Pick me Up – Chapter 278 – Mission Type – Conquest (4)
"It's hard to relate to the elders."
The prince smiled wryly as he looked at the remains of Lantia and Sternberg.
They shuddered. The two bodies without heads or hearts twitched sporadically as jets of blood spurted out.
<The ancient species don't die easily.>
Halgion squinted his eyes.
Pryos looked at us.
"I almost died of annoyance. Freedom, revenge, they should stop talking nonsense."
The prince attacked his own allies without hesitation.
'What is this guy after?'
The other monsters had clear goals.
They used the prince's power to free themselves from sacrifice, seeking revenge and freedom.
However, this one moved in the opposite direction. While his subordinates were being annihilated, he did not use his power, and when the capital fell, he locked himself in the palace and remained silent. Now he had eliminated the two ancient species that lent him their power.
Did he want Taonier's destruction?
Or to take revenge on Tel, who had transformed him this way?
If not that...
"It's finally quiet."
Pryos extended his right hand backward.
The space twisted, and a dimensional vortex appeared.
"I'm tired."
Pryos murmured.
His golden eyes showed deep boredom.
"Killing, being killed."
Pryos inserted his right hand into the vortex.
Boom! A dazzling light emerged from the rift.
Finally, what he pulled out was an unremarkable sword.
"Ah, before that..."
The prince looked back.
There were the two bodies in the process of regenerating.
Though they had lost their heads and hearts, they were not dead.
"I must take care of this."
Before the bodies of the ancient species could regenerate completely, the prince acted.
He approached like lightning, grabbed their necks, and threw them.
Boom!
The bodies shot out like projectiles.
Their target was the black hole in the sky.
The two ancient species turned into small dots and were absorbed by the hole.
"You, damn..."
Halgion bared his fangs.
[※Warning!]
[‘Despair’ is beginning to descend.]
Boom!
The sky trembled violently.
‘...’
The second descent began immediately.
We had repelled the first invasion, so we should have had some time.
There was only one reason I could think of.
‘Did he sacrifice those guys?’
Pria stepped forward.
"Your Highness...! What the hell have you done!"
"As you can see, I called the second fragment."
"..."
"Not even I am a god. Isn't it unfair, a thousand against one? I just balanced the scales, Pria."
"For such a trivial reason..."
"Yes, for such a trivial reason."
Pria's eyes darkened.
"Do you want to kill me?"
"..."
"If you want to stop me, take my head."
Pria looked at me.
She said nothing, but I understood her meaning.
I walked slowly.
Crash!
The transparent barrier separating the prince and me shattered and disappeared.
At the same time.
Graaah!
From the other side of the hole, the screams of creatures echoed once again.
I put my hand to my ear.
"Can you hear me?"
<It's heard.>
"We'll take care of the prince. Please, stop those creatures. The Master will help you."
From afar, Roderick nodded.
Soon, the fragments began to fall from the hole again.
[Fragment of Despair Lv.108] x 931
One of the series of fragments.
They take the form of pointed crystals.
As they fell to the ground, they transformed into monsters.
[Activation of random attribute.]
[Despair is beginning a super evolution.]
[Attributes – Hardening, Contamination]
The random attributes are Hardening and Contamination.
The hardening physically hardens the skin, which can be handled with weapons with magical attributes. However, contamination is a problem. It revives dead heroes as monsters, like zombies.
[Contaminated Goblin Lv.53] x 1028
I murmured once again.
"If there are dead heroes among you, burn their bodies."
<...>
"It is absolutely necessary."
<...Understood.>
Click.
The communication was cut off.
I took a deep breath and grasped the hilt of Bifrost.
[Danger!]
[Dark Prince]
[Pryos Al Ragnar Lv.???]
The name tag appeared.
Now the system also recognized him as an enemy.
I walked slowly forward.
"Big brother, we..."
"Take Pria to a safe place."
"..."
"Enter at the right moment."
"Understood."
"Wait a bit."
The two took Pria away.
After confirming they had disappeared, I turned my head to look ahead.
Right in front. A young man with red bandages was standing.
"Han Israt."
"What?"
"This is the end."
"That's right."
Halgion's figure faded like mist.
And then.
Crackle!
Dark red lightning bolts burst from his entire body.
[Han (★★★★★★) has activated demonization.]
Shrrk.
The fragile skin of a human transformed into dragon scales.
Hot blood flowed through all his veins.
‘Now...’
I can feel it.
The immense power twisting inside me.
I pointed Bifrost at him.
[Skill, Supreme Black Sword activated.]
A black mist enveloped the blade of the sword.
A tremendous gravitational energy. It could distort even space-time.
If I forgot to control the weight for a moment, the ground beneath my feet would instantly sink.
"Do you know what I want?"
The prince smiled sarcastically.
"I don't care."
I kicked the ground.
At the same time, I swung the sword with my right hand.
Crack!
An explosion sound.
Tons of pressure hit Pryos. His body shot out at an incredible speed. Breaking through two watchtowers, the prince's body crashed to the ground.
