A few hours after Tavor left, the barrier demons in dark armor arrived, surrounding Roshi's home in a tight, encircled formation that would prevent escape for those inside the barrier.
A gap began to appear in the encirclement as a large humanoid demon walked towards the barrier, his demon-steel armor so heavy that every footstep cracked the ground beneath him.
The demon approached the edge of the barrier that blocked his army's path and reached out with one massive hand, pressing it against the pulsating barrier, which crackled against his touch as if trying to repel him.
"Hmmph." The heavily armored demon let out a grunt of disdain before pressing his hand hard against the barrier, red lightning beginning to swim across his gauntlet as his fingers dug into it.
CRACK...
A sharp, crisp noise echoed out from the point where the demon applied pressure, and under his immense strength, the barrier began to visibly fracture.
CRACKLE...
CRACK...
The fractures expanded and retreated as if the barrier was actively trying to resist it's destruction but no matter how hard it seemed to struggle the demon's strength was far too immense and before long, the barrier broke.
SHATTER...
The once brilliant barrier that blocked access to demons, or more specifically those with malicious intent, shattered into motes of multicolored light, each one appearing to descend like leaves during the fall season.
Pulling back his hand, the demon began walking forwards, past the point where the barrier previously would have stopped him.
But before he could get too far inside, a blue light shot towards him and smashed directly into his helmet.
FWOOOOOSH...
The blue light pushed him back several feet before he smashed into three of his soldiers, their combined might managing to just barely hold against the blue lights oppressive force before it dissipated.
"You demons are not welcome here; leave, or this place will be your grave!" A voice resounded from the direction of the house before Roshi stepped out from within the place he called home, the place where he has spent countless years in relative peace.
The armored demon stood back to his full height, an imposing eight feet of metal, muscle and hatred glaring down at Roshi with pure killing intent.
Reaching up with his armored hands, the demon took off his helmet and dropped it to the ground, the weight causing the helmet to sink a few inches into the blood-red soil.
"Was it you old bastard, was it you who caused that meteor shower that offended my master?"
Roshi spat to the side and met the demon's smoldering red eyes with a gaze equally calm and furious.
"I've got no idea what you are talking about, leave, now." Roshi slammed the butt end of his walking stick into the dirt causing it to stand upright on its own before pulling his arms back to his sides and letting out a grunt of effort.
THUMP...
THUMP...
THUMP...
Roshi's body expanded to the point that his martial arts robes burst apart, revealing massive muscles that seemed to pulse with power.
Thick veins throbbed just beneath his skin, each heartbeat sounding like distant drums.
"Take one more step onto my land and you will know my fury!" Roshi held out a hand and squeezed, his knuckles letting out crackling noises as he glared at the demons before him.
The armored demon's face twisted into a sadistic grin, his eyes blazing brighter red than before, then dimming into a dull orange-red.
"You dare order me human... You dare order one who serves the demon lord... HAHAHAHA!"
The demon spoke calmly before the sheer absurdity of his own words caused him to erupt into uproarious laughter; the demons around him joined in the merriment until the armored demon suddenly ceased laughing and let out a resounding roar as he unleashed his demonic energy, which surrounded him in an aura of red and purple.
"I will break your bones first, ask questions later!"
The armored demon shot forth, his feet leaving deep prints with cracks around them with each and every step; his arm, raised to strike, was surrounded by dark energy, poised to strike the old man down.
But before the fist could land, Roshi reached up with a single massive arm and redirected the attack to the side, causing the demon to strike empty air.
FWOOSH... POW...
The punch that struck empty air sent a column of pressurized air shooting straight towards Roshi's home, but moments before the attack landed on the building, a green blur shot forth from inside and collided with it head-on.
BOOM...
The cloud of dust was swept away by a gust from within, revealing Turtle, who himself was wrapped in a green-blue aura of ki, a deep killing intent emanating from his stare.
The demons surrounding the home took a step back almost simultaneously, as if sensing their doom, but soon regained their composure and reached for the curved swords at their waists.
Before they could act however the armored demon attempted to deliver a flurry of intense blows at Roshi, the aged martial arts master dodging and weaving most of them with inhuman grace and redirecting and blocking others.
"HAAAAAA..."
With a final punch, the armored demon sent Roshi sliding backwards, his feet carving two adjacent lines in the dirt before he performed a backflip to disperse the rest of his momentum and pushed his hands out to send a wave of nearly invisible ki towards the armored demon's chest.
The demon's armor dented inward as if it received an impossibly powerful yet focused punch; the force traveled through its armor and damaged the soft flesh and organs beneath, causing the demon to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Roshi charged, no longer willing to play simple defense, and grabbed the armored demon by the space between his chest plate and his exposed neck with his left hand and pulled hard before delivering a hook with his right, which knocked the demon off his feet and caused the back of his head to slam hard against the rough ground.
The armored demon slammed into the ground, sending a cloud of dust billowing into the air as cracks spread outward from the point of impact.
For a brief moment, the battlefield fell silent.
Then a massive hand burst through the dust, gripping the edge of a crater as the demon hauled himself back to his feet.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, staining his chin before dripping onto his battered demon-steel armor.
His smoldering eyes narrowed as they settled upon Roshi, who stood several paces away with his right fist raised and his left hand resting loosely at his side.
