Universe 6, outer space.
Bardock and Universe 6's God of Destruction, Champa, were locked in fierce combat.
For the moment, neither could gain the upper hand.
Crimson light blazed all over Bardock's body. His hair hung down past his waist, and red lightning crackled around him.
Super Saiyan God Three.
That was the form Bardock was using now.
Purple-red light surged around Champa too as he drove his own energy to the limit.
"I really didn't expect this, Bardock!" Champa said through clenched teeth. "In just four years, you've grown this strong!"
"Give it up, Champa," Bardock said calmly. "I only want to take Raditz away."
"The winner hasn't been decided yet!" Champa snapped. "Do you really think I'd lose to a God of Destruction who's only held the position for less than a hundred years?"
He forced himself to rally and charged at Bardock again.
The two of them clashed across the stars once more.
Some time later, they exchanged another brutal blow.
Bardock's fist smashed into Champa's face and twisted it badly out of shape.
Champa's fist sank hard into Bardock's chest and left it visibly caved in.
Then both of them slowly drew back and floated there in space, panting heavily, already exhausted to the limit.
Whoosh!
The light around Bardock vanished as he fell back to base form.
Champa's purple-red flames faded too.
"Heh heh... what happened, Bardock?" Champa jeered. "Thought you were pretty impressive, didn't you? Your transformation's gone! Saiyans are only dangerous when they transform. I don't need any transformation at all!"
Grinding his teeth, Champa lunged toward him again.
Bardock's face changed instantly. Flames burst around him, his hair shot upward, and he transformed into Super Saiyan God.
Bang!
The two of them smashed their fists together again.
"Pff—"
Blood spilled from both their mouths at the same time.
Damn it! Champa thought bitterly. I can accept losing to Broly. That monster's a freak.
After all, he's a Legendary Super Saiyan.
But Bardock?
Bardock is just an ordinary Saiyan.
Don't tell me I can't even beat an ordinary Saiyan anymore.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
They launched into another vicious exchange in midair.
Several minutes passed.
Then they hit each other one more time with crushing force, their heads tilted to the side at the exact same moment, and both of them blacked out.
...
Universe 7, Supreme Kai World.
"Hyah!"
Majin Buu smacked Supreme Kai hard on the backside while riding him and sent him bolting forward.
"Whoa there..."
Buu yanked the reins with both hands and pulled upward.
Supreme Kai stopped at once and panted for breath.
"Yep. Good horse, good horse," Buu said with satisfaction, hopping down from his back.
Supreme Kai stared up at the sky, his expression hollow.
I'm supposed to be the greatest god in the entire universe.
And now I've become Majin Buu's mount.
Can someone please save me?
I'm done with this.
But for the sake of restoring peace to the universe, I'll endure it.
At least while Majin Buu is here with me, he isn't out there causing chaos and destroying planets.
In a way, maybe that means I'm still saving the universe.
"I'm hungry... When's that Kibito guy getting back?" Buu asked, patting his belly and turning to Supreme Kai.
"Kibito already went to get food. He should be back soon," Supreme Kai said quickly.
Whoosh!
Just then, Kibito returned with Kai Kai, carrying a huge bag of food with him.
He quickly set everything down in front of Buu.
Buu looked through the food for a moment, then suddenly stretched his arm and punched Kibito in the face.
Kibito crashed to the ground and clutched his face in pain, miserable beyond words.
"I already ate these things called chips last time!" Buu said, shaking his fist and narrowing his eyes. "If you bring the same stuff again, I'll hit you again."
"Y-You were the one who specifically said you wanted chips again!" Supreme Kai protested, unable to hold it in anymore.
"Huh? I said that?" Buu asked blankly.
Kibito nodded bitterly.
"I forgot," Buu said with a grin.
Then he tore open a bag of chips, stuffed them into his mouth, and happily started eating.
Kibito looked like he wanted to cry.
This demon.
He hit me just like that.
Didn't even apologize.
What a monster.
While Buu munched away in obvious delight, Supreme Kai quickly sidled over to Kibito and whispered under his breath.
"Did you find any way to deal with him?"
"Not yet..." Kibito said with a disappointed shake of his head. "I'm sorry, Supreme Kai."
"You don't need to apologize. I couldn't find a way to deal with him in five million years... and you've only been looking for a short time," Supreme Kai said. "It's normal not to have found anything."
"So we're just going to let him lord it over the Supreme Kai World? He's even riding you around like a horse!" Kibito said bitterly.
"You have to look at the bright side, Kibito," Supreme Kai said with a sigh. "At least this keeps him from going out and devastating the universe."
"That's the only way we can comfort ourselves," Kibito said, nodding helplessly.
Supreme Kai felt like he had just been stabbed.
Could you maybe not use the word comfort?
...
Universe 4, outer space.
Quitela had just finished destroying several planets and was preparing to return to the God of Destruction Realm when he suddenly sensed a powerful ki rising in another direction.
He paused in surprise.
That's a strong ki.