‘It's not over.’
I extended my left hand towards him.
Boom! The ground around Pryos sank.
‘Ten thousand times.’
Bang!
The ground sank.
In an instant, a crater several meters deep was created.
I turned my left hand. Numerous gravity bullets created behind me rushed towards the prince. Then, I pointed Bifrost at him. The sword blade, extended by dozens of meters, pierced the center of the crater.
"Hahaha..."
A laugh was heard amidst the smoke and explosion.
"It's my turn now."
When I realized, my body was nailed to the thick palace walls.
"..."
A golden explosion.
I couldn't tell where the attack came from.
Five golden light bursts cut through my body.
Even the nearly invulnerable defense of dragon scales was no different from a sheet of paper. Blood spurted from the cut artery like a fountain. All the blows had struck vital points.
<...This is not enough.>
Halgion whispered.
<To kill the Dragon King.>
I extended my right hand.
I grabbed his neck and pulled him towards me.
Boom!
I headbutted him.
The prince staggered.
"It hurts."
Then, I punched his abdomen.
His intestines must have torn.
Crack!
I grabbed his neck and twisted it.
The prince, with his neck twisted 180 degrees, rolled on the ground.
Then I picked up Bifrost and tried to pierce his heart.
Puff!
A silver blade cut my right arm.
The arm covered in scales and claws flew off, spraying blood.
A form that could not be considered human.
"It doesn't matter."
I punched the prince's face with my left arm.
At the same time, I moved the cut right shoulder.
Crack!
In an instant, the regenerated right arm returned.
"I'm exhausted."
Bang!
I hit him once more.
His head pierced the ground.
"Killing or being killed."
I punched repeatedly with my fists.
Bone fragments and blood flew everywhere.
Bang!
Something threw my body away.
I slid several meters before regaining my posture.
"..."
Physical attacks don't work.
If it were another monster, it would have died ten times, but the prince in front of me showed no signs of injury.
Although I broke his skin, joints, and bones, he regenerated as if nothing had happened.
I opened my right hand.
Bifrost, which had been thrown far away, was attracted to my hand.
[Pryos Al Ragnar uses ‘Imperial Swordsmanship – Sky (天).]
I jumped forcefully.
At that moment, an invisible shockwave swept the place where I was.
Boom!
Boom, boom!
Within a radius of dozens of meters, the buildings and walls swept by the shockwave collapsed like straw.
‘This is ridiculous.’
Where is the swordsmanship in this?
The prince had merely lifted the sword slightly upward and lowered it.
That simple movement collapsed part of the imperial palace.
[Pryos Al Ragnar uses Imperial Swordsmanship – Sky (天).]
[Pryos Al Ragnar uses Imperial Swordsmanship – Sky (天).]
[Pryos Al Ragnar uses Imperial Swordsmanship – Sky (天).]
I ran along the wall, moving away from the attack's range.
Pryos was emitting shockwaves in every direction I moved.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The tall buildings touched by the sword pressure crumbled like toys.
Fortunately, Roderick had evacuated the heroes early. If they had been here, dozens or hundreds would have been massacred.
‘Should I try it?’
No.
I wait.
"Kieeeek!"
Dozens of Goblins appeared near the wall.
They had green skin cracked like scales.
The hardening attribute, skin harder than steel.
"Disappear."
Boom!
The crowd of Goblins was pulverized with a single strike.
Not a single corpse was left.
‘The current situation is...’
I ran in circles around the prince, quickly assessing the situation. The heroes outside the palace were fortifying, using sorcerers to build defenses. Pria was probably there as well.
<Han! Do we just need to return the leader like before?>
Pria’s voice was heard. She seemed to be using communication magic.
“I can't help this time.”
<I know. I'll handle it on my own.>
“Do it.”
Boom!
The tall building behind me collapsed.
"How long do you plan to run?"
"Just now."
I murmured.
Plak! An arrow flew from somewhere and pierced the prince’s back.
Plak, plak, plak! Dozens of arrows turned him into a pincushion.
"Finally, we can end this."
Belkist appeared behind the prince and swung his right hand.
A white light cut through his waist.
[Pryos Al Ragnar uses Imperial Swordsmanship – Earth (地).]
"Belkist!"
"I know."
Belkist agilely retreated.
Boom! A powerful explosion occurred near Pryos.
"Phew, I didn’t arrive too late."
Jenna descended next to me.
Then Belkist arrived.
"Your appearance always surprises me."
Belkist murmured as he looked at me.
"Halgion."
<What?>
"How do we kill that guy?"
Halgion, who had been silent, responded.
<It’s similar to the ancient species.>
"Yeah? How do we deal with it?"
<There are two ways. The first is to target his weak point somewhere.>
"Where is that?"
<I don’t know.>
Is that even an answer?
"And the second?"
<Fight until death.>
"This is ridiculous."
I clicked my tongue.
At that moment. Crack. Crack, crack. The arrows lodged in Pryos' body were expelled.
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