So that wasn't the law of ice, but stasis?
Mm, a law more advanced than mere cold. Ice was only the surface phenomenon; the power hidden beneath it was stasis?
But wasn't the essence of a swordsman ultimate swiftness? The power of stasis completely contradicted its nature. That one simple word left Ch'en somewhat dazed, and she began pondering the key behind it.
Stasis...
Could that Dimensional Slash that ignored the laws of space be the might of stasis?
Sometimes, understanding something only took a gentle nudge. As Hoshino had said, even from Yae Sakura's perspective, Ch'en's talent for swordsmanship could not be considered poor.
"Witness it."
Hoshino said only that before lightly drawing her blade and advancing toward the battlefield. The turbulent currents of time surged toward her, then instantly calmed without any transition. Frenzied acceleration and reversal were powerless before absolute stasis, unable to affect her in the slightest.
"Miss Mostima, have you run into some trouble?"
She descended between the two, mediating like a school disciplinarian stepping into a fight between elementary schoolers.
"Whew—"
"Is this what you look like when your true power is fully unleashed?" Hoshino held her blade and tilted her head toward the shadow behind Mostima. "How should I put it? I was looking forward to it before I saw it, but now that I have, I'm suddenly a little disappointed."
"Scatter, cherry blossoms."
Nihilism's towering form collapsed with a boom. The gears of time immediately began turning, and everything it had destroyed, along with Nihilism itself, began to rewind. A few seconds later, it had directly returned to how it was before.
"See? This thing isn't easy to deal with. Feels like I used up a hundred years' worth of fighting today... I'm exhausted."
Mostima yawned.
"I'm exhausted too... I just spent