The next morning, sunlight pierced through the tent's fabric, hitting Tsuna square in the face. His eyes snapped open instantly.
"...It's here."
The moment he looked at his invisible interface, he saw it—the gift box that had been outlined in red was now glowing green.
He reached out and tapped it.
In an instant, the once-flat, 2D box solidified in midair. Slowly, it began to open.
Fwoosh!
A blinding light burst out, forcing Tsuna to shut his eyes. When the glare finally faded, he cautiously opened them again—and froze when he saw the text hovering above the opened box.
[Annihilation Maker]
For a second, his thoughts just... stopped.
"Wait… that's from the DxD?"
"Annihilation Maker... the top-tier Sacred Gear?"
Of course he knew it. He'd watched High School DxD—every season, without skipping a single episode. Sure, it was colorful as hell, but it wasn't just fanservice. The battles? The passion? Straight fire.
And Issei Hyoudou? That man didn't build his harem the easy way. He earned it—literally fighting for his life every damn time.
So yeah, Tsuna definitely knew the name Annihilation Maker.
Unlike most Sacred Gears, it didn't need special weapons or rituals. With nothing but imagination, its user could create powerful beasts—creatures as strong and versatile as the limits of their mind. Basically, the ultimate cheat code.
"I just wanted to awaken my Dying Will Flame… and you hand me this?!"
A wide grin spread across Tsuna's face. He couldn't stop it if he tried.
"With this, I can make any kind of creature I want. Custom-built for any situation…"
An idea sparked in his mind—a familiar one.
"The Sky Lion… Natsu."
The image took form in his head, growing clearer with every passing second.
And then, right before him, space itself rippled. A mass of light and matter began to swirl, twisting together until it solidified into a small, golden lion cub.
"Rrrow~"
A soft, cub-like cry echoed through the tent.
The tiny lion had a mane of orange-red flame burning around its neck, flickering and alive. For a brief moment, Tsuna just stared, stunned. Then his face broke into pure joy as he scooped the creature up into his arms.
"No way—it actually worked?!"
He hadn't awakened his Dying Will Flame. He didn't have a Box Weapon or the rings to open one. Which meant the Sky Lion before him could only have come from one source: Annihilation Maker.
"Rrrow~"
The little lion didn't resist, but its glassy eyes told a different story—blank, unfocused. Like a doll brought to life without a soul.
"It doesn't have intelligence... not like a real Box Weapon. So what about its abilities?"
As if in response to his words, the cub turned toward one side of the tent and opened its mouth.
"Grrr... ROAR!"
A burst of orange flame shot out, just brushing the tent's fabric—yet in an instant, the material turned gray, charred like concrete.
Tsuna's eyes widened.
"It can use Dying Will Flames?"
"Maybe it's because I didn't imagine it having intelligence, so it didn't gain that trait…"
Annihilation Maker worked purely off imagination. Whatever the user pictured, that was what took shape. If something was missing—like personality, instincts, or special powers—it was because the creator hadn't imagined it in.
"Then what if I add those details now...?"
He refocused, picturing the Sky Lion in more detail: its instincts, its emotions, its awareness—everything that made a living creature feel alive.
But the cub in his arms didn't change. Its dull eyes stayed blank, its tiny body still limp and quiet.
"So once it's made, I can't edit it afterward?"
Tsuna studied the little lion closely, confirming that his mental tweaks hadn't affected it at all. That probably meant creations couldn't be altered post-summon—he'd have to make a new one entirely.
"Or maybe… it's not that I can't—I just can't yet."
Either way, it was something he'd need to test later, once he understood the Sacred Gear better.
He looked down at the cub again. Now that he'd calmed, he could faintly feel something—a subtle thread connecting the two of them, a sense of control.
Disappear.
The thought alone was enough. The small lion dissolved into ash and faded back into nothingness.
"Total control over my creations... figures."
He wasn't surprised. Anything born from Annihilation Maker should obey its creator absolutely—and vanish at their command. In some ways, maybe it was better that they didn't have minds of their own.
But Tsuna couldn't shake the feeling that intelligence would make them far more useful—companions instead of tools. And if they could be recreated from his memory and imagination, then even death wouldn't mean true destruction.
Still, that was a question for another day. Right now, he had testing to do.
After all, in Annihilation Maker, the key word wasn't "monster."
It was creation.
The "monster" was just the vessel—an outlet for imagination, a body to carry whatever powers or concepts the user wanted to give it.
Even with only a brief test, Tsuna could already tell.
The true power of this Sacred Gear lay in what the creations could do.
Their abilities were limited only by his imagination. With enough creativity, he could theoretically create any ability, any concept, embodied in any form.
That was what made Annihilation Maker so terrifying.
It didn't just summon monsters—it gave form to thoughts.
A power that turned imagination into reality.
A literal, living version of "what you wish for, becomes real."
Annihilation Maker… was the cheat beneath all cheats.