"Do you understand now why you have lost to the King of Nothingness?" Whis told him. The guide angel stood behind him.
"Yeah…" Vegeta responded. All these useless emotions, his unnecessary thoughts, his unwanted bond with her, everything about her, were becoming a nuisance to him. He can't be bothered like this. He was a God of Destruction after all.
"Now that you understand everything, you already know what to do, Vegeta-sama. This is a direct order from Daishinkan-sama…
"You must destroy Bulma-san."
Vegeta's eyes widened and his breath was caught in his throat as Whis' words brought him into a state of surprise. He stood still for almost thirty seconds, trying to comprehend what his guide angel just told him.
Why? He wanted to ask Whis. Why would Daishinkan order him to destroy Bulma? She was no threat. If anything, she was only becoming such a nuisance to him, not to everyone else. Was it because they knew all along that Bulma was Bloomer's reincarnation, the cause that made him to almost destroy both the Sixth and Seventh Universes 1,239 years ago?
Or maybe because they knew how much this human was affecting him lately. Yonshir was aware of it, so did she send a report to the higher gods about his behavior? She was here to observe after all. She was talking to King Mu when Vegeta arrived to meet them earlier too.
Vegeta wanted to ask so many questions, but no words came out of his trembling lips. This cold, numbing feeling in his body knowing that he must destroy Bulma, of all people. Why does it feel so painful in his chest? Not to mention, why were the tortured voices of his people return to make him suffer both psychologically and mentally once more?
Why?
However, he knew that this was his duty. He must do this. Being the God of Destruction should always be his priority. This was the existence he had chosen.
"That's right… After all, She is nothing but a weak, insignificant mortal I was meant to destroy just like any other pathetic and foolish mortal… But… What is this feeling in my chest? Why does it hurt knowing that I must destroy her?
"I exist only to destroy. I must go and destroy her before she could become any more trouble for me. I'm not going to allow whatever happened on Terra Eresei to happen again!"
Vegeta lowered his head as if to try to hide his hesitation and muttered in a voice devoid of any emotion, "I understand."
Whis turned his light violet eyes at him in surprise, obviously not expecting for Vegeta to yield to the Grand Priest's orders just like that.
Will he be able to do it this time? Vegeta wondered to himself. He had tried to destroy her a few times already but he was unable to do so. He must not let his unwanted emotions ruin him again. He had to focus on his rage, nothing more.
Allowing his anger to fuel his resolve, the only emotion a God of Destruction could feel, Vegeta decided that he will destroy Bulma Briefs and the Planet Earth once and for all.
Chapter 33: The God of Destruction's Hesitation
People come and go. That's what always happens to her. There was never an exception. People were only nice to her when they knew she was going to be useful to them. And when the time came and she lost everything and her usefulness to them, they would all disappear.
Bulma had lost a lot of things in her life. From the untimely death of her parents, to her older sister being in a vegetable state, to all of her riches and spoiled life being gone due to the misfortune that befell her family, to a life of people rejecting her and looking down on her as they judged her family due to a wrongful accusation, and her ex-boyfriend cheating on her. Her life had lots of miserable encounters until she managed to find her solace in the presence of a being known to bring the misfortune, death, and destruction of all mortals in the Universe. She thought that if she loved Vegeta, she would never lose anything. That by embracing and loving destruction itself would assure her that she will be safe, for she thought he would see her deserving of his mercy when she showed him the wonderful things she and her world could offer him. Yes, it was a selfish plan. She wanted him to save her from his wrath and show her mercy so she could live a better life.
And just as she thought that she was being successful on making his cold, hardened heart soften up for the first time since he became the God of Destruction, he eventually pushed aside her efforts and ignored them. She thought that he wasn't planning on changing his mind about destroying her and the Earth. And yet, when he disappeared, he had left her and the Earth existing, without knowing if he had indeed shown her his mercy or if he would one day return to do what he must have done right from the start.
In the end, there's absolutely nothing that she could do.
After what Whis told her yesterday, she finally understood why the God of Destruction always felt lonely. He had been a destroyer deity for 1,500 years, and saw and did a lot of deaths and destruction throughout his life. He did his best to believe that he was enjoying his job knowing that if he refused to do so, he would only suffer even more. While she assumed that he was indeed suffering, she never thought that it was that terrible. And he endured that kind of pain all these years. No wonder why he was so capricious. He tried to hide his hopelessness, his loneliness, his sufferings in his deranged and twisted look of ecstacy. He tried to deny all her 'accusations' as he called them, when it was indeed the truth, but he must refuse it because he's not allowed to accept such feelings. He must only focus on destruction, else he will be tortured mentally, which may cause him to lose his mind and go out of control. If he does lose control, it would be dangerous for the Universe.
