"You stand down," Broly said. He'd decided to handle this one himself.
Mostly because the rage boiling in his chest still hadn't cooled.
And now another idiot had shown up looking for trouble.
"You're stingy," Buu muttered, pouting, clearly displeased.
Broly shot him a razor-edged glare.
Buu flinched, clapped both hands over his mouth, and didn't dare say another word.
"Oh? You want to challenge me, Broly?" Quitela snorted. "Didn't get beaten up enough last time? This time I'll really work you over and show you who the real king of the Gods of Destruction is!"
Rumble—
Broly didn't bother answering. Ink-green light erupted around his body.
Layer after layer of that green aura stacked outward, and in an instant the planet was dyed the same eerie color again.
Broly's hair surged longer, sweeping back and growing rapidly until it hung past his waist.
Crack… crack…
Bolts of ink-green lightning crawled all over him, snapping and hissing.
The moment Quitela saw this transformation, he froze, staring blankly. He rubbed his eyes hard, stunned for a long time.
"Th-that… you transformed? You've got a new form? Another new form?" Quitela finally managed, after a long, dazed silence.
Heles' eyes went wide, her expression shifting again and again.
Liquiir felt his fur stand on end at the sight.
Both of them picked up on it at once—Broly's level had climbed to 58.
Level 58.
You've got to be kidding.
Beerus was only level 56, wasn't he?
And Broly had already hit level 58.
It's over, they thought. Quitela's finished.
"F-f-f-f-f… fifty-eight? Level fifty-eight?" Quitela finally came back to himself. He didn't even know how many "fives" he'd stuttered. His yellow rodent face went completely white.
Smack!
Broly walked up at an unhurried pace and brought his palm down hard on Quitela, slapping him deep into the ground until only his head stuck out.
"Ah… ah… aaah!"
Quitela screamed over and over, panic flooding his eyes.
"Who's the one who 'looks like his dad just died'?" Broly asked, eyes narrowed.
Quitela: "…"
"M-my dad! It's me! My dad! My dad died!" Quitela howled, scrambling to change his tune.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Broly backhanded him again and again, leaving a row of burning-red handprints across Quitela's face.
Quitela's lips puffed up; even talking properly became hard.
Wham.
Broly kicked straight up, booting Quitela in the jaw and launching him out of the ground and into the sky.
Fwoosh—
Then Broly flickered, reappearing directly above him in the next instant.
Boom!
He flipped upside down and hammered his heel into Quitela's chest.
Rumble—!
Quitela dropped like a meteor, smashing into the ground and blasting out a huge crater.
He lay there at the bottom twitching, foam leaking from his mouth, looking very much like a god who'd just had all the divinity beaten out of him.
"Buu. Heal him," Broly ordered.
"I want chocolate," Buu said, smacking his lips.
Broly stared coldly at him.
Buu shrank a little, then rushed forward, raising his hands and releasing healing light that washed over Quitela.
Before their eyes, Quitela's injuries began to close at a speed visible even without ki-sense.
"That's enough," Broly said.
Buu quickly pulled his hands back.
That little burst of healing had restored maybe ten percent of Quitela's strength.
He'd been right on the edge of death; now, at least, he wasn't dying anymore. His eyes flicked open, staring in pure terror at Broly's figure walking slowly toward him.
Quitela broke instantly.
You've gotta be kidding…
How did you end up at level 58?!
How am I supposed to play this game now?
"Great God of Destruction, forgive me!" Quitela blurted, dropping into a kneel and bowing as fast as he could.
If he'd hesitated even a heartbeat longer, he was pretty sure he would've been beaten to death.
Broly said nothing. He just stepped up and tapped Quitela's head lightly with his knuckles.
Quitela trembled all over.
"Quitela, I like you better when you're arrogant and defiant," Broly snorted. Then, in a tone that brooked no refusal, "Lie down."
Quitela: "???"
What's that supposed to mean?
Why do I have to lie down?
But faced with absolute power, he didn't dare show even a flicker of resistance.
Flop.
Quitela lay down flat on the ground.
Broly calmly set his foot on Quitela's head and started grinding his face against the dirt.
Quitela shook like a leaf, too terrified to even squeak.
As Broly rubbed his heel across Quitela's head, he lifted his gaze and looked straight at Heles and Liquiir.
The two Gods of Destruction jumped, then hurried forward and dropped to their knees.
"Greetings, Great God of Destruction!"
After witnessing Broly's power for themselves, resistance wasn't even a thought.
Level 58.
That was insane.
Beerus, that blowhard, was only level 56 and already strutted around like he owned the place.
