"Skreee~~"
The ice crystal centipede ignored their attempts at communication, lunging forward with its massive jaws to devour the group.
"No way…"
This thing was impossible to reason with.
Boom!!
Instinctively, Shion slapped the centipede's head.
Even with her strength restrained, the terrifying force unleashed a deafening sonic boom.
Crash!!
The centipede's body was sent flying, smashing into a distant glacier without resistance, buried completely.
"…"
Shion's eyes widened, her face full of panic. "Th-That, Lord Damien, I-I swear I controlled my strength!!"
"Sigh~~"
Seeing Shion on the verge of tears, Damien sighed. "It's not your fault, Shion."
She had indeed held back.
Otherwise, that slap would've sent the centipede into outer space.
"Then?"
"I'm sighing because this world's natives are too hostile."
As Damien spoke, more monsters surged toward them.
"Tch!"
Even the usually mild-mannered Shuna showed impatience. "Let me deal with them."
"No need."
They'd caused the commotion, and Damien didn't want to create too much bloodshed in this world.
"Let's move elsewhere."
Damien raised his hand, tearing open the world's space-time.
"Bwoh!"
Ogerpon hopped forward eagerly. "The vanguard is Ogerpon!"
"Let's go."
Damien and the girls entered the spatial passage.
After they left, a swarm of bizarre monsters appeared nearby.
Faced with an empty, ruined ice plain, they lingered briefly before dispersing, finding no targets.
"Shuna, sense the surroundings."
Emerging from the passage, Damien and the three appeared in another part of the ice plain, over a hundred kilometers from their starting point.
"Yes!"
Shuna, specialized in magic, had the widest and sharpest perception among them.
Clap!
The pink-haired girl clasped her hands, sending invisible magic rippling outward.
"This is a vast frozen plain. The farther north, the colder it gets; the south is warmer."
"There are many strange monsters around." Shuna reported, eyes closed, relaying her findings. "Their auras are weak... F-rank at the lowest, D-rank at the strongest."
"Shion, capture a few monsters. They must be alive."
Damien instructed, "And control your strength. One-thousandth isn't enough... use one-ten-thousandth!"
He wasn't worried about anything in this world threatening Shion.
If a strong enemy appeared, they could reach her in an instant.
"Leave it to me."
Shion's magic perception was less acute than Shuna's but still formidable.
Ignoring the blinding snow, she quickly locked onto the nearest monsters.
A herd of yak-like creatures with thick fur spotted Shion and, terrified, stampeded away.
Her A-rank Majin aura was overwhelming, even restrained.
"I pick you!"
Shion chose a yak monster, forgoing her custom greatsword and forming a hand blade.
Whoosh~
Her figure vanished.
She reappeared in front of the yak.
Thud!!
Her delicate hand descended with unstoppable force, stopping just above the yak's head.
The air pressure from her hand blade formed an invisible hammer, striking the yak and knocking it out instantly.
A ten-meter crater formed beneath it.
"Oh no, I used too much force again!"
Shion rushed forward. "Good, it's still alive. Phew, I thought I killed it."
Normally, such a terrifying blow, shattering the ground, would've reduced the yak to pulp.
But Shion used close-combat techniques from Damien, like striking through a barrier.
Most of the force didn't hit the yak directly.
Even so, this was with her power restrained.
If unleashed, her casual hand strike could devastate dozens of kilometers like a nuclear blast.
"Lord Damien, will this do?"
Shion returned with the yak monster, crossing space to stand before Damien and Shuna.
"Hm, let me see."
Damien examined the ice-blue yak. "Strange creature. It contains energy similar to magic, but much weaker."
If Spiritrons were a measure, the Cardinal World's magic held over 5 million per unit.
This monster's energy, per unit, was only about 100... a 50,000-fold gap.
"In such a weak world, is there really power you need, Lord Damien?"
Shion couldn't understand. To her, nothing here could make Damien stronger, so it seemed a waste of time.
"Don't rush, Shion."
Shuna said, "Lord Damien seeks new perspectives, not just raw power."
"The Pokémonverse seems weak to us too."
"Yet Lady Ogerpon is stronger than us."
Shuna added, "Though individuals here are weak, we can't assume there are no strong beings."
"Shuna's right." Damien praised. "A weak world's systems can still have value."
"Monsters in the Cardinal World are strong but start too high, making precise control difficult."
Weak worlds had advantages... likely birthing techniques unimaginable to Cardinal World monsters.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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