"Athena's creation was my first attempt at human transmutation—and remains my greatest masterpiece."
"That's... not fair."
"So we're not your best work..."
Gennai and Kotetsu both looked visibly wounded.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. You two are also among the greatest achievements of my alchemy. In fact, you're much closer to being human..."
As Duke said this, an eerie smile slowly spread across his face.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he continued,
"Athena was my first creation, so the techniques involved were still immature. In a sense, that worked in her favor—she was never completely..."
He let the sentence trail off.
"Unfortunately, Athena failed to live up to both my expectations and Elefseria's. She fled and disappeared without a trace... until I finally found her again recently."
Gennai added,
"Oro, oro. Who would've thought she ran all the way to Ishgar?"
Ultear glanced between Gennai and Kotetsu before offering her own theory.
"Couldn't she simply have grown tired of being treated as a weapon and run away because she hated the purpose she was created for?"
Duke shook his head.
"No. Athena doesn't possess emotions like that. She became obsessed with becoming human, and somehow that eventually led to her becoming the White Mage."
Ultear frowned.
"I don't understand the logic behind that at all."
"To be perfectly honest, neither do I," Duke admitted. "If Gennai and Kotetsu can already be considered close to human, Athena is still fundamentally a doll."
"I want Athena to become complete, while Athena wishes to become human. Our goals diverged."
"And in order for both of our dreams to be fulfilled... we require your cooperation."
...
Inside the cave, Athena's eyes suddenly began glowing white.
"Get down!"
Natsu immediately tackled Lucy to the ground.
Erza and Kagura reacted almost as quickly.
Twin beams of light erupted from Athena's eyes and swept across the cave.
Explosions thundered one after another as dust and smoke filled the chamber.
Erza had already Requipped the Adamantine Armor and positioned herself in front of the others, shielding Natsu, Lucy, Kagura, and Happy from the barrage.
"She shoots beams out of her eyes!" Natsu exclaimed in genuine amazement. "Actual eye beams!"
The cave was already beginning to collapse.
Fortunately, Kagura used Gravity Magic to hold the falling rocks in place long enough for everyone to escape into the open area outside.
"She's floating!!!"
Athena hovered high in the air, looking down at the four humans and one Exceed.
"I am a doll, an alchemist, and the White Mage."
Her eyes flashed once more.
Two more beams shot toward them.
"Fire Dragon King's Roar!"
Natsu drew in a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of flames, meeting Athena's beams head-on.
...
Deltara Forest—
"Enny-sama! Luso-sama!"
The bespectacled alchemist looked as though he had just seen salvation itself when the Signario Sisters appeared.
Enny, the elder sister, stared disdainfully at the battered alchemist.
"How useless. You failed to capture them and got beaten up instead."
Luso, meanwhile, looked toward Raizel.
"You destroyed that camera."
She sounded more disappointed than angry.
"I made that camera. It was rather interesting."
Raizel stared back at her without expression.
"So?"
Luso produced an old-fashioned telescope and looked at him through it.
"I see you."
The instant those words left her mouth, the interior of the cabin began to distort.
The surrounding scenery warped unnaturally, while enormous grotesque dolls appeared behind the Signario Sisters.
"What is this?"
Wendy looked around in surprise.
"The scenery is changing?"
Cold sweat appeared on Carla's forehead.
Raizel raised an eyebrow.
His first impression of the distorted space was that it vaguely resembled the illusion-based Magic Mystogan once used.
Luso lowered the antique telescope and introduced herself with a smile.
"We are the Signario Sisters, alchemists of Gold Owl."
"Our power is the ability to transmute 'worlds,'" Enny added expressionlessly, one hand still resting on her hip.
"..."
Raizel fell into a long silence.
With him beside her, Wendy had little reason to be afraid. Seeing how calm Raizel remained helped her settle down as well.
And once she took a proper look around, the bizarre world actually had a strangely girlish aesthetic.
There were dolls everywhere.
"This isn't the reaction I was hoping for."
Luso leaned forward with one hand on her hip, smiling brightly at Raizel despite the coldness in her eyes.
"You don't seem frightened at all."
Raizel ignored her and looked down at Wendy.
"Am I supposed to stare around with my mouth open and say things like, 'Ah! Where are we?!' or 'Were we transported into another dimension?!' or maybe, 'But we were just inside the cabin a second ago!'?"
"..."
Wendy chose not to answer.
Carla sighed.
"Please don't try acting. Your delivery is painfully flat. You have absolutely no talent for it."
"We already told you, didn't we?" Luso said proudly, spreading her arms wide. "Our power is the transmutation of 'worlds.' This is a world I created—one that belongs only to me and exists solely for my sake."
"Pretty tasteful, don't you think? A cruel-and-cute amusement park!"
"I call it—Fantasy Death World!!!"
Wendy looked helpless.
"That name is awfully dark..."
Luso planted one hand on her hip and raised the index finger of the other.
"By the way, the world Enny-nee transmutes is—"
"Don't say another word."
Enny cut her off with an irritated look.
Raizel shrugged.
"So what? The scenery changed. Why should I care?"
Luso wagged one finger with a smile.
"No, no. This isn't merely a change in scenery."
"This is a world created by me, belonging to me, and serving only me."
As soon as she finished speaking, an enormous stuffed bear began lumbering toward Raizel and Wendy.
It stood nearly fifteen meters tall, with crude stitches running across its head and blood dripping from the corners of its mouth.
Carla looked surprised.
"The doll is moving?"
The giant bear suddenly roared and swiped at Raizel and Wendy with enormous claws.
Raizel immediately activated [Take Over: UlforceVeedramon.]
He glanced toward Carla.
"Get Wendy into the air."
"No problem!"
Luso manipulated the doll with both hands like a puppeteer.
"In this world, I am god."
She paused and corrected herself with a cheerful smile.
"No, actually—I'm a cute god♡."
Raizel gave a disdainful laugh.
"A doll that moves is still just a doll."
His wings spread.
Raizel accelerated into a streak of blue light and shot straight past the giant bear.
A moment later, the creature split cleanly in half.
As Raizel climbed back into the air, the severed bear exploded into enormous clouds of cotton stuffing.
"My, my. Next comes the dancing flower show."
At Luso's command, enormous flowers began sprouting from the ground, each bearing a bizarre human expression.
"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!"
Wendy swept both arms outward.
Violent tornadoes tore through the entire field, shredding every giant flower before Raizel even needed to move.
"All right, then. The carousel."
Luso raised her hands like a conductor.
Countless carousel horses appeared and began spinning at tremendous speed, attempting to trap Raizel and Wendy within their formation.
They were certainly fast.
Unfortunately, they could not fly.
Raizel and Carla simply accelerated upward.
Wendy inhaled deeply.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!"