A level 58 God of Destruction was practically beyond the usual scale.
The weakest angels started around level 60, didn't they?
Two more levels, and Broly would be in angel territory.
But maybe 58 was already his limit.
At that level, climbing even one more step had to be insanely hard.
Heles and Liquiir were already thinking too far ahead, mentally planning Broly's future training.
As for those two, Broly didn't have much of a grudge.
Their fights with him had been pure sparring, nothing more.
Sure, Heles had gone in pretty hard at first, but a real battle between Gods of Destruction was never going to be gentle.
Later, though, things had gone badly for her. Getting beaten by Broly and Buu together had almost turned her into a man.
Now that both Heles and Liquiir had submitted, Broly saw no reason to push them further.
To claim the seat of Great God of Destruction, he needed the approval of eight Gods of Destruction.
Right now, the ones who had knelt were Gin, Bardock, Quitela, Heles, and Liquiir.
Five in total.
Buu didn't count.
And Ai, having disappeared, no longer counted either.
He still needed three more to acknowledge and submit before he could officially become the Great God of Destruction.
"I still need three more Gods of Destruction to recognize me. So—where should we go next?" Broly asked Heles and Liquiir, all while continuing to grind his foot across Quitela's head.
"Let me have a turn," Buu said, edging closer.
Broly glanced at him, eyes still carrying that feral edge.
"If you won't let me, I won't," Buu muttered, sulking.
"You play," Broly said suddenly, stepping off Quitela's head and giving Buu space.
"Thanks," Buu said quickly.
"You're talking too much," Broly growled.
"I just… don't want you to be so sad. I'm not good at comforting people," Buu said, lips still pushed out.
Broly fell silent again, and that trace of sorrow slipped back into his eyes.
The other Gods of Destruction felt their own chests tighten at the sight. Their eyes grew moist as they teared up right along with him.
The air grew heavy. No one dared crack a joke.
Gin hurried forward, knelt, and held out the watch with both hands.
It was the defensive armor Broly had once given him—now in its watch form.
The moment Broly saw it, his mind leaped back to the one who had vanished.
He took the watch, lost and dazed, and fastened it around his wrist.
"You guys figure it out. Decide which universe we go to next. I need to take care of something first—I'll come back and find you later," Broly said, suddenly remembering something. "While I'm gone, Buu has full authority to act in my place. Since I'm the Great God of Destruction now, I'm appointing Buu as a Junior God of Destruction."
He spoke in a rush—more words than he'd said in a while.
And when he finished, his expression dimmed again at once.
Whoosh—
Ink-green light flared up around him, and he shot off the planet like a streak of light, disappearing into space.
Once he was out in the void, Broly pulled out his communicator and contacted Ken.
…
Universe 6, Earth.
Capsule Corporation—Bulma's home.
Ken had already arrived at Bulma's side and passed her the shattered chip.
Bulma stared at the fragments, biting back her tears.
"What kind of torment did Ai go through…? Wasn't the metal in her body refined from cosmic essence? Her chip shouldn't be damaged like this," Bulma murmured.
"She went through a God of Destruction battle," Ken said with a shake of his head. "See if you can fix it."
Bulma didn't say anything more. She set the chip into a specialized device and started a full diagnostic.
Ten minutes later, the results were in.
"I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?" Bulma sighed.
"Say whatever you want…" Ken muttered, a little exasperated.
"Then I'll start with the good news," Bulma said after a moment's thought. "From the scan, Ai's memory is still partially intact. So objectively speaking, Ai is still alive."
"And the bad news?" Ken asked.
"The bad news is… her memories aren't complete. Everything about her time with Broly is gone," Bulma said quietly.
Ken: "…"
"Gone?" he asked.
"Not exactly gone—that wasn't the best way to put it. They've been transferred somewhere else," Bulma corrected herself. "My guess is: the system flagged those memories as special. So in the instant the chip broke, it moved them into another storage unit for protection. You follow?"
"I get it," Ken nodded.
Dragon Ball tech might be advanced, but this was still basic computer logic—easy enough for him to understand.
Even ignoring his identity as an angel, just as a normal reincarnated guy, he could follow what she was saying.
Put simply, Ai was still alive—and part of her memories had been sealed away by her own system.
Maybe she herself had 'decided' they were precious and locked them up to protect them.
"So what do we do now?" Bulma asked. "We don't have any cosmic essence on hand."
"I've got a shard left," Ken said, lifting his right hand. A small piece of cosmic essence appeared in his palm.
"With that little, what can we even build?" Bulma said, speechless.
"Make her the way she used to be. Let her and Broly meet all over again. He can awaken her sleeping memories," Ken suggested after thinking it over.
