The Saiyan Devil
Chapter 19
The air went still as if time froze. Everyone could feel the thick tension rising. The contestants from the bleachers all looked visibly worried; even the normally stoic Hit was frowning as he saw the last few fighters in the arena, and they were all fighting Jiren, the absolute monster.
From the short amount of time Hit was fighting Jiren, he knew he was holding back significantly, and it was about to be proven now that Jiren was fighting the strongest. Hit wouldn't admit it, but Celeon was far above him right now. The dedication to his training was now bearing fruit, blooming into a flower that could withstand the frigid cold of winter.
It didn't hurt Hit's pride to think this, and this was just the cold, hard facts that he accepted without a problem. Hit glanced over at Caulifla, Kale, and Cabba. He knew they were all close and could probably be considered family at this point, but Hit had lived for over one thousand years; he could easily tell that Caulifla and Kale loved Celeon more than just a friend. It was painful to see this because they may end up dying before confessing to one another.
Hit inwardly sighed. He didn't know why he was thinking about this. Perhaps it's because Celeon asked him for tricks to improve his fighting style better and incorporate some of his within it. Hit never thought he'd be a mentor; he was an assassin who kept to himself and completed jobs without fail, but now, this may be the first job he failed.
No.
It was the first job he failed. It was unfortunate; all he could do was place his trust in Celeon and hope for the best; there was nothing he could do now.
Hit proceeded to smirk. It wasn't a frustrated smirk but one that resembled a proud father.
"Come."
The four fighters all charged at Jiren with a battle cry erupting from their mouths. Jiren remained silent as he was quickly bombarded with attacks from all sides; despite having his back exposed to attacks, they weren't anything to worry about.
Jiren kicked back, his boot landing into Celeon's gut and sending him flying; next, Jiren landed a heavy blow to Android 17's face, halting him from moving, and two chops into Goku and Vegeta's neck. This paralyzed them for a few seconds, allowing Jiren to send them flying with rapid attacks from his glare. As Goku and Vegeta were embedded into the arena due to Jiren's attack, the Pride Trooper charged up a large Ki blast and sent it down at them; however, before it reached, Android 17 appeared in front of them and used his barrier to block the attack. Jiren wasn't finished as he came diving down at them like a falcon on a hunt. All of their eyes widened, and they quickly flipped back as Jiren crashed into their area.
"Don't forget me!"
Jiren turned and used his forearm to block Celeon's attack. He glared menacingly at the Universe 6 Saiyan. However, Jiren was curious; he was way too strong, almost on par with the Universe 7 Saiyans. Jiren hadn't noticed before, but Celeon's evil ki gave him the much-needed boost to keep up.
How interesting.
However, Jiren felt movement from his right, pushed Celeon away, and sent a rapid flurry of punches at Vegeta. Still, the Saiyan Prince grinned before he began to dodge them all, rattling Jiren as his eyes opened in confusion. This confusion allowed Goku to appear above with a Kamehameha, which was shot down at Jiren. Still, the Pride Trooper was fast to react and used an invisible ki barrier to block it, but it was stronger than before, so it caused an explosion.
Celeon could feel Jiren's ki; it was relaxed; despite all this fighting, he was still relaxed. That must be the secret to his overwhelming power! The state of being relaxed. It was like Ultra Instinct but different. Jiren still thinks while fighting, but it's like his own version of Ultra Instinct.
Fascinating!
However, Celeon was brought out of his musing as a red ki blast shot toward him quickly. The Saiyan shot red and black ki claws at it and stopped it midway with an explosion, but Jiren came out of it and bashed into him like a buffalo before punching him in the face with several punches. Celeon's eyes went blank for a moment as he felt the strikes.
They were the strongest punches he had ever felt, but he needed to remain standing; before Jiren could land another punch, Celeon placed both his hands on Jiren's wrist and slid the punch in a different direction, allowing Celeon to send a heavy foot attack into Jiren's gut, out of Jiren's back came red and black ki.
Goku and Vegeta came out of the smoke to assist Celeon. They hurled everything they could at the monster of a fighter, punches, and kicks, but Jiren blocked them all with ease.
Suddenly.
"ARG!"
Goku and Vegeta jumped back as Android 17 landed a sneak attack on Jiren's back; everyone's mouth dropped as they watched Jiren stumble forward; there was a hole in the back of his uniform and some scratches on his skin. Jiren's body spun around; his teeth bared, seething in anger as he was attacked from behind. Android 17's punch collided with Jiren, and Android 17 visibly winced as he tried to keep Jiren's arm steady with his own.
