The Three Legendary Saiyans.
Chapter 65: Rise of The Destroyer.
Toppo.
Glancing from the clashes of immense energies he sensed and the incredible heat radiating in the air to a degree that the air shimmered with waves of heat, Toppo exhaled as a dark purple, foreboding energy cloaked his very being, the three warriors from Universe 7 had pushed him and his ideal of Justice to he's knees by another self-proclaimed hero of Justice but also a half-man/half machine hybrid and a seemingly deceased Galactic Tyrant judging by the Halo hovering over his head.
Gohan.
The hair of the top of Gohan's head stood up as Toppo radiated the powerful dark energy that had caused him to go through a sudden transformation; a cold sweat beading on his back as the foreboding energy permeated the very air itself by greatly lowering the temperature so Gohan's and 17's very breath caused small puffs of steam as warm air met cold air.
"Don't charge him too fast… this is unlike anything we've ever seen" 17 spoke' his eyes switching to their Scan Mode: a sight where he closely examined an opponent's physical strength and rating their energy output, but what surprised 17 was that his Scan Eye failed to feed any information about Toppo's unreadable energy.
"Agreed… hey; where's Frieza?" Gohan answered; his body feeling tense for he could not sense Toppo's new energy while in his Ultimate Form, a feeling he'd not felt since the first encounter with Beerus or witnessing the birth of a Super Saiyan God.
Taking the moment of mutual distraction to launch an attack; Toppo raised his hands with his palms facing the duo of Gohan and 17, black lighting sparking between his fingertips as a purple orb manifested within his palms.
17 took less than a second for his Scan Eye to realise that the orb was highly dangerous and with a swing of his right arm he flung up an Omni-Barrier between himself, Gohan and that orb only for the orb to pass through his Omni-Barrier.
"17! Get down!" Gohan yelled as he shoved the Android down to the floor as the orb passed over 17's head and entered Gohan through his chest.
With his eyes widening with shock before flinching from extreme pain; Gohan screamed a silent scream as the purple orb of energy engulfed his entire body, black lightning coursed and shot around Gohan's limbs as the purple orb carried him out from the battlefield leaving 17 alone before vanishing leaving a tortured and burnt Gohan to fall out into the wide open ravine that used to be an arena floor, his closed eyes snapping open as Gohan's right hand instinctively grabbed a loose tile and clung to the arena's ravaged cliff-like walls.
"Oh my… little Gohan! Having a spot of trouble?" spoke a taunting voice from above Gohan's head.
"Frieza… help me" Gohan begged as he looked up to find Frieza staring down at him; kneeling at the edge of the arena with a cold look in his bright red eyes.
"Oh I don't think so…" Frieza spoke as his black lips curled into a dark smile; his right index finger pointing at Gohan's head.
"Frieza! What are you doing?" Gohan yelled through gritted teeth at the apparent betrayal of an assumed comrade; the pink light of Frieza's Death Beam sparking into life from Frieza's fingertip.
"Let's just call it sweet revenge for what you did on Namek" Frieza grinned slightly wider as the flash of his signature Death Beam was fired.
"Frieza! No!" Gohan yelled as the bright pink Death Beam fired from Frieza's fingertip and burnt Gohan's hand forcing him to release his grip on the tile; falling down seeing only the malicious smile on Frieza's face before the former tyrant vanished, the fall broken as his back landed against a small floating platform; Gohan glanced at the temporarily floating platform before realising that Frieza must have attacked to make it look like he'd been eliminated so Gohan would be able to make a surprise attack on Toppo, the thought still disgusted him deeply but the idea was still a good one.
Leaping back up into the arena just at the platform sank down into the murky clouds only to witness Toppo looming over 17 with his purple-cloaked giant fists held aloft before striking down and devastating 17's Barriers by breaking them asunder only to follow up by backhanding 17 in the chest.
Enraged by 17's apparent defeat and the crushing of his invincible barriers; Gohan leapt from the edge of the arena only to charge headlong towards Toppo when hearing Piccolo's voice call out to him.
"Gohan! Don't fall into the traps you have before! Calm yourself to draw on your true strengths!".
