The sword pierced her, right in her right chest. A sharp pain paralyzed her body instantly. In her fading consciousness, she slowly turned her gaze to see who had attacked her—a middle-aged man with shining golden hair. His piercing black eyes bore into Ayumi with cold indifference, and the feathered accents on his ears confirmed her suspicions. She knew who this was.
To make sure, Ayumi's fading eyes tried to view the man's status panel.
- Race: Golden Griffin Race
- Power Core: Bloodline
- Rank: Solar Empowerment (Tier-3).
The man smiled arrogantly. "You think you can defeat me?" he said, his voice low and taunting, as though everything was a game to him.
Without delay, he dragged his sword upward, slicing through Ayumi while she remained in shock and anger. Her dull eyes widened again, glaring at Fryon with terrifying intensity.
Ayumi bit her lip, trying to endure the pain. But there was no time. In an instant, the man's sword rose, tearing through her body. Blood splattered, and her body was split in half, slowly falling to the ground, accompanied by the distant screams of soldiers.
Fryon looked at Ayumi, his eyes flashing with twisted satisfaction. His tongue flicked across his lips, savoring the blood that stained his sword. Ayumi's split body floated briefly in the air before gravity pulled it down, falling powerlessly towards the earth.
"Noooo... President!!!"
"This can't be... Wait for me, Princess Ayumi..."
The soldiers' cries echoed behind the barrier wall, their voices filled with both hope and despair. With all their strength, they leaped over the wall and ran, their feet trembling in tension as they watched Ayumi's body plummet.
"I can't... I can't believe it!" One female soldier ran with tears streaming down her face, her voice full of anguish. Just moments ago, she had watched Ayumi's thunder dragon soar with grandeur, destroying the terrifying griffin. But now, panic gripped her soul. How could this happen? It felt as if time had stopped, and the world around her blurred into confusion.
Outside the perimeter wall, a middle-aged man stood still, his eyes vacant, as though unable to process what had just happened. Beneath his calm exterior, a torrent of emotions clashed—shock, disbelief, and sorrow, all mixed into one. His lips trembled, and his voice escaped in a faint whisper, barely audible to anyone.
"Princess…" It was all he could say, as if other words were trapped in his throat.
Not long after uttering those words, Kaito, who had been frozen in confusion, suddenly snapped out of it by something different. A cold wind swept across the battlefield, but beneath its chill, there was an energy more ancient, more primordial. That aura radiated from the heart of the battle, from Elen, now surrounded by lines of light forming patterns of time around her.
The light moved, crawling through the air, touching each soldier still running toward Ayumi's body.
The energy was invisible, but its presence was palpable—a vibration that pierced through both mind and body. The soldiers, who had been rushing forward with determination, suddenly halted. Their feet moved backward as if pulled by an unseen force.
They began retracing every step they had just taken, but this time, their movements felt slower, more reluctant, like puppets controlled by invisible strings.
"W-what's happening? My body isn't moving according to my will!" one of the soldiers shouted, his voice shaking, filled with confusion. His hand lifted forward, but not of his own accord. "Help!" cried another, his voice laced with growing panic.
Some of them tried to resist, but it was futile. Their bodies continued to reverse, repeating each motion they had made as though time itself had reversed.
Then one of the soldiers yelled, his eyes wide in astonishment. "Look! President Ayumi's body!"
They all looked toward the battlefield, and there, amid the fading fog, Ayumi's body, which had previously fallen to the ground, was now rising again. Slowly, her body floated, following the same path it had taken during the fall. But even more astonishing, in the distance, Fryon, the Gifrin who had stabbed Ayumi earlier, was also moving in reverse.
His actions replayed, the golden feathered sword that had torn through Ayumi's body returning to its position before the strike, as if the world was rewinding the scene.
Fryon squinted his eyes, his gaze vacant, his movements sluggish, as though his body no longer belonged to him. Around him, a soft light shimmered, embracing time, slowing his motions to a near standstill. Everything around him felt as though it was being drawn into a greater force. Every second slowed, but Fryon was fully aware of being trapped.
His mind raced for an explanation. Time? Only one person could do this. "Elen." The name flashed in his thoughts, and the urge to turn toward her grew stronger. But his body couldn't respond, ensnared in the reverse flow of time.
Not far from Fryon, Elen stood, her body surrounded by glowing sheets of light spinning like lotus petals in the breeze. Her eyes were closed, her face radiating a gentle glow, deep in concentration. A single bead of sweat trickled down her forehead, but she remained composed, despite the heavy burden she carried. Bit by bit, she rewound time, undoing what had already occurred.
On the other side, Ayumi, who had previously been lying still, now blinked her eyes. Her breath hitched for a moment, and her body trembled as she clearly saw what was happening before her. Her lips parted, forming a barely audible whisper. "What…?" Her voice quivered, disbelief spreading across her face.
Her eyes widened further as she watched Fryon's golden feathered sword—previously embedded in her chest—slowly retracting. The pain still felt real, but now it was reversed, the wound that should have killed her vanishing as the sword withdrew from her body.
Fryon could only growl in shock. "Impossible…" he muttered in a low voice, his eyes wide in disbelief. "How could that child master the power of time...?"