Just as Seventeen was about to celebrate victory with Sixteen, the scattered chunks of flesh in the crater quietly began to gather toward the round orb embedded in Cell's head, forming a grotesque mass of flesh.
However, except for Eriri, no one noticed what was happening inside the pit.
After patting Sixteen on the shoulder with a cheerful expression, Seventeen intended to look for his sister. But when he saw Eriri and Arifureta standing beside her, he immediately stopped in his tracks.
He was very self-aware and knew Eriri disliked being approached by him. So now wasn't the right time to talk to his sister. Instead, he simply exchanged a distant glance with her from dozens of meters away—enough to count as a greeting.
Ignoring Krillin and the others, who were watching warily from nearby, Seventeen turned to Sixteen beside him and said:
"Sixteen, I can sense Son Goku's ki. It seems to be close. Let's go find him."
Sixteen didn't respond verbally, merely nodding silently.
Then, both of them rose into the air again, preparing to fly toward the direction of Goku's ki.
"No way—we can't let them go!"
Without a moment's hesitation, everyone present—including Vegeta—moved to block Seventeen and Sixteen's path.
Although the overwhelming power displayed by Seventeen and Sixteen earlier had extinguished any hope of victory, the Z Fighters still stood their ground fearlessly, determined to protect their companions.
"Oh? Are you guys trying to get yourselves killed? Let me be clear—I may not be interested in you, but that doesn't mean I won't attack."
With both hands in his pockets, Seventeen looked at Krillin and the others indifferently.
"I know. But even so, I won't let you pass easily."
Though his body trembled with fear, Krillin still forced himself to speak up.
"That's right! Me neither!"
Gohan and Yamcha also shouted, showing no sign of retreat.
"Hmph! The only one allowed to kill Kakarot is me! If you want to get past, you'll have to ask for my permission first!"
Vegeta clenched his right fist, pointing his thumb toward himself as a proud, defiant grin spread across his face. In the next instant, he transformed into a Super Saiyan.
However, just as both sides were about to clash, a familiar voice suddenly came from the crater below.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you guys pretending I don't exist?"
At the same moment, an immensely powerful ki burst forth from the pit, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
All eyes turned downward—and in the next second, their pupils widened in shock.
"A m-monster!!!"
"How is that possible?!"
"How could something like this still be alive?!"
"His appearance has changed... and that ki...!"
Krillin and the others stared in horror at Cell, who slowly rose from the crater. His body had undergone a complete transformation.
If before, Cell had resembled an insect, now he looked far more human.
Though still hideous, his once-insectoid lips had become human, and his claws had turned into normal hands and feet.
Most importantly, the ki radiating from him was more than twice as strong as before.
"You bastard..."
Seventeen frowned as he watched Cell flex his new body. The ki emanating from him gave off a deadly sense of danger.
It wasn't just Seventeen—Sixteen also felt the same.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything? Surprised?"
Cell folded his arms, showing no signs of attacking. Instead, he smiled in amusement at Seventeen and Sixteen.
As for Krillin and the others, he didn't even spare them a glance.
"I can't die. Every time I'm reborn, my power only grows stronger."
Seventeen said nothing, his eyes narrowing as he watched Cell cautiously.
He wasn't worried about his own safety—after all, his sister was right there. There was no way Cell could defeat her.
Seventeen knew very well that after Eriri's enhancements, Lazuli was now more than ten times stronger than he was.
At this moment, Cell was ecstatic. He realized that the plan he had devised earlier was absolutely correct. At the same time, he felt a lingering fear—his intent had only been to push himself to the brink of death, yet he hadn't expected to be beaten until only half his head remained. He had thought he was done for.
Fortunately, his body hadn't disappointed him. It had successfully regenerated.
Now, he understood clearly that as long as the core within his body wasn't destroyed, he could fully recover at any time—and each rebirth would bring him a tremendous boost in strength.
After only two resurrections, he had already evolved from his First Form to his Second Form.
At this rate, it seemed that Seventeen and Eighteen's roles in his evolution weren't as important as he had originally thought. A few more desperate near-death recoveries, and he could easily ascend to his Perfect Form.
However, Seventeen and Sixteen could no longer put any pressure on him. To continue his plan, he would need to change his targets.
Thinking this, Cell instinctively turned his gaze toward Lazuli in the distance.
Recalling how she had effortlessly crippled him before, his expression flickered. He knew his current strength still likely wasn't enough to face her.
Lazuli, meanwhile, was equally astonished to see Cell regenerate and had already prepared herself to protect her brother at any moment.
But Cell had no intention of attacking Seventeen again. Though he still wanted to absorb him, he knew it was impossible with Lazuli present. Instead of wasting energy, he decided to focus on her directly.
Casting a contemptuous glance at Sixteen and Seventeen, Cell turned his eyes back to Lazuli. The corners of his thick lips curled into a grin as he spoke:
"Eighteen, aren't you going to come save your useless little brother? Otherwise, don't blame me if I decide to swallow him whole."
"You bastard!!!"
