Pick Me Up Infinite Gacha! Novel - Chapter 334
Chapter 334 – Purity for One Thing (5)
<Episode 5 of Aaron’s Parallel Story>
***
A crowd had gathered in the center in front of Mobius’s main headquarters. Hegrian’s speech was in full swing.
<It is a great sorrow for you and for us, but the Pick Me Up project has failed.>
The murmuring of the crowd was interrupted by Hegrian’s deep voice.
<From the beginning, the Pick Me Up project was a fantasy, an illusion, a faded dream. We did our best, but we couldn’t find any possibility in it.>
<But this is not the end.>
<Even if Mobius perishes, we, who inherit its purpose, will continue to exist.>
Hegrian’s gaze turned to the parking lot in front of the headquarters.
A space so vast that it was hard to believe it was a parking lot.
All the cars that used to be parked there had been removed. The crowd filling the streets couldn’t enter that empty space.
<A true leader should always have a second option prepared.>
Bang! Boom!
The ground began to tremble.
As the citizens were confused, not understanding what was happening, Hegrian continued his presentation.
<Starting today, we initiate the Ark Project.>
The parking lot started to rise.
From the opposite side, a gigantic form appeared.
It was an unimaginably large aircraft.
It was so big that it looked more like a floating island than a ship.
<In this ship, we have stored all the history, culture, and heritage of Mobius accumulated over the years. Because!>
Hegrian waved his cloak.
<As long as we have our purpose, Mobius will not end!>
Unlike the Pick Me Up project, another major secret project was being revealed.
Hegrian announced the Ark Project.
In this giant ark-shaped aircraft called ‘Ark,’ all the stories, cultures, and heritages of the dimensions belonging to Mobius were stored.
It even contained the genes of rare special races, as well as various knowledge and magic systems, all meticulously recorded and preserved.
<Comrades!>
Hegrian exclaimed with a voice full of conviction.
<Mobius does not end. We start anew in a new place!>
Shhh!
Steam began to rise from different parts of the Ark.
«Uoohhh!»
The roar of the crowd erupted next.
«That’s what I expected from Lord Hegrian!»
«There was an alternative after all!»
«We no longer need to obsess over developing that strange game!»
The failure of Pick Me Up was officially declared, and at the same time, the alternative of the Ark Project was surprisingly announced.
A masterful ability to turn disappointment into great euphoria.
With this, most of the members of Eden would join the project.
Hegrian smiled satisfactorily.
<Boarding procedures will start immediately. There are no restrictions for boarding. The door of the Ark is open to all! If you are citizens of Eden!>
The Pick Me Up project.
Making a game successful on Earth, thus ensuring interference power capability and reviving a destroyed universe?
It was just a prank of old-fashioned elders and immature goddesses.
Such pranks end today.
‘This is the right answer.’
We just need to find a new universe and start anew.
I don’t know how long the journey will take, but it’s a thousand times better than staying here.
In the massive Ark, all the essence of Hegrian’s faction and Mobius concentrated. As long as that existed, they could create a new mythology in an empty universe.
‘I am a god.’
God (神).
An existence that transcends natural laws.
Not even the destruction of the universe can stop me.
<Open, oh Ark!>
Finally, the rear door of the Ark began to open.
The Ark, designed with a multi-level structure, was spacious enough to accommodate almost half of the citizens of Eden.
‘This turned out better than expected.’
There, they wouldn’t have to suffer interference from the elder and the twin goddesses.
I could become the supreme god and wield power as I pleased.
«Haha!»
Look.
Mobius may perish, but I, its god, exist.
Hegrian burst into a maniacal laughter.
Numerous cameras captured the moment with flashes.
What happened today would go down in history and be recorded in books.
And the protagonist of that story would be himself.
«How foolish you are, Tel Ikar! Clinging to what is already dead, this is how you end up. How pitiful, how lamentable! If only you had let go of a bit of your greed, you could have lived eternally…»
Toc.
Before finishing his speech, Hegrian felt a strange sensation.
His neck itched.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
A multitude of flashes erupted.
«…?»
Hegrian’s head was severed.
Thud.
The ownerless body fell to the platform.
From the severed section of the neck, blood began to gush like a fountain.
Ssss.
The blood flowed like a river, covering the platform.
«Ah, ah, haha.»
Tel laughed with his head lowered.
In his hand, he held a large scythe.
«No, it can’t be, this isn’t enough to kill you, right? You’re a god.»
Sss. Sss.
Tel lifted the headless body with one hand.
Then.
Tel pierced the heart with the other hand.
«Hehe, hehe, it’s coming.»
The veins on Tel’s thin arm bulged.
He was absorbing everything.
From Hegrian’s body, something was being transferred to Tel’s body.
«…!»
It wasn’t blood.
It was something more fundamental.
What formed the essence of gods and spirits.
Tel was absorbing Hegrian’s very existence.
«Uhuhu, uhuhuhu…»
Pop.
Tel’s body began to swell.
It inflated like a balloon about to burst, but barely stabilized.
Under normal conditions, an absolutely prohibited act.
Absorbing the opponent’s existence was a taboo among taboos.
It wasn’t for the sake of the one being attacked, because…
«Haha!»
Tel’s skin, unable to withstand the pressure, tore apart.
