When a Certain Destruction Came into my Life!

by thelonelynixie

"I am the one you summoned. My name is Vegeta Yonsei, the God of Destruction and I am here to fulfill your wish to destroy this world, Bulma Briefs." This is the story of how a Hakaishin was accidentally summoned by a human girl who wished for him to destroy the Earth and eventually fell in love with her as she helped him learn and discover new things and accept who and what he is.

42. The Great Sage

"Damn that useless, reckless bastard, Ensui!"

A furious snarl filled the air as a petite figure slammed her hand against the table's wooden surface. Feral growls of unsuppressed rage and angry breaths escaped from her trembling small body.

"That fool! He just lost a lot of the energy we collected for the master. How could he fight against the God of Destruction so recklessly?!"

She tried to calm herself down as much as possible, slowing her breathing down. Once she was a bit more composed, she turned her head to the right to look at a glowing golden tambourine leaning in the corner of her room.

This thing was called the Sor Eita, a Shinpogu known to have the ability to forcefully extract the life force or Cores of Existence of mortals within the surrounding area.

"No matter. If this is the case then I might use this as a last resort," she said to herself, grabbing the Sor Eita with her hand. "A God of Destruction must always adhere himself to his duty to destroy in order to keep the balance of this Universe. I wonder what he'll do if I leave him no other choice but to disrupt that balance he's meant to protect on his own? I just know that he won't be able to do it, I'm sure. That should be entertaining to see."

Looking down at the Shinpogu with gleaming interest, she let out a villainous chuckle.

---

Chapter 42: The Great Sage

---

"Are those the souls of the humans around the island?" Bulma asked Vegeta as she looked up to him from the ground where she was kneeling next to the unmoving bodies of Hikari and Miho.

"Yeah," Vegeta responded in his usually indifferent but gruff tone. "That Yokai bastard was one of the reasons why the people on this island don't have their Cores of Existence within them. It appears that he was collecting a huge amount of human souls to offer his master."

Then he snorted, beaming in a villainous way.

"Heh! That bastard must be some sort of a glutton, I must say. Good thing I managed to snatch a few of those souls back and returned them to their original bodies."

"Just what is he planning to do with that much life force? Is it required by the enemy to devour in order for it to grow more powerful?" asked Bulma, picking herself up.

"That could be," Vegeta said, planting his fists on his hips. "Anyways, since most of the souls have been returned to their original bodies, whoever was behind this should be pretty pissed off right now. I will wait for him to make his move, but for now… let's let things be."

Vegeta raised his right index finger above his head and concentrated his energy, making the tip of his index finger glow a blinding light as he put the closed space down, bringing the world back to how it was before he examined Hikari and the child in her womb.

Bulma watched in awe at how the world seemed to rewind itself, minus the battle that just occurred and the existence of Ensui. It looked like she was watching a video tape playing backwards as the surroundings healed itself. The damages done during the fight were repaired to what it was before it even began.

Once it was bright and normal again, Hikari and Miho blinked as if they just came back to life, never aware of what just happened while they were within the closed space Vegeta created earlier.

"Hmph! It's obvious with how big your stomach is, woman. Unless you love eating that much, you can't have a belly that big," Vegeta snorted as he answered Hikari's earlier question about how he knew she was carrying a child in her womb, crossing his arms over his chest and then he turned his head sidewards with a huff.

Hikari and Miho blinked back at his sudden change of attitude. When he noticed them gawking back at him like a pair of idiots, he averted his hard gaze back at them and asked them sternly, "What? Don't you have any other business to attend to?"

"Oh…uh… Yeah, we have to go. I guess we'll see you around," Miho grinned awkwardly before bowing down and walking away.

Once Hikari and Miho left and were far away from them, Vegeta put his hands together in a hand sign and concentrated his spiritual energy before he thrust his hands forward.

Part of his spiritual energy leaked out of him through a blackish-purple mist.

From that mist made of his spiritual energy formed a human-like shape until it morphed into an exact copy of the God of Destruction.

This is Spirit Control: Proliferation, an ability which allowed Vegeta to split his spirit at will to create body doubles or clones of himself under his command. A useful trick Vegeta learned from Planet Yardrat when he was still a mortal.

