Pick me Up – Chapter 277 – Mission Type – Conquest (3)
Whoosh!
A sharp whistle echoed through the air.
Elstadt, one of the four ancient dragons and the founder of the Sternberg Family, who wielded dark magic.
He took the form of a gigantic blue bird. His wings, when spread, cast a shadow that covered the entire palace. Each of his feathers was imbued with magical purple energy.
「Despicable insects. I'll tear you apart with my own hands!」
Sternberg flapped his wings.
With just two or three beats, he ascended nearly 30 meters and began to fly swiftly toward me.
‘…Wow.’
That guy wasn't just any monster or boss; he was a transcendent entity.
He was an existence beyond the ordinary, like Halgion or Asynis.
Are they really going to break the balance this way?
“Han! That’s…”
Pria’s eyes were filled with terror.
There was no need to explain.
“Hold on tight!”
I pulled Pria close against my body.
Faster. The cutting wind battered my entire body.
「Do you think a mere human can evade me?」
Uuuuuuu.
Elstadt fully extended his wings.
Hundreds of magical circles appeared on the surface of his wings.
‘Damn it.’
Boom!
A burst of violet lightning suddenly shot out.
I quickly twisted my body to dodge.
“Ahhh!”
Pria let out a sharp scream.
I kept twisting my body to escape the line of fire.
Chiii.
The smell of burning flesh.
One of the bolts grazed my wings.
It had pierced the barrier of the Black Dragon’s scales in an instant.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Like a machine gun, he fired magical bullets in rapid succession.
At the same time, he chased me at a speed that didn’t match his size.
‘I don’t have time.’
Although I had practiced, I still wasn’t used to flying.
At this rate, he’ll catch up before I reach the core.
‘Should I face him?’
No.
Even on the ground, facing him head-on was difficult.
Fighting in the air, with Pria by my side, was suicide.
A direct battle is difficult, and it’s hard to escape him.
So, what option do I have…?
<Why do you worry so much?>
I looked to my side.
On my shoulder, a fat pigeon was preening its feathers.
“…Halgion.”
<Looks like it’s my turn.>
The pigeon opened and closed its beak.
<I can summon my true form once.>
“…”
<I’ve given you all I can. Don’t hesitate, Han.>
The pigeon firmly closed its beak.
Then, it dived down.
“Kuuuoo!”
Crack.
Crack, crack.
[DANGER!]
[Ancient Species – Black Dragon King]
[Halgion Siraos Lv.???]
A steel dragon appeared in the air.
Boom!
The dozens of violet bolts vanished with a simple movement of the Black Dragon’s hand.
Halgion looked down at Sternberg with red eyes.
「How are you, birdbrain?」
「Damn you…」
Grrrroar!
A powerful roar shook the atmosphere.
The Black Dragon folded its wings and became a projectile diving down.
Dozens, hundreds of magical bullets struck his body, but Halgion didn’t flinch. He closed the 100-meter distance in an instant and attacked with his claws.
Boom!
The sound of an explosion.
Sternberg’s neck twisted to the other side.
His gigantic body was thrown back.
「Graaack!」
「Haha! It feels so good! It’s always a pleasure to hit you!」
「I’ll kill you, Halgion!」
「Try if you can.」
Sternberg, who had recovered in the air, began to prepare his magic.
The magical circles that appeared in the sky were much larger and more numerous than the ones he used against me.
If this magic falls on the capital, it will be destroyed in an instant.
<Leave it to me.>
“…Alright.”
I looked up.
The giant was pulling his torso out of the hole.
“Pria, are you ready?”
“Yes, whenever you are!”
“Good.”
I flapped my wings once more.
Just below, a thunderous clash was heard.
The two transcendental beings had begun their battle.
[Corrupt Goblin Lv.53] X 5769
The number of Goblins landing in the field exceeded five thousand.
They occupied the city and were heading toward the palace.
I increased my speed even more.
‘Casualties?’
I glanced to the side of my vision.
In Anything’s control window, the number of incapacitated heroes, including the wounded, was recorded.
A total of 103. A tenth of our forces had already been eliminated.
The hole was near.
Pria took a deep breath and clenched her right hand.
The light sword extended several meters.
“To end this in one strike, we must attack when its body is completely out.”
Pria murmured.
I nodded.
When the giant is fully out of the hole.
“Kyaaaak!”
I pulled back a bit.
Sharp feathers brushed past where I had been.
[Corrupt Harpy Lv.65] X 13
[Corrupt Wyvern Lv.73] X 3
Flying monsters were approaching.
“Don’t worry about them.”
I tightened my hold on Pria with my wings.
My entire body was covered in steel scales.
[This hero is immune to physical attacks!]
[This hero is immune to magic!]
[This hero is immune to physical attacks…]
The breath and feathers enveloped us.
There was little time left before the giant was fully out.
While maintaining the Black Dragon’s scales, I looked down.
The blue bird and the black dragon were clashing in a storm of lightning and fire.
In the burning city, heroes were fighting against the monsters.
And the fragments kept falling, creating more monsters throughout the city.
“……”
It was an infernal landscape.
‘Has this happened…’
…more than 17 times?