No wonder why he said that he doesn't live any longer, that he only exists to kill and destroy, due to his duties as the God of Destruction of this Universe. He knew that he was no longer the same person he was when he was a mortal Saiyan, thus making him think that he died when he became the destroyer deity. That's why she saw that he was sad, hopeless, and lonely through his cold, dark eyes.
Bulma thought of these things as she stood on the sidewalk, waiting for the stop light on the other side of the pedestrian lane to flash green so she could cross the street. She was on her way home after another day of work. She had been thinking about Vegeta all day, especially when she was asked to deliver boxes of Maguro Nigiri to waiting customers sitting in his usual place. She wondered why he came into her room last night before leaving all so suddenly. She actually never saw or heard him appear, she just felt that he was there. A sensation she could not really explain, but was really common for her to feel whenever he was close by. It was as if her soul, her 'core of existence' as he would have called it, could sense his divine destructive presence. She even perceived him creating a closed space for some reason, but she found herself unable to move or speak until he released the seal and disappeared.
She wondered what he was doing in her room. Did he go there to get something? Or did he appear to try and destroy her? Whatever his intention was, she didn't know. She just hoped that he was doing well.
A familiar shape caught her eyes when finally the stoplight on the other side flashed green and the vehicles halted, causing her to gasp in wonder and surprise. Vegeta Yonsei was standing there, alone and staring at her like a god of death about to deliver her soul to the afterlife. Bulma wasn't able to think about that and she quickly ran towards him, ecstatic to see him again, wanting to hug him, to hold him, to apologize for what she told him the other day.
As soon as she was close to him, she quickly grabbed him into her arms and embraced him as hard as she could, as if she didn't want to let go of him, as if she didn't want him to disappear out of her sight again. Now that she was holding him, she knew that he was real and not some sort of hallucination her mind was creating.
"Vegeta! Oh my gosh! I thought that you would never come back to me again!" she said, her voice breaking as tears of joy filled her eyes.
She could tell that he was being frigid upon her touch, and figured out that he won't return her hug at all so she pulled away from him awkwardly. She grabbed his shoulders as she looked at him. He was only staring at her in silence with a cold demeanor. Her smile faded.
"Hey, where have you been all this time? How were you doing?" she asked him.
He didn't answer. His stare at her turned into a cold, dark glare.
Bulma frowned, "Hello? Earth to Vegeta, I'm talking to you!"
After a few tensed seconds of him just glaring silently at Bulma, Vegeta gently pushed her hands off him with the back of his hand and then, his ebony eyes finally swept sideways, "Come and take a walk with me, woman," he told her icily as he cocked his head to the right side.
Vegeta turned his back on her and walked off, expecting Bulma to follow him. Bulma raised an eyebrow at his attitude and frowned.
"What's up with him?" she asked silently to herself, looking at his back in utter puzzlement. Somehow, she could feel that something bad was going to happen if she followed him, but her need to talk to him was more of her priority now than following her instincts. So she followed his path.
"Hey! What's up with you? Why are you being so quiet? Why won't you say anything? You've been gone for days and now you show yourself to me just to give me the silent treatment?" she asked him with a frown as they turned around a corner where people were fewer than in the main street where they came from. Vegeta halted his footsteps and they saw her co-worker, Krilin, walking right towards them.
"Ah! Bulma-san! Oh, I see that you are with your boyfriend. Are you two going on a date somewhere?" Krilin innocently asked her as he halted, obviously unaware of the tension between Vegeta and Bulma.
She was taken aback by such an unnecessary comment from him and her face reddened due to her embarrassment.
"Wha–What are you talking about, Krilin? This guy is not my boyfriend!" she quickly denied.
'Not her boyfriend, huh?' Vegeta was offended by that. If he remembered, it was Bulma who asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend so she could get over Yamcha and make him think how much of a loss she was to that fool. He scowled deeply as he glared at Bulma, who was laughing awkwardly at her friend. On his sides, his fists shook as he tried to control his anger. Yes, she asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend, it shouldn't mean anything to him, and yet... Why was he getting angry that she was denying him like this? Why was he so offended?
"This stupid woman… For her to make me feel so angered over such petty things over and over again…" he thought furiously.
"Oh, we thought that he's the one you said was your new boyfriend since we always see you two together," Krilin was saying as he chuckled awkwardly.
"Are you kidding me?! No! No, we're just- We're just friends! Right, Vegeta?"
"Just friends?" Vegeta's scowl got deeper as he grew angrier with each passing second. Krilin seemed to notice his terrible mood and he nervously stepped back. Fear was obvious in his expression.
"Uh… Bulma-san, I think I should go," Krilin said.
