After the Ox King's sushi restaurant closed for the day, Bulma waved her goodbye to her co-workers. When she turned around to proceed to the corner where she would wait for her boyfriend to fetch her, she staggered back in surprise when she saw Vegeta standing just right behind her.
"Oh my goodness!" she gasped, putting a hand over her pounding chest. She let out a long sigh to help calm herself a bit before she glared at him. "You're here already?" Bulma asked breathlessly. "But I just called you three minutes ago!"
Three minutes earlier, Bulma called her home to tell Vegeta to come pick her up because she was planning to take him on their first date. It took quite a while before the Hakaishin's attendant was able to pick it up. Bulma cursed herself for realizing that Vegeta didn't have a mobile phone for her to call him and she planned to buy him one today as well. When Vegeta took the telephone call from Whis, he begrudgingly agreed to go because he was looking forward to the sushi leftovers she will take home for him.
"You should not underestimate a God of Destruction's speed, woman," Vegeta grumbled with his typical scowling face.
"Aww, isn't that sweet? Did you run all the way in here so fast because you already miss me?" she winked.
"Tch! Don't be ridiculous! You know very well that I could teleport!" Vegeta snapped at her. He straightened his arm out in front of him as if demanding her to give him something. "Now, where is it?!"
Bulma blinked back and stared at him with a questioning look, "Huh? Where is what?"
Vegeta tilted his chin and pouted, "My Maguro Nigiri, what else?" he said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Bulma suppressed a giggle, shaking her head. She just cannot believe this deity. All he cared about was his favorite food. "Ah... Here," she handed him a big paper bag containing the food. He excitedly snatched it from her hands to peek inside. He nearly squealed in joy when he found lots of sushi inside the paper bag.
She sneakily walked up to his right side and slid her arm to wrap it around his muscular arm. Vegeta's excited smile faded as he turned his obsidian eyes at her, glaring at her with an intimidating gaze, questioning her, "What the hell are you doing?" with a hint of threat in his voice.
"Clinging to my boyfriend's strong arm, what else?" she said with a sweet, sly smile.
Vegeta darted his eyes away from her, sneering, "Tch! You really are such a persistent little vermin."
"Oh come on! I told you I will find a way, I won't give up on you," Bulma said. "Plus, I know you would love me clinging into you like this. After all, you got a beautiful girlfriend over here."
"Tch! Your audacity is matched by your annoying ego, woman."
She started pulling him. "Aw come on! Don't be such a grump, Vegeta! How about we go somewhere for our first date?"
"Date? Where now?" Vegeta growled, visibly irritated.
Bulma looked up, humming softly as if she was trying to think really hard, "Hmm... First of all, how about a boutique? I just got my salary today, maybe I could get you some nice clothes with it and some part of my savings. You've been wearing the same thing every day."
"I told you that this is a divine garment of a God of Destruction."
"Yeah, I know, I know. But you cannot wear that all the time. Let's say that it is your office uniform, clothes that you wear when you work. When you are off-duty, you should wear normal clothes, especially when you are going to stay here on Earth."
Vegeta scoffed back, rolling his eyes, "Woman, a God of Destruction is never off-duty," he sneered the last two words with such disgust.
Bulma blinked back, suddenly confused with his words. "What do you mean? You aren't destroying things right now, are you?"
Vegeta glared at her, the sides of his lips twitching in his annoyance. Grunting to show his irritation, he reluctantly relented, angrily grumbling, "I swear I am going to make your destruction as agonizing as possible."
"Not until I wish for the Earth to be destroyed by you," Bulma winked, chuckling at her victory.
She dragged Vegeta into a small boutique within the shopping district a few blocks away from where they came from. The clothing shop was filled with customers due to an ongoing sale of the store. Bulma expressed how lucky they are so she pulled Vegeta towards the men's section, which wasn't that far from the women's section. While Bulma busied herself choosing among the line of clothes being displayed on one shelf selling for half the price, she heard a few young women talking to themselves behind them.
"Hey! Look at that guy! My gosh! Those muscles look so good!"
"Oh my god, I think I'm in-love!"
"Wow! He's so hot!"
Bulma frowned, feeling angry at how those women drooled over her boyfriend's body.
"These bitches! Show them a little muscle and they'll drool over a man! They're the type to fall in love that easily just because of physical looks," she thought to herself, angrily grabbing a dark grey trench coat from the line of clothes.
Vegeta turned his eyes on her, looking at her oddly when he heard her thoughts. Was this crazy woman jealous and angry?
She stomped towards him and said, "Hey, Vegeta. Go ahead and put this on," while wrapping the trenchcoat around him as if to cover him protectively with it, not even bothering to wait for his permission. Vegeta stared down in surprise at the clothes she just put on him and frowned deeply before he returned his displeased gaze back at her. She stepped closer to him, looking directly at his eyes and continued, "That body of yours is only mine to look at," she told him sternly.
That did it. The infatuated prattling of those women halted and they walked away, grumbling to themselves in disappointment realizing that the gorgeously sexy, god-like man has a girlfriend, and to recognize that it's Bulma Briefs nonetheless. When Bulma watched at the vexing women who thought they could flirt with her extremely hot boyfriend finally leave, she smiled widely in victory.
"Why are you so angry, woman?" Vegeta asked her, causing Bulma to turn her head back at him. "Jealous much?" he grinned.
Bulma staggered back, flustered, "What? Why would I be jealous of-?!"
"If you are not, then why would you care if other women saw my body?" Vegeta asked, removing the trenchcoat she put on him and hurling it back to her. "Plus, you simply picked anything that you could get your hands to just so you can cover me with it, you silly woman. You acted like a child back there. You don't need to compare me to that bastard ex-boyfriend of yours. Like I said, you are the first mortal who would attempt to love me and I gave you that chance because I'm sure that it would help me decide whether to destroy you and this planet or not. So even if they try to flirt with me, you'll still have my sole attention. Plus, you cannot blame them, even you were so infatuated with me when you first met me three years ago. I am such a hot-looking god after all." he said with a pompous smile, his chin raised proudly while he planted his hands over his slim waist.
Bulma rolled her eyes, snorting, "Ha! Such vanity!"
"You calling me a vain god, woman? Should I show you the proof of my godly perfection?"
Five minutes later, Bulma couldn't keep her jaw shut as it dropped in awe while Vegeta relayed what it seemed was a fashion show for her. Even the other customers and the employees of the boutique were amazed at how flawlessly he tried on every men's clothing he would personally pick, mix, and match. With his perfectly muscular build and unwavering self-confidence, Vegeta can make anything from brightly colored shirts to patterned shirts to fitted tank tops to loose pants to plain dark colored coats look great! Who would expect anything less from a proud Saiyan Prince who had become the God of Destruction of this universe?
Bulma found herself unable to pick which one would look great on him for everything does look amazing on him. She didn't know how this would turn out to be such a headache for her. She only wished she could have taken pictures of him everytime he came out of the dressing room.
Chapter 23: Deception
Once they were done with shopping for his new clothes, it was already dark outside. Vegeta and Bulma walked together on the side walk, with her clinging on his left arm. Vegeta was already wearing one of the clothes Bulma bought him as she insisted him to wear for their 'date', like Vegeta knew whatever that was. He donned a black turtleneck sweater under a khaki-colored trench coat and navy blue jeans. He was holding a few paper bags from the boutique containing his previous attire and some other clothes she gave him.
"So are you saying that ever since you became a God of Destruction, you never wore anything aside from those clothes?" Bulma asked him.
"Yeah," Vegeta replied.
Bulma flinched in disgust, "Have you ever thought of washing them?"
Vegeta chuckled, "Unlike mortals, there's no need for a God of Destruction such as myself to take a bath or wash my clothes. The flames of my divine aura of destruction automatically cleanses any grime and impurities in my body. Sometimes, I just felt like taking a bath out of personal preference just because I got used to it when I was a mortal."
Bulma nodded, "How nice. That must be pretty convenient."
"Right," Vegeta agreed.
