That thought echoed in everyone's mind as they stared into the endless mist.
Then—
BOOM!
Like the sound of a great church bell striking at midnight, a deep, thunderous vibration rolled through the sky.
A powerful, commanding voice followed. It wasn't just sound—it was a declaration. A sentence that shook the soul.
"Hear that bell? It's ringing for you… filthy filth."
The world trembled.
BOOM!
A wave of golden energy erupted from the heart of the darkness. It cascaded in all directions, dispelling the mist with divine force. It was like dawn had torn through night, chasing away the shadows.
The monstrous demon that had towered above the land—nearly a kilometer tall—roared in agony. Its body, made of magma and hellfire, shimmered under the pressure of the blast.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The night sky shattered with violent sounds. Thunder-like blasts shook the air. From below, Bella looked up.
She had landed a direct shot into the demon's mouth. Lava spewed from its chest like a shattered volcano. Fragments of burning stone fell like meteors, crashing into the ground with fiery force.
But the beast was not dead.
The lava demon, wounded but furious, raised its enormous flaming axe once again. Despite the blow, it bellowed defiantly and prepared to retaliate.
Bella holstered her twin guns—Bloody Rose and Goddess of War.
This was beyond their reach.
They were weapons born of human science and infused with holy energy—but they could no longer keep up with her surging power. Her magic had become too dense, too volatile for them to channel effectively. And even when used to full effect, they had barely left a scratch on this creature.
Regret?
No.
These weapons had served her well. For Earth's current level of development, they were already miracles. Expecting them to match mythical artifacts was unrealistic.
She wasn't disappointed.
Instead, she smiled.
BOOM!
The lava demon's axe came crashing down with apocalyptic force, trailing hellfire and cracking the ground like glass.
Bella didn't move.
She didn't even blink.
"I wonder," she whispered, crouching low, "how strong I've really become when I stop holding back."
Both gloved hands hovered a few centimeters from the cracked earth. The ground trembled.
Magic began to surge.
Gravel and dust lifted into the air, pulled upward by an unseen force. The vibrations intensified. The pressure thickened.
And just as the axe was about to make contact—
BANG!
Bella exploded upward in a sonic boom, leaving a deep crater where she had stood. Fractures spread across the earth like a spider web.
Golden light surrounded her as she rocketed toward the sky, trailing a glowing tail of energy like a shooting star.
She didn't dodge the axe.
She shattered it.
With raw, unfiltered magic power pouring from her body, the flaming weapon simply dissolved before it could touch her. Splinters of molten steel evaporated in her wake.
The demon's eyes widened.
Bella rose to a height beyond a thousand meters, floating level with the demon's head. Her expression was cold. Her presence, radiant.
From this height, the demon's once-terrifying frame seemed clumsy and bloated—an oversized brute wielding an outdated weapon.
It stared at the broken stump where its axe had been. For the first time in its existence, the demon felt something it hadn't known in centuries.
Fear.
That weapon had slain countless souls in the infernal dimensions. Even the Demon King Mephisto had once praised it. Now it lay in pieces on the battlefield—annihilated by a human.
A human.
The demon turned, snarling, just in time to see Bella staring at it from only a few meters away.
Those eyes—golden and calm—were filled not with anger, but with quiet contempt.
And then—
BOOM!
Bella's right foot struck.
Her leg glowed with magic so dense it could barely be contained. Golden energy radiated from the point of impact like a star collapsing into itself.
The kick landed on the demon's forehead.
The force of 10,000 tons concentrated into a single strike.
The demon's head shattered instantly.
Magic surged down through its body, splitting it apart like cracking obsidian. Flames burst from within as the creature disintegrated from the inside out.
Death, swift and merciless.
RUMBLE…
Far from the battlefield, in the mountains outside the ruined town of Basel, a man dressed in black leather armor watched with trembling hands. His pale face and disheveled hair were slick with sweat.
He had been hiding.
Watching.
And what he saw shattered him.
"The molten demon… destroyed… by one human?"
His voice shook.
"Damn it. Damn it! If the master's plan fails…"
He trailed off, muttering incoherently.
"The priests… not enough. Not enough time. We need more sacrifices. Just a bit more—just a little more…"
Panic consumed him. A shadow passed over his face as he turned into black smoke and vanished into the night.
The molten demon's broken body fell from the heavens like a meteor, crushing the already devastated town into complete ruin.
The impact left a massive crater, and the remaining traces of hellfire burned at its center.
But then—silence.
The fire went out.
The demon was dead.
The only thing left standing near the battlefield was Bella's motorcycle, miraculously untouched. It had been infused with her magic, protected from the infernal heat.
Bella floated above the destruction, eyes distant.
She turned her gaze toward the mountains in the distance. Her senses prickled.
Somewhere out there, someone—or something—was watching.
Malice. Fear. Hatred.
It stared at her through the fog.
Then vanished.
"A demon… watching me?" she muttered.
She knew it had fled. Its strength hadn't been overwhelming—but it had been smart enough to run after one glance.
She couldn't track it now. It had completely masked its presence.
Basel Town…
Bella turned toward the sky. Swarms of undead circled above like vultures, but none dared descend. After the molten demon's destruction, even the mindless dead now hesitated.
Instinct.
Fear.
Even the distant demons in the fog had stopped advancing.
Bella gave a cold, amused smile.
She walked to her motorcycle, placed her pistols back into their concealed slots, and mounted the vehicle once more.
The engine hummed to life.
As she rode forward into the mist, undead parted to make way. They followed—but never approached.
And in the swirling fog behind her, only one phrase echoed faintly—
"So it's only intuition level now…? Tch. Guess getting stronger is going to be harder from here on out."
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