Bang! Pa!
BOOM!
Clang! Ding! Dong-dong-dong!
Because of the Fragmentum's erosion, the lighting in Rivet Town couldn't cover a wide area like Boulder Town. Only dim light remained to maintain the most basic illumination.
Some strange, eerie noises came from a tall building. If anyone were still living here, they'd probably be so scared by these sounds that they'd move out overnight.
And even now, the Fragmentum creatures that used to wander around nearby seemed to have encountered some great terror and had all withdrawn and fled.
Inside the building, furniture like cabinets, chairs, and tables lay overturned on the floor. Papers and dust were scattered and piled up everywhere, a complete mess.
A massive, dark-blue creature, nearly four meters in size, floated in midair.
On the outer shell of this thing were reflected dim, starry points of light, making it look incredibly imposing.
But its current situation was not good at all.
The Frostspawn was pressed tightly against a corner, the ultra-low-temperature aura leaking from its body freezing the surrounding walls and floor.
It was, of course, a monster with real strength, yet right now, despite that strength, it was panicking.
If it had a heart, it knew that its heart would be pounding violently, almost ready to leap out of its chest.
Weak, pitiful, and helpless, the Frostspawn nervously observed its surroundings. Even with its back against the wall, it couldn't feel any sense of safety or reassurance.
This way?
Or that way?
Its gaze kept shifting through the darkness.
It didn't know what those things chasing it actually were, or what was going on, but it had to stay alert so those things in the darkness wouldn't catch up.
The Frostspawn had originally set out in a good mood. At the time, it had no idea that something like this would happen.
As one of the stronger individuals among Fragmentum creatures, the Frostspawn had gone out for its usual stroll, planning to casually check on what its good brother, the Flame of the Outer Universe, was up to.
So, after walking about two streets, it spotted its good brother in a corner.
Right at the mouth of an alley, it saw one of its brother's arms sticking out.
Although it didn't know why the flames on its brother's body weren't as fierce as usual today, the Frostspawn still felt the familiar warmth belonging to its good brother.
So it hurried over.
But halfway there, the Frostspawn sensed something was wrong.
Was its good brother's arm… twitching?
The Frostspawn slowed its steps. Using the dim lighting, it saw shadows piled together inside the alley.
As one dull sound after another rang out, the Frostspawn saw the shadow rise and fall. And each time the shadow fell, its good brother would twitch once.
Instinctively, the Frostspawn felt that something was wrong. But instead of running away, it kept moving forward.
After all, it was very strong.
However…
When it reached the entrance of the alley, the Frostspawn froze in place.
It saw its good brother collapsed on the ground, with only the flames still burning on its body symbolizing a heart that had yet to give up.
A white-haired human cub was sitting on its good brother's body. One hand was gripping the armor on its brother's chest, while the other was raised high.
Whenever its good brother tried to resist, that raised fist would come crashing down. Then, a force like wind, or perhaps something else, would coil around its brother's body, and its brother's flames would dim.
The Frostspawn was terrified.
What was that child doing?
It was bit by bit beating away its good brother's soul.
Witnessing something so horrifying right in front of it was a huge shock to the Frostspawn. It didn't dare move at all, frozen in place.
And so it watched, until there were no more flames burning on the Flame of the Outer Universe's body. Only then did it react.
It had watched its good brother be beaten into submission with its own eyes.
At that moment, one action by the white-haired youth scared the Frostspawn out of its wits.
That human cub stood up from its good brother's body and turned its head, the Frostspawn knew it, those terrifying gray eyes had locked onto it.
It had never been so afraid before. It couldn't even summon the will to resist. All it wanted was to run.
The Frostspawn stared tightly at that human-cub-like thing and began backing away cautiously, needing an opportunity to bolt.
But suddenly, it felt itself bump into something.
So the Frostspawn stopped and stiffly turned its body.
As a result, it saw two identical faces.
The Frostspawn could no longer remember how it had escaped at that time. It didn't even know how it ran, or what route it took.
But it knew that, right now, it still wasn't safe.
Suddenly, the Frostspawn tensed up its form, standing half-upright like a sculpture, completely motionless.
It heard that voice again, the voice of the monster that seemed to be a human cub.
"It should be this way, right? I think I saw that guy run over here. Is it inside the building?"
Outside the building, Nero spoke as he turned his head to look at Sampo beside him.
One of his hands was clenched, and a wisp of wind extended out like a rope. Behind him, the Flame of the Outer Universe had already been bundled into a ball, bound by the wind.
"It should be here. Let's take a look."
Sampo said after giving the building a quick once-over. Then he took down Sampo Korgi, who had been lying on his back with its head resting on his shoulder, and said to the Fragmentum creature that had already been trained for two days, "Go check whether that Frostspawn is inside."
Sampo Korgi shook its head repeatedly, saying that thing was so strong that there was no way it was going in there.
Sampo frowned and said again, "Go look. If you don't find it, I'll give you one piece of broken battery to eat. If you do find it, you get two."
Sampo Korgi immediately broke into a big grin and declared, "Deal! It's just an Frostspawn, I'll find it for you right away!"
Then, Sampo Korgi trotted into the building on its short little legs.
Listening to the footsteps drawing closer, the Frostspawn grew more and more nervous.
It felt like the sweat it was shedding (ice chips) was about to cover the ground…
'Please, don't let me get caught!'
'If I get caught, I'll lose my soul!'
The tragic state of the Flame of the Outer Universe was still echoing vividly in its mind.
The Frostspawn hoped it could successfully escape today. In its tension, it suddenly remembered an eerie rumor that had spread from the fringe passageways a day ago, Fragmentum creatures should not come into contact with white-haired children, or they would become unlucky.
What it had encountered was probably that kind of thing.
Thinking this, the Frostspawn lowered its head.
The footsteps had been gone for a while now. It wondered if it might finally have a chance to leave.
However, as the Frostspawn lowered its head, a face with dark-blue hair and green fox-like eyes appeared within its perception.
'!!!'
The Frostspawn was utterly horrified. It let out a silent, shrill scream, smashed through the wall, and ran for its life.
That two-headed thing... Had it actually ripped off its other head!!!
The Frostspawn was terrified.
In truth, among Fragmentum creatures, there were plenty of bizarre-looking beings. It shouldn't have been frightened by appearances alone.
But when that thing could affect, and even harm it... fear was born.