Pick Me Up!

‘The Sword of Townia’ surged swiftly through the shadowed passageway.

Like a single blade of golden light.

Thousands, tens of thousands of fragments were consumed and disappeared in the waves of light.

But as many as disappeared, new ones sprang forth from somewhere. In the pitch-black darkness, where it was difficult to distinguish even an inch ahead, we continued our battle.

“Kiiiyaaak! Kiaaaaah!”

They looked like goblins, but they were not goblins.

Their jet-black skin squirmed grotesquely as swollen chunks of flesh wriggled across their bodies.

Faster and stronger than ordinary monsters, they regenerated relentlessly unless their lives were ended in one swift blow. The fragments sometimes became goblins, sometimes orcs, and at times lizardmen or ogres, creating chaos on the deck.

“Huff, huff—gah!”

A blade had pierced his right chest—fatal. His unfocused eyes quickly dimmed, and he died. Scattered around him were corpses of other mercenaries, in similar states.

‘So, the system can barely interfere here.’

Not only did it fail to display the number or types of enemies, but it offered no assistance at all.

If it hadn’t been for Pria’s light, we wouldn’t have been able to see even the space directly in front of us.

Crackle!

Drawing on the power of Black Dragon’s Blood, I crushed and dismembered hundreds of monsters, but their attacks showed no signs of stopping.

I wanted to unleash high-power skills and obliterate them all, but damaging the airship would spell the end. Thus, I had to minimize the power I used. Covered in the monsters’ blood, Jenna, Velkist, and I pressed on with the fight.

“Huff… Huff… Your Highness… Here… There’s… nothing left…!”

A mercenary, with three arrows embedded in his back, crawled along the deck.

“There’s no hope… No—”

Crack!

The mercenary’s head was severed cleanly and rolled across the floor.

In front of him, a ratman spun its curved blade with glee.

“Kaaararararak!”

Thwack!

The creature’s upper body was shattered instantly by Jenna’s arrow.

The deck of the airship was a blood-drenched heap of corpses and viscera.

“……”

Pria stood silently, her expression hardened, holding her dimensional sword aloft.

The golden radiance ahead opened a path through the darkness at the bow of the ship.

The mercenary leader rushed toward Pria.

“How much farther do we have to go, Your Highness?! Answer me! At this rate, we’ll be annihilated! Are you… Are you driving us all to our deaths?!”

“…I’m sorry.”

“If this was your plan all along, it would’ve been better if we hadn’t come at all! We… We trusted you! Damn it, this is a godforsaken—!”

The mercenary screamed in despair before throwing himself off the deck.

It was suicide.

‘How many are left?’

The number of NPCs had dropped dramatically.

From the start, I hadn’t placed much hope in the mercenaries.

The important question was whether the reserve forces waiting in the lounge could mobilize. Anytng, who had been disconnected from the server, showed no signs of logging back in for nearly an hour. Ꞧа₦ՕꞖЕṡ

‘Three people alone won’t cut it.’

If only the battlefield were more open, I could unleash my full strength.

But in such a confined space, melee combat was all I could manage.

“Urgh!”

Drip.

Black blood dripped from Pria’s lips.

“Pria! Lower your output!”

“I can’t… If I stop here… we’ll be devoured in an instant!”

Flash!

The dimensional sword emitted a blinding light, but it faded within seconds.

How far did we have to go to reach the end? There was no way to know.

“Is this… the end?” Jenna lowered her bow.

‘I already knew.’

This is the end.

No matter what choice we made, Townia could not be salvaged.

Pria, the protagonist of Townia—Priasis al Ragnar—would meet her death here.

Just as El Cid couldn’t prevent Dorado’s fall, this was an unchangeable, predetermined fate.

‘A suicidal charge.’

That’s what Velkist had called this plan.

And he was right. There was nothing in this abyss but an endless swarm of fragments.

No strategy existed to overcome this situation. Staying in the imperial capital or leaving—it all ended the same way. The only difference was where the world’s end would play out.

“Still…”

Clench.

I ground my teeth.

My mind understood. I had already come to terms with it, over and over again.

I’d accepted and rationalized it—Townia was finished.

“But not yet!”

Bang!

I swung my sword down, scattering fragments of more than a dozen monsters.

‘There must be a leader.’

There had to be.

If these creatures had invaded to bring an end to Möbius, there had to be something commanding them.

Somewhere, somewhere…!

「…….」

At that moment, a massive ‘eye’ appeared.

[亞&512構[email protected]ⓟ1∀ Lv.???]

In the pitch-black darkness, it stared at me.

‘What… is this?’

[亞&512構[email protected]ⓟ1∀ Lv.999999999999999999999999……]

‘This thing…’

I knew it instinctively.

Even Tel, the Möbius representative, or transcendent beings like Halkion or Assinis, were mere specks of dust compared to this creature.

‘Are you the leader?’

No, that couldn’t be it.

Even this monstrosity was merely a minion.

The true entity lay beyond the boundary, outside the universe—something far greater.

「…….」

The eye’s gaze narrowed slightly.

Just that gaze alone—

Boom!

The Sword of Townia lost all its light.

<We’re falling!>

The pilot’s urgent broadcast echoed across the ship.

The airship, struck by an unknown force, began spiraling downward.

“What the hell is this? Why is this happening all of a sudden?”

“You didn’t see that thing?”

Jenna looked at me with wide eyes.

Could it be… that creature had only revealed itself to me?

“Anyway, hold on tight!”

The shattered Sword of Townia plummeted toward an unknown destination.

‘Pria?’

With a single blink from that eye, the dimensional sword had vanished.

I turned my gaze toward the bow. Pria stood motionless, holding a broken sword.

“……”

Her golden eyes met mine.

And then—

Crash!

The Sword of Townia was ripped apart into fragments.

“Ahhhhhh!”

The pilot, falling over the edge, was torn to shreds in midair.

The imperial flag, once flying proudly atop the mast, was split in two. The remnants of the shattered airship scattered in every direction.

All I could do was shield myself with the Black Dragon’s scales and wings to withstand the impact.

Boom!

Finally, the airship collided with the ground.

‘I saw it.’

A being I could call the ‘boss.’

Was it the boss, or something even greater? I didn’t know.

‘Damn it.’

Thud!

I threw the wooden planks pinning me aside.

“……”

A flick of my fingers sent red lightning flickering across the surroundings, illuminating the area.

It became clear. The final airship, The Sword of Townia, had been completely destroyed.

“Cough, cough—ugh!”

Not far away, Jenna rose to her feet, coughing.

Beside her, Velkist stood with his sword hanging loosely.

“Where are we?”

“Seems to be the lower levels of the passage. Doesn’t look like there’s anything here.”

Velkist flicked the blood off his sword.

“And the others?”

“They’re all dead, I’d wager. No ordinary person could’ve survived that impact.”

Velkist kicked at the debris beneath his feet.

From the wreckage of wood and metal emerged a mangled pile of flesh that had once been human.

“What about Her Highness?”

“I am… here.”

Pria’s voice echoed faintly.

I walked across the darkened floor made of something unrecognizable.

“Your Highness? You’re alive? Thank goodness.”

“……”

“Let’s just stop this. Forget the mission—it doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s bring Her Highness back to our lounge. I know she can be recruited as a hero.”

Jenna brushed the dust off her clothes and leapt forward.

“You’re in there, right? I’ll get you out. Just—huh?”

Jenna’s eyes wavered.

“What is this?”

[Ding!]

[Stage Cleared!]

[Reward: None.]

[MVP: None.]

Stage cleared?

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