Hearing Piccolo's voice and a warning to not let his weaknesses influence his mind as he'd done in the past allowed Gohan to calm down; watching with calmness as Toppo marched forward leaving burnt footprints in the floor as he walked towards Gohan before lurching forwards and attacking with his forward punch, Gohan ducking underneath but not striking back and instead backstepping away as Toppo followed up with a second punch that narrowly missed Gohan's jaw; drawing on his experiences in watching how Raijin fought and dodged against stronger enemies allowed Gohan to copy some of his movements but the lack of a Tail hurt his execution as Gohan back-rolled away from one-handed sledgehammer fist but missed the chance to spring back into action as Gohan felt Toppo grab him by the arm and fling him across the arena and crash into a wall of fragments.
Coughing up saliva and blood as the fragments of Kachi Kachin did nothing to cushion his impact; shards dug through his clothes and into the flesh of his back drawing his blood into small stains on his clothes, grimacing in pain as Gohan rose back up to his feet
"You are brave… but foolish to keep standing" Toppo's booming voice spoke; his crimson eyes narrowed solely on Gohan for he no longer sensed the presence of Frieza nor Android 17.
"I fight for my Universe! For Videl and Pan! And for all of my friends and comrades!" Gohan shouted loudly; the white flames burning across his body condensing down to a white shimmering energy that flowed down his every muscle like light reflected off a mirror.
"You have good reasons to fight; but not the strength to see this fight through" Toppo' booming voice echoes in Gohan's ears; the arena around the two of them growing darker as the foreboding dark purple energy shimmering around Toppo spread to the air itself creating a dark mist around the area.
With his white shimmering energy-clad body; Gohan rushed towards Toppo with both arms wound back to strike, Toppo raising both hands to counter Gohan's attack with his huge hands only for Gohan to vanish before he could strike; glancing over his shoulder as he spotted Gohan approaching again.
"Afterimages… impressive" Toppo admitted; a grin curling on his face but hidden my his moustache, watching as afterimages materialised only to approach and vanish before a strike could be landed.
Finally Gohan decided to make his real attack; rushing in from behind the fragment pile he'd been thrown into with his right arm wound back to strike, Toppo's entire body shimmered with dark purple flames as his crimson eyes met Gohan's own white-iris eyes just as Gohan's right fist collided with Toppo's muscular abdomen.
Screaming in pain as the purple aura surrounding Toppo's body flared up at the touch of Gohan's fist; the white glove and black fabric on his Great Saiyaman Costume was torn to nothing as the purple flame burnt up his arm taking not only the clothing from Gohan's right arm but the flesh on his hand burnt away leaving exposed muscle and droplets of blood hanging in the air as Gohan backed away from a practically untouchable adversary.
"A valiant effort though foolhardy" Toppo spoke; his voice booming with power as his crimson eyes narrowed on Gohan before he kicked off the ground leaving burnt-out holes where his feet had been, striking at Gohan with a Justice Punch only for Gohan to lean out of the way but Toppo's fist caught Gohan's green tunic and cause it to disintegrate.
Gritting his teeth and struggling to remain calm as Toppo could destroy him with a mere touch; his feet skidding to a stop before firing an unspoken Kamehameha Wave directly at Toppo only for the beam to fade into nothing before ever reaching Toppo.
"Your mortal techniques won't reach me" Toppo spoke again in his booming voice; rushing forward again as the Energy Bullets from his Justice Flash fired at Gohan from multiple directions only now that the bullets glowed purple instead of orange, each bullet followed Gohan's every move as he too kicked off the ground, dodging behind a tile fragment as bullets struck the opposing side with the thudding sound of bullets ricocheting off the hard surface.
Breathing a sigh of relief as Gohan briefly let his senses slip as the bullets came following after him again; a scream of pain escaping as the bullets found their mark as they struck Gahan's vital points leading to him collapse to the ground, flinching from the burning pain of Toppo's Destroy Bullets; Gohan could only open one eye as more bullets entered his vision only to rain down on him.
But Gohan didn't feel the torrent of Destroy Bullets rain down on him but instead the sound of them striking like rain on an umbrella for when Gohan opened his other eye he found 17 standing over him with his Omni-Barrier held aloft.
"Your shields are becoming quite bothersome" Toppo boomed; swinging his fists into the ground causing the floor to quake and crack, dark purple flames erupting out from the cracks from Toppo's own attack as well as the ruination until Gohan and 17 were surrounded by a wall of dark flames.
"Stay behind me!" 17 yelled; throwing up his arms as beads of sweat was flung from his skin as his Infinite Ki Generator was pushed to its operational limits, neon green energy flew out from his fingertips into a dome-shaped Omni-Barrier moments before the flames engulfed the two warriors.
