Pick me Up – Chapter 302 – Ragnarok (7)
Step by step.
The sound of leather boots echoed clearly on the asphalt.
Hundreds of people crowded the streets and alleys full of shops, whispers and murmurs filled the air. I felt their intense, almost piercing gazes on me.
No wonder.
In this city dominated by advanced technology, a man dressed in leather armor and a tattered cloak was a strange sight. I didn't fit in at all with the environment of this place.
'It seems they lived well at the expense of others here.'
The employees of Mobius enjoyed the benefits of modern civilization, while monsters and heroes were subjected to living conditions inferior to those of humans.
"Who is that guy?"
"Is it a photo shoot?"
"Now that you mention it, I heard a hero escaped from a Lobby..."
I don't blame them.
They were just following orders. The ones I need to eliminate are the 32 board members who rule at the top of the company. The others, as long as they don't interfere, don't matter to me.
Beeeeeeep!
Suddenly, a red light flashed on the nearby iron post.
An alarm blared from the large speakers on the street.
<Level 1 warning! To all employees in Eden Zone 14.>
<The high-level criminal ‘Loki’ has appeared in this area. The City Guard has been dispatched to deal with the threat, so employees are requested to evacuate immediately. I repeat, there is a level 1 criminal in this area…>
Despite the evacuation warning, most citizens didn't seem to have any intention of leaving.
In fact, some watched from a distance as if they were at a zoo, and I even saw some recording me with their mobile phones.
Of course. No hero had ever invaded this place before.
"Is that the guy the rumors were about... the one who opposed the CEO..."
"How did he get through server 1's portal? What was the Guard doing?"
"Maybe he's just another toy of the executive director..."
I drew the Dragon Scale Sword from my arm.
I flicked my wrist and swung the sword lightly.
Shraaak!
The dragon scale whip, extending three meters, whipped through the air and swept the cars filling the four-lane street, tossing them into the air.
Boom!
A spinning SUV crashed into a shop window.
The scale whip curved once more, tossing the cars blocking my way like marbles.
Crack.
A citizen, too busy recording me with his phone to notice the danger, probably trying to post on social media, was crushed by a falling car. Blood and pieces of flesh splattered, and only after the explosions and flames covered the street...
"Aaaaaah!"
"Save me!"
The crowd began to scatter like ants.
'Idiots.'
I didn't plan to massacre intentionally, but I also had no intention of holding back.
If they stand in my way, they'll die. This isn't a battle between good and evil. I didn't pretend to be a hero of justice. After all, what I planned to do was to alter the laws of the universe, a task worthy of a demon, not a god.
'I can't be a god.'
If I must define myself, it would be as a demon.
I laughed to myself and twisted the Dragon Scale Sword.
The blade composed of dragon scales extended, curving peculiarly and sweeping the street.
Continuous explosions.
The pillars supporting the elevated highway collapsed, parked cars caught fire, and the asphalt broke and sank.
Screeech!
Dozens of cars headed towards me skidded to a halt.
I didn't stop. The piled-up cars flew into the air.
"Aaaaaah!"
"Where is the City Guard? Stop that terrorist!"
The city turned into chaos in an instant.
Flames burst everywhere on the destroyed streets.
"A monster has appeared!"
"Aaaah!"
"I am Groot!"
Numerous citizens began to emerge from the buildings along the road.
They scattered in the opposite direction to mine.
'They're coming.'
Several helicopters armed with missiles and machine guns approached me.
Behind them, a fleet of floating vehicles positioned themselves.
<Master Loki! We warn you. Stop your terrorist act and disarm…>
I lowered my index finger.
The steel helicopters crumpled like paper, exploding in flames.
<Uh…?>
Every movement of my finger transformed and destroyed the helicopters' bodies.
As if I were crumpling sheets of paper.
Crunch! Crack! Crumble!
The helicopter squad was smashed before they could fire a single burst.
"Tel, do you really think you can stop me with this trash?"
They don't even come close.
This isn't even worthy of a reception.
With a single gesture, I brought down the modern flying vehicles.
[Mobius Inc.]
[City Guard Lv.99] X 569
A regular regiment equipped with modern weapons appeared.
'It's not enough.'
I moved my cloak.
Woooong! Magic circles of various sizes appeared in purple between the folds of the cloak.
'Fire.'
Boom!
A high-temperature ray covered the front.
The City Guard, formed and ready to fire, disintegrated in an instant.
"Tel, you can hear me. They can't stop me."
Boom!
The second shot.
Seventeen beams of light spread in different directions.
The beams that wiped out a complete regiment pierced the center of the skyscraper forest behind them.
Three buildings involved in the explosion began to collapse.
I didn't care how many buildings fell.
Shraaak!
I swung the Dragon Scale Sword.
The scale whip, extending a hundred meters, cut everything around. Large buildings, shops along the street, elevated highways, cars, modern tanks, helicopters, flying vehicles, everything.
[Mobius Inc.]