"Huh?" Bulma asked, confused.
Krilin swept his eyes over the frigid man behind Bulma before returning it to her with a terrified look, and he whispered, "Why does he look so angry all of a sudden? Scary…"
Bulma turned to Vegeta to see what Krilin was being so afraid of.
"I… Uh... I guess I will see you tomorrow at work. Take care, Bulma-san!" Krilin quickly said before he ran off and made a right turn on the next intersection where Bulma and Vegeta came from.
"What the hell was your problem, Vegeta?!" Bulma demanded him, her confused face suddenly became angry and offended. "Why won't you say anything? Do you have a problem with me? Why are you even here? I thought you had left the Earth! Why did you just show yourself to me like this when you won't even talk to me properly! Seriously, for a god, you really do lack proper manners!"
Vegeta simply glared at her in silence as she ranted at him. He was just mad at her, extremely annoyed at her that he wanted to scream, yell, and vent at her for making him feel such things he cannot understand, things that made him feel weak and confused, causing him to be distracted during his fights and suffer such humiliating defeats against both Granolah and the King of Nothingness. He hated her to the core. Hated her for changing him. Hated her for…
...For coming back to him and ruining his resolve!
"Why you... Just who do you think you are, you foolish mortal?!" Vegeta finally snapped and roared, consumed by his fury. His coal-black eyes quickly flashed a bright pinkish-crimson. His energy surged outwards as his aura of destruction came to life and a burst of destructive purple flames engulfed his body. The shockwave of the sudden explosion of power blew Bulma away backwards and caused her to fall to her behind. The people around them suddenly collapsed to unconsciousness as their cores of existence reacted to the God of Destruction's wrath, the ground shook and cracked under their feet and nearby windows or doors made from glass exploded. Nearby electrical posts erupted into sparks and water pumps flew as strong water burst out of it.
"Vegeta! What the hell–?!" she cried out but her complaints were caught in a shocking, breathless halt when she found Vegeta's murderous image before her. He held up his hand, his palm faced towards her. Was he threatening to destroy her here?
His glowing magenta eyes were dilated in pure rage, his fangs bared at her as he snarled dangerously. A spine chilling sound of animalistic wrath while every fiber of his body quivered along the growing intensity of his indignation.
And then, like an eruption of a volcano, his emotions burst forth in a fit of uncontrollable rage.
"This is all your fault! You want to know what my fucking problem is? It's you! You are my problem! You are just nothing but a pathetic little human! The dirt beneath my boots! A weakling I could easily destroy! How dare you... How dare you do this to me! Just who the hell are you to make me–?!" he suddenly stopped himself, shaking even greater, before he continued. "Anyways, I will not allow this stupidity to go on any further!"
Bulma just stared at Vegeta with her jaw dropped as he ranted at her. She had never seen him this kind of angry before. Unlike his usual 'I'll destroy everything' kind of rage, this temper tantrum was more emotional than any other or him simply losing his cool. From the looks of it, he was so furious and emotional to the point she could actually see tears forming at the corner of his eyes. He was trembling from his emotions, the hand threatening to destroy her shook in hesitation. Above them, the skies grew even darker, low thunder started to rumble in response to his growing ire. Bulma knew that if Vegeta doesn't control his outbursts then the world will begin its path to destruction.
Vegeta was desperately trying to convince himself to kill her, to destroy her. He will not allow her to make him feel this weak and confused any longer. He has to end her here so nothing could ever stop him again from his goal of becoming the strongest deity in the Multiverse. She changed him, derailed him from his duties, tamed the most fearsome and most ruthless destroyer warrior god the Universe had ever seen. She made him soft, made him feel emotions he wasn't supposed to have. He had enough of it. Suffering from two consecutive defeats made him realize how weak he had become and thanks to that, he knew what he had to do.
Bulma raised her hands to reach out to his shaking hand, taking it between her fingers as if to offer him comfort. It effectively extinguished his aura much to their surprise, and somehow calmed him down a little.
"Vegeta... What's going on? What's wrong?" she asked in concern, her voice softer this time. She knew that something was wrong with him now and it worried her. He disappeared for two days without her ever knowing when he would come back and then he suddenly showed himself just to threaten to destroy her? Was he being forced to do this? Did someone order him to destroy her? For what reason?
Vegeta roughly pulled his hand away, snarling venomously at her, "Don't touch me! Stay away from me!"
Bulma got up from the ground, frowning, but she didn't say anything. She wanted to retaliate but she knew that it would only make things worse if she dared.
"Is something the matter?" she asked him once more.
