***

The grasslands stretched endlessly—far too quiet for a road that was once meant to be traveled.

The wind carried the scent of damp earth… and something bitter. A smell that lingered longer than it should.

When the grass gave way to dense trees, their pace slowed.

“Do you feel it?” Aisha murmured. “This place feels… heavy.”

Kiyo already had his phone out, fingers trembling slightly as he checked the map.

“According to the data, this route passes near cities affected by the old war. Residual mana from large-scale battles still clings to the area.”

Haka let out a low hum.

“So what? Ancient creatures? Another abandoned city?”

“Ancient monsters are unlikely,” Kiyo replied, glancing at Haka before looking back at his phone.

“According to the map, in about two kilometers we’ll reach—”

The screen glitched.

Then went black.

Kiyo stared.

Haka and Aisha immediately turned to him.

“What happened?”

“My phone died…”

Hearing that, Haka checked his own phone.

“…Mine too. And the battery was full,” Aisha added.

The three of them stood still in the middle of the forest.

“So what now?” Kiyo asked.

“What else?” Haka replied casually, tightening his backpack straps as he started walking again.

“We follow the road.”

“Wait—don’t be reckless!” Kiyo cried, panic creeping into his voice.

“What if we run into ancient monsters?!”

“Then we beat them,” Haka called back, already several steps ahead.

“Ancient monsters are easier than Tomori.”

Kiyo gaped at him in disbelief.

Beside him, Aisha chuckled and lightly patted his head.

“Don’t worry. We’ve done this plenty of times, right?”

She smiled and hurried after Haka.

“Yeah, but the problem is—”

Kiyo sighed heavily and followed.

The rest of their walk passed in silence.

The forest that once buzzed with birds and insects gradually fell quiet. The sky darkened, clouds rolling in as if something awaited ahead.

And then—

The air grew heavier.

Trees that once stood firmly rooted now leaned forward, their roots partially exposed, as if pulled by an unseen force.

And then they saw it.

Kiyo swallowed, gripping his bag strap until his knuckles turned white.

“…Is gravity broken here?” Haka muttered.

Ahead of them lay a ruined city.

Abandoned—yet parts of it floated in the air, slowly orbiting like an asteroid belt. Gray clouds shrouded the sky, lending the city an eerie, unreal beauty.

“H-Hey… what if we go around?” Kiyo suggested.

“And waste several more hours?” Haka replied, already walking forward.

“No thanks.”

“W-Wait! Haka, a city like this must have extremely high mana pressure!” Kiyo shouted as he rushed after him.

“Those floating ruins prove it!”

Haka glanced back. “So?”

“If we use magic here, we could get dizzy—or nauseous!” Kiyo continued, clearly horrified.

“Relax,” Haka said lightly, grinning.

“It’s just like motion sickness. Nothing to worry about.”

“Aisha?” Kiyo pleaded.

She returned an awkward smile.

“This is still better than taking a huge detour.”

Two against one.

Kiyo lost the vote.

With a heavy sigh, he followed them. No matter what—they had to stay together.

“Whoa, look at that!” Haka exclaimed.

A broken clock tower floated dozens of meters above them, slowly colliding with a skyscraper. The impact echoed loudly, crumbling part of the building.

“Isn’t that going to fall on us?” Aisha asked nervously.

“From the looks of it,” Haka replied, gazing upward,

“more ruins float than fall.”

Fragments drifted slowly around the city, hovering fifty to a hundred meters above ground.

“Then why don’t we float?” Haka wondered.

Kiyo paused, studying the scene.

“Because this place has extremely high mana pressure. Humans already have mana inside their bodies. Those ruins are just inanimate objects—so they’re affected differently.”

Haka turned and walked backward, golden eyes shining.

“You’re amazing, Kiyo! How do you know all that?”

“I read something like this on my phone…”

“You really are our info expert!”

Kiyo snorted softly and looked away.

“You’re exaggerating. Information about destinations always shows up on my phone.”

Aisha giggled, then glanced up at the floating debris.

“Can we walk faster? I’ve had chills for a while now. Feels like any of those buildings could drop on us.”

She moved ahead without waiting.

“With all our phones dead, we don’t even know the time,” Haka said, following.

“And the sky’s overcast.”

“That’s why we need to keep moving and get out of here fast,” Aisha replied.

They had only taken a few steps when—

CRACK.

A sharp sound echoed from the right.

Something shot out of a pile of rubble like a projectile.

“LOOK OUT!” Kiyo screamed.

It slammed into the ground where they had stood moments ago, sending dust and debris flying.

When the dust settled—

They saw it.

A human-shaped body. Half-destroyed. Limbs bent unnaturally. Empty eyes glowing pale blue.

A Remnant.

A corpse inhabited by a lost soul—twisted and evolved by the city’s mana pressure. Far more dangerous than the anomalous Remnants they had encountered in Batora.

Haka whistled softly.

“Now this is what I call a fun trip.”

