Chapter 570: Might of the First Pillar

The Strider tore through the starfield with its upgraded shielding fully online. Kylus monitored the navigation console and adjusted the output of the secondary thrusters. The ship performed flawlessly after the black market modifications on Grey Finger.

‘This vessel handles like a true war machine now,’ Kylus thought while checking the orbital trajectory. ‘But it’s still 10% of what my ship was.’

A spatial tear violently ripped reality open directly across their flight path, like a wound in the cosmos. Violet light bled from the abyss as four dreadnoughts forged from black bone emerged into the sector.

The enemy vessels immediately formed an overlapping blockade around the Strider.

Tractor beams slammed into the hull and killed all forward momentum. The primary screens flashed red. Dozens of smaller interceptors deployed energy tethers to lock the ship in place. The ambush neutralized every single escape vector before Kylus could even touch the evasive controls.

Sparks rained from the ceiling as the dreadnought groaned under the extreme gravitational pull. The entire cabin shook violently as heavy metallic clanks echoed from the exterior hull.

“We have multiple breaches in the lower cargo bays,” Kylus yelled over the blaring klaxons. “They are actively boarding us right now.”

Rin drew his twin swords and walked toward the primary airlock. He cracked his neck and settled into a fighting stance.

‘These fools picked the wrong ship to board,’ Rin thought while tracing the edge of his blade with his thumb.

Lyra sparked demonic fire over her knuckles and stared at the ceiling panels. She grinned as the sounds of heavy boots stomped across the deck directly above them.

“I call dibs on the big ones,” Lyra declared. “My new biology is craving some exercise.”

Requiem hoisted his greatsword onto his shoulder while checking the lock on the blast doors. The enemy boarding parties were already attaching breaching charges to the exterior plating. The metallic screech of plasma cutters echoed through the corridors.

“Get ready for close quarters combat,” Requiem instructed. “Aim for their joints and sever their limbs. We leave zero survivors.”

Xavier leaned against the captain’s chair and inspected his fingernails. He completely ignored the sounds of metal tearing apart outside the bridge. He turned his head and locked eyes with Xalvoria.

“Go outside and clear this trash out of our way.”

Xalvoria crossed her arms over her crimson mantle and scoffed. She lifted her chin and glared at him.

“I am the Empress of the First Pillar. I do not act as an attack dog for a human.”

Xavier stepped closer and tapped the glowing console.

‘Still the same, huh? I guess I can’t fix her that easily.’

“You have a biological clock ticking inside your cells,” Xavier said. “We are wasting precious minutes sitting here trapped in a violet net.”

He leaned into her personal space and flashed a cocky grin.

“Clear these ships out of our path right now. The faster you eradicate them, the faster we get to my quarters so I can give you your treatment.”

Xalvoria’s cheeks flushed deep red at the explicit reminder of their arrangement. Her golden eyes widened as she quickly glanced at the other crew members.

Rin kept his eyes glued to the blast doors. Requiem suddenly found the deck plating incredibly fascinating. Lyra snickered and let her fireballs dissipate.

Xalvoria grit her teeth and stomped toward the bridge exit. She conjured a spear of crimson energy in her right hand. The space around her warped with intense heat.

“I will slaughter every last one of them,” Xalvoria spat. “And then I am going to make you pay for your insolence.”

She kicked the blast doors open and marched into the breached corridor.

‘Heh, so easy.’

Xalvoria walked through the torn metal of the breached corridor and entered the vacuum of space. The demonic boarding party lunged with plasma cutters and jagged blades. She lifted her right hand and snapped her fingers.

The space around the attackers folded inward. Their bodies compressed into a single dense sphere of crushed bone and sparking armor.

She stepped off the edge of the hull and floated into the abyss. The four black bone dreadnoughts fired their primary cannons. Crimson energy gathered around Xalvoria’s form and shaped itself into a massive spectral dragon head.

She thrust her palm forward. The ethereal beast opened its jaws and swallowed the incoming plasma volley entirely.

The energy converted into a blinding flash of light. Xalvoria redirected the absorbed attack back at the fleet. The blast pierced the core of the nearest dreadnought and ignited its fuel reserves. The vessel detonated into a storm of shrapnel. She raised both arms to the cosmos.

Countless tears in reality opened above the remaining ships. Spikes of solidified void matter rained down like a meteor shower. The projectiles pierced the demonic hulls and triggered cascading structural failures. The entire blockade turned into a graveyard of floating wreckage within seconds.

Back on the bridge, the secondary blast doors blew apart with a deafening crash. A specialized squad of Demonic Society elites swarmed through the smoke. Their heavy armor gleamed with violet enchantments.

Rin spun his twin swords and stepped in front of the navigation console. Lyra ignited hellfire over both her fists. Requiem hefted his greatsword onto his shoulder and prepared to charge.

Xavier stepped past them and raised his hand. “Golden Authority.”

A swarm of luminous butterflies erupted from his fingertips and flooded the command deck. The golden insects landed on the elite demonic troops. The violet enchantments shattered instantly. The invaders dissolved into piles of gray ash before their weapons even reached firing position.

Kylus wiped dust from his visor and stared at the remains. He had witnessed the display before, and the sheer scale of the destruction still left him speechless. Rin sheathed his swords with a metallic click.

“That saves us some cleanup time,” Rin commented.

“More like increasing the repair time,” Klatos remarked. “I think we need to get our shield upgraded too. We can’t afford to waste time repairing the ship after every attack.”

Xavier lowered his hand and turned toward the main viewport.

“Once we find Bull’s mothership, we won’t have to worry about all that,” Xavier responded.

Xalvoria drifted back through the breached airlock and stepped onto the bridge. Her crimson mantle was torn. Blackened veins crawled up her neck and spread rapidly across her pale face.

She gasped for breath and clutched her chest. The extreme exertion had accelerated her cellular decay. Her knees buckled under her weight and she collapsed onto the metal grating.

Xavier crossed the deck and crouched beside her. Her skin burned with an intense fever. He slipped one arm under her knees and the other behind her back to lift her off the floor.

“Rin, seal the breaches and get the engines running,” Xavier ordered. “Kylus, chart the final vector for Vandermis Aventine.”

Lyra crossed her arms and glared at the unconscious Empress. “You are taking her to your room again.”

Xavier carried Xalvoria toward the corridor leading to the captain’s wing.

“Her cells are rotting,” Xavier replied. “We are wasting time sitting in this debris field. The sooner I finish her treatment, the faster we get this ship moving.”

He kicked the door to his quarters open and carried her inside.