Shifting the perspective to Pela, who was left outside the Fragmentum by Kevin, after realizing that the other had stepped into a dangerous situation and that she couldn't change anything by just standing there, this kind-hearted intelligence officer immediately went elsewhere to call several Silvermane Guards on duty.
As long as he hasn't ventured too deep into the Fragmentum, there shouldn't be too much danger... right?
"Hurry, hurry, it's over here. Mr. Kaslana entered the Fragmentum here. It's been so long now, he's probably..."
About ten minutes had passed by this time. No matter how lucky he was, he would likely encounter wandering Fragmentum creatures.
And when Mr. Kaslana went in, he wasn't wearing any armor, nor did he even have a decent weapon. Pela couldn't believe how an ordinary person like him could survive alone in the Fragmentum for so long.
It was all her fault for not stopping him in time. Otherwise, this definitely wouldn't have...
"Uh... Mr. Kaslana?"
Extreme guilt had just begun to brew in Pela's thoughts, but when she returned to the spot where Kevin entered the Fragmentum, she found that he was already standing outside the Fragmentum at some point. Not only was he completely unharmed, but he also inexplicably had a limited-edition baseball bat in his hand.
"Thank goodness, your luck is really good. You actually came out of the Fragmentum completely unscathed. You mustn't be so reckless next time. You know, even fully armed Silvermane Guards find it difficult to emerge from the Fragmentum unharmed... What is that in your hand?"
The girl had just withdrawn her anxious demeanor and returned to her usual quiet self. But just as she was trying to instill in Kevin the idea that the Fragmentum must never be approached casually, she noticed that he was holding a strange... sphere in his hand?
As is well known, human understanding of the outside world all comes from the process of learning. For example, before being told about the danger of knives, a child has no idea that this thing can easily hurt them.
But looking at the strange object currently held in Kevin's hand, even though she had never learned what it was, Pela couldn't help but feel disgust and rejection rising in her heart.
She trusted her intuition; this definitely wasn't anything good.
"This is the core of the Fragmentum, the source that distorts space and creates monsters."
Kevin didn't beat around the bush; he straightforwardly stated his actions and deductions: "After losing its most fundamental source point, the distorted space will be spontaneously corrected by the world, and no new Fragmentum creations will be born from it anymore."
In simple terms, this Fragmentum, which was originally somewhat 'alive,' is now dead.
"But... the Fragmentum behind you looks completely unchanged?" At least for now, Pela still maintained a tenacious spirit of argumentation.
"That's normal. Even after pulling out a knife stuck in your body, the wound can't heal instantly."
Kevin isn't a native of this world, so of course he doesn't understand its specific rules. Perhaps such an injury would heal in just three to five days, or maybe it would take three or four years to show any improvement.
However, judging from the fact that the world has already been eroded by the Fragmentum to the point of being riddled with holes, this time probably won't be short.
"I'm not good at researching this kind of thing. I'll leave it to you."
As he spoke, Kevin even casually tossed out the squirming core in his hand, even thoughtfully adding a layer of ice on its surface that looked fragile but was actually indestructible.
"...Huh???"
There is an illustration here; it can be viewed after updating the version.
The dark purple-tinged core bounced several times in mid-air before being frantically caught by Pela. But even now, she still couldn't quite believe everything that had happened before her eyes.
So according to what he said, the Fragmentum erosion that had been troubling the Silvermane Guards was resolved so casually in just over ten minutes?
As a top student who managed to graduate early from Belobog University through self-study alone, Pela clearly remembered that since the passing of the first-generation 'Supreme Guardian,' there hadn't been a single successful case of Belobog counterattacking against the Fragmentum. At most, they could only stubbornly hold the front line against the onslaught of Fragmentum creatures.
Otherwise, why was it that when they discovered the Fragmentum had already eroded into Belobog city itself, the psychological expectations of all those who knew the truth weren't very good?
Just what kind of charm does this outsider from beyond the blizzard possess...
"Miss Pela, look over there quickly! Why is there a little child over there?"
Just as the girl's thoughts were wandering while staring at Kevin, one of the Silvermane Guards she had brought suddenly pointed towards the Fragmentum space behind them.
Following their gaze, Pela actually saw a little girl behind Kevin who looked only about five or six years old?!
However, unlike those few Silvermane Guards, the girl's keen insight also clearly noticed that this little girl, who seemed to be following Kevin, was actually perfectly pressed against the edge of the Fragmentum and hadn't taken a single step beyond it.
But faced with a scene where anyone would crouch down and gently comfort a little girl, Kevin didn't even turn his head and unhesitatingly began walking away from the defensive line.
"That's just a shell imitated by the Fragmentum. It probably doesn't have much offensive capability. However, any action towards her is completely meaningless."
After slightly discerning the nature of the Fragmentum, Kevin could easily see through certain things—undoubtedly, at this moment, it truly is a living being standing there. But that's only limited to this moment.
Perhaps there really was once a little girl who found herself in such a situation within the Fragmentum, but that was only in the past... This isn't even a silhouette from spacetime; it's just a crude imitation produced by the Fragmentum's instinct based on its characteristics.
Of course, you can offer appropriate care or companionship out of pity. But ultimately, that's just an act of deceiving and pleasing yourself.
I believe these Silvermane Guards have also seen people or things from the past who have long since passed away within the Fragmentum. But such phenomena don't evoke any sense of nostalgia; they only make people feel more anger and hatred towards the Fragmentum that caused all this.
Just like the form displayed by that squirming core, the Fragmentum is completely a cancer parasitizing on the world...
At this moment, Pela and the several Silvermane Guards' brains were still in a state of overload due to the large amount of information they had just been exposed to in an instant. But that 'little girl' within the Fragmentum was looking at Kevin's departing back and very earnestly raised her hand high to wave, as if afraid he wouldn't hear her voice.
"Big brother with the baseball bat, goodbye—"
"..."
No one noticed Kevin's footsteps imperceptibly pausing for a moment before he continued walking away slowly from the front line set up by the Silvermane Guards, just like at the beginning, until he was out of sight of this Fragmentum area.
Hmm, for Fragmentums belonging to different spaces, sounds echoing within them actually can't reach the outside world.