Suddenly, all the street lamps hanging on the posts standing on the sides of the sidewalk began to flicker, causing Bulma to look up.
"Did you do that?" she asked.
"I didn't do that. It's a simple reaction to my presence," Vegeta responded with a bored tone.
Bulma also noticed that the leaves of the trees on the other side were falling dry, like how it does during autumn.
"Those trees too?"
"Yeah."
Several ambulances passed on the road, their blaring sirens echoing everywhere.
"How about that?"
"Yes."
Bulma raised her head to see a news report on a gigantic digital screen being displayed on top of one of the biggest commercial buildings in the West City, about a mass shooting incident just occurred in the subway train station on 4th District, several blocks away from them. Nine people were dead on the spot while twenty-nine people were injured. She gasped in perturbation as she willed herself to look away from the devastating screen.
Before Bulma could open her mouth to ask him again, Vegeta stopped walking to face her, "I told you, didn't I? Everywhere I go, death and destruction shall come in that world. This is only just the beginning. In the following days, you might find more devastating occurrences being reported in your news."
"I still don't understand how you can live like this," she wondered out loud.
"How many times do I have to tell you that I do not live anymore?" he snapped at her in irritation.
"Then exist. How can you exist everyday like this? Like, all these things don't matter to you?"
"There's no point in thinking about it. I am the harbinger of death and devastation after all. It's only natural because it is my job."
"Even if you are not doing anything?"
"It's automatic. My presence alone could cause all of these things. You told me to stop doing this, I simply just can't."
Bulma looked down, quite disappointed. "So it's like... a curse?"
Vegeta blinked, his brows furrowing in confusion. "What?"
"Being a God of Destruction is a curse to you, isn't it? Even if you don't do anything, even if you want to stop, you have no other choice but to do it?" Bulma asked.
Vegeta chuckled, shaking his head, though Bulma thought that it was only forced because of the way it sounded so awkward. "I have no idea what you are talking about, woman. I mean, you cannot call my powers a curse if I enjoy having them."
Bulma's eyebrows furrowed as she scowled, "You know, I just noticed, why do you keep on calling me 'woman'?" she asked. "It's rude! I have a name you know! My name is Bulma, not 'woman'! You think you can address your girlfriend by that?"
Vegeta's jaw twitched in annoyance before he yelled at her, "Damn you, I will address you the way I wish to!"
"You're such a pain in the ass, you know that? Do you want me to address you as 'man' all the time then? That would be fair enough for me."
"Tch! Do what you want! I don't care for such nicknames. It's useless to me since I'm going to destroy you and this stupid mudball after all. Do not forget that, Bulma!"
Then he walked away from her, looking like he was the angriest little gremlin the universe had ever seen. Bulma fought a smile. She knew she won that argument when he called her by her name after all. So much for acting tough and almighty.
"Aw come on! Don't be so angry, Vegeta. I was only kidding you around!" she chuckled when she finally caught up to him, wrapping her arms around his left arm. He tried to wriggle out of her hold but she held on to him tight. "Are you hungry now? You're being very grumpy so I bet you're famished."
"What a vulgar woman! There's no need for you to be so loud about that," Vegeta growled, looking at her disgustedly.
"Let's go to the mobile store and get your new mobile phone first, then we'll eat some Yakiniku! Come on! Let's go!"
Vegeta groaned heavily as he allowed Bulma to drag him again towards wherever mobile phone shop she was talking about where she chose a new phone for him to use. She mentioned that it would help her communicate with him better when she's at work and that it was one of the essential things an Earthling must have. Vegeta rolled his eyes on the phones she was trying to show him. For him, these things were useless to him if he's at his work. He highly doubted that the signal of that thing would reach anything outside this little backwater mudball of a planet but Bulma still persuaded him to take it and he begrudgingly accepted just for him to end this stupid ordeal with her.
After that, she took him to an unlimited yakiniku restaurant where he can finally have his dinner. After being served a plateful of raw, thin-sliced beef they had to cook on that round grill at the center of the table, Vegeta felt his stomach growl in his hunger. The scent of meat being cooked as Bulma put them over the pre-heated grill made his mouth water immediately.
"Damn it, I can't wait anymore! I'll eat it now!" Vegeta snarled impatiently as he picked up a pair of disposable chopsticks on his side of the table and picked one piece of meat and devoured it. He let out a satisfied moan as he savored the taste of the meat. Bulma's eyes widened as she watched Vegeta eat the beef without waiting for it to be cooked well-done.
"Hey, could you wait at least a few minutes before you eat them?" Bulma told him.
"No, you better tell them to give us another plate. These will be gone in less than five seconds," Vegeta grumbled as he picked another piece of meat on the grill.
"Hey!"
Vegeta's child-like smile and laughter as he happily gorged down his food was enough for Bulma to sigh in defeat. Truly, only food can make this cranky and intimidating deity this happy. At least, he's in a better mood now than what he had in the mobile store. Bulma asked the waitress to give them another plateful of beef.
And another.
And another.
A few moments later, Bulma and the waitress were both flabbergasted as their jaws dropped at the unbelievable amount and pace at which Vegeta ate all the meat Bulma placed at the grill. Next to him, several stacks of empty plates were being taken by the dumbfounded waitress. Bulma told him with a supressed sneer to slow down and leave some for her. Plus, his actions were embarrassing her. He didn't seem to care at all, he was in too much of a bliss as he continued to gobble down his food. She helplessly watched as Vegeta kept on being hyper about his food, his Saiyan tail wiggling behind him in his exultation. Bulma was thankful that she brought him to an unlimited Yakiniku restaurant, else she won't be able to pay for that gargantuan amount of food he was shamelessly gorging by himself.
But still... This is really embarrassing.
"Is it tasty?" Bulma asked him, still looking at him in disgust.
Vegeta nodded like a happy child, swallowing a mouthful of beef and picking another one from the grill, "Yeah, I'm sure Whis would love to get a taste of this 'Yakiniku' thing!" then he put the meat he just picked up into his mouth and chewed on it enthusiastically, squealing like a fangirl, "Hmmmm! This is so damn good! I think I finally found my next favorite! Ah, Maguro Nigiri is still the best though!"
"Ah, you think so?"
"The savory and mild sweet taste made the tender, fine, and lean cut of the meat quite delectable. This 'Yakiniku' far outclassed all the meat dishes offered to me these past three weeks."
"Where have you been these past three weeks? Were you destroying things the whole time?"
Vegeta blinked, shifting his gaze left and right as if he was thinking whether to answer her question or just tell her that it's none of her business, before he eventually decided since he's in a good mood after eating Yakiniku, "I've been to different worlds. Planets where Whis would recommend me to try out their specialties in hopes of looking for a substitute to the Maguro Nigiri. Found none, the Earth's grub is better than any of those. So I ended up destroying them all," he grumbled bitterly as if it was a bad experience.
Bulma's eyes widened in disbelief, "You destroyed worlds just because you didn't like the food they offered you?"
"I told you I destroy anything I deem as useless to me."
"Woah, I just can't believe you did that for a simple thing such as food. I'm glad that you liked the food in here."
"Hmph! Don't get all cozy because of that. If anything pisses me off about this planet, I am still going to destroy it along with everyone on it."
"Yeah, I know. You always remind me," she grumbled. Then she let out a chuckle, "But you know, when you eat like that, wearing ordinary Earthling clothes, you- how should I say this? You look different, I guess."
"..."
Vegeta froze as he stared and blinked at Bulma's face. His lips parted slightly as if he was also surprised at her observations about himself and his own actions.
"I admit, when I was watching you eat earlier, I forgot what you truly are. You don't look like a fearsome God of Destruction to me at all, and I like it. I love seeing this other side of you, Vegeta. There was a saying that food is the way to soften a hardened heart, I guess it's actually true with you," Bulma giggled.
Vegeta stared at Bulma for a moment, feeling an unexpected thumping within his chest at the sight of Bulma's smile just now. It's making him feel something... Why is his heart thumping? What the hell is this feeling?
