The dining table was filled with several stacks of empty plates and a number of bamboo-made bento boxes filled with freshly-made Maguro Nigiri. The God of Destruction, Vegeta Yonsei, was sitting in front of the table, grumpily munching at his favorite food while inwardly criticizing its taste.
"This Maguro Nigiri is huge and freshly-made…" he was saying.
However, behind his mind was a tiny, unwanted, depressed voice within his head that seemed to distract his thoughts about his favorite food.
Bulma rejected me…
"But…"
She thinks I deserved to go to hell.
Ignoring the tiny voice, he fumed and took another bite of the food in between his chopsticks, trying to get a good taste of it.
"Why?"
Why is it that she doesn't want me anymore?
Why was she so mad at me? Why does it upset me so much? I only did my proper duties as the God of Destruction of this Universe, what was so wrong with that?
Why does her opinion matter to me anyways?
Vegeta closed his eyes, his teeth gritted in his frustration. He could feel a painful, gripping sensation in his chest and a stinging feeling in his eyes.
"I don't like this…"
She doesn't like me…
He glared down at the half-bitten piece of Maguro Nigiri that was in between his quivering pair of chopsticks. His hand was shaking, was it from his anger or something else he refuse to recognize?
"Seriously?! Why is this Maguro Nigiri like this?! It doesn't taste good at all!" he abruptly yelled, throwing the food and his chopsticks into the table, pushing his chair away from him as he stood.
"I am going to destroy the Earth! This planet is useless to me anymore!" he declared out loud.
Everybody inside that restaurant turned his or her head in his direction, looking at him as if he was a madman who escaped a mental institution. In front of him, Whis stared back at him in embarrassment. He was also eating the same food that Vegeta was nibbling at inside an exclusive five-star restaurant famous for serving fresh and high-quality seafood. Whis was sure that the Maguro Nigiri Vegeta had unfairly criticized was fine and great-tasting, actually even better than the sushi being served at the Ox King's Sushi Restaurant.
"Is something wrong with your sense of taste today, Vegeta-sama?" Whis asked. "Because I highly disagree with your criticisms about this Maguro Nigiri."
Vegeta turned his deep scowling face to his guide angel, giving him a furious glare. "Something isn't definitely wrong with me, Whis! What the hell are you talking about?" he denied. "Let's go. I am going to destroy this stupid, good-for-nothing planet now!"
Whis let out an exhausted sigh, "Alright, I understand, milord. But could you please wait just a little longer? I'll just have these for take aways just in case."
"Are you kidding me?! Forget it! Let's go now!"
"..."
"Whis!"
"..."
"Are you ignoring a direct order?! Whis!"
"..."
Whis was deliberately ignoring Vegeta as he kept yelling about destroying the Earth. Seriously, what's up with him all of a sudden? Whis had thought that after the conversation they had two nights ago, it would convince Vegeta to be more open-minded and learn a thing or two about love, compassion, mercy, and empathy from the Earthlings so it could help him in making proper and fair judgment as a God of Destruction. Whis was disappointed that Vegeta ignored his advice and chose to remain stubborn and be bound to his high pride and wrong understanding about his duties of being the God of Destruction of the Seventh Universe. Whis cannot blame him about his wrong beliefs since it was truly forbidden for a God of Destruction to feel those emotions, plus Vegeta was once a Saiyan mortal warrior who also believed that emotions are a weakness and could become their greatest downfall. But the Guide Angel knew that the said rule was commonly misunderstood and that Vegeta was different from the rest of the Saiyans and the Gods of Destruction. That rule about forbidden emotions was meant for those who threw away their morality so they could become the Gods of Destruction of their respective Universe. Vegeta became a God of Destruction holding onto what he believed in as a mortal Saiyan. He refused to throw away his Saiyan Pride, and what made him who and what he was, which was why he was the only God of Destruction who managed to keep all of his mortal Saiyan abilities even after his transition to immortality and destroyer godhood. He was also the only one who managed to learn and master the forbidden Secret of Self-Indulgence technique.
However, as Whis had observed from the God of Destruction's behavior lately, for over the 1500 years of him causing continuous death and destruction unto several worlds, Vegeta was starting to forget his Saiyan identity and morality. And due to his indulgence to his primal destructive desires and thirst for blood, he became a cold and ruthless God of Destruction. The Secret of Self-Indulgence technique was slowly but surely taking control of him. What he did to the Namekians when he found out the existence of the Dragon Balls, and towards Rezeph yesternight were evidence to that.
Hearing through his guide angel's thoughts, Vegeta relented, though quite impatiently.
"...Ugh, fine! Just do it quickly. Five minutes and I won't wait any longer than that!"
"Yes, I understand, milord."
Whis rose from his seat to politely ask the waiter to pack all the food for take aways.
Merely thirty seconds passed by and Vegeta was already getting impatient, "How much longer do I have to wait, Whis?!"
"Oh my, so impatient," Whis muttered as he paid for the tab and got the packed food, "We're done here, Vegeta-sama."
"Finally," Vegeta grumbled with a roll of his eyes as he walked behind Whis and touched his guide angel's back. They both disappeared to thin air, much to the stunned waiter's surprise.
Vegeta and Whis stared down at the Planet Earth. Whis expressed his grief over the fate of this wonderful world and the fact that it was the last time he would ever get to eat the Earth's sumptuous grub. The God of Destruction raised a finger to point at the planet and concentrated his destructive energy into a small, condensed ki orb. He fired the beam of destruction towards the planet and he watched with sadistic delight as it completely disintegrated an entire land of mountain ranges into a barren wasteland with an explosion that can be compared to that of a nuclear bomb, leaving debris, smoke, and dust forming into an enormous atomic cloud.
Vegeta turned around, darkly chuckling to himself in satisfaction. Whis stared at him with a confused look.
"Oh, you mean you wanted to destroy a portion of the Earth's crust?"
"Hmph! I just don't feel like destroying this world completely," Vegeta huffed, planting his hands over his hips. "I had something in mind that was more fun to do than watching this miserable planet's fireworks."
"And that is?"
"A fight with the one claiming to be the strongest mortal in this Universe!"
Whis blinked. "A fight?" he asked.
The God of Destruction let out a mischievous grin, "Yeah."
Since Vegeta had heard of Whis' thoughts earlier, he decided that he should probably go and look for a fight where he could act and feel like the Saiyan he used to be back then. He was hoping it could erase Whis' doubts about him and help him forget about the Earth along with his internal conflicts and frustrations as well.
