Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield...
The atmosphere could not have been more different.
If one side looked like a passionate revenge drama, then this side looked more like...
A wildly over-the-top action comedy.
...
"Damn you! Die already!"
Android 18's exquisitely beautiful face was twisted with humiliation and fury.
She unleashed a relentless barrage of energy blasts with both hands, firing them as if they cost nothing.
The endless storm of attacks blanketed nearly every inch of the sky.
Explosions thundered without pause, filling the battlefield with smoke and fire.
Yet...
Within the blazing inferno, Krillin moved like a ghost.
Each time an energy blast was about to hit him, he simply tilted his body slightly or lowered his head a fraction.
Every attack capable of leveling skyscrapers missed him by a hair.
Not even the edge of his clothes was touched.
"Not bad."
Krillin's voice came from her left.
Android 18 spun instantly and whipped out a powerful roundhouse kick.
It hit nothing.
"Those legs are amazing. Perfect shape too."
"Your technique, though, is pretty rough."
His voice suddenly came from her right.
Grinding her teeth, Android 18 swung an elbow.
Another miss.
"Tsk."
"Such a slim waist. What a waste."
Before she realized it, Krillin had appeared behind her.
He even reached out and lightly poked her firm waist with one finger.
"Ahhh!"
She jumped away as if electrocuted, clutching her waist while glaring at him.
Her face was bright red.
Partly from rage.
Partly from embarrassment.
Ever since becoming an Android with limitless energy and overwhelming power, she had never suffered such humiliation.
Every human fighter she'd met before had been terrified of her.
Yet this bald man...
This ordinary-looking, slightly shameless bald man completely ignored her attacks and toyed with her like she was nothing.
"Who are you?!"
"No human can move this fast!"
Android 18 screamed.
Floating calmly in the air, Krillin rubbed his nose and glanced at his system panel.
"Who I am isn't important."
"What matters is that you're in a very dangerous position right now, Miss Android."
He smiled as his eyes openly wandered across her figure.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Enraged by the way he looked at her like merchandise, Android 18 stopped firing energy blasts.
Instead, she compressed all her energy into her body.
In a flash of golden light, she charged straight at Krillin.
Close combat.
This was an Android's greatest strength.
Unlimited stamina.
An indestructible body.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fists and kicks collided in rapid succession.
Her attacks fell like a violent storm, every strike carrying enough force to shatter the air itself.
Krillin fought back with only one hand.
Yes.
One hand.
His left hand remained behind his back while his right effortlessly blocked every attack.
Deflect.
Parry.
Redirect.
Neutralize.
Krillin shook his head.
"Too slow."
"Too weak."
"Your guard is full of openings."
He casually critiqued her technique while defending himself.
Suddenly, Android 18 snapped her leg upward with a vicious kick aimed directly between his legs.
Krillin raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"Playing dirty now?"
His right hand shot down and caught her ankle.
In that instant, she felt as though her leg had been trapped inside a steel vise.
It would not move an inch.
"Let go!"
She desperately tried to pull her leg back.
It was useless.
"These legs deserve better."
"They'd look incredible in black stockings."
With a gentle tug, Krillin pulled her forward.
Her balance collapsed.
She stumbled straight into his arms.
Her soft body crashed against his chest.
Though she was an Android, she felt no different from a human.
If anything, her skin was even smoother and cooler.
Krillin naturally wrapped an arm around her waist.
The pose was unbelievably intimate.
"You..."
She looked up.
Their faces were less than two inches apart.
She could even feel his warm breath.
The overwhelming aura radiating from him surrounded her completely.
It was the presence of someone standing at the absolute peak.
Even the biological components inside her body briefly malfunctioned.
"So this is the future Android 18..."
"That fierce look suits you."
"I like it."
Krillin gently brushed a finger across her cheek.
"You bastard!"
Humiliated beyond words, Android 18 released every ounce of energy inside her body in an attempt to blast him away.
Nothing happened.
Krillin's arm might as well have been fused to her body.
"Don't struggle."
He released only a trace of the Martial God Core's divine pressure.
Boom!
It was absolute suppression.
The difference between a god and a mortal.
Android 18 felt like a rabbit caught beneath the gaze of an ancient dragon.
Every function in her body froze.
Even moving a single finger became nearly impossible.
"W... What are you trying to do?"
For the first time, genuine fear crept into her voice.
She was terrified.
Truly terrified.
This bald man...
He was not human.
He was a monster wearing human skin.
Krillin leaned close and whispered into her ear.
"What do I want?"
"Didn't I already tell you?"
"I'm taking you home."
"As a local souvenir."
"My Android 18 back home is too much of a tsundere."
"Once in a while, trying a wilder version isn't such a bad idea."
Those words sent a chill racing from her feet to the top of her head.
Take her home?
A souvenir?
Was he planning to treat her like property?
In this hopeless future, she had always been the one treating humans like toys.
Never the other way around.
Humiliation and terror intertwined, shattering the last of her mental defenses.
Just then...
A deafening explosion echoed across the battlefield.
It was followed immediately by Android 17's agonized scream.
Android 18 whipped her head around.
She watched as three beams of overwhelming power blasted Android 17 deep into the earth.
"Seventeen!"
