Pick me Up – Chapter 264 – How to Kill an Insect (4)
I kicked the door to the engine room open and entered.
The window in front of the driver's seat was drenched in blood.
Sparks flew from the damaged control console and instrument panel.
On top of it was a mutilated corpse, impossible to recognize. I pushed it aside with my foot, causing it to fall over. It was probably the engineer of this train.
‘No one else is here.’
There was only one corpse in the engine room.
The view beyond the glass was covered in blood.
I tried to approach the console to stop the train, but it was automatic, making it difficult to halt.
I closed the engine room door and stepped out.
From the last carriage to the first, right in front of the engine room, I saw no one.
So, there was only one possibility.
I entered the passage connecting the engine room to the first carriage.
I grabbed the handle of the next door and pulled. The strong wind rushed in as the door opened. The green gas filling the carriage began to slowly escape outside.
‘I don’t know how much time I have.’
It wasn’t an instant death poison, but prolonged exposure could be fatal.
‘Focus.’
Negotiation and combat.
I checked my cards once more.
In my right hand, I held a sword, and inside my jacket was the Reversed Sky Book.
I analyzed the current situation, considering the enemy's possible reactions and how to counter them. What did they want and what could I do?
“Fuu.”
Stay cool.
Don’t let emotions control you.
After calming myself, I ran out through the door.
Whoosh!
The wind, like a whip, lashed my entire body.
If I let go of the door frame, I would be thrown off the train at hundreds of kilometers per hour. I tightened the muscles in my limbs and jumped up. On top of the moving train.
“I thought you’d take longer. I’ve been waiting for a while.”
There was the enemy.
I rose from my crouched position.
To avoid being swept away by the wind, I planted my feet firmly and looked ahead.
The cityscape passed by quickly. Someone stood atop the train.
“We know we don’t have much time, right?”
She smiled.
She wore tight leather clothing reminiscent of a racing suit.
Her eyes shone maliciously under her violet curls.
‘Well, that’s how assassins are.’
Her appearance wasn’t different from what I expected.
I opened my mouth.
“The antidote?”
“Here it is.”
She opened her jacket.
Inside the pocket of the jacket were bottles of a blue liquid.
“By the way, that poison is top-notch. If you don’t take the antidote within half a day, not even a goddess could save you. What do you think? Well-made, right? Think of it simply. You give me the Reversed Sky Book, and I give you the antidote. I’ll give you five bottles. You also need to save your subordinates.”
“……”
“But I still don’t understand why the poison didn’t affect you. It should be able to bypass any poison resistance.”
The assassin chuckled.
“You’ll leave once I give you the book?”
“Of course. There’s no point in staying. Who knows when troublesome things might come.”
Lies.
It was obvious.
“Anyway, it’s useless to you. Give it to us, we’ll put it to good use.”
“You’ll regret it.”
“Regret? I don’t have time for that. I’m too busy trying to survive.”
I took the Reversed Sky Book out of my jacket.
Her gaze intensified.
“Throw it here.”
“First, pass me the antidote.”
“Huh? Are you confused about who has the advantage…?”
I smiled and brought the sword’s edge close to the Reversed Sky Book.
The tip of the sword pierced the leather cover.
“As you said, it’s not of much use to me. I just wanted to test its durability, how timely.”
“……”
“First, the antidote. I won’t repeat myself. You have 10 seconds.”
The blade pierced through the leather cover and touched the book’s inner pages.
Although it’s an SS-class item, it’s ultimately made of leather and paper. I don’t know what will happen if I tear it to pieces.
“Is this madness?”
“If you’re scared, leave.”
“How dare you threaten me? I could kill you and take it.”
“Three seconds left.”
Two seconds.
One second.
I tightened my grip.
“……Stop.”
At that moment, she bared her teeth.
I eased my grip slightly.
“Let’s exchange simultaneously. We throw at the same time. I the antidote, you the book. Fair enough?”
“When?”
“When this coin hits the ground.”
She took out a gold coin.
I nodded silently.
“Good. Let’s do it clean.”
She spun the coin in her hand and threw it high.
As the dancing coin began to fall.
Whoosh!
The strong wind blew, carrying the coin away.
“……”
She threw the antidote.
Simultaneously, I threw the book.
But not in the desired direction.
The antidote flew high above me, off the train.
I quickly followed, lunging. Just before falling, I managed to catch it with my fingertips. I lost balance and nearly fell, but recovered. Looking ahead, I saw the assassin with a defeated expression.
“Is this book so important to you?”
On the first carriage of the train.
Belkist held the Reversed Sky Book, flipping through the pages.
“It doesn’t seem to have anything interesting. Just a rather boring illustrated book.”
“……”
“They said it was a special poison, but it’s mediocre. Far behind that woman’s.”
Belkist smiled.
‘So, he had it too.’
He also inherited the White Dragon’s Blood.
If he inherited the power of the ancient species, this poison wouldn’t affect him.
Just like me.
“Hand it over if you don’t want to die.”
The woman frowned.
“What if I refuse?”
Belkist sneered.
He stored the Reversed Sky Book inside his jacket.