Cell's mocking words infuriated Seventeen, who immediately prepared to charge forward and fight—even if he couldn't win, he was determined to tear off a few chunks of that green skin.
But the next moment, a familiar figure appeared before him, blocking his path.
Seeing Lazuli suddenly standing in front of him, Seventeen halted instantly, though his anger toward Cell remained unshaken.
"Eighteen, help me kill that disgusting freak!"
"Don't worry, I was going to do that anyway."
Lazuli nodded slightly, her expression calm and indifferent as she turned to face Cell a few meters away. Disgust filled her beautiful face.
"Even after evolving, you're still as hideous as ever."
Hearing Lazuli's words, Cell's grin slowly disappeared, his face tightening in irritation. He didn't care much about appearances—but being openly ridiculed still stung.
"Eighteen, you really don't have any manners. Enough talk—if you want to kill me, let's see if you've got what it takes."
Raising both hands, Cell assumed a combat stance, his expression growing serious. For his plan to succeed, he couldn't allow his body or core to be destroyed.
Just as Lazuli was about to casually crush him with a palm strike, a familiar voice came from beside her.
"Wait, Lazuli. Leave this one to me."
Turning her head, Lazuli saw Eriri and Arifureta standing silently beside her.
Eriri's sudden appearance immediately drew Krillin and the others' attention. Even though they had seen her twice before, catching sight of her again—even just from behind—left them dazed.
Her presence wasn't entirely unexpected, though. After all, she was clearly allied with Android Eighteen. If Eighteen was here, then Eriri's appearance was only natural.
Krillin, remembering Bulma's earlier questions about Eriri, felt a strong urge to tell her about it. After all, during their first encounter, Eriri had seemed to have a decent impression of Bulma.
But looking at the current situation, he suppressed the thought. Now was clearly not the time to talk.
Cell watched Eriri warily. He hadn't even realized how she had appeared beside Eighteen—it was as though she had always been there and he had simply failed to notice. The sensation made him feel deeply uneasy.
There was no doubt that someone capable of doing something like that was far stronger than Eighteen. A massive sense of danger loomed over him.
"Eriri, what are you doing?"
Lazuli looked at Eriri with confusion, not understanding why she suddenly decided to take over.
"I just have an interesting idea I want to test on this guy."
Eriri smiled, reaching out to gently pat Lazuli's silky blonde hair before turning her gaze toward Cell.
In the next instant, Cell's body exploded silently—his flesh and blood vanished completely, leaving only a smooth, round core floating in midair. Yet, no one had seen Eriri make a single move.
Everyone except Arifureta and Lazuli involuntarily widened their eyes, followed by the faint sound of several people swallowing hard.
Piccolo and the others stared at Eriri in disbelief. It was their first time witnessing her attack directly. Though she had exuded a terrifying aura when they first met, none of them had imagined her power would reach such an unimaginable level.
The same Cell they couldn't defeat even together had been effortlessly obliterated in an instant.
If they had recklessly attacked Eriri back then, would they have ended up like that too?
The thought made cold sweat trickle down their backs.
Vegeta, too, looked at Eriri in disbelief. He had seen much in his life—he had even met the God of Destruction, Beerus, when he was a child on Planet Vegeta.
He couldn't say for certain whether the beautiful girl before him or Beerus was stronger.
But after a moment's thought, he leaned toward Beerus. After all, Beerus was the God of Destruction—the most powerful being in the universe. His strength should naturally be supreme.
Even so, that didn't lessen Vegeta's fear of Eriri. It was the same kind of terror he'd felt as a child standing before Beerus.
Ignoring everyone around her, Eriri's eyes remained fixed on Cell's core.
Lazuli said nothing, simply hovering beside her, also watching the core quietly.
Arifureta, meanwhile, hugged Eriri's left arm and gazed curiously at the floating orb that seemed to flicker with signs of life.
Knowing Eriri well, she didn't need to ask to understand what her lover wanted to test. In fact, she was just as curious.
Because Eriri, Lazuli, and Arifureta all remained silent—and Krillin and the others dared not even breathe loudly for fear of disturbing her—the once-battlefield had become eerily quiet.
Eriri watched Cell's core with fascination. She had no intention of helping it regenerate faster—after all, only by reviving on its own could the experiment yield proper results.
Without flesh to support it, Cell's regeneration was clearly slower this time. Several minutes passed before new muscle tissue began to form around the core.
That small growth acted like a catalyst, rapidly accelerating the process. Within seconds, Cell's full body reformed completely.
Though he hadn't evolved again, his ki had clearly grown much stronger.
Yet before Cell could even adapt to his newfound power, his body once again disintegrated into dust—leaving only the lone core floating in midair.
The onlookers once more swallowed nervously, the sound echoing faintly in the silence.
Several minutes later, the same scene repeated. Cell revived, and then instantly vanished again, leaving only his core.
Even after his second rebirth, Cell hadn't reached his Perfect Form, but Eriri could sense his ki had already increased by nearly two-thirds.
At this rate, after the next resurrection, he would likely evolve into his Perfect Form.
Under Eriri and Arifureta's expectant gazes, several minutes passed—and once again, Cell successfully revived.
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