Vegeta hesitated at first, before he snapped out of it. He grabbed her shoulders and roughly pushed her into a nearby wall, causing Bulma to yelp. Wincing, she opened her big, blue eyes to see him glaring at her eye to eye. Their faces were only an inch away. She found him truly terrifying in this state of mind.
"Indeed, something is definitely wrong and I am here to correct it once and for all," he growled.
Bulma gasped when she felt the fingers of his right hand snake around her neck. His eyes glowed fiercer with his intent to kill and destroy her here. Her heart grew more anxious when he effortlessly lifted her up against the wall with the hand on her neck, causing her to struggle against his iron grip.
"Ve... Vegeta..." she choked. He simply watched her with the face of a cold-hearted killer, the ruthless monster he truly was.
"I am Vegeta Yonsei, the God of Destruction of this Universe, the most feared deity among all! Never once did I hesitate to destroy anything or anyone that got in my way, and anything I deemed as useless to me! I was the perfect destroyer, cold and ruthless. My existence was perfectly dangerous in every way, but everything changed when I met you. You ruined that perfection, you destroyed me when you came into my life! Just who do you think you are? You are just nothing but an insignificant, useless, pathetic mortal! For you to do this to me, of all people! If it weren't for your stupid existence, I... I would still be who and what I am. I will never forgive you for this!
"I should have done this the very moment I laid my eyes upon your miserable existence. Just who do you think you are to show me your unneeded concern? To presume that you could understand me? To think that you could change me from who and what I truly am?! I have enough of this bullshit! I am going to end this once and for all!"
Vegeta's countenance turned darker and more terrifying as his fury consumed him completely.
"I am going to destroy you along with this stupid, rotten world!" he declared.
As Bulma choked against his left hand, she stared at his rage-filled eyes with a betrayed look. Her eyes were already stinging with the tears forming at the corner of her flinching eyes.
"His expression just now… It's filled with pure rage, regret and bloodlust! He was the God of Destruction of this Universe who never hesitated to destroy anything that got in his way. And yet, this time he… He's crying. Those tears in his eyes showed his frustration, because I changed him!" That's what she thought as she began to struggle against his grip.
The thunderclouds above them swirled across the blackened sky as thunder rumbled and lightning flash rapidly. The ground began to tremble once more as Vegeta's appearance began to transform. His jet-black, spiky, flame-shaped hair seem to become spikier and wilder-looking, appearing like deadly spikes on the top of his head instead of a flickering flame. His canines grew into sharp, deadly fangs. He raised his right hand in the air, his fingers twitching as it also changed. His nails lengthened and turned black in color, becoming sharp and deadly claws. Bulma felt the nails of his left hand dig against the skin of her neck, though not deep enough to kill her that way.
As Vegeta's bloodshot, reddish-pink eyes glowed brighter and fiercer, while his dark, facial expression became more feral with his bloodlust and his intent to rip her heart out. Behind him, the brown fur of his monkey tail bristled furiously as he declared with a deep, cold, and beastly voice which sounded different from what she's used to, "This is the end. Die!"
Bulma shut her eyes, bracing herself for her brutal death. She waited, but Vegeta's fingers around her neck didn't move at all. She squinted her eyes open to see him staring at her in hesitation. His scary and feral transformation gone. She felt his fingers tremble at her neck, before the pressure mercifully loosened. He suddenly dropped her on the ground as he stumbled backwards, looking as if he suddenly had a hard time to breathe. Bulma slid on the ground, panting and coughing to catch her breath. She raised her head to look up to him with a grimace. His eyes held a shocked look for a few seconds, like he was about to have a panic attack. Then he quickly grabbed the sides of his head, and unleashed a blood-curdling agonized cry.
"Ah... Ah... Aaaaaaahh! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!"
It was a scream that made Bulma's stomach turn. She has never heard a cry as painful and blood-curdling as that. It was so agonizing for her to hear. As she watched at him helplessly, not knowing what to do, she suddenly remembered Whis' words to her yesterday.
"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."
Bulma was witnessing what happens when Vegeta refuses to do his duty to destroy. She never would have thought that this was terrible. How… What could she do to help him in this situation? Should she reach out to him, embrace him, and comfort him?
She followed her instinct to provide him comfort but Vegeta immediately recoiled from her touch, "Don't touch me! This is all your fault!" he roared at her before letting out another heart-wrenching scream. His grip on the sides of his head became more desperate as he shook his head wildly. He's slowly losing his mind and was about to go out of control. The thunderclouds above them rolled faster as lightning strike one after another. The shaking of the ground became more intense.
Whis suddenly appeared in between them, dragging Vegeta away from Bulma by pushing him a few meters back. Vegeta crashed against a wall and Whis quickly used his angelic scepter to create several energy straps that restrained Vegeta. This was similar to what happened in Jigoku. However, this time, Vegeta fought to regain his control. In his thoughts, he refused to go out of control once again and create more trouble than necessary. When he regained his control, he spat.