Chapter 29: A Troubled Cold Heart
Somewhere far across the Universe, Granolah was busy evading a group of asteroids being pulled by a hefty gravitational force towards a planet that's about to meet its doomed fate. His Artificial Intelligence, Oatmeel, assisted him with firing his sniping projectiles in his attempt to destroy every piece of space rock trying to kill him and blow up the planet he was on. In his mind, those rocks were the Heeters, fueling his desire to destroy them. It took every bit of his strength to do it, but he managed to break through his limits when he was pushed to the brink by the final and biggest asteroid he saw as Gas. He had successfully reduced it into small rubbles, but he ended up tired and fatigued due to the straining effort.
Once the sky was clear and he managed to save this uninhabited planet, Granolah decided to take a break and have some rest. Oatmeel congratulated him on a job well done today and Granolah thanked him. He walked towards a small stream of water he found earlier and drank from it using his hands. The water wasn't that good-tasting but it would do. He also removed his goggles so he could wash his face to feel refreshed and remove the blood and dirt off his fair skin. He used his scarf as a towel to dry himself.
"I am getting a good grip on this power and I am sure that the last experience helped me grow even stronger," Granolah muttered as he put his goggles back.
"Sure, Granolah," Oatmeel responded.
"Although this power is still not enough for me to fight the Heeters. I wish I could spar and train with someone strong enough to handle this power. Those clones don't even cut it."
"Is that so? Well, I'm here now."
Granolah unexpectedly heard Vegeta Yonsei's cold voice right behind him, causing him to swivel around to see the God of Destruction and his assistant standing there.
"Vegeta-sama?! What are you doing here?" Granolah gasped.
Vegeta turned his head left to right to look at his surroundings, "Hm. It's quite impressive that you managed to prevent this good-for-nothing planet's complete destruction. Good."
"Did you send those asteroids to destroy this planet?"
Vegeta put his hands over his hips and smirked back at Granolah, "That could be. Since this planet was useless, there is no need for such a world to exist in my Universe," then he focused his attention on the gaping Cerealian. "To answer your question, I came here because I wanted to test you out. I allowed the Eternal Dragon to grant your wish to become the strongest you could become so you could give me some bit of entertainment."
Granolah blinked, his jaw gaping, "What do you mean by that?"
Vegeta crossed his arms over his pectorals and raised his chin, grinning mischievously at the Cerealian.
"You were looking for a sparring partner, correct? Well, here I am," he told him. "Why don't you come at me and show me what the strongest mortal in the Universe is truly capable of?"
Granolah's green, arching eyebrows furrowed as he straightened himself.
"Yes, I did want a sparring partner strong enough to handle my attacks, but you?" Granolah tried his best not to laugh.
Vegeta's eyes narrowed at Granolah's tone when he said that 'you' with a voice that sounded quite derisory to him due to the Cerelian's stifled laughter, "Is that supposed to be an insult?" he growled.
No, it wasn't. Granolah knew he was simply no match against a God of Destruction no matter how much he would try. He was aware that Vegeta could literally tank all of his attacks without even lifting a finger at all. This guy would literally destroy him with one move! His tone wasn't meant to insult Vegeta, it was because Granolah couldn't believe that this pint-sized but highly egoistic god would bother to lower himself fighting an insignificant mortal. What's up with him?
Granolah hesitated to agree knowing that he would lose in an instant against the God of Destruction.
Hearing Granolah's reluctance, Vegeta snorted, "Hmph! Chickening out before a fight? Fine, I will give you a handicap then." He raised his right index finger and grinned impishly, "If you manage to land a single hit on me then you win. If you win, I will personally train you until I know you are strong enough to put your plans of revenge against the Heeters into motion. Think about it well, Granolah. It's a once in a lifetime offer from the God of Destruction of this Universe."
Granolah stared at him suspiciously, "Are you serious?"
"Yeah."
"In exchange for what? I'm sure you will not offer me anything without any disbursement."
Vegeta cackled out loud, "Hahahahaha! Aren't you a distrustful little bastard, Cerealian? I came here looking for an entertaining fight with you, that's just all. Now decide before I change my mind and directly destroy this planet completely along with you!"
Vegeta was only looking for a distraction to forget all those lingering, unwanted thoughts about Bulma and his indecision on blowing up the Earth completely earlier. He also wanted to show Whis that he still had his edge being the Saiyan he once was. It has been a while since he fought with someone else aside from his attendant and he assumed that a fight with Granolah would solve his problems.
Granolah stared at the God of Destruction with his jaw dropped and his eyes wide with confusion. Vegeta Yonsei's offer was tempting, a once in a lifetime opportunity to be trained by the most powerful deity in the Universe, also considered to be the strongest warrior among all during his time as a mortal. Vegeta was obviously being supportive of his goal of vengeance too. Knowing that he only had a few months of life left and doubting it would be enough time for him to train and be strong enough to fight the Heeters, Granolah made a decision.
"Fine, but you won't get any disbursement on my part!" Granolah assured.
"Don't make me repeat myself. Just go ahead and attack me. Don't hold anything back. And try not to bore me, you know what fate I will bestow upon you."
"But you said-!"
"I said I don't need any disbursement from you. You know what exactly happens to those who failed to satisfy me. It's simple, do everything you can so I won't have to destroy you. If I accidentally killed you here then it only means that you don't have enough strength and skill to begin with."
Granolah growled to himself. How the hell did he end up in this situation? Oh well, a challenge is a challenge, and there is an opportunity at hand. He would do his best in this fight, after all, he wanted to test out his full strength against someone he hoped could handle it.
"Come at me at full power. Attack me as if you have the intent to kill and destroy me. Do you understand?" Vegeta commanded him.
"As you wish," Granolah said as he fell into a fighting stance.
With a powerful leap to the air, Granolah charged at Vegeta.
"Rejoice, Cerealian. It is not typical that a pathetic mortal like yourself gets to play with the God of Destruction of this Universe!" Vegeta told him with a smile.
Granolah threw several strong, hypersonic, but graceful combos towards Vegeta, which the deity effortlessly blocked and dodged with his forearms.
"What? Is this all you've got? I expected something more entertaining," Vegeta mocked his efforts. Granolah showed great stress and decided to leap back and raise his right arm forward. Behind Vegeta, part of the ground rose via Granolah's telekinesis. Vegeta simply stood with a confident stance and a smirk as if he had no idea what Granolah was planning.
