"Brother," the black-dressed girl in the sky called to me. Her gaze held a hint of coldness, without a trace of emotion. "Brother, I've finally met you."

I looked up at her. "Why call me brother? This is our first meeting." The girl curtsied gracefully. "Because Tia's Time Ability comes from your genes, Brother. So Tia must call you brother."

I see. That does make sense. "Then, what do you want?" She served Organization K—definitely no saint. Tia stared down at me. "To take Brother to headquarters."

"That's out of the question!" I refused instantly. "Is that so? Then I'll use extreme measures to take you." She looked ready to fight.

"Temporal Burst!" A black hourglass appeared in Tia's hand, filled with silvery-white grains—sand of time. When an object's time ends and it vanishes completely, it forms this sand. It doesn't last long before flowing back into the River of Time.

I felt time warp around my seat. Without thinking, I used Time Acceleration on myself and leaped away.

Temporal Burst likely erases an area's time using the user's own lifespan. Anything erased disappears completely. My sister truly earned her title as a temporal weapon. I can't pull off such destructive attacks yet. My grasp of time manipulation is still superficial.

Tia hovered in the air. Her prolonged flight meant she wasn't just destructive. I guessed she controlled space too.

But fighting couldn't happen in the classroom. I dashed to the playground. Here, no one would get hurt. Strange—I hadn't realized I'd become so considerate.

"Unlike the data calling Brother a cold-blooded monster," Tia murmured midair, holding the hourglass. "Machines really can't be trusted."

She was airborne. With no ranged options, I resorted to throwing game coins. As fellow Time Wielders, our abilities countered each other. At least Time Stasis didn't work on us.

Dodging Tia's Temporal Bursts, I grabbed a coin. After Time Acceleration, I shot it like a bullet at her. Holding back wasn't wise. She wasn't weak enough to spare.

"Time Deflection!" Tia flipped the hourglass. My coin reversed direction and pierced my left arm before I could dodge. My sister was no pushover.

I quickly used Time Reversal to heal the wound. Though not fatal, the pain could break my focus. I couldn't afford that.

My only ranged attack was useless. Did I have to go melee? Tia was too high to reach.

While strategizing, I took hits. But dodging, I noticed something: each time Tia used her ability, the sand of time in her hourglass decreased slightly. I understood. If I accelerated her sand consumption, she'd stop when it ran out. Plus, she maintained Time Stasis over the whole school—that strain must be immense.

I pulled out a handful of coins. I didn't aim—I just threw them toward her to drain her sand faster. Time was my greatest advantage. Not using it well meant I wouldn't have survived this long.

My theory was correct. Tia's Time Ability was acquired. She couldn't replenish her time. Using it consumed her lifespan, edging her closer to death. The sand of time was proof—a power bank designed to replace her own time.

"Warning: sand of time below 15%. Cease ability use immediately." Tia's crystal earring was actually Organization K's micro-computer. "It doesn't matter. Since it's Brother, spending Tia's life is fine." She ignored the alarm.

To her, process meant nothing—only the goal. Her mission was to take me to headquarters. She'd pay any price. After all, her existence was meant to replace me.

The sand of time in Tia's hourglass was nearly gone, but she didn't stop. Was I wrong? Then she halted. Prolonging this wouldn't capture me.

"I must change plans," Tia realized her attacks were futile. "Since Brother cares about this school's people, I'll destroy it."

Tia landed on the rooftop. "Brother, I'll detonate a Temporal Bomb here. If you don't want this place erased, come quietly."

Her icy tone left no doubt. A Temporal Bomb was an advanced Temporal Burst. It used the user's time to annihilate an area's time, spreading like ripples from a stone thrown in water. Tia alone couldn't erase the whole school, but before the ripples faded, it would vanish temporarily.

Even so, affecting the entire school would cost immense time. Why go this far? Under Time Acceleration, I leaped to the roof. "Why this far?" "To complete the mission," the black-dressed girl replied coldly. I might not understand her past, but I wouldn't let her destroy my hard-won life.

"Then, sorry!" I glared, maxing out my Time Acceleration. Even though she was a cute girl, I wouldn't hold back this punch.

Tia flew back from my blow. "So... I still can't beat Brother?" Before fighting, her micro-computer calculated a win rate: "less than 10%." After placing the Temporal Bomb, Tia was too weak to fly, giving me the opening.

"How do I disable this?" I glanced at Tia slumped aside. She sat up, spitting blood. That punch had hit hard. "This Temporal Bomb cost one-sixth of my remaining time. Disabling it, Brother should know better than me."

Turning life into cold data was my specialty. To her ears, it sounded harsh. Up close, I saw her time was under twenty years. I realized: Time Plunder wasn't a known ability among Time Wielders. Tia was no exception—she fought me with her life. I had no energy left to blame anyone.

Disabling the Temporal Bomb required spending more time to envelop it. But this cost was easier than reversing the school's ruins earlier.

"You can go," I said after disabling it. Tia looked at me thoughtfully. "Brother, Organization K has targeted you. If you truly don't want innocents hurt, leave." She stood and flew away.

Organization K. I ran so long, yet you found me. Haha—I can't escape this curse. Time to leave. Well, K, I'll play with you. From now on, I declare war on Organization K. Alone, I declare war on every supernatural ability research organization worldwide!