Return

The pirate chief looked at the heavy losses his side had suffered, his heart filled with unwillingness. His eyes bloodshot, he roared hysterically, "Everyone, charge! We can't let them get away with this!" But the pirates' morale was low, and under the combined pressure of the Interstellar Alliance and the Mechanical Guards, they were already struggling to hold their ground.

Just as Lina was preparing to launch the energy vortex, the core of the mysterious power suddenly changed dramatically. The once-stable black sphere began spinning wildly, shooting out streams of powerful energy. Everything those streams touched—pirate ships and Mechanical Guards alike—was instantly destroyed.

"Oh no, this mysterious power is going out of control!" Eric cried in terror.

Near the core of the mysterious power, Loki felt its terrifying force too.

He fought with all his might, carving a bloody path through the Mechanical Guards' encirclement and flying toward Eric and Lina's ship.

"Quick, we have to get out of here!" Loki shouted as he flew.

Eric hurriedly turned the ship around to pick Loki up. But a powerful stream of energy shot straight toward them. At the critical moment, Lina released the energy vortex in her hands, sending it crashing head-on into the energy stream. The tremendous impact sent Lina flying, and she slammed hard into the ship's inner wall.

"Lina!" Eric and Loki shouted at the same time.

The energy fluctuations from the core of the mysterious power had reached their peak, and the entire area was engulfed in dazzling light. Without another thought, Eric piloted the ship toward them, pulled the wounded, unconscious Lina and Loki aboard, then accelerated at full power and fled the danger zone.

Behind them, the core of the mysterious power erupted in a world-shaking explosion, its powerful shock wave spreading in every direction. The pirate group and the Mechanical Guards were nearly wiped out, while the Interstellar Alliance ships, too, were left teetering in the blast's aftermath. They barely managed to escape the blast radius.

The three survivors collapsed inside the ship, gasping for breath.

In the vast depths of the universe, several mysterious elders in ancient robes sat cross-legged, strange waves of energy emanating from them. Their eyes were closed and their brows furrowed, as if they were performing some kind of mystical perception. Suddenly, one of the elders snapped his eyes open, shock and wild joy filling them. "Our lord, our lord has returned!" The others opened their eyes in quick succession, their faces filled with disbelief and overwhelming excitement.

"It really is our lord's aura. After all these years, he has finally returned!" another elder said, his voice trembling as if he could hardly believe it was real.

At the same time, the mysterious being who had taken over Goku Black's body sensed it too.

Hovering above the ruins of Yake Planet, he threw his head back and laughed. "My servant isn't dead? My servant is still alive? Hahahaha! Heaven really is on my side!" His laughter brimmed with madness and smugness, seeming to pierce every corner of the universe.

"The starships will be ready soon, too. Those glorious days of the past are about to return. But first, when I return, I'll wipe out the few pieces of trash in this universe." A vicious glint flashed in his eyes as images of the Space Pirate Group and the Interstellar Alliance headquarters surfaced in his mind.

After the brutal battle with the core of the mysterious power, the surviving pirates were licking their wounds on a remote planet.

The chief sat in the battered command cabin, his expression grim as he looked at his injured subordinates and badly damaged ships, his heart full of resentment.

"Boss, what do we do now?" one pirate asked cautiously.

"Hmph. We'll find a chance to get even later! But I can't shake the feeling that a bigger conspiracy is lurking behind this disaster." The chief frowned and fell into thought.

The Interstellar Alliance headquarters was just as busy and tense. After the elite fighters returned, they gave a detailed account of everything they had been through. The Alliance leaders gathered in the conference room, the atmosphere heavy.

"This mysterious power is far too bizarre, and then there's that mysterious being. We must figure out how to deal with them as soon as possible," one senior Alliance official said grimly.

"Not only that. Although the Space Pirate Group has suffered heavy losses, they certainly won't let this go. We need to stay on guard," another official added.

While they discussed their next move, the mysterious being had already begun to act. He transformed into a streak of black light and flew toward the planet where the Space Pirate Group was hiding. The stars seemed to tremble beneath his oppressive presence as he passed.

Before long, he arrived above the planet where the pirates were hiding. Looking down at their ruined base, he gave a cold smile. "A bunch of ants, daring to covet power that doesn't belong to them." With that, he gathered powerful dark energy in both hands and hurled it at the planet's surface.

The Mysterious Person's dark energy was like a destructive meteor trailing a long tail of fire, crashing into the planet's surface where the pirates were hiding. The violent explosion instantly swallowed a vast section of the pirate base. Flames soared skyward, while thick smoke carried shattered metal and stone high into the air.

Caught completely off guard by the sudden attack, the pirates cried out in panic from every direction.

"What's happening? What is this?" The pirate chief crawled out of the ruins of the command cabin, his face covered in dust, fear and fury in his eyes. He looked up at the sky and saw the Mysterious Person hovering above, surrounded by an evil glow like a demon from hell.

"Who are you? Why are you attacking us?" the chief roared, forcing himself to stay calm despite his fear. Years as a pirate had taught him to put on a brave face.

The Mysterious Person let out a sinister laugh that echoed across the planet. "A bunch of reckless insects, daring to run rampant throughout the universe.

Today is the day you meet your end!" With that, he moved his hands rapidly, sending waves of dark energy surging toward the planet without end.

The pirates grabbed their weapons and tried to fight back, but their attacks were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot against the Mysterious Person's overwhelming power. One barely repaired pirate ship after another was struck by dark energy and instantly reduced to cosmic dust.

"Boss, we can't hold them off!" a pirate cried as he ran to the chief, his voice choked with fear.

The chief gritted his teeth, despair filling his heart, but he still couldn't accept that they would be wiped out just like this.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He had thought of a way that might turn the tide. He rushed toward the depths of the base, where they stored mysterious weapons looted from various planets. They had not yet fully figured out how to use them, but there was no time to worry about that now.

Looking at the pirates scrambling like ants in a hot pan below, the Mysterious Person felt even more contempt. He intensified his assault, and pillars of dark energy continued to bombard the planet. Huge craters appeared across the surface, and the planet's entire ecosystem teetered on the brink of collapse under the terrifying attack.