Closing his hand into a tight fist, the mass of rock that he lifted from the ground behind Vegeta exploded and the deity was immediately surrounded by smoke and dust.
Vegeta tilted his head, sensing a number of energy beams coming in his direction. He lifted his index finger and deflected every single attack.
"That one just now, it's a technique almost similar to destruction. He must have learned it upon seeing me destroy the Dragon Balls on Planet Namek," Vegeta thought to himself as he continued deflecting every beam. Then his smirk stretched into an impressed smile, "Hmph! Interesting."
With a swift motion of his arm, Vegeta cleared all the smoke and completely annihilated all incoming blasts with a destructive gale. The explosions were like rapid fireworks that lit up the surroundings.
Once everything was clear, Granolah was staring at Vegeta with a dumbfounded expression. His left eye was glowing a crimson red, indicating that he was already using his powerful sniping technique. His only eye was wide in confusion, his mind both fascinated and horrified at what he was seeing inside Vegeta. Cerealians can see through their target's insides, be it their blood flow or energy flow or every movement of their anatomical parts and changes in their physiology. Through these visions he could find a very accurate vital point or any weakness of his enemy.
But he couldn't see through Vegeta. All he could see was a body filled with a highly-suppressed destructive energy. No vital points. No weaknesses. Is this what deities are?
He tried attacking for Vegeta's vital points earlier by guessing, he based his assumptions on where most people's vital points were, but still the deity was fast enough to deflect his blasts. Hmm… How about the tail? It was the only odd part in him after all. Could it be Vegeta's weakness?
Vegeta rolled his eyes. It was bad enough that he could hear Granolah's thoughts even before he could start attacking. This is really getting quite annoying.
He watched as Granolah fell into another fighting stance, concentrating his green aura in his right hand to create a long dagger made with his energy. Then Granolah disappeared from his sight.
Vegeta raised a fist and made a single knocking movement over his right shoulder, effectively punching at Granolah's face before he could even slash through Vegeta's tail and causing the Cerealian to stumble backwards with his free hand over his nose.
"Owww! Hey, that's not fair!" Granolah complained as he wiped the blood away with the back of his gloved hand.
Vegeta grinned impishly, turning his head over his bulging shoulder and chuckled at the sight of Granolah's bleeding nose, "What's not fair? That I made a move and hit you back? I didn't say that I won't hit you."
Granolah snarled, removing his hand over his face, "You bastard!"
Vegeta chuckled once again, this time with a tinge of darkness into it, "Very well. At least, your blood is red," he commented sadistically as he ran his tongue across his lips.
Granolah made a disgusted look, "What are you?! Some kind of sadist?!"
Vegeta turned around to face Granolah, he raised his left arm forward and beckoned Granolah to attack once more, "Come!"
With a roar, Granolah kicked off the ground to attack Vegeta once again.
"Are you serious?! Is this really all the best the self-proclaimed strongest mortal could do? I was better than this before I even reached puberty!" Vegeta asked him as he continued dodging and blocking all of Granolah's flurry of deadly strikes. Then he assaulted back with a combination of punches of his own, causing Granolah to painfully stumble backwards.
"Are you mocking me?! I could tell that you're holding back your intentions! Fight me like you have the intent to kill me! As if your life depends on it! If you hold back, I will destroy you!" Vegeta yelled at him.
Granolah gritted his teeth and concentrated to proliferate his energy into creating multiple copies of himself. Vegeta smirked, knowing this technique well. Granolah and his clones charged at Vegeta as if they were ganging up on him, thinking that they could outnumber the destroyer deity. Still, the God of Destruction was able to swiftly block and dodge every single attack.
"Hmph! Are you kidding me? Do you honestly think that you could outnumber me by creating multiple clones? You just divided your power into these useless things. You should know that no matter how much trash goes up against me, your numbers don't matter to me!"
While Vegeta was busy, the real Granolah leapt back to concentrate on his ultimate attack. His Super Sniper Beam. He unleashed his green aura, began to power-up, and asked Oatmeel to assist him on aiming towards the small gland inside Vegeta's tail's tip, thinking that the tail was the God of Destruction's weakness. Granolah carefully observed and predicted the tail's muscle movement.
The clones jumped at Vegeta in an attempt to hold him in place.
"Tch! Tenacious bastards!" he growled.
"NOW!"
Granolah fired.
Vegeta snorted loudly. He kicked off the ground and made a graceful somersault in the air to free himself from Granolah's clones' grasps, and then deflected the blast away with a single gesture of his tail. The blast made quite a powerful explosion wherever he hurled it away. The bright light caused Vegeta to stagger back as he landed, visions and memories of Bulma's face filled his abruptly distracted and confused mind. His cold and stoic expression quickly changed into a look of longing and disappointment as he mindlessly tried to reach out towards the light. His thoughts filled with the question "Why?" as he felt his chest become constricted with two emotions he wasn't allowed to have as a destroyer deity first and foremost.
Guilt and doubt.
Why was he so troubled about hurting Bulma's feelings when he destroyed Anaheim and Cayena? Why would he feel guilty about doing his duties as the God of Destruction? Why was he having doubts about it? Why was she so angry at him? Why did she reject him? Why was he so upset by this?
Why?
Why?!
"Now! Granolah!" Oatmeel told Granolah.
Vegeta felt something impale through him, a beam of heat passed through the tip of his tail, then went through his back to his chest. He saw the yellow beam of light pass through his heart, red blood spurt out from the hole it made on his body, and continued its way to the ground where it burst into a puff of smoke.
Vegeta gagged a mouthful of blood at that, as he automatically clutched at his chest and stooped forward. The clones Granolah created disappeared into a puff of smoke. The pain made all the distracting visions disappear like some apparitions in front of him and brought him back to reality.
When his vision finally cleared, Vegeta turned towards Granolah who was smiling at him in victory.
"One hit, right? That means I won," Granolah said with a smirk.
Vegeta didn't answer. His shocked face suddenly became cold and devoid of emotion for a very short moment, and then it was immediately filled with unspeakable rage. The wounds Granolah had caused started regenerating on its own, being engulfed by the flames of his destructive energy until they were completely healed. Granolah marveled at the breath-taking sight. Being the most fearsome deity was amazing, but there's none among the God of Destruction's fascinating and horrifying powers that could heal the pain of Vegeta's broken and humiliated pride.
