"Lord Mosco destroyed Broly and Buu," Vados reported plainly.
"You—what did you say?" Mosco jerked his head in denial; Mule's voice inside trembled. "No… that's impossible! I… I didn't mean to kill them! You must have it wrong!"
"You tore space open and hurled Ken and me into another universe," Merus snapped. "By the time we re-established contact, you'd already done it. We had no choice but to run time back. Ken clawed us to this exact moment—and that's the only reason Broly's alive."
Broly's pupils tightened.
"Ay, ay… if Lord Mosco hadn't tapped Ken just then, we might still have pulled him back," Vados said with a regretful shake of the head.
"You—what?" Mule's lip twitched; his whole chassis shuddered harder.
"Lord Mosco, Mr. Mule, you'd better decide how you plan to explain this to the Grand Priest," Vados added, hands open in a helpless gesture. "He's been waiting for Ken to complete his metamorphosis into a true angel. Because of you, his plan's in tatters."
"T-t-this…" Mule went chalk white; his legs shook so hard they rattled.
A sudden warm trickle spread under his seat.
He'd wet himself.
He'd cut off his "equipment" long ago, but terror didn't care—God of Destruction or not, some reflexes still fired.
Mule glanced down, head splitting with panic.
No—he rammed himself into me!
"H-he slammed into me first!" Mule managed a feeble defense.
"Ken… r-rest in peace…" Merus groped for words to keep the act alive, then looked to Broly. "I… I'll take care of Broly. I'll raise him into a God of Destruction worthy of the title."
Broly stared, hollow-eyed, at the spot where Ken had dispersed.
Vados's earlier explanation clicked.
So Ken was fragile because he'd used a dangerous technique—one that left the body brittle.
Memories of Ken cascaded through Broly's mind.
"Broly, want to explore the universes with me?"
"Broly, I'll raise you into the strongest God of Destruction in existence."
"Broly, if I'm not at your side, eat well, sleep well, and train well."
Ken's voice echoed and re-echoed.
Broly clutched his head; grief knifed through his face.
"Ah—"
A streak of light seemed to rip through his mind.
Rumble—A pillar of dark-green radiance burst from the crown of Broly's head and speared tens of thousands of meters into the void.
"What's happening?" Sidra blurted.
Mosco snapped his head toward the glow; the sensor on his "face" flashed wildly.
Crack!
Green light sheeted over Broly's body, denser than before.
Szzzt… szzzt… szzzt…
Dark-green lightning coiled around him.
Whoosh.
The sky-piercing column settled, pouring back into his frame.
Broly's hair spiked higher, lightning crawling over him; his eyes burned like lamps—shot through with raw, blood-red anger.
"As Ken predicted," Merus whispered to Vados, "he's blown the lid off his latent power."
"Mhm." Vados nodded. "You really should learn from Ken. When it comes to training a God of Destruction, you're losing badly."
Merus: "…"
Hard to argue.
"…If not for our Oscar-worthy performance, he wouldn't have triggered it," he muttered.
Vados patted his shoulder. "Your heart's rattled. Fix your mindset."
"Yes, Sister Vados." Merus steadied. "When it comes to cultivating Supreme Kais, I won't lose to Ken."
"That's the spirit," Vados smiled.
"But… Ken—he's not truly gone, right? Can he come back?" Merus asked, worry creeping back in.
"Look closely at the scattered light… it's reconvening," Vados murmured, careful not to let the others hear.
Merus peered—and yes, the drifting motes were gathering.
Broly drifted forward until he hovered squarely before Mosco.
"W-what are you doing?" Mule's voice came from the robot's mouth.
"Ah—"
Broly didn't answer. He simply grunted—and drove his forehead into Mosco's chest.
Crack…
Fractures spider-webbed across Mosco's torso.
Every jaw around them fell.
Majin Buu's triangular eyes bulged.
But the most shocked of all was Sidra.
"H-he just… head-butted him… and Mosco cracked?" Sidra stammered, trembling.
"Ah… gii!" Mosco screamed, like his bones were splintering.
Inside, Mule reeled, nearly blacking out from the blow.
