Pick Me Up!-Chapter 319: Mission Type, Transcendence (4)

Frey.

Aaron didn’t know why Iselle’s name had changed, nor why she had been left behind here alone.

The only thing he could be sure of was that this pitiful fairy had valued her bond with his brother more than her own life.

He’d heard there had been a chance to escape. Yet the girl had remained here of her own will, knowing full well she would fall apart.

“The Master’s heart, huh.”

Aaron fell silent.

At some point, a blade had come to rest against his throat.

“You intend to gamble all of our lives on something that uncertain?”

“I do.”

“There’s no way to know whether the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Master left that fairy behind out of care or because she was useless. What we do know is that if we don’t act, we’ll lose Sleipnir. Our mission success rate will drop below half. And if the operation fails—will you take responsibility for that?”

“I will only act according to what I believe is right.”

Shkk.

The curved blade gently pressed into Aaron’s neck.

A thin line of blood trickled down from the shallow cut.

[Time Remaining – 00:10:32]

Barely ten minutes remained until the airship’s self-destruction.

“If you really intend to see this through to the end, then cut me down and go.”

“Few things are more horrifying than a fool clinging to conviction.”

Ridigion smiled faintly.

But a chilling killing intent still emanated from him.

If he made up his mind, Aaron’s head would be severed in an instant.

“Ms. Siris.”

Aaron looked over Ridigion’s shoulder.

Standing on Sleipnir’s deck was Siris, clad in a crimson coat.

“You’re here,” Ridigion said without turning around.

Her gaze fell on the two of them—and on Frey.

“You decide. Will you save the fairy and abandon the airship, or continue the mission as planned?”

“What’s your opinion?”

“If we abandon our flagship here, I can’t guarantee the operation will succeed. In the worst case, we could end up isolated among contamination creatures.”

Siris gave a bitter smile.

“Put the sword away.”

“Are you serious?”

“I am.”

Ridigion returned his sword to its sheath.

Siris jumped down from the deck and approached Frey.

The girl lay collapsed on the dirt.

“Not long ago, we made a similar mistake. Claiming to act in the Master’s interest, we took matters into our own hands. I don’t want to repeat a mistake we’ve already made.”

“Even if it means the mission fails?”

“That failure is part of the karma we have to bear.”

Ridigion closed his eyes.

Then quietly stepped away from Aaron.

“Thank... you.”

“The decision was Siris’s. Don’t thank me.”

“I’m sorry... for disrupting the mission.”

“No. You pointed out something important. Without the Master’s trust, nothing else matters.”

Siris nodded.

“Yurnet.”

“I’m here.”

Yurnet emerged from the mist, Bifröst cradled in her arms.

“Can you cancel the self-destruct?”

“I’m sorry. Sleipnir has already entered irreversible self-destruct protocol.”

Siris bit her lip.

If she had deployed Yurnet at the first sign of hacking, it might’ve been possible. But ten minutes had already passed.

They were too late.

“What about the evacuation order?”

“It’s been issued.”

A folding stairway had extended from Sleipnir’s side.

Operators and mechanics were now pouring out through it.

“If we lose the airship, what risks will we face?”

“Worse than you’d expect,” Yurnet replied, eyes narrowing.

“We’re still roughly 8,000 meters from the destination. Traversing that distance without the airship will be extremely demanding. Our breakthrough capacity against contamination hordes will drop dramatically. We’ll have to fight through thousands of monsters one by one.”

She continued her assessment.

“The longer we delay, the worse it gets. The enemy numbers will keep increasing, and the contamination cloud will wear down our condition. You’ll have to join the fight directly as well. As you know, I’m unavailable while handling transmission operations.”

“I see.”

“A suicide run, then.”

Ridigion stated this without emotion.

“Abandon the airship. We’ll proceed with the mission under revised parameters.”

Siris looked down at Frey.

A fairy that had acquired a human body.

She must have spent so long here that she had undergone a form of evolution.

“Can you hear me?”

「Ugh... uh...」

“We’re acting in the name of Niflheim’s Master—Loki. If you can disable the interference—”

「Loki... help me...」

No use.

They couldn’t communicate.

Her mind was gone.

“Nicelle.”

[Hyargh!]

With a burst of flame, a fairy appeared beside Siris.

Nicelle assessed the situation and nodded.

[You want me to help this girl, right?]

“Can you do it?”

[Detoxing her contamination will be difficult, but I can take her somewhere safe.]

“I’m counting on you.”

Nicelle fluttered her wings near Frey.

Then she began to spin her hands rapidly in a tight circle.

[Fairy Hyper Spin!]

Wummm!

A flash of light burst from the girl’s body.

In the next instant, Frey’s form shrank.

A tiny fairy with two pairs of wings—her original appearance.

[Relax! I’ve got her!]

Snorting confidently, Nicelle scooped Frey up.

With a shimmer of stardust, the two fairies vanished.

“...Hoo.”

Siris let out a long breath.

In the end, they hadn’t managed to cancel the self-destruct.

Fwoosh.

Flames began erupting across Sleipnir’s hull.

Normally, the explosion would consume a radius of hundreds of meters, but thanks to Yurnet’s emergency intervention, that scenario was avoided. Still, the airship was now completely inoperable.

“We’re walking now?”

Nihaku approached.

In one corner of the clearing, the non-combat heroes stood dazed.