"A cowardly attack! I expected more!"
"Sorry…but I don't need to meet your expectations; this isn't a fair fight, but a battle for survival."
Jiren snickered as he pushed Android 17 back. Android 17's sleeves ripped as an influx of power shot through his arm from Jiren, but the Android was surprisingly stalwart.
"I can see it. I can already tell what your wish is."
"You…KNOW NOTHING!"
Android 17 was slapped away as Jiren gained the upper hand. Vegeta tried to step in, but Jiren didn't even bother to face him as he backhanded him away. Celeon and Goku appeared at Jiren's side and went for a punch, but Jiren jumped, causing Goku and Celeon to strike each other. Jiren used this to hammer down, slamming both of his hands into Goku's and Celeon's heads, sending them into the arena.
Jiren looked around at his fallen opponents, yet his gaze landed upon Celeon.
"Universe Six Saiyan, why do you help those from Universe Seven? You're enemies, not friends, yet you help them. Why?"
Celeon rolled, turning his body to glance at the green void.
"Truthfully…because I trust them."
Jiren's anger rose to impalpable levels. "Trust? Don't make me laugh. You expect me to believe that? Trust in others doesn't matter, only your own might."
Celeon picked himself up and stared at Jiren with a fierce glare. "Perhaps you're correct, but you're supposedly some "Hero Of Justice," right? You shouldn't be so callous; you're working in a team with others who trust you; it's only right you do the same."
Jiren went for an attack, roaring with all his might at Celeon's answer, but the Saiyan tilted his head to avoid it. Jiren blinked in surprise before going for a rapid-fire of punches; all of them were being skillfully dodged, which was shocking to the Gods Of Destruction.
"Hey, Vados…is that?"
"It isn't Ultra Instinct, but something more of a…sixth sense. Celeon has a great ki-sensing aptitude that far surpasses most; he's tracking where Jiren's punches will head for and acting accordingly. However, this takes extreme control and precision."
Champa nodded in affirmation. He was inwardly disappointed that one of his Saiyans didn't have Ultra Instinct, but it is what it is.
Celeon saw an opening and kicked into Jiren's chest; the blow was enough to cause the Pride Trooper to skid back. However, before Jiren could move, Goku, Vegeta, and Android 17 appeared in a three-way segment and shot off their respective attacks: Kamehameha, Final Flash, and a large ki blast for Android 17.
Jiren's ki exploded, and a barrier of red-ki-like flames protected Jiren from all attacks.
"Your trust in others will be your downfall!" Jiren's voice boomed as he stopped all of the attacks. He shot a ki blast from his foot and charged into Goku, slamming him into the pillar and sending him flying through it. Vegeta came and began to punch Jiren, as he was now back in Perfected Super Saiyan Blue after Celeon's ki settled in.
Jiren grabbed Vegeta by the ankles as he ignored the punches and spun to the left, slamming Vegeta's back into the center pillar, but before he could do it again, Android 17 came and kicked into Jiren, getting him to release Vegeta from his intense grip.
Celeon saw Jiren diving after him, but Celeon didn't move as he shot a red and black Kamehameha. Jiren plowed through it like an axe through a tree. Celeon, seeing that his attack wasn't working, jumped back to avoid damage, but Jiren dashed after him. The only thing the Saiyan could do was block, but that ended up with him being embedded into a mountain of rocks.
"We're your opponents, Jiren!"
Jiren raised his arm and blocked Vegeta's and Android 17's punches before going for a high kick into Vegeta's jaw, sending him into Android 17. Goku returned to the fray, only for Jiren to hit him with a heavy right hook. The Saiyan of Universe 7 found himself in the middle of a barrage of strikes from Jiren.
Goku decided to gain some distance from Jiren, seeing as everyone else was recovering from their previous beating. Goku couldn't help but grimace in his mind at the thought of being unable to defeat such a powerful force.
Jiren was on another level. His calm demeanor made his attacks pack more punch than anything else, making it hard to believe that he could be defeated.
Jiren went for a haymaker, but a black and red ki hand reared his attack off course. Goku looked to the left to see that Celeon conjured the strength to save him.
Goku didn't waste this chance and began his assault. A flurry of punches to Jiren's face before Vegeta came into the fray and shot a Blue Prominence Flash at point-blank range.
