Merus rubbed his forehead, feeling more helpless by the second.
Did you really think I was as shameless as you?
Why would I go out of my way to call Bier just to stab her in the heart too?
But while Merus was still thinking that, Ken had already contacted Bier through his staff.
Merus quietly wiped away some sweat again.
You really called her…
"Huh? Ken?" Bier's voice came through the staff.
"It's me." Ken nodded. "Nothing serious. It's just been a long time since I saw you, so I kind of missed you."
"Is that so? At least you still have some conscience," Bier snorted.
"I'm over at Merus's place. Want to come hang out?" Ken asked with a smile.
Bier was tempted. Staying in Universe 12's God of Destruction Realm all the time had gotten boring, and she really did feel like getting out for a while.
She was just about to agree when Ken spoke again.
"Actually, forget it. You'd probably never find your way here. By the time you managed it, ten years would've passed," he said.
Bier felt like she had just been stabbed in the heart.
"Anyway, you made it back to Universe 12's God of Destruction Realm, right?" Ken asked.
"I'm back! I've been back for ages!" Bier shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Congratulations, congratulations." Ken grinned.
"Hmph! You're so annoying!" Bier snapped, furious enough that she looked ready to bite through the staff itself.
"Oh, right. Merus wants to know what level you're at." As Ken said that, he deliberately angled the staff toward Merus.
Merus fell silent.
I'm not the one who wanted to ask. You are.
But now that the camera was on him, all Merus could do was force a dry laugh and wave at Bier.
"Merus-nii… what level are you at?" Bier asked, gradually calming down when she saw him.
"I haven't improved much at all. I'm still at 51," Merus answered honestly.
"I haven't gone up much either. I'm still at 48." Bier let out a small sigh of relief.
"That's no good," Ken said, lecturing both of them without holding back. "As Angels, you're supposed to keep improving. Don't think you can just waste time because you live forever. You're supposed to make your time count."
Bier said nothing.
Merus had no answer either.
"Then what level are you at?" Bier shot back. "Last time, once you hit level 71, you said it got really hard to improve. The way you're talking now, it sounds like you've gone up a lot."
Bier had never personally been on the receiving end of Ken's overwhelming pressure the way Merus had, so she asked almost without thinking.
Merus wiped away more sweat.
It's a trap, Bier. You're still too green.
"It took me six years, but I finally made it to level 80," Ken said with a sigh. "The higher I get, the slower the progress feels."
Bier froze on the spot.
Merus had already guessed it, but hearing Ken say it outright still left him deeply shaken.
So it really is level 80.
That was a level he would never touch.
It was terrifying.
Bier was even more stunned. Her mouth dropped open wide enough to fit a fist, but no words came out.
Ken reached level 80?
Did I hear that right?
What does level 80 even mean?
As far as she knew, no Angel besides the Grand Priest had ever reached that height.
As for the Grand Priestess, Bier did not know enough about her to even think of her.
"You two really need to try harder," Ken said earnestly. "I'm honestly not showing off here."
Bier fell silent.
Merus fell silent too.
You're still claiming you're not showing off?
If this isn't showing off, what is?
"Merus, have you ever heard of the Demon Realm?" Ken suddenly asked.
"The Demon Realm? Sure, I've heard of it," Merus said with a nod. "Why bring it up all of a sudden?"
"What about the Demon Realm?" Bier asked curiously, tilting her head.
"As far as I know, the gods of the Demon Realm are incredibly powerful. Have either of you heard that?" Ken asked.
As he spoke, he watched Merus's and Bier's expressions closely.
Their reactions were almost identical—blank confusion mixed with disbelief.
"You can't be serious. You two know basically nothing about the Demon Realm?" Ken said, staring at them in disbelief.
"Why would we need to know about the Demon Realm?" Bier asked, confused. "When you say their gods are strong, how strong are we talking?"
"Probably around the level of Gods of Destruction?" Merus guessed.
Ken genuinely did not feel like speaking anymore.
Had the Grand Priest really never told the Angels anything about the Demon Realm?
But after thinking it over, Ken could almost understand why.
Maybe the Grand Priest had deliberately kept it from them so they would not live under that kind of pressure.
He wanted these Angel children of his to keep peaceful hearts.
If they were raised in fear, what peaceful hearts would they have left?
Maybe, in the Grand Priest's eyes, he alone was enough to handle it all.
If so, there was no need for his children to get involved, and no need for them to train so desperately.
