"Alright, Lord Beerus."
As Whis finished speaking, Beerus skillfully placed his right hand on Whis' shoulder.
Immediately after, Whis tapped the ground lightly with his staff, and both of their figures vanished from Beerus' planet in an instant.
Meanwhile, on Earth, Eriri—having just finished dealing with Golden Cell—looked up into the cosmic void. With a single glance, she saw Whis and Beerus flying toward Earth at many times the speed of light.
However, Beerus' planet was so far away that even at Whis' incredible speed, it would take roughly half an hour for them to reach Earth.
Eriri easily deduced that the immense energy released by Golden Cell had drawn Whis and Beerus' attention. But she didn't care much. If Beerus wanted to cause trouble, she didn't mind teaching him a lesson.
Retracting her gaze, Eriri turned around to face Seventeen, Sixteen, and Son Goku, who were still frozen in shock behind her.
"Alright, my 'experiment' is over. If you all have any conflicts left to settle, feel free to continue."
Hearing Eriri's words, Goku and the others exchanged confused glances. Even Sixteen, shaken by what he had just witnessed, momentarily forgot to attack Goku.
At that moment, Goku suddenly pushed aside Krillin's right hand, which was still covering his mouth, and flew up to stand in front of Eriri.
"Eriri, you're amazing! Can we spar sometime?"
Goku's eyes gleamed with excitement, completely ignoring Krillin's earlier warnings.
Seeing this, Krillin's jaw nearly hit the ground. He stretched out his right hand in disbelief, staring at Goku's back.
"Goku, what are you doing?! Get back here! You'll really die this time!"
Not just Krillin—Piccolo, Gohan, and the others also looked worriedly at Goku, all urging him to return.
"Krillin, Gohan, don't try to stop me. I know exactly what I'm doing."
Turning back, Goku smiled reassuringly at them before refocusing on Eriri.
Eriri folded her arms and watched him with an amused expression.
"Oh? You want to challenge me? Even after seeing that little 'experiment'?"
"That's right!" Goku nodded firmly, his gaze unwavering.
"I know I'm absolutely no match for you. But even so, I still want to experience your strength firsthand!"
"Tch, damn it, Kakarot!!!"
At the edge of the group, Vegeta clenched his fists, gritting his teeth in frustration as he glared at Goku.
Facing Eriri, Vegeta couldn't muster even the slightest fighting spirit. Yet Goku, a mere low-class warrior, had the courage to challenge her. As the Saiyan prince, he simply couldn't accept that.
Fueled by bitter resentment, he unconsciously flew up beside Goku, staring straight at Eriri.
"Count me in! I'll challenge you too!"
Though his heart still wavered with fear, Vegeta forced himself to speak the words.
"Not bad. You both have courage. Very well, I'll give you a chance. Both of you can attack me together—and I won't counterattack. If either of you can so much as touch me, I'll count it as your victory."
Eriri grinned slightly, nodding toward the two Saiyans before floating leisurely into the air.
Seeing this, Goku and Vegeta exchanged glances. Neither insisted on fighting her alone—they both knew that whether one or two of them fought, it wouldn't make the slightest difference to Eriri.
Without hesitation, they shot into the sky toward her.
Krillin and the others exhaled in relief as they watched. They had been afraid that Eriri would respond to Goku's challenge by killing him on the spot.
Fortunately, it seemed they had worried too much.
But their fear wasn't entirely unreasonable. Eriri's attitude toward them had hardly been friendly before, and her repeated "experiments" killing Cell again and again had left them deeply unsettled.
Most importantly, they still remembered clearly the warning Eriri had given them the first time they met.
So they could only watch nervously, not daring to relax for even a moment.
As for Arifureta and Lazuli, neither of them had any intention of disturbing Eriri's battle. Instead, they quietly found the best vantage point to watch, waiting patiently for it to begin.
Having recovered from their earlier shock, Sixteen and Seventeen looked at Goku, who now stood facing Eriri, and once again suppressed their urge to attack him.
...
Dozens of meters above the ground, Eriri remained hovering calmly, arms crossed, her gaze serene as she faced Goku and Vegeta.
"Alright, you two may begin."
"Yoshi! Vegeta, let's go together!"
Clenching his fists tightly, Goku's face lit up with excitement. With a loud shout, he transformed into a Super Saiyan.
"Hmph."
Vegeta only gave a cold snort, not bothering to respond. A golden aura flared around him as he too transformed into a Super Saiyan, his blazing energy erupting wildly.
Then, from opposite directions, both of them charged toward Eriri, intending to launch a two-on-one close-range assault.
However, no matter how fast or how fierce their attacks became—even when their punches and kicks moved too quickly for the eye to follow—Eriri effortlessly avoided every strike while maintaining her relaxed, arms-crossed stance. Her evasions were subtle and minimal, relying not on teleportation but on simple shifts—tilting her head, leaning her body slightly, or sidestepping just enough to dodge with ease.
Eventually, Eriri even closed her eyes, appearing to drift into a light nap. Yet despite their full-force attacks, Goku and Vegeta never managed to touch her—not even once.
Half an hour passed, and the battle in midair still hadn't produced a winner.
Though neither of them had used energy blasts, the prolonged flurry of physical strikes left both Goku and Vegeta slightly winded. Their frustration also began to build as they realized how utterly untouchable Eriri was.
In the next instant, Eriri casually took a small step backward and covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. Goku and Vegeta's coordinated attacks passed harmlessly through the space she had just occupied.
