In the Mysterious Darkness

Ian had never been the type to shortchange himself, so he had already decided how he would compensate himself once he returned.

Perhaps that was what true invincibility of heart meant.

No matter what situation he faced, he never believed he might fall here. He had always believed that he would eventually find a way to overcome the difficulty and return to his own era.

That was what confidence meant.

It meant believing that you would always be the one who lived until the very end. Ian had that confidence, of course, though this twisted monster—immortal, indestructible, and stronger with every battle—was indeed proving troublesome.

"Try more things." Ian knew conventional methods would be difficult to make work now. He had to use more of his hidden secret arts and wild ideas to find further openings.

This process was also, in truth, a process of waiting to verify his hypothesis.

"Space-Time Shackles!"

Ian's wand traced complex silver runes, attempting to reduce the flow of time in the monster's area to its lowest point, even bringing it close to a standstill.

However, the moment the runes took effect, the dark purple glow in that area fluctuated violently, as if higher-order laws of space-time had forcibly intervened and disrupted Ian's power. The silver runes melted away as quickly as snow beneath the blazing sun, and before the temporal domain could fully unfold, it shattered.

"Roar roar roar!! Join us! Join us! Join eternity!" Seizing the opportunity, one of the monster's tentacles eerily pierced through the still-unstable ripples of space-time.

It nearly struck Ian.

But nearly was all it did.

Ian remained utterly composed. He had left himself plenty of room for error. Anyone who knew Ian understood that, in battle, the thing he considered most was always how to avoid taking damage.