And this was what made Vegeta so livid.
"Why you…" he snarled venomously in the empty air. Granolah began to step back in pure terror, his teeth chattering when he found the ground began to tremble and the skies turned black as it got filled with onerous thunderclouds at the moment the God of Destruction's fury began to seethe.
In Vegeta's flashing magenta eyes, Granolah's image in front of him was flickering to Bulma and it surged his aggravation even further.
Lightning began to strike around them. Granolah raised his arms in surrender, "Wait! Wait! Please calm down, Vegeta-sama! I… I… I didn't mean to– please stop this!"
A burst of purple aura exploded around Vegeta and he quickly disappeared from his position. With a swift but powerful punch to the gut, he sent Granolah barreling backwards into the ground in utter pain, coughing and vomiting blood and saliva as he curled and quivered in agony on the ground.
Then he felt Vegeta's brown boot stomp at his face, "What? Over already?" the God of Destruction mocked with a fearsome low, icy tone. "Hmph! What a waste of my time. And here I thought I could have some kind of fun with you, but you were nothing but a cocky little bastard… I knew that you were aiming for my vitals, looking for any weakness that I could have which you could use to your own advantage. You saw an opportunity, and you think that you have already won? Hmph! If I were to give you a grade for that, then it's two out of ten!"
Then he kicked Granolah in the face, causing the Cerealian to roll backwards against the ground.
"Have you forgotten who and what you're dealing with, Cerealian? I admit that you have deadly accuracy and your abilities may be strong too, strong enough to kill a low-level god. Unfortunately for you, an immortal God of Destruction has no weakness! I have no vital points, and my tail was never my weak spot."
So that explains why Granolah couldn't see any vital points within Vegeta's body. He just assumed and hoped that wherever he hit the God of Destruction would be his vital point.
"Hmph! How pathetic! You're no fun at all. I'm ending this utter waste of time. Now, how should I destroy a pest like yourself?" Vegeta wondered out loud, looking like a kid who was inwardly planning to squash an ant.
Vegeta levitated up into the sky and raised his right hand up in the air above his head. In his palm formed a giant, purple energy ball about the size of an entire planet. He was engulfed with a dark purple aura, his hair glowing a deep byzantium color and his face completely changed into something more fearsome than his usual look.
"Get up and stop this if you can! If you dare dodge this, it will destroy everything in this galaxy, including yourself!" the destroyer deity exclaimed with a loud, powerful voice that seemed to resonate across the planet.
Granolah's eyes widened in pure terror, "No! You can't be doing this, Vegeta-sama!"
How did a supposedly normal training session turn out to be a survival game for him? Granolah knew he won, but Vegeta's low opinion about the Cerealian's method of winning was honorless due to him attacking 'from behind', or maybe the deity was just pissed off that he actually lost due to his own carelessness, like a brat who could not accept his defeat? No matter what the reason for Vegeta doing this, it's not good at all. Granolah had to forcefully pick himself up and power-up to his maximum. He raised both his arms forward, his index and middle fingers pointing to Vegeta.
Vegeta laughed evilly, the fool was really going to fight back. Yes, that's just what he wanted to see.
"Hahaha! Now, that is so brave of you. Very well, now it is time for you to meet your own destruction! There will be nothing left of you!" Vegeta declared as he hurled the destructive ball of energy towards Granolah.
Granolah screamed as he fired his full-powered ultimate attack towards the titanic power ball of devastation. Vegeta watched excitedly as their energy attacks clashed in the atmosphere. Granolah's attack was trying to pierce through his sphere of destruction in an attempt of making it explode before it reached the core of this planet and hoping to reduce its damage. Granolah struggled to do this. Vegeta was just too powerful for him to defeat.
Whis teleported behind his lord, "Vegeta-sama, don't you think you are being too harsh on him?" he asked. "If you continue this, then he might not survive at all."
"Then that means that he doesn't have any worthy skills to impress me, thus he only deserved to be destroyed," Vegeta spat out.
Whis sighed, "You and your pride," he muttered with a roll of his eyes, shaking his head. "You are going against your own word, you know. Granolah already won. Accept it."
Vegeta growled angrily, "Tch!"
His sphere of destruction grew stronger in reaction to his indignation and Granolah was at his wit's end. Knowing this, Vegeta pointed his index finger and fired a small ki beam towards his own attack, causing the devastative sphere to shrink a little before it exploded into a massive burst of light, shaking this entire world. Granolah was sent flying for miles by the potent, devastating shockwaves it created.
Vegeta grinned in satisfaction, "Yes… yes… That's what I would like to see…" then he chuckled wickedly at the sight of utter destruction he just made.
When everything was clear, the unnamed planet was completely devastated, though mercifully still intact. Rocks and debris scattered everywhere. The God of Destruction descended to where Granolah was. The Cerealian was left utterly beaten and exhausted as he lay utterly beaten on the ground. Vegeta stared down at him with his cold gaze, in his mind he was impressed on how Granolah was indeed able to resist his sphere of destruction. Nothing can go against destruction but destruction itself, otherwise Granolah's attack would have been automatically canceled the very moment it clashed against Vegeta's sphere of destruction. Just as he thought, this mortal has a potential of destruction within him. Vegeta's last attack was a mere test if Granolah was indeed worthy to be trained by the God of Destruction, though he purposely held back so he wouldn't accidentally destroy the Cerealian from his existence. After all, Vegeta was still lightyears stronger than Granolah was.
Too bad that Granolah wasted his lifespan for a stupid wish because of some ridiculous desire for revenge, but Vegeta did the same thing when he was a mortal so who was he to criticize the Cerealian for doing such a thing?
"Get up," he ordered Granolah.
Though his ears were ringing and his vision was spinning, Granolah did his best to pick himself up. He was completely worn out.
Panting heavily due to his exhaustion, Granolah wobbled before the deity.
"I suppose you do have quite a potential, and I think that you could still entertain me a little. Fine, as promised I will train you until I know you are strong enough to destroy the Heeters on your own. Don't fail me, Cerealian, because if you do waste my time with you, I will destroy you myself! Do you understand?"
"Yeah," Granolah responded.
"Good," Vegeta told him. He turned towards his guide angel. "Whis, open up the Sacred Space of Spirit and Time. We are training there."