Bulma blinked back, noticing that odd expression on the face of the God of Destruction. "What's wrong, Vegeta? Why is your face so red?"
"Uh... Yeah, well... I... It- It's nothing!" Vegeta stuttered as his eyes lowered awkwardly, putting his chopsticks down. He was caught off guard, and he was taken aback by Bulma's observation. His face was very flustered as he forced himself to scowl as deeply and angrily as he could at that embarrassing moment.
Hearing her thoughts, Vegeta suddenly snapped at Bulma.
"Tch! I don't have any idea where those ridiculous thoughts of yours about me is coming from! You are believing a lie, wanting to see me as someone you wanted to believe!" he told her.
Bulma raised an eyebrow at him. What is he talking about? She's not the one lying to herself all this time. It's him. "Well, I think you're the one doing that if you ask me." she blurted out.
Vegeta blinked again, confused, "What?"
"You're the one who's trying to believe a lie. You keep on denying what I see about you because you are lying to yourself, believing that you have become this cold and ruthless God of Destruction after all these years, but the truth is, you know very well that deep inside, you feel something gnawing within that heart of yours. Loneliness, sadness, pain, regret, guilt-"
"-Shut up!" Vegeta abruptly cut her words off with a cold, imperious command as he angrily slammed his chopsticks on the table, causing everyone around them to almost jump off their seats. Bulma indeed went silent when she saw that downright murderous glare he was giving her. She knew she hit a nerve, and they both know she was right all along.
Bulma smirked in victory, but Vegeta immediately cut her off before she could open her mouth to mock him or anything.
"If you know what's good for you and your world, you will shut that mouth of yours," he warned her with a venomous snarl.
Suddenly, Vegeta's earlier better mood shifted back to being dangerous. The amused, child-like smile while he ate had left his lips as his expression turned cold and murderous. And Bulma felt uneasy at the spine-chilling glare he was giving her. The God of Destruction of this Universe was furious.
Bulma sighed to herself. He's really such a stubborn guy. Seriously, his moodswings are really confusing her too. But if she pressed the conversation even further, he might start destroying things again just to show off what he truly was. So she conceded to prevent him from doing some destructive rampage or something.
"Vegeta, relax. Calm yourself, okay? Forget about what I said. Look, how about we order some more beef?" she offered with an awkward, sheepish smile, hoping to calm his anger down.
"Don't bother! I already lost my appetite!" he spat back at her, rising from his seat, almost knocking the chair behind him. "Let's just go back home. I wish to be done doing this useless activity with you!" then he walked out of the restaurant without another word.
"Hey wait! Hey!" she called out to him, leaving her payment at the cashier, grabbing all the paperbags containing the things she bought him earlier and proceeded to run after him. "Vegeta! What the hell?! Are you just going to walk out just like that, leaving a lady with all these stuff she bought you?! Wait!" she complained.
"Why are you so angry? Did I say anything that has offended you?"
"No! And I'm not angry!" Vegeta snapped at her.
"You are angry!" Bulma pressed.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Stop bothering me with your stupid assumptions, woman!" he yelled at her, walking even faster. Bulma glared at his back, what the hell is his problem? After everything she had done for him today? How ungrateful!
After that, he ignored her all the way until he suddenly stopped walking, causing Bulma to hit his back.
"Aw! What the hell, Vegeta?!" she complained, glaring at him as she rubbed at her nose.
He ignored her as his dark gaze shifted on the side as if he could hear something the humans don't. His expression was serious as he concentrated, whatever it was, Bulma thought that he was not happy about it at all. It only made his mood look even more intimidating.
The base planet of the Heeters...
"Ah Granolah, you finally came," Elec greeted Granolah as he entered their castle with a fake welcoming smile. Elec was seating on his throne while Macki and Oil stood on his sides.
"Have you found a new bounty for me to hunt, Elec?" asked Granolah expectantly.
"Unfortunately, no. We didn't," Elec admitted.
Granolah was disappointed, "What? Then why did you call me here for?"
"Well, I was going to tell you something really important that may interest you in some way."
"And what is that?" Granolah asked suspiciously.
"Your parents, Granolah. Have you ever wondered what happened to them? And who destroyed your home planet, Planet Cereal?"
Granolah's expression turned serious. He doesn't remember much of his early childhood on Planet Cereal, aside from the fact that his father was an abusive bastard, the reason why his right eye became blind. He remembered being pushed by his mother, whose face he doesn't recall any longer, towards Monaito and telling them to leave. He didn't understand why they were running away from something or someone. Then the next moment, Granolah was in space with Monaito. He was told that his parents were both dead, and that only he was the sole survivor of Planet Cereal's destruction. Monaito said that he had no idea who was behind it at all.
Which is why when Elec brought up the issue, it caused Granolah to feel extremely furious.
"What is it?! Who did it?!" he demanded irately.
"Have you ever heard of the God of Destruction, Granolah?" Elec asked.
"God of Destruction?"
Granolah frowned. Is it the one in the Namekian Myths or it is the one Elec was talking to the other day?
"I heard of a God of Destruction from the Namekian myths," Granolah said.
"How about the one from the urban legend where you can summon a God of Destruction during the hour of total darkness?"
"I don't think I did."
"Well, the story goes that if you summon him during the hour of total darkness, he will destroy anyone or anything you would wish for him to do so in exchange of your own existence. They also say that wherever he goes, destruction shall be bestowed into that world. Do you understand where I'm going now?"
"Are you saying that someone summoned this God of Destruction into my home planet that's why Planet Cereal was destroyed?"
"Exactly, and it turns out that it was your mother who did the summoning."
Granolah then recalled the blurred images he had, like pieces of an unsolved puzzle in his mind.
He could hear his mother's pleas for help, and feel her protective arms around him as he cried in pain. In his remaining, tearful left eye, he saw an ominous shadow of a mysterious man leering down on him with his scary looking, glowing, pinkish-red eyes. His mother asked the man if he could help heal her son.
"My job is only to destroy," The mysterious figure told her in his cold, deep voice. Hearing his voice made Granolah even more intimidated by the man's fearsome presence.
"Then could you... Could you teach my mate a lesson, then?" his mother sniffed.
"I cannot interfere in the affairs of mortals unless it involved a duty I had to do. If you wish for me to destroy your mate in exchange for your existence at the time of your death, then I will gladly do it. Of course, you can decide whether you go through this or not. Once you have made your decision, focus your mind on the destruction of that man and call me by my name. I am the God of Destruction, the deity responsible for death and devastation. My name is-"
Granolah flinched. If it is true that his mother did summon the God of Destruction and asked him to destroy his abusive father for her, then she was also destroyed from her existence by the God of Destruction himself, perhaps, with the entirety of Planet Cereal as well!
Granolah gnashed his teeth together in his anger. Because of that so called God of Destruction, his life was even more ruined! It doesn't matter if he went blind because of his damn father, but for his innocent and loving mother to be destroyed along the planet as well? That's... That's completely unforgivable!
Granolah glared at Elec, determined, "Tell me, Elec! How do I summon this God of Destruction?!"
"What for? Revenge? Are you serious? He is a freaking God of Destruction, Granolah! What can you even do against someone who could destroy entire worlds in the blink of an eye?" Macki said.
Suddenly, a flash of memory came to Granolah when Macki mentioned about the ability to destroy an entire world. A close encounter he had of a man with flame shaped hair, his cold face now clear instead of being covered in a cloak of darkness. He was floating up in the sky, his arm forward, with his palm facing the shaking planet below them. He was enveloped by a purple fire, his eyes glowing an eerie magenta. It moved, gazing back at him with an intense, direful look.
Granolah blinked. That man... is the God of Destruction?
"I don't care about any of that!" Granolah declared. "Tell me how to summon the God of Destruction now!" he demanded.
Elec gave him a wide, wicked grin. Just as he thought, the hot-headed and foolish Granolah will easily fall into this trap.
