Pick Me Up Infinite Gacha! Novel - Chapter 323
Pick me Up – Chapter 323 – Burn
This is the Boundary.
A sector that demarcates Mobius and the outer cosmos.
Siris looked ahead.
A horizon as black as night stretched before her.
With a breath, she felt a chill that seemed to freeze her veins.
Fwoosh!
Flames burst from her fingertips, illuminating the surroundings.
In the darkness, a man stood. His cape billowed, revealing his face. Siris recognized him.
He was, without a doubt, the master of Niflheim she had been searching for: Loki.
He had been alone in this hellish place.
Eden, in contact with the Boundary, had passed hundreds of years.
How many years had passed here? Siris couldn’t even guess.
‘It’s empty.’
Loki’s unfocused eyes looked at Siris.
A face devoid of any emotion.
Too inorganic to be described as cold. He looked like a human replica without emotions, like a mannequin.
«Master.»
Siris bit her lips.
That man was no longer the Loki she knew.
Though she already knew it, pain spread through her chest.
Siris’ flames intensified.
Beyond the horizon, a mountain of black remains could be seen.
They were the corpses of fragments. But what Siris saw was only a small part.
‘This space itself…’
Siris stomped on the ground.
The ground she stepped on was made of corpses.
A true sea of corpses. She couldn’t imagine how many Harvesters the master had eliminated, how much power he had accumulated, or how many years of oblivion he had endured.
«Master, I…»
Siris took a step toward Loki.
[Stop!]
The fairy intervened.
Nisel waved her hands desperately.
[That monster is not the master! If you get close, you’ll die!]
«…Monster.»
[Yurnet said. The current master is like a program. Even if you’re in front of him, he won’t know who you are. No, it would be the same with anyone else.]
«I guess you’re right.»
Siris murmured.
That man could not be called human.
He had no memories or emotions. He didn’t even have an ego.
A program endlessly repeating a task.
The lost soul would continue its task until it wore out.
And now, the task it was executing was a single one.
Kill the intruder.
「…….」
The lost soul’s eyes looked at Siris.
Suddenly, Siris felt an overwhelming void.
‘This is the master’s power.’
ssssss
Siris looked at her hands.
They were slowly disintegrating into particles.
The lost soul, who had transcended divinity, could destroy someone just by looking at them.
He didn’t need to use his sword.
To the lost soul, Siris was no more than an insect.
Easily crushable.
‘I see.’
Siris smiled bitterly.
Even at the pinnacle of Mobius’ heroes, she was just an insect to that man.
«Nisel.»
[……Yes.]
“I entrust what remains to you.”
Nisel didn’t respond.
She pretended not to know. Siris tugged at Nisel’s wings.
We’ve already talked about this. There’s no other way.
‘I have everything I need.’
She had Bifrost to transfer the data and Mistel to pierce the master’s heart.
It was time to fulfill her role.
Siris reached out to her companion.
The fairy nodded and began to spin in the air. The flames shone with an intense crimson color. Spinning in a figure eight, Nisel plunged into Siris’ chest.
Fwoosh!
A torrent of flames erupted from Siris’ body.
The consuming gaze disappeared immediately.
‘Form of Ifrit.’
Spiritual fusion.
Siris’ hair, now red, blazed with flames.
「…….」
The lost soul tilted its head.
A gesture of bewilderment. That little creature should have disintegrated long ago.
Yet, she stood, holding his gaze.
“Master, this won’t be easy.”
Siris gripped Lævateinn firmly.
“If you want to kill me, bring your own sword and cut off my head.”
sssshh!
Dragon scales emerged from the man’s fingertips.
The scales intertwined, forming a sword.
She had seen it on the CCTV. The dragon scale sword. Loki’s main weapon after abandoning Bifrost. Finally, the lost soul recognized Siris as an enemy.
Siris smiled.
It was what she desired.
‘It was you who made me, who was false, stronger.’
Siris’ eyes burned.
The man disappeared. Not even Siris’ trained eyes could follow his movement.
‘He’s fast…’
Boom!
“Gah!”
Siris flew backward with an explosion.
She spun for dozens of meters before crashing into a mountain of remains.
