Then, every sound abruptly went dead—as if someone had slammed down the mute button.
Time was severed.
This was now the time that belonged to Diavolo alone.
No one could touch or harm him during this interval.
Even Subaru Natsuki, the physical owner of this body, remained frozen in his previous posture—evidently caught within the ability’s reach as well.
In an instant, as if slipping into a void, Diavolo phased through reality as the icicle passed straight through his chest.
Within the erased frame of time, only Diavolo could act of his own free will.
Everyone else was bound to repeat their predetermined actions.
He raised his gaze to see a white-haired figure standing at the mouth of the alley, hand still raised.
*Is it you who ambushed me?
Was that icicle magic?* *Did that endless loop of death finally dull my vigilance after all?* *No matter.* *At this distance, it’s more than enough to eliminate the ambusher.* Normally, he would probe further to gather intel on her abilities, but there was no time for caution.
Diavolo refused to die ever again.
He refused to fall back into that infinite loop of death.
Anything that posed a threat to his life had to be wiped out with absolute force from the very start.
Besides, King Crimson’s ability excelled at blindside execution; no one could survive its initial ambush.
By now, Diavolo stood directly behind the white-haired girl.
The girl remained frozen in place, her hand still raised in mid-cast.
Within erased time, every living creature was bound to carry out their predetermined motion—everyone except Diavolo.
*Even without Epitaph, erasing a few seconds is more than enough.* Diavolo had already erased several seconds—far short of his maximum limit, but plenty to settle this.
Beside him, King Crimson raised its right fist, standing on standby.
Diavolo himself retreated to hide around the corner at the alley’s mouth, right behind the girl.
Had it been possible to strike within those erased seconds, the girl’s torso would already have been pierced through.
“It is time.
Time resumes its march!” *Shhh.* The world’s time snapped back into place.
“Huh?
Where did that person go?” Emilia blinked in confusion.
The bizarrely dressed villain who had been slaughtering people just a moment ago had vanished into thin air.
The two fleeing thugs were nowhere to be seen either, while a pool of dark blood had seeped beneath the punk’s corpse.
*Pfft!* Out of nowhere, a gale-force fist struck, and Emilia felt a searing pain in her chest.
“Ugh…
What…
happened to me?” The white-haired girl collapsed to her knees.
Looking down, she found a gaping bloody hole carved through her chest.
Judging by the wound, it looked as though someone had punched straight through her.
“Emilia!” A small white cat materialized out of thin air.
“A flying cat?” Diavolo was no longer inside the alley; he was watching from the shadows of a nearby corner.
He knew very little about this world, and he needed to confirm her death with his own eyes.
“…Huh?” Inside the shared consciousness, Subaru was completely bewildered.
His field of view had abruptly shifted.
A moment ago he was deep within the alley, but now he was standing near its entrance.
And right in front of him was a white-haired girl.
“Diavolo, what happened just now?” Diavolo offered no answer, keeping his gaze fixed on the girl.
Unsurprisingly, the girl collapsed to the ground.
She was dead.
Confirming her death, Diavolo wasted no time, turning on his heel to leave.
Yet in the next second— His consciousness was suddenly yanked back, and he lost control of the physical body.
“Diavolo!
How could you just murder someone like that?!
You absolute lunatic!” Subaru, having forcibly reclaimed control, shouted in sheer panic.
He had no desire to become a serial killer.
Slaying that punk thug was one thing, but now even a beautiful girl passing by had been brutally killed.
Especially a white-haired girl—his absolute favorite type.
Before Diavolo could explain, however— The atmosphere changed instantly, and a freezing wind howled across the city.
The weather shifted with terrifying speed.
The temperature plunged as if the world had been dropped into an ice cellar; even breath turned to thick white fog.
Panic erupted across the street.
Screaming citizens and fleeing merchants abandoned their stalls to run for their lives.
“What’s going on?!” Sensing imminent danger, Subaru picked up his pace to flee.
The next second, however— “You are the one who killed Emilia.” A colossal beast materialized before him.
It was snow-white, massive as a mountain, with nine gigantic tails swaying slowly behind it—each resembling a thick pillar of solid ice.