Bulma gasped in complete astonishment at what he just did.

Amazing, she thought.

Vegeta turned to his clone and instructed it to follow Hikari and Miho to the village discreetly. The clone disappeared into thin air as it used Shunkanidou or the Instant Teleportation to wherever Vegeta sent it off.

"Do you really need to send him out? You already tested her enough to prove that Ishida-san and the baby within her are both powerless," Bulma asked.

"Why are you so worried about them? I saved them, didn't I?" Vegeta responded with a small but impish smile. "And besides, even if that was true, I still cannot let my guard down. I know that it is hiding its power, and I have to wait for the opportunity to see that."

Bulma didn't know this but the real reason why Vegeta sent that clone to follow Miho and Hikari was for him to conduct more espionage, a pretty common strategy he uses whenever he needs to be in several places at once.

Due to his mastery over his spirit, he could control the clones he created if he wanted to and he could even share his thoughts and transfer his will into any of them.

The clones had exactly the same abilities as its original, even though they have no individual thought as it shares the same spirit and mind as its original body.

Vegeta raised his head to look up into the sky and slowly turned his head to the right.

"For now, let's go to the Southwest. We can probably get some more clues there since the time rift appeared there," he said.

Then he turned to the unconscious bodies of Rocky and his friends, frowning.

"Oh… I completely forgot about these pathetic fools..." he grunted in annoyance.

He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers, "Rise and shine, foolish humans. You could still be useful to me," he told them.

As if on cue, Rocky, Vanilla, Braun, Mint, Leiri, and Mocha all popped their eyes open after they perceived their cores of existence pulsed within their chests. They felt groggy, weak, and drowsy for some reason as if they just woke up from a deep sleep.

"What? Where are we? What happened?" they asked, confused and befuddled. Yawning, stretching, and rubbing at their eyes and faces.

"What are you doing sleeping around here?" Vegeta asked them, trying to sound as amused as possible, acting like he didn't know what truly happened.

"Huh? How did we get in here? We were in Ike-san's house just now," Vanilla wondered.

Vegeta turned his eyes to Vanilla, focused his power on her to use his telepathy on her, saying, "Vanilla, quiet down. It's just me," making the human girl turn to him in confusion. He nodded silently to affirm. "Try to remember what happened. Show me through your thoughts."

Vanilla nodded back at him. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Vegeta listened to her thoughts as she recalled her experience prior to Ensui taking her and her friends as hostages…

In Vanilla's perspective, she heard three mysterious people talking in the room where Freya was supposed to be. They conversed about how the master is arriving soon and that they need to distract their invited guest from meeting him until the perfect time.

The person with a croaking voice said that he could sense the guest's group at the welcoming path and that his presence might make a disturbance to it so he ordered the other person who speaks rather cockily to take the guest out of there.

When they sensed that someone was eavesdropping at their discussion, the person who Vegeta recognized as his earlier enemy, Ensui, another young adult man with silver hair and emerald-like eyes, and the other, much shorter one with a face that looked like a plague doctor's mask, went out of the room and blew what seemed was a powdery substance at Vanilla's face, making her faint and fall to the floor unconsciously.

Vegeta pulled himself out of Vanilla's thoughts and scowled. So that's what happened, huh? He already suspected something about that person but this confirmed his theory.

He gazed at the humans, his eyes now ablazed with a destructive mauvish-crimson light, putting them in a trance-like state and erasing that part of their memory.

While doing so, he commanded Whis to teleport these humans back to Freya's house. Whis waved his scepter in the air and the humans aside from Bulma, magically disappeared before them.

When Rocky and the others regained consciousness, they were back to the room where they stayed in Freya's house as if nothing just happened.

"Let's go," he told Bulma and Whis, intent on going westwards towards where the time rift appeared three weeks ago.

---

Miho and Hikari arrived at the inn they rented for three days. They were greeted by Freya, the landlady who was waiting for them, as soon as they arrived by the gate. She led them to their room within her huge inn.

