The air thickened.
Purple light still pulsed along Lira's fists.
But now it wasn't just glow.
It hummed.
It breathed.
Kael noticed first.
"…That… isn't normal," he muttered.
"…It's not just fast anymore. It's… slowing everything around it."
Prince Eldarin stumbled, eyes wide.
"…What do you mean, slowing?"
Before Kael could answer, Lira clenched her fist tighter.
Time itself seemed to hesitate.
The dust in the air hung, frozen.
A bird mid-flight hovered like a statue.
Even the wind… paused.
Yuki's eyes narrowed.
"…Hmph… trickery?" she said, her movements suddenly sluggish despite her full speed.
Her punches that were untrackable a moment ago now felt… heavy.
Lira grinned faintly.
"…Not trickery," she said.
"…Good."
Her fist glowed brighter.
She moved.
One punch.
Not fast—slow.
And yet the punch carried everything with it.
Time, space, even abstract concepts—slid into the inertia of her strike.
The battlefield itself seemed to bend under the force.
Yuki tried to move to dodge.
Her senses screamed.
Her body resisted.
But the punch… found her anyway.
BOOOOM.
The impact shattered the air.
The ground cracked, spreading outwards in a ripple.
Even distant buildings shivered.
Yuki didn't fall. Somehow.
She stood, barely moving, but…
Her robes were shredded.
Her hair singed.
Her aura flickering from the unnatural force of the blow.
She gasped.
"…Impossible… not just force… not just speed… time itself…"
Her voice shook.
"…Concepts… stopped… everything…"
Kael finally spoke, voice low.
"…Lira… your punch… it's not just magic. It's a seal. Everything slows—people, objects… even ideas."
Prince Eldarin's jaw dropped.
"…She can stop thought?!"
Lira wiped sweat from her brow.
"…Good," she said.
"…Slows things. Fun."
Yuki steadied herself, fists trembling.
"…This… won't stop me…" she said.
But the truth was clear.
Even a Demon General of Sloth—master of lethargy and time manipulation—was now struggling to move freely against the Purple Fist.
The battlefield had changed again.
Purple light emanated, not just from Lira's fists, but into the very air.
The world itself bent to her strike.
And those who faced her felt… time slipping through their fingers.
One punch.
A seal.
A force that warped reality.
And the war… had only just begun.
To Be Continued…