"As you wish, milord." Whis obeyed. He tapped the end of his long scepter on the ground and a portal to some white world opened up.
Vegeta turned his head over his shoulder to tell Granolah to follow him, then he entered the mysterious portal. Granolah swallowed nervously, wondering where the God of Destruction was going to take him.
"Worry not, Granolah-san, this is a training ground meant for the strongest beings in this Universe," Whis assured him.
Granolah nodded and he trudged towards the portal but before he could enter the said training space, Whis told him, "Oh by the way, let me patch you up real quick."
The God of Destruction's attendant waved his scepter and Granolah was instantly healed with a burst of angelic light. Even his torn up, bloodied clothes became fixed and clean.
"Thank you," Granolah said gratefully.
"No problem. I have never seen Vegeta-sama be this battle-hungry since he became a God of Destruction. Since you are entertaining himwith your fighting abilities, this is all I could do for you. Good luck with your training and do your best. Vegeta-sama is very harsh when it comes to training, I hope you survive," Whis told Granolah with a gentle smile.
"Eh? Uhm... Yeah... Thanks," Granolah uttered awkwardly. He didn't know if it was truly a good decision that he accepted to be trained by Vegeta, but he knew that if he declined, the God of Destruction would definitely destroy him too. He had no choice but to obey.
Granolah entered the strange portal, followed by Whis. The portal quickly closed behind the guide angel as soon as he stepped into this odd place. They found Vegeta standing a few feet behind them, looking out at the vast empty white space before them. Granolah gasped in awe as he looked at his new surroundings. It's so hot, it's hard to breathe, and the increased gravity made it quite difficult for him to move. And there was nothing in there but what Vegeta was staring at, just pure white vastness that stretched for miles, perhaps without end at all.
Vegeta let out a wide smirk as he planted his hands over his hips, his eyes burning with excitement at what he was looking at, "Yes, perfect. This is exactly what I need."
A place where he can let loose, fight, train, and forget everything that has transpired on Earth. A place to isolate himself from the world of stupid, pathetic mortals he wanted to destroy.
"What is this place?" Granolah asked breathlessly.
"The Sacred Space of Spirit and Time," Vegeta answered. "A dimension where time flow is distorted and the environment is harsher than any planet you have seen in the mortal world. Spending an entire year here is the equivalent of one day in the mortal world. Only divine beings such as gods and guide angels or their chosen students could come and train in this place. Since I chose to train you, you have been given special access to this place so long as I am around."
"Really?"
"I destroyed the original sacred space when I was still a mortal, but the Multiverse Goddess of Reality, Space, and Time, Yonshir, recreated this place for me. I believe she said that this is far more powerful than what I had previously destroyed so it can definitely last even if I unleash my full power. There is no need for us to hold back here. We can let loose and fight as much as we want until you are near death's door."
Then Vegeta turned around to face Granolah, "I am going to train you here for ten months equivalent to twenty hours in the mortal world. You better prepare yourself because I will train you until you start puking your own blood. Whis already told you how harsh I could become so you should know that this is going to be so grueling you may not survive long if you don't have enough skills. Of course, if you managed to live after ten months, then it means you are probably worthy. Try not to bore me and don't disappoint me, Granolah."
Granolah slowly nodded, "Yes…"
"Very well. Now, let us begin," Vegeta told him, then he sauntered towards the vast whiteness before him.
Granolah followed him but as soon as he took another step, everything suddenly felt more intense. The sudden increase in the gravity pull caused him to fall on his knees, panting heavily. He's going to train in this place with the most fearsome deity known in this Universe for ten months? Will he even survive in this white hell hole?
Not far from him, Vegeta looked at him with his head turned over his left shoulder. His obsidian eyes gazed down icily at the fallen Cerealian. "What's the matter? Is it too much for you to handle?"
"No, I was just taken by surprise. That's all," Granolah replied as he picked himself up.
"Don't let what you can see and feel trick you. Everything in this place could change drastically at any given moment. You'll never know what you'll have to endure next. Just so you know, that is just the beginning."
Vegeta turned around to face the Cerealian, crouching down into his signature fighting stance, "You know the drill. Now, come!"
Bulma was lying on her side on her futon, hugging a pillow and staring at the red digital numbers on her alarm clock with a spaced out mind. It was already seven in the morning but she doesn't feel like getting up at all. She hasn't had any sleep since Vegeta and Whis disappeared over three hours ago.
She wondered if what she was seeing was true at all. Did Vegeta really leave the Earth without blowing it up completely just as she told him to do?
He told her that he doesn't entertain reluctant decisions from any of his clients. But if he truly wanted to destroy this planet just as she suspected due to his constant claims that he won't change his mind, then why is the planet still intact? Why was she still here, alive and existing?
"I could have destroyed you all whenever I wished to since you believe I was already dead set on doing it… I gave you a chance and you blew it."
That was what he told her. Since she met him, Bulma kept on wondering why Vegeta was always persistent with her about deciding the fate of this world when he could have just destroyed everything like what he usually does to numerous worlds that he deemed as annoying, worthless, and pathetic. He did say that he wanted to have some fun sight-seeing on Earth with her, to eat more of his favorite Maguro Nigiri, and perhaps think over his devastating plans depending on how she would satisfy him. He told her numerous times that she held the fate of this planet, and it's because of her that he will decide to either destroy it completely or leave the planet as it is.
And he left without destroying the Earth like she expected him to do.
What the hell is wrong with him? She couldn't understand him at all. While she could easily read through him, she cannot really comprehend his capricious mood swings and confusing mindset at all. She could tell he was denying the truth due to his high pride, and when she pointed it out to him, he just decided to believe his lies as the truth and threw away everything she did for him. Why? Does he really think it was that bad for him to admit he was beginning to like this world which he initially wanted to destroy?
Even so, why didn't he do it?
"Vegeta… What the hell is wrong with you?" she whispered.
Bulma knew that something was bugging him ever since yesterday morning, perhaps over what she did or told him the night before, which suddenly made him cold and extremely careful being around her. Thinking about it, Vegeta began acting like this since she made that wish on the falling stars he showed her the other night. Why does that upset him so much? No, it's not exactly that wish that made him angry since he even mocked her about it that he will not allow it since he said he was the reason for those shooting stars. But when she told him that she wasn't talking to him but to some other deity who could change their fate, it was when his demeanor completely changed. The disturbed look in his eyes when she told him that and when he quickly teleported them back home made her anxious and ask him what was wrong with him. He ignored her question and just disappeared without saying anything. When he returned, she thought she heard him say how lucky she was for winning his favor or something, that's why he kept on showing her mercy and cannot find himself destroying her right there.
