That scene played itself over and over, an apostle would be turned into a monster, another apostle would dangle helplessly, and everyone else would watch that apostle being eaten alive.
Soon the number of chimeras spread from one to twenty. Each of them features a different set of animal-like features, or features Ivan was inspired to create after referencing the mythology and folktales he knew from his old world.
Such as the Nue, a japanese chimera having the head of a monkey, the limbs of a tiger, the body of a tanuki and the front half of a snake for a tail. Its cries would have sent shivers upon any normal human being, but the apostles for the most part were completely occupied with breaking out.
For the most part Ivan was more adept at using metamorphosis magic to transmute the body of apostles into creatures he was familiar with, any attempt to turn them into inanimate objects simply resulted in their horrific death.
So long as he was manipulating something organic into something else organic things should be fine. Such as turning people into a dog, turning people into a toilet however was simply not possible.
But the interesting part of the transformations he created was the loss of reason among the apostles, all he did was alter their biology. So why did they in turn lose their sensibility, and at the same time did something they were incapable of doing, disobeying orders.
No matter how much Hearst rebuked the transformed apostles they never halted their movements and instead snarled at her as if she were disturbing their meal.
Ivan supposed the reason behind this went more into what made a monster a monster, and not simply another animal. Why did monsters instinctively have a mutual hatred for anything that wasn't another monster?
He had seen monsters of different species cooperate with each other many times, sometimes even without the influence of another party.
'Could the mana crystals within them be affecting their reasoning… Or did they simply become monsters because that's what I envisioned them to be…?'
The amulet that Yue had destroyed months ago corrupted him to a similar extent, the precious amulet that he had transmuted out of the core of a monster.
If every living being could form a mana crystal if they didn't expend the mana within them for a long period of time, did that mean everyone could develop the same penchant for violence? 'How the hell would I even go about experimenting with this without seeming like some kind of monster?'
"Well I suppose the best time is now, in this world no one else would live to see~" Ivan stared at the few remaining apostles. Though he had uttered those words, the apostles had a hivemind-like ability.
No doubt what they were experiencing today would be transmitted to their home for other apostles to use as data. 'They know I have this ability now, and they know I can transmute living beings. I guess the best way to solve this would be to do nothing more and allow the chimeras to go wild.'
Sometimes doing nothing creates more mystery than being proactive. He'd allow the apostles and Ehit to come to their own incorrect conclusions.
So when in doubt, sit back and enjoy the show!
Ivan manifested a lawn chair from his ring, laying in it leisurely while a tub of popcorn appeared from thin air. This earned him a stink eye from Hearst, but what did he gain from caring about the opinion of someone who was about to die?
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"A-Ara?" Tio awoke in befuddlement as the barrage of destructive beams that had been raining on her body came to a complete stop. When she looked around she noticed that they weren't the only things missing, but the culprits who shot the beams were gone as well.
She ceased flying and landed back in the compound to regain her bearings. The other members who had been bracing for impact on her back gave her questioning stares, but remained silent as it was obvious to them that she was busy dealing with the situation.
After all, they too wondered what exactly happened. But seeing as how whatever it was benefited them and even saved their lives, they threw all inhibitions out of their brain.
Only one figure came to their mind, one figure who had been explicitly under operation to perform his ultimate move without concern. And while they received his explanation of the 'magic' when he first developed it, seeing it work in real time was a surreal experience.
Especially for Tio who couldn't help but 'feel' that something had happened. From Ivan's words, she shouldn't even be able to notice her brief erasure from the world once Ars Magna was activated. And yet she was able to remember the scene she witnessed as the world came to a complete stop, moments prior to her blacking out.
'I shall report my findings to my master, perhaps he has an explanation for this…' With visible excistment she undid her dragon transformation, making her way to the manor with large motions.
And of course the rest followed suit, there wasn't much for them to do elsewhere anyways. Reconstruction of the land would be left to the remaining droids, and every apostle's corpse had mysteriously disappeared.
So cleaning duty practically did not exist for them.
"Oh hey guys, it's been a while huh~ Or… I suppose it's only been a couple hours…" Ivan greeted everyone back with a smile, sat criss crossed on the ruins of his manor.
"Are you truly fine, master?!"
"Hey father, it's about time you got up!"
"...We could have handled it, even without your help…"
"For making us worry like that I would like a raise~"
"Yeah, you owe us now, master!"
Ivan greeted each complaint or worry with a wry smile, he could have easily responded with the fact that it wasn't really up to him when he awoke but in the end he kept silent. He didn't really want to make anyone feel guilty, especially after all the good work each of them did.
"Yeah yeah, we'll get to your complaints later. But for now, since we don't have a home anymore, let's head on to Oscar's lair. We have no idea when another attack will happen so it's best to be in a place they can't reach. The droids have already been instructed to repair things here. Talos is working on repairing the barrier as well~ but before we go, thank you everyone for keeping our home, and our lives, safe."
Ivan finished his words with a brief bow, showing his gratitude for the deeds done today by the others. Even if their home was in shambles, it was enlightening to know everyone did their best to protect it.
"Of course we did, what the hell else were we going to do~!"
Each member laughed upon hearing that. And with a smile adorned on their faces, they boarded the APC to make way for the Reisen Gorge, where the teleportation circle to Oscar's Lair had been.
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So i got a packet of Ritz crackers next to me, I'm gonna go ahead and eat that now. Oh yeah, I'm also gonna start playing Raft again, there was that new update recently done for end game but imma restart from zero cause i had some regrets on my current playthrough.
Another thing to note was that the chimeras Ivan had created in Ars Magna were ordered to kill themselves as his control over them would disappear the moment they left. Y'know, since that was controlling them. I should probably explain that in-story next chapter, actually, I'll make sure to do that...
But hey, thanks for reading, if you enjoyed gimme some stones so I stay relevant. Comment if you got something to say, it could be a question or whatever. Have a great evening, and I'll see you all next time!
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