Pick Me Up – Chapter 306 – Ragnarok (11)
Boom!
Tel was thrown onto the four-lane road.
Black feathers and blood splattered.
The Dragon Scale Sword was embedded in the ground.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The Dragon Scale Whip, embedded in the asphalt, split into dozens of strips and tore into Tel.
Like the roots of a tree spreading.
「Is this... pain? It's been a long time.」
Tel staggered and stood up.
The dress she wore had long since turned to rags.
Black veins writhed on her white skin.
I landed on the devastated street.
And kicked a stone rolling on the ground.
Crash!
The left side of Tel's torso completely disappeared.
Though she recovered in a few seconds.
'She’s really resilient.'
For an ordinary god, that attack would have been fatal at least ten times over.
「Die!」
I waved my cape.
The magic blade that extended from the air, aiming at my back, vanished.
'So you decide to counterattack.'
Though not a single effective strike was made.
"How many people have you devoured exactly?"
I walked slowly toward Tel.
Every step I took made her body twist and break.
"From your appearance, I’d say not just ten."
「Who knows. How many will it be? I don’t remember.」
Tel smirked maliciously.
The black blood flowing from her forehead crossed her face.
'Hmm.'
It was understandable.
She had been absorbing gods long before the game existed.
'At least a hundred.'
Tel was completely destroyed.
She had absorbed so many gods that her own identity had crumbled. Her body was filled with a mix of chaotic information. Unlike me, who could handle the power stably.
「Ahahaha. Ahahahahaha.」
Tel laughed covered in blood.
She spread her soft white wings.
「Really, isn’t it a wonderful night?」
Tel looked up.
I also looked in that direction. A part of the dark sky was warping.
Fragments were about to burst forth.
「I should have done this earlier. It was a mistake to listen to her. I should have killed everyone from the start.」
I extended my right hand.
A sharp ebony spear appeared in my hand.
'I’ll have to absorb her directly.'
The data core must be in her heart.
I planned to stab that place with the spear and absorb it directly.
「Loki, I…」
Boom!
I hit the ground.
The asphalt sank, and my body shot forward.
The acceleration was over 1/1000.
In the slowed-down world, I extended the spear in a straight line.
In a moment that couldn’t be measured in seconds.
The spear, moving almost at the speed of light, was caught by Tel’s hand.
Tel murmured dazedly.
「Why you and not me?」
“…”
「I could have done better. Better than garbage like you. I fit more in your place… But why only you…? Why only you…? Why?!」
Tel’s eyes widened.
In her onyx black pupils, nothing was reflected.
Madness. Only madness.
'She’s completely unhinged.'
There wasn’t a trace of sanity.
I let go of the spear and stepped back.
Immediately, the spot I was in filled with feathers.
「Die! Please! Please!」
Whoosh!
A storm of innumerable feathers surged.
I ran along the building, dodging the feathers.
'One more time.'
I kicked a railing on the rooftop and descended vertically.
「I can’t disappear like this.」
Dozens of meters below.
Tel murmured with a blank look.
A deep male voice flowed from her open mouth.
「Never, until I see the end of the warrior’s path.」
Tel looked me in the eyes.
In her right hand, she held an ancient blue sword.
Thud!
In an instant, Tel appeared right in front of me.
The blue sword traced a strange trajectory as it swung.
‘Eye of Destiny.’
The Eyes of the Red Winged King.
An ability to observe the most probable future and see the enemy’s attack patterns.
“…”
Blood gushed from my left forearm.
I retreated to the other side of the rooftop.
「Before finding the answer, I can’t die.」
Tel pointed the tip of her sword at me.
「I will survive at all costs and fulfill my purpose.」
'That person has changed.'
It seemed that one of the gods Tel had absorbed had surfaced.
I knew very well who it was.
Frey, spitting as he spoke, said, “He is one of the strongest among the 32 directors.”
‘The God of War.’
Account of ranker #2,
The god in charge of Mu-ryeon.
「Die.」
Tel stepped forward.
The distance of dozens of meters shortened in an instant.
Tel approached me with an unknown stepping technique and wielded her sword as if dancing.
'I can’t see it.'
An opponent against whom future vision didn’t work.
In the end, I could only do one thing.
Clang!
Clash the swords.
Boom!
A shockwave spread with sparks.
Hundreds of glass windows in the nearby buildings shattered simultaneously.