"I think so too," Bier said, agreeing with Merus. "At most, their gods should be around God of Destruction level. It's not like they could be stronger than us Angels, right?"
"You two are way too naive." Ken shook his head. "In the Demon Realm, their Supreme Kais are called Demon Supreme Kais, and their Gods of Destruction are called Gods of Ruin. Their highest ruler is the Great Demon God. Do you know what levels those three are at?"
"What levels?" Bier blinked.
Merus raised an eyebrow as well.
"The Great Demon God is at least level 100. The Gods of Ruin are level 99. The Demon Supreme Kais are level 98," Ken said plainly.
The moment he said it, both Bier's and Merus's faces went pale.
Those levels were absurdly high.
"And the Demon Realm has always wanted to swallow up our Realm of Gods. Yet somehow neither of you seems the least bit nervous," Ken said with a helpless sigh.
"Where did you even hear something like that?" Merus asked suspiciously.
Even I didn't know something this secret.
How do you know it?
"From Amarella." Ken casually dumped the whole thing on Amarella.
Amarella fell silent.
Fine. Whatever.
"So it was Amarella," Merus said, accepting it without suspicion.
After all, Amarella was an Angel from hundreds of millions of years ago. It was perfectly normal for her to know more than they did.
"Ken, what exactly are you getting at?" Bier asked, blinking. "Are you saying the gods of the Demon Realm might launch a full-scale invasion of our Realm of Gods soon?"
"That's possible." Ken nodded. "That's why we need to stay prepared even in times of peace."
"But that's level 98," Bier said, puffing out her cheeks and shaking her head. "Merus-nii and I should probably just give up and lie flat. No matter how hard we try, there's no way either of us is ever reaching a level like that."
"Bier's right. Instead of worrying ourselves sick over something like that all day, we might as well just accept it and coast," Merus said, nodding in agreement.
Ken was completely speechless.
"You two really are hopeless."
"Hopeless?" Merus blinked, then even used his staff to search for the term, as if it might be a person or some specific thing.
But no matter how he searched, he found nothing useful.
In the end, Merus gave up.
"I'm not going to sit around waiting to be butchered," Ken said quietly. "I'm going to keep getting stronger. But don't worry. Once I hit level 100, I'll protect both of you."
Merus fell silent again.
That one pierced straight through his heart.
He was supposed to be the senior Angel in training, and yet in the end he would need an Angel born from a human to protect him?
"Sure, sure. Then you'd better keep training hard," Bier said, sounding completely unbothered.
If she could not raise her own level anyway, then there was no point stressing herself out over a future war with the Demon Clan.
After chatting with Merus and Bier for a while longer, someone knocked at the door to report that the Galactic King had prepared a lavish meal for them.
Ken, of course, had no reason to refuse.
"Ken, long time no see. Welcome to Galactic Patrol Headquarters," the Galactic King said warmly.
Ken nodded politely in return.
"Where's that little guy who likes grabbing me?" the Galactic King asked, looking around for Broly.
Ken fell silent.
So you actually miss being grabbed now?
Merus could only smile helplessly at the side.
…
Universe 7, Other World, the eighteenth level of Hell.
The connection between the Demon Realm and this world lay in the forbidden zone of the eighteenth level of Hell.
The forbidden zone was a vast, endless space, something like the World of Void.
It was filled with the aura of death.
Even the evil dead who had already fallen into Hell did not dare enter that place.
Otherwise, it would never have been called the forbidden zone in the first place.
And yet today, three figures emerged from its depths.
One was the Demon King Dabura. Another was the beast Yakon. The third was a young man with blue hair.
The young man looked to be around twenty. He had blue hair, orange skin, and otherwise looked mostly human.
One especially odd detail was that he was actually riding on Yakon.
Since Yakon walked upright on two legs, the whole image of someone riding him looked bizarre.
"So this is the entrance to the Realm of Gods?" the young man asked, looking around with open disdain once they entered the forbidden zone.
"Prince Zat, this is only the forbidden zone," Dabura explained at once. "Once we pass through it, we'll enter Hell in the mortal world. After leaving Hell, we enter the mortal world itself. Beyond that lies the Realm of Gods."
"Oh? More complicated than I expected." The young man, Zat, gave a cold snort.
"Prince Zat, are you certain you want to come with us?" Dabura still sounded worried.
