Pick me Up – Chapter 298 – Ragnarok (3)
“Hahahaha! Two worms have joined forces. It doesn't matter, it won't help. This body, blessed by Him… will not lose to anyone!”
Bang!
Karacle swung his axe again.
The remains of the airship, already split in two, were completely shattered.
‘Level 1347.’
In terms of stats alone, he must be hundreds of times stronger than a six-star hero at maximum level.
Additionally, with the active effect of the ‘State of Suppression’ field, the total sum of his stats is unimaginable.
‘Well, anyway…’
Clink.
I turned the blade of Bifrost.
“Siris, I'll handle this alone this time. Your fire doesn't affect him, so stay back.”
“Do you think you can do it, Master?”
“You’ll see.”
Siris’s eyes darkened.
I smiled at her and jumped off the airship.
Time acceleration. Going with the flow, I launched myself towards Karacle.
I aimed for the heart.
Whoooosh! The blade of the sword, imbued with the power of the storm, vibrated violently.
I planned to blow up his insides with a single strike.
“When He recreates the universe…”
“Stop daydreaming.”
In a fraction of a second, I covered the distance of a hundred meters and kicked his head with my right foot.
Crack! I felt the vibration of his shattered skull travel up my knee. Then, I broke his nasal septum, throat, and collarbone with consecutive elbows and fists, and grabbed him by the neck.
“You talk too much.”
“Kuhuhuhu…”
Crack!
My sword was caught by his hands.
Even though blood and bone fragments flew from his hands, Karacle kept gripping the sword.
His wrists were disintegrating and regenerating simultaneously, and the wounds on his body also healed in less than a second.
“I… am… invincible!”
Boom!
I quickly retreated.
With wind pressure like a typhoon, his axe slashed through the spot where my body had been. It was a simple move without any special technique but with transcendental strength.
“Damn worm!”
Karacle aimed at me with the rifle in his left hand.
Rat-tat-tat! High-speed bullets flew towards me along with flashes from the barrel. I slid across the tilted deck, dodging the bullet trajectories.
‘They’ve put everything possible into him.’
A level and stats beyond the limits.
Almost infinite regenerative abilities and unique equipment.
In terms of brute force, he far surpassed El Cid.
“Then… is it my turn?”
Wham.
When I blinked, his face was already in front of me.
Instinctively, I twisted my waist. His axe barely grazed the surface of my leather armor. Immediately after, he began striking me from all directions with his axe, like a storm.
“Loki, all you do is boast? How disappointing! I don't understand why He appreciates you, filthy worm.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just with the pressure of his strikes, the steel deck I was on was mercilessly shattered.
“I must admit you’re as slippery as an eel.”
Crash!
I retreated a great distance.
I landed on the railing of the airship, which was collapsing from the continuous attacks.
“Hahaha!”
Like lightning, he followed me and swung his axe again.
Even though I controlled time, his speed was as if he were teleporting.
He must have the blessing of a higher-level Engraving.
‘…Hmm.’
Is this not enough?
‘Black Dragon’s Blood.’
Boom!
Karacle closed the distance between us in an instant.
“I’ll tear you apart right now!”
Karacle swung his axe.
I grabbed his wrist, which held the axe handle.
“Are you a fool? Do you want to face me, who has infinite power? I’ll tear you to pieces.”
With a satisfied smile, Karacle moved his arm.
And then.
“...?”
Crack.
His right arm bent in the opposite direction.
The ownerless axe spun in the air and flew away.
“Huh?”
I threw Bifrost below the railing.
Barehanded.
‘Let’s try something.’
Let’s see if you really can’t die.
I grabbed his neck with one hand and lifted him.
Karacle struggled to break free, but my hand didn’t budge an inch.
“You, damn…!”
Crack!
I smashed him against the deck.
His head pierced through the thick steel plate, sinking into the interior of the airship.
“This isn’t…”
“Really?”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I grabbed him and started exploring the inside of the airship.
From the upper deck to the bottom.
We pierced through the huge airship, constantly falling down.
‘Not yet.’
With his neck still in my hand, I propelled forward in the air.
Karacle continued to struggle endlessly, but he still couldn’t break free.
Thud.
The boundary of the field.
It was the dimensional barrier defined by the system.
Also called the ‘transparent wall.’ I stood against one side of that wall.
“Damn…!”
I slammed his head against the wall.
Boom!
A huge shockwave spread backward.
The entire transparent wall trembled.
‘This won’t break.’
Second impact.
His neck twisted in the opposite direction and wobbled.
He still wasn’t dead.
Third impact.
The airship behind wobbled under the huge shockwave.
Fourth.
Fifth.
Sixth. Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth.
At a speed of 17 impacts per second, I kept slamming his body against the wall.
The field barrier had the ‘indestructible’ setting, so I could use it without worries.
‘Special power?’
There’s no such thing.
It’s just pendulum movement with pure brute force.
“Damn! This isn’t…!”
“This isn’t what?”
“…”
At the 184th impact, his body began to tremble violently.
“Stop…!”
“I can’t hear you.”
“Stop, please!”
“No.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
While continuing to slam him with my right hand, I punched his face with my left.