Toppo merely observed as his Destructive Flare engulfed the two warriors; he expected the arena floor around them to burn away leaving Gohan and 17 to fall to elimination but the call from an observing Grand Priest who stood overhead on his floating platform wasn't spoken, glaring as the purple flames broke away leaving a cracked and damaged Omni-Barrier with Gohan and 17 still safely inside.
17.
With his crimson eyes widening; a wall of air pressure saturated with Destroyer Energy radiated in the air forcing Gohan and 17 to both raise their arms in defence as the air pressure forced the Omni-Shield to shatter but kept their eyes locked solely on Toppo as he raised both hands, within the palms of each of Toppo's giant hands he held an Hakai Orb: each radiating the black and purple light of a Destroyer God.
"Brace yourself… this is going to hurt!" 17 spoke bluntly as his Infinite Ki Generator sent up a warning icon within 17's eyes as he'd had his maximum output open for too long; throwing up a multi-layered Omni-Barrier one after another until even Gohan couldn't count how many walls of green light had been generated but noticed that 17 himself was sweating from the excursion of utilising so much energy at once.
"An impressive defence! I shall honour your efforts with an equally impressive offence!" Toppo spoke with a booming voice that echoed over the arena; his hands motioning until the two Hakai Orbs hovered besides each other, black lightning sparked and discharged in all directions as the two Orbs began fusing together.
"More barriers 17!" Gohan yelled; realising the immediate danger if they were to take a direct hit from such a technique as they'd wouldn't be eliminated for they'd be completely destroyed and wouldn't leave so much as a hint of themselves behind.
"I cannot! I'm spending more Ki than I can generate!" 17 answered back as all he could see in his Scan Eye was warning signs regarding his massive energy output; his hands barely glowing anymore as he struggled to continue erecting any more barriers than he already had as his Ki Generator had been pushed far beyond its output.
"Then take mine! I'll give you every drop!" Gohan screamed upon placing both his hands on 17's shoulders and began transferring as much energy as he could from his body into 17's, 17's eyes lit up with a neon green energy as barriers generated from his hands adding to the uncountable number of shields erected between themselves and Toppo.
Toppo cracked a small but amused smile behind his moustache; the black lightning forking around his whole body as he radiated his Power of Destruction causing even the pebbles and broken tiles at his feet to disintegrate to less than dust at his feet, without so much as a goodbye spoken; Toppo closed his fingers around the fused Hakai Orbs and opened his hands again as a pulsating wave of black and purple energy blasted forth only to shatter barrier after barrier.
17 grit his teeth as he watched his fortress of Omni-Barriers vanished one after another Toppo's blast wave; his and Gohan's remaining energies entirely spent in creating a wall of over several thousand shields only for it to be torn down in an instantaneous wave of Destroyer Energy, with Gohan and 17 both on their knees in defeat as the last barrier shattered leaving the Sphere of Destruction to engulf the two warriors leaving only a deep groove in the floor that quietly broke off from the arena to float aimlessly before sinking into the dark clouds.
Toppo.
Toppo closed his eyes as his Sphere of Destruction had blown two capable warriors from the arena as well as torn another chunk out of the already fragile remains of the arena reducing the arena to only a third of its former size; taking a deep breath before opening his eyes and taking in the sight of the clashes of energies over at the shimmering heatwaves indicating where Jiren was fighting the other Saiyans.
"You fought well… Son Gohan, 17, but for Universe 11 I cannot allow any one lesser than I to survive" Toppo spoke in a mourning voice; turning away from the site of Gohan's and 17's defeat to head towards Jiren's battlefield only to find a solitary warrior standing in wait.
"You call yourself a God of Destruction? I'd like to test my own divine might against you" Vegeta spoke with a grin; his bodysuit having lost the entire sleeve on his right arm and on his left leg while his armour had lost an entire breastplate leaving his left shoulder exposed.
"You are you one called… Vegeta" Toppo paused for a moment before speaking; recalling Vegeta's demonstration of power against previous foes but had only utilised his full powers against foes he'd considered worthy, his purple aura of destruction fading from his body as a Hakai Orb generated in his palm but hidden from Vegeta's view.
"Indeed; I am" Vegeta broke a smile as he unfolded his arms thus putting Toppo on edge as Vegeta briefly vanished from his sight as a trail of glittering blue flames burst into life within his field of vision before a powerful uppercut struck him hard in to stomach.
Next Chapter: Pride vs Might.