It was as if an ancient god had awakened from slumber.
The moment Bella let her power loose, an overwhelming wave of pressure surged outward. A majestic and crushing aura blanketed the entire pirate ship like an unmovable mountain.
Then, her voice—cold, sharp, and echoing like frost across a canyon—cut through the thick air:
"Disgusting residue. All of you… are going to die."
BOOM.
A wave of energy burst from Bella's body, wild and untamed, sweeping across the chamber with terrifying force. The arguing pirates were tossed aside like ragdolls, slamming into walls, pillars, and steel floors, some coughing blood, others unconscious before they hit the ground.
The pressure in the air thickened further, as if the weight of a celestial body bore down on them. Faces turned pale. Bones strained. Knees buckled.
Even the most hardened raiders—beasts who'd survived dozens of space battles—now found themselves helpless. Muscles locked. Some collapsed, others knelt uncontrollably, unable to lift their heads in Bella's presence.
From sneering contempt, to dawning horror, and finally to absolute terror—their emotions flipped like dominoes.
"Wh-What is she…?"
"No way… I can't move!"
"Is this woman even real…?"
One by one, the realization sank in. They hadn't caught prey—they'd angered a predator.
Even the burly pirate captain, the one who had tried to claim Bella for himself, began to sweat.
Desperation crept into his voice. "L-Look, don't act rashly! We're from the Predator Faction—under the command of Starka Vaughan! If you hurt us, you'll have the entire predator organization hunting you down. Let us go now, and we'll forget this ever happened. We'll even compensate you!"
He threw it all on the table—name, faction, bribe, and threat.
Bella didn't blink.
She didn't care who they worked for.
She was already ready to kill.
Her right hand lifted.
A soft, golden glow shimmered into existence. Dozens of radiant orbs, each the size of a baseball, floated into the air around her.
The pirates' pupils shrank in horror.
They recognized death when it stood in front of them.
"No… Wait…!"
WHOOSH!
The golden energy spheres ignited.
From each orb burst countless golden beams of light, like needles of divine judgment. They rained down with surgical precision, tearing through steel, flesh, and armor alike. Every pirate in the room was sliced apart in an instant—no time to scream, no time to run.
So hot was the magic energy, even their blood didn't have time to spill. The wounds were cauterized before they opened.
When it was over, the room was silent.
Not a single scream. Not a single breath.
Only Bella stood.
She turned her back on the carnage, calmly walking back toward the ship.
The golden energy spheres remained behind.
Loki, still standing nearby, had watched the whole thing without moving.
He let out a long whistle and murmured to himself, "Note to self: never, ever, piss her off."
---
The two of them returned to their ship, the Asgard, and Bella quickly took the helm.
As soon as they cleared the pirate vessel, the golden spheres detonated behind them.
KRA-KOOM!!
A chain of explosions lit up the dark vacuum of space.
The pirate flagship was consumed in a massive fireball, blooming like a second sun in the cold void. Its charred remains scattered in all directions before vanishing entirely.
In nearby ships, the remaining pirate crews panicked.
They had been preparing to surround and plunder the Asgard, assuming it was an easy target.
Now their leader's ship had just exploded into nothing.
"W-What the hell?!"
"Wasn't that supposed to be a routine raid?!"
They didn't have time to process it.
A moment later, they saw it—the Asgard hadn't fled. In fact, it had stopped moving completely, hovering just a short distance away.
"...Why are they just sitting there?"
"I don't like this. This doesn't feel right."
"Too late to hesitate—open fire! Kill them before they escape!"
Fueled by misplaced rage and confusion, the pirates launched their assault. Missiles armed. Laser turrets rotated and fired. Warships surged forward.
Then someone shouted, "Wait! Look at the screen!"
Atop the Asgard, a woman appeared.
Golden-haired, sword raised above her head, eyes burning with magical energy.
"...Is that the same woman?"
"What is she doing…?"
Before they could answer—
WHHHHHRRRRRRRRMMMM!!
Energy began to pulse violently around Bella's body. The air around her shimmered with magical pressure. Her sword—the Oath of Victory—burned with gold flame, and the vacuum of space seemed to tremble under its force.
All across the enemy fleet, alarms blared.
"WARNING! Energy spike detected!"
"Power levels exceeding standard weapon thresholds!"
"Deploy shields! Now!"
"Retreat! Turn the ship—turn it, you fools!"
The pirates screamed and scrambled, trying to escape.
But it was too late.
With a single swing of her sword, Bella unleashed a torrent of golden magic. A beam of condensed energy shot forth, cutting through the black of space like a divine lance.
The energy wave was blinding—a golden tide that surged through the center of the pirate fleet.
In an instant, it passed through ship after ship, slicing clean through hulls and cores.
"So beautiful..." someone whispered.
It was their final thought.
BOOOOOOMMM!!
A dozen mid-sized warships detonated, one after the other, until nothing remained but dust and drifting metal. Even the few ships that managed to raise energy shields fell—some after a second, others after three—but all of them were annihilated.
When the light faded, the void was empty again.
No debris. No trace of pirates.
Only silence.
Bella lowered her sword. The golden glow dimmed.
Her face, previously cold and sharp, relaxed at last.
This wasn't even a surprise to her. With that kind of spell output, medium-sized pirate ships didn't stand a chance. Their firepower was brutal, but their defense was always an afterthought.
"Pirates always care about blowing things up," she muttered. "They never bother with defense."
If they'd been real military ships—cutting-edge craft from an actual interstellar fleet—her strike might not have been enough.
But these weren't disciplined soldiers.
They were parasites. Scum who picked at the edges of the universe.
As for the so-called "Predator Faction"? Bella scoffed.
The predator organization was massive, yes—spread across galaxies, with hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of members. But this cell? A handful of ships and pirates? Not even a thousand?
This wasn't a faction. It was a speck of dirt.
And now, it was gone.
Back aboard the Asgard, Bella's emotions began to settle.
She returned to her cabin, pulled out her simulation notes, and resumed her study of man-made suns as if nothing had happened.
Loki, however, sat in the cockpit staring at the stars in stunned silence.
He'd always known Bella was dangerous. But this?
This was something else entirely.
"...If that hit me," he whispered, wiping sweat from his forehead, "I'd be ash."
"Terrifying..."
-------------------------------------------------------
Get membership in patreon to read more chapters
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31
-----------------------------------------------------