Without warning, the sky above the churning sea shattered with the roar of rocket propellant. One by one, the pirate ships unleashed their hypersonic anti-ship missiles—lethal weapons that had no business being in the hands of lowlife scum like them. The missiles streaked upward, leaving twisting trails of gray smoke in their wake, like giant serpents poised to strike. Mid-flight, they curved into deadly parabolic arcs, locking onto the warship Celindria as their final target.
Standing on the deck of her ship, Celindria—a woman with an icy, lethal aura—clicked her tongue in annoyance. Her sharp eyes tracked the incoming missiles, but her lips curled into a thin, mocking smirk. "Pirates of your caliber… wielding toys like these?" she muttered, her voice soft but dripping with disdain. "I'd love to know who's dumb enough to supply you with this kind of firepower."
Her right hand casually gripped the hilt of the rapier still sheathed at her waist. With a calm flick, she activated her Omniscient Field, a sensory zone that placed her at the heart of a distorted reality. In this space, time crawled like molasses. The hypersonic missiles, tearing through the air at breakneck speed, now moved like sluggish snails in her eyes, allowing Celindria to calculate their distance, trajectories, and impact points with terrifying precision.
But she didn't stop there. With razor-sharp focus, Celindria dove into the branching possibilities of the future through her Omniscient Field. She traced the worst-case scenario: what would happen if those missiles hit their mark? In an instant, her mind was flooded with visions of devastation—an apocalyptic explosion equivalent to 700 kilograms of TNT, amplified by the kinetic energy of hypersonic velocity. Her ship, her pride and joy, would be torn apart in a maelstrom of fire and molten metal.
Celindria's brow furrowed—not out of fear, but confusion. "How the hell do bottom-feeding pirates get their hands on tech that rivals an imperial armada?" she murmured, her voice now laced with suspicion. The stench of conspiracy hung in the air like creeping poison. Someone big was behind this, and Celindria swore she'd drag them into the light.
But there was no time to dwell on schemes now. "Pity," she hissed, shaking her head with a mix of pity and disgust. "You don't even know how to use these weapons properly. Firing them at close range like this? Fucking idiots."
Suddenly, a terrifying aura erupted from her body. Waves of amethyst-purple qi pulsed from her right hand, flowing into the rapier she gripped tightly. This was the Obliterator Force at its advanced stage—a devastating power known as the Annihilation Pulse. Even at low concentration, this force could obliterate matter down to the molecular level, annihilating anything—reinforced metal, energy shields, or even reality itself—without leaving a trace.
With a fluid, deadly motion, Celindria drew her rapier from its sheath. In a single, blinding arc, she swung the blade upward, its edge radiating a dazzling purple glow. The humming qi emanating from the rapier sent ripples of distortion through the air, as if reality itself trembled before her power.
In a flash, five destructive qi waves, shaped like razor-sharp dragon claws, tore free from the blade. They shot forward like lightning, slicing through the sky with unmatched speed, expanding and adjusting mid-flight to lock onto the precise impact points of the five hypersonic missiles. The air screamed under the pressure of the colossal energy, and in an instant, the purple qi claws collided with the missiles.
A thunderous explosion rocked the heavens—but it wasn't the warheads detonating. The Annihilation Pulse had done its work: each missile vanished in an instant, disintegrated into molecular dust that scattered in the sea breeze. No debris, no remnants—only an eerie silence in the wake of the storm.
Celindria lowered her rapier, her eyes narrowing as she glared at the pirate fleet in the distance. "Now," she said, her voice cold as ice, "let's find out who's pulling your strings."
Shaking her head lightly, Celindria muttered softly, "Hmm—I don't think that's necessary." Through her Omniscient Field, she sensed two extremely wicked, dense energy presences aboard the captain's ship.
Gathering a sizable wave of qi, Celindria activated her Incarnation Mode. Instantly, a faint divine incarnation of hers appeared—manifested as a mysterious humanoid woman wearing a strange eye-cover and a Valkyrie queen's helmet—looming huge right behind her, though only half of its gigantic body was visible.
That incarnation, shimmering with a soft amethyst purple glow, radiated an oppressive aura so powerful it twisted and distorted the very fabric of space-time itself. But with precise control, Celindria managed to extinguish the anomalies caused by this phenomenon.
Suppressing the oppressive aura as much as possible to minimize side effects, Celindria sent that deadly wave of pressure speeding like lightning, breaking through every barrier in its path, straight at the two mysterious men.
They didn't have the slightest chance to react. The two men standing by the captain were immediately crushed by the overwhelming oppressive force that shattered their mental and physical defenses.
"Urggh—"
Both men dropped to their knees, muffled screams escaping their lips as they tried to endure the brutal mental and physical torment. Inside their minds, the same divine being—Celindria's incarnation—pressed down with even deeper terror and oppression.
"Answer me. Who the fuck are you?"