「You’ve been quite useful, despite spending all day talking nonsense and playing with the sword.」
It seems she had regained her sanity.
Tel smiled grimly and twisted her sword.
Heavenly Metamorphosis.
With a single movement, she displayed the essence of all sword techniques.
'Here was the opponent Lidygion desired.'
The incarnation of the god of martial arts.
I grinned widely and drew the Dragon Scale Sword.
No techniques. Simply swinging what I see.
Any trick would be just a game for someone like him.
Even so, he didn’t defeat me because my physical abilities exceeded the limits.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
On the rooftop, the swords clashed fiercely.
Movements that transcended comprehension. If I had a human body, my muscles and bones would have been pulverized.
'Won’t you die until you see the end of the warrior’s path?’
I can only laugh.
Instead of clinging to such meaningless things, you should have thought once more about the heroes who died in Mu-ryeon.
If you had paid attention, Mu-ryeon wouldn’t have fallen so easily.
'The so-called warrior’s path you cling to is just…’
A combat tool.
To kill the enemy more efficiently.
Then.
‘Die.’
I swung my sword in a semicircle.
A line of blood appeared on Tel’s thigh as she dodged my blade as if it were natural.
Then, the shoulder.
Neck. Chest. Collarbone.
Splash! Tel’s blood splattered on the rooftop floor.
「Why all of a sudden…?」
“It won’t work.”
「Ha, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Garbage like you reaching the pinnacle of martial arts…」
“You’re no longer yourself.”
I chuckled lightly.
I stepped gently.
Tel maintained the same posture, sword held high.
It seemed she was trying to use the techniques of the God of War, but the situation had changed.
「Krrk!」
Tel, with her chest deeply cut, was thrown back.
“You can’t beat me.”
It’s an obvious truth.
Now I can absorb the opponent’s skills just by fighting.
‘Sword. Saber. Spear. Dual swords. Dagger. Axe.’
I summoned all kinds of weapons and tore Tel’s body apart.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Tel’s blood and flesh splattered and regenerated at the same time. I tried to pierce her vital points in those moments.
'Defending her heart desperately.’
It seems I need to calm her down a bit more.
I kicked Tel with all my might.
Tel, who flew dozens of meters, stopped by fully deploying her wings.
「Hehe, then I’ll call another one…」
Crack!
I grabbed Tel by the neck.
I whispered in her ear.
“No matter what you do, it won’t work.”
「…….」
“Don’t you see the difference?”
In reality, I don’t care about the power of the God of War.
Even if there are hundreds of stronger gods inside Tel, it doesn’t matter.
No matter what abilities she invokes, the result is decided.
It’s just a matter of time.
「Krgh!」
Boom!
Tel’s head crashed into the ground.
'Now they’ll come.’
I looked to the side and saw the sky distorted.
All the city’s defenses were already aiming at the hole.
Once the firing order was given, thousands of machine guns would open fire simultaneously.
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
The system also detected the danger.
All kinds of warning messages appeared in my vision.
‘My real enemy.’
The distorted sky opened, and a huge hole appeared.
I feel it. Countless fragments are about to come out of there.
<Loki, aren’t you done yet? If this continues, soon…>
“I know. They’ll come.”
I looked down at Tel.
The girl who was once called the Goddess of Gods was sprawled, vomiting blood.
Blood as black as night. Her two pairs of wings were torn from the root.
「Hehe, ahaha」
Has she gone mad?
Tel wiped the blood from her mouth and stood up.
「Me lose? Me, the ruler of Mobius, the almighty goddess with dominion over life and death in all dimensions…?」
“…….”
「Not yet. It’s not over yet.」
Tel’s eyes glowed red.
The power to stop dimensions.
For a moment, the flow of time stopped.
「I’ll give you an absolute death…」
A mysterious energy emanated from her left eye.
Is she going to fight me using abilities again?
“Don’t bother me.”
Once is enough to play along.
I moved my hand to the side.
“Grrgh!”
The dimension freeze broke, and Tel fell face-first.
I moved my fingers in a circle.
Tel’s body spun violently as it twisted.
'Now…'
I don’t even know what I am anymore.
The forces within my body were converging into one.
「Not yet… I…!」
Pah!
The space where I was standing tore apart.
Of course, it didn’t affect me at all.
「I… I haven’t lost!」
“Really?”
Crack!
