Pick Me Up – Chapter 282 – Mission Type – Conquest (8)
I frowned.
The prince's pale face looked like a corpse.
Black blood trickled from his lips.
"All power has a price."
The prince muttered as he wiped his mouth.
I immediately understood what he meant. It was similar to what happened with El Cid.
He had also used a power that exceeded his limits and ended up self-destructing.
"How much time do you have left?"
The prince did not respond.
Could it be that he had much less time than I thought?
"It's to be expected."
The prince extended his right hand to one side.
The tips of his fingers trembled slightly and then returned to their position.
"I have crossed dozens of dimensional barriers. My body couldn't withstand the reaction. But I do not regret it. I was able to show them the truth."
"Priacis doesn't want to stay here."
The prince smiled.
"Little sisters never listen to their older brothers, do they?"
I can't understand it.
This young man in front of me has fought hundreds of years of battles.
He has died and killed in countless battlefields I can't even imagine.
All to obtain a small piece of land.
And now he gives up his goal just because his sister said 'no'?
If it were me, I would have forced her, locked her up, done anything to achieve my goal.
"You're an idiot."
The prince squinted his eyes.
"That is the difference between you and me."
"Difference?"
"She knew her fate and chose it herself. In that case, I must bless her path. That is what it means to be family."
Destiny.
I let out a bitter laugh.
If what Pryos says is true, Priacis will be thrown into a meaningless struggle and die senselessly. The infinite fragments that twisted at the border. What we have faced is not even a thousandth of them.
'The end will be...'
I remembered the red fields of Dorado.
El Cid gathered all the forces of Dorado but could not stop the invasion.
Taonier... will have the same end.
The missions, the blessings of the goddess, the heroes, the NPCs, all were useless.
Dorado, Taonier, any dimension in Mobius, the script of the world's regeneration will never be completed. That possibility was blocked from the beginning.
Tel was only prolonging the end of the universe, one more year, one more month, one more second.
'This is a fatal mistake.'
No, more than a mistake.
'What can I do?'
I wouldn't call it a mistake if there wasn't a solution.
Even if I go to server 1, what will change?
Even if I fully awaken the power of the 7 stars and take Ikar's place, the end will only be delayed a bit, but it will not change.
'It's... suffocating.'
Click.
I tightly gripped the sheath of my sword.
"Anyway."
I cleared my thoughts.
For now, I had to focus on the immediate situation.
Pryos broke the barrier of server 1 in the middle of a mission while thousands of spectators watched and revealed confidential information to Priacis and me, the key characters of the script. This is something the company will never forgive.
"Are you going back?"
"Staying here is pointless."
"If you go back, you'll die."
"Staying here is also dying."
I opened my mouth.
"I don't know how much you've fought, but ending like this is nonsense."
"It's not the end."
The prince coughed again.
A thick stream of blood, dense like tar, came out of his mouth.
When he wiped it with his arm, his entire right sleeve turned black.
"If you can't end here, start here."
"...?"
"Han Israt."
The prince looked at me with blurry eyes.
"We will meet again on the golden throne."
"What are you talking about?"
"You are not ready yet."
The prince smiled and turned his head.
I followed his gaze and saw Priacis walking from the edge of the wheat field.
"Where is the exit?"
Priacis spoke in an emotionless voice.
The prince opened his mouth.
"You don't need to look for it. I will send you back soon."
"......"
"But first, I will ask you one last question, Priacis. Do you really want to go back? There is no hope or future there. You will bury yourself in an endless battle and die in the ruins."
Pria closed her eyes, reflecting on the prince's words.
After a moment, she opened them.
"I swore to protect Taonier until that child returns. I don't have time to stay here. Send me back, brother."
"If that is what you wish, I will open the way."
Schink.
The prince raised his sword.
"If you go back, there will be no turning back. Do you know that?"
"I know."
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"You are really stubborn."
The prince looked at Pria with eyes full of affection.
And smiled brightly.
"I have always loved you for that, Priacis."
The prince lowered his sword.
A brilliant flash of light covered the wheat field.
In the middle of that light, a trembling voice was heard.
"Brother, I..."
"You don't need to say anything."
"Staying there... would be"
"I know what you carry on your shoulders. I carried it once too."
"......"
"Follow your path."
The light enveloped everything.
[Welcome, Master Anything, to Pick Me Up!]
With a cheerful sound, the login screen appeared.
[Loading complete.]
[TOUCH! (Select)]
Anything, who had finished loading quickly, entered the main screen.
In the control interface of Anything, who had re-entered the mission, a holographic message appeared.
[Restoration complete!]
