Ch. 21 'Time Stopped'

"I told you it's not her!"

Niken was startled to hear the loud voice of her friend.

What happened?

Why did people surround them?

Where is Sir Hak?

When she just tried to find out the mentor's whereabout, she realized her body was cold. Her hair was wet as the water ran from the tip of her head down to her cheeks. Niken's heart pounded as she noticed that everyone looked at her with a disgusting look.

What happened? Why did her whole body wet? Then she saw some of her classmates brought a big bucket filled water inside the room.

Why did they bring a lot of water? It seemed like they wanted to soak her?

"What are you doing?"

Niken didn't dare look at her friends; she lowered her head and heard Karyn's voice defending her.

"Why did you do it?" Karyn snapped again. "Didn't I tell you that the lump of water wasn't Niken's doing! Niken hasn't even been able to move the waves of water, how could you think she can create a lump of water in the air?" Karyn defended again.

Ah, that's the problem. Niken started to understand. They were all angry because of the lump of water. But really, it didn't come from her.

What Karyn said was true, she couldn't even make a wave from still water. Why did they think she could create a lump of water out of nothing?

"If not her, then who did it? Everyone here is only at level D, while she's the mysterious new kid. I heard her twin brother is at A-class in the Sun. Is not that strange? How can they be twins, but get different levels of energy?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Not wrong. The problem is if this child hid her true level energy just because of fear of Tora and entering this level on purpose. But in the end, he made Kazuto angry!"

"Seconded. We don't want to look for trouble at all with the wolf clan. If you want to find a problem with them, you should enter your real level."

"That's right."

They began to cry out in agreement with that last response. Karyn continued to try to defend Niken but still outvoted. Karyn saw all the water Elementalist working together to control the water from a large container.

They directed the water above the girls and get ready to drop it right towards Niken. Karyn readily covered Niken's body and faced with her body protecting Niken. As soon as the water dropped, the time froze.

There was no movement, and the noise became dead silence along with the water paused in the middle of the air.

Karyn, who protected Niken, did not move either. When Niken learned that the world and the time around her stopped, she began to cry and called out her brother's name.

She knew it!

She won't get a peaceful time in this place. She wanted to go home. She no longer wanted to be in this place.

She wanted to leave.

***

Edward and Scarlet kept running after the two knights, but Edward's steps suddenly come to a halt. He did not move at all, making Scarlet stopped too.

"Ed? Edward! What is wrong with you? Why are you silent? Edward!" Scarlet was so panicked seeing Edward stilled like a statue.

"There is no point." Shin Ha said from behind.

"What happened?"

"Come here, you will know."

When she arrived at the place Shin Ha pointed at, Scarlet could hardly believe what she saw. Everyone, with no exception, stopped from their activities.

The trees outside also didn't move. The scattered leaves also stayed in the air. There was no wind at all!

"Only three of us can still move," added Shin Ha.

Three? Does that mean only the knights who can move freely?

"Where is Kazuto?"