That nonchalant gesture alone completely drained the will to fight from both Saiyans. As if by mutual understanding, they simultaneously stopped attacking and hovered in place, five meters away from Eriri.
"That's enough—we give up."
Goku reverted to his normal form, smiling wryly at Eriri.
Beside him, Vegeta did the same. Deep down, his respect for Eriri had grown immensely. Though both of them could have continued fighting for a long while longer, there was no point—there was simply no way they could ever land a single hit.
At that moment, Goku finally understood just how enormous the gap between himself and Eriri truly was.
"It seems we're a bit late. Looks like we arrived right as your fight ended."
Suddenly, a calm voice echoed in everyone's ears. In the next moment, two figures appeared out of nowhere beside Eriri, Goku, and Vegeta—moving so abruptly it was as if they had teleported.
The newcomers were none other than Whis and Beerus, who had traveled from Beerus' planet to Earth, crossing countless star systems in just over thirty minutes.
Their arrival instantly drew everyone's attention—including Eriri's, whose gaze turned toward them.
The moment Vegeta saw Beerus, he froze in terror. Childhood memories of fear flooded his mind, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead and back.
"L-Lord Beerus!"
Hearing the trembling voice, Beerus turned his sharp gaze toward Vegeta.
"Oh? I didn't expect anyone on this little backwater planet to recognize me."
Beerus examined Vegeta from head to toe, his piercing eyes making the Saiyan prince tremble uncontrollably. Even when facing Eriri, he hadn't felt this level of dread.
After all, unlike Eriri, Beerus was someone Vegeta knew all too well—a God of Destruction capable of annihilating entire planets on a whim. If he were angered, Vegeta had no doubt Earth would be destroyed in an instant.
At that moment, Whis smiled gently and said to Beerus:
"Lord Beerus, have you forgotten? You met him over twenty years ago on Planet Vegeta~"
"Over twenty years ago... ah, I remember now. You're that little brat who used to follow King Vegeta around, right? Hmm... what was your name again?"
Thanks to Whis' reminder, Beerus finally recalled Vegeta's existence—but not his name.
"Lord Beerus, my name is Vegeta."
Vegeta introduced himself respectfully, his tone more polite than ever before. Goku, Piccolo, and the others were all stunned by the sight.
"Hey, Vegeta, who's that guy? You look really scared of him."
Goku floated over beside Vegeta, elbowing him lightly in the arm, his curiosity piqued.
At those words, Vegeta's face immediately changed color. Without even bothering to glare at Goku, he quickly clamped his hand over Goku's mouth to stop him from saying anything else foolish.
"Kakarot, shut your mouth! This man is the God of Destruction—show some respect!"
Goku struggled briefly, but realizing he couldn't break free from Vegeta's grip, he stopped moving, simply staring curiously at Beerus and Whis.
Meanwhile, Piccolo and the others, having overheard Vegeta's words, were all silently trying to comprehend what a "God of Destruction" was. But one thing was clear—it had to be something terrifying. Otherwise, Vegeta wouldn't look this frightened.
Beerus, however, merely gave Goku and Vegeta a casual glance before turning his eyes away. Their ki was far too weak to interest him in the slightest. He could tell immediately that neither of them was the Super Saiyan God he was searching for.
By contrast, Eriri was completely unreadable to him. If there truly was a Super Saiyan God on Earth, Beerus was certain it would be her.
He stared at Eriri, who hovered only a few meters away, his golden eyes filled with intrigue.
"Hey, you purple-skinned big cat, what are you staring at?"
Eriri's sharp retort came without hesitation—the probing look in Beerus' eyes was irritating her.
"What?"
The words "purple-skinned big cat" made Vegeta's eyes widen in shock as he turned toward her, utterly incredulous.
Even Whis couldn't help glancing aside with amusement, a faint smile curling on his lips.
As for Beerus, he froze completely, hardly believing what he'd just heard.
"What did you just call me?"
Beerus' eyes flared with anger, and an aura of sheer destruction erupted around him, sending waves of terror through everyone present.
"Purple-skinned big cat. Is there a problem with that?"
Eriri stood with her arms crossed, her eyes cool and unyielding as she looked him over.
"You insolent little...! You've truly made me angry now!"
Beerus glared at her coldly, then raised his right hand. A dark violet energy sphere rapidly began forming in his palm.
Within seconds, the energy ball grew to about a meter in diameter before Beerus launched it straight at Eriri.
The blast carried enough destructive power to annihilate an entire supercluster—but Eriri only lifted her right hand lazily, extending a single finger.
When the sphere touched her fingertip, it stopped instantly. Then, before everyone's eyes, it began to shrink at visible speed until it completely vanished—as though it had been absorbed by her finger.
"Hm?"
Beerus' expression froze in mild astonishment. Even though that attack had been a casual strike, it was still far beyond what ordinary beings could withstand.
If he had aimed that blast at Goku or Vegeta, they would have been reduced to dust in an instant.
This only deepened Beerus' certainty that Eriri was the being Whis had mentioned—the one who might be the Super Saiyan God.
"Interesting. Tell me, are you the Super Saiyan God?"
Beerus clasped his hands behind his back, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. His earlier irritation was momentarily forgotten.
"No."
Eriri shook her head, a faint smirk playing at her lips.
"But since you've attacked me... that means you're ready to take a beating, aren't you?"
"What did you say?"
Beerus blinked, momentarily unsure if he had heard her correctly.
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