Everyone was in shock at what had just happened. The girl, still holding the sword against her own chest, tried with all her strength to move, but nothing happened. She could not move even a finger. The bandits also tried to move, their muscles straining as they attempted to break free, but they remained frozen in place.
Soon they heard footsteps.
The girl, unable to turn her head, could still see forward. From the path ahead, a man was slowly approaching. His clothes were unlike anything she had ever seen, noble in appearance yet strangely different at the same time. For a moment she thought he might be coming to help her, but the second she felt the aura he released, all hope shattered.
The power he radiated was so intense that her hands trembled violently. It felt like her very soul was being crushed. Terror swallowed her whole. If her body hadn't been frozen in time, she would have collapsed or screamed. Her fear was so overwhelming that she even lost control of her bladder, though time stop prevented anything from appearing externally.
The bandits were even worse off. None of them had ever felt fear like this in their lives. Every instinct inside them screamed to run, but their bodies were locked in place. If time were still flowing, every single one of them would have fled at full speed, pissing themselves along the way.
The man approached the frozen group casually. The closer he came, the more terrified the girl felt. At first she had thought he might save her, but now she saw clearly that this man was far beyond anything she understood. His presence alone felt like a death sentence.
Suddenly, the time stop ended.
The world resumed moving. Leaves rustled again. The wind returned. The bandits who had been frozen mid-leap fell instantly to the ground, some landing awkwardly, some crawling backward in pure terror. A few even pissed themselves upon regaining movement, their fear exploding the moment time flowed normally.
Rex didn't even look at them. His eyes were focused only on the girl, studying her with a calm, almost curious expression.
One bandit, terrified beyond reason, tried to escape. He bolted into the opposite direction with all the strength he had.
Rex didn't even turn toward him. He simply flicked his finger.
A wave of purple energy shot out. The moment it touched the running bandit, his body melted into a dark puddle of paste. There wasn't even a scream.
Every other bandit swallowed hard. Their throats tightened. None of them even dared to think about running now. They stayed completely still, terrified that even a single wrong thought might cause this man to erase them.
Rex approached the girl and spoke in a quiet, almost gentle tone."Which race do you belong to?"
He circled around her slowly, examining her as if trying to understand something. After looking at her for a moment, he leaned down, took her hand, and picked up her sword. He pulled the blade free from her grip.
"Hmmm. Only iron and a bit of steel," he muttered. "Nothing special."
He tapped the sword lightly with his finger. The entire blade exploded into fragments.
"Too weak," Rex said casually, as if commenting on a piece of trash.
He looked at the girl again."You still didn't answer my question."
The girl tried her best to speak. Her lips trembled. Her mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out. Terror choked her throat completely. Her eyes darted around in panic.
Seeing this, Rex frowned. He didn't understand why she wasn't talking. He followed her gaze and looked around, trying to figure out what she was looking at, but nothing seemed unusual.
Then he looked at the bandits.
"All of you," he said, pointing at them and then toward a set of trees to the side. "Move over there. Stand together."
The bandits obeyed instantly. They hurried into a tight group near the trees and stood perfectly still, not daring to breathe loudly.
Rex looked back at the girl. She was still trying to speak but failing miserably. Her body shook with fear. Rex grew even more confused.
He didn't know yet that his mere presence had petrified every living being around him. It was why he had not encountered any intelligent creatures until now. Everything capable of sensing danger simply fled from him before he arrived, terrified of the overwhelming aura he unknowingly released. Only one intelligent being had approached him so far, and even she this girl , was so terrified that she couldn't form a single word.
Time itself seemed to hold its breath as she stood trembling before him.