Broly snared the back of Mosco's head with his left hand.
"Ah—"
He smashed his brow into Mosco's skull.
Crack…
More fissures crawled through the machine's head.
Mosco's optics flickered; dizziness rolled Mule's gut.
"Ah—"
Grief had made Broly beyond words. He rammed him again.
Once. Twice. Thrice!
Mosco roared and hammered a heavy punch into Broly's chest.
Thud!
The blow landed—Broly barely budged. He clamped Mosco's arm in one hand.
"Ah—"
Broly smashed his forehead down onto the forearm.
Crack…
The arm fractured.
Mosco's scream tore the void.
Inside, Mule's head lolled; nausea and vertigo swamped him.
"T-terrifying…" Sidra's face drained. "This guy… Broly… he's scraping Quitela's tier already!"
"If the last form was 'Legendary Super Saiyan,' then this—call it 'Legendary Super Saiyan Two,'" Vados said evenly.
Merus: "…"
"Sister Vados, that name feels… a touch casual?" Merus sweat-dropped.
"Names can wait till Ken returns. We'll use this for now," Vados whispered back.
Sidra glanced at the pair—something felt off.
Weren't they grieving a second ago?
Why so calm now?
He looked; Merus squeezed out a single tear that trailed down his cheek. "Ken… you were my dearest friend."
Sidra: "…"
Are… are they acting? Angels cry?
I've never seen Mojito shed a tear…
Maybe apprentices and full angels differ?
His thoughts scattered as Broly drew his eye again.
"Ah—"
Another brutal head-butt—this time squarely against the same arm.
Crack-crack!
Broly seized the limb and snapped his knee up.
Crunch!
The forearm sheared off and tumbled away.
"Ah…" Mosco wailed.
"Ah—"
Broly brought his brow down on the severed piece.
Whump!
The metal warped—then shattered into jagged chunks.
Mosco went glassy with fear.
Sidra looked ready to faint.
This man's a maniac. Doesn't his head hurt?
Buu's jaw worked; no words came.
Fuwa: "…"
I am very much extra here.
The Supreme Kai of Universe 6 hesitated, then blinked out.
If this brawl flares, I'll be collateral…
I'm fragile…. "Kai Kai…."
Fuwa vanished.
Mosco was truly terrified now.
Inside, Mule soaked his seat with fear.
Mosco flung out his left hand, loosing a globe of Destruction energy.
It screamed toward Broly.
"Ah—"
Broly barked—and met it with his forehead.
Thud!
The energy careened away—
Fwoosh!
—and scraped past Mosco, drilling into a distant star.
In an instant, the star winked out like a soap bubble.
"I… my… he head-butted my attack?" Mosco stared at the dissipating star—then bolted.
Broly didn't pursue. Red eyes followed the fleeing machine.
"Hey, he's running," Buu offered helpfully.
Broly shot him a glare.
Buu shivered, sweat pouring. "I'm your ally…"
Broly gave a tight nod, then flared green.
Screee—
He launched—an emerald tracer shelling across the dark.
Sidra's eyes stretched wide. Speed—terrifying.
Whoosh!
In seconds, Broly was on Mosco.
"Ah—"
He blasted his brow into Mosco's back.
Crack!
Fissures latticed the plating.
No fists, no kicks—only the skull. Blow after blow.
Inside, Mule nearly passed out.
"He's lost it—he's mad! A lunatic!" Mule snarled through clenched teeth.
"Gii…" Mosco's seams split wider.
"Run! Just run!" Mule barked.
"Gii!" Mosco tried—but his frame was failing.
Outside, Broly's head kept slamming home.
Panels dulled and sloughed color like a ruined warframe.
Mosco lurched, occasionally spitting a weak "Hakai" burst.
It couldn't scratch Broly.
"Ah—"
Broly's voice was ragged now. He drew back—and drove his skull into Mosco's chest with everything he had.
Cra-shhhh!
The machine couldn't take another ounce.
With a booming crack, Mosco came apart—metal bones scattering into the void.
Mule tumbled out of the torso, soul freezing with terror.
"Gii! Gii!" Mosco's severed head chimed frantically.