"I want to see what the mortal world and the Realm of Gods are actually like," Zat replied matter-of-factly. "I want to judge for myself whether they're worth conquering. Relax. No one will notice. My level isn't that high, so my arrival won't cause any disturbance. Just like the two of you coming here, this world won't react."
"As you say, Prince Zat!" Dabura bowed.
"Come on. Let's go take a look at the one controlling you," Zat ordered.
"Yes!" Dabura bowed again.
"Move." Zat smacked Yakon on the backside.
Yakon broke into a sprint.
The three of them passed smoothly from the eighteenth level into Other World, then through the golden clouds and out into space.
After traveling through space for some time, Dabura, Zat, and Yakon finally found the wizard Babidi.
"Dabura, you're finally back…" Babidi said, practically overcome with emotion. Tears welled in his eyes as he rushed forward and grabbed Dabura's hands.
"Babidi, sorry to keep you waiting." Dabura smiled.
Babidi paused for a moment, then suddenly noticed that the "M" mark on Dabura's forehead was gone.
A bad feeling rose in his chest.
Even so, he kept his face calm.
"Are these two the helpers you brought back from the Demon Realm?" Babidi asked, looking from Zat to Yakon.
"Allow me to introduce them," Dabura said. "This is Prince Zat, younger brother of the Demon Supreme Kai."
As he said it, he respectfully bowed to Zat.
"The Demon Supreme Kai?" Babidi frowned, clearly unfamiliar with the title.
"The Demon Supreme Kai is one of the greatest gods in the Demon Realm," Dabura explained.
"My apologies, my apologies," Babidi said quickly, stepping forward and warmly taking Zat's hand.
Zat's expression stayed cold. He said nothing.
"And this," Dabura continued, pointing at Yakon, "is the beast Yakon, Prince Zat's mount."
"Mount?" Babidi looked Yakon over carefully.
This thing walks upright…
Can that really count as a mount?
"So… how do you ride him?" Babidi asked, genuinely curious.
"Like this." Dabura produced a strange object.
One end was a long rod, and attached to it was an ornate seat.
"Bear with it," Dabura said.
Then he jammed the rod straight into Yakon's backside.
"Aaaargh!"
Yakon cried out in pain, his body instantly tightening.
"Babidi, just sit in the seat at the back," Dabura said, pointing at the chair now fixed behind Yakon.
Babidi fell silent.
A short silence followed.
"Please wait a moment. I'll go prepare some food for you," Babidi said warmly.
Then he hurried off at once.
"He's probably planning to take the chance to control us," Dabura said with a smile, turning to Zat. "What should we do, Prince Zat? Want me to kill him?"
"No need," Zat said with a faint smile. "Let's pretend he succeeded. We'll stay with him for now and learn more about this world. Once he's no longer useful, we'll kill him. Acting as his underlings should also help us avoid attracting the attention of the gods in the Realm of Gods. Better camouflage."
"You're absolutely right, Prince Zat." Dabura nodded repeatedly.
By then, Babidi had already entered a room containing a magic crystal ball.
He held both hands over it.
Flash.
The images of Dabura, Zat, and Yakon instantly appeared inside the crystal ball.
Babidi began chanting under his breath.
A moment later, an "M" symbol appeared on the foreheads of all three.
Sweat broke out all over Babidi's body.
Controlling the three of them at once was exhausting, even for him.
But still, it worked. They were all under his control now.
Babidi marched back out toward them, full of swagger.
Dabura and Yakon immediately went to one knee.
Zat did not.
"You… why aren't you kneeling?" Babidi asked, confused.
"Hmph. I am the younger brother of the Demon Supreme Kai. My blood is too noble for that," Zat said coldly. "Even if I'm under your control, my bloodline will never submit."
Babidi fell silent.
"All right, then. Do whatever you want. As long as you obey me, I don't care whether you kneel or not," he said at last.
"You're sensible," Zat replied with a small smile.
Babidi studied him silently.
Is this guy really under my control?
For the first time, Babidi was starting to doubt himself.
"Babidi, what's the next step?" Dabura asked, smoothly changing the subject.
"Obviously, I'm going to wake Majin Buu," Babidi said with a sneer.
"Buu?" Zat paused. "What does this Buu you're talking about look like?"
"I've never seen him myself," Babidi said, then frowned. "What do you mean by that? From the sound of it, have you heard of Majin Buu before?"
"Majin Buu? Could it really be him?" Zat's expression turned serious, but there was also excitement in it.