"I guess a lot of people were curious about this island. There was another group of people who came first before you and they're staying with me at my home," Freya told them as she offered them two cups of tea and some bread. "But how come you came all the way here with that big of a belly? Wouldn't it be dangerous for you to travel?" she asked, eyeing Hikari's belly.

Hikari lowered her eyes, hesitating to answer at first, but after she realized that Freya was a local here and she might probably the only person she could ask about this place, she decided to answer.

"I don't know, but something's calling me here," Hikari admitted.

Freya blinked, "What do you mean by something's calling you here?"

"I keep on having these recurring dreams and hearing a voice telling me to come to Magus Island. To be honest, we didn't expect to find this place at all. People were trying to get in here but they couldn't do it for some reason. I guess the fisherman who brought us here actually knows what he's doing."

Freya looked down at Hikari's belly curiously.

"There is a shrine near the shore where you came from. Maybe you could find your answers there," Freya suggested.

"You mean the bamboo path?"

"Yes."

"By the way, when you said there was another group of people who came here before us, does a man with strange, spiky black hair, a receding hairline and a huge widow's peak among them?"

Freya seemed surprised at that, "Ah, yes. You speak of Vegeta Yonsei-sama. So you met him already?"

"Yes," Hikari said. "So that's his name, huh? What a strange sounding name."

Freya grabbed her arm and gazed at her with widened eyes, "You must not come near him ever again, do you hear me? That man is extremely dangerous," she warned.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hikari asked, terrified and confused.

"Just heed my warning, Miss," Freya convinced her. "Go and take a rest for now. I have other visitors to attend to. Take care of yourself, and that child."

---

A few hours later, Hikari and Miho decided to walk around the village before they returned to the bamboo path by the seashore.

What answers were she expecting to get here? Hikari wondered to herself. She knew she saw the sea and bamboo path in her dreams. What does it have to do with that man with flame-shaped hair?

Feeling as if someone was approaching them, Hikari and Miho turned to see a petite boy wearing a red hooded cloak and a white oval-shaped mask sauntering forward towards them. Hikari gasped as she watched the boy approach them with a bright, humming energy sword at his hand.

Without any warning, the boy abruptly jumped forward towards Hikari with lightning fast speed, causing the pregnant lady to just stare wide-eyed at his afterimage and into a pair of cold and remorseless golden-colored eyes.

---

Vegeta, Bulma, and Whis arrived at their destination where they found a cave nestled amongst a forest of trees, not far away from the rugged shore. Its entrance was hallowed and gaping.

"Hey, look at that cave! I love exploring caves! Let's see what's inside there!" Vegeta exclaimed, pointing at the cave's entrance and walking straight towards it.

Bulma shrugged, shivering and rubbing her hands against her arms, "I don't know about you, but that cave gives me the creeps."

"You do?" Whis said, a little tensed.

Vegeta halted his steps once he was inside the cave's entrance and turned to his guide angel, sensing something odd about Whis. He turned to look at his guardian in concern, "What's the matter, Whis?"

Whis froze for a second, surprised. He blinked his eyes, opened his mouth, but no sound came out of it. He closed his mouth and smiled softly.

"It's nothing, milord," Whis responded.

Vegeta scowled, crossing his arms over his chest, waiting. He simply waited there, not saying anything, but the cold glare in his dark eyes peering at the guide angel and his fingers tapping his arm impatiently as he observed him critically told Whis that he knew he was lying.

"Tell me, Whis. You know something about this place, don't you?" Vegeta asked. "You did mention about the Seiten Taisei earlier but you didn't say anything about how it should matter to me. Your little meditation exercise didn't answer that question but it gave me a vision of a possible future instead. A warning."

Whis nodded. Of course, how could he forget that the island would only give Vegeta the vision of the future and not about the past? Heaven forbids him from ever recalling that part of his first life.

"Tell me, Whis. What do you know?" the God of Destruction asked with a more serious tone.

Whis stepped forward to approach Vegeta and Bulma, still hesitating. He made a few rounds back as he try to decide whether to say something or not.

"Wait a second, are you actually scared?" Vegeta gasped in disbelief.