"Calm yourself, Granolah. We have no exact idea of the details. The urban legend seemed to have originated from the Namekians after all, so maybe if you look into the Namekian Book of Legends, you may find there the answer you are seeking for."
"The Namekian Book of Legends?"
"Yes, the old book under the care of Guru, the leader of the Namekians."
Granolah heard of the ancient book from the lessons Tsuno would tell the little Namekian children during his classes. So he must take that book from their grasp in order to get his revenge.
"If you manage to get the Namekian Book of Legends, bring it to us after you get the information you want about the ritual. There is something we would like to look into the book as well," Elec instructed.
"What is it?" Granolah asked.
"Ever heard of the Dragon Balls?" the massive Oil asked back.
Granolah blinked his eyes, "Those wish granting mystical balls?"
"Yeah, we would like to know more about them," Macki said.
"I understand," Granolah nodded. "Thank you for such information. I'll be back once I have it."
"See you soon!" Macki waved a goodbye as Granolah finally left, shutting the huge double-doors behind him with a loud thud. "Jeez, that Granolah really is such a hot-head. I'm sure he'll summon the God of Destruction as soon as he could find that ritual."
"Yeah, and soon, we shall rid of that foolish Cerealian out of our way!" Elec continued.
And Gas will also be avenged.
Little did they know was that the God of Destruction wasn't a fool like Granolah was, and they will soon learn that the hard way.
Vegeta and Bulma were finally back to their combined abode, with Whis greeting his master on the hallway.
"Oh! Look at that! Those are nice clothes, Vegeta-sama!" Whis commented. Vegeta rolled his eyes, ignoring his guide angel as he proceeded inside his castle with a deep scowl on his face. "Oh, what's with the mood? Did something happen?" he asked Bulma.
Bulma simply grinned at him sheepishly. "I just don't get his moodswings," she sighed. She handed over the things she bought for Vegeta.
"These are all his. His usual clothes are also in there, I think," Bulma told Whis.
"You bought him all of these?" Whis asked in surprise.
"Yeah, he was having a good time earlier. I had no idea he was that sensitive."
Whis blinked, "Huh?"
Bulma shared to Whis what happened, and the guide angel sighed, "I see. Don't worry about it, Bulma-san. Vegeta-sama wasn't upset with you, I think it's more about himself."
"Really?"
"You telling him that perhaps made him realize something that he's been overlooking about himself and it hit him right through his pride. It's a good observation from you actually, color me impressed. I actually agree with all of it, Bulma-san. After all, I know right from the start that Vegeta-sama was only forced to become a God of Destruction of this Universe."
"It must be pretty hard for him to accept it until now," Bulma concluded.
"That could be true. Vegeta-sama was always a very proud and very strong being who greatly prided himself with his strength, and you just managed to hit right through his pride when you mentioned the things he was trying so hard to deny and ignore within himself. He saw these things as a weakness he must never have. Let's just give him some time alone to think about it. He'll be alright, I'm sure that he'll get over it soon. He is a very strong fighter after all," Whis advised. He turned to the direction of Vegeta's room, wondering what his master was thinking about. He suspected this to be quite a problem he must address in private later.
Vegeta went straight to his room, slamming the door behind him and wishing to be alone for now. He removed the brown trench coat he was wearing, almost wanting to rip it off of him, then hurled it across the floor like he was throwing a childish temper tantrum.
Her words replayed in his mind over and over as he thought of them.
"But I believe I am not crazy when I think that you still have a good side. I know that you can still feel emotions, despite how much you deny and act like you don't. I know that you care, that sometimes you regret doing some of your duties and feel pity in some of your clients or victims. I know that you feel sad and lonely at the fact that you were forced to become a God of Destruction against your own will. I saw it in your eyes, that's why I strongly believe it."
"You know, when you eat like that, wearing ordinary Earthling clothes, you- how should I say this? You look different, I guess. I admit, when I was watching you eat earlier, I forgot what you truly are. You don't look like a fearsome God of Destruction to me at all, and I like it. I love seeing this other side of you, Vegeta. There was a saying that food is the way to soften a hardened heart, I guess it's actually true with you."
"I don't have any idea where those ridiculous thoughts of yours about me is coming from. You are believing a lie, wanting to see me as someone you wanted to believe."
"Well, I think you're the one doing that if you ask me. You're the one who's trying to believe a lie. You keep on denying what I see about you because you are lying to yourself, believing that you have become this cold, and ruthless God of Destruction after all these years, but the truth is, you know very well that deep inside, you feel something gnawing within that heart of yours. Loneliness, sadness, pain, regret, guilt..."
How dare that stupid, human girl assume things about him she doesn't even understand?! What does she even know?! What did she even see in him? Whenever she spoke to him, trying to play mind games with him, wanting to make him feel emotions he had long since denied when he decided to become the God of Destruction of this Universe, he could hear her thoughts whenever she stared at him like she understood him. She saw something he knew that he was trying to deny and ignore most of the time and she saw through his facade, telling it outright to his face. How was he becoming such an open book to her?
Vegeta sat down on the mattress of his bed, pressing his palms over his forehead. "Damn it all..." he cursed through his gritted teeth.
This is pissing him off. Yet, deep inside, he was also relieved that there was someone who understood him. Was this because of that bond he shared with her?
He lowered his eyes, wondering if it is now a good time for him to destroy her and this world or not. That annoying woman was becoming a nuisance to him, making him feel things he wasn't supposed to feel. She annoyed him greatly. Yes, perhaps, it was time for him to end her miserable existence. He had finally found a good reason to destroy her just like he wanted.
But...
But why does the thought of him destroying her existence bring doubts and hesitation to this decision, making him question if it was the right thing or wrong thing to do? Like, will he regret sparing her or will he regret destroying her?
Why?
He rose from the bed and went to the balcony, looking up into the stars as if to ask them these questions. In his mind, Bulma's smiling face appeared, he could hear her voice calling out his name. He recalled the memories he shared with her and asked himself what these things meant for him. Why do these things make him hesitate? Did he perhaps..?
Is he beginning to..?
Like her? Like being with her?
Why?
This is getting out of hand now. He was never been this confused and hesitant with his judgments and decisions and it's annoying him to the core! It feels like he's going crazy because of that stupid, infernal woman!
"I always wanted to become the strongest in the Universe, and because I wished for it, I have become it. I have become the God of Destruction. I must not have any useless emotions and attachments which would hinder me from doing my proper duties, things that could make me weak... Things that I should...
Destroy.
He must do something to end this before something even worse could happen to him.
Granolah returned to Planet Namek after that. He landed his space jet away from the villages, on an empty island where he can overlook a tall rock formation where a single, pure white-colored, two-storey Namekian house stood. Oatmeel asked Granolah if he's going back to Monaito's home and Granolah said that maybe not for now. He was feeling bad for lying and disobeying his guardian, so he'll probably stay here for now.
He took his sand-colored cloak and covered himself with it, concealing most of his physical appearance within it. Using his powerful left eye that granted him the ability to see through those thick walls of the house, he patiently waited until the oldest and great leader of the Namekian, already weak and fragile, fell asleep. His sole guardian, a young adult Namekian whose name was Nail, came out of the house to relax. Since Planet Namek was a truly peaceful planet, there was no need for these people to be so tensed about enemies lurking behind the shadows.
And that's going to be his biggest mistake.
Even from his massive distance, several miles away from Nail's location, Granolah could see him very well. He raised his right arm, two fingers pointed at Nail's direction, one strike from him and the strongest Namekian Warrior should fall unconscious. Granolah prided himself for his flawless sniping skills. This helped him grow as a skillful warrior and a valuable bounty hunter. His skills were the reason why the Heeters chose to hire him for their business.
Targeting Nail's vital point, Granolah fired a small ki bullet that passed through the air with unbelievable speed. It hit the completely oblivious Namekian on the center of his nape and fell face first on the ground.