"What are you talking about?" Babidi asked, baffled.
"I'm not sure yet. I'll know once I see him," Zat said, clearly not interested in explaining. "Where is this Majin Buu of yours?"
"According to my father's notes, he couldn't control Majin Buu back then, so he sealed him while he was asleep and hid him on a planet called Earth," Babidi explained. "And just so you know, Majin Buu was created by my father."
"Created by your father?" Zat raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Then the Majin Buu you're talking about probably isn't the same Buu I mean."
"We leave immediately for Earth!" Babidi declared, waving one of his thin little arms.
…
Universe 6, Earth, Capsule Corporation headquarters.
Gohan and Kale appeared at Bulma's place once again.
"Oh? You're entering this World Martial Arts Tournament?" Bulma blinked and looked at Gohan. "Why?"
"One of our classmates is Mr. Satan's daughter…" Gohan gave her the short version.
"Mr. Satan… you mean that guy who got in our way while we were fighting Cell?" Bulma said, remembering him. "I didn't expect the daughter of the world martial arts champion to be in your class."
"She's a good person," Gohan explained. "She has a strong sense of justice, just like Kale and me. She won't let bad people get away with anything. But she figured out who I am somehow—mostly from my voice, I think. If I don't enter the World Martial Arts Tournament with her, she says she'll tell everyone my secret."
"That was sloppy," Bulma said with a sigh. "You look steady on the surface, but when it comes to actually doing things, you're just as muddle-headed as your father. So you want me to make you a helmet that changes your voice?"
"No. You can't wear a helmet or armor in the tournament," Gohan said. "So I wanted to ask if there's something else I could use instead."
"And Aunt Bulma, I'm entering too," Kale added. "I'm going with Gohan-nii, so I need an outfit that'll hide my identity too."
"That's not a big problem," Bulma said thoughtfully. "I just need to make a female version of Gohan's outfit, and it should fit you fine. As for the helmet… sunglasses and a headscarf should be enough."
As she spoke, Bulma quickly put together a trial look for Gohan.
"Well? What do you think, Kale? Pretty cool, right?" Gohan asked with a smile.
Kale nodded hard.
Gohan-nii looks good in anything.
By that point, Kale was already dressed in a female version of Great Saiyaman's outfit.
"What about me, Gohan-nii? This looks pretty good too, right?" she asked expectantly.
"It does. It looks good on you," Gohan said with a nod.
Kale's heart immediately soared.
If Gohan-nii says it looks good, then it has to be fine. Ken-nii's adjustments must already be starting to show.
"Oh right, Aunt Bulma. Where's my sister and that guy Cabba?" Kale asked.
"They left after dinner yesterday," Bulma replied.
"Really? Did they already go back to Planet Sadala?" Kale guessed.
"Probably not. Their spaceship is still parked here," Bulma said, pointing through the window toward the yard.
"Kale, I can sense two strong ki signatures over there. That should be Caulifla and Cabba," Gohan said, pointing in a direction.
"That's definitely Caulifla-nee ki." Kale nodded.
"Speaking of the tournament," Bulma said, bringing the conversation back around with a smile, "even if the two of you try to hide your strength, you'll still knock out your opponents in one hit. Sounds boring."
"In that case, if you two are entering, then I'm entering too," Vegeta's voice suddenly cut in.
A moment later, Emily walked in with Vegeta and Trunks.
"Emily, what brings you here?" Bulma asked.
"Just took a walk after eating," Emily said with a smile.
Gohan blinked and took off his sunglasses to look at Vegeta.
Kale's eyes shifted slightly as well.
"There used to be a huge gap between us in strength," Vegeta said with a faint smile. "But what about now? While you've all been enjoying peace, I've kept training and improving."
"This is great! Dad's going to fight Gohan-nii?" Trunks asked excitedly.
"Gohan, ask Kakarot something for me while you're at it," Vegeta said, smiling in anticipation. "Is he entering this World Martial Arts Tournament too?"
"Sure. I'll ask him when I get the chance," Gohan said with a nod.
"I'm looking forward to fighting Kakarot," Vegeta said, his grin widening.
"Oh, right, Uncle Vegeta. Do you want a special outfit like this too? It'd help keep people from recognizing you," Gohan said, pointing at his own costume.
"No," Vegeta said. "I'm not wearing something like that. I don't care if people recognize me."
"Then Kale, let's head back. We should tell Piccolo and the others too," Gohan suggested.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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