A jet of blood spurted from her mouth. If she weren’t accustomed to Lidygion’s quick sword techniques, she would have been shredded in that attack.
‘Lidygion…’
No, not even comparable.
He wasn’t just fast.
“Haa.”
Siris stood up, staggering.
A line of blood ran down her slashed forehead.
‘You’re strong.’
With the spiritual fusion, her strength far surpassed the limits of a 6-star hero.
Even so, she couldn’t see even a shadow.
“Still…!”
Second strike.
Lævateinn swung to the right.
There was the dragon scale sword aiming for her heart.
Boom!
The swords collided, and a shockwave exploded.
“Ugh!”
Everything turned red before Siris’ eyes.
Crrr. The sound of her joints dislocating echoed in her ears. Blood gushed from her torn palms. Crack! Overstrained muscles ripped.
Third strike.
Three simultaneous slashes.
Up. Right. Down. Lævateinn drew a semicircle, meeting the dragon scale sword.
[Siris.]
Boom!
The ground beneath her feet broke deeply.
Blood flew along with her flaming hair.
‘Not yet.’
Fourth strike.
The dragon scale sword extended dozens of meters, wrapping around her body.
Siris swung Lævateinn in a long arc. Fwoosh! A whirlpool of red flames repelled the dragon scale sword.
‘Power comes at a price.’
Siris murmured.
The master of Niflheim, Loki, abandoned his humanity for the infinite chalice.
To gain something, one must lose something.
‘What you desired…’
An eternal victory.
A power that would never bow to infinity.
‘That’s why.’
I won’t fail.
Siris gripped her sword.
Fifth strike.
When she repelled the dragon scale sword, she knew all her bones were broken.
She could have exploded like a balloon. She no longer felt pain. Her bones and muscles had lost all functionality. Yet, she didn’t stop moving.
Sixth strike.
Boom!
‘I can’t move.’
Her body didn’t respond.
‘No.’
Fwoosh!
The flames connected her torn nerves.
Flames flowed through her broken bones and veins, infusing them with strength.
A pillar of fire supported her staggering body.
Seventh strike.
The lost soul’s attack grew fiercer.
From above. Below. Right. Left.
As if to ensure she wouldn’t survive, the dragon scale sword attacked from all directions.
「…….」
The lost soul’s eyes gleamed.
Of course. Siris smiled.
A being as insignificant as she was not dying.
Her body was covered in wounds.
Hands, arms, legs, thighs, sides. Her exposed skin was full of cuts.
A drop of blood fell to the ground from her forehead.
“This isn’t enough…”
Siris staggered, looking at the lost soul.
Her red eyes gleamed through her bloodied face.
“You can’t kill me…”
Boom!
Lævateinn and the dragon scale sword clashed.
Though she was pushed back several meters, she didn’t lose balance.
‘As my body breaks…’
Fwoosh!
Flames blazed intensely over her body.
Boom!
Lævateinn forcefully repelled the dragon scale sword.
The lost soul stepped back, adjusting its stance.
‘More intensely.’
All her nerves were broken.
Instead of blood, flames flowed through her veins.
Eighth strike.
The swords clashed in the air.
The air trembled. The shockwave dug deeply into the mountain of remains.
She couldn’t feel how she was fighting.
Siris swung her sword instinctively.
‘The primal fire.’
It was a legend of Niflheim.
It was said to light the land with more brilliance than anything else in the universe, in a land filled with fog and cold.
‘More intensely.’
Fwoosh!
Fwoosh!
The fire erupted from deep within Siris.
Her heart beat like a bomb, sending flames throughout her body.
‘Power comes at a price.’
For a victory, a sacrifice is needed.
‘More, more, more!’
The flames connected the broken bones.
The muscles pulsed fiercely, with the nerves reconnected by the fire.
Her memories flashed before her eyes like a kaleidoscope. From the first time she arrived at the Lobby to this moment of fighting her master. She had fought, over and over, for her master and for herself.
‘All that pain.’
All the struggle and all the years.
If all existed just for this moment.
If these moments were the reason for those years of struggle.
“I won’t lose.”
Siris murmured.
“I won’t lose to you.”
「…….」
“You can’t beat me!”
Fwoosh!
The flames burned more intensely.