Since when did our universe have someone like that?
Quitela decided to go take a look.
Whoosh!
He sped toward a distant red planet.
Not long after, he descended onto its surface.
The moment he saw the man giving off that ki, Quitela's expression changed wildly. He hurried forward and dropped to one knee in greeting.
"Ken-sama!" Quitela said, his mouth twitching as he bowed his head and barely dared to breathe.
"You've mistaken me for someone else," the man said, his voice full of sorrow.
Quitela: "...?"
The moment he heard the voice, Quitela froze for several seconds.
That did not sound like Ken at all.
He lifted his head and took another careful look at the man standing before him.
The man had short black hair, strange local clothes, and no tail behind him.
At a glance, Quitela could tell that his outfit was no different from that of the planet's natives.
But his face looked almost exactly like Ken's.
If his black hair were replaced with silver-white, and if he had a silver-white tail and angel garments...
He would be identical.
Quitela: "..."
This has to be Ken in disguise.
What's this? Some little trick meant to fool me?
I'd better behave myself in front of him.
He's the last person I want to provoke.
"Who are you?" the man asked, looking Quitela up and down as well.
"I'm Quitela," Quitela answered.
"Quitela? Never heard of you." The man shook his head, then asked, "What did you call me just now?"
"You don't know Ken?" Quitela asked carefully.
"No. Does he look like me?" the man asked, his voice still low and sad.
"Then I truly apologize. I mistook you for someone else," Quitela said respectfully.
"My name is Larte," the man said, finally giving his name. His voice remained steeped in sorrow. "I am the ruler of this planet."
"Larte?" Quitela silently turned the name over in his head.
He had never heard it before.
Still, Supreme Kai probably knew.
Judging by the state of this planet, the Supreme Kai had likely developed it in the past.
He could ask later.
"Hello, Larte. I sensed your powerful ki from far away and came to investigate," Quitela said with a loud laugh, waving a hand. "If everything's fine, then you can carry on doing whatever you like. I'll be on my way... Goodbye."
"Wait," Larte said, stopping him.
Quitela swallowed nervously.
Why'd you have to call me back?
What exactly do you want?
Like I don't know you're Ken.
Go ahead. Keep pretending.
As long as I stay respectful and polite, I should be fine.
"You seem strong," Larte said, studying him curiously. "Although I can't tell exactly how strong your ki is."
Quitela: "..."
So you've finally given up on pretending?
What, are you trying to challenge me now?
Or is this your way of picking on me?
Not happening.
"Haha, not at all," Quitela said, waving his hands quickly. "How could I possibly be stronger than Ken—I mean, than you, Larte-sama?"
Larte looked at him strangely. "Do you owe this Ken person a great deal of money? Why do you become so submissive whenever you mention him?"
There was not much expression on his face, but his voice carried a deep sadness, as though he had gone through something truly heartbreaking.
"Perhaps I do," Quitela said after a pause. He had no intention of arguing with him.
"I haven't had an opponent in a very long time," Larte said with a sigh. "Everyone on this planet is dead now. They were all my people."
Quitela froze.
"W-What did you say? You killed everyone on this planet?" he asked, staring at Larte in surprise.
Then he spread out his senses and checked properly.
Sure enough, not a single mortal remained alive on the planet.
How strange.
That really did not seem like Ken at all.
Ken never harmed the innocent.
Sure, for a God of Destruction, killing innocents was not unheard of.
But for Ken to do something like that? It still felt bizarre.
Then Quitela quickly thought of an answer that made it all make sense.
"They must have provoked you," he said with a forced laugh. "In that case, they deserved it."
"Some of them did provoke me," Larte said. "But do you know what it feels like to watch your own people die by your own hands?"
He lifted both hands and looked at them, his eyes overflowing with pain and grief.
"You could go to Universe 7 and gather something called the Dragon Balls," Quitela suggested after a moment's thought. "If you collect all seven, the dead can be brought back."
"Dragon Balls? They can revive the dead?" Larte asked, clearly surprised.
"Yes. On Planet Namek in Universe 7," Quitela explained.
"Universe 7? What is that?" Larte asked again.
Quitela: "..."
Left with no choice, he gave Larte a simple explanation of Universe 7, Universe 4, and the existence of the twelve universes.
"So there are that many universes beyond this one..." Larte said with a sigh.
"Yes," Quitela said with a nod.
"You know quite a lot," Larte said. "Then I won't bully you. Be my subordinate."
Quitela's mouth twitched again.
I knew this would happen.
This guy is shameless.
So this is your roundabout way of bullying me?
"Gladly," Quitela agreed without hesitation.
After thinking it over, he decided being Ken's subordinate was not even a bad thing.
After all, Ken had raised a Great God of Destruction.
If he kept a good relationship with him, maybe the Great God of Destruction would show him special favor someday.
"In that case, there's no reason to keep this planet around anymore. Let's destroy it," Larte said.
He raised a hand and fired a blast of energy straight at the world below.
