A voice rose behind Jiren. An instant later, heat knifed across his back.
Whoosh.
Flames burst to life along his spine. Jiren barely glanced over his shoulder. A psychic barrier shimmered and snuffed the fire out. "You are the last one standing. Still planning to struggle on?"
"I haven't lost. And more than that…" Vincent swept a look over his teammates sprawled across the broken arena, then allowed himself a thin smile. "I don't want Universe 7 to disappear."
"Oh?" Interest flickered across Jiren's face as he studied Vincent from afar. "What would you do with the Super Dragon Balls if you won them?"
"What would I do?" Vincent shook his head, still smiling. "I don't know. What about you, Jiren?"
Jiren lowered his eyes for less than a heartbeat, then lifted them again. "I have a wish too. To revive my people. To go back to what was." His voice stayed even, but his body moved without warning.
Crack.
He blitzed forward with a straight punch. Vincent crossed both forearms to block, boots skidding.
"Only by defeating you can I claim the Super Dragon Balls. Only then can I return to what was." Jiren's fist kept pressing, the weight behind it steadily rising.
Pressure screamed through Vincent's guard, but he stood his ground, arms locked. "You really think getting the Super Dragon Balls will take you back to the past?"
The question sank into Jiren's ears like a thorn. For once his stoic face creased with anger. "Pointless."
He seized Vincent by the arm and heaved.
Boom.
Vincent hammered into the tiles, carving a fresh crater. Jiren looked over Universe 7 as if from a high place and spoke like a judge. "Strength is absolute. Power forgives all."
He spun a sphere of red energy in his palm and tossed it. It compressed, then flared outward, a rolling tide of destruction sweeping toward the team.
"Not happening."
A slim figure stepped in front of them all.
Hum.
A green barrier blossomed. Android 17 stood braced, teeth clenched.
"Run," Goku shouted, panic punching through his voice. "Even if it's only you."
"Somebody has to live for us to win," Vegeta snarled.
But 17 stood fast, as if deaf to them, pouring everything into the shield while it shattered and reformed, shattered and reformed. The tide gnawed through. Faces tightened.
"Everyone, I'm giving up that boat trip. From here on, it's on you." 17 glanced back at the battered group. "Vincent, we just met, but fighting alongside you was fun. I'm counting on you."
He flicked his right hand. A second green veil wrapped the teammates behind him. The front shield finally gave.
Boom.
The red surge spilled through, ready to swallow them whole.
"Goodbye, everyone."
A lance of white light burst from 17's core. It swept across most of the arena, devouring Jiren's attack as if tearing rot from wood.
"Seventeen!"
White blotted out the world. When it faded with a soft chime, both the light and Jiren's finishing gambit were gone.
"He threw away his life to protect you," Jiren said, stepping forward one measured stride at a time. "You weak things. What will you do now?"
"Damn it." Vegeta forced himself upright, throat tight with fury. He could not accept being saved at the cost of someone else's life. "You are mine to finish."
He tried to power up. Sand skittered, his hair flirted with gold, then fell still.
"What is it? Not using your favorite form?" Jiren's tone turned knife-flat, a sneer hidden inside it.
"This is enough to deal with you." Vegeta launched, fists swinging.
To Jiren, those punches might as well have come from an eight-year-old. He slipped them without effort. "Your blows cannot hurt me. Save yourself the trouble and jump."
"You bastard." Vegeta roared. Pain detonated under his ribs. He looked down to see Jiren's fist sunk deep into his abdomen. Flesh caved around it.
"Damn it, I am…"
Another punch. Blackness swam up.
"Vegeta!" Goku's heart spiked. If this kept up, Jiren would kill him.
Perhaps Jiren thought the same, because he cut it short and walked to the prince before he could stand. "Stop struggling. Get off the stage."
He paused, startled. Vegeta had clamped both arms around Jiren's leg and would not let go.
"What is it with you? Why throw yourself away when you are this far beneath me?"
"You'll never get it, you dead-eyed statue." Vegeta slid to his knees, still hugging Jiren's thigh. "This leg is mine."
Jiren jerked his leg and slammed Vegeta to the floor. "Power is all. Down you go." His kick smashed into Vegeta's waist. The prince tumbled like a cut kite.
"Damn it…" Vegeta gritted his teeth, gathered the last spark he had left, and hurled it at Goku. "Kakarot, the rest is on you."
"Universe 7's fighter Vegeta has fallen from the ring and is eliminated."
"Uncle Vegeta!" Gohan leapt from the seats, caught him, and pressed a bean to his lips. "A senzu. You'll be fine."
"The spectators' seats?" Vegeta's eyes cracked open. He forced a nod.
"That's right. Rest. You did great," Beerus said quietly, eyes locked to the arena.
With Vegeta's ki added to his own, Goku stood. He thumbed away the blood at his mouth and fixed a cold stare on Jiren. "You're paying for that."
"Why stand if you are weaker than me?" Jiren frowned, genuinely puzzled.
"Vegeta already told you. You will never understand it. It's what we call trust."
"Trust?" Jiren blinked, then understood nothing and chose not to. Power ripped off him in sheets. "Power is all."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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