The flowing blood was as thick as tar.
Absorbing existence.
That means mixing the opponent’s data with one’s own.
This causes a lethal side effect called contamination.
But Tel wasn’t worried.
He absorbed Hegrian to the last drop.
«It’s okay. I’m okay. I am pure. Truly pure. No matter how much I mix, I will always be me. Hehe.»
Tel’s eyes darted back and forth.
Hegrian was a supreme god on the same level as Tel Ikar.
The massive interference wave was tearing his body apart from the inside.
‘I’m fine.’
I can do it.
I am pure.
Truly, truly pure.
«What, what are you doing!»
«Hold her! Hold her immediately!»
Nearby subordinates began to panic.
Tel firmly grasped the large scythe.
«Slash!»
With a single horizontal motion, several heads flew.
The decapitated bodies fell one after another.
«Ah, this is simple. This is how I should have done it from the beginning.»
«Slash!»
A pair of wings unfolded behind Tel.
Bubbles floated up from the chests of the corpses.
Each bubble was the essence of existence.
They tried to escape from Tel.
«Uhuhuhu.»
You can’t escape.
You can’t run away.
By squeezing his hand, the essences were absorbed by Tel’s chest as if sucked by a vacuum cleaner.
It wasn’t the destruction of the body, but the destruction of the soul.
«Aaaaah!»
«What’s happening? What’s happening?!»
«Miss Tel! Miss Tel!»
Chaos erupted among the crowd.
«Stop her! Stop her now! Request reinforcements…!»
Bang!
The man’s head trying to call for help via radio exploded.
Silent shot.
«Exterminate, exterminate, exterminate.»
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The forces protecting the platform fell one after another.
They fell to the ground without even knowing where the shots were coming from.
«Synthesize, synthesize, synthesize.»
The bubbles were devoured.
Tel felt his existence expanding.
Bigger. Even bigger.
«It’s not enough yet.»
Saving Mobius required much more.
He needed to consume more.
He needed more prey.
Tel’s bulging eyes caught sight of the crowd. Everyone, without exception, was fleeing in the opposite direction.
«…»
But they couldn’t leave.
A red barrier that had appeared out of nowhere blocked the street.
«Are you all here?» Tel said.
The goddess’s voice echoed loud and clear.
«Traitors, all of you, are you all gathered here?»
A step.
Tel took a step forward, and an intense shockwave spread throughout the city.
«What? The Ark Project? Haha!»
The aircraft in the center of the landing area began to take off.
Emergency evacuation.
Tel extended his hand.
Crack!
When he closed his hand, the gigantic rear thruster crumpled like a soda can.
Bang!
The Ark, which was halfway up, crashed to the ground.
«Die.»
Tel crouched.
The scythe’s blade began to elongate.
And then, the aircraft was split in two.
An absurd ending.
The gigantic Ark aircraft, which had required massive capital, technology, and time investment, was cleanly split in two.
Despite this, it didn’t explode.
Flames burned in various places, but the shape held.
The forces waiting behind Tel moved in unison.
«Exterminate, exterminate, exterminate.»
Tel murmured.
The troops, equipped with assault rifles and bulletproof vests, mercilessly fired at the survivors.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Gunshots and screams could be heard everywhere.
The scattered essence floated in the air like mist.
«Ah, delicious.»
With each flap of his wings, the essence was absorbed by Tel.
«Why are you doing this?»
Someone shouted, infusing their voice with interference.
It was one of the gods from Hegrian’s faction.
«We have cooperated with you all this time! Why are you suddenly doing this?»
«Who are you?»
«I am Valdi…»
Slash!
Something resembling a long whip came out of Tel’s hand.
The whip coiled around the man’s neck.
«Shut up.»
Crack!
The man’s limbs were shattered.
«Please, forgive us! Miss Tel! Miss Tel!»
«We’re sorry! We’re sorry!»
«We didn’t mean to betray! We just wanted to hear what he had to say.»
«Please, stop!»
«The Pick Me Up Project still…»
«Us!»
«Have mercy!»
«Please!»
«Stop…!»
So noisy.
So annoying.
«Exterminate, exterminate, exterminate.»
Click!
The machine guns installed on the rooftops of buildings began to fire.
Originally, those weapons were installed as a final defense in case of a catastrophe invading the city.
Now, their barrels were aimed at the citizens.
«Fire.»
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
The high-rate-of-fire machine guns spat fire.
Bodies were torn apart as if they were mere pieces of meat.
Not even the screams could be heard.
The machine guns, strategically placed in various locations, formed a perfect death zone. Fragments of broken asphalt flew through the air along with what used to be bones and human flesh.
«Those who are hiding. Kill them all.»
The troops lined up behind Tel began to move.
They were all created to strictly obey Tel’s orders.
They had no conscience or remorse.
«Aaaah!»
«Forgive us! Forgive us!»
«Miss Tel! Miss Tel!»
The cries and groans echoed everywhere.
There was no way out.
All exits were blocked by invisible barriers.
Although some survivors were hiding, they would soon be discovered.
«How many are there?»
Tel started counting.
He stopped at ten thousand.
«Ah, it doesn’t matter.»
Anyway, it doesn’t matter.
Rat-a-tat!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of machine guns and assault rifles filled the city.