Granolah dropped out of his space jet and with tremendous speed, reached Guru's house in no time. He entered the house carefully, without making the slightest noise while keeping his energy as low as possible. He knew that despite being weak and frail, Guru may know his location. As he searched through the small home, he found the thick, hard-covered book being displayed on the top of a fancy looking cabinet like it was a holy scripture. He took the book underneath his cloak and ran out of the house.
Once he was back on his space jet, he opened the book. It had a rigid hardcover enveloped in a brown leather jacket, with strange looking inscriptions that looked like scribbles of different shapes. The book was thick, could be around more than 900 pages cross-binded sewn together by a thick, black thread. The pages were already brown due to its vintage origins but the text was still clear. Good thing that Monaito taught Granolah how to read in the Namekian writing system and understand the language itself.
As Granolah scanned the book, looking for the information he needed about any ritual to summon the God of Destruction, he found a rather interesting article featuring an artwork that caught his eye, a familiar thing, similar to those crystal star balls Monaito was playing around.
Dragon Balls.
The original set had seven of these wish granting balls, but a special two-piece set with limited powers can also be created. These small marble-like Dragon Balls can summon a dragon called Toronbo and grant any simple wish it could give within its power.
"Hey, Oatmeel. Do you think that Monaito's star balls were really these Dragon Balls?" Granolah asked.
"It might just be a replica. Remember Elder Tsuno said that the God of Destruction had forbidden the creation of these Dragon Balls?"
"Right," Granolah nodded, as he flipped for more pages until he reached the end. Frowning, he flipped through the pages again to look for what he stole this book for and for some reason, he cannot find it. He later realized that there was a remnant of some pages torn at some point.
"There's no information about the ritual to summon the God of Destruction at all," Granolah sighed, disappointed as he closed the book and threw it at the backpit of his space jet behind him.
"So why do you want to summon the God of Destruction in the first place?" Oatmeel inquired.
"I am going to make him pay for what he did to my mother," Granolah growled. His hands closing into tight fists over his legs.
"I see," Oatmeel voiced out. "I tried to make a deep search in the universal wide web and found an article about a God of Destruction as mentioned in the Namekian Book of Legends."
"Really? Show me!"
A beam of light projected out of Granolah's eyepiece attached on a leather strap covering where his right eye was supposed to be. From the light, a holographic image of an internet website appeared, containing information written in the Universal Language. There is also an image of a vintage looking sketch of what the current God of Destruction looked like with Namekian script written on the sides. It caught Granolah's interest.
"It seems that you can only summon him during the hour of total darkness," Oatmeel said.
"Have I seen this god before? Just recently?" Granolah muttered, unsure if calling this being a god is even proper.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I felt like I've seen him somewhere not too long ago, but I can't seem to remember exactly when."
"I don't think so. Maybe you did a very long time ago," Oatmeel answered.
"Planet Namek doesn't have a time of total darkness as the sun is always up on this planet. Maybe I should try using Monaito's star balls to confirm if those things are indeed Dragon Balls. Then I'll use it to bring the God of Destruction in front of me."
"Are you just going to ignore the old man's advice? If you get yourself entangled with the God of Destruction, then you might end up being destroyed!"
"If that's how he destroyed my parents, my planet, and my people, then I will make him pay for it. I don't care if he's a god or not, he doesn't have the right to do as he please to mortals."
Some time later, Granolah dropped the book he just stole after ripping the page containing information about the Dragon Balls into the water where the Namekians won't probably find them. He folded the paper and kept it inside his pocket for later reference. He returned to Monaito's home, to be greeted by the worried Namekian elderly demanding him where he came from. Granolah lied that he went out to an island to have some alone time and meditation. Good thing that Monaito easily believed him.
When it was finally time for Monaito to retire for the day, Granolah pretended to go to sleep. Granolah wondered if Guru or that guard of his already found out about the missing book or not. Considering there were no commotions the entire day, he thought he must have put Nail in too much deep sleep to notice.
Using his Cerealean eye, he waited for the right time when Monaito was already deep in his slumber before he decided to strike an area where he could put him into a state of unconsciousness so he won't wake up even if Granolah searched through his belongings and take those two star balls.
Once Granolah found the two, small, golden-colored, crystal-like, and marble-sized balls inside Monaito's pocket, he stared at the two spheres with a critical gaze.
They do look like the Dragon Balls as described in the Namekian Book of Legends. He put the marbles in his pocket and left the house to go to a secluded, unpopulated island far from the villages, and put the two Dragon Balls within the grass. Then he took the page he ripped from the vintage book to look for the incantations to summon the mystical dragon of the set of two dragon balls and recited it.
Takkarapto tottoronbo puppirito paro!
The two balls unexpectedly lightened up with a blinding flash of golden light until it burst out from the marbles and went straight into the skies that immediately turned dark while thunder roared across the black clouds that swiveled across the horizon. From the burst of light formed the lengthy body of a dragon, with light blue scales and spikes that protruded from the top of its head down to its tail. It had round, fully red eyes. It looked more snake-like than a typical dragon actually.
A completely astonished Granolah stepped back. He barely expected that a wish-granting dragon would really show up, though he was glad that it did.
The Dragon leered at him, saying in a deep, powerful voice: "You who summoned me from my deep slumber, state your wish. I shall grant you any single wish within my power."
Granolah hesitated at first, and he swallowed as if to summon up his courage to make his wish. He nodded as he straightened himself up, snapping himself out of his earlier shock.
"Bring me the God of Destruction! I want you to please bring the God of Destruction here!" he declared.
When Whis went to Vegeta's room by the time Bulma decided to go to sleep, he found the God of Destruction standing at the balcony, looking up into the sky. Whis wondered how long Vegeta had been like that since he arrived. The guide angel put the paper bags Bulma handed him over earlier, except for the one where Vegeta put his sacred God of Destruction garments, into the bedside table before he approached his master.
"What are you thinking, Vegeta-sama?" asked Whis, seeing the bothered look on his master's face. It worried him, somehow.
"Bulma told you, didn't she?" Vegeta uttered without looking at his guide angel.
"Yes, milord," Whis responded.
Vegeta let out a breath, shaking his head.
"You know she's right about you," Whis pointed out, causing Vegeta to frown. "And you know I've been trying to warn you about it either. Your mortal emotions that you aren't allowed to have are resurfacing, especially whenever you are around her. You were having doubts about yourself as well. You must control your thoughts and emotions, Vegeta-sama. If this keeps up and you let these burst out of your control, you might end up regretting it more than how much you regret being in that position."
Vegeta never thought that he was being such an open book lately. He didn't know how and why Bulma could easily see through him like that despite how much he tried to hide it by acting like he didn't care at all, or being cruel around everyone, or even acting like he was enjoying his job as the God of Destruction of this Universe. He was frustrated at the fact that a mere human pointed out how he was lying to himself about everything he was trying to make himself believe, just so he could forget those useless thoughts and feelings that gnawed at his hardened heart whenever he did his duty. Just so he could act so tough and mighty, in order not to recognize such soft spot and weakness in him. His pride about himself and his strength was preventing him for accepting these as a problem.
"Yeah, you're right. I must focus solely on my duties as the God of Destruction of this Universe. Those things don't matter to me anymore," Vegeta assured him. Whis simply stared back at him, not entirely convinced by Vegeta's decision to just let go of that. Vegeta took the paper bag from Whis' grasp and changed his clothes back to his sacred God of Destruction garments.
"What are you planning to do with her now?" Whis asked.
Vegeta stayed quiet for a moment, his jaw twitching as he thought about the decision he just made earlier over. He was obviously still reluctant about it. "I-"
Suddenly, something caught Vegeta's senses, cutting him off from what he was about to tell Whis.
"Hm?!" he abruptly murmured in surprise when he sensed something off across the Universe while he was fixing the golden arm band over his left forearm. He spun around, raised his head, and turned his narrowed, slanted, and onyx-colored eyes into the night sky filled with stars. "What is that? Someone- or something rather, is calling out to me. This mystical presence- an eternal wish-granting dragon, on the direction of Planet Namek?"