Wrathful, murderous intent swirled within its slitted golden eyes.
Its mere presence was enough to freeze the surrounding air solid.
“N-No, it wasn’t me!
It wasn’t me!” Subaru trembled in terror, half his body already encrusted with frost as he gasped out a denial.
Yet the giant beast had already locked onto its target.
“Die.” “Hand over control!
Let me out now!!” Diavolo roared in panic inside their mind.
He could not die again.
He could not be dragged back into that loop.
If Subaru died, there was a high chance he would be cast back into infinite death—an outcome he could never accept.
It was too late.
Subaru was instantly flash-frozen into a block of ice, which shattered into fine frost a second later.
Diavolo didn’t even get the chance to act.
Subaru was dead.
“What’s the matter, young man?
Why the sudden deathly face?” “Huh?” Subaru, suddenly revived and reset back in time, stared blankly at the bandana-wearing vendor in front of him, muttering instinctively.
“I asked if you’re buying any appas!
Appas!
Fresh, delicious red appas!
Do you have any money, kid?” “Huh??” Subaru clapped his hands over his ears, feeling as though he were losing his ability to process words.
“Huh my ass!” The appa vendor snapped, thoroughly annoyed.
The kid standing before him looked completely out of his mind.
“I’m asking you—are you buying appas or not?!
If you’re just staring, move along!
Don’t block my stall, I don’t have time to waste on you!” Cursed at relentlessly, Subaru stood dazed in the middle of the street.
He looked around at his surroundings, found the instant ramen still in his hands, and his brain scrambled to catch up.
“What…
what is this?” “It was just freezing cold a second ago!
Didn’t I get frozen to death?
And that giant white monster…” Subaru frantically patted his body, finding himself completely unharmed.
Everything felt like a bad dream.
Stumbling forward in confusion, Subaru inadvertently found himself walking back into that same dim alley.
“Hey, this place looks familiar…” As he walked deeper, three figures appeared ahead of him.
At the sight of them, Subaru froze dead in his tracks.
“Hey, what’s with that dumb look on your face?
You got a screw loose or something?” “Haha!
Well, kid, consider it your unlucky day.
Hand over your valuables, or you know what happens next.” Faced with their threats, Subaru couldn’t care less about their words.
He slowly raised a finger, pointing straight at the punk in the middle.
“You…
weren’t you dead?
There was a gaping hole in your chest, you were lying right there on the ground!” He then turned his gaze toward the other two.
“Didn’t you two run away?
And you, big guy—I slashed your wrist with a knife!
It was that punk’s knife!” Subaru stared in sheer terror at the three men before him, his fingers trembling violently.
“Huh?
Are you crazy, kid?
Cursing me to die?
And you even knew I had a knife…
Well, since you’ve heard of me, stop wasting my time!” the punk spat.
He reached behind his waist, drawing two daggers in a reverse grip.
He hadn’t intended to pull weapons so soon, but since the kid had called it out, he couldn’t afford to take him lightly.
“Hmph!
Sounds like you’re begging for a beating!
I’m gonna beat you until you’re crawling on all fours like a dog, barking and begging for mercy, before I piss all over you!” Seeing the punk draw his blades, the big brute lunged forward to beat Subaru down.
Even the short dwarf whipped out a short knife from somewhere.
“Don’t give us that attitude!
Who do you think you are?!” Subaru had no desire to fight, but being humiliated like this was more than anyone could stomach.
Especially now that they had drawn knives.
Caught off guard by Subaru’s sudden roar, the nearest brute froze for a fraction of a second.
By the time he snapped back, Subaru’s fist had already slammed into his face.
“Gah!” The brute was sent sprawling by the punch.
Seeing his comrade hit the ground, the dwarf shouted frantically, “Boss, let’s take him down!” When he looked up, however, Subaru was already sprinting away.
*Who fights against knives?!* *If you didn’t pull knives, I might have fought you!* Subaru sprinted at top speed toward the crowded main street.
Just as he was about to burst out of the alley, a deep, magnetic voice echoed inside his mind.
“Kid…
you look utterly pathetic.” Diavolo!!