Siris’ hair turned white as the flames of life blazed.
‘You sacrificed your humanity for infinity.’
Ninth strike.
White and black clashed.
Flames and darkness spun in a vortex, heating the surroundings.
‘I sacrifice everything for this moment.’
This is my ‘persuasion’ towards you.
Burn.
More and more intensely.
Tenth strike.
Surpassing all limits, again and again.
The entire space lit up with fire. The hidden fragments approached but soon disintegrated into bubbles.
Siris’ eyes shone like the sun.
To burn, fuel was needed.
She chose herself as that fuel.
Eleventh strike.
White and black clashed with ferocity.
Lævateinn and the dragon scale sword targeted each other’s vital points. They pushed, cut, and deflected, pushing again. Each collision brought explosions and flames.
Twelfth strike.
Thirteenth strike.
Fourteenth strike. Fifteenth strike. Sixteenth strike.
Before the flames went out,
Before she took her final breath,
‘I will end this.’
The flaming sword attacked the lost soul relentlessly.
Supersonic speed, speed of light, speed beyond light.
Attacks that transcended existence were launched at the lost soul.
Yet, he blocked them.
And counterattacked.
‘What an incredible man.’
A smile formed on Siris’ lips.
Every time she launched her ultimate attack, the man returned it without blinking.
‘He was said to be third in the ranking.’
That 7-star hero didn’t last even a second against him.
In a space where time seemed to have stopped,
Thousands of exchanges crossed, mixed, and separated.
Blazing flames. The primal fire consumed Siris.
‘Faster.’
Now she could see it.
She could see the world in which her master wielded his sword.
Lævateinn spun, leaving a red trail.
Psshk!
The sound of flesh being ripped.
Black blood spurted from the left shoulder of the lost soul.
The man didn’t stop. The dragon scale sword spiraled, tearing Siris’ side. But she didn’t feel pain. Her unnecessary organs had already disappeared. Her body had evolved into a machine for this moment.
‘Stronger.’
Boom!
The overwhelming force pushed the lost soul back.
Siris rushed at the staggering man.
‘More. Just a little more. Just a little more.’
With each burning,
With each moment her life shortened,
The flames grew more intense.
「…….」
The lost soul’s eyes dimmed.
He classified the opponent as ‘formidable.’
Dragon scales flew. The cape billowed as the man leaped into the air. Siris followed, unleashing flames. White and black clashed again.
Gyaaah!
There was no issue with the fragments crawling.
The combat power eliminated the intruding fragments.
‘How far, master?’
Clang!
Lævateinn and the dragon scale sword clashed.
‘How far do I have to go to stand by your side?’
Siris burned from head to toe.
Gray ashes fluttered behind her.
She could no longer be called human. A living fire.
Only ashes would remain when the flames went out.
‘Even so.’
She was strong.
Absolutely strong. In an overwhelming way.
The more Siris pressed, the stronger he returned the blows. In countless exchanges, the man didn’t back down.
He asserted with his entire being.
No matter who faced him, he would never lose.
The billowing cape.
The dragon scale sword rose.
And so, the 328th strike.
The dragon scale sword extended tens of meters around Siris.
A nasty sound of flesh tearing echoed.
Crack!
Siris’ right arm was torn off.
Lævateinn, which she was holding, flew as blood spurted.
Crack!
A sharp scale ripped out her left eye.
Her vision darkened on the left side.
“Master.”
Siris smiled.
In the midst of her blurred vision, the lost soul slowly approached.
“This is too much.”
Too strong.
No matter how much she increased her power, she couldn’t surpass him.
She couldn’t reach the place where her master stood.
That’s why Siris was certain.
‘This man.’
Could win.
No matter who the enemy was.
Even if it was an absolute existence that surpassed gods, he would achieve victory.
Siris looked ahead.
The dragon scale sword was aiming for her heart. She couldn’t stop it. She knew instinctively. Even if she used all her strength and burned until the end, she couldn’t surpass this man.
‘But, this time…’
Thwack!
The tip of the dragon scale sword pierced Siris’ chest.
She dropped the hand she was holding.
“I… won…”
Her body fell to the side.
「…….」
The lost soul looked down.
A small white dagger was embedded in his left chest.