"N-n-N-n-n-NAt...Natsuki san! I..Is that y-yo-your DOIIINGGG!!!"
Crusch recounted, with a horrified expression on her face, the tremendous heat of the plummeting projectile, palpable from where she stood. The sky was turning a terrifying orange as twelve massive meteors descended from the sky at an uncontrollable rate.
Her eyes widened with terror at the sight of the massive object falling from the sky; evidently, if any of those asteroids struck, the planet as a whole would be destroyed, leaving no traces of life behind.
Then and again, how much mana would it even require to pull something so heavy from the cold vacum of space and make said object arrive here so quickly? The answer was simple: to destroy the world, you need the same amount of mana needed to cover the world.
If the scenario were exactly the opposite of what is currently taking place, Crusch Karsten would have been impressed by Pleiades' casual performance, as if it were nothing to him. Her eyes were filled with horror as she stared at him, knowing he was a monster among men.
After all, this was akin to the power of the Mathers family's head. In the present day, the Mathers family head is recognized as the strongest magic user in the world, second only to the sword saint. And seeing Pleiades do something equally comparable to the family head of the renowned Mathers house gave her a general notion of exactly how powerful this version of Subaru truly is.
She couldn't, however, stand by and watch Pleiades destroy everything. So with her resolve hardening, she inadvertently gripped his shoulder. As Crusch began to speak to him, her look was that of a scared cat with its tail between its legs.
Nonetheless, her gaze remains fixed on his. Her expression was one of sheer panic, and for good reason, and despite the world-ending catastrophe that was unfolding, Pleiades' eyes were cold, callous, and uncaring. It was as if he didn't care what happened to the world; it was filthy in a way, yet she felt pity for him at the same time. But there were just some things she couldn't agree on. And summoning these meteors only to divert the enemy's attention away from them was going way too far.
"You have to put an end to this insane behavior, Pleiades... If you keep doing this, you'll destroy everything."
Crusch spoke simply, almost pleadingly. Pleiades' response, on the other hand, was as follows:
"Insane behavior, ha?" Maybe that's how you perceive it, but I tell you, Ms. Karsten, that I have everything under control. Do you think I'll just destroy the world with no ability to correct my mistakes if something goes wrong? To begin with, these meteorites will not harm the kingdom; I only brought them here so we could go undetected after enough panic has spread. Look around you; people are more terrified and confused than anything else; they are not even paying us any mind at all. And that magician likewise vanished when she saw those meteorites, most likely evacuating, or preparing to protect the kingdom."
Pleiades, who was frantically arranging the entire situation, said. Crusch, on the other hand, began to glance around, and he was correct; everyone was fleeing and screaming in terror, with no one bothering or chasing them. Julia and her servant also appear to vanish, most likely to deal with the matter at hand.
In this scenario, she was slightly comfortable with things going this way if Pleiades had it under control, but for a minutes there she thought Pleiades was actually going to destroy the world, which made her feel awful for douting him, so she began to apologize to him.
"Oh! I see... well, im sor...
However, just as Crusch was about to respond with an apology, something unexpected happened. And it was because of this that Crusch's response did not arrive at all.
Pleiades, on the other hand, began to experience a strange sense of nostalgia at that moment, his hand involuntarily stroking his chest. However, what he was expecting did not arrive; of course, the hand that constantly grazed his heart whenever he broke the taboo of returning by death had long perished with that person.
But why did his hand reach for his chest so quickly? It was straightforward. Pleiades had already seen the change in the world as a whole, and it was logical to assume that the entire universe was affected as well.
The world around Pleiades had come to a halt; Crusch remained still, the shouts of panic from those surrounding him no longer audible. And all the meteors in the sky were stuck in place; even some birds, and everyone else, for that matter, were frozen in position. Everyone else, that is, except Pleiades.
And at the time, Pleiades could only speak four words.
"Time! It has stopped."
Yes, someone or something had halted the passage of time for the entire universe. What was even more surprising was that Pleiades couldn't feel his mana either. Yes, not only did time stop, but the flow of magic had also stopped as well. Thankfully, his authority remained intact, despite the fact that mana was no longer usable in this world where time had abruptly halted.
"Echidna...
That was Pleiades' first thought because Echidna, Satella, Beatrice, and himself are the only beings capable of halting time. However, he quickly discounted that notion, given that this time-stopped universe paused not just time but also mana. And Echidna cannot stop time if there is no mana in the first place. This was definitely a power wielded by someone or something beyond the laws of mana itself.
"All right, I'm lost. What in the world is going on? I've seen a lot of strange things, but this is a first for me."
A charming and soft, but equally charismatic and energetic female voice could be heard from behind Pleiades at the same time, which was somewhat surprising as the individual caught him off guard.
"Oh myyy... this is a first for sure." Fufufu... Isn't today just full of surprises? First, these huge rocks appeared out of nowhere and disrupted my nap. Now standing before me is someone who can withstand the effects of my power. How fascinating... speak handsome, what is your name?"
"Haaa?...
Pleiades glanced around at that point; his eyes didn't indicate it, but what he saw was shocking. The person in front of him was a short woman, around 4'10 tall, about one inch taller than Beatrice herself. The woman was, by all accounts, stunning; like Minerva, she is what Pleiades would refer to as a boob loli.
Yes, this woman is short yet stunning, but just being near her made Pleiades feel a little ostracized which he hadn't felt in a long time. Although, if his intuition was true, this woman and himself were equal in terms of overall power. It was the sensation he felt while he was fighting all seven witches at once. And, based on that statement alone, this was the closest thing to a literal threat to Pleiades in this world, even if he didn't want to admit it.
But it was her face that struck him by surprise. The woman's skin was snow white and delicate to the touch. Her eyes were a gorgeous bright blue, and her hair was a straight pinkish red with a bob-cut design. However, she was dressed in a very exposing apparel, to the point a succubus might challenge her dress code. The woman was dressed in nothing but a scarlet kimono that wasn't even properly tied, revealing everything on the inside.
Underneath, she wore nothing but a sexy black C-String panty, and you could literally see the outline of her pussy, as well as a tight pair of sarashi covering her upper body, along with a pair of wooden Geta on her feet. Apart from her face, Pleiades was drawn to her various colorful tattoos, which included Eastern and Western-like dragons, flowers, garps, and many other distinct varieties of designs, giving her a yakuza aura at first glance.
The woman stared at Pleiades with interest, but what Pleiades said next confused her.
"R...R...Ram!?"
"Hmmm... Ram is that your name good looking?!"
The enigmatic woman asked as she directed her sight to his stunning amethyst eyes. Pleiades, on the other hand, swiftly apologizes as he shakes his head and says in a stoic manner as he regains his composure.
"Oh, my apologies, my name is Pleiades, a passing foreigner who just happened to end up in this mess, Ram is the name of someone I knew." Believe it or not, you two share a strong resemblance with one another, to the point that I wouldn't be surprised if you were her descendant. Let me ask you a question: are you related to the Mather family?"
"Hmmm... Yes, I am the first daughter of my mother, Roswaal L666 Mathers, and my father, Sebastian Van Astrea... and I am also the current Sword Saint; It is a pleasure to meet you handsome, my name is Valerie Van Astrea." And just for the record, I've taken a deep interest in your existence, Mr. Foreigner; it's not every day, if ever, that I come across someone who can withstand the effect of my divine protection."
(A/N): I like to picture that Valerie has the same exact voice as Shuten Douji from Fate Grand Order.