Then she heard him ask a question: "If you truly wish to love me, will you throw away everything and wish to destroy for my sake? Or perhaps, you were trying to make me do that instead? Do you want me to throw away everything that I am for your sake and save your world from me?"
It was because of these words that Bulma was teasing him when she woke up. Thinking that she knew nothing about his earlier words to her, Vegeta fiercely denied her 'accusations' of him already liking her. Thinking about these things, perhaps, these could be the reason why Vegeta was very upset. He was the proud and almighty God of Destruction after all.
But who can blame her for just wanting to save her planet?
Bulma rolled to her side and stared up at the ceiling above her, "I guess it doesn't matter anymore. Vegeta has finally left the Earth, everything will be fine now that he's gone… I hope…"
But why was her heart so troubled? It felt like things had gotten worse for some reason. She could feel some sort of anxiety for her future. She could feel it building up inside her chest. She realized that perhaps, this was caused by the unknown. She had no idea where Vegeta went, what he was planning, when he would return, or if he would suddenly change his mind and come back to destroy them all at any given moment.
Will he even come back?
She was sure that after what happened, he may never come back to Earth to see her again. After all, he said that he would like to forget everything that happened between them for these past three years. Bulma's heart ached at that.
After fifteen days within the Sacred Space of Spirit and Time…
Vegeta was sparring with Granolah in a simulated environment of a powerful storm over the violent waves of the ocean around them. While Vegeta was busy effortlessly blocking all of Granolah's attacks, he was suddenly taken aback by Bulma's thoughts in his head asking him, "Vegeta, what the hell is wrong with you?"
A punch went past his defenses and hit him square on his right cheek. It pushed him backwards for miles until he reached the ocean floor. The water around him exploded and rose away from his path before it returned to its usual flow with a heavy drop.
Granolah, who was flying above the strong waves of ocean water, stared down at Vegeta with a pounding heart. Like last time, he got another lucky shot when the God of Destruction unexpectedly became spaced out in the middle of the fight. He was sure that once Vegeta recovered, he would receive another beating until he could no longer move.
Not far away from them, Whis became concerned while he watched Vegeta and Granolah's sparring. It has been fifteen days since they began their training and Whis observed several lapses in Vegeta's fighting style. So when Granolah was able to knock the God of Destruction out into the water, Whis knew that this needed immediate attention.
Several moments passed by but Vegeta didn't rise from the water at all. He simply stayed right there and Granolah became worried about it.
"What is he doing down there?" Granolah wondered.
Under the water, Vegeta was listening to Bulma's thoughts and he felt his chest constrict with his feelings about her thoughts about him.
The emotional pain he was feeling suddenly turned into rage, and a flash of golden light burst out of him as he roared his frustration. His Super Saiyan energy evaporated the ocean around them and its fierce light blinded Granolah, causing the Cerealian to back away with his forearms over his squinted eye. When everything was clear, Granolah wondered what just happened to the God of Destruction, awed by his golden warrior transformation.
Then he found Vegeta blindly charging right towards him in his Super Saiyan form. His face twisted in pure rage. Vegeta was angry, not because of Granolah, but of these darn unnecessary thoughts and unknown emotions bugging him. This made Whis suddenly worried as he found Vegeta blindly attacking Granolah, flailing around like some reckless kid who doesn't care about anything. The bewildered Cerealian did his best to dodge every furious attack from the suddenly upset deity.
"Wait, Vegeta-sama! Calm down!" Granolah told him as he luckily avoided a kick meant to behead him and block a punch to the face.
Vegeta just responded with a furious scream as he continued throwing random punches and kicks. His eyes filled with his fury and desperation.
"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" he roared. It's not meant for Granolah but for Bulma's voice in his head as she kept on asking him why he didn't destroy the Earth, why she was alive and existing, why he suddenly treated her that way, why she was feeling troubled and sad when he left, if he would destroy the earth later, or if he will ever come back to her or not. All her thoughts filled his mind due to his unwanted bond with her. A bond he wished he could destroy.
Whis, who was observing them somewhere not far away, was alarmed by this behavior of his lord, "Hmm… Just what is happening with him? He was never this reckless since he finished his spirit control training with Master Pybara. I can tell that his mind, body, heart, and spirit aren't balanced right now. If he keeps up like this while in his Legendary Super Saiyan form, then the power of the Secret of Self-Indulgence technique may take over him once again."
"Granolah, Vegeta-sama is becoming quite reckless. This is your chance to observe his movements and subdue him. Attack him while he's wide open," Oatmeel told Granolah.
"But, even if you say that, his speed and power had increased dramatically!" Granolah said as he evaded a swift slash in the air that Vegeta did with his hand.
Whis suddenly fazed in between Granolah and Vegeta, and with a raised index finger, effortlessly stopped an enraged Super Saiyan Vegeta's upcoming full-powered punch. Devastating shockwaves caused the simulated world to crack and break like glass, thus returning the environment to its normally empty white space.
Vegeta glared at Whis with bloodshot green eyes, his sharp teeth bared at him, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Whis?!" he demanded his guide angel.
"That is enough training for now, Vegeta-sama. You and I have something to discuss," Whis told him sternly.
Vegeta powered down out of his Super Saiyan form, the golden streaks of his hair and the bright jade-green irises faded to their natural black hue. The golden fur of his bristled tail faded to its brown color as well. The wild gold aura engulfing his bulked up body dissipated into sparks around his body until completely gone.
The God of Destruction straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest, "Hmph! What is it this time?" he huffed.
Whis turned to Granolah and asked him to walk away and leave them to talk.
"Granolah-san, if you don't mind, would you please walk away? Go and do your own training for now if you want. I just need to tell Vegeta-sama something really important between the two of us."
Granolah hesitated due to the fact that he may get lost on his way.
"Don't worry, we can easily find you here," Whis assured him gently.
"I understand," Granolah said. He turned around and reluctantly walked away. He silently thanked Whis for saving him this time, knowing that if Whis didn't appear between him and Vegeta, he would have been killed by the God of Destruction right there. Granolah began to wonder if something was wrong with Vegeta.
