[On the Snowfield]
The cold wind outside Belobog seemed to never stop blowing, the howling snowstorm covering up the figures of all living things.
Farther out, even the Silvermane would not go to investigate.
At the relatively flat summit of this snowy peak, a spaceship called The One-of-a-Kind was parked here.
Although unknown influences and an emergency landing had caused significant damage to its hull, the ship still quietly waited for the moment it could be launched again.
The intricate and exquisite engravings that its owner had painstakingly carved onto it also proclaimed that this massive mechanical creation was still full of vitality.
As the cold wind roared once more and snowflakes scattered, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and grabbed onto a crack in the hard, frozen earth of the snow peak.
Shining silver armor gleamed dazzlingly. As the arm exerted force, a vivid streak of red fluttered in the freezing wind.
The owner of the red long hair had a resolute face and a devout expression. With one hand gripping the crack, he forcefully swung his entire body up.
In his other, free hand, he was holding a soft rope, and hanging beneath it was a massive dark-red object.
The Flamespawn had already lost all emotions, gaining rebirth amid resignation and numbness.
After climbing to the summit, Argenti tightened his grip on the rope and gave it a powerful swing, tossing Flamespawn up as well.
After the Fragmentum creature's massive body hit the ground, Argenti's lips curled into a faint smile, he had completed another tempering of his flesh.
Only then did Nero, who had been sitting on Black Cut, slowly float up. On that pitch-black greatsword lay a certain severely injured corporate wage slave, Martin.
Nero looked at Argenti expressionlessly. Seeing this overly stubborn guy successfully reach the summit, he finally let out a small sigh of relief.
Actually, he could have brought everything up all at once. But Argenti insisted that a knight must never forget to temper both body and will, no matter the circumstances.
Several hundred meters of snowy peak, and this guy climbed it one-handed, and quickly at that.
Worthy of the Knight of Pure Beauty.
Earlier, Nero had taken Argenti and Martin to the Underworld, searching there for the previously captured Flamespawn to use as temporary fuel for Argenti's ship.
Throughout the entire process, Martin was in a constant state of shock.
He had already been astonished when he heard Nero talk about using Fragmentum creatures as consumable resources. But after seeing with his own eyes the Fragmentum creatures Nero had captured, his shock reached an unimaginable level.
He originally thought Nero would just catch a few elemental constructs for fun. He never expected that this kid had even captured the Frostspawn and Flamespawn.
Then he thought that maybe they were all the same type of consumable Fragmentum creatures, but this kid actually started categorizing them.
Aside from the Fragmentum creatures used as consumables, he even saw Fragmentum creatures used as laborers to work.
At that moment, a thought arose in Martin's heart.
It would be such a waste if this kid didn't come work for the company.
He absolutely had to find a way to report this to upper management and bring this kid into the company.
'With his abilities, it wouldn't take long for him to rise rapidly through the ranks.'
'This mindset, this willpower, this appearance, there was no way this kid wouldn't become famous in the company.'
'So what if it was Aha? The great Chairman Qlipoth would surely cast his gaze upon this child very soon.'
'Perhaps even the Aeon of the Hunt would get involved, after all, defensive Preservation is Preservation, and offensive Preservation is also Preservation!'
Unaware that Nero had already been observed by Aha and Lan, Martin's mind filled with unrealistic fantasies.
Along the way, while Argenti was climbing the mountain, Martin kept trying to persuade Nero to join the company.
However, Nero refused. He said cooperation was fine, but becoming a wage slave was absolutely not happening.
Martin deeply felt how firm Nero's resolve was. It seemed that persuading him would require Director Topaz to step in personally.
So, he temporarily gave up on the idea of persuasion.
"The energy it provides will definitely be enough!" Nero said with a smile. "Let's just toss it into the ship and let it heat up as much as it wants."
Argenti nodded in agreement. "Indeed, but some minor modifications are still required."
"I know, if we want to ensure higher energy conversion efficiency, it's best to install some interfaces or something on this guy," Nero said with a grin. "Let's start right away!"
Flamespawn lying on the ground, "..."
'Ah… what are these humans planning to do again? When can I die? I don't want to be a Fragmentum creature in my next life.'
'To hell with the Stellaron, to hell with Nanook, to hell with Destruction, to hell with Preservation, to hell with that deep-blue profiteer, to hell with that white-haired kid! I'm done for… I really want to die…'
———
Thanks to the Silvermane's cover, Dan Heng's group reached the Fragmentum in the north of Belobog with far less effort than expected.
At this moment, everyone was still in fairly good condition.
"So this is… the Fragmentum area Gepard mentioned?" Seele looked at the pitch-black Fragmentum fissures before her, which clung to the walls, stretched upward, and then grew toward the sky, feeling somewhat emotional.
"Compared to this place, the erosion on the marginal passage is basically child's play."
Dan Heng spoke calmly. The land ahead was completely devastated, and spatial fissures formed by Fragmentum erosion were almost everywhere.
To the naked eye, these things looked like some kind of tangled black or shit-yellow tentacles, spreading wildly in all directions like vines fed with stimulant-grade fertilizer.
"This place feels unsettling…" Stelle said.
The spatial fissures brought about by Fragmentum erosion carried an overwhelming sense of oppression. Even without considering the danger of the monsters within, just judging by appearance alone, it looked like a lump of shit hanging in midair, ready to fall onto someone's head at any moment.
That alone was enough to make everyone passing through here hunch their shoulders and walk cautiously.
March couldn't help but raise her arms and hug herself. "It feels like there are so many eyes staring at us…"
"Serval said that the Stellaron is very likely hidden in the northern snowfields of Belobog. To reach it, we must first pass through the Fragmentum maze ahead," Dan Heng said.
At this point, even someone as bold as Seele couldn't help but shrink her neck and rub the skin on her arms. "This place… gives me goosebumps. It's uncomfortable. It feels like there are bugs crawling under my skin."
Dan Heng continued, "Right now, we have no guide, and no detection method that can directly point us to the Stellaron, we can only advance step by step. But there's no need to be pessimistic. The heavier the Fragmentum pollution, the closer we are to the source."
After that, the group entered the Fragmentum maze and began moving deeper inside.
After traveling forward for a while, sharp-eyed March suddenly noticed something and immediately said to her companions, "Look, on the ground ahead… it looks like there's something there!"
When everyone got closer, Seele's eyes suddenly widened. "This is, Bronya's!"
"It was found at the orphanage…" Stelle said.
"Right!" Seele immediately responded. "Could it be… could it be that she's already been here?"
At that moment, March suddenly cried out, "W-Woah! Look, you guys!"
Everyone looked up, toward a staircase leading upward somewhere within the Fragmentum maze.
In front of the stairs, they actually saw two illusory figures.
Just from their backs, it was easy to recognize who those two were.
"That's Bronya! H-Hey! Why is Cocolia there too?!"
Dan Heng remained calm and said to the shocked March, "No, that's not them. Those are… some kind of afterimages? Energy remnants replicated by the Fragmentum…"
March blinked. "So that means… they definitely came through here, right? And from the looks of it, they went in that direction!"
Seele grinned and suddenly laughed. "Ha, perfect! We were just worrying about not having a guide. Let's go!"
But before leaving, Seele first picked up the crystal ball they had found at the orphanage from the ground.