Bulma angrily tapped on Vegeta's shoulder, giving him a scowl. "Shh… I think I know how Whis-san is feeling," she said to him.

Her expression softened up as she looked at Whis, "There was something that occurred on this island that has traumatized you, right?"

"That's ridiculous, Bulma! Why would Whis be traumatized by a mere cave?!" Vegeta shouted.

Bulma glared at him, "Tch! Listen Vegeta, just because you aren't traumatized by anything doesn't mean you shouldn't understand other people's trauma."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. He did have a trauma from hearing the screams of his people in his head every time he didn't do his duties properly, which he had overcome by now. But he wouldn't believe that Whis, his typically calm, collected, gentle and wise guide angel, to have some sort of traumatic experience. It just doesn't suit him at all.

Whis chuckled nervously, "You got me there, Bulma-san," he admitted with a smile.

"Woah! She's actually right?" Vegeta gasped in disbelief.

Whis nodded at his master, "Yes, but it shouldn't matter now since it's all over in the past. It's just that I couldn't help but think if there was any connection between what happened here 500 million years ago and whatever you are experiencing right now since you mentioned that this island was calling out to you and that the guardian spirit deity of one of the mountains mentioned that you and Bulma-san have a connection to this island, hence why the both of you were called upon here. That's also the reason why I asked you about what you think about the pieces of stones earlier. I failed to realize that because you are what you are now, you won't feel that connection anymore."

Vegeta shifted his weight, "Tell me then, Whis. It would help answer some questions I have in mind."

Whis shook his head, downright refusing, "But you know well that some questions should remain unanswered."

"Hmph! Then I will not stop bothering you until you tell me," Vegeta threatened with a snort, then he smirked mischievously. "Try me."

Whis let out a tired sigh. He guessed it can't be helped. He knew that Vegeta was very persistent and was serious about how he won't stop bothering Whis until he gets what he wants. He told Vegeta and Bulma to come inside with him and they sat down in there for quite some time as Whis told them the Legend of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven…

500 million years ago, there was a huge, round stone that sat at the top of the Takeko Mountain within the Magus Island, on a Planet known as Sadara. Vegeta recognized the name of the planet being the first home planet of the Saiyans before it was destroyed by some inner conflict. The stone was nourished by the essence of the multiverse. As time passed by, the stone developed into a stone egg, which eventually conceived a monkey from within it.

One full moon night, the stone egg cracked and a Monkey demon burst out of it with a mighty explosion of a massive overwhelming power. Its mighty golden energy shook the very foundations of the Multiverse and its glow reached the heavenly realm, almost blinding the gods. The King of All, Zen, and the King of Nothingness, Mu, ordered Daishinkan, the Grand Priest, to look for the source of that light. Daishinkan reported what happened in the mortal realm, saying that an odd Monkey Demon with tremendous powers had been born. Thinking that it's just a mere monkey, King Zen and King Mu simply ignored the report and went about their normal lives.

Never did they expect that this Monkey would bring great trouble in the Multiverse one day.

Due to the superpowers and knowledge he was born with, the Monkey demon called himself Seiten Taisei, meaning 'The Great Sage Equal to Heaven'. Seiten Taisei was a born battle prodigy and he was also a genius as he was blessed with the knowledge of everything that consists of the Multiverse. Believing he was fated to become greater than everyone, he fought to claim superiority over various worlds, defeating powerful demons and leading other monkeys, eventually declaring himself the King of the Monkeys and a ruler among demons, conquering the mortal realm with his overpowering might. He ruled over them for a few hundred years with an iron fist, but he found that he wasn't satisfied with just that. Seiten Taisei was a proud, cold, ruthless and ambitious warrior and demon lord. He knew he could become the greatest in the Multiverse and he will not stop until he manages to surpass all beings that exist and declare himself the most powerful among all.

So he went to conquer the heavens and defeat the gods, leading his army of demons to wage a war against the deities. Thinking he was just nothing but a mere monkey, the gods made the mistake of underestimating him. This greatly enraged the proud and arrogant Monkey King and displayed his ruthlessness by wrecking havoc all over Heaven, killing everyone around him without mercy, even to the point where he ruthlessly destroyed his own comrades. Seiten Taisei's rampage only ended when King Mu stepped into the fight. It was against the King of Nothingness that Seiten Taisei suffered his first humiliating defeat, shattering his pride greatly and humbling the arrogant simian.