Vegeta scowled at Granolah's back before he turned his eyes to his guide angel who was staring down at him. "What?" he muttered, giving him an odd stare.
"Is there something bothering you, milord?" Whis asked him in concern.
The God of Destruction blinked, taken aback, "Wha-What?!"
"I can tell by the way you sloppily and recklessly fought earlier that your mind, body, spirit, and heart aren't as balanced as they used to be. What's wrong now?"
"There's nothing wrong with me, Whis!" Vegeta stubbornly declared. "Now get out of my way and I don't have enough patience to talk about useless things right now-."
"-I will not permit you to train Granolah-san further if you're being like this or you might just end up destroying him accidentally. Go and clear your mind off these things that's bothering you first, and if you want to really let loose then you can go ahead and attack me if you want until you manage to let it all out."
Vegeta growled as he hesitated at first, and then he snapped out of it and attacked Whis. "Damn it! How dare you mock me?!"
"Hmm, just as I thought…" Whis muttered as he effortlessly and gracefully blocked all of the God of Destruction's ultra powerful combos, which could easily blow up entire systems of planets, with simple hand gestures that matched the angles of Vegeta's fatal attacks and effectively attenuate the force behind each devastating strike.
"What the hell are you daydreaming about, Whis?!" Vegeta yelled at him.
"Speak for yourself, Vegeta-sama. Weren't you the ones whose mind wasn't really focusing on this training?" Whis told him.
"What the hell are you talking about-?!"
As Vegeta was about to throw another punch, a vision of Bulma calling out his name suddenly distracted him. And then he felt Whis' hand gently sliding under his chin. Vegeta blinked at his guide angel, frozen.
"See that? That's what I'm talking about," Whis told him. He suddenly grabbed Vegeta's left arm with his other hand, swiftly spun him downwards at 180 degrees, and hurled him down into the ground, much to Vegeta's utter surprise.
"What the hell?!" Vegeta squeaked in disbelief as he picked himself up, staring up at Whis in his bafflement.
"I can tell, you know, from how aggressive and reckless your strikes were, that your mind, spirit, heart, body, and soul aren't in total balance. I think you should go back to your basics and do some meditation and spirit control training for the meantime until you achieve total balance. Once your mind is clear and your spirit is balanced with your heart and body, you may continue training with Granolah-san. Until then, manage and overcome whatever is troubling your heart. A God of Destruction must not have such things or it will distract you from your proper duties," Whis told him.
Vegeta's angry glare softened up as he realized the truth behind Whis' observations. He turned around in shame.
"You may go and do your spirit control training. When you feel a little better, you may tell me what has made your cold heart troubled," Whis told him.
"Yeah," that was Vegeta's response and he walked away from Whis. The guide angel turned away and opened up a portal back to the mortal world. He knew exactly what would make Vegeta's mood better.
Chichi and Krilin noticed that Bulma was in a droopy mood this morning and wondered if she and her boyfriend fought. They had a feeling that their usual but intimidating customer with the flame-shaped hair was probably her new boyfriend since they would usually see the two of them together and that he was specifically in favor of her every time he was here to eat. However, she never actually introduced him to them.
"Hello, Bulma-san, can I have all your available Maguro Nigiri for take away?"
Bulma solemnly looked up at the God of Destruction's assistant with eyes that told him that she was glad to see him. "Whis-san…" she groaned. Her lips quivered before she forced herself to smile back. "Of course, sir. It would be my pleasure!"
Minutes later, Bulma gave Whis, who was sitting on the corner, around three hundred stacks of extra large bamboo-made bento boxes filled with Maguro Nigiri.
Bulma sat down on the chair in front of the guide angel.
"Vegeta's not coming back to Earth, is he?" she asked him with a timid and glum expression, her eyes lowered at her hands as she absent-mindedly traced circles on it.
"Hm? Why do you think so?" Whis asked her.
"It's because I cannot do anything for him. I am useless. I cannot save this world. Now I have given up, although I do not want him to destroy the earth."
"Is that so? Then why do you think he still didn't destroy the earth? Why do you still exist in this Universe?"
"I don't know. All I know is that no matter what I do, he will still destroy the Earth. All my efforts were useless to him."
"Did you try asking him about it? Did you ask him if he thinks you are useless to him? Or anything that you did was useless to him?"
"He won't care. He doesn't feel anything at all. He told me that no matter what I do, it still won't change the fate he was planning to bestow upon the Earth. He will not change his mind about it."
"You gave up on him without knowing what his thoughts about you were. You just assumed that you were useless to him anymore. And here I thought that you can see through him when no one else could. Or was it just an excuse for you to reject him because you didn't like the fact that he destroyed Anaheim Brozis and Cayena Hale?"
"..."
"Hmm… Now I think I am beginning to see why Vegeta-sama was very upset…" Whis thought to himself.
"Let me tell you something, Bulma-san. The universe is vast and there are a lot of worlds and beings that exist within it. But why do you think Vegeta-sama chose you, agreed with you, and stayed here on Earth to give it a chance and let you decide the fate of this world for him? It's because he saw humans and this world as useful beings to him. I already told you that Vegeta-sama was a very proud man by nature. He may not openly admit his real thoughts and feelings or show his gentleness at all because he thinks it would make him appear weak and all, so he may act harsh, cold, ruthless, and overbearing at most times, but… I know that he truly appreciates all the efforts you were doing for him. I have never seen him so interested in staying so long in a mortal planet at all. Not to mention how he willingly agreed to your terms. And he left the Earth without destroying it completely. Remember that wherever the God of Destruction appears, that world is doomed no matter what. But look, Earth is intact, you're here, alive and well."
"I believe he did it because of the Maguro Nigiri," Bulma grumbled.
"Well, that could be…" Whis agreed. "But Maguro Nigiri existed for quite a long time, but he was never interested in visiting or staying on this planet before. When I asked him back when he was still a mortal if Maguro Nigiri made him want to visit the Earth someday, he said he's not interested because humans made him sick and that he wanted no part in their lives. But three years ago, after Saike Regin made the contract with him and Vegeta-sama met you, all of that has changed. He may use Maguro Nigiri as an excuse to visit Earth, but if that was his only reason for coming here, I could just always make him his favorite food. But he kept on visiting Earth, and specifically, where your job is. I can tell how much he likes your company, do you know why?"
