Defensive Magic
The ancient defensive magic proved less effective than anticipated. The shadow's attacks seemed to warp time itself. My spells were hindered by that distortion, their power noticeably weakened. The guildmaster's subordinates fell one after another. The shadow's assaults appeared to affect not only their bodies but their minds as well. Fear and despair were visibly consuming their hearts.
I closed the Infinite Book and focused on maintaining my composure. Brute force alone wouldn't break this stalemate. I needed to uncover the shadow's true nature and its weakness. The shadow claimed to be a failed experiment of Atlantis' forbidden technology. That meant it might have some vulnerability related to time.
“Infinite Book... any mention of time...?” I frantically flipped through its pages. My hand trembled as I turned them. Time pressed on relentlessly, and my desperation grew into a mounting sense of urgency. Yet, the Infinite Book contained no concrete descriptions of time. Only within the entries about the Atlantis civilization were there a few vague references to their time manipulation technology. It was fragmented information, like pieces of a puzzle.
At that moment, the shadow stopped moving. Then, a hoarse voice echoed. “...Time... is not infinite...” The voice sounded weaker than before, somehow weary. “...We... cannot... resist... the... flow... of... time...”
I focused on those words. “Cannot resist the flow of time...” Perhaps the shadow depended on the flow of time. If so, manipulating the flow of time might weaken it.
“Guildmaster!” I shouted. “The Time Transfer Device! Activate it!”
The Guildmaster seemed startled, but he understood my meaning. “Understood! But... there's no guarantee it will succeed...”
He gave orders to the remaining subordinates and began preparations to activate the Time Transfer Device. I double-checked the activation procedure written in the Infinite Book. Manipulating the flow of time... it was an extremely dangerous act. Failure could lead not only to our destruction, but the collapse of this entire world. Yet, right now, there was no other choice. I took a deep breath and prepared to press the activation switch for the Time Transfer Device.
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