Pick Me Up Infinite Gacha! - P.M.U Chapter 58: Mission Type, Escort (2) (Part 2)

“Clear them out and then follow me.”

“What about you, Oppa?”

“I’ll go first.”

“We’ll catch up quickly.”

As I entered the left passage, a colonnaded hall with a white carpet stretched before us. At the end of the corridor was a staircase leading upward.

“I’ll kill you…!”

I swung my shield at the helmet of a soldier charging at me.

Thump!

I climbed the spiral staircase.

During the ascent, a door suddenly opened, and a heavily armored knight emerged.

The knight brandished a gem-studded sword and began speaking in a dignified voice.

“I am Kyle von Strauss! The sword of the Strauss family! A Holy Knight representing the wrath of the goddess! I shall smite the evil before me…”

I walked past the knight, continuing up.

“Wait, hold on. I’m introducing myself… wait! Don’t ignore me!”

Beside the railing of the staircase, a cylindrical pillar with a pot on top came into view. I kicked the pillar down with my foot, and it crashed with a loud noise, rolling down the stairs.

“Ah, damn, wait a…!”

I continued to ascend.

At the top of the spiral staircase, there was a long hall.

Through the glass windows on the hall’s side, the square’s scenery was visible. I glanced out into the square. Armed soldiers were gathering around the temple from all sides.

I proceeded down the hall.

One of the many doors in the hall opened.

“I am…”

Thump!

I forcefully pushed the door.

The partially open door collided heavily with the knight who was trying to come out and hit him head-on.

“Crash!”

The knight clenched his face and fell to the ground.

I ran deep into the hall. Along the way, I encountered a few people, but they passed me with faces that showed they knew nothing. It seemed like even within the temple, there were those who could see us and those who couldn’t.

At the end of the hall, there was a wide and splendid garden.

Sunlight streamed into the garden through gaps in the ceiling. At the far end of the garden was the terrace I had seen from the square. Shadows of people appeared beyond the curtains hanging on the terrace.

“It’s over there.”

There was only about 3 minutes left.

Time was running out.

I opened the garden door and entered inside. Three knights emerged from the shadows of the trees. They had solemn expressions as they gazed at me and adjusted their visors.

“Death to the heretics.”

The knights slowly approached with their longswords aimed at me.

Their stances were different from the undisciplined soldiers, displaying formal swordsmanship training.

A shadow inside the terrace moved.

Another shadow appeared behind the curtain, showing the outline of a priest’s robe.

“Now, is it my turn?”

“Yes, Your Highness. The people gathered in the square are waiting.”

“But what’s the commotion outside?”

“It seems that intruders have come. We will soon repel them, so please don’t worry.”

Two figures beyond the terrace were engaged in a conversation.

Amidst them, the three knights closed in on me. They were an unwavering formation.

I took a deep breath and exerted force in my right hand holding the sword.

“Sip!”

The middle knight exhaled sharply and thrust his sword. I blocked with my shield. The two on the sides followed with their thrusts at different times. Stepping to the right, I deflected the thrust with my sword. And then the three of them launched a combined attack. The three sword blades worked together in harmony, attacking without invading each other’s space.

The sword edge grazed my cheek.

A thin line of blood sprayed, staining the grass in the garden.

I rolled on the ground, avoiding two slashes, then swung my sword in a wide arc. The knight naturally blocked it. As I rose, I stomped hard on his right foot.

“…?!”

Thud.

I swung the sword downward, hitting his left foot with the blade. The knight staggered. I twisted the sword he held and slashed his neck. Then, I threw the blood-stained sword at the knight behind me. He stepped back a few paces and deflected it with his sword.

He fell back a few feet allowing me to focus on the knight before me.

The front knight thrust his sword with three rapid stabs. I deflected them all with my shield. Then, I thrust the blade into the gap of his visor, whereupon blood poured out. He crumpled to the ground, blood flowing from the gap in his visor. He collapsed as if his strength had left him.

One knight remained.

He gripped his longsword with both hands and assumed a defensive stance.

I smirked and charged forward, swinging the sword and severing his neck.

The garden turned crimson from the blood spewing from the corpses.

I wiped the blood off the sword and moved forward beyond the garden.

“I appreciate the opportunity you’ve given me. I won’t forget this.”

“Not a problem. The goddess will surely be pleased as well.”

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

I pulled back the terrace curtains.

The sunlight poured down like rain. I half-shut my eyes against the pouring sunlight and took in the view beyond the terrace.

“…!”

I locked eyes with an elderly priest within the terrace. His wrinkled eyes widened in disbelief. He brandished his staff in a fluster, but the staff was aimed not at me, but at someone behind me, heading for the terrace railing.

Dark energy gathered at the tip of the staff, swirling.

I recognized it. The magic arrow that the Black Priest used on the 10th floor.

Thunk!

I severed the priest’s neck as it was.

Kiiiiing!

The energy gathered at the staff’s tip shattered the terrace’s ceiling and burst forth. Finally, someone on the terrace turned their gaze towards me.

A girl in a white dress.

She wore a golden crown over her flowing silver hair.

She seemed to be in her mid-teens. The girl looked at me and then raised her voice in surprise.

“W-who are you?”

I replied briefly.

“You don’t need to know.”