The Remnant roared. Its arms stretched unnaturally, whipping toward them like cables.

The three dodged at once.

But the attack struck the ground with such force that the earth beneath them shook—cracked—

And began to rise.

“W-Wait—!? The ground’s lifting!” Kiyo yelled as he lost his balance.

“Careful! Don’t—!”

Aisha nearly slipped but managed to leap to a stable slab.

Haka landed smoothly—but when he turned—

“Kiyo! Get down!” he shouted.

Too late.

The slab beneath Kiyo cracked and shot upward, separating from the ground. Kiyo screamed as he dropped to his knees, desperately clinging to the earth.

“I-I’m flying!!”

His voice faded as the slab continued to rise.

“…Uh oh. This is bad,” Haka muttered, looking up.

“Haka, we have to do something!” Aisha cried.

The slab rose higher, slowly rotating like an asteroid. Kiyo clutched the edge with all his strength.

“I hate this place… I hate this place…” he muttered, eyes squeezed shut.

Below, the Remnant roared again, preparing to attack.

They couldn’t save Kiyo if it kept coming.

Haka rolled his shoulders and grinned.

“Alright. Let’s finish this fast and save Kiyo. He won’t last long up there.”

Aisha took a deep breath, stretching her arms.

“Okay. Haka, you hold it off. I’ll try to reach Kiyo.”

“Sounds good.”

Haka dashed forward. Blood flowed from his wrist, forming his Scarlet Covenant—a massive crimson blade.

Meanwhile, Aisha leapt onto floating ruins, using Silk Guillotine to pull herself across debris.

The Remnant roared and launched itself—not running, but sliding, as if pulled by another gravity. Its movements were jagged. Unnatural.

Haka slashed—

But hit nothing.

The ground beneath him shattered and floated upward like broken puzzle pieces.

The Remnant appeared behind him, striking with cable-like arms.

Haka reacted instantly. His blood weapon shifted into a solid shield.

“Tch—fast…!”

He spun and kicked the Remnant away.

The shield melted, writhing in the air before reforming into a blade. Haka lunged, slashing through the Remnant’s waist.

It crashed into a building—then stood again. Faster. Lighter. As if weight meant nothing.

“Be careful, Haka!” Aisha warned from above.

“It’s faster than the running Remnants in Batora!”

“I’m always careful!” Haka shouted—

Then slipped as the floor beneath him suddenly rose a meter.

From above, Kiyo’s panicked voice rang out.

“Haka—left! No, not that left—LEFT!!”

“Which left, Kiyo?!”

Kiyo screamed in frustration, crawling as the slab tilted.

“North!!”

The Remnant attacked again. One arm lashed toward Aisha.

She widened her eyes and slashed it with her threads—

Pain exploded in her head.

The world spun. Her stomach churned.

“Ugh!”

She nearly fell.

“Haka!” she cried. “Kiyo was right… using magic here is… nauseating…”

The Remnant leapt vertically like a bullet, landing on Aisha’s slab.

“AISHA! RIGHT!” Kiyo screamed.

She jumped to a lower fragment.

The Remnant followed.

Too fast.

Haka clicked his tongue.

“Alright… now I’m getting sick too.”

“HAKA! BEHIND YOU!” Kiyo yelled again.

Haka ducked just in time.

A cable-arm smashed into a small building, sending it floating upward.

“If this is a ‘remnant’ city,” Haka muttered, “I don’t want to see it intact.”

Above them, Kiyo watched with a pale face.

He bit his lip—then pressed both palms to the ground.

“Reset!”

Green light spread.

The cracked slab reshaped itself, stabilized by his Resetter magic.

Kiyo nearly collapsed from dizziness—but held on.

“Remnant’s heading for Kiyo!” Aisha shouted.

“W-What?! Why me?!” Kiyo panicked.

“Two o’clock, Haka!”

“Zig-zag movement!”

Kiyo’s voice echoed from above—

And somehow, it worked.

Even through nausea and unstable footing, every call gave them a split-second advantage.

Haka blocked.

Aisha sliced.

Threads wrapped around the Remnant’s arm—severing it.

The Remnant roared, spun, and leapt straight toward Kiyo.

“Haka! It’s going for Kiyo!”

“I see it!”

Haka crouched, then launched upward. His blood formed a tether, pulling him higher as he flew past the Remnant.

Kiyo clung to the slab like a lizard, shaking.

Haka landed beside him moments later.

“Kiyo—”

“Haka!!”

Kiyo grabbed his leg tightly, glasses slipping askew.

“Hey—don’t move!” Haka yelped, nearly losing balance.

“I WON’T EVEN BREATHE IF I HAVE TO!”

Haka snorted despite himself.

“Alright. You’re safe.”

Blood surged again, forming a weapon.

The Remnant lunged—

And was struck midair.

With one swing, it was sent crashing downward, smashing into the ruins below.

Kiyo peeked over the edge.

“…Did we survive?"