King Zen, who was impressed by the Great Sage's level of ability, offered him a second chance to think about his wrongdoings. He was given a place to stay in heaven where he must serve the gods, but Seiten Taisei refused because of his proud nature. He would rather be obliterated rather than serve the gods he believed he was meant to order around. But the King of All saw that this Monkey demon lord would prove useful to him one day, so he gave him a chance to change his evil ways.

Seiten Taisei was forced to stay in heaven after that. Nobody amongst the gods and angels, with the exception of King Zen and King Mu, wants him to be there with them. But the Monkey King didn't care, he swore that he would grow stronger and destroy them all one day.

Seiten Taisei lived a lonely, hateful and bitter life in heaven for hundreds of years until one day, Daishinkan assigned him a guardian who would take good care of him. It was a beautiful lady with long, blue hair that reminded him of the beautiful waves of the sea, and cerulean eyes the same color as the clear, blue sky during a sunny day on his home. Her name was Genjo Samja, once a mortal priestess who was brought to the heavens due to something special within her.

Initially, the two extremely loathed each other. Seiten Taisei was revulsed by her mere presence for being annoying, while Samja disliked his rudeness and arrogance. They would always argue even about the smallest of things and they couldn't get along with each other. Seiten Taisei was too proud to associate with someone like her while Samja, despite always being the one willing to make it up with him, was too fierce and stubborn too, which was very unlikely for a priestess such as her.

One day, Daishinkan visited them and revealed that while he ordered Samja to look after Seiten Taisei, he was also assigning him to protect her at all costs. When Seiten Taisei blatantly refused, the Grand Priest explained the reason why Samja was brought to heaven. It was because they believed that her flesh could grant infinite and limitless power to those who eat it. Seiten Taisei, who still sought for greater strength in order to defeat King Zen and King Mu, mocked the Grand Priest for giving him such an honor by offering this source of power to him. The Seiten Taisei threatened to eat Samja's flesh right there, until Daishinkan put a golden looped diadem over his head, which would allow Samja to subjugate Seiten Taisei's violent nature and destructive powers with a powerful divine chant.

Since then, Seiten Taisei and Genjo Samja lived together. While Seiten Taisei was initially forced to protect her from the various creatures seeking for her flesh, it was also when he slowly began to exhibit a change from his evil and ruthless nature and started to soften up towards her and those around him because of Samja's pure and good-hearted nature towards him. She was the first person to show him genuine care and understanding. Despite Seiten Taisei's rudeness and threatening demeanor, she was somehow patient with him and was willing to stand against him and put up with him.

Bulma laughed at the story, saying that it reminded her so much of her relationship with Vegeta. Whis agreed with a chuckle while Vegeta simply turned away with a snort, telling the angel to continue with his tale-telling.

Because of Samja's friendly disposition, she and Seiten Taisei managed to gain many friends in heaven. One of the closest friendship Seiten Taisei has formed was with the young angel, Whis, the fifth son of Daishinkan who the Grand Priest assigned to assist Seiten Taisei and Samja as part of his preparation in his duties to become a guide angel to the future God of Destruction of the Seventh Universe.

With these relationships, the Great Sage learned to trust people and fight alongside others to protect Genjo Samja. He also changed from his initially proud, cold, ruthless and hateful nature and showed love and care for others, especially towards Samja and Whis. He learned the value of life, how to show mercy, kindness, and a desire to protect other people, giving him a sense of purpose and a good reason to use his blessed power and knowledge for doing the greater good. This change in the once evil Monkey demon lord impressed both King Zen and King Mu.

Not long after that, Seiten Taisei and Genjo Samja developed unlikely feelings for each other and they fell in love, something the heavens have forbidden. But knowing that this love was heavily prohibited by the heavens, the two of them decided to elope to the mortal realm and stayed on the island where the Seiten Taisei was born, hopefully to live loving each other and hide from the gods' anger.

