Pick Me Up – Chapter 258 – Requiem (4)
I observed the man who called himself the director.
With his short hair speckled with gray and a listless expression, there was no intelligence in his eyes.
Was he really the developer in charge of Pick Me Up? If it weren't for the place we were in, I would have already hit him for lying.
"Siris-chan..."
"Is he pretending?"
I brought a hand to my forehead.
Sijel cleared his throat.
"It's not his intention. His health is not good."
"Being sick makes him like this?"
"Of course... there are other reasons."
Sijel looked at the director with pity.
"To avoid the company's surveillance, he had to do it. A clumsy performance wouldn't have worked. Going genuinely insane was the only option. Otherwise, inviting you here would have been impossible."
Invitation.
I squinted my eyes.
Sijel put a hand on the director's shoulder and said:
"Behind the office is a small room. There you can see the ending of Dorado you desire so much."
I looked back and saw an unadorned metal door.
"When you return, we will arrange a time with the director. If he takes special medication, he can hold a coherent conversation for about ten minutes."
Sijel bowed and left with the director in his wheelchair.
‘So there was another intention.’
What would have happened if I hadn't come here?
I will never know.
I shrugged my shoulders, opened the door, and entered.
Cold air.
I took a deep breath.
In the small room, less than 15 square meters, countless monitors were installed.
Walls and ceiling covered with large and small monitors, each transmitting different noises.
"......"
In the center of the room, on a small table, was an old video tape.
I picked it up to examine it.
On the tape's label, it said "#EL CID, DORADO."
El Cid.
The former number 1 ranker and the only Master who had completed all stages of Pick Me Up.
He was also a hero in his own right.
After completing all the missions, El Cid suddenly changed, devouring all nearby heroes and crossing the server barrier. Mu Ryeon, who was in second place, was also one of his victims, and if things had gone a bit worse, Niflheim would have also been on the casualty list.
His only goal was to reach server 1.
‘What is in server 1?’
It is said that Mobius' headquarters is located on server 1.
I will watch the tape to know what he was trying to do there.
I took a deep breath and inserted the tape into the player.
Chic. Chizzz.
All the monitors cleared of noise simultaneously.
Then, the monitors on the edges started playing images in order.
The mission of Dorado's lower levels.
These scenes I had seen in the Book of the Inverted Sky.
I looked away. On the main monitor at the front, the key scenes were shown.
Main missions, farewells to companions, continuous awakenings, and intense battles.
He lost many companions, and he himself was on the verge of death several times, but in the end, El Cid won.
He defeated the monsters invading the city, repelled a giant monster as big as a mountain, and defeated past heroes who had turned into monsters. Then, along with the allied army of NPCs, he entered the 80s, facing enemies from all over the continent in fierce battles.
[Fragment of Chaos Lv.113]
[Fragment of Despair Lv.108]
[Fragment of Resentment Lv.121]
The so-called series of fragments.
Monsters of unknown nature and no fixed attributes that regularly appeared starting from level 80.
Neither physical nor magical attacks affected them, and each mission required a new strategy. Many rankers were frustrated here.
‘They have no form.’
Sometimes, they took the shape of Goblins.
Other times, that of a great dragon.
Other times, they looked like amorphous bubbles.
‘They have no emotions.’
These beings were not affected by mental attacks.
Neither fear, nor confusion, nor bravery, nor euphoria affected them.
They only devoured all life around them.
I looked ahead.
On the large central screen.
The heroes of Dorado fought fiercely against the fragments.
[Floor 80.]
Stage of Floor 80.
Thousands of fragments attacked, but once again, El Cid emerged victorious.
The next mission would be the same. The outcome was already decided.
I watched the large screen.
The small monitors showing the missions of the lower levels turned off one by one.
On the central screen, the videos of the higher levels played.
Floor 81.
Floor 82.
Floor 83.
The level kept increasing.
In the devastated Dorado, El Cid and his companions continued to fight relentlessly against the fragments.
Floor 84.
Floor 85.
Floor 86.
99% of Dorado's civilian NPCs had died.
Still, the heroes continued fighting.
The fragments kept appearing endlessly.
Floor 87.
The floor currently reached by Niflheim.
Dorado's mission was similar to Niflheim's.
Eliminate the fragments coming from all directions.
Their number exceeded tens of thousands.
El Cid lost half of his forces, but advanced to floor 87.
Each mission left him covered in wounds, but they didn't stop and kept moving to the next floor.
Floor 88.
Floor 89.
And then...
Flash!
A blinding light emanated from the large screen and enveloped my body.
I was drawn into the video with no time to react.
‘……’
I opened my eyes.
Toxic and suffocating air entered my lungs.
[Floor ??]
[Mission Type – ???]
[Mission Objective – ???]
[※ Notice]
[This is the last mission of ‘Dorado’.]
I squinted my eyes.
The landscape began to appear before me.
A vast desert.