Vegeta suddenly turned extremely furious. "Why those stubborn, slimy, gastropod slugs! How dare they defy my law?! Whis! Report!" he snarled venomously, completely forgetting about what he was planning to do about Bulma. His duty as the God of Destruction of this Universe must always come first before anything personal after all.
"Doing so, milord," Whis said, peeking into the crystal of his scepter. "Oh my, this is troublesome," was all he could say after showing Vegeta the current situation on Planet Namek.
Vegeta growled indignantly, "Why those insolent bastards!" he spat. His black irises flashing a magenta light before he snapped his head upwards into the sky as if to glare at someone invisible from up there, addressing it with a spine-chilling, indignant snarl, "Don't you dare bother me, you stupid dragon! Else, I am going to destroy you as soon as I descend on your miserable planet!"
Turning to Whis, he ordered his guide angel harshly, "Whis! Take me to Planet Namek, now!"
"Yes, as you wish, milord," Whis nodded as Vegeta walked behind him and touched his back, the pair left the Earth in a flash of blinding light bursting into the skies.
Back on Planet Namek, the wish-granting dragon went silent for several seconds before its facial expression turned obviously fearful.
"I... I cannot do that," it said, stuttering.
"Why?" Granolah asked with a puzzled look.
"Only I can grant wishes within my power. A god's power is far above what is mine. A god decides what he does or not, going against what a God of Destruction wishes is like seeking your own destruction. If I bring him in here, there will be chaos. If you truly wish to summon him, I advice that you do it on your own now as this planet is currently under total darkness. But after that, I shall make my leave. If he finds out that I exist, this entire world will fall into its own destruction."
"Why is that?"
"The God of Destruction heavily forbids anyone to create the Dragon Balls or anything that would disrupt the reality, time, and space of this universe. Only the gods themselves are allowed to use such powers for the sake of keeping the balance of this Universe."
"I understand. How about you give me the power that could surpass him? Or make me a god whose power surpasses that of the God of Destruction?"
"That is not possible either. No mortal shall surpass a god unless they were fated to become an actual deity in the future. If your wish is to become the strongest mortal in this universe, you may become one, but it is impossible to reach the level of the gods themselves. I can unleash all of your latent potential which you could have accumulated for the rest of your life if you want, but that is in exchange of your remaining life span, of course. Even so, it still won't be enough to equal or surpass the power the God of Destruction of this universe held."
Granolah lowered his eyes in shame. He was disappointed that he cannot wish for what he exactly wants.
"I guess, I'll take that. For the sake of avenging my mother, I will do anything," Granolah muttered. He raised his head to look at the Dragon's glowing red eyes. "Very well. Dragon, make me the strongest that I could become!"
The Dragon didn't respond, it froze, its expression looked terrified for some reason.
"Oi stupid dragon, why don't you give the fool what he wants?"
Granolah heard an unexpected and surprisingly cold, imperious, and impatient voice commanded somewhere behind him. Granolah's eyes narrowed and his muscles tensed with dread. He was found out by someone whose voice he recognized was kind of familiar to him. An icy tone seething with the suppressed rage of a ruthless monster, threatening to lose control anytime soon. Granolah gasped, realizing that the voice belonged to the same person Elec was talking to yesterday.
The dragon started stuttering, causing Granolah to look back into it. Its earlier fearful expression became even more terrified. The Cerealian cautiously turned his head over his left shoulder to find the actual presence of an utterly displeased and deeply scowling God of Destruction standing with his calm and expressionless guide angel not far away from him.
The God of Destruction looked exactly as that picture on the website from the universe wide web Oatmeel showed him earlier. Granolah gawked back, awe-strucked by such divine presence, petrified about how intimidating and terrifying the invisible aura the lord of destruction possessed. No wonder why Elec was frightened of him. Granolah immediately pushed that thought away as he felt that the deity was extremely furious.
"You..." Granolah whispered as he watched Vegeta step forward until he was standing next to Granolah.
"Vegeta-sama," the Dragon stuttered fearfully, putting its head as low as it could to bow down in respect to the most fearsome deity of this universe.
Vegeta's dark eyes were filled with seething rage as he commanded with his cold, deep voice, "What are you waiting for? Give the foolish Cerealian a chance to have his revenge satisfied. But even if he did, there's no escape for the divine punishment I shall bestow those who went against my orders."
The dragon hesitated at first, "Bu-But-!"
"Do it, unless you want to be destroyed right now," Vegeta coldly threatened.
Granolah wondered why despite finding such obvious disobedience to his law, the God of Destruction was allowing the wish-granting Eternal Dragon to fulfill his wish.
The Dragon had no other choice but to obey what the furious deity wished for him to do.
"As... As you wish, milord," the Dragon stated as its eyes flashed a crimson light.
The Namekians, aside from Guru, Nail, and Monaito, were rudely awakened by a sudden shout from one of their neighbors screaming about the dark skies. Panicking, everyone went out of their homes to find the sky covered with ominous dark thunderclouds, and a pillar of light coming from one of the empty islands.
"Hey, do you guys see what I see? Is that an Eternal Dragon?" asked one Namekian.
"Dragon Balls? Someone had created them?! Who did this?!"
"It doesn't matter for now who created those Dragon Balls! We have to go there and stop whoever summoned it from making a wish! Once Hakaishin-sama learns about this, we are all going to be destroyed!"
Everyone quickly made their way to see whoever broke their sacred law and stop him from making the wish.
But once they arrived on that island, what they found terrified them to their very core. They were too late.
The God of Destruction was there, along the last of the Cerealians whose latent powers had just been awakened to its full potential by the Eternal Dragon.
Destruction shall fall on Planet Namek.
Vegeta stared at Granolah as the newly-awakened Cerealean marveled at the overwhelming amount of power flowing through him after the mystical Dragon granted it to him. His body had grown muscular, while his earlier shoulder-length green hair now reached the back of his knees.
"I have granted his wish as you commanded, milord. He has become strong enough to fulfill his desired revenge," the Dragon spoke.
"Yeah, I can see that," Vegeta uttered coldly.
The dragon nodded awkwardly, clearing its throat out of its obvious discomfort. "Please excuse me, I shall make my leave now," it said as if it was a child trying to escape an angry parent's punishment.
"Yeah," Vegeta responded with a bored tone, letting go of the Dragon. It disappeared into sparks and the two Dragon Balls blasted off in opposite directions. "Whis, take those Dragon Balls to me," he ordered with a tone void of emotion.
"Yes, milord," Whis obeyed.
The guide angel quickly disappeared to easily catch the Dragon Balls in his hands and brought it back to his master. Granolah watched as Whis handed the magical balls to Vegeta, wondering what the God of Destruction would do with it. The Hakaishin turned his chilling gaze up to the Namekians levitating in the sky above him, who were shaking in their utmost fear. They all hesitated at first, but they knew better than to disrespect an already furious destroyer deity. They descended into the ground to bow down and kneel before the most fearsome god of their universe and plead for his mercy, hoping to be spared from his divine punishment.
"Hakaishin-sama... Wel-welcome to Planet Namek," said Elder Moori, the vice-leader of all Namekians in the most humble way he could.
"I didn't come in here for your pleasantries, Moori. Seeing the looks on your faces, I am sure that you have something to tell me about what I just witnessed here, hm?" Vegeta growled lividly.
"Yes, milord. In all honesty, we are unaware as to who created the Dragon Balls in your current possession," said Moori. "So we beseech that you may please spare Planet Namek from your divine punishment."
"Didn't I say that one's fault is the fault of the entirety? Perhaps, the Cerealian could tell us where he got these Dragon Balls from."
Vegeta turned to gaze back at Granolah, who was just standing up from the ground.
"Granolah..? No way... Don't tell me it's-? What have you done to yourself?" Tsuno, who was kneeling just behind Moori asked him in disbelief.
Granolah shifted his eyes to the kneeling Namekian elder, "My apologies, Elder Tsuno. I needed to do this."
"But why would you-?"