[City Guard Lv.99] X 357
[Delta Ranger Lv.99] X 89
They appeared from all directions, but it was useless.
Rifle bullets, machine guns, missiles, even tank shells... nothing worked.
I moved my cloak once more.
Three guided missiles vanished into the barrier in front of me and shot out in the opposite direction.
Trajectory inversion.
Boom!
No matter if there are hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands, the result is the same.
'They are simply my prey.'
Particles of light emerged from all over the city and were absorbed into my body.
One for each corpse. They weren't very valuable, but it was better than nothing.
Not even ten minutes had passed.
The city’s periphery was completely destroyed.
The place was filled with the groans of the wounded and explosions. Screams echoed in the burning buildings, covering the ruined streets.
Shraaak!
I sheathed the Dragon Scale Sword.
Boom! One high-rise building after another collapsed.
"Aaaaah! Save me!"
In front of me, a legless soldier tried to crawl.
I walked towards him and crushed his head with my foot.
'The casualties...'
Including the citizens, it would be tens of thousands.
I didn't care at all.
"Damn madman! How dare you massacre like this! You will receive your punishment! Scum! The president will tear you to pieces… aaaaah!"
I threw a dagger into the soldier’s forehead.
From the insignia on his shoulder, he seemed to be the captain of the City Guard, but he was just another waste to be eliminated.
"Je…ok…!"
"Ugh! Aaaaaah!"
The wounded, with missing body parts, writhed everywhere.
I walked calmly down the burning street. I was getting closer and closer to Mobius's central building.
「Hahaha! What is this?」
I stopped.
Not far away, a girl in a white dress stood on the road.
With a pure expression and a fresh smile.
'Tel.'
You finally appear.
I knew you were watching.
'It's an illusion.'
Tel's figure was distorted.
Her true body must be on the top floor of the headquarters.
「This is unexpected. You destroyed the city right away.」
"......"
「You just massacred thousands of innocent lives for no reason. You disappoint me, Loki. I thought you’d have at least some compassion. Hahaha! In the end, you can't deny your nature. The monster that devoured Taonier's children remains the same.」
I passed by Tel without stopping.
「Oh, are you going to ignore me after coming to greet you?」
"......"
「I'm here to correct some of your misunderstandings. Loki, if you think you can beat me just because you absorbed the power of a few minor gods, you're very wrong.」
"......"
「I felt so sorry for your situation that I tried to show mercy, and this is how you betray me. To save you, I sent a valuable fleet and sent you a handwritten message, and you respond with this destruction?」
"......"
「I'll give you one last chance. Stop acting like a spoiled child and join me. I swear by the name of the goddess that I will revive the two worlds you cherish so much. This offer won't be repeated. If you refuse this offer…」
"What if I refuse?"
I stopped and smiled broadly.
"What will you do?"
「You... will die.」
"Really?"
「Don't overestimate yourself, scum. Absorbing a few minor gods doesn't make you the most powerful. Don't even dream of defeating all of Mobius.」
I turned around.
Tel's face, pale as marble, had not a trace of a smile.
It was an expression cold as ice.
「You don't know your place, Loki. I don't like men who don't understand their situation. Instead of begging for your life, you're acting with incredible arrogance.」
"......"
「Don't you know how El Cid died challenging me? Here's another example.」
From Tel's right hand, a dark figure emerged.
The human form rolled on the ground, covered in blood and severely burned. Its skin, oozing, was horribly disfigured.
It emitted silent moans as it lay on the ground.
「That's how traitors end up. Think carefully, Loki. If you continue, there's no turning back. Hahahaha!」
Tel's illusion suddenly disappeared.
"……!"
The figure slowly crawled towards me.
Its mouth opened as if trying to speak, but no sound came out, only strange moans.
“Lo… Lo…”
"……Sijel."
It was the deputy director of Alpha Zero, one of the 32 board members, and the person who had given me clues about El Cid.
A woman who was once strong was now just a piece of meat crawling on the ground.
‘How cruel.’
Sijel had suffered third-degree burns all over her body.
Of course, these weren't ordinary wounds.
The burns covering her skin were imbued with horrible curses. As long as she lived, they wouldn’t heal and would cause her constant, searing pain.
“……”
She had lost almost all her identity as a deity.
A half-corpse whose interference power had been completely absorbed. She was a living mummy.
If she had ended up like this, Alpha Zero must already be…
‘Betrayal.’
She must have referred to the help she gave me.
[!Loki, I'm back!]
Plof.
Frey appeared in a flash of stardust.
[Anything is now a millionaire!]
Frey flew around me, surveying the scene.
[It seems there was a big fight here.]
"It wasn’t much."
[But… who is this person…?]
Frey frowned.
“Sijel.”
[Sijel? If she’s who I think she is, then… Oh no! What happened to her…?]
"I'll explain later."
I lifted her and carried her under my arm.
She groaned in pain, but I didn't care.
I looked towards the imposing Mobius building in the distance and began to walk again, determined to face what lay ahead.