She let out a heart-wrenching scream.
They were Androids.
Cold-blooded killers.
But they were also brother and sister.
The only family either of them had left.
Seeing her brother lying there like a broken corpse drove her completely over the edge.
"AAAAAH!"
"I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"
Despair often gave birth to madness.
Her eyes instantly turned crimson.
The Infinite Energy Reactor inside her body began operating far beyond its limits.
If she couldn't win...
Then everyone would die together.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Urgent alarms echoed from inside her body.
A terrifying, unstable wave of destructive energy rapidly spread outward.
Krillin raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"Planning to self-destruct?"
He knew this routine well.
Losing villains always seemed to choose the same ending.
"Let me go!"
"I'm taking every one of you to hell with me!"
She struggled wildly in his embrace.
Her body temperature soared until she felt like molten steel.
If that energy exploded...
Half the planet could disappear.
Even Goku and the others noticed.
"Not good!"
"She's going to self-destruct!"
Goku shouted as he rushed toward them.
Down in the crater, Android 17 heard his sister's scream.
Already on the verge of death, he suddenly laughed.
"Cough..."
"Haha..."
"That's it..."
"Eighteen..."
"Blow them all up..."
"Destroy... everything..."
His trembling finger reached toward the self-destruct mechanism inside his own body.
He wanted to amplify the explosion.
"Not happening."
A green figure appeared silently beside the crater.
Piccolo looked down at the dying Android 17 with a cold expression.
His fingers came together as brilliant light gathered at the tips.
"Your sins end here."
No hesitation.
No mercy.
"Special Beam Cannon!"
Whoosh!
The spiraling beam pierced straight through Android 17's chest.
It precisely destroyed both his power reactor and his self-destruct device.
His smile froze forever.
The light faded from his eyes.
"Gohan..."
Piccolo slowly closed his eyes.
"I've avenged you."
The wind swept across the ruins, carrying clouds of dust into the sky.
It almost sounded like the whisper of the one-armed boy's spirit.
"No!!!"
Watching her brother die, Android 18 let out a cry of utter despair.
"Then all of you can die with me!"
The unstable energy inside her reached its limit.
She glowed like a miniature sun, too bright to look at.
Ding!
Critical character detected initiating self-destruction. Mission item delivered.
Item: Mechanical Lifeform Forced Dormancy Spray (Single Use)
Effect: Instantly interrupts the energy transmission of Androids and mechanical lifeforms, forcing them into deep hibernation.
A pink spray bottle suddenly appeared in Krillin's hand.
It looked suspiciously like a can of women's pepper spray.
"There."
"Just take a nap."
Holding her chin with one hand, Krillin forced her to look up.
Her face was covered with tears, grief, and madness.
Even in that broken state, she looked heartbreakingly beautiful.
"You can't stop me..."
"I'll..."
Psshhh...
Without the slightest hesitation, Krillin pressed the nozzle straight into her face.
A cloud of pink mist carrying a faint strawberry scent covered her completely.
"Cough..."
"What... is..."
Before she could finish speaking, her eyes lost focus.
The berserk energy raging inside her vanished instantly.
Like flames extinguished by cold water.
Her tense body went limp.
Her eyelids became unbearably heavy.
Her consciousness faded into darkness.
"...Jerk..."
That was her final thought before losing consciousness.
A few seconds later...
The terrifying demon who had ruled the future with fear curled up peacefully in Krillin's arms like a sleeping kitten.
Her breathing became slow and even.
Her cheeks still carried a faint blush from her desperate struggle.
"Done."
Krillin adjusted her weight in his arms and nodded with satisfaction.
"Feels pretty nice."
"I'll take her back so Bulma can study her."
"Maybe she'll crack the secret of the Infinite Energy Reactor."
By then, Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks had already flown over.
Each wore a different expression.
Goku scratched his head.
"That's it?"
"I thought she was really going to explode."
Vegeta snorted as he looked at the unconscious Android 18 in Krillin's arms.
His expression was... complicated.
"You've got some strange tastes."
"You'll even go after a killing machine."
Trunks stood frozen.
His worldview had completely shattered.
That was Android 18.
The demon who had slaughtered countless people.
The monster who had turned Earth into hell.
And she had been defeated...
By a bottle of spray?
And judging by Krillin's behavior...
He looked less like a hero and more like a bandit kidnapping someone's daughter.
"Uncle Krillin..."
"What exactly are you..."
"Oh, this?"
Krillin took out a specially modified Capsule from his system storage.
Bulma had designed it specifically for him.
Its interior was enormous and maintained the life signs of anything stored inside.
Originally, it had been intended for transporting injured animals or oversized cargo.
"This is a limited-edition collectible."
"Handle with care."
As he spoke, he gently placed the unconscious Android 18 inside the Capsule.
Pop!
The large container instantly shrank back into a tiny Capsule.
Krillin casually slipped it into his pocket.
"All right."
"Garbage cleaned up."
"Souvenir acquired."
He dusted off his hands and flashed Trunks his trademark bright grin.
Above the ruined city, the dark clouds slowly began to part.
For the first time in years...
Warm sunlight broke through the clouds and shone upon the scarred world that had finally been given a new beginning.
--------------------------------
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