Granolah ignored the Namekian elder as he turned his attention to the God of Destruction. Seeing the man responsible for the death of his parents, his people, and the destruction of his homeworld made his blood boil with his fury.
"So you are the God of Destruction? You were the one who destroyed my parents, my people, and my homeworld?" Granolah asked with a serious look on his face. The Namekians turned their heads in his direction with wide eyes, not knowing what he was talking about.
Vegeta was completely aware about Elec's deceiving plan, and how sorely mistaken Granolah was. The Cerealian really does remind him of his younger mortal self, more specifically that time when Vegeta challenged Freeza for the first time, believing that he was already strong enough to beat the tyrant. He was a foolish child, allowing his emotions and his power growth to reign over his rationality. The misunderstanding between him and Beerus also played a similarity in here. So instead of telling outright to Granolah that he was mistaken, he decided to play pretend just to see the potential this Cerealian held.
The corner of Vegeta's lips stretched upwards, revealing a wicked smirk.
"Ah... Well if it isn't Muezli's little boy," Vegeta responded with a menacing grin and a psychotic look. "Yeah, so what if I did? I am the God of Destruction of this Universe and it's my job to destroy everything I deemed as useless in my Universe," then his eyes glowed an eerie magenta glow as his smile widened and grew more malevolent. His eyes gazed down into Granolah's soul, making the Cerealian feel a spine-chilling and surprising jolt within the center of his chest. It reminded Granolah of the scary encounter he had with this guy forty years ago. "And if you have a freaking problem with that, then you may go ahead and try me. I will destroy your miserable existence too, just as I did to them."
"You utter scum!" Granolah screamed. A massive green-colored aura abruptly burst around his body, causing the Namekians calling out to him to be pushed away. "How dare you! How dare you destroy as you please! You are completely unforgivable!"
Vegeta raised his chin as he chuckled wickedly to mock Granolah even further, "You foolish mortal, do you honestly think you can beat a God of Destruction such as myself?"
"I will make you pay for what you did to my mother!" he roared in pure rage and he kicked off the ground to land a straight punch right to Vegeta's face, but the God of Destruction simply raised a single finger to block the hefty attack, much to Granolah's surprise. "What?!"
"Fool, you just got a power boost out of nowhere and you think it is enough to beat me?" Vegeta told him. Then he grabbed Granolah by his scarf and pulled him close so he could gaze at him eye to eye. "Your head has gotten too big, Cerealian. I think I should take your stupid ego down a peg."
Then with a swift move, Vegeta hit Granolah's forehead with a mighty and painful headbutt, causing the Cerealian to stagger backwards and be dizzy before falling to his behind on the grass.
"The most foolish thing I hated about mortals is the fact that you rely too much on miracles without actually doing anything. What a bunch of simple creatures! You're nothing but spoiled children, expecting everything to be given to you just like that. And every time you are faced with hardships, you always complain and expect someone to feel bad for you and help you out of your misery? The Dragon simply awakened all the latent potential you could have accumulated in your mortal lifetime in exchange for your remaining life span. That power is useless if you lack the battle experience to back it up. You do not simply win battles out of sheer luck or a mere power boost, it takes a lot more than that! I hated foolish mortals like yourself. I should be destroying you and every single one of you in here right now, along your stupid mudball!"
A purple fire erupted around Vegeta in an instant, causing destructive shockwaves that shook the Planet Namek down to its core. The skies were once again enveloped by thick, ominous, black thunderclouds flashing with violent thunderbolts.
On the ground, Granolah was absolutely terrified. He knew that even after all his innate power had been fully awakened by the Eternal Dragon, it still meant nothing against the divine powers of the deity responsible for the death and devastation of everything in this Universe.
"Why? Why do you have to keep on destroying lives?!" Granolah demanded him in desperation. "Why did you have to destroy my life?! Why did you let me live to suffer all these years? Why?!" he choked, tears falling from his eyes.
In Vegeta's eyes, he saw his young, mortal self in Granolah's face, crying out to Beerus, demanding him why he spared him just to make him suffer. He gritted his teeth, being reminded of his weaker, foolish past self made him even more furious. Stupid weaklings!
"The answer is simple. It is my duty as the God of Destruction," Vegeta responded coldly.
Granolah stared at him with a questioning look, an expression that reminded Vegeta of Bulma's face. That look mixed with both disgust and pity. "How could you live like this?"
Vegeta's eyes widened in surprise. It's that damn question again. That question being repeatedly asked by that damn Earthling woman to him. A question he tried his best to ignore and not answer. That one question that made him doubtful of himself, confuse his mind, questioning the life choices and ideals he had been upholding with pride for more than 1,500 years since he became the God of Destruction of this Universe.
Vegeta's teeth grinded together out of his fury before screaming, "Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!"
The fire surrounding him grew into a huge pillar, the flames of destruction whirling around him like a forming devastating tornado.
"No! No, Hakaishin-sama! Please don't!"
A desperate cry from behind made everyone turn towards Monaito who was trudging as fast as he could to the scene.
"Monaito, what are you doing in here?" Granolah asked.
Monaito stumbled next to him and fell down to his knees as if to beg the God of Destruction to spare Granolah, his people, and his beloved homeworld.
"Please! Hakaishin-sama! Please spare them, milord. This is all my fault. It's mine," he admitted.
Seeing the one responsible for the creation of the Dragon Balls he just discovered, Vegeta willed himself to calm down.
"Ah, how nice of you to actually show up and join us," Vegeta said, dropping the Dragon Balls in front of the Namekian. Monaito gasped in shock and terror when he found his Dragon Balls in the God of Destruction's possession. "Are you the creator of these Dragon Balls?"
Monaito lowered his head as he admitted with a low, cracked voice which showed his shame and guilt, "Yes... Yes, milord."
The old Namekian knew there was no point in lying even if he tried to explain that he never meant for anyone to find out about this because he made those Dragon Balls with the harmless desire to simply put it on display.
Vegeta held up his left hand, the two Dragon Balls floated in the air, engulfed by the purple energy radiating off the Destroyer deity. He suddenly squeezed the empty air by closing his hand into a tight fist. The Dragon Balls cracked and exploded into small pieces. The broken shards fell into the ground filled with blue green grass right in front of Monaito.
Vegeta returned his attention back to the elderly Namekian before him, "Then you are aware that you have defied the law I commanded to all Namekians to never create the Dragon Balls. Do you honestly think I wouldn't know about this? Hm? And it just so happened that the Cerealian over here tried to use it to call for me, thinking that he could get his pitiful revenge against me."
"Revenge?" Monaito repeated, confused. He turned his disappointed gaze to Granolah. "What's the meaning of this, Granolah?"
Granolah shrugged his shoulders and looked away at the intimidating gaze his foster father was giving him. "Elec told me that the God of Destruction destroyed my parents, my people, and my homeworld. Is this the reason why you wouldn't want me to associate myself with the Heeters again?" he asked.
"Elec told you wha-?! No!" Monaito gasped in disbelief. He turned back to the God of Destruction and bowed down several times, "My... My apologies, Hakaishin-sama! I think there is a misunderstanding! I'm so sorry for this!"
"Oh, I'm sure there is," Vegeta snarled. He looked angrier now than earlier and it caused Monaito and the Namekians to feel even more panic.
Monaito turned his attention back to Granolah, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Listen to me, Granolah," he said, "What I told you earlier this morning is true. Anyone who associate themselves with people who went against a God of Destruction will get into a crossfire between him and his target and will be destroyed in the process. This is the reason why I told you not to go to Elec, yet you still defied my order, you stubborn child! Now you just brought a bigger destruction to everyone by igniting his fury. You were mistaken, Granolah. As a matter of fact, the God of Destruction did not destroy anyone you know."
"What?! But- why? Who-?"
"Elec lied to you in order to set you up in a trap to do this," Vegeta told him. "He particularly summoned me to destroy you, Granolah, and I flat out refused to do it. Yet, you fell into his trap so easily. If I destroyed both of your parents, your people, and your home planet, then you wouldn't be existing right now or even remembering them at all. I destroy existences, and when I do, they should be forgotten completely by mortals as if they never existed."