"What about her voice? Do we use the newer one, or that early, more innocent one?" Bulma asked.
"Use her earliest voice," Ken replied.
"Got it. Give me about two hours," Bulma said after a quick mental calculation.
Ken nodded.
Bulma took Ai's chip and went to work.
Just after she left, Broly's call came through on the communicator.
"Ken… I'm level 58 now," Broly said.
"I already know what happened," Ken answered with a nod, his tone low. "About Ai."
Broly fell silent again.
"I want to ask… if we gather the Super Dragon Balls, can we bring Ai back?" Broly forced himself to say it, afraid Ken would give him an answer he couldn't bear.
"Come back to Earth first. We'll talk it over properly then," Ken replied.
"…Okay," Broly said.
The call ended.
Amarella couldn't hold back any longer. "Ken, why didn't you ask him what the Grand Priest told you to?" she said inside him.
"If he wants to ask, he can ask himself. Why should I be the one to relay it?" Ken grumbled.
"You're right. Let him ask," Amarella said, tapping her forehead.
…
Universe 3, Supreme Kai Realm.
Eyre: "…"
"Supreme Kai, your body's fading again!" his attendant shouted.
Eyre said nothing.
Did… did another God of Destruction die?
Did that new God of Destruction, Ai… die?
Seriously…
Why am I this unlucky?
I'm going to disappear again?!
…
Zeno-sama's palace.
The Grand Priest had heard every word of Ken and Amarella's conversation.
He was already keeping an eye on Ken's situation.
And right now, he was honestly a little speechless.
I asked you to pass along one question. Just one.
Was it really that hard to ask?
Why make me go in person?
"Hey, Grand Priest, what's wrong?" Zeno-sama pattered over on his little feet, peering up curiously.
"It's nothing, Zeno-sama," the Grand Priest said with a gentle smile.
"How's the new godly seat going? Can that Broly guy handle it?" Zeno-sama asked, blinking rapidly.
"Broly has already met the requirements to become the Great God of Destruction," the Grand Priest nodded. "His power is more than enough. His temperament… will need time to be tempered."
"How far is he from the space-time God of Destruction?" he asked again.
"The gap's still quite large right now," the Grand Priest said. "But with his talent, if we train him properly, he might be able to catch up in time for the Space-Time Tournament."
"How long until the Space-Time Tournament? In our time," he asked, looking up at him.
"At least several decades," the Grand Priest mused. Then he added, "If you'll excuse me, Zeno-sama, I'd like to go meet this candidate for the Great God of Destruction seat."
"Go, go," Zeno-sama said cheerfully, waving a hand.
"Yes," the Grand Priest replied. His figure blurred.
Fwoom—
He vanished from the spot.
Broly, flying at full speed through the void, suddenly felt the space ahead of him twist and warp.
When he saw who appeared there, he stopped immediately, dropped out of his transformed state, and went to one knee in midair.
Transforming and bowing like that felt wrong.
For a Saiyan, transformation was a combat form.
You didn't bow to the highest god in a battle stance.
"Rise, Broly," the Grand Priest said calmly.
"Yes, Grand Priest," Broly said, bowing again before standing.
"I'm aware of everything that happened to Universe 3's God of Destruction Ai," the Grand Priest said, hands folded behind his back. "It truly is unfortunate… but rules are rules. When you break them, you pay the price."
"The rule that a God of Destruction disappears if they use Instant Transmission… was that yours?" Broly's eyes sharpened. His fists clenched, anger creeping across his face.
The Grand Priest: "…"
Why do you and Ken both assume it was me?
"It wasn't," he said with a shake of his head.
"You're not lying to me?" Broly asked through clenched teeth.
"Why would I lie to you? And besides—do you think just because you've reached level 58, you're qualified to challenge a god who's past level 90?" the Grand Priest said with a small laugh, releasing the tiniest fraction of his aura.
Thud.
Broly froze in place instantly, unable to move a muscle.
He didn't even have time to transform into Legendary Super Saiyan Three.
Broly's eyes went wide as he struggled.
"Looks like you're still unconvinced. Then let's put you in your strongest state," the Grand Priest said with an easy smile, and eased out a sliver more pressure.
Rumble—!
Broly's ki exploded, his power roaring to its peak. His hair shot back again, growing long until it fell past his waist.
Only when Broly's energy had fully erupted did the Grand Priest nudge his aura against him again.
Broly was pinned in place once more. No matter how he strained, he couldn't move at all.
"Now you understand the gap between us, don't you?" the Grand Priest said lightly, withdrawing his pressure.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]