Boom!
The planet exploded and quickly turned into cosmic dust.
Quitela stared at the destruction and suddenly realized something.
The energy Larte had used was clearly mortal energy.
In fact, it resembled Broly's power in some ways.
Why aren't you using angel power?
And since when do angels go around blowing up planets?
Forget it. One step at a time.
Today really is my unlucky day.
Of all people to run into, I had to meet Ken.
Larte and Quitela floated in the starry void as fragments of the shattered planet slammed toward them, and neither of them bothered to dodge.
"Ken—I mean, Larte-sama... what do you plan to do next?" Quitela asked respectfully.
"Take me to the Universe 7 you mentioned," Larte said after thinking it over.
Quitela fell silent.
You could just fly there yourself, couldn't you?
And why exactly are you going there?
You just destroyed this entire planet...
Are you really planning to use the Dragon Balls to bring them back?
Wouldn't that be completely pointless?
Quitela could not make sense of what Ken was trying to do.
But since it was Ken making the request, he could hardly refuse. He could only nod in agreement.
"Larte-sama, if you gather the Dragon Balls in Universe 7, what wish do you intend to make?" Quitela asked curiously.
"My heart feels full of sorrow," Larte said in the same low, melancholy voice. "If these Dragon Balls truly can grant any wish, then I want my heart to stop feeling so sad."
Even Quitela felt the urge to cry just listening to him.
He quickly shook his head and forced himself back to clarity.
I cannot let this guy's mood infect me.
Who knows what he's really up to?
For all I know, he's preparing some big move and waiting to spring it on me.
I need to be careful.
"That wish should be possible, right?" Larte asked.
"No problem... of course it's possible," Quitela said with a dry laugh.
"I'm the one full of sorrow," Larte said darkly. "Why are you smiling like that?"
Quitela: "..."
Should I be crying right now?
"I-I'm sad too," Quitela said quickly, forcing tears into his eyes. "I'm just smiling through the pain."
"Let's go," Larte said, not pressing the issue. "We're heading to Universe 7 now."
"Very well. Then we'll fly there," Quitela said with a nod.
Larte said nothing. Light flared around him, wrapping him in a strange glow.
Quitela was speechless again.
What kind of light is that?
Why is it that color?
Shouldn't an angel shine like the stars themselves?
Forget it. I'll just keep flying for now.
"All right... let's go!" Quitela said, igniting purple-red light around his body as he pointed ahead.
Whoosh!
He turned into a streak of purple-red light and sped into the distance.
In an instant, he had left Larte far behind.
Larte: "..."
Larte tried his best to catch up.
But his flying speed was far too slow. There was no way he could possibly keep up with Quitela.
A few seconds later, Quitela looked back and found that Larte had already been left several streets behind, metaphorically speaking.
He felt utterly speechless.
Even from afar, he could tell that Larte's speed was absurdly slow.
At this rate, by the time you flew to Universe 7, tens of thousands of years would've passed.
Quitela wiped away imaginary sweat.
Do I need to go back and pull you along myself?
So he started slowing down.
But even after slowing down, he was still dozens of times faster than Larte.
Quitela immediately felt miserable again.
Are you kidding me?
Just as he was about to stop and wait—
Snap!
Dark green light suddenly erupted from Larte's body.
At the same time, his hair shot upward and turned dark green.
"A Legendary Super Saiyan?" Quitela said, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
That form...
That was unmistakably the Legendary Super Saiyan transformation.
It looked extremely similar to the Great God of Destruction Broly's form.
Though not as strong.
What the hell is going on here?
Why did Ken turn into this?
Quitela only felt more confused.
Before he could even finish processing it, Larte had already become a dark green streak of light and caught up to him.
"You're pretty fast," Larte said, still sounding sad. "Faster than I expected."
"Why did you turn into that?" Quitela asked despite himself.
"Why shouldn't I?" Larte asked, looking at him strangely.
Quitela had no answer.
"I don't know why I can do it," Larte added. "I was simply born with the ability to become this."
"Well... all right," Quitela said after thinking it over seriously.
In the end, he decided it wasn't all that strange for Ken to be able to change into something like this.
He was an angel. Altering his color ought to be easy.
Let's just see how long you keep this act up.
"However... Larte-sama..." Quitela began hesitantly.
"Go on," Larte said.
"Even after transforming, at your current level of energy and speed, reaching Universe 7 will still take a very long time," Quitela answered.
"How long?" Larte asked.
"At least three hundred years," Quitela estimated.
Larte fell silent.
Three hundred years?
But then he quickly made up his mind.
"I have no choice, then. I'll have to use my real power."
Quitela grumbled inwardly.
So now you're finally going back to your true form?
Boom!
An enormous wave of energy suddenly exploded out of Larte's body and surged wildly into the surrounding void, whipping up storm-like currents across space.
His hair rapidly grew backward, soon hanging down past his waist.
Dark green lightning crackled all around him.
Legendary Super Saiyan Three.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]