The sky erupted with devastating shockwaves as the battle raged. Trunks and Android 21 exchanged brutal blows—fists hardened with ki, vicious elbow strikes, and countless miniature ki blasts detonating like fireworks. Each attack targeted the other's face with merciless precision.
A golden-flamed punch crashed into Android 21's cheek, denting it deeply. But with Majin Buu's malleable physiology, she barely registered the physical damage. Her tail whipped around Trunks's torso like a python, constricting violently before she swung him in a wide arc and released him like a slingshot. She pursued instantly, her clasped hands raised overhead like a sledgehammer.
BOOM!
Trunks plummeted like a meteor, cratering the earth with catastrophic force. The impact carved out a massive black pit, its edges crackling with residual energy that seemed to connect to some lightless abyss at the planet's core.
Before Android 21 could savor her advantage, the pit suddenly erupted with roaring flames. A pillar of scorching fire shot skyward like a volcanic eruption.
The tide-like torrent of energy crashed over Android 21, but she manifested a spherical barrier at the last instant. The black protective field absorbed the heat and flame like a miniature sun, completely negating the attack.
Trunks exploded from the crater in a blur of golden light, his Super Saiyan aura forming a storm that tore up chunks of earth in his wake. He collided with Android 21 again, and their battle resumed at speeds that defied comprehension.
Mai stood frozen below, her pistol raised uselessly toward the sky. She couldn't even track their movements anymore—they were nothing but streaks of light and thunderous impacts. Every instinct screamed at her to help Trunks, but what could she possibly do? Where would she even aim?
"Trunks!" Mai's desperate cry echoed across the battlefield, her eyes darting frantically as she searched for any opening.
The only answer came in the form of another explosive exchange. Android 21's assault was relentless—each punch moved faster than thought, each impact carried mountain-crushing force. Her strikes literally penetrated the air, creating explosive shockwaves with every blow. Trunks barely defended against the phantom-like barrage, his body accumulating cuts and bruises despite his Super Saiyan resilience.
Occasionally, Android 21 would release a massive energy sphere with casual indifference. If Trunks didn't intercept them, they would obliterate what remained of Earth's surface. While Android 21 showed no concern for collateral damage, Trunks had to expend precious stamina catching each devastating blast. His energy reserves were draining rapidly.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Android 21 pursued Trunks across the sky like a hunting hawk. Her aura intensified with each passing moment, black electricity crackling around her form like venomous serpents. The air itself sizzled and popped, the discharge so intense it instantly incinerated portions of Trunks's clothing.
At that exact moment, Raditz materialized on Earth via Instant Transmission.
He raised one hand in greeting, beginning to speak: "I'm back—"
"Mr. Raditz! MR. RADITZ!" Mai spotted him immediately and waved frantically, her voice cracking with emotion. Tears of relief and anxiety streamed down her face. She understood what his return meant—Zamasu was defeated. They'd survived.
Raditz's eyes immediately locked onto the fierce battle raging overhead.
"What's going on here?"
"Someone calling herself Android 21 showed up!" Mai quickly explained, her words tumbling out. "She was looking for you at first, but then she just attacked us without warning!" Her voice rose desperately. "Please, you have to help Trunks!"
"Android 21?" Raditz's brow furrowed in genuine confusion. He'd never encountered that designation before—another completely unknown entity, just like Towa had been. This woman appeared to be an Android, and possessed striking beauty comparable to Android 18.
But in Raditz's understanding, the Android series had ended with Cell. There shouldn't be any other models. What was happening?
Based on Android 21's displayed combat ability, she seemed slightly stronger than Trunks, but not overwhelmingly so. As for her true identity and purpose... Raditz's lips curved into a confident smirk as he launched himself skyward.
The attacks from Trunks and Android 21 converged suddenly, meeting at the precise point where Raditz materialized between them. Trunks's eyes widened in alarm—he was moving too fast to change trajectory. Android 21, meanwhile, grinned with savage delight at this unexpected opportunity.
"Nice try." Raditz's voice carried casual amusement.
His tail lashed out, gently deflecting Trunks to safety while his hand shot forward to intercept Android 21's strike.
BANG!
The collision generated a smoke cloud that engulfed half the sky, the thunderous boom reverberating across continents. Humans on the ground couldn't help but cover their ears against the piercing resonance that seemed to shake the world itself.
Mai gritted her teeth and stared upward, desperate to see the outcome despite the obscuring haze.
Gradually, the smoke dispersed. Mai's eyes brightened, and an involuntary smile tugged at her lips.
