Sally stood quietly in the corner, her large, expressive eyes filled with curiosity. Despite her youthful energy, she sensed that her sister was working on something important. So, like a little guardian statue, she remained still, her hands folded behind her back as she watched.
Bella stood at the center of the training room in a simple black sweater and loose gray slacks. Her long dark hair was tied back, and her eyes were closed in concentration. She extended her right hand forward, and a soft golden aura began to flicker into existence.
A wisp of golden energy gathered and gradually condensed into a small, glowing sphere. It hovered gently above her open palm, its diameter roughly five centimeters.
Zi~ Zi~ Zi~
The sound of fluctuating energy filled the air, like electricity dancing across a wire. This wasn't just raw magic—it was an intricate web of calculations. Her Calculus Ability, a high-level analytical spellcasting technique, allowed her to simulate entire interactions within the golden orb. Inside it, unseen energies whirled and twisted like a miniaturized storm.
Bella meticulously monitored every detail. Wisps of air, tinged with residual mana, spiraled from her arm and merged into the energy sphere. Whenever she detected imbalance, she infused the structure with modified magic particles to stabilize it—refining it like a craftsman shaping molten glass.
From the sidelines, little Sally watched the golden orb with fascination. The sphere shimmered and pulsated, its surface expanding like a sea urchin's spikes, then flattening, only to repeat the process again and again. It looked alive.
But after a few more pulses, Sally's excitement shifted to caution. A subtle tingle ran down her spine—a child's instinct honed by exposure to danger. She took a few careful steps backward toward the basement door.
That was when it happened.
Zzzzhhht!
A sharp golden beam shot from the center of the orb, slicing through the air like a spear made of sunlight.
BOOM!
It collided with a metal target dummy across the room. The impact was explosive. The steel structure shattered instantly, sending metal shards and shockwaves outward. The sheer force shook the entire training chamber.
But the chaos didn't reach Bella.
Fragments of metal, sharp enough to shred through human flesh, stopped just two meters away from her. An invisible field had formed—a magical barrier that disintegrated each piece of shrapnel mid-flight.
From the corner, Sally blinked. Her hand was subtly raised, her tiny fingers twitching with the remnants of magic.
Bella turned and smiled at her, her face bathed in the golden afterglow of the energy explosion.
"Good girl," she said softly.
Sally's eyes sparkled with pride. She grinned, showing her tiny canine teeth like a proud cub receiving praise from her alpha.
Bella returned to her focus, speaking softly to herself as she assessed the results.
"There's nothing wrong with the structure… but the energy is still unstable," she muttered. "The destructive force is incredible, though. This direction is worth pursuing."
She adjusted her footing and resumed her meditative stance, hands weaving new sigils into the air. She knew perfection wouldn't come in a single day. No spell was born perfect—it had to be refined through repetition, recalibration, and failure.
Time slipped by like sand in a windstorm.
That afternoon, Bella made major breakthroughs. She had stabilized the spell structure and could now redirect the energy output into a focused strike. The core design worked, and it could be modified further.
What excited her the most was the realization that she could combine it with spells learned in Asgard. The ancient Norse runes she had studied could be layered on top of her magical formation to enhance the overall spell—granting additional buffs, tracking properties, and even delayed detonation.
By the end of the day, she had shaped the spell into a fully functional battle technique. With a single thought, she could now summon thousands of magic particle nodes behind her—each forming a magic circle—and unleash a full-scale bombardment against any enemy within her range.
The tactic wasn't just about power. It could serve multiple roles: suppressing opponents, breaking through defenses, and even acting as a defensive perimeter.
Its versatility was its true brilliance.
Bella leaned back, exhausted but exhilarated. She sat down on the edge of the platform and watched Sally rolling lazily across the plush carpet, mumbling something about snacks.
She chuckled. "We'll get food soon, I promise."
As night fell, Bella moved to her laboratory for more isolated testing. She adjusted the spell configuration one last time and wrote the final spell matrix into her grimoire.
She gave it a name:
Atomic Crash.
It was a bit of an inside joke—one she'd picked up after watching too many late-night anime marathons. The spell bore a suspicious resemblance to a certain high-school-level attack from an overpowered character in a famous academy-themed series. But Bella didn't care. It fit.
She whispered the name to herself with a smirk. "Atomic Crash… sounds dangerous enough."
For the next two weeks, she obsessed over it—testing range, cooldown time, mana efficiency, and real-time adaptability in various scenarios. She even had Sally pretend to be a moving target (under heavy shielding, of course). The spell was no longer a prototype. It was combat-ready.
She finally took a break one evening, lying flat on the villa's balcony under a starry sky. The air was crisp, and the distant lights of the city glimmered like an upside-down galaxy.
"Not bad," she whispered to herself. "Still not a god-tier level... but getting there."
Just then, the air grew cold.
A shimmer in the corner of the balcony distorted like a heatwave in reverse. A tall figure cloaked in emerald green stepped into reality as if peeling away from the shadows themselves.
Loki.
Bella sat up slowly, raising an eyebrow. "Took you long enough."
The God of Mischief grinned as he adjusted the cuffs of his robes. "And here I thought you'd be too busy launching atomic spells to notice me sneaking in."
Bella stood up, brushing dust from her slacks. "I sensed you the moment you breached the dimension veil."
"Ah, I'm losing my touch," he said with mock offense.
"To be fair, you never had it when it came to subtlety," she shot back.
Loki chuckled and strolled casually across the balcony. "You've improved. I could feel the ripple of magic across the realms. What did you create this time? Another weapon of mass destruction?"
She tilted her head. "Something like that. I call it Atomic Crash. Want a demonstration?"
He raised both hands. "I'll pass, thank you. I've only recently reassembled my body from the last time you threw me through a portal."
Bella smiled. "So, what do you want?"
Loki's smile faded just slightly. "Odin's eyes have turned toward Earth again. Something about celestial alignments and unauthorized magical surges."
Bella's eyes narrowed. "Let me guess. He thinks I'm meddling?"
Loki shrugged. "You are meddling. Gloriously, I might add."
A pause.
Then Bella stepped forward and asked, "Are you here to warn me or spy for him?"
Loki looked genuinely hurt. "Now that wounds me, Bella. I'm here as a friend. A very well-dressed friend."
She sighed. "Fine. Come in. But wipe your boots. Sally's been very particular about the floors lately."
The God of Mischief grinned again and stepped into the villa, leaving only a trace of green shimmer in the night.
Bella followed behind, her eyes flicking upward to the stars.
The game was changing again.
And she was ready for the next move.
----------------------------------------------------
Get membership in patreon to read more chapters
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31
-----------------------------------------------------