could you imagine the process? (Except for certain geniuses or freaks...)

The accumulated learning and exploration over time would also continually increase a Magic User's experience and knowledge.

Demons possessed lifespans nearly as long as elves, and they themselves had an innate advantage when it came to learning Magic.

As for why even five-hundred-year-old Demons were rare, it was simply because they died quickly. Every race was extremely hostile toward Demons, and Demons themselves were rather fond of fighting, so few lived to that age.

That was beside the point.

Take the Magic this Demon was currently using.

It was Magic he had devoted more than three hundred years of his life to researching.

Fusion Magic.

It fused two or more creatures into an entirely new Synthetic Magic Beast.

For that purpose, he had also acquired a certain degree of biological knowledge through constant experimentation.

However, at present, he was still incapable of fusing truly exceptional monsters.

He could only combine mammals with mammals and insects with insects. The moment he tried mixing different types together, they would collapse instantly, just like the previous one.

"More experiments are needed."

The man pinched his chin and began considering his next plan.

But at that moment, another voice interrupted his thoughts.

Another Demon rushed in, shouting urgently:

"Lord Chard!"

"...What is it?"

This Demon named Chard was clearly displeased at having his train of thought interrupted, but he also knew that if his subordinate dared enter at a time like this, there had to be something important to report.

"A human has arrived outside the facility."

"A human?"

Chard was somewhat puzzled upon hearing that it was a human. Was there really any need to report that to him?

"What is different about this human?"

It was not unusual for humans to occasionally pass through this place. Such things had happened before. Human adventurers, human Warriors, and the like would come to this experimental site to Subjugate Monsters or for other reasons.

But without exception, they had all been devoured cleanly by his creations, and his subordinates had already experienced it countless times.

Therefore, if they were willing to interrupt his experiment specifically to report it, the situation had to be serious.

"That human is more powerful than any we have encountered before. She has already killed most of the Synthetic Beasts stationed at the gate."

Cold sweat had somehow covered the Demon subordinate's forehead. A Demon's powerful survival instinct had filled his heart with fear.

Even beasts knew to seek advantage and avoid danger, let alone Demons.

"Hmm?"

"Then where is that human now?"

Chard displayed no emotion at this. He merely calmly asked for information about the intruder.

This laboratory had been built by hollowing out the mountain. If someone invaded from the entrance, it would still take more than ten minutes to reach their current location.

Furthermore, the path was filled with countless Synthetic Magic Beasts Chard had created over the years. These monsters, altered and fused by him, had become puppets that obeyed only his commands.

They would not harm his other subordinates, but they would launch vicious attacks against intruders.

Every one of them possessed considerable strength.

But while he was still questioning his subordinate for more information—

"That human, she isn't—"

A tremendous noise suddenly came from overhead...

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A vast stretch of trees snapped under the impact.

The ground throughout this entire area was covered in traces of battle.

A giant spider standing a full five meters tall rampaged through the forest. Ahead of it was a boy who appeared to be only eight years old.

The monster's target was clearly that boy.

The situation now was simple: the boy ran ahead while the monster chased behind.

Suddenly, the monster raised its forelimbs and actually leaped forward, its entire body soaring into the air. Then, something bizarre happened.

The back of the spider monster's abdomen split open, and two pairs of insect wings extended from it!

It flew. It had actually grown wings and flown!

"Tch, what kind of freak Monster is this!?"

Takuson shoved his hand axe into his belt and picked up the Sacred Canon hanging from the other side.

He cast Magic as he ran.

"Goddess's Light Spear!"

A golden spear of light suddenly appeared, aimed straight at the spider's abdomen in the sky. Its tip tore through the air as it shot toward its target.

The monster merely twisted its body casually and dodged the attack.

"Despite its massive size, it's surprisingly agile. But my Light Spear isn't so easy to dodge."

The dodged Light Spear immediately curved around, attacking once more from behind the monster, through its blind spot.

However, as if sensing danger, the monster hurriedly adjusted its posture in an attempt to evade it.

In the end, thanks to its timely dodge, the Light Spear only pierced through one of the spider monster's legs.

That clearly enraged it.

It worked. As long as I increase the number, I can defeat it.

Takuson was delighted when he realized his attack had indeed been effective.

At the beginning of the battle, he had struck first, but perhaps because he lacked enough power, his supposedly fatal sneak attack had failed to pierce the opponent's exoskeletal armor and had even nearly put him in grave danger.

Fortunately, because he had constantly challenged his teacher at that Training Ground, Takuson's body was far more agile than ordinary people's.

He quickly escaped, leading to the scene of the monster chasing him just now.

He immediately prepared to cast again. This time, it would be a barrage.

"Goddess's Ten Spears!"

But the instant he opened his mouth, the world before his eyes was swallowed by shadow...

BOOM—!!!!

Xiu Er crashed down through the ceiling she had punched through, bringing a large pile of Synthetic Beast carcass chunks with her. Her landing point was the Demon who had come to report.

Gokurokugai in her hand plunged straight into the Demon subordinate beneath her.

Without the slightest delay from the high-altitude fall, the instant it struck, her arm drove the greatsword through the Demon's body.

The flying head still wore a panicked expression, not yet understanding what had happened.

The instant the ceiling shattered, Chard had already fled the area. He cast acceleration Magic on himself and sprinted madly toward the exit.

What a joke. That behavior clearly belonged to a warrior, and an exceptionally powerful one at that.

He would not underestimate his opponent. A human warrior who had slaughtered every defending Synthetic Beast and reached this place could not be allowed to approach him.

Chard firmly believed that within a certain distance, that warrior could kill him the instant he began casting Magic.

However, while the idea was good, reality was cruel.

Chard's guess was correct: Xiu Er could indeed kill him. But he had also guessed wrong—Xiu Er would never give him a chance to flee.

CRACK—CRACK—

The exit, the walls, and the ceiling were all covered in ice. In an instant, this dark, damp, blood-soaked space became a blue kingdom.

Chard touched the frozen exit before him. The footsteps gradually sounding behind him were like the footsteps of a reaper, each one pounding against his heart.

What kind of Magic is this?

As he looked at the solid ice, he discovered that it contained no trace of Magic power. He admitted that this space could become somewhat damp for various reasons, but it was absolutely incapable of supporting the formation of ice on such a scale.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound suddenly stopped. It seemed that human had halted ten meters behind him.

What was she doing?

Chard did not know, nor did he want to know.

"Flame Magic!"

He spun around instantly and unleashed flames that covered everything behind him.

Yet no figure appeared within the area engulfed by fire. He seemed to see a strand of blue-violet hair on his right.

Then, he suddenly sensed a dangerous presence from that direction.

Slash—

An arm flew into the air, blood splattering everywhere.

"Urgh—!"

Before he could react to the pain shooting through his arm, Xiu Er's next attack had already reached his abdomen.

The greatsword easily cleaved through his flesh.

Chard's upper body, along with his internal organs, flew backward and struck a protruding mass of ice on the wall.

It was impaled there, like meat hung from a butcher's hook.

As a Magic User, he understood perfectly what would happen once a powerful warrior got close.

His current miserable state was the answer. Only the powerful vitality of a Demon's body allowed him to remain alive.

Looking at the lower half of his body lying at the intruder's feet, Chard finally understood that today, he was finished.