Raditz held Android 21's fist in an iron grip, completely immobilizing her. She struggled and strained, but couldn't break free from his one-handed hold. Pale flames—like billowing steam—radiated from Raditz's entire body, a visual representation of his casual, effortless power.
Android 21 fought against his grip for several long seconds before suddenly stopping. To everyone's surprise, she laughed.
"As expected! You truly are incredible! Far too powerful for me to devour!" Her tone shifted to something more conversational. "You've already defeated Zamasu, haven't you?"
"You know about Zamasu?" Raditz's grip tightened fractionally, a warning.
Android 21's body suddenly went limp, her solid form becoming liquid and flowing. She extracted her hand through sheer deformation before Raditz could react. He tensed, eyes narrowing. Majin Buu's cellular structure. Between her appearance and this ability, there was no doubt—she possessed Majin Buu's genetic material.
"Hehe, I don't just know about Zamasu..." Android 21's smile turned predatory. "Shadow Emperor is the true master behind Zamasu's existence."
CRACK!
Fire blazed in Raditz's eyes. In a movement too fast to follow, he closed the distance and seized Android 21's throat with crushing force. He rocketed downward, driving her into the earth and pinning her beneath layer upon layer of telekinetic pressure that made the very ground cry out in protest.
For the first time, genuine fear flickered across Android 21's face. The power he'd just displayed was absolutely terrifying—she'd felt her consciousness nearly ripped from her body. She also recognized that Raditz had deliberately restrained himself, because an uncontrolled application of that force would have simply twisted her head clean off her shoulders.
All of this reaction... simply because Raditz had heard two words: "Shadow Emperor."
Years ago, at the Conference of Supreme Kais, Raditz had heard that exact phrase. Anato from Universe 1 had mentioned that " Shadow Emperor " was the power behind the Demon Realm's machinations. Now, this mysterious Android 21 had spoken the same words. The implications were staggering—they were almost certainly referring to the same entity or organization.
"I don't care if you're an Android or some Majin Buu variant or something else entirely," Raditz growled, his voice carrying lethal intensity. "Tell me right now—who is Shadow Emperor?"
"Shadow Emperor is Shadow Emperor." Android 21's expression flickered with something indecipherable—was it fear? Reverence?—before returning to neutral. She gripped Raditz's restraining hand. "Zamasu is immortal. How exactly did you defeat him?"
"Immortality means nothing in the face of a proper seal. There's nothing in this world that can't be overcome!" Raditz's tone brooked no deflection. "Now answer me—where is he hiding?"
"Oh, but seals can be broken so easily..." Android 21's lips curved into a knowing smile.
Suddenly, without warning, an inexplicable wave of energy rippled outward. The disturbance felt cosmic in scope, as if the entire universe had been struck like a bell. And the source of that resonance was unmistakable—
Zamasu was breaking free from his prison!
Of course. Raditz's mind raced through the implications. Zamasu had been deployed by Shadow Emperor, which meant the corrupted god likely carried residual energy from the one behind everything. Somehow, Android 21 had just activated that hidden power, and even the Destruction energy comprising Zamasu's prison couldn't resist it!
Android 21 immediately disintegrated into countless tiny particles, scattering to avoid Raditz's inevitable wrath. Simultaneously, in the space above them, the darkened form of Zamasu had shattered his containment completely. His body transformed into something that resembled a living black hole—an endless, all-consuming energy mass.
"HAHAHAHA! COME, RADITZ!" Zamasu's voice erupted with insane fervor, distorted by his new form. "Annihilate with me at the end of time and space! Become nothing in the eternal void!"
Zamasu's entire being had become one with space-time energy itself, a gravitational singularity of impossible power. Invisible forces seized Raditz and began dragging him inexorably toward the darkness.
The infinite gravitational pull was inescapable. The darkness swallowed Raditz like a ravenous beast, tendrils of void reaching out to consume everything. Behind him, the scattered particles of Android 21 suddenly coalesced and accelerated, her reformed body striking Raditz from behind like a meteor and driving both of them deeper into the all-consuming blackness.
The space-time energy engulfed them completely. In an instant, Raditz, Android 21, and the corrupted Zamasu vanished without a trace.
The entire battlefield fell into eerie, absolute silence.
Above, only empty sky remained—no combatants, no energy signatures, nothing. It was as if they'd never existed at all.
Trunks and Mai stood frozen, staring at the spot where three impossibly powerful beings had just been erased from reality itself.
"Mr... Mr. Raditz?" Trunks's voice was barely a whisper, trembling with disbelief and dawning horror.
Only the wind answered, carrying ash and dust across the broken landscape.
They were gone.