BANG! BANG! BANG!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Bullets and throwing knives hung suspended in the air, their dizzying numbers a testament to the countless waves of attacks that had already been exchanged.
'This is bad. There isn't a single opening.'
'Is this human's time also infinite?'
They clashed repeatedly, but neither could secure the decisive advantage that typically characterized their battles.
Both Homura and Sakuya had initially assumed their opponent could only act for a brief moment in the frozen world. However, as the seconds stretched into minutes without a hint of exhaustion from either side, they both came to a startling realization.
The Servant standing before them was just like them. They could move within stopped time without any apparent limitation.
This was a deeply troubling development.
Time-stop was their greatest tactical asset. Once that absolute advantage was neutralized, it was a staggering blow to their effectiveness in combat.
'But on the other hand...'
'If I can just eliminate her, the others will pose no threat at all!'
Their thoughts converged on the same ruthless conclusion at the exact same moment.
"How unfortunate for you. You have nowhere left to hide."
"Doesn't that apply to you as well?"
Standing several houses apart, the two combatants spoke across a narrow intersection choked with a dense cloud of frozen lead and steel.
"..."
Homura looked at Sakuya's poised, unruffled expression. For a moment, she found it difficult to read the maid's true intentions.
If they were to release the time-stop now, both would be riddled with wounds. The sheer volume of projectiles meant that every possible escape route was thoroughly sealed.
However, Homura wasn't truly worried. As a Magical Girl, her physical body could be reconstructed countless times as long as her [Soul Gem] remained intact and her magical energy reserves were high.
If she had to trade wounds with her opponent, she was confident she would come out on top.
But what gave her pause was Sakuya's own lack of concern.
The maid looked as though she possessed some secret trump card that would allow her to weather the storm completely unscathed.
"Did you know?"
"I've actually noticed something quite interesting while we've been dancing around each other."
Sakuya's sudden statement put Homura on high alert.
"Since we both possess the power to stop time without limit..."
"It seems we can also actively cancel each other's influence."
"There is an undeniable connection between identical powers, it seems."
"!"
The moment the words left Sakuya's lips, time began to flow. The suspended garden of knives and bullets roared into motion.
SPLURT!
THWACK!
Throwing knives buried themselves deep into Homura's shoulders and thighs, and crimson blood began to soak into her clothes.
But then, she witnessed something that defied all logic.
Every single bullet directed at Sakuya had frozen again just inches from her skin. It was as if time was still standing perfectly still in a small sphere around the maid.
"It is a pity. Even among those who manipulate time, there is a clear hierarchy of power."
"My mastery over time extends far beyond a simple pause."
Striking an elegant pose with throwing knives gripped between her fingers, Sakuya spoke with absolute confidence.
"If I wish, I can even achieve this."
The frozen bullets suddenly began to drift backward, retracing their trajectories to clear a wide path around Sakuya.
She stepped through the gap with effortless grace before finally releasing her hold on the projectiles.
The bullets resumed their forward flight, slamming into the masonry where she had just been standing.
POW! POW! POW! POW!
The impacts left a jagged line of craters in the stone.
'She can stop time for individual objects... and even reverse their flow?'
Homura's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't expected this maid from some unknown world to possess such profound control over the temporal axis.
This woman's mastery of time was on a completely different level from her own.
"The outcome has been decided."
Sakuya looked at Homura's blood-stained form and made her final judgment.
"Sakura was right. I really shouldn't have underestimated the opponents in this place."
Homura lowered her head as she recalled Kyouko's warnings.
The [Dragon Ball War] was no place for arrogance. You never knew when someone far stronger would emerge from the shadows.
She had made a grand declaration to her Master, only to be turned into a pincushion by a maid's knives in the blink of an eye.
It was a pathetic showing.
However, she hadn't lost just yet. She had at least confirmed a few vital pieces of information.
Ignoring the knives still buried in her flesh, Homura reached into the empty air and produced a flashbang and several bundles of C4.
"!"
Sakuya's instincts flared as she saw the metal canisters hit the pavement.
A blinding white light instantly erased her vision.
BOOM!
Sakuya tossed her pocket watch forward even as the shockwave reached her.
The space in front of her was frozen solid, and the explosion was held at bay.
By the time her vision cleared and the smoke from the blast dissipated, Archer was nowhere to be seen.
"You think you can run?! Not a chance!"
She knew Archer hadn't died in that blast. With wounds that severe, she couldn't have gone far.
Sakuya had no intention of letting her prey escape.
"Illusion World: [The World]!"
The world turned to a dull shade of grey, but only for a fraction of a second before returning to its natural colors.
"..."
Sakuya clicked her tongue in frustration.
It was just as she had told Homura earlier.
Since they both possessed the power to stop time without limit, they could constantly counteract each other's abilities.
This meant that as long as the other was nearby and paying attention, neither could rely on a full time-stop to gain the upper hand. Any attempt to pause the world would be countered within a second or two.
"I've gained a very troublesome opponent."
"Wait, Jotaro! Where did that girl go?"
Josuke stared at the empty space where his Servant had been standing just a moment ago, his expression one of pure confusion.
"I never imagined I would see someone like that."
"Someone who can stop time without the use of a Stand."
Jotaro ignored Josuke's question, his mind still reeling from what he had just witnessed.
If his calculations were correct, time had remained stopped for exactly ten minutes and eleven seconds.
That was a duration he couldn't have matched even if he had been fused with the late DIO. It was an impossible, staggering amount of time.
At his absolute peak, DIO could only manage nine seconds. Jotaro himself had only recently managed to reclaim a mere two seconds of frozen time.
But this woman could sustain it for over ten minutes.
If Jotaro had ten minutes of frozen time, he could have used [Star Platinum] to reduce both DIO and Yoshikage Kira to atoms before they even realized they were in a fight.
And he had no way of knowing if those ten minutes were even her true limit.
"It is possible she has already won the battle."
"Wha--?! What did you just say?"
"So, Master, how did it feel to move within a world of stopped time?"
"It was a fascinating experience. Higher than anything I could have imagined. Thank you, Assassin."
"Though, I must apologize for my earlier rudeness."
Rohan Kishibe looked at his Servant with a rare look of genuine apology on his face.
He had fallen into an old habit. The moment his Servant had appeared, he had reflexively used [Heaven's Door] to peek into her life.
While he hadn't managed to read through the entirety of her history, he had at least seen the nature of her powers and the heavy price they exacted.
Assassin was a [Contractor].
She possessed the power to manipulate time, whether it was a simple pause or a full rewind. But every time she drew upon that power, she had to pay the [Remuneration].
Every use of her power made her two years younger. If she ever ran out of years to pay, she would die instantly.
Her name was...
[Amber]!
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]