Chapter 162

47. Cosmic Disaster (3)

The pirates in spacesuits tried to escape, but there was no mercy for them. It didn’t seem to be right to let them go, so he decided to make it easy on them. Jin-woo held the two torn parts of the battleship.

Whooosh!

He clapped them into each other. It reminded him of those stick balloons used for cheering at baseball stadiums. Hitting the balloons made an interesting sound, but the battleships collided silently, though Jin-woo imagined his sound effects.

Grrrrrk! Baaang!

The battleship shattered and crumbled, then exploded. These were remodeled pirate battleships, but they just looked like sticks to Jin-woo.

“But it’s still fun to break it down.”‘

Jin-woo was satisfied. He had a lot of power, but the only time he had ever properly erupted was when he fought with Duan Yu-tian. He didn’t even pull all his might out that time either, however. However, the story was different when the scale was as large as it was now. He was able to relieve his stress without thinking about the damage around him. The universe was wide, and there were many things to break.

Those who didn’t need to be looked after, such as these pirates, were included in that. Jin-woo turned his eyes to the largest of the battleships, near as big as the passenger ship, from which countless fighters were pouring out.

‘Shall I start moving?’

Thanks to this stretching exercise, Jin-woo was completely warmed up. At his gesture, black flames melted the debris floating around him and swept over the pirates who had barely reached the escape craft. He was not merciful.

Jin-woo began to move, clambering onto the battleship next to him.

[I-I don’t think he’s h-human!]

[T-the Kunzo Battleship…!]

[Uh-uaaargh! S-shoot him!]

There was a commotion through the comms, but Jin-woo couldn’t hear it. He liked how the universe was so quiet even when there was such a fuss. The artillery of the pirate battleship turned and aimed at Jin-woo, and the fighter planes fired. Yet all of the bullets melted and disappeared before they even touched Jin-woo’s body.

The fighter planes felt like flies, so he needed a fly swatter.

‘It’s down there.’

There was a fly swatter under Jin-woo’s feet. This battleship was just the right size, too. Jin-woo lightly reached his hand to it, tearing the thick modified armor like paper, and dug his hands in. His power permeated the vessel.

[You used the power of domination.]

[Nata Pirate Battleship has been transformed by the power of domination! It will fit your hand perfectly!]

*[B] Sticky Fly Swatter

Effective for catching flies.

The pirate battleship transformed, huge thorny tentacles springing up. When he swung it, they lashed out to catch the fighters. The visuals were terrible, but the performance was still useful. Jin-woo swung the battleship like a bat and smashed everything around him.

Bang! Baaaaang!

It was refreshing like he was properly using his muscles after a long while. When Jin-woo put mana into the battleship that had turned into a fly swatter, black flames jetted from it.

[M-monster…!]

[A-ah…]

[T-the target has been secured! Run away!]

[Hurry up, towards the warp drive!]

The fighters and battleships turned around. It had been a long time since the frigates and passenger ship also turned and fled. But Jin-woo had no intention of leaving the pirates alone. Jin-woo tried to summon the Black Flame Dragon, thinking the situation would be sorted out with its Breath. The battleship’s shields and armor would be useless before its dark flames.

‘If used properly…’

If it were used to its fullest extent, it would be able to devour a small moon.

‘Umm?’

Jin-woo noticed the captured spacecraft carrying the investigation team, transported by fighter planes to the largest battleship. The pirates’ goal appeared to be that spacecraft, not looting. Jin-woo stopped trying to summon the Black Flame Dragon.

The largest spacecraft was the One-Eyed Noct Pirate Ship. It was a battleship on which Noct, an executive of the Pirates Union called the Blade of Death, rode.

‘Umm, there seem to be some prisoners.’

When he checked with the Magic Eye of Information, he could see the prisoners moved onto the battleship.

‘I can’t just let them go…’

It was because of the Demon’s Eye that the passenger ship was caught. Even if it wasn’t for Jin-woo, something might have happened elsewhere, but he felt uncomfortable about it. He had a personality that didn’t allow him to live in debt.

The space around the pirate ship began to distort. It appeared like it was preparing for the warp drive that was often seen in sci-fi movies. It functioned on a similar principle to the portal, but it took a lot of energy and was much more complicated, unlike magic. Jin-woo moved under the returning fighter plane and clung to it. The moment it entered the hangar, the space around the ship shook, and the vessel disappeared.

The warp drive worked.

“W-what the hell is that monster!”

“What the… is it a dream?”

“I-is it alright now?”

The pirates dismounting the fighters were terrified.

“I-I think the product this time will be sold at a pretty high price, right?”

“There are many nobles on the passenger ship, fufu…”

The pirates struggled to dispel their fears and bluffed themselves. But they still couldn’t erase the scene they had just seen from their mind.

Slip!