Like the shiniest of aquamarine gemstones, the azure attack enveloped Jiren, his figure disappearing like the faintest of dust.
Everyone was on the edge of their seats, eagerly anticipating the battle's outcome. Goku, Vegeta, and Celeon managed to stay in their respective forms, with Vegeta in Perfected Super Saiyan Blue, Goku in Super Saiyan Blue stacked with Kaio-Ken X20 while Celeon was in his Super Saiyan God State.
As the dust lingered, a red ki blast shot from the darkness. Its target was Goku, who had no time to register what had happened as he was sent flying back.
Vegeta's eyes widened to pinpricks as he saw what happened to Goku. His eyes went to the dust cloud before he saw the figure of Jiren jump out of it at blinding speeds.
Jiren crashed directly into Vegeta, taking him out of Perfect Super Saiyan Blue and into base form. Jiren picked up Vegeta by the neck and punched his gut, getting the Saiyan Prince to spit before he was sent away courtesy of Jiren's Power Impact.
It exploded on the other side of the remaining arena, causing a ripple to flash through the null void.
Jiren turned his attention to Celeon, who immediately gulped under the scrutinizing glare.
Android 17 tried to attack but was shut down by Jiren's invisible ki blast from his glare.
Celeon looked around and saw that everyone was knocked out. It was just him and the unstoppable force before him.
"Could I win?"
"No, I can't, but I can try!"
Jiren and Celeon read each other's minds, dashing at each other within a single blink of an eye. Their fists clashed in a battle of dominance, but Celeon wavered as he felt unbearable pain coursing through his arm.
Jiren went for an uppercut, but Celeon spun back, avoiding the attack, before shooting ki claws at the ground and picking up the highly indestructible material that made the arena and slammed it against Jiren's solid body, sending him barreling.
Celeon wasted no time. His body seemed to move independently as he rushed after Jiren, who returned from the previous attack unscathed. Jiren hardened his glare, and his eyes snapped open, sending another volley of invisible blasts.
Celeon, however, pushed right through. His unshakable flow was not disturbed. From what everyone could see, purple wisps left Celeon's body, indicating that Jiren's ki attack was shut down!
Jiren's eyes shook as his attack did nothing to impede Celeon's movement. His lips trembled with anger, reaching a boiling point as his raw energy exploded in a veil of flames. He shot his iconic red blast at Celeon, hoping this would stop the incoming Saiyan, but as it reached his vicinity, it faded into flickers of purple wisps!
Celeon battery rammed into Jiren, but the Pride Trooper flipped his body around and kicked Celeon in the face, knocking him into several crags.
Jiren recovered from his flip and processed what he had learned about Celeon's Super Saiyan God form. It utilized the same principle as Hakai, nullifying and voiding ki-based attacks. That's what separated Celeon's Super Saiyan God from the red-haired version he briefly saw in the Universe 7 Saiyans.
The air took an awkward silence as everyone patiently waited for Celeon to recover. The Universe 6 fighters were all on edge, gripping their knees with anxiety as they watched Celeon pull out all the stops to fight Jiren.
He persevered in the face of an immovable force, and it's for that reason they didn't lose hope despite such a hopeless situation.
The dust dispersed, and the flickering flames of violet from Celeon's hair signaled his presence. Jiren felt his non-existent brow twitch as fury and frustration bubbled from his core.
"I'm not done yet!"
Looking at the fallen fighters of Universe 7, Celeon took one glance at Goku and Vegeta, his seniors and the ones who taught him so much in so little time.
His burning indigo eyes showed his defiance and his desperation. There was one more trick he learned when training with Goku, and despite his warning, he needed to use it; there was too much at stake!
"You can't win," Jiren folded his arms, his anger from earlier dissipated like the tides.
"Maybe so, but I have something to give me a chance!"
Everyone's eyes widened at Celeon's declaration. All they could do was watch and see what he would do.
.
.
.
"KAIO-KEN!"
AN: I decided to upload this earlier than expected, as my friend gave me the clear. For some reason, FF is not sending me notifications, and I did all the steps to fix it, yet still nothing. I'm so sorry if I missed anything.
On another note, I was surprised by the number of follows/favs I got on returning to this story. I hope that you stick around for what I have in store!
I don't have too much to say. The next chapter will explain how Celeon has Kaio-Ken.
Gilgamesh50 - Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this one as well.
If you wish to donate a dollar, feel free to check me at Ko/fi/saurianmp4
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See you all next chapter!