"Big Brother!" Mule's eyes went blank; he sobbed and dove for it.
"Gii, gii!" The optic flashed, dimming.
Sobbing, Mule reached—
Broly grabbed the robot head in one hand.
"Broly! Stop!" Mule screamed, throat tearing.
"Ah—"
Broly ignored him and smashed his brow down.
Cra-ksh!
The head burst into chunks.
Mule's pupils filmed red.
Mosco—dead.
…
Universe 3, Supreme Kai's Realm.
"Eh? Supreme Kai… you're going transparent," his attendant gasped to Ea.
"Hm?" Ea blinked, looked down—and saw his body fading.
"What's happening?" the attendant stammered.
"I don't know—I only went to the bathroom and came back like this," Ea said, half laughing, half crying.
"C-could it be… Mosco is dead?" the attendant whispered. "You said your lives are linked…"
Ea: "…"
"That's absurd!" Ea shook his head. "Mosco can't die—he's a God of Des—"
He dissolved mid-sentence, vanishing utterly.
"Supreme Kai!" the attendant howled.
…
Universe 9, deep space.
Watching Broly finish Mosco, Sidra stood petrified.
"M-Mosco… is dead?" he managed.
For the first time in tens of millions of years, a God of Destruction had fallen—
—killed by a candidate who did it by shouting "Ah—" and head-butting him to pieces.
What a way to go.
Merus was silent, centered again.
Vados likewise watched without moving to stop Broly.
"You killed Mosco! You killed my brother! I'll—" Mule went feral and rushed Broly, flailing with punches and kicks.
Broly smiled a thin, wicked smile and offered his back, letting Mule pummel him, even turning a shoulder so Mule could "get a good shot."
It felt… cleansing.
"Aaagh!" Mule redoubled his frenzy.
A minute later—
"Hah… hah…" Mule sagged, lungs on fire.
"This bastard…" His eyes bled red; rage trembled into impotence.
Snatch.
Broly glided in, seized both of Mule's ankles—one in each hand.
"W-what are you doing?" Mule's gut turned to ice.
"Your son," Broly said, voice low.
"M-my son? What about—what are you—say it!" Mule's pupils pinpricked.
"Died like this." Broly's gaze hardened. He pulled.
"Aaaah—!"
He didn't rip fast. He peeled—slowly—so the pain could reach the marrow.
"AAAAAA—" Mule's screech rose and fell like a butchered hog.
Sidra shook so hard his teeth chattered. He watched, wide-eyed, as Broly split Mule's body along the middle—until, last of all, the throat came apart and the head popped free.
Blood blossomed in clots across the vacuum.
Broly seemed to savor it, smiling wider.
Mule passed out mid-scream; his life unraveled like thread.
"Ah—"
Broly palmed Mule's head and drove his brow down.
Boom!
It burst like a watermelon.
Mule—dead.
Rrrrmm—
Broly thrust both hands forward. A sphere of green power, kilometers wide, blossomed and swallowed the corpse-strewn region until nothing remained.
"The soul… didn't get away," Merus breathed. "Can he see souls now?"
"Maybe not see—sense," Vados mused. "Blanket the area big enough and the soul can't slip the net."
Merus looked from Broly to Buu, who was still staring, slack-mouthed. A murderous impulse flashed through Merus's mind.
Two God of Destruction candidates. My pupil's a walking disaster.
And Broly? In a single year, he's a full-blown God of Destruction—who just head-butted a god to death.
Mosco… what a miserable ending.
Broly turned. His blood-red stare pinned Sidra.
Sidra's face twitched.
I should've run.
Why did I stand here like an idiot?
This is bad.
"He blocked us. If not for him, Ken wouldn't have vanished," Buu chimed in lightly.
That offhand line—and the kill-intent that ignited in Broly's eyes—shattered Sidra's composure.
"AAAAH—" Sidra screamed, purple aura flaring as he fled.
Zzzap—
Broly arrowed after him.
The gap closed.
"Ah—"
He rammed Sidra square in the backside.
"Yow!" Sidra yelped, a pain like a surgeon's scalpel exploding behind him as he pitched forward.