"But why did Elec do that?! Why did he lie to me? Why would he... set me up for this?" asked Granolah.
"Because he wanted to get rid of the reason why Gas turned out the way he is."
Monaito continued, "Let me explain, Granolah. You see, your mother summoned the God of Destruction forty years ago in her hopes of protecting you from your abusive father. She was thinking whether to make the contract with him or not after learning of the price she had to pay, thinking about you and your future. Your father was being hunted by the Heeters at that time due to him stealing money from them, so they went to Planet Cereal to make him pay. But Flayk had escaped before they could arrive, so they decided to hunt you and every single Cerealian they could find as revenge. The three of us tried to escape but they managed to find us. Your mother tried to distract them so we could escape."
"It was Elec who shot your mother. Muezli was in the middle of thinking about making the contract with me, and as she was connected with me in some way, I arrived on Planet Cereal to send her soul to the afterlife. It pisses me off whenever a client is killed just before they could make a contract, it's not good for my job as a destroyer deity. So I punished Gas for what he did to the Cerealians and as a warning to Elec to never think that he has greater power than I have. I allowed the unrest souls of all the people they have killed that day to haunt him for the rest of his life. This enraged Elec greatly, and he believed that if not for your father, none of these will ever happen to his brother. So he hunted Flayk down and executed him on his own. You on the other hand, simply reminds him of bitter memories so he was trying to rid of your existence. I refused to do so. A God of Destruction doesn't take orders from anyone, and only I get to decide whose existence I must destroy. I wanted to destroy him, but then I thought that things would be more interesting if I allow you to do the honors. Your revenge must be satisfied so you need to settle this grudge with all your power. This is the reason why I allowed the Dragon to grant your wish earlier.
"However, as I've said earlier, this power is useless if you lack the battle experience to back it up. I suggest that you train until it is time you are capable of controlling that power and you have the proper amount of experience. But I don't think that's achievable with the remaining life span you have."
Vegeta stared at Granolah's chest. He could see the thin, opaque, bluish-white flame that represents a mortal's core of existence, within the Cerealean, continuously jolting as it sensed the God of Destruction's divine presence and that he was staring right through it. By the looks of it, Granolah only has a year or less to survive.
"What?!" Granolah gasped.
"This is what you get for your reckless actions, Cerealian. If you have only waited for the right time without trying to shift the balance of your reality, you could have done it on your own."
Regret washed through out Granolah's conscience.
He turned his betrayed gaze towards the man he trusted for most of his life, the man he treated as his father. "And you knew this all this time?" his voice broke with his pain. "Why? Why, Monaito?"
Monaito closed his eyes a look of regret enshrouded his green, wrinkled face. "I am sorry, Granolah. I only did this in order for us to survive."
"But I would rather die than serve the people who destroyed everything in my life!" Granolah roared. "All these years I've been serving the people who killed my parents, who destroyed my world, and you knew all of these things, yet you just allowed me to work for them?! Why?"
Monaito shrieked, tears falling in his eyes. "You should know that I have no other choice, Granolah. It is the only choice I have left so you could live. Elec threatened to kill you the very moment he learned that you are still alive, yet I assured him that you will be a great help to their clan because of your abilities. If I had only known that this will bring your destruction, I would have done something to prevent you from getting into this mess."
"I can't believe this... That bastard was planning to destroy me all this time and behind my back..." Granolah growled.
Granolah turned to face the God of Destruction, knelt down the ground, and bowed down before him.
"My apologies for my rash and violent behavior towards you, Hakaishin-sama. I admit I was sorely mistaken by the events." Granolah admitted. "You are right. I was foolish to think so. I... I'm sorry. You too, Monaito, everyone. It's because of me that you are all in trouble now. Hakaishin-sama, I beg of you to please spare the Namekians from your divine wrath and punishment. Instead, take and destroy my existence as payment for my sins."
Vegeta gave Granolah a menacing smirk, "Oooh... Is that right?" he mocked, before that chilling smile melted into a deep, wrathful scowl. "You want me to destroy your existence in exchange of me sparing these fools from their divine punishment? Hmph! How ridiculous!"
"?!" Granolah looked up to him in confusion. Ridiculous? What does he mean by that?
"The Namekian's sins against me has nothing to do with you, Cerealian. Your Namekian friend created the Dragon Balls on his own, even though he is completely aware that he was defying my law to never create these things again. And because of this..."
Vegeta's magenta eyes widened and then, all of the Namekians abruptly let out unified gasps of shock as their core of existences jolted within their chests at the same time, all of them enveloped in the purple light caused by the God of Destruction's divine destructive power. The planet also began to shake in a continuous beat, as its core within reacted to his power as well. Vegeta's irises were blazing pinkish-red in color as he declared his divine punishment.
"The Namekians have incurred the wrath of the God of Destruction, therefore, by my command, all Namekians are to be removed of all their magical abilities so they will never repeat the same mistake of defying me again. Planet Namek, their homeworld, shall suffer two hundred years of drought and extreme heat, causing all living things on this planet to slowly die as they suffered this curse I put upon them this day. Now, let it be done!"
Thunder roared as his curse became effective. All the beautiful Ajissa trees slowly succumb to death, the seas went dry, and all the grass withered as the three suns above the skies blazed hotter, the temperature rising to extreme levels of heat. As the black thunderclouds departed, revealing a fiery-looking red sky in the place of the usually green sky earlier, every mortal within the planet immediately felt themselves having a hard time to breathe due to the rising hellish temperature.
"You're so cruel," Granolah gasped in disbelief as he caught Monaito on his arms, who was wheezing already.
"I do not condone any mistakes from anyone, Cerealian." Vegeta told him. "Every sin has a consequence they deserve to pay. If I let them slide, I wouldn't be an effective God of Destruction. After all, it is my job to judge and punish mortals as well in order to keep the balance of this Universe. And as for you and your useless revenge against Elec and the Heeters Clan, you can simply ask me to destroy them all for you right now."
"Hakaishin-sama! Please-," Monaito's shrieking words were cut off by a single intimidating glare from the God of Destruction.
"Don't you ever try to stop me," Vegeta warned him.
The next moment, the Namekian fell unconscious on the ground.
"Monaito!" Granolah gasped, pulling his foster father closer to him, checking up on him. Despite the pain of betrayal Monaito caused him, he understood his pure intentions and still cared for the old Namekian. He began to worry when Monaito didn't respond.
"Worry not, he's just asleep, just be thankful that I didn't destroy him outright," he told Granolah. "So, as I was saying. I am the God of Destruction, the deity responsible for death and devastation, Vegeta Yonsei. I came here to offer you a chance to avenge your people and destroy the Heeters Clan by making a contract with me. Of course, I will do this for a condition. When you enter a contract with me, I will immediately bestow my divine punishment to those you want for me to destroy. In this process, they will all cease to exist in this world. That means they will disappear forever, body and soul. They will never pass over, be sent to the afterlife, or will be given the chance to go to heaven, hell, or even be revived or be reincarnated. They will also be forgotten by all mortals as if they never existed in this world.
"Before creation, comes destruction. This is how the balance of this universe works. But if an existence is destroyed when it's not yet its due time due to a request made to me, this creates a discrepancy in that balance. In order to keep the normality, the cause must suffer the same fate as the other. It basically means that once it is time for you to die, I will destroy your soul just as I did to those you wish for me to destroy."
Vegeta's lips stretched upwards to reveal a wide, menacing grin. The reddish-purple glow of his irises seemingly lit up with his wicked intent to destroy.
"But of course, you can decide whether you go through this or not. Once you have made your decision, focus your mind on the destruction of the Heeters Clan and call me by my name.
"I will wait for your decision, Granolah."
And with that, the God of Destruction walked back to where his attendant was waiting and both of them blasted to the bloody-red skies, leaving Granolah, the Namekians, and their homeworld to their deadly fate.