“……Ugh. I’m finished. I can’t believe these insects are manipulating me.”
The woman laughed, holding her face.
Then, she alternated glances between Belkist and me, lifting one corner of her lips.
“My name is Spira Niashmi. I am the master assassin of Makramda. Remember our name. It’s the only favor I grant you before killing my prey.”
Srang.
With a metallic sound, she drew a large Kukri knife.
Spira spun the blade once and crouched.
And in an instant,
She vanished.
“—Belkist!”
“I know.”
Belkist unsheathed his sword without looking back.
Iron clashed, and a blue spark erupted with a scream.
“I’ll take care of her. You deal with the other one.”
The other.
I looked down.
I saw the steel roof of the train.
I rolled across the floor.
Cacrac!
A large blade pierced the roof.
The crescent-shaped blade sliced through the steel, coming towards me.
I jumped back.
A small shadow leaped through the hole.
“My name is Flogel Niashmi.”
A girl in a stewardess uniform held a large scythe.
She wasn’t alone. Another accomplice had infiltrated the train.
An ordinary face seen anywhere.
“Remember our names. It’s the last favor we can give you.”
“Why should I remember it?”
“—Flogel, finish it quickly! If we delay, it’ll be a problem!”
“Yes, sister.”
Flogel lowered the scythe.
Her eyes glowed coldly. The scythe moved at a strange angle.
I drew Bifrost to confront her.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, everything turned red, and I rolled several meters.
The wind blew. I managed to regain balance. If I had fallen a bit farther, I would’ve been thrown off the train.
‘What strength…’
My right hand was torn.
It’s not just about strength.
I, who can lift 200 kg effortlessly, was tossed like a toy.
“A great sword. I was going to cut you in two along with your body.”
Flogel blinked.
‘A technique similar to the Immovable Mountain?’
An S-class ability that grants demonic strength to its user.
So, I can’t face her with just strength.
I switched the sword to my left hand.
Whoosh!
The scythe, with its characteristic crescent arc, came towards my side.
It sliced deeply and then pulled inward.
Cacrac!
I rolled to dodge.
The train roof was ripped apart.
This girl was dismantling the sturdy structure of the train effortlessly.
A high rank is a high rank.
Although she can’t use her special abilities, her skill doesn’t disappear.
‘Still…’
I had a chance.
Without special abilities, the result would be decided by basic techniques.
The effort and sweat shed would prove it.
‘That’s a bit exaggerated.’
I can’t clash weapons.
I can’t rely on my techniques, which is a significant disadvantage.
I had only recently mastered Advanced Swordsmanship.
Sssak!
The sound of flesh being cut.
The scythe stole a piece of flesh from my left shoulder.
There were no flaws in her movements.
Usually, when using a large and peculiar weapon like a scythe, there would be weak points, but this girl wielded the weapon as an extension of her body. This meant her weapon skill was at least two or three levels above mine. I retreated to the next carriage, dodging her strikes.
“Even without my special abilities, killing you is easy.”
If I tried to parry the blow, my body would be cut in two.
Well, I’ve always been the type to face things head-on with brute force.
“How far do you think you can escape?”
The end of the train was in sight.
Flogel approached, alternating her grip on the scythe.
“If you had voluntarily handed over the Reversed Sky Book, I would have at least killed you painlessly. Did you think you could win without your special abilities? It’s a foolish illusion. My sister and I have undergone hellish training long before you were summoned.”
I drew a dagger and quickly threw it.
Flogel caught the blade without any expression.
“How pathetic.”
“Do you know something?”
“What?”
“Loose tongues die.”
There was no need to prolong this fight.
I didn’t need to swing my sword dozens of times.
To end someone, all it takes is a deadly strike to a vital point.
Since there was another enemy, I didn’t want to waste more energy here.
“I will kill you.”
Flogel’s scythe was about two meters long.
Her attack range was much greater than mine, and she fully utilized it.
The blade slid toward my neck, but I tilted my head to dodge it. Then, the arc of the scythe changed naturally. The enormous blade twisted like a snake, trying to slice through my entire body. Her weapon skill was terrifying.
‘Damn it.’
A high rank is a high rank.
So…
“You will die.”
Whoosh!
The sound of a light breeze.
“What…?”
I plunged the sword into Flogel’s heart.
Then, I twisted the hilt while the blade was still inside.
Splurt!
Red blood spurted from the girl’s mouth.
The scythe, which had been close to my neck, fell inert.
Flogel looked back.
There was Jenna, climbing onto the train’s roof, panting. The hole she climbed through was made by Flogel’s scythe.
‘If she had her special abilities, it would have been a problem.’
Here, she was just an ordinary person with a bit more strength.
She didn’t realize that I dropped the antidote to the lower floor, nor that Jenna had awakened, drank the antidote, and took out her bow. Well, she didn’t have eyes in the back of her head.
“You should have moved your tongue less.”
If she had time to talk, she should have been aware of her surroundings.
I kicked Flogel. Her body was flung off the moving train.
---
(Up to '40' more ch4pt3rs)
Publication of up to 4 weekly ch4pters, thank you.