"YOU BASTARD!"
The demon's roar shook the surrounding trees, his demonic energy erupting from his body in a violent surge of red and purple flames.
Roshi merely rolled his shoulders, the muscles beneath his skin rippling as he loosened his joints.
"What's the matter? I thought you were going to break my bones."
The demon's expression twisted with fury.
Then he vanished.
BOOM!
The ground beneath his feet exploded as he launched himself forward, his armored fist hurtling toward Roshi's face with enough force to shatter stone.
The impact resounded across the battlefield, and the demon's armored body lurched sideways.
Yet before he could be sent flying, his opposite fist came swinging toward Roshi's temple.
The old martial arts master leaned backward, allowing the blow to whistle past his nose, then planted his palm against the demon's chest and pushed.
The demon staggered half a step.
That was all Roshi needed.
His knee drove upward toward the demon's abdomen, followed by a sharp elbow aimed at the side of his helmetless head.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The armored demon crossed his arms to block the second strike, but the force still drove him several feet backward, his boots tearing twin furrows through the blood-red soil.
His eyes widened.
This old bastard!
Despite his immense physical strength, the human before him was proving infuriatingly difficult to hit.
Worse, every time their attacks collided, the force seemed to travel through his armor and rattle his bones.
Yet the demon was no ordinary soldier.
With a furious snarl, he planted his feet and swung both arms outward, releasing a wave of demonic energy that tore through the surrounding dust.
Roshi's eyebrows rose.
"Oh?"
The demon surged forward once more.
This time, Roshi met him head-on, and their fists collided.
KRAAA-BOOM!
The shockwave swept across the battlefield, flattening the surrounding grass and sending loose stones tumbling through the air.
The ground beneath their feet buckled, a circular crater forming as the two combatants pushed against one another.
For a heartbeat, neither yielded.
Then both disappeared.
BOOM!
A crater suddenly appeared several yards to the left.
BAAANG!
Another formed to the right.
THOOM!
The sound of colliding fists echoed across the battlefield, each impact arriving before the dust from the previous one had settled.
The surrounding demons stared in disbelief.
Their commander was nowhere to be seen, neither was the old human.
All they could perceive were fleeting distortions in the air, flashes of red-purple and green-blue energy, and the occasional glimpse of a fist appearing out of nowhere before vanishing again.
To their eyes, the two combatants seemed almost motionless.
Yet the battlefield told a very different story.
CRACK!
The demons gripped their curved swords, their expressions shifting from confidence to unease.
"What... what am I looking at?"
One of the soldiers whispered the question, his eyes darting frantically between the craters.
"I can't see them!"
"Then stop staring and watch the ground!" another hissed.
As if to prove his point, a tremendous impact shook the battlefield, causing several demons to stumble as the soil beneath their feet lurched upward.
A heartbeat later, a figure shot out of the dust.
It was their commander.
His armored body spun through the air before he managed to twist his waist and land on his feet, skidding backward until his boots carved two deep trenches into the ground.
Before he could regain his balance, Roshi appeared directly in front of him.
The demon's eyes widened as he saw a fist was already coming toward his face.
He crossed his arms just in time.
KABOOOM!
The impact drove him into the earth, burying his lower legs in the shattered ground.
His armor groaned under the pressure, fresh cracks spreading across the chest plate as his entire body strained to withstand the blow.
Roshi withdrew his fist and took a small step backward.
"You're pretty tough," he remarked, flexing his fingers. "Most people would have stopped moving by now, but then again, you aren't exactly people, are you?"
The demon slowly raised his head.
Blood dripped from his mouth, but the fury in his eyes had only intensified.
"You... filthy... HUMAN!"
His demonic aura surged again, twisting around his body like a storm of crimson and violet serpents.
Roshi's expression hardened.
The demon was getting faster.
Not by much, but enough that the old martial artist could no longer afford to treat the fight as a warm-up.
Well, well. There's still some fight left in him.
The demon tore his legs free of the crater and lunged forward, both fists blazing with dark energy.
Roshi moved to intercept him, and their fists collided once more.
BOOOOOOM!
The resulting shockwave ripped across the battlefield, forcing the surrounding soldiers to shield their faces as dust and fragments of stone engulfed the combatants.
Farther away, Turtle stood between the house and the encircling army, his green-blue aura flickering around his enormous shell.
He glanced toward the latest explosion.
Then he looked back at the demons before him.
"Master Roshi seems to be enjoying himself," Turtle observed in his deep, calm voice.
Several demons swallowed nervously.
Turtle's glowing eyes narrowed.
"Unfortunately for you, I haven't started enjoying myself yet."
The green-blue aura around his body flared.
And the demons finally understood that their commander's battle was only half of their problem.
Next time on Reborn as a Saiyan in Marvel!
With Roshi and Turtle facing down an entire army of demons, Limbo is about to learn why even its most fearsome inhabitants should think twice before disturbing a martial arts master's home!
But while the old master enjoys his unexpected workout, Tavor continues his journey through the demonic realm, unaware that his little display of power has drawn the attention of something far more dangerous than a moon-shattering blast.
Will Roshi and Turtle send the demon army running? What will Tavor discover on his journey?
And just how much trouble can one Saiyan cause before the entire realm decides he needs to be stopped?
Find out next time on Reborn as a Saiyan in Marvel!