Jin-woo sneaked out from under the combat plane. The hangar door was triple-locked, controlled from the pirate ship’s main bridge. It couldn’t be opened from down here, but Jin-woo slowly approached the door.

Tap! Tap!

His steps echoed in the hangar. The pirates’ heads turned at the same time. They had just started to subdue their fear, but a new wave of terror washed over them. The noisy hangar grew silent in an instant. There wasn’t even the sound of breathing as no one moved. However, a steady stream of sweat ran down each of their foreheads.

Jin-woo looked at the hangar door and slowly stretched out his hand.

“N-n-no!”

“Uh-uaaaargh!”

The pirates hugged each other and closed their eyes tightly. Jin-woo’s hand touched the hangar door, but fortunately, nothing happened.

“W-what a reli–”

“Gasp!”

But it was too early to be relieved.

Udddrrrr!

The door began to shrink around Jin-woo’s hand. It was designed to withstand even the warp drive, which put a lot of strain on the hull, but it was crumpled like a tissue. It was made of three layers, but when Jin-woo put his mana in it-

Baaaang!

It tore open.

“A-avoid it!”

“Eaaargh!”

Everything in the hangar was sucked out through the door. The fighter planes began to slip and slide toward the opening a moment after the pirates. They tried to hold out somehow, but they couldn’t. The ship was currently engaging the warp drive.

Jin-woo looked out the door. It was shining outside, and as soon as the objects pulled out-touched the light, they crumbled and became dust.

“Keaaaaargh!”

“Save me…”

The pirates’ weak bodies couldn’t hold out. The hangar was neatly cleaned out without a speck of dust left. The moment they all disappeared, the sirens started to ring, and the barrier wall came down, isolating the hangar. Now the only light came from the red flashing siren.

‘It feels good.’

The sci-fi genre didn’t just have a space war-like atmosphere. Showing variety was the charm of the SF genre. Among them, the most impressive one in Jin-woo’s eyes was horror. An unknown universe! Terror from an unknown being! Sci-fi and horror went well together.

‘An alien broke into the spaceship and killed everyone.’

He thought it was a ridiculous story, but Jin-woo smirked. That kind of movie was often aired on the cable channel during the weekends. He planned to deal with the pirates just like the aliens in the movie.

The moment he thought so, Jin-woo was engulfed in black flames and smoke.

* * *

The Union Blade of Death were notorious pirates. When they appeared, even the regular army grew wary. Many small planets that didn’t belong to the Space Federation traveled through space, paying taxes to the Pirate Union. Although it was a small force compared to the Delox Empire, Lainez Kingdom, and the Space Federation, some argued that the Pirate Union should be counted as one of the four major forces.

Pirates oversaw everything illegal in space. Ranging from gambling, drugs, and illegal body modification to human trafficking, assassination, and kidnapping. Their only goal was money.

The Delox Empire and the Lainez Kingdom, as well as the Space Federation, showed strong countermeasures against pirates by placing huge bounties on their heads, but there was a reason why the pirates were hard to root out.

Spies planted by the Pirate Union had already invaded each country, and several bureaucrats had been bought out. To put it bluntly, could it be said that the Pirate Union had the best intelligence agency of each faction? Pirate informants could be found on the most remote planet.

The Pirate Union leadership consisted of a head and five executives, one of whom was One-eyed Noct. He was formally a brigadier general of the Delox Empire, possessing strong mental and physical strength. And it was this Noct that thought this plan would proceed smoothly.

There was a person of high value on the passenger ship: Count Lear, known as a genius from the Lainez Kingdom. She had received the title of Count for her many incredible achievements despite her relative youth. Among them, the new battleship she developed had brought a radical change. The performance was so good that there was an uproar in the Empire when it was introduced.

Several of those battleships were kept in Noct’s base warehouse, carefully obtained from the Pirate Union. However, if there was a problem, he could only use them by entering the operation key. Therefore he took the risk and kidnapped Count Lear. If they had access to a new type of battleship, the Pirate Union would exert greater influence. Everything went smoothly when they stole the information, obtained coordinates, and kidnapped her.

But what the hell was that monster? It wasn’t human.

Crack!

The battleships he boasted about were torn apart like they were toys, and Noct was forced to run away like this. It was fortunate that he had completed his goals and obtained an escape ticket beforehand. He could cover a little of the damage he suffered in this battle by selling her as a slave.

Let’s forget. Let’s forget. Noct thought so and shook his head.

“Hah, there must have been a problem.”

“…It’s nothing.”

“I don’t think so.”

Count Lear smirked and glared at him. Noct’s expression distorted as he handed the code input device to Count Lear.

“Enter the activation code.”

“Do you think I will? Torture and threats are useless. Kill me.”

Noct beckoned, and his men brought forward the hostages from the escape craft.

“Where are you from?”

“L-Lainez Kingdom… eaargh!”