I crushed his nose, broke his upper and lower lips, and shattered his jaw. Then, I tore his facial skin, pulling out the bones of his face from within.
“…”
At the 548th impact, I released his neck.
With half of his face gone, Karacle’s body slid down the wall.
‘Bifrost.’
I snapped my fingers.
Crack! Bifrost, which came flying from somewhere, pierced Karacle’s heart.
His body convulsed violently while pinned to the wall.
I rotated my index finger in a circle.
Buzz! The sword blade began vibrating violently.
It was the ability of the White Dragon’s Blood called Vibratory Disintegration.
Then, reddish lightning started to burst from the vibrating blade.
The White Dragon’s Blood and the Black Dragon’s Blood, completely opposite forces, were merging into one.
I clenched my right fist.
Crack! Karacle’s body tore apart and scattered everywhere.
I tapped the sheath on my belt, and Bifrost flew automatically to its place.
Then, white particles were absorbed by my body from Karacle’s shattered corpse. By absorbing all the data, there would be no way for him to regenerate.
‘The end.’
I landed on the deck where Siris was.
At the same time.
[Ding!]
[The Forced Suppression State imposed on dimension 1035, Taonier, has been deactivated!]
A cheerful message appeared.
It seems this debuff was activated by Karacle as a host.
“I told you, it wasn’t necessary.”
Siris closed her eyes tightly.
I chuckled lightly and looked at the endless sky.
The death of the leader Karacle had instantly changed the course of the battle. Looking around, I could see members of Group 1 fiercely fighting in various parts of the battlefield. Mobius’s airships were exploding everywhere.
[Loki, Loki!]
Ting.
Next to me, star particles sparkled.
Iselle flew over with an excited expression.
[When I used the knife you gave me, the curse in the Lobby disappeared completely!]
“So, what’s the situation?”
[We’ve turned the battle around! Most of them have been expelled. Additionally… there was support from Niflheim…]
Iselle’s expression hardened when she saw Siris.
[That woman seems angry.]
“Don’t worry about it. Rather, can I ask you another favor? It might be a bit difficult.”
[Sure, tell me.]
I whispered to Iselle what I needed her to do.
“Can you do it?”
[Well, I could use the supercomputer in my room for that… and with the knife, I could even break ultra-secret data…]
“I’ll leave it to you.”
[Okay, I’ll be right back!]
Iselle disappeared in a flash.
“You see, Siris. Now…”
Swoosh.
I glanced to the side.
The blade of Lævateinn was grazing my neck.
“This reaction is unexpected.”
“Master, what have you sacrificed in exchange for that power?”
Siris bit her lips hard.
I laughed lightly.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve absorbed the transcendent species of Taonier.”
So she knew.
Analyzing Taonier’s Lobby, she must have reviewed the mission data.
It was the most logical thing.
“That’s not a power an ordinary hero can handle.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t break like the other seven-star heroes.”
“Maybe your body won’t break. But…”
“Stop lecturing. I’ve already decided. No matter what you say, I won’t change my mind.”
I pushed the blade of Lævateinn away from my neck.
Siris staggered back as I pushed her.
“Tell the others. I’m heading to server 1.”
“……”
I looked up.
Countless eyes were watching me beyond the sky.
For an ordinary hero, they would never be visible.
‘I see them…’
I can see them.
Even though they were far away, I could see them clearly, and they could see me too.
“They can hear me.”
I murmured softly.
My low voice would resonate gently at the round table where they were seated.
“Wait. I’ll be there soon.”
I narrowed my eyes.
My vision tightened.
Once again, my eyes only reflected the battlefield.
The message surely reached them.
“Master.”
“What?”
“Could you give us… a bit of time?”
“Time?”
“We’ll finish this battle soon, and then, along with the other members, I’ll come see you. We’ll talk in detail then.”
“I won’t change my mind.”
“……So stubborn.”
“Hmm?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Siris quickly turned her head.
I laughed derisively.
“Do whatever you want.”
“Then, we’ll see you soon.”
Fwoosh.
Siris disappeared instantly.
‘She’s not going crazy.’
A calmer reaction than expected.
I thought she would just attack me.
Then…
‘What have I lost?’
According to the Prince, I am an infinite vessel created by a series of coincidences.
I can store any data without limitations. Unlike El Cid and the other seven-star heroes, I won’t break, even if I absorb all the gods of Mobius, even if I consume tens of thousands of fragments.
‘Enough.’
I can kill anyone.
Someday, even that damned wide-eyed bastard.
But every time I use this power…
“…My humanity.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Beneath the exploding and breaking fragments of the airship, I remembered the past.
‘Fire mage.’
Before dying, she called me an idiot.
Her corpse was dragged to the depths of the ocean.
Although that moment was still vivid…
‘I don’t remember.’
Her name and face.
I’ve forgotten them.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
I had anticipated this from the beginning.
Life is a matter of choice and focus. If you choose one thing, you have to give up another.
There are no answers that satisfy all factors. Like when I left a stable job to focus on games. It’s a similar choice.
‘I just have to remember one thing.’
I…
Will move forward.
I will be the needle that pierces this crazy world.
‘If this is the price to destroy it.’
Gladly.
I can respond with a smile.