He turned his head to her with a look of indecisiveness. His magenta eyes faded back to its normal black as he calmed himself down. His aura completely dissipated into the air. He displayed a small hint of hesitation at first before he begrudgingly and venomously hissed an order at Whis.
"Get me out of this fucking planet, Whis! Take me back home now!"
Bulma was left alone in that street corner as the God of Destruction and his guide angel disappeared into a warp hole Whis had created, unable to comprehend what just happened between them.
He cannot do it. He just can't.
Damn it all!
Why? Why did he hesitate back there? He never had any problem wiping out existences that were a nuisance to him, destroying those he finds useless to him. That's how he always does things.
But why was it that he cannot destroy a single, worthless human?
Even if it was that woman, he shouldn't have any problems eliminating her. She was useless to him now. She would only distract him from his goals.
If he destroyed her, there won't be anything for him to worry about. He must remove such things that's making him weak or distracting him from his duties. He can become stronger without any nuisance.
Right?
But why was he doubting himself? Why does he hesitate? Why was he afraid of losing her? She was his mate in her first life, who was taken away from him by his own power. He may not directly killed Bloom back then but because she associated herself with him, the deity responsible for the death and devastation of all mortals, she was doomed to die. Bulma, her reincarnation, would soon face that kind of fate as well if they continued this foolishness.
Is this the cost of becoming the God of Destruction? To live a sad, lonely life for all eternity? Is this the true reason why he doesn't want to accept his true feelings, because he was afraid of losing her again like he did last time? To run away from the pain it would bring him again?
He remembered his promise to Granolah.
"I came to realize how much I've lost sight of myself. I've been denying it all this time for I feared the voices that may come back to haunt me once again. I've been running away in fear all this time, like a cowardly child who doesn't fight back and is forced to pretend to be what others wanted me to become. It is very unbecoming of a Saiyan Warrior Prince and I am ashamed of myself. From now on, I will search for the real purpose of my fate just as you wish for me to do so."
Vegeta sat on the corner of his bed with his hands over the sides of his head. His thoughts discombobulated in his indecision. He doesn't know what to do anymore.
Yonshir entered his room, shaking her head upon seeing him in such a pathetic state, rolling her brown eyes off his inability to do such a simple task.
"I told you that you should have done it when I first warned you about her. Now, it's too late for you to do anything about it," she huffed, looking down at him in the corner of her half-closed eyes.
Distracted from his train of thoughts, Vegeta raised his eyes to stare back at her.
"If you are this ineffective, then I will have to take action," Yonshir declared. "This is an urgent matter that is in need of immediate action. If you refuse to cooperate then I will do it for you."
"Urgent?" Vegeta repeated, blinking his eyes, confused. "What do you mean by that? Bulma Briefs or the Earth were not a threat to you nor the Multiverse. Why are you so desperate to have me destroy her? They're weak, insignificant beings that don't warrant any of your attention."
"And yet, they had your attention. We can see that your softness towards them is affecting you and preventing you from becoming a proper God of Destruction."
"So what about it? What does it have to do with you, then? This is my problem. It is none of your concern whether I destroy them or not."
That caught the goddess for a while. He was actually right about that. But, the laws of the gods are to be imposed. She couldn't tell Vegeta about his future, a dangerous premonition on what's about to come. If he continues to be this stubborn then he would soon become an enormous threat to the Multiverse, which of course, they wouldn't want to deal with. Of all the gods, Yonshir was the only one truly aware of how dangerous Vegeta's true extent of power was. And she knows that's only the tip of the iceberg. His relationship with Bulma Briefs would bring about chaos to the multiverse and she refused to think that he could do such a thing.
"That could be," Yonshir said with a sigh. "But laws are laws, Vegeta-chan. A God of Destruction like you is not allowed to form such attachment to mortal beings. That's just the way it is. If you refuse to submit to such a rule, the Multiverse-level gods would do anything to impose it on you! Even if we have to destroy that mortal woman in the process. We allowed you to do this on your own so you could get a chance to do it yourself. However, you failed on such a simple task…"
Vegeta stared at Yonshir. He knew there was something more than just forcefully 'imposing' some ridiculous law. He knew these gods were being threatened by Bulma's existence for some reason. But she has no significant power at all so she was no threat to these gods. If she wasn't the threat, then what was the actual reason why they wanted him to destroy her?