I opened my eyes wide.
The prince was on the throne, his head resting on one hand.
His gaze met mine.
<Isn’t it ridiculous?>
The prince spoke.
His voice resonated clearly as if whispering right next to me.
<You’re doing all this to live a few more decades. Even if you stop this destruction, in the end, you’ll end up in a grave. The human race will disappear eventually.>
“……”
<I didn’t know. I wasted time on useless things. I cried and despaired, shed blood, and rose up. I don’t even know how many times I repeated it.>
The prince smiled softly.
<My dear sister, Pria.>
“…Brother.”
<I’ll give you a peaceful life.>
The prince continued.
<You don’t have to fight anymore. Weren’t you the little girl who used to cry by my side?>
I sighed.
Pria was trembling.
“Weren’t you fighting for the empire and its people?”
<At some point, I thought that.>
“What do you mean?”
<I thought I was fighting for the great cause. For Taonier. For the emperor. For the people. But I was wrong. Humans aren’t that noble. I brainwashed myself.>
“……”
<In reality, I didn’t care about the empire. None of that mattered. How can you love millions of people you can’t even see?>
Pria clenched her fists.
<The saint and the lords of the four great families. We all used each other. They for their wealth and power. I for a goal. Even if I were reborn, it would be the same. If I didn’t have a special power, they wouldn’t have followed me.>
There were no more words.
The prince smiled and closed his eyes.
“Pria.”
The giant was almost fully out.
“…Understood.”
I spread my wings.
At the same time, I extended my left hand.
A red ray stretched out and enveloped the flying monsters.
When I clenched my hand, they compressed into a mass of bones and flesh, falling to the ground.
Finally, the giant’s feet emerged from the hole.
A huge black figure, about 50 meters tall, like a gigantic building, began to fall slowly.
I gripped Bifrost and launched upward.
Swish!
Dozens of tentacles emerged from the giant’s skin.
I moved my right hand, cutting and breaking the tentacles with Bifrost’s blade.
“Let’s go!”
Pria raised her light sword and swung it.
The golden sword extended and struck the giant’s forehead.
The dimensional sword penetrated its skin without resistance, as if it were tofu.
Bang!
I moved my feet quickly.
There was no sound.
Turning into a flash of light, I pierced through the giant’s body from head to foot.
[Ding!]
[The Chaos Core has been returned to its dimension!]
With a single strike.
The level 300 boss monster disappeared in one blow.
Immediately, countless particles of light scattered.
“…”
It’s a trick.
In Niflheim, I struggled a lot to take one of these down.
I descended, holding Pria.
‘We made it somehow.’
I looked around.
The falling fragments were disintegrating and disappearing.
The monsters fighting the heroes on the ground also stopped. They all turned into a viscous substance and flowed into the city’s sewers.
“Is this… over?”
“We have stopped the first invasion.”
Although the hole hadn’t closed, for now, we could relax a bit.
I flapped my wings and descended.
Thud.
I set my feet on the garden’s ground.
Pria wobbled a bit as she touched the ground.
“Big brother!”
Jenna ran towards us.
She seemed to have gone through an intense battle. Her leather armor was soaked in blood and dust.
Belkist walked slowly behind her.
I drank a recovery potion.
Glup, glup.
I looked around.
The street outside the palace had turned into a hell of fire.
The heroes were helping the wounded back to the palace.
「Hmph, you’re still weak.」
A young man in black armor walked out.
Halgion Siraos.
「Damn presumptuous…」
A red-haired girl growled.
It was Sternberg. It seemed their fight had come to a truce.
Halgion pointed his spear at the prince.
「It will take some time before the next invasion. It will be enough to kill you.」
“……”
The prince remained leaning on the throne.
<Han, due to limitations, I can’t interfere further. I can stop the two ancient dragons, but you’ll have to handle the prince yourself.>
“I know.”
The 80th floor,
It won’t end as long as that man is alive.
I released Bifrost.
<Attack preparations.>
Click.
The heroes gathered in the palace aimed their weapons at the prince.
The prince smiled and murmured.
“You’ve made it.”
「Made it? Bah!」
Sternberg clicked his tongue.
With a stern expression, he approached the prince.
「Why didn’t you act? If you had intervened, the situation would have been different. Did you want to make a show?」
「Disappointing.」
The red-haired boy spoke.
It was Lantia.
「Are you going to break your promise with us, Pryos? We lent you our power to break the cycle. Acting like this at the first opportunity violates our agreement.」
“An agreement?”
「You swore to set us free. But what you just did doesn’t align with our goal.」
「There’s still another chance. If you don’t want to die, do it right this time. We’ll use our power once more, so this time… let’s end this!」
Thud!
「Huh?」
Sternberg blinked.
A bandaged hand had pierced his chest.
Splat!
When the prince pulled his hand out, he extracted a still-beating heart.
「What…?」
Crack!
The prince crushed his heart.
Sternberg collapsed to the side.
「What… have you done…?」
Lantia hastily retreated.
The prince’s hand moved.
Bang!
The sound of a firecracker.
The headless boy fell to the ground.
The prince shook his bloodstained hand.
“This is liberation.”
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