[Reconnecting to the server. We apologize for any inconvenience.]
Time, which had been frozen, began to move again.
The fragments falling from the sky, the monsters fighting against the heroes, the city in flames, and the collapsing buildings regained their colors.
"Elder brother, what just happened?"
"Look ahead. It's not over."
Jenna, with a confused expression, turned her head.
Not far away, the prince was calmly smiling, with his sword lowered.
At the same time.
[The goddess's punishment strikes Pryos Al Ragnar!]
Crack!
Suddenly, five blades emerged from the air and pierced the prince.
"What is that?"
Crack.
The bright blades floated upwards.
The prince's body, splattering blood, was suspended in the air.
"......"
The prince's sword fell to the ground.
"What is that sword? Why did it appear suddenly...?"
It seems the company is furious.
They did not give us an item, nor did they grant us a buff.
A direct attack and restriction.
No need for a mission or anything, they are determined to kill him.
'The prince was right.'
If they do this in front of the spectators, they have clearly touched a sensitive point of the company.
The broadcast chat was updating at an incredible speed. There was no need to read it; most of the messages criticized the server error and the mission's out-of-control plot.
<Han.>
Roderick's voice resonated in my head.
<I don't think we can hold on much longer.>
I looked around.
In the distance, the monsters were invading the heroes' base from the burning avenue.
[Contaminated Goblin Lv.53] X 7322
Since when have they multiplied so much?
The entire capital was filled with monsters.
Among the monsters, figures that seemed like heroes could occasionally be seen.
The characteristic of contamination. They had become zombies.
'The balance has been broken.'
To the right of my vision, the messages of injuries and deaths of the heroes appeared incessantly.
I put my hand to my ear.
"Is Priacis there?"
<That's right.>
"Use teleportation magic to bring her here."
<She hasn't yet...>
Before Roderick could finish speaking, the space next to me twisted, and Priacis appeared.
With a stern expression, she looked at the prince suspended in the air.
"Brother..."
"Are you looking for an exit?"
Plop.
The prince's blood dripped from his foot.
"What is this? How can this happen in the middle of a battle?"
"Don't worry about that. Just do what we have to do."
I spun Bifrost.
Crackle. A crimson lightning ran along the blade.
"Kill me and take my heart. There you will find what you seek."
"......"
"Or can't you do it now?"
"That's..."
"Aim well. It won't be easy."
Rumbleeeee!
I looked up.
Something gigantic was about to emerge from the big hole.
[※Warning!]
[The Crystal of Despair is descending!]
The second crystal appeared.
But the situation was several times worse than the first.
[Fragment of Despair Lv.108] X 1053
Hundreds of bright crystals floated around the hole.
When I tried to fly with Priacis, they would attack immediately.
<...Han.>
Halgion spoke to me.
<What have you seen?>
"Everything."
I replied briefly and looked at the prince and Pria.
"There is no time. This world will soon collapse."
"My brother..."
"Who gave you permission to call me brother? I am Pryos Al Ragnar, heir to the throne of the great empire."
Pria's eyebrows trembled.
Finally, she looked at me and nodded.
I took a step forward.
"Jenna, Belkist."
I brought Bifrost back.
Crackle. The lightning, fully charged, swirled around me.
Soon, the lightning turned black and concentrated at the tip of the sword.
"Pria."
"...Yes."
"You said you wouldn't give up."
"That's... true."
"Then resist."
"......"
"Resist and resist. If you fall, get up, if you break, reassemble. No matter what blocks you, break it and keep moving forward. That is our golden blood."
Crack!
The blades sank deeper into the prince's body.
"Show that I am wrong."
Boom!
Thunder rumbled in the sky.
Something huge was about to fall.
I straightened my sword.
"I'm sorry..."
"Those words..."
The prince smiled.
"Are wrong, Pria."
Full charge.
I swung my sword.
Following the sword's trajectory, a black light like the abyss scattered.
"Shoot."
Boom!
A bright arrow shot out of Jenna's bow.
A special rifle based on Nihaku's Brionac.
Finally, a white wave shot out from Belkist's sword.
The three lights joined and swept the place where the prince stood.
"......"
There was no massive shockwave or deafening sound.
But one thing was certain.
From the epicenter, a blinding golden light shone intensely.
"Pria."
I whispered to Priacis, who was stunned.
Pria came to her senses and walked towards the light.
And then.
"I..."
In the midst of the bright light, I saw someone raising a sword.
"I resist."
Whoosh!
The scattered waves of light began to converge into one.
[The mission has changed!]
[Mission type – Conquest]
[Objective – Overcome destiny.]