This was nothing short of an unprecedented catastrophe! It felt as though Earth had been struck by an overwhelming, mysterious power. Yet this devastation didn't come from an external attack. On the contrary, it originated from deep within the planet's core.
The planet, which had been spinning steadily, suddenly lurched forward as if shoved by an invisible giant's hand. Then, it began rotating at a terrifying speed.
At the same time, the sea level surged upward as if a dam had burst, raising monstrous waves high into the sky.
Even solid ground could no longer endure the planetary upheaval. Cracks split open everywhere, and enormous fissures yawned like ferocious beasts opening bloody jaws to devour everything in their path.
After several heart-stopping seconds, however, the sky gradually returned to its usual peace and tranquility.
The skies, which had just been shrouded in terror and chaos, revealed a calm, refreshing blue once again, as though nothing had happened.
Beast Gohan and Beerus floated high above, facing each other.
Beerus's stern expression softened.
He said to Gohan, "Not bad. Your power has earned my acknowledgment. Within our universe, at least, you can be considered the strongest human I've ever encountered."
"Oh, right, do you know what that guy down there is eating?"
Beerus glanced downward at Majin Buu as he asked Gohan. Following his gaze, Gohan saw the pudding in Buu's hands.
His brow furrowed immediately; this guy wasn't paying attention to the battle at all. Gohan had long become accustomed to Beerus's praise laced with casual condescension.
To him, those words were nothing but useless chatter.
To Gohan, Beerus was a demon, the calamity who had just threatened to destroy Earth.
Gohan's body moved once again. The next moment, he shot forward like a streak of light, rushing straight toward Beerus.
Beerus murmured, "What a cold guy. Fine, don't answer then. After I beat you, I'll just ask."
Before he could finish speaking, his form blurred into a beam of light and collided with Gohan once again.
Boom!
Each collision unleashed a massive shockwave that destroyed everything around them.
As the frequency of their clashes increased, Earth's condition grew ever more dire.
Below, Piccolo wiped a cold sweat from his brow. Despite Earth's strengthening by the Dragon Balls, the power of these two fighters far exceeded expectations.
This was a battle on a godly level.
"At this rate, Earth won't hold out," Piccolo muttered to himself.
Suddenly, he noticed Gohan and Beerus shifting their movements. It seemed that Gohan had also realized that continuing the fight here was too dangerous. Instinctively, he began to relocate the battlefield.
The mountainous region behind West City could no longer withstand their battle.
Gohan disengaged from Beerus decisively and flew toward the distant sea, where few people lived.
Beerus chased after him immediately, wearing a wicked smile.
"Where do you think you're going?"
He accelerated.
The two streaks of light twisted through the sky like twin dragons, chasing and weaving around one another.
In the blink of an eye, they arrived at a completely unfamiliar location.
The open ocean.
But after the earlier disaster, the sea was no longer calm.
The water level had risen dramatically, and the waves were surging violently.
Suddenly, Gohan came to a halt, hovering above the turbulent sea.
A tiny ripple spread beneath him and in the next moment, that ripple expanded a thousandfold.
The water instantly turned scorching hot as a blazing surge of power erupted from Gohan's body.
The sea beneath him began to boil, and steam erupted upward in massive clouds.
In just 0.1 seconds, a spinning vortex formed.
Gohan raised his energy once more. The battle reignited instantly.
In the next moment, Gohan lunged toward Beerus, his body angled forward, carrying limitless power as he began an overwhelming assault.
Beerus was no longer maintaining his arrogant, carefree posture. At first, he still dodged casually. Suddenly, Gohan's aura surged again, and the white lightning around him turned pitch black.
His fist grazed Beerus's cheek. Beerus's body wavered, but then something unexpected happened.
Although Gohan's punch didn't land directly, the force of his sharp fist sliced open Beerus's cheek.
Blood immediately trickled out and reached the corner of his mouth.
He licked it.
It had been a long time since he tasted blood, and even longer since he tasted his own.
Time seemed to freeze as a sinister, crushing pressure radiated from his darkened expression.
Seeing Beerus momentarily stunned, Gohan attacked again.
He unleashed a punch powerful enough to pierce the stars.
However...
Just as it was about to connect, the unexpected happened.
Gohan saw Beerus suddenly lift his gloomy face.
His eyes were filled with fury.
A split second later, Beerus shifted slightly, using minimal movement to divert maximum force and easily slipping past Gohan's punch. Then, in a moment of Gohan's carelessness, Beerus touched his shoulder.
His claws dug in viciously and deeply embedded themselves.
Blood exploded from Gohan's collarbone.
"AAAHHH!!!"
Gohan screamed in agony.
Immediately after, Beerus delivered a brutal kick to Gohan's abdomen. The blow blasted a massive crater into the ocean's surface.
As Gohan's body tore across the water, the crater stretched farther and farther until it carved a ten-thousand-meter-long wound across the sea.
By this point, Gohan had lost the ability to resist. His body sank into the ocean.
Beerus looked down at the ten-kilometer trench. The destructive energy in his palm grew more and more dazzling.
He dove straight into the depths and located Gohan's position.
There, he found...
Gohan had lost consciousness. His head was bowed and his body was motionless on the ocean floor. The moment Beerus appeared before him, however, Gohan's body shuddered.
He lifted his head and glared at Beerus with fury.
Right now...
Gohan had already reverted from his beast form. His injuries were too severe to maintain it any longer in his current state.
Beerus slowly approached him.
Muttering, "You've angered this god, so your death is certain."
In an instant, the destructive energy he had gathered began to converge on Gohan.
At that moment, an overwhelming fear surged through Gohan's heart like a tidal wave. The unmistakable sensation of death closing in.
He wasn't afraid of dying. He was afraid of what would happen to his family if he did.
Those few seconds stretched into an eternity. His thoughts ran wild like an unchained stallion.
Vivid images flashed rapidly through his mind, as though happening before his eyes.
He saw his adorable daughter and her innocent, cheerful smile. He saw his gentle, loving wife, who always supported him quietly. Then, the silhouettes of his two fathers and kind mother appeared, familiar and comforting.
These people were his dearest ones and the source of his strength.
But if he gave up now, the monster before him, the God of Destruction, would annihilate everything without hesitation!
Thinking of this, an uncontrollable surge of rage erupted in Gohan's heart. He widened his eyes and clenched his fists; every ounce of his power seemed ready to burst forth.
In the next instant, he let out a thunderous roar.
"BASTARD! DON'T YOU DARE ENJOY DESTROYING EVERYTHING AT MY EXPENSE!!!"
(End Of This Chapter)
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