He righted himself fast and flung up a hand. "Wait! Broly, listen!"
Broly halted, cold eyes fixed on him.
"Here's the truth—I never meant to kill you. I wanted to temper you, accelerate your growth—look at you now: a God of Destruction in deed and strength!" Sidra's words machine-gunned out.
Broly just stared.
"I admit I stopped you—that was wrong—but it was always under control. I would've stepped in at the critical moment!"
Broly's gaze curled with contempt. He opened his mouth.
"D-don't 'ah'—please," Sidra begged.
Vwoom!
Broly exhaled. A lance of emerald fire, veined with green lightning, ripped through Sidra's heart and out his back.
"Ah… ahhh…" Sidra looked down, face draining to chalk.
Despair swallowed him. Killed—by a mere kid.
He fumbled out a communicator, stabbing for Mojito. "Mojito, save me!"
Broly drifted close and knocked his brow into the device.
Crack!
It burst into slag.
Hope died with it. Sidra felt his life bleaching away.
"Chocolate," Broly said flatly, and pitched Sidra's failing body to Buu like tossing out trash.
Buu's eyes lit up. "Me?"
He nodded furiously, antenna tilting toward Sidra; purple charge flickered at the tip.
"W-wait—hold on—don't— I've got better chocolate—" Sidra babbled.
"Turn to chocolate!" Buu sang.
Zap!
The bolt struck. In a blink, Sidra shrank and warped into a human-shaped chocolate, floating helplessly.
He'd already been pierced; his aura was gone. He couldn't resist at all.
Buu clapped, snatched the candy, and crunched down.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
"Mmm. Crispy." He patted his belly and grinned.
Vrrrmmm—
Purple-red light geysered from Buu's vents and the pores on his head.
His eyes flared. He flexed his fingers, touched his face—his ki had multiplied many times over.
"Buu's jumped—to a full God of Destruction level," Merus said, stunned.
"By Ken's purity scale, he's about 51—roughly Sidra's tier," Vados gauged.
"Excellent," Merus breathed, joy breaking through. Ken's "death" had minted two monsters in one blow.
"Careful, Merus," Vados murmured. "You're only 41. With Buu's temperament, mind you don't get turned into dessert."
Merus paled. Broly could be reasoned with—Buu at 51 was a different headache.
Broly said nothing and drifted toward where Ken had "died."
Buu followed—and both halted when the scatter of lights suddenly tightened, starlike points knitting toward a seed at the center.
One minute later, the "seed" was still only sesame-sized—but it blazed like a jewel.
"He… he's reforming," Buu whispered, crowding in for a closer look.
Whap!
Broly backhanded him across space.
Buu: "…"
"Don't touch. Touch it and I hit you," Broly growled. He swept a hand; a spherical barrier sprang up—one kilometer across.
"Step inside, die."
Buu edged back to the rim.
Broly watched him with a killer's patience.
"H-hey. We're on the same team. Remember when we fought side by side?" Buu protested.
"Step inside, die," Broly repeated, jaw set.
Buu: "…"
Merus: "…"
Vados: "…"
"We're not allowed in either?" Merus asked, wiping sweat.
"Seems not," Vados nodded.
"I'll try," Merus said, easing toward the field.
Broly cut him a look; murder flashed.
Merus stopped at the edge.
Vados hesitated, then glided into the barrier.
Broly's eyes flickered. Seeing who it was, some of the blade left his stare.
"You're his wife. You can enter," he said at last.
Vados dabbed at a bead of sweat.
"I'm his best friend," Merus called from outside, feeling how flimsy that sounded compared to "wife."
"Can he recover?" Broly asked, pointing at the coalescing lights.
"He should—but it may take a long time," Vados said.
"How long?" Broly's eyes reddened again.
"At the current pace… at least twenty-four years," Vados calculated. "Let him knit here. In twenty-four years, he should be back."
"I'll wait," Broly said quietly.
"You'll wait here for twenty-four years?" Vados asked, calm as ever.
Broly nodded hard—then looked at her, fire brightening.
Vados felt a prickle of foreboding.
"You're his wife. You stay," Broly ordered.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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