There wasn't a blade of grass in the field.
The ground, cracked like a desert, showed no signs of life.
I shook my head and kept walking.
After a while.
[Conqueror of the Golden City]
[Laskandar El Cid Lv.254]
In the center of that plain stood El Cid.
"......"
El Cid was breathing heavily, with two swords stuck in the ground.
His wolf skin cape had long been soaked in blood, and his body was covered in wounds.
‘Is this the last mission?’
I walked around the field.
Even if it was just an illusion, the strong smell of blood tickled my nose.
I looked around as I walked.
The proud Conquest Army of El Cid.
The golden armors had disappeared, and everyone lay like pieces of meat on the field.
“Hahaha!”
I looked to one side.
[Howling Storm]
[Kirzak Delaher Lv.99]
An old man in plate armor and a giant sword laughed quietly.
He was the close lieutenant who appeared in El Cid's hunting mission.
Kirzak, known as ‘The Destroyer’.
“Is this the end? I can't understand what we've been fighting for all this time.”
“It’s not over yet.”
The dark-skinned woman next to him twirled her dagger.
[Swift Lightning]
[Leetha of Gor Lv. 99]
She was Leetha.
A key character in the Book of the Inverted Sky and one of Dorado's top three.
‘The others…’
Were not there.
In the field, only El Cid, Kirzak, and Leetha were present.
Only those three.
The city and palace that originally stood here had been destroyed, and all the citizens had died.
The numerous NPCs who helped them, the companion heroes, the air fleet of Dorado, all had turned to dust.
“We were deceived. That goddess... deceived us. How foolish we were to fall into her trap.”
“We don’t know yet. If we complete this mission, even up to level 100…”
“Dorado is already destroyed. This is the end.”
The old man, Kirzak, murmured.
“Don’t you see? There’s nothing left. No citizens, no allies, not even territory. We advanced through the levels to restore Dorado, but looking back, the higher we climbed, the more Dorado sank into destruction.”
Clang.
Kirzak stabbed his sword into the ground.
He leaned on the blade and slid down to sit.
“…Him.”
Leetha looked at El Cid.
He stood, eyes closed.
“Do you also think this is the end?”
“……”
“It’s not over. Our comrades are waiting for us in the Lobby. We can reorganize. As long as you are alive, we can always form a new hunting party.”
Leetha murmured.
“In the previous world, I made a promise. I promised to revive Dorado no matter what. That’s why I made a pact with the goddess. You did too. And now you want to give up?”
“I’m tired…”
Kirzak sighed.
“Why do we keep fighting endlessly? Is it really for Dorado? I don’t know.”
Kirzak's gaze turned towards the sky.
I followed his gaze.
There they were…
[Fragment of Chaos Lv.113] X ???
[Fragment of Despair Lv.108] X ???
[Fragment of Resentment Lv.121] X ???
They weren’t simply hundreds or thousands.
They were infinite. Countless fragments gathered like clouds in the sky, emitting strange moans as they filled it completely.
“Then, why have we fought…?”
Leetha looked at the sky.
“Why have we fought?”
“Shouldn’t we ask the goddess? Although she hasn’t responded lately, haha.”
Leetha let herself fall to the ground.
“Stand up.”
A soft voice.
El Cid looked at the two with his bloodied face.
“As king of the Golden City, I swore to bring them back home. I won’t give up so easily.”
“But…”
“We can change it. Just as we’ve done before.”
El Cid smiled.
“When I first came here, I was a coward and selfish. But I’ve changed. You all have made me this way.”
El Cid raised his two swords.
He lowered them slowly.
Uuuuuuung.
A whirlwind of light began to form.
‘Is this the power of the seven stars?’
Creating an emergency exit in the middle of a mission.
I smiled wryly.
“Let’s go back. To our haven.”
Leetha nodded and entered the whirlwind.
“Will it really be possible?”
At Kirzak's question, El Cid just smiled silently.
Finally, Kirzak also entered the whirlwind.
“Hoo.”
El Cid, now alone, sighed softly.
“Who would have thought it would end like this?”
El Cid looked towards where I was.
Although his eyes couldn’t see me…
“Surely someone is watching. Whether it’s the goddess or whoever.”
“……”
“I won’t give up. If the game ends like this, I’ll do whatever it takes to change it. That’s my promise.”
Crack.
El Cid raised his sword and cut through the air.
The dimensional whirlwind disappeared into light.
“Before that… I have to complete the pending mission.”
Crash!
The invisible wall surrounding the field broke.
Only then did the fragments that were hovering begin to fall to the ground.
El Cid pointed his swords at the sky.
“My sword…”
[Engraving, ‘The Conqueror’, activated!]
Uuuuuuuuung!
A gigantic tremor shook the field.
Particles of light emanated from the bodies of monsters and heroes, being absorbed by El Cid.
“I will conquer fate.”
Boom!
Thunder and storms began to roar.
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