"Excuse me," Karnel said, tilting his head with mock curiosity as he pressed his boot down on the gaping wound in Slug's side. "Is this the cruelty you promised to show me?"
The added pressure forced Slug's broken ribs deeper into his chest cavity. Sweat poured down his face as blood trickled from his nose, but he still managed to glare up at his tormentor with defiant hatred.
"Go... to hell!" Slug gasped through gritted teeth. "I won't... die at the hands of a nobody like you!"
"Nobody?" Karnel raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. "You know, I've traveled across quite a bit of the universe, and I've never heard of anyone named Slug. The truly powerful players haven't even shown themselves yet, so what does that make you? A tadpole trying to play with the big fish?"
Slug's expression twisted into something between rage and madness. Blood mixed with saliva as he began to laugh, a broken, unhinged sound that echoed across the devastated landscape.
"Hahahaha! You want to see power? I'll show you REAL power!"
Karnel felt the ground beneath his feet begin to vibrate. Slug's body was expanding rapidly, his already considerable frame swelling like a balloon. Within moments, the Namekian had transformed into a towering giant hundreds of meters tall, his wounds healing as his body consumed massive amounts of energy.
"Impressive," Karnel mused, leaping gracefully off Slug's still-growing chest and floating backward to get a better view. "Even bigger than Piccolo's great form. Though I have to say, the trade-off seems questionable, sure, you're stronger, but you're also about as fast as a SLUG now, hahaha."
"INSECT!" Slug's voice boomed across the entire planet, his massive face contorted with rage. "Are you shocked by my transformation? Good! Now DIE!"
The giant Namekian opened his cavernous mouth and fired a concentrated energy beam easily ten meters wide. The attack carved through the air with enough force to level a mountain range.
Karnel casually drifted to one side, watching the destructive blast sail harmlessly past him. Without changing his relaxed expression, he pointed a single finger at Slug's enormous chest.
In an instant, thousands of pencil-thin energy beams erupted from his fingertip, each one precise and deadly. They struck Slug's torso like a swarm of angry hornets, punching clean through his massive form and leaving countless smoking holes.
Slug's eyes went wide with shock and pain. His gigantic body swayed for a moment, then began deflating like a punctured balloon. Within seconds, he had shrunk back to normal size and collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Karnel descended slowly, landing near the fallen Namekian. Slug's chest looked like swiss cheese, dozens of perfectly round holes leaked blood that fountained several meters into the air. His breathing had stopped entirely.
"Dead as a doornail," Karnel observed clinically. "Well, that's what happens when you bite off more than you can chew. Winners write history, after all."
Dismissing Slug's corpse from his thoughts, Karnel hurried over to where Nail lay crumpled against a boulder. The proud Namekian warrior had been beaten within an inch of his life, and that inch had apparently run out while Karnel was playing with Slug.
"Damn," Karnel muttered, checking for a pulse he knew he wouldn't find. Even a Senzu Bean couldn't bring back the dead, and Nail had clearly crossed that line sometime during the fight.
He lifted Nail's body carefully, surprised by how light the warrior felt. "Should have intervened sooner," he said quietly. "But then again, you always did think you were stronger than you actually were."
The flight to the Great Elder's dwelling was eerily quiet. Every Namekian village they passed was completely deserted, the inhabitants had all fled to the safety of their leader's sanctuary. When Karnel finally arrived at the massive stone structure, he found dozens of Namekians gathered outside, their faces filled with grief as they recognized Nail's lifeless form.
Several of Nail's friends rushed forward, weeping openly as they touched his still body. Karnel set the warrior down gently, then stepped aside to let them mourn.
"Great Elder," Karnel called as he entered the sacred chamber. "I've returned. Unfortunately, Nail didn't make it. That bastard Slug killed him."
The ancient Namekian's eyes opened slowly, filled with deep sadness but no surprise. "I sensed it when his life force faded. Poor Nail... he was destined for this tragedy, though I had hoped he might find a way to change his fate."
"You have Dragon Balls, don't you?" Karnel asked bluntly. "Why not just wish him back to life?"
"Though I created the Dragon Balls, we Namekians believe in maintaining nature's balance," the Great Elder replied solemnly. "We do not use their power lightly, especially not for personal gain."
Karnel rolled his eyes. "What a waste. You could save him with a single wish and you're worried about 'balance'? Sometimes principles are just fancy ways of being stupid."
"Dragon Balls..." Karnel mused aloud, an idea forming in his mind. "Tell me, is there any way I could learn to create them myself?"
The Great Elder's weathered face cracked into a knowing smile. "Clever boy. Very well, since you're thinking of others, I'll have the village elders bring all seven Dragon Balls here."
Soon, seven glowing orange orbs were arranged on the ground before them. A young Namekian stepped forward and began the ancient chant, summoning the mighty dragon Porunga from within the mystical spheres.
The dragon's massive form materialized in a burst of light, his serpentine body coiling through the air as his red eyes surveyed the assembled crowd.
"Mr. Karnel," the young Namekian said, "Porunga awaits your wishes. What would you ask of him?"
Karnel's heart raced with possibility. "Can Porunga grant me the ability to create Dragon Balls? If not, is there another way to learn this power?"
The Namekian translator conferred with the great dragon, then shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mr. Karnel. Porunga says this wish is beyond his capabilities. Only a Super Dragon God could grant such power."
"Figures," Karnel sighed. The ability to create Dragon Balls was apparently far more complex than even Porunga's considerable magic could handle. Still, it had been worth asking.
He looked down at Nail's body, then at the expectant faces of the Namekians around him. The first wish was obvious enough, but what to do with the other two?