Jack's felt everything around him stop. It was the power from the rune diagram, it had somehow put everything in its vicinity into a state of stasis.
His body stopped. He couldn't move. He tried executing his skills, but his body didn't respond. He tried summoning Therras, but nothing happened. Everything had completely stopped. He also felt his thought move at a very slow speed even when he was still aware.
He then noticed Saakir approaching. Another demon materialized. They had been invisible. This other demon approached following Saakir. They were not affected by the rune diagram. The diagram seemed to be an explosive kind. Its effect burst only one time, affecting ones that were within its range.
Saakir looked at Jack from close range. "Yep, he is the one," she said.
"Are you sure?" The other demon asked.
"Of course, I'm sure. I have a close encounter with him. Furthermore, how many humans do you think can be found in this plane?"
"As expected of the demon scholar, you managed to pinpoint where he used to hang around just by his lingering aura. It's a good thing he returns. We didn't waste our time by spending days waiting at this place."
Saakir nodded. "Mammon will be pleased when we give him this offering. Imagine the rewards we can get. Hurry! We have to prepare the rune diagram to lock him. We can't bind him with a runic rope with that stasis field freezing everything around him. We have to finish the diagram within one hour before the stasis field ends."
They took out paintbrushes and a bottle. They dipped the paintbrush into the bottle. They then bent down on the ground and started drawing something around Jack. Jack figured the bottle contained mana paint, the required material to draw a rune diagram.
The two drew from two opposite sides. Jack couldn't turn his head to look around but his mana sense informed him of their movements. From their speed, he estimated they wouldn't take an hour to finish the diagram, maybe even less than half an hour.
"You sure he isn't aware of what happens to him?" The other demon said and looked up.
"Stop worrying, Buzz," Saakir said. "The stasis field completely stops the time inside, even his thought. For all he knows, the time skips ahead to when the stasis field ends and we are already binding him using runic rope while this diagram holds him. Now, get back to work!"
"Yes, ma'am," Buzz said.
'My thought is stopped?' Jack thought. Even though he knew his mind had slowed down, he was still perfectly aware of what was happening.
'Peniel. Hey, Peniel!' He sent his thought to Peniel. He couldn't see her, but he sensed her floating beside his head, locked in time as well.
No response from her. Was her mind in stasis as Saakir said? Then why could he still think?
He couldn't be sure of the reason. Perhaps it was because of his Time Sage class? Maybe the class made it so that time could not completely control him.
But even if it was so, what could he do about his current situation? If all he could do was think without being able to act, then there was no point. He still couldn't save himself. Once Saakir and Buzz finished drawing the rune diagram, then he would still get bind even when this stasis field ended. He had to free himself before that happened!
He tried to move again. He exerted all his thought and will into moving, but his body just won't move.
'Calm down, calm down,' he told himself. What could he do when he was unable to move?
'Something that I do when I'm not moving…,' Jack thought. He focused his mana sense and used his incorporeal state. He sensed his consciousness leaving his body.
'Okay, I can move now. But what's the use if I'm just a spirit?' Jack thought. At the same time, he felt the anomaly around him.
During the incorporeal state, his mana sense was augmented. He had a familiar feeling about what he was currently sensing. He tried to remember when he had the same feeling. Then he remembered. It was when he was in his Time Sage trial. When he connected with time.
So, he focused his sense on this stasis field until he perceived its atoms. He sensed the interlinked mana that caused time to stop around him. He inserted his will and tried moving it.
His mana manipulation was much stronger compared to when he was in the Time Sage trial. Thus, the process was easier compared to when he was in the trial. He identified the important nodes that formed this stasis field and forced them to start moving again. The stasis field tried to resist his manipulation. But in the end, it gave in.
The gears started turning. Time was flowing again.
Jack quickly went back into his body as it happened. He summoned his weapons. He used Whirlwind Slash and cast Ice Ring when both demons were still not aware of what was happening.
He then jumped away while casting myriad venomous vipers. Fifteen green large snakes burst out of the ground and entangled the two demons who had been slowed by the ice ring.
While the two demons were still confused and entangled, Jack summoned Therras and activated Ultimate Beast. He also called out his spirit weapon and activated its finishing mode.
He didn't know the real situation. It seemed that only these two demons were here, but he didn't know for sure. He couldn't take chances, so he needed to finish this fast.
He used beast form, activated Overlimit, then used Soul Breath and Lightning God Barrage. The combined explosion engulfed the two demons before they could react by casting any spell. They suffered the full brunt of the damage.
When the explosion ended, Buzz's body was lying still on the ground. Saakir had less than half her HP.
Jack saw her casting a Teleportation spell. Jack countered using Cancel Magic.
Saakir was an experienced spell caster. When her spell formation fizzled, she quickly changed to cast a different spell, Fly. Her body rose into the air in an attempt to flee.
Jack's dragon flight could have easily caught up to her flying speed, but Jack used an even more assured method to keep her from fleeing. He cast Time Realm.
A large dome formed, separating the area the two were in from the outside world. The area within the dome slowed Saakir. Saakir looked at this barrier dome in disbelief.
She then found that Jack was already above her. Jack used Flame Slash and she was slammed back into the ground.