Celindria's cold voice thundered fiercely inside their heads, demanding with absolute authority.
"W-W-We're—argghh!!"
One of the men struggled to speak, nearly breaking from the unbearable pressure, but some damned power tortured him into silence.
"Damn it, that curse won't let us spill any info," the other muttered, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
"Hmm—interesting power. No wonder that lowlife pirate had the balls to confront me directly," Celindria exclaimed with enthusiasm, recognizing the magical talent both men possessed. "Too bad I don't have much time to play. Otherwise, I'd be tempted to free you and test just how badass you are in a fight," she added with a hint of disappointment.
Shaking her head lightly, Celindria muttered softly, "Hmm—I don't think that's necessary." Through her Omniscient Field, she sensed two extremely wicked, dense energy presences aboard the captain's ship.
Gathering a sizable wave of qi, Celindria activated her Incarnation Mode. Instantly, a faint divine incarnation of hers appeared—manifested as a mysterious humanoid woman wearing a strange eye-cover and a Valkyrie queen's helmet—looming huge right behind her, though only half of its gigantic body was visible.
That incarnation, shimmering with a soft amethyst purple glow, radiated an oppressive aura so powerful it twisted and distorted the very fabric of space-time itself. But with precise control, Celindria managed to extinguish the anomalies caused by this phenomenon.
Suppressing the oppressive aura as much as possible to minimize side effects, Celindria sent that deadly wave of pressure speeding like lightning, breaking through every barrier in its path, straight at the two mysterious men.
They didn't have the slightest chance to react. The two men standing by the captain were immediately crushed by the overwhelming oppressive force that shattered their mental and physical defenses.
"Urggh—"
Both men dropped to their knees, muffled screams escaping their lips as they tried to endure the brutal mental and physical torment. Inside their minds, the same divine being—Celindria's incarnation—pressed down with even deeper terror and oppression.
"Answer me. Who the fuck are you?"
Celindria's cold voice thundered fiercely inside their heads, demanding with absolute authority.
"W-W-We're—argghh!!"
One of the men struggled to speak, nearly breaking from the unbearable pressure, but some damned power tortured him into silence.
"Damn it, that curse won't let us spill any info," the other muttered, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
"Hmm—interesting power. No wonder that lowlife pirate had the balls to confront me directly," Celindria exclaimed with enthusiasm, recognizing the magical talent both men possessed. "Too bad I don't have much time to play. Otherwise, I'd be tempted to free you and test just how badass you are in a fight," she added with a hint of disappointment.
Although the oppressive aura wave from Celindria's incarnation was focused solely on the two primary targets, its ripple effects still spread to everyone nearby. Especially those utterly lacking any resistance to supernatural forces. Every single pirate crew member, including the captain himself, suffered massive brain disruptions—they convulsed violently, foaming white bubbles from their mouths, bodies thrashing uncontrollably like broken puppets.
In the next instant, the entire roof of the ship's cabin—where the captain and the two mysterious men stood—was suddenly slashed apart by an invisible force. Shards of wood and debris scattered wildly, hurled down into the dark, churning sea below, leaving behind a resounding rumble that echoed through the night.
From amid the thick, billowing dust that hung like a fog, Celindria abruptly materialized right in front of the two mysterious men. This time, her incarnation appeared far clearer and more intimidating than before. Celindria's own body had shifted into the colossal manifestation formed from waves of amethyst-purple qi—a towering figure radiating a violet glow, causing the surrounding air to tremble with oppressive pressure.
With casual ease, Celindria snapped her fingers in the air. In the blink of an eye, dozens of swords forged from amethyst-purple qi hovered majestically in the sky, poised directly above the heads of the pirates sprawled helplessly on the deck. These blades were created through her advanced qi materialization ability: Astral Forge. Celindria could control every single one with mere thoughts—directing their movements, shapes, densities, and even adding extra effects like poison or explosions, all thanks to the superior perks of her high-level skill.
In one long, drawn-out breath, the sharp sounds of piercing stabs mixed with the warm splatters of blood echoed across the ship. Every pirate, including that arrogant captain, died instantly—their heads skewered by the qi swords, blood gushing out like dark fountains, leaving a pungent, fishy stench hanging heavy in the air.
"The talent to summon and control mythological sea beasts... it's incredibly rare. But now, two of them stand right before me," Celindria murmured softly, her voice laced with cold satisfaction. "Maybe I could gift this to my little brother." Suddenly, a brilliant idea sparked in her mind, fueling her growing temptation to seize the magical talents of those two mysterious men.
Celindria's incarnation spread its arms wide to the sides, conjuring straight qi-based swords in each grip—weapons that gleamed with purple brilliance, ready to stab and tear. But right at that moment, a woman suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking the thrusts of both swords from Celindria's incarnation with swift, precise movements, triggering an energy explosion that shook the entire ship to its core.