Tel’s left arm was torn off.
I walked slowly towards her.
“Grrgh!”
Tel’s right arm was torn off as well.
Tel, now armless, fell to her knees.
Her body no longer regenerated.
「Damn…」
“Shut up.”
Tel’s mouth closed.
「Ah… ah…」
Tel seemed to want to say something, but only moved her lips.
Then, as if remembering something, she sent a magical communication.
<If you kill me like this…>
“Won’t I be able to fully synthesize you?”
It was true.
To effectively absorb the power of this being, I’d have to repeat a battle like the one just now.
Simply eating isn’t enough. I need to take measures to digest it properly.
'Now it doesn’t matter.'
Anyway, plenty of prey will come out.
<You bastard! I should have killed you from the start! I should never have given you a chance! Ahahaha! A mere worm, who gained power by luck, dared to face me, me…!>
Ssss.
I drew the Dragon Scale Spear.
And pierced Tel’s heart.
Crack.
A slight vibration ran through the spear’s shaft.
“…….”
I twisted the spear’s shaft.
Blood spurted from Tel’s torn chest.
Plop.
Tel fell forward.
'It lasted a long time.'
That was my honest impression.
It wasn’t necessary to drag this out so long.
I could have ended it faster.
The moment we met.
But if I had done so, I would have lost myself in an instant.
This power is like a drug; the more you use it, the more it pushes you to the edge.
“Tel, I don’t pity you.”
I murmured as I looked at the goddess.
The leader of the 32 directors and the pinnacle of Mobius Corp.
A pure goddess who had witnessed destruction for eons and tried to stop it, died like this.
For someone who had played with countless dimensions, it was an empty end.
No matter what the circumstances were, what this creature did won’t change.
She only met the end she deserved.
“Still, you might have won this fight.”
I laughed bitterly.
The goddess’s body disintegrated and was absorbed by me.
The memories of the past of some sister goddesses played out like a panorama… I decided to forget them.
<The director has been eliminated.>
Sijel’s voice came at that moment.
<To protect Eden, we need your power. The fragments will soon attack. Our defenders will hold them off…>
“Who said they should defend it? I told them to evacuate. Can’t they listen properly?”
<What do you mean…?>
“I have no intention of protecting this place. If they don’t want to die, take everyone and escape.”
They say the main server has been destroyed.
In fact, it’s a good thing. It saves me work.
“What’s the point of keeping it? To make another game? No. I won’t see another trash game.”
<……>
“Didn’t you say you’d pay for what you did? Then, do your job properly, whether it succeeds or fails, it’s the last time I’ll tell you.”
Although Tel and the company directors were exterminated, Alpha Zero and Sijel still exist.
There are also other officials, and there are excess accumulated gems. It will be possible to restore the world one last time.
‘The game is over.’
I can no longer make the heroes and monsters act in a bad play.
Pick Me Up ends here. A service termination announcement will be published. Many players will protest, and the customer service center will be flooded with refund requests.
“Who told them to play?”
It’s all their fault.
<Loki.>
“Do you understand what I’m saying? I’m too lazy to repeat it.”
<Understood. We’ll do as you say. The game is over.>
“Good. I’m glad you’re smart.”
<We’ll prepare the evacuation immediately. You too…>
“I’ll stay.”
I looked up.
In the center of the sky, a black hole was opening.
Gwoooo.
The cries of infinite fragments echoed.
“Didn’t you say that if it breaks here, the fragments will scatter? They’ll need someone to stop them.”
<……>
There was no response.
I smiled slightly.
“Isn’t this what you wanted me to do? I’m doing what you wanted, isn’t it?”
<You’ll stay here…?>
“I’ll fight.”
‘Save Taonier.’
A trembling voice of someone.
Who was that man, how did we meet, what was his fate?
I forgot.
‘Our adventure is… forever.’
An adventurer who died while sheathing his sword.
I completely forgot about that man’s adventures and dreams.
‘Smile.’
She asked me to smile.
A girl who was brave even in the face of death, I no longer remember her.
I looked below my belt.
A figure of a horse peeked out from the opening of the bag.
I no longer remember who gave it to me.
But.
‘I…’
I didn’t forget.
I’ve forgotten memories and recollections as a human, and I’ll continue to forget them.
“But I won’t forget this.”
That’s the only thing I’m sure of.
The reason why I’m here.