Moro lay on the ground clutching his shattered arm, rolling several times as pain tore through him. Even then, the hatred in his eyes never faded.
Goku crouched beside him. "With the difference between us now, there's no way you can beat me. Have you ever actually trained before?"
Moro glared at him as if the question itself were offensive. "Of course not. Why would I?"
"Maybe instead of stealing life from people and planets, you could get stronger by training."
"Training is what weaklings do!"
Goku sighed. "That's a shame. You're one of the toughest guys I've ever fought. If you were a decent person, I would've liked to see how strong you could become after some real training."
Moro had no answer. For the first time, the situation felt genuinely hopeless.
Jaco finally lost patience. "Goku! You saw him try to trick you just now. He's not going to change. Stop talking and finish him!"
"I know. Just give me a little longer."
Moro's expression twisted with humiliation. "To think I would be reduced to this by a race that didn't even exist a few million years ago..."
"Enough, Moro." Goku looked down at him. "You're not getting away with this. I'll ask you one last time. Are you going back to the Galactic Prison or not?"
Moro remained silent, but his eyes suddenly shifted past Goku.
Something lay in the distance.
The arm Merus had severed earlier.
More importantly, the blue crystal embedded in that palm was still intact.
Moro's eyes widened.
Goku noticed the change in his expression. "Answer me."
Moro's despair vanished behind a cold smile. "I already told you. I'm never going back to that prison. And once I'm done here, I'll keep devouring planets."
Goku's expression hardened. "Then there's nothing else to say. I promised Merus I'd protect this planet and the galaxy."
"Merus?" Moro spat. "That Angel?"
"Yeah. He was also my teacher. Ultra Instinct is something I learned from him."
Moro's smile slowly returned. "So he can use that technique too."
"Of course."
That was all Moro needed.
He thrust one hand backward, and the severed arm lying in the distance shot toward him through the air. Goku turned in surprise as Moro caught it and immediately pressed the detached limb back against his body.
"An Angel's special abilities..." Moro muttered, his grin widening. "Let's see what they can really do."
The arm fused back into place.
Divine power erupted from Moro so violently that the entire battlefield shook. His fur turned silver-white, and the intact crystal in his palm began glowing with Merus's image inside it.
Moro raised that crystal to his forehead and merged it into the center of his brow.
His laughter echoed across the battlefield.
"I have the power of an Angel now! This time, you're the one who's going down!"
Ken watched everything without the slightest sign of panic.
Then he released the little demoness.
She appeared beside him and immediately understood what had happened. Her face went pale the moment she saw Moro covered in silver-white power.
"Moro!"
Moro glanced toward her.
"Stop! Right now!"
"Master, don't worry." Moro sounded almost cheerful. "I finally obtained the power of an Angel. Once I beat Goku, I'll come free you immediately."
"No! You can't beat him!"
Moro frowned. "Come on, Master. I just told you—I have an Angel's power now. Just stay there and watch."
The little demoness fell silent.
She knew him too well. Once Moro became convinced that victory was within reach, nothing she said would make him stop.
She could only sigh and look away.
The others had been watching the exchange with growing confusion.
Vegeta scowled. Kakarot had once again managed to turn a finished battle into a disaster.
Piccolo looked toward the little demoness. "That woman Ken released... she's Moro's master, isn't she?"
Gohan studied her as well. "Who exactly is she?"
Kale's cheeks reddened slightly. "She's really pretty..."
Piccolo slowly turned his head toward her.
Of all the things to comment on right now, that was what she had chosen.
Ken glanced toward the little demoness with an amused smile. "See? I gave your pet a chance. He's the one who refused to take it."
She bit her lip but had no answer.
Then she noticed the barbecue equipment beside Ken and blinked. "What is all that?"
"You'll find out soon."
That answer only made her more uneasy.
Goku had also glanced toward Ken and the little demoness, but whatever arrangement existed between them could wait. Moro was standing in front of him again with Merus's copied power coursing through his body.
Moro moved first.
He crossed the distance almost instantly and drove a fist toward Goku. Goku raised both arms to block, but the force behind the blow still shoved him backward, his feet carving two long trenches through the ground.
Moro smiled. "Well? How does it feel?"
Goku settled back into his stance without answering.
They charged each other at the same time.
Their fists collided with a deafening explosion, releasing so much energy that the ground collapsed beneath them into a vast crater. Ken immediately pulled Jaco over to his side with telekinesis before the shockwave could catch him.
Goku saw the destruction spreading below and made his decision at once. If they kept fighting on the surface, Earth would suffer for every exchange.
He shot into the sky.
Moro understood immediately.
"You don't want to damage the planet, do you?"
He followed Goku upward and attacked with a kick. Goku blocked it and countered with a punch, and the two fell into a high-speed exchange above the battlefield.
For the first time since Goku completed Ultra Instinct, Moro could keep up.
Their movements blurred across the sky as fists, elbows, and kicks collided at impossible speed. Moro laughed throughout the fight, exhilarated by how light and responsive his body had become.
"This is incredible! I've never felt my body move like this before. So this is the power of an Angel!"
After several exchanges, Moro slipped through Goku's defense and drove a kick into him, sending Goku plummeting toward the ground.
Goku recovered just before impact, adjusted his body in midair, and landed cleanly.
Moro descended across from him with a smug smile.
"Well, Goku? With my magic on top of an Angel's abilities, it looks like I'm the one with the advantage now."
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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