“Well, this is a mess,” she said, scratching her cheek.

To reach the barrier, they’d now have to walk thousands of meters on foot.

And without Sleipnir’s contamination shields or firepower.

SCREEEEEECH.

A girl in uniform shrank back.

The moans of contamination creatures.

They had reached the edge of the park.

[Unidentified Contamination Creatures – Lv. ???] ×249

Shadows began to form all around the clearing.

“They’ve caught our scent.”

Ridigion reached for his sword.

If Sleipnir were still operational, they could’ve charged straight through—but not anymore.

“Looks like special entities are among them too.”

His eyes swept the surroundings.

The contamination creatures encircling the park were growing at a terrifying rate.

Every exit was blocked. There was no escape.

Then—

“UOOOOAAHH!”

BOOM!

Suddenly, the ground in one corner of the clearing erupted upward.

The spot where the mechanics had huddled together—shattered debris and clumps of dirt scattered as chunks of flesh and blood rained down.

[Warning!]

[Mutant Giant Contamination Creature – Lv. 211]

It stood about 10 meters tall.

At first glance it looked vaguely human, but thick, viscous pus oozed from its skin.

“Just one?”

“No.”

Yurnet shook her head.

With a series of thunderous rumbles, giants burst from every direction.

[Unidentified Contamination Creatures – Lv. ???] ×325

[Mutant Giant Contamination Creatures – Lv. 211] ×17

The once-empty park was instantly filled with monsters.

“A grand welcome right from the start, huh?”

Nihaku shrugged and drew her bow.

“Siri, think we’ll make it to the end?”

“We’ll have to try.”

Siris gripped Levatein.

Even if they managed to escape the park, the streets beyond were swarming with contamination beasts.

There was no more running.

‘Can we do this?’

Had they followed Ridigion’s suggestion, they might have already reached the final zone.

But for the sake of a single fairy, Siris’s team had taken on an absurd risk.

“HIIIEEEK!”

“HELP MEEE!”

Siris gritted her teeth.

The non-combat personnel at the edge of the clearing had fallen into panic. The sturdy outer deck that once protected them was gone. They were now completely exposed to the monster horde.

‘I’m sorry.’

She had no time to worry about them.

Yurnet, still working, had to be protected first.

“GAAAAAH!”

CRUNCH!

A giant contamination creature slammed its fist down.

Two mechanics were crushed into pulp.

The encirclement was complete.

Hundreds of monsters and giants were closing in.

“Break out. Combat formation.”

The Floor 13 team moved swiftly.

They formed a circular defense with Yurnet at the center.

“They’re coming.”

GRAAAARRRGH!

The lead giant charged forward.

Just as Siris drew her sword to strike it down—

“Gghk—?!”

THWIP!

An arrow pierced the giant’s forehead from somewhere above.

‘Nihaku?’

No.

Nihaku blinked and looked up.

THWIP!

A second arrow slammed through the giant’s skull.

Then a third. A fourth. A fifth. The giant stumbled back.

“Phew! That was close—I almost didn’t make it out!”

Everyone’s eyes turned to the left side of the park.

A small shadow leapt between trees, loosing arrow after arrow.

“Should’ve told me the ship was going to blow! I nearly got roasted waiting inside!”

“GYAAAAHH!”

THUD!

The now-porcupine-like giant collapsed to the ground.

A silhouette soared several meters into the air and landed on the back of the fallen monster’s head.

“Behold! The genius beautiful archer makes her grand entrance!”

“...Ahem.”

Aaron cleared his throat.

The other heroes stared in disbelief.

“Jena Shirai. She’s one of my brother’s comrades.”

“You brought her?”

Ridigion turned to Aaron.

“Yes.”

“Unauthorized entry.”

“...I’m sorry.”

Jena looked around at the stunned heroes and placed her hands on her hips.

“Ahem! Looks like you all need my help! For your information, I’m Han oppa’s best partner since Floor 1! We’re so close, we don’t even need words!”

“...GRAAAAGH!”

“Well, I guess we don’t have time for introductions.”

The contamination creatures were converging.

Jena grinned and extended her right hand.

In her palm gleamed a rainbow-colored stone.

“Fly!”

She tossed the stone into the air.

Then jumped high after it.

[Hero ‘Jena’ (★★★★★★) has used a Dimensional Stone!]

“Domaksaramuu!”

[Summoning ritual initiated!]

“Open, dimensional gate!”

A radiant circle of magic formed behind her in a burst of blinding light.

[Dimensional Gate has been activated!]

[You may now summon mounts and support troops to the battlefield.]

Amkena, who had been watching silently until now, finally moved.

[Select airship ‘Capitalism-class (New Model)’ for deployment?]

[Yes / No]

WHIRRRR!

Light erupted from the magic circle drawn in midair.

Jena flipped mid-flight and landed smoothly on the prow of the emerging airship.

“What... is this...?”

Siris let out a stunned laugh.

From the magic circle emerged a compact airship.

Its body was sleek and aerodynamic—the Capitalism-class vessel approached the team.

RAAARRR!

The nearby giants all lunged toward the airship at once.

“Let’s do this!”

Jena snapped her fingers.

[Activate airship manual mode?]

[Yes / No]

SCREEEEEECH!

Ten meters in the air.

The Capitalism vessel veered sharply to the right and began to accelerate.