#1037 Stopping Time

I’m Sensei, the Lifeless King.

No, right now, I’m just a humble priest.

So, thief, relax; I’m not here to cause any trouble.

I creep up on the thief, pretending to be harmless.

“I’m just a simple priest, no danger at all. You must be hungry, right? I’ve brought some food for you.”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! Ueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!”

Ah, the thief has completely let his guard down now.

He’s even let go of the child he was holding hostage and fallen flat on his butt, unable to move.

“Hunger can make people irrational. Here, calm down. I’ve got bread and water—chew slowly and take your time.”

“MONSTER! YOU’RE A MONSTER!!! AIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!”

The kid’s safe now, which means... now’s the perfect moment!

“Take this—Time Stop Magic!”

“Guh!”

Good, it worked like a charm.

My magic can stop the flow of time perfectly within any chosen area.

It’s a great spell when you need to capture someone without causing any harm.

Thanks to it, the child hostage is safe without a scratch.

The guards have already reunited them with their parents.

“Pulling off a massive spell like time control without chanting, huh? As I thought, a Lifeless King’s magic is on another level.”

No, chanting is still important.

In my case, I’ve become friends with Cronus, the god of time, so he lets me skip the chanting if I say a little prayer.

But I try not to cut corners too much with magic so that my students remember to respect the source.

“U-Um, th-thank you! Thank you so much!!!”

The parent of the hostage runs up to me.

What, they came over just to thank me?

How polite...!

“We thought you were some terrifying monster. But we were wrong. You have a heart of mercy, willing to help those in need despite the fearsome image.”

“For a priest, their robes are like a second skin. Yet you dyed yours black, putting the child’s safety above all else…”

Now, the others are surrounding me, praising my actions.

I feel... so fulfilled!

“Er, did you really have to dye your robes in the first place? I mean, wasn’t that thief already scared witless just from you showing up disguised?!”

Veil, my friend, the important thing is that hearts were connected.

“Shut up! If you could stop time, you didn’t even need to bother tricking them!”

That’s where you’re wrong, Veil.

If we’re being honest, the whole mess started because we barged into town unannounced in the first place.

“Don’t lump me into this ‘we’! I’m not the one who caused the chaos!!!”

Exactly. That’s why, to make up for it, I had to ensure that I saved the hostage without so much as a scratch.

By any means necessary.

Oh, speaking of which, now that the rescue’s over, I don’t need the black robes anymore, right?

With a simple spell, the black dye disappears, and my pristine white robes return.

“You can change the color at will?! You didn’t even need the paint, did you?!”

Veil has been a little grumpy lately.

Perhaps it’s time she broadens her perspective a little. After all, as a dragon, her heart should be as grand as her strength.

“SHUT UP...!!!”

“Excuse me... may I say something?”

It’s one of the town’s guards who interrupts our conversation.

Judging by his calm demeanor, he looks like a commander.

“Regarding the thief, this entire incident is no fault of yours. Thieves will always have their schemes, and they must have been planning something from the start...”

The thief, still frozen in time, remains stuck in the corner.

There’s no rush; they have ample time to detain him and carry him off to the jail.

“Still, we were the ones who triggered the chaos. Doesn’t that mean we’re responsible...?”

“Quite the opposite—we should thank you for stirring things up. Otherwise, that thief might have brought far worse trouble down on us later...!”

What?

What does he mean? I mull over his words.

The thief had claimed he was part of a famous gang.

So, he wasn’t acting alone. There was a group involved.

Yet, here he was, alone in town, causing trouble.

Which meant... he was a scout?

Was he here to spy on us and prepare the way for the rest of his crew?

Just as I came to this conclusion, another commotion erupted.

This time, it was coming from outside the city...

“Captain! There’s a suspicious group spotted outside the town!”

“I knew it! The main band of thieves is finally here!”

Hmm, seems like our troubles aren’t over just yet.

We can’t just up and leave everything unfinished. It wouldn’t be right.

I suppose this Lifeless King should get himself down to the scene!!!

We’ve arrived.

Out on the plains beyond the town, nearly fifty rough-looking characters are hanging around, clearly up to no good and watching us.

“What the hell’s goin’ on? Came here ‘cause we heard some ruckus, but what’s all this? Did our scout jump the gun?”

“Let’s cut the crap already, boss! The town’s practically trembling, so we should hit ‘em while they’re weak, rob the place blind, and make out like bandits!!!”

“A town that small? Piece of cake to take down! Steal, plunder—that’s what being a bandit’s all about! Let’s go wild and grab everything we can!!!”

That must be the group that sent the scout.

Had we not caught that sneaky thief, they might’ve called in the main force, leaving us wide open for a nasty surprise attack.

So that’s what the guards were talking about earlier...!

The guards, watching from afar, are quick to react.

“Gather every able-bodied fighter! We’ll meet these scoundrels head-on!”

“They think we’ll just roll over and let ‘em take the town? No chance! Thanks to the Lifeless King, we dodged their sneak attack. Let’s put ropes around their necks, men!”

They’re really giving it their all, fulfilling their duty.

Well, I can’t just stand by and do nothing, either. As a passing traveler, I shall lend a hand to the righteous cause!

Oh, these thieves, trying to snatch away the hard-earned fruits of honest labor!

Let them taste the bitter pill of their own foolishness!

“Enough of this nonsenseeeeee!!!”

Huh?

What’s going on, Veil? Why are you transforming all of a sudden?

Going from your usual human form back to your full dragon shape just like that will scare both the townsfolk and the thieves.

“I’m done holding back! I’ve had it up to here with playing the straight man in all these ridiculous antics! You pseudo-corpse and those humans are way too out there this time! If this nonsense goes on any longer, I’m done! I’ll wrap this up myself!!!”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

The ones most shocked by this turn of events are the bandits about to launch their attack.

But of course. If a dragon suddenly shows up where you’re about to raid, you’d think it’s some kind of nightmare.

These crooks, who only know how to steal from others, never in their wildest dreams, expected to run into a dragon.

“Gyaaah! Wh-Wh-What the heck is that?!”

“A dragon?! Ruuuun, ruuun, ruuun!!!”

“What do we do, boss?! We need orderssssssss!”

Flailing around, too panicked to even escape properly, they’re just thrashing about in terror.

“Regret ever crossing me, fools! Behold, my ultimate dragon breath!!!”

The flames from Veil’s mouth are so intense that if a human took a hit, not even ashes would remain.

And, of course, there’s no dodging it; they’re all swept up in the blazing inferno.

And then...

After the fiery breath dies down, the bandits are still standing there.

Not charred, not turned to ash. Just... standing.

Frozen in expressions of sheer terror, not moving an inch.

Completely stuck, their limbs paralyzed.

Because I froze their time.

When time’s stopped, even a flame hotter than the sun won’t leave a mark on them.

“Bwahaha! Perfect timing, pseudo-corpse!”

“W-Wait! Didn’t the dragon just incinerate those bandits?”

A soldier asks, bewildered. But you see, since Veil started listening to Lord Saint, she doesn’t kill anymore, even if they’re bad guys.

However, a little punishment never hurt anyone, right?

Before freezing them, I made sure to give them quite the scare.

“Dragon breath is like staring death in the face—it’ll haunt their nightmares forever.”

“Every time they recall that moment, they’ll regret their wicked ways! Bwahahahaha!”

Veil and I make quite the team, don’t we?

Thanks to us, the town’s threat has been thoroughly neutralized.

“Like I said, you’re the one they should be worried about in the first place!”