The God of Destruction was beginning to suspect something as he recalled Daishinkan's call to Whis last time. There was something only the two of them discussed, leaving Vegeta in the dark. If it was about his relationship with Bulma alone, he figured that he should have been involved in their meeting. But no, he was left out. And when Whis returned, he revealed that Daishinkan gave him an order to destroy Bulma without any explanation at all. While he wanted to ask his guide angel about that earlier, he forgot about it because of his anger about his defeat in his battle against King Mu. He concluded that Bulma and the fact that she was Bloomer's reincarnation were the reasons why he was so distracted in his fight so he tried to destroy her there in order for him to stop having such unnecessary distractions, not because he wanted to obey what he was told to do by the heavens.
And he failed, just like every other time he tried to kill or destroy Bulma.
"I will only destroy Bulma Briefs and the Earth when there is a proper reason for me to do so," he said.
"You said that to me last time and yet you failed today," Yonshir said.
"The problem lies within me, not her. I don't see any reason for me to destroy her. She didn't do anything wrong according to my judgment," he told her. He paused, his coal-black eyes gazing at her suspiciously for a moment.
Vegeta's voice turned ice cold as he continued about ten seconds later.
"...Unless, aside from how she affects me, you can report to me how you multiverse-level gods find her a threat that should be eliminated," then he tilted his head to the right. "Or maybe you have something else to tell me about, hm?"
Yonshir blinked at him. "What are you saying?"
"You mentioned that you were here to observe. I wonder… what kind of observations you had and reported to Mu and Daishinkan without telling me first hand? I'm sure it's not just about Bulma Briefs, right?"
Yonshir tried to keep her stoic composure despite being surprised by Vegeta's questions. She didn't expect him to be so perceptive like this. He's beginning to suspect something was off.
She began stuttering as she turned her back on him, "That's– that's not something a low-level god like you needs to know–"
He quickly stood up, grabbed her arm, and pulled her towards him. Gripping at her shoulders, he glared at her at eye level and hissed back, the rage obvious in his eyes, "–Anything involving the Seventh Universe is my right to know, Yonshir! Unless you are hiding something from me…"
The goddess was stumped by that.
"You said that multiverse deities such as yourself know everything, you just pretend that you don't know anything. You told me that I will be facing my greatest challenge which involves Bulma. And then, you tried to warn me so many times that whatever I feel about her would become my greatest weakness. You kept on implying that my feelings would distract me from my proper duties. While I agree to that to some extent, why is it that you seem to be so pushy about it? Why do you wish for me to destroy Bulma, of all people? And it was as if you were in such a hurry."
Yonshir didn't answer him. She just stared at his dark eyes as if she didn't know what to say. She cannot tell him what ominous premonition she saw he would become in the near future, else he may use this as a way to rebel against the higher gods just as how the Gods of Destruction from the erased Universes did. As the Goddess of Reality, Time, and Space, she has to keep him under their control as much as possible.
"Fear… I can smell fear coming from you," Vegeta suddenly told her.
Yonshir blinked, "What?"
"A Saiyan can easily detect fear radiating off someone. For a reality-warping goddess, I think you're being too obvious that whatever that you're hiding from me is something that not even you can prevent. I wonder what made someone like you become this terrified? Or are you afraid of me right now?"
Yonshir snorted as she pushed him away. "You're just imagining things! We multiverse-level deities don't need to waste much time interfering with the matters of mortals. I don't have time to waste looking after you, that's why I want you to finish what you are ordered to do quickly so I can go back and do other more important things!"
"Hmm… Is that so? Then why don't you go and do those more important things then?"
Yonshir pointed at him and said with a threatening tone, "This is going to be your last chance from me, Vegeta-chan. Make use of it properly."
She disappeared after that.
"Hmph! Last chance, my ass. As if I'm going to ask you for something so insignificant," he mumbled, rolling his eyes.
Now that felt a lot better than he initially thought it would be. That could make her stop being so nosy about his business. He didn't actually expect her to give in, he was only trying to question her as a means of testing his suspicions as to why they are trying to force him to destroy a mortal woman who posed no threat to them.
"Whis," Vegeta called.
"Yes, milord?" the guide angel responded.
"Report to me what you did when you met up with Daishinkan. Everything. Why did he suddenly order me to destroy Bulma just as Yonshir wanted?"
Whis was surprised about the question. He knew by the way he interrogated Yonshir that Vegeta was being suspicious about something. He began clapping his hands together rather cheerfully.
"Very impressive, Vegeta-sama! Your perceptions are as on point as ever!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Whis cleared his throat awkwardly when he saw that his master was serious about the question.
"So that means I'm right after all," Vegeta concluded.
"Why did you suddenly ask me about that now when you initially tried to obey Daishinkan-sama's orders?" Whis questioned.
"I didn't obey it! I did it out of my own volition with the personal intent to destroy her!" Vegeta corrected.
