Is It a Saber or a Crossbow?

Once again, under the effect of Sin of the Hell River, Tales was surprised to feel:

Time slowed down.

In the almost slow-motion field of vision, he saw everything clearly:

Nikolai roared, his face filled with shock and fury.

Monty strode forward with a fierce expression, keeping his right arm extended as he charged toward the boy.

Before his right arm, three throwing knives spun through the air, flying toward Tales.

Looking at the three throwing knives he could not possibly dodge, Tales's heart jolted!

What should I do?

Seeing the dire situation before him, Tales took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

Air flowed smoothly into his lungs, broke down and circulated, and transformed into energy in his blood.

Wait!

Tales's pupils shifted as he suddenly noticed something wrong!

He had just inhaled a breath of air.

Under normal circumstances, that action would take half a second.

But now, everything before him...

Was still unchanged within the slowed-down time?

Could this be...

Tales exhaled again and was astonished to see that during the time it took him to breathe out, the throwing knives had advanced less than an inch.

Just as I thought... His heart leaped. This time, my breathing was just a little faster than the surrounding "slow motion"!

So it isn't only my thoughts that have sped up. Tales stared in astonishment at the charging Monty. Is this a new ability of Sin of the Hell River?

But the weakness that followed made Tales realize that as he took that breath, slightly faster than the "slow motion," Sin of the Hell River in his body began to deplete rapidly. The Ending Power he had painstakingly accumulated after recovering was almost completely drained.

Clearly, the new ability came at a price.

But he had no