Time Holders: The World of Balance

Confronted by the horrific sight before them, Aiden was the first to act. Still gripping the half-dead black wolf by the neck, his eyes widened in a sudden surge of fury and terror, and in the next second, he hurled the mangled beast straight at the monster hunting Aldrus.

The silver beast was forced to break off its relentless assault, momentarily distracted by the scent of its previous prey. The instant it turned back to them, in search of fresh meat, Cedric lunged forward, kicking up dirt as he bolted toward Aldrus at full speed.

”Aldrus! Hey! Listen to me, hey!”

The dark-haired boy swayed violently, his footsteps stumbling back and forth as if he were about to collapse at any second.

Ah... I... What...?

Teetering on the razor’s edge of consciousness, Aldrus gathered what little strength remained in his mangled body. He hooked his good arm around the blond boy’s neck, barely anchoring himself upright.

”Aldrus, quickly! Use [Motion] NOW!”

”Nmnghh... Hahh—I-I can’t... I can’t!” he choked out through tears of agony.

Cedric tightened his grip on the boy’s collar. ”YES YOU CAN! DO IT NOW! DAMN IT, YOU’RE GONNA DIE!”

Die...? Who? Am I dying...?

The last remnants of rational thought were slipping away, and time was running out. If another minute passed without him rewinding his arm, it would be gone forever—or worse, he would bleed to death.

”Shit!”

*SMACK!*

A desperate slap jolted Aldrus’s fading mind.

”Wake up! Don’t close your eyes, Aldrus!” Cedric screamed. ”COME ON! WAKE UP!”

*SMACK!*

A second slap landed. Then a third, a fourth, and a fifth. It was no use. Aldrus was pale as a corpse, burning with a deathly fever and drenched in a cold sweat.

The blond boy’s pristine clothes—painstakingly tailored just the day before—were slowly ruined, soaking through with the frantic pulsing of blood from his friend’s horrible stump. The Paradise’s perfect weather no longer offered any comfort; inside their trembling bodies, only a violent clash of burning heat and icy dread remained.

As for the others, not far away, Alice and Aiden were locked in a desperate struggle of their own...

”Gaahhgh!”

The silver-haired boy let out a choked grunt as the monster’s back paw slammed into his chest.

The abomination’s strength was far greater than they had anticipated. A mere brush from one of its limbs was enough to send the teenagers flying, wasting precious seconds just trying to recover and scramble back into the fray.

”Alice, watch out!” Aiden yelled as a second strike shot toward the blonde girl.

The monster’s claws first tore into the earth with immense force, kicking up a blinding curtain of dirt and shredded grass.

With her vision blocked, Alice moved purely on instinct. The moment the creature’s putrid stench flooded her senses, she sprang backward in a single movement. The evasive maneuver barely saved her from the monster, which had swung its paw down with murderous intent.

Through the swirling debris and her tangled hair, Alice stared directly into the two malicious, crimson pearls serving as the monster’s eyes, and a split second later, a shockwave of compressed wind exploded from the beast’s missed attack.

Alice planted her feet firmly, holding her ground. She quickly gripped her sword tighter, raised it above her head with both hands, and drove it forward in a powerful vertical swing.

In less than a second, the enhanced stone blade clashed against the monster’s claws of steel with a deafening ring. The impact was so violent it rippled shockwaves outward in opposite directions, creating a localized barrier of supersonic force.

”Khghggggh!!!”

The clash remained uncertain, for neither side was willing to yield, and the locked energy between them threatened to blast both combatants away.

Alice slowly realized that she couldn’t match its raw strength on her own. Slowly, her footing began to give way. Yet, just as her knee was about to buckle, Aiden joined the fight again, enhanced his right arm with [Freeze], and threw an absurd punch at the beast, forcing its jaw shut with the sudden, crushing force of a mountain.

”KreeeeeEeEEEEEEeeEEEEEhk!”

”Uggh! Wh-What’s that?!”

Both students covered their ears as soon as the abomination screeched. It was an impossibly sharp sound produced by its teeth grinding violently against one another.

”Alice, are you okay?!” Aiden asked, helping her stand back up.

”Hahh... I-I’m fine, but—”

*SLASH*

She didn’t get to finish. An object tore through the air toward them like a bullet.

”...a-ah—”

”Ahhhgggh!”

Alice screamed as a jagged rock grazed her torso, slicing a horrific gash across her abdomen.

”Alice!”

Before they could react, three more rocks hurtled toward them, each flying faster than the last.

With a rapid reflex, Aiden raised his rapier, inverted his grip, and intercepted the projectiles with the hilt. Three dull impacts echoed in rapid succession, but the final stone disarmed the boy entirely, jarring his arms back and knocking him off balance.

In front of them, the monster coiled its tail like a human hand. It drove it into the earth, ripped out a chunk of stone, and hurled it straight at them once more.

”Damn it!!”

This time, Alice stepped forward, her right hand clutching her open abdomen. Then, she clenched her teeth through the pain and raised her left forearm to shield Aiden.

”[Freeze]!” she shouted, praying to whatever gods were listening that her power would be enough to keep her limb in place.

It was glaringly obvious now: the beast didn’t just possess time powers. It was also far more intelligent than lower-ranked monsters, and its raw power had proven to be at least superior to that of any of the students by themselves.

Not only that, but the devastating force behind those rocks meant the monster knew how to use [Freeze] too. Inflicting that much power on a mundane object was only possible by unbinding it from every other law.

And even worse than that, the ease with which the beast could do it was far too terrifying. It was in their nature, after all—any and every object it had in its possession would be instinctively thought of as theirs and theirs alone. So using the power of time on anything they laid their claws on was as easy as breathing.

Thus, as expected, Alice’s [Freeze] wasn’t enough to negate the force, though it fortunately managed to keep her arm attached.

The moment the rock shattered her bones upon impact, Alice bit her lip until she tasted iron, forcing any thought out of her mind.

”[Motion]...”

In an instant, every single wound vanished. Her body reverted to perfect condition—though the same couldn’t be said about her mind.

”Hahhh... Hah...”

Behind her, Aiden scrambled up, retrieved his weapon, and took his place by her side.

”Hahh... Aiden... You’re going to have to be the one to strike,” Alice panted, abandoning any hope of dealing damage herself. ”I’ll back you up. Just... huff... just go for the kill.”

Aiden’s expression hardened. He accepted her order with a single, shaky nod.