Noct drew his knife and stabbed the hostage in the thigh. Then, he turned to Count Leir.

“All those from your kingdom will be cut into small pieces and served as pork rice.”

“…”

“If you enter the code, I will release them.”

“…How can I trust you?”

“Pirates may be cowardly, but they do not lie.”

It was a silly thing to believe. All they did was loot and murder while gathering in the name of freedom, but Lear looked around. Those kidnapped were trembling, most of them little more than children. Pirates liked children. After all, they were the most expensive.

Lear had no choice but to accept Noct’s proposal.

“Even if it’s a little difficult, I can open your brain and extract the information. It’s illegal, but there’s nothing legal about us.”

“…Okay.”

It was a game she couldn’t win. Lear entered the code with trembling hands. As soon as the input was complete, Noct checked it. The security had been turned off. Now that he had this key, he could freely use the Kingdom’s latest battleships.

“Now, as you promised…”

As Noct smirked at Lear-

Baaang!

The hull tilted, causing Lear to fall to the floor. Meanwhile, Noct managed to balance himself and ran to the main bridge.

“What’s going on?!”

“The warp drive was interrupted by a sudden shock! Estimated arrival time has been changed from 1 hour to 3.”

“What the hell is the cause…?”

“There is a problem in the A23 hangar…! G-gasp! Even the A21 and A20… I-I’ll show it on the screen.”

The screen popped up. The walls of the hangar were torn apart, and all his men had been jettisoned into space. They couldn’t even be retrieved because the warp drive was in operation.

[D-don’t come!]

[Uargh!]

He saw a monster surrounded by black flames. It was the same monster that destroyed their battleships. That monster was on board the ship right now!

Bam-bam-bam!

Men in reinforced suits fired their guns recklessly, but it was of no use against the monster. As soon as their bullets touched those black flames, they dissipated. The screen flickered off.

“W-what is it! What happened?”

“I-I’ll switch to a reinforced suit camera.”

He could now see his subordinates in reinforced suits running down a long hallway. A scream came from behind them.

Noct’s face twisted.

[I-I got it wrong, Leave me here!]

[But…]

[I-I’ll be the bait. Just escape in the meantime! I-if you survive the warp drive and escape, somehow…]

[Alex…]

Alex’s face appeared on the screen. He was injured and unable to move.

[Go! Jin! hurry!]

Jin ran.

[Uh-uaaaargh!]

The sound of gunfire and Alex’s screams could be heard behind Jin.

[Hah! Hah!]

His helmet was full of steam as he ran. In an instant, his surroundings became quiet; there were no more screams or gunshots to be heard. The only sound was Jin’s calm breathing. Noct and his men gulped as they watched.

Zzzt!

The lights in the hallway flickered. Jin pulled his gun close to his body and walked slowly, pressed against the wall.

Whoosh!

It felt like something was passing by. Jin turned around and fired his gun.

Bam-bam-bam!

Hot steam filled the hallway as the bullets hit pipes lying along the hallway.

Ting knock! Ting knock!

The metal around the pipes shook and rattled. Jin’s jaw shivered in time with the noise as he carefully swept his gun around.

Squeak? Squeak!

A large rat stuck out its head and passed at his feet. Jin breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he looked back as a chill ran down his spine. Fortunately, there was nothing there either.

It was then.

Ding! Ding!

The alarm started to sound in his reinforced suit. It was a function that sent a warning when the surrounding environment suddenly changed.

[W-what the-]

It was the moment Jin looked forward again.

[G-gaaasp!]

Someone was standing at the end of the hallway, covered by dark smoke and flames. The flames flickered and sharpened, taking a blade-like form.

Monster! It was the monster!

Jin didn’t even think to pull the trigger as the monster approached.

Wuddddrrrrr!

The space between them vanished. It wasn’t just approaching; every time the monster moved, the hallway crushed together and exploded.

[Keaaaaargh!]

With a final scream, the screen went black. Noct and his men went silent for a moment.

“C-close the entire area!”

“B-but there are still some people…! U-understood!”

All areas, including corridors, rooms, and the main bridge, were sectioned off.

‘I-if we hold out for three hours…!’

Noct’s complexion turned pale blue.

“Can’t you find out where it is?”

“I-I will track it down with a thermal scan.”

His subordinate operated the scan, a radar screen popping up. A single, huge red dot appeared on the radar, exuding such heat that it looked like a star.

The red dot moved slowly and broke through the blockade.

“B4. I-it broke through B4! B3, B2, B1! It’s too fast!”

The red dot stretched out like a beam of light and disappeared.

“W-where is it!”

“I-I’ll search for it! Ah!”

The subordinate screamed while operating the radar. As Noct looked up, his subordinate’s head creaked as he turned to look toward the door.

“I-it’s right in front of us.”

Gheeeeeeeeng!

The main bridge door burned red.

Despair had arrived.

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