"And yet, you hesitated to do it. You were doubting yourself whether it is right or wrong for you to destroy her. Am I right?"
Vegeta nodded, "Yeah."
"Well, it is true that Yonshir-sama reported to Daishinkan her observations about your behavior lately," Whis revealed. "You are aware of how many times your powers have become uncontrollable for you lately, especially whenever you allow the powers brought forth by the Secret of Self-Indulgence technique to take over. They're being concerned about it and what will you become, as you may know the technique was a highly forbidden way to gain divine destructive power for the Gods of Destruction due to the danger of losing control once they succumb to their desire to destroy. You already know what exactly happened 1,239 years ago and they are concerned that history may repeat itself again. There are reasons why it is forbidden for the Gods of Destruction to feel specific emotions and form such bonds towards mortals and why the Secret of Self-Indulgence is a dangerous technique to master. A burst of uncontrolled emotions such as what you displayed after Bloomer's death could lead for the user of the Secret of Self-Indulgence to go out of control and destroy everything."
"Beerus taught me about this power thinking that this is the perfect way for me to gain the powers of destruction because of my Saiyan origins. Now that I think about it, it could be the reason why the gods were so against me becoming a God of Destruction in the first place. While I initially didn't want to become one, I decided to take this path because Yogengyo foresaw me becoming stronger than everyone else."
"Indeed. But remember that you never had any emotional attachments towards anyone until you formed such a bond with Bloomer, and subsequently, this bond continues with her reincarnation, Bulma Briefs, as well. Beerus tried to warn you about your emotions and your attachments but because we know that you can properly control them and that you didn't want to give up your personal beliefs and principles, we decided that the path to learning the Secret of Self-Indulgence technique is the right way for you to learn the divine power of destruction. We never thought that you will one day form such forbidden bonds towards a mortal."
"Yes, I made a terrible mistake 1,239 years ago. I was a fool for associating myself with these mortals. Yet, you once told me that doing so wasn't that bad because it would make me learn a thing or two about them. That whatever things I learn from them would help me decide on their judgment."
"Yes, I did say that," Whis recalled.
"I just don't get it. Why would you think that whatever things I did weren't bad? Why is it that Yonshir and the other gods don't seem to agree with it?"
"Is that what's been bothering you?" Whis asked.
Vegeta looked away in shame.
"Choose your path, Vegeta-sama," Whis advised. "Ask yourself, what do you really want? What is Bulma-san to you? What do you want her to do for you? What does she and your bond with her mean to you? If you can determine that and accept it, then you will know what to do. Remember that good or evil doesn't matter. What matters the most is what you think is right according to your own judgment. You are the God of Destruction of this Universe. You have the power to decide the fate of everything that exists in this cosmos. When you destroy something, there shouldn't be any doubts or hesitation on your part because you firmly believe that your judgment is correct. If you don't believe that, then there's something wrong with your judgment. This is the reason why you should not allow your feelings to blind you from making the proper decision for it can distract you from doing so.
"Don't allow what others have to say to affect your judgment. Whether they tell you to destroy something or not, you choose, you decide what to do. Don't force yourself to become what others want you to become. You were never like this, milord. Remember that you were the Proud Saiyan Prince who became a God of Destruction while being who you are. You didn't become one by throwing away who and what you were, you held on to it, that's why even after becoming a God of Destruction, you were able to retain the abilities you had when you were still a Saiyan mortal."
Whis was right. How could he forget about that? He was never the type of man who would run away being afraid of pain. He welcomes that pain to grow stronger. He never allowed anyone to dictate to him what he should do or not. He never allowed anyone to order him around, to control him, to even question him. He never doubted anything before. Once he decided on something, he was firm on it.
Yes, this was the answer he was seeking.
"Choose what I think is the right thing to do, huh?" Vegeta muttered to himself. "It's just as what Granolah told me in the Sacred Space of Spirit and Time."
"That's right. And with regards to your feelings about Bulma-san, I think I finally remember who can help you with that," Whis told him.
Vegeta turned his head to his guide angel with a perplexed look, "And that is?"
"The Goddess of Destruction from the Second Universe, Heles-sama."
"Heles?" Vegeta blinked, remembering the only female among them. The slender, dark-skinned, raven-haired goddess was one of the kindest gods he met. While she initially questioned Vegeta's fit to the role of being a God of Destruction when he was first introduced as Beerus' successor and eventually relented to take his side along with Champa, Mosco, Sidra, and Toppo, who eventually became the God of Destruction for the Eleventh Universe one year after Vegeta's ascension to the role. Having more experience than him with becoming a Hakaishin, she would often give him a few pieces of advice here and there along with Champa and Sidra. She's like his aunt among the gods, the kinder, more patient, and more understanding one towards him in comparison to other destroyer and multiverse-level deities.
