The Ninth Fragment of Ruin (1)

In an instant, the sky cleared. Of course, the fog soon billowed back in. But this fog was different from before. If it had been an endless waterfall pouring out nonstop earlier, now it was more like a faucet dripping little by little.

...It's probably mostly my doing.

I glanced at the ninth Ruin Remnant that had stopped moving, then at the countless flesh orbs floating in the sky. These things possessed exactly the characteristics I'd inferred for the remnant. Just like the second remnant had lost its power after I killed the fetus, this ninth remnant had lost its power when I destroyed the massive flesh orb.

So it was a fair guess that the fog was gradually thinning out as well.

But.

'The question is why they only showed up now.'

I sighed as I stared at the flesh orbs. Various hypotheses swirled in my mind. But I didn't have time to ponder them. Retreating fast seemed like the best move. My mana had nearly doubled, but it still wasn't enough to wipe out all of them.

'Haa...'

Whoosh.

Drip.

Drip.

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠light rain kept pattering against my body. The air ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was damp and sticky.

Aaahhh!

Aaahhh!

Human screams echoed through the air. From the flesh orbs rising in various spots around Southdong came the shrieks of people trapped inside.

.....Right.

From the second floor of a commercial building, I observed the flesh orbs pursuing me. I'd had a rough idea. No matter how incredible their abilities or how enormous their size, those orbs couldn't have killed everyone in Southdong while shrouded in fog.

'It was weird that there wasn't a single survivor in that apartment aside from them.'

But there were no survivors. And the flesh orbs had no tracking ability. So I'd predicted they operated as a swarm.

Just not...

'This many.'

Sure, Southdong had a population of tens of thousands. Unlike Northdong's mere 20,000, it maintained around 50,000 like a typical district. Still, I hadn't given up a sliver of hope.

But.

'Who would've thought all these people got eaten by those things.'

The ninth remnants were numerous, and they'd used their numbers to kill people and turn them into faceless ones. Which meant, a month after the apocalypse, there were probably hardly any survivors left. That tracked.

'Still.'

The good news was that these floating flesh orbs were smaller than the ones I'd killed.

'About half a person-sized, maybe.'

If the ones I'd taken down were around 10 meters across, these skyborne orbs looked to be about 2 to 3 meters.

And.

'No teleportation either.'

They seemed like degraded variants. Sure, they moved fast. Darting in with scythe-like appendages was dangerous. Ordinary people or those with weak abilities would drop in seconds.

'Not that threatening, though.'

But to me, with mana over 100, they weren't much of a threat. A couple of Ice Shields would finish them.

'If not for that giant one.'

That massive ninth remnant, however, was dangerous. A horrific thing with both physical and mental prowess. Getting ambushed in a city ruled by such a beast would be a nightmare, no matter how strong your abilities.

'Who knows how many of those are out there.'

Aaahhh!

I checked the notifications amid the screams.

It'd been a while since I'd seen one like this.

...Normally, you'd pick later, but...

I wanted to clear these red letters obscuring my vision fast. Couldn't risk confusing them with the real threat ahead. Plus, they were closing in faster than my Frost Blink.

"Ice Shield."

Aaahhh!

Aaahhh!

Bam!

I threw up an Ice Shield to block the front and headed deeper into the building.

'Gotta choose quick.'

The sky was brightening. The flesh orbs began melting away with a sizzle. Killing the main ninth remnant seemed to be dissolving these degraded offshoots.

'No.'

Probably the fog lifting. That giant orb had clearly been sustaining it.

But.

'Will this building collapse first, or will they melt first?'

Aaahhh!

Thud thud thud!

Bam!

Crash!

Glass shattered as black flesh orbs burrowed inside. They swarmed the small commercial building densely.

"Ice Spear."

Bam!

Splatter!

Even as I speared the orbs, others ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠filled the gaps.

'Tch.'

Should've run. But no choice now.

"Ice Shield."

Frost Blink's 3-second cast made me slower than their charge. The gap closed during that wait.

Click.

In the end, I sealed the building's gaps with Ice Shields and Ice Spears while moving my hand.

'Tch...'

Plenty of tempting options. Surprisingly, the Path of the Abyss looked like the weakest this time.

'No.'

It'd be good. With that, I'd have near-infinite mana.

But compared to the others, it fell short. The top three offered immediate effects upon use.

Bam!

Bam!

The flesh orbs slammed against my Ice Shields. I speared them one by one while thinking.

What should I choose right now?

Aaahhh!

Aaahhh!

Thud!

Thud!

First, the Ash Spirit would give me detection, like attaching a scout.

'Useful now or later.'

Sure, I'd ditched a flame spirit before because I didn't want an unknown entity tagging along. But this wasn't the time for that.

'...Though the Abyss still bugs me.'

If my hunch was right, the paths and Abyss weren't that different. I'd overreacted to that subspace skill and the Abyss awakening mention out of fear.

'...Anyway, table it for now.'

Second, Frost Totem. Another versatile offense-defense skill.

'Drop it in enemy territory to freeze or immobilize them.'

Or place them at our bases to block invasions.

'Solid.'

It appealed most. But... not necessary. Our defenses were fine, and the mana cost irked me for offense.

Next, Meteor Fall.

'Meteor, huh.'

Like the game spell. Not pulling real meteors, obviously.

'Or maybe.'

Either way, slamming meteors into 25x25m sounded powerful.

But.

'Can't I just spam Ice Shields?'

Each Ice Shield covered 3x3m for only 5 mana. It blocked numbers and probably tank shells or mortars—I hadn't tested, but likely.

In fact.

Aaahhh!

Bam!

Bam!

One Ice Shield held back the orbs trying to breach.

Honestly, of my choices, Ice Shield was the one I'd regretted most. Yet it proved surprisingly versatile.

'Defense, offense—everything.'

So Meteor Fall felt meh.

But.

'With it, 50 mana could sweep these things.'

I narrowed my eyes at the horde pounding the entrance.

My mana was over 200, regenerating about 50 per hour. Even dumping it all, one Ice Shield seal could let me outlast and kill them.

'Honestly, Ash Spirit's best long-term.'

For the future, yes. But right now? Frost Totem or Meteor Fall.

'Turtle with Ice Shields, or clear with a skill...'

I pondered.

And chose.