"I'm not really sure about it," she responded. She simply concluded that whatever she felt how he was thinking about her were just baseless assumptions or her own delusions. That's what Vegeta would probably tell her if she answered Whis' question in front of him. She frowned.
"It's because you were the only one who treated him like an equal, I mean, as a mortal," Whis told him. "It was because of you that he felt like a mortal Saiyan again. You were the first mortal who caught his interest because you were able to stand up to him and openly resisted against him. Saiyans find strong-willed people such as you quite interesting."
"Are you saying I should treat him as he is?"
"Yes, because he was once a mortal like you. He may deny it because of his pride, but he does feel emotions the same as you mortals do. There maybe some things that may confuse him due to his strong mentality, superiority complex, and realist outlook in life, but he can relate to mortals easier than any deity, which is why amongst the Gods of Destruction, he was the unique one."
Bulma stared at Whis for a moment, her jaw dropping as she realized...
"Yes, I should have noticed that. I really thought that he doesn't feel anything at all. I'm such a fool. Whis-san was right, Vegeta was no different from me. I have always seen through him like he was an open book to me, but I ignored that and stopped caring because I was angry at what he did to Anaheim and Cayena."
"You should know that Vegeta-sama didn't choose what happened to Anaheim, Cayena, or any of his clients or contractees. Just like you, he offered them a chance to decide their own and their perpetrators' fates. He was only there to grant their wishes as it is the job of a God of Destruction to do so. The rest though is just the result of his divine presence in this world, which he has no control over. Death and destruction may be upsetting but please do keep in mind that these things are normal. These are necessary for the balance of this Universe. Before creation could happen, destruction must occur first. Vegeta-sama was simply doing his duties as the God of Destruction of this Universe, duties that he didn't even want in the first place. If he resisted and didn't do his proper duties then everything in this Universe will be destroyed. So please don't be mad at him whenever he does so."
"Is that the reason why he feels so cursed? Because if he doesn't do his duties, everything will be destroyed? Was it by the King of Nothingness?"
"Yes, but most probably by his own destructive powers."
Bulma was addled by that, "What do you mean?" she asked, perturbed.
"The contract Vegeta-sama made in order to become the God of Destruction risked the souls of all his people in a place called Mu, a dimension between heaven and hell where their unrest souls wander in nothingness for all eternity, suffering a fate even worse than the lake of fire in hell and finding no peace at all. But nothing is more agonizing than Vegeta's own existence where he will forever cause death and destruction wherever he goes, whether he wants to or not. If he refused, the haunting voices of his people's suffering in Mu would torture him internally until he lose his mind and go out of control. Once that happens, he would destroy everything in a berserk rampage. This happened 1239 years ago when he shook this entire Universe and its mirroring Universe, Champa-sama's Sixth Universe, with a burst of his destructive power, and destroyed the entire Eastern Galaxy which consisted of nearly hundreds of quadrillion solar systems, in his wake."
Bulma's jaw dropped, paling at the thought of that. "Are you serious?" she gasped. She knew that Vegeta was capable of destroying entire worlds and she thought that when he shook the Earth when he showed off his power that he was already too powerful. But to think he could shake entire two vast Universes and destroy that much solar systems?
"Well, he's the God of Destruction of this Universe after all, and the most powerful among all Gods of Destruction in the multiverse. Why are you so surprised?"
"I… I think I underestimated his power too much…" Bulma said breathlessly. Then she laughed nervously, "I guess he's not exaggerating when he said he could destroy this entire Universe. I see now where his pride and arrogance are coming from."
"Now, do you understand just how lucky you and the planet Earth are?" Whis smiled.
"Yeah," Bulma agreed. How could she reject someone that extremely powerful? How is it that she managed to stop him from destroying this world? And how does something as simple as Maguro Nigiri could make this dangerous deity happy?
"That's all I was here for. I hope that you two can settle your differences soon," Whis smiled. He rose from his seat and held on to the stacks of bamboo bento boxes. "We'll see you soon again, Bulma-san."
One week within the Sacred Space of Spirit and Time had passed since Whis left Vegeta to do Spirit Control Training…
Granolah was busy training with his clones when he felt the surrounding temperature rise and everything was suddenly tinted by a reddish-orange glow. From the ground burst a huge pillar of flame, and then everything was suddenly on fire. Granolah screamed in anguish as the scorching blaze of this hell enshrouded his entire body and ignited him. The pain caused him to lose his concentration and his clones were immediately incinerated into ashes as the flames grew more hellacious.
"What the hell is happening?!" Granolah began to panic. He tried to look for either Vegeta or Whis, stumbling and pacing around like a mad humanoid torch, seeking help from them to spare him from this intense torture. This was too much for him to handle.
It's too much!
Granolah saw the inferno change color, from a fiery crimson to blackish purple. The surroundings darkened and the flames flared upwards. He heard a spine-chilling beastly growl echoing through the blaze and when he followed where the sound was coming from, he saw the God of Destruction being engulfed by the sea of flames.
Vegeta Yonsei was levitating off the steaming ground by a foot or two, surrounded by a swirling tornado of fire. His flame-shaped hair flowing along the movement of the pyre, as if it was a part of it. His head raised, his back arched, and his mouth agape in a seemingly silent scream. The hair-raising monstrous growl Granolah followed sounded like it was coming from none other than him and it was slowly turning into a lengthy, distorted howl of a bloodthirsty demonic beast.
From what Granolah was seeing through his left eye, the blaze around them was originating from him, as if his powers created this burning inferno due to his all-consuming rage. Granolah gasped at the sight of him, suddenly forgetting his own throes as he was overwhelmed by pure terror.
The fire began to rise, forming into a gigantic mass of a colossal demonic monkey beast. It threw its head back and roared wildly at the dark skies, then Vegeta started screaming incessantly as he began to unleash his destructive powers through a shocking and devastating power-up, the sound resonating along with the beast's fearsome howling. It made Granolah quiver out of his horror, terrified at what he was both seeing and sensing from the destroyer deity.
Just what kind of monster was the God of Destruction? Considering that Vegeta had a monkey tail, could this be the God of Destruction's true form? Could this be where the true devastating strength of the deity responsible for death and devastation originated from? This power was beyond anything Granolah had ever seen. It seemed endless, unbounded, limitless!
Just how much destructive power does Vegeta Yonsei really possessed?
It was at this moment that Granolah felt what true terror was like and he had come to realize why the God of Destruction was the most fearsome among all in this entire Universe.