"Yes, if I remember correctly, Heles-sama also developed a forbidden attachment and feelings with a mortal man several million years ago," Whis said.
"Really?"
Whis nodded at him, "Yes."
"So, what happened between them?" Vegeta began to ask curiously.
"Well, as you might have guessed, it didn't end well. Just like you, Heles-sama was also ordered by the higher gods and was forced to destroy the mortal. The laws of the deities are strictly and heavily implemented by the multiverse-level deities and she had no other choice but to obey, else, the Second and Eleventh Universes will be completely obliterated. It was a sad fate for the both of them."
"Knowing Belmod, he must have pressured her as well," Vegeta agreed, remembering Toppo's pushy and demanding predecessor. He always hated that clown for always being so antagonistic towards him and it was good that he was eventually replaced by Toppo after he willingly resigned when he was exposed for abusing his powers as a God of Destruction towards mortals for doing immoral acts like stealing, gambling, and philandering.
Vegeta lowered his eyes and was silent for a few moments as he began pondering about something. He was thinking about how the multiverse-level gods, especially Yonshir, were being too controlling towards those who they think were lower and weaker than them. It was as if they always manipulate everyone into becoming the way they wanted them to be, else they will be threatened to be obliterated if they don't get what they want.
It's just how it's always been. The stronger ones stand above all that is weaker than them.
This was the reason why he wanted to surpass them all. So he won't be subjected to their whims. One of the things he hated the most was being under someone's control and being ordered around.
Right now, he had no other choice. Despite becoming the strongest among the Universe-level gods, thus gaining the respect of everyone in the heavenly realm, he knew he had not enough power to challenge or surpass the multiverse-level deities. Having an extremely high power level and flashy transformations won't work on beings that can easily manipulate reality, time, and space just like Yonshir. He knew she could easily take everything away from him in the blink of an eye if she truly wanted to.
"Whis, take me to the Second Universe. I want to speak with Heles."
Meanwhile, back on Earth…
"And now, for our Entertainment News: Yami Shimono, the lead vocalist of the Dark Destroyers, announced that he will be holding an audition for a new female member of the popular metal rock-band!
"Come and join us! Let us change this rotten world!" Yami was speaking on the vlog being shown by the news. "If you are a pure maiden bestowed with a beautiful and powerful voice of a pure angel, you are welcome to audition. It will be held on the 19th floor of the GYP Entertainment Building at WST65448P at 13:00! We will be waiting for you."
Two college best friends stared at the phone perched on the mobile stand holder on the desk with eyes filled with awe. The pretty girl with long, straight and silky hair grabbed her friend's shoulders and asked with her chocolate brown eyes full of wonder: "Really? Yami-san's holding an audition for a new member?"
The girl with pixie black hair and a plain look whose name was Miho Lim nodded her head. "Yes."
"Kyaaah!" Hikari Ishida, the beautiful girl with her long, straight hair squealed, pulling Miho's hands together as she looked at her friend in pure excitement.
Miho and Hikari were both huge fanatics of the gothic metal-rock band, The Dark Destroyers. They find the group's intense goth rock music wonderful as they feel that they could relate to it. Although Miho's grandmother, Kougo Lim, and Hikari's parents absolutely hated it because they think the songs were demonic and caused bad influence on the younger generation due to its dark lyrics and heavy rock tunes.
"I think that you should join it, Hikari-chan."
"I wanna join! I wanna join? What do you think, Miho-chan? Do you think I will win? Hey?"
Hikari was her school's 'Infinite Singing Star', a title she gained for having a pure and beautiful tone to her voice that's unlike anything you would hear. Hikari's dream was to debut as an idol superstar in the future. Looks like this is going to be her chance.
"Of course. I believe that you'll do. Your voice is the most beautiful in the world after all," Miho smiled at her friend.
Hikari giggled as she playfully slapped her friend on the shoulder. "Stop kissing ass, would you?"
"No! Seriously! I'm not kidding around. I'll bet a million zennie on you winning and taking that position effortlessly."
"Then, would you come with me to the audition?"
"But I can't really sing… "
"You just come with me and support me. You don't really have to join if you don't want to. You know that you are my lucky charm, Miho-chan."
"Okay, I will," Miho said. She held up her pinky finger, "Just promise me that you will do your best and win.
Hikari stared at Miho's hand and smiled, twining her pinky finger around Miho's, "I promise."
"And if you become an idol superstar, don't forget me, okay?"
"Of course, I won't forget you! You are my best friend after all."
The two girls giggled at each other and decided to go to bed.