Little did they know that Ryujin, the powerful Dragon King who also wished to overthrow the Kings of All and Nothingness, sought for Samja's flesh. He developed a strong sense of abhorrence towards Seiten Taisei, who he thinks was unworthy of the favors he gained from the Kings of All and Nothingness. He created a plan to destroy the Monkey King's fearsome reputation. He spread the rumors that Seiten Taisei was only planning to gain everyone's trust so he could betray them all by stealing Samja away and devouring her so he could get the power her flesh promised all along. He said that this monkey would eventually bring disaster to the multiverse and will become the one who would destroy them all. This caused the enraged gods to take on his side, causing an upheaval and collected urge to destroy the Seiten Taisei.

This news reached the ears of the Kings of All and Nothingness, and they ordered the search for the Great Sage to arrest and bring him and Samja back to heaven for a trial. A heated battle amongst the gods and the proud and rebellious Seiten Taisei broke out on Magus Island. During the midst of the wild fray, Samja protected Seiten Taisei and was accidentally killed by the Dragon King. This caused the Great Sage to explode in pure rage and went berserk against the Dragon King.

However, he proved to be no match for Ryujin and found himself in a losing ground. When Seiten Taisei realized that Samja was still barely alive, he calmed down and offered to heal her. She refused, wanting Seiten Taisei to devour her while she's still alive as she saw the Great Sage losing his fight and incapable of defeating the Dragon King. She saw that he cannot win, unless he eats her and obtains the limitless unbounded power offered by her body. She said that he had to defeat the Dragon King to save everyone from his evil plans to the multiverse.

Left with no other choice, Seiten Taisei was forced to eat Samja so he could defeat Ryujin once and for all. The combination of Seiten Taisei and Genjo Samja's powers gave birth to what was now known as the highly-forbidden Secret of Self-Indulgence technique, which made the Great Sage stronger and stronger the more his fighting spirit burned, granting him limitless and unbounded power, making him infinitely stronger than the gods.

But due to his unstoppable rage, overwhelming grief and insatiable desire for blood and destruction caused by Samja's demise by his own hand, the Seiten Taisei's power went out of control and he became an ominous threat to the multiverse.

Before Seiten Taisei could destroy everything completely, King Zen and King Mu appeared to bestow divine punishment on Seiten Taisei. Using a divine technique known as the Mafuba, they sealed the Great Sage's overwhelming destructive power and imprisoned him inside a cave on Magus Island.

Since then, for so many years, Seiten Taisei was cursed to live a lonely life for all eternity. His memories of heaven were erased but there was one remaining memory that just wouldn't go away in his heart, his love for Samja.

Out of boredom and loneliness, he created the first Saiyans using his hair, blessing them to live freely and powerfully the way he could never be. But even watching over and joining his creations didn't cure his loneliness and sadness over his beloved's death.

One day, Whis broke the heavenly rules and visited his best friend in the forbidden cave. He took pity on him when Seiten Taisei told him how he wished he would just die, but because he was now immortal, he couldn't die and had to suffer for all eternity. It was when Whis told him about the Judici Divi Rahpye, the Shinpogu known for being one of the most powerful divine artifacts capable of destroying even the most powerful immortals. Seiten Taisei begged Whis to search for the Shinpogu and use it to kill him. Whis downright refused the heartbreaking request. While he can search for the Rapier of Divine Punishment, he cannot do what the Great Sage was asking him to do. Seiten Taisei then told Whis to tell one of the Saiyans where to search for the divine artifact, which Whis agreed.

Once the Shinpogu was found, Seiten Taisei asked the Saiyan who managed to bring it to him to use it to kill him. His last moment was filled with the wish that he may meet that woman in his dreams again in his next life and he said that may his reincarnation descend in the line of the Saiyan who fulfilled his wish and freed him from his sufferings.

"That was a tragic end," Bulma commented.

"So the Dragon King survived after all. How the hell did he end up falling to the mortal realm and becoming the Orochi?" Vegeta inquired.

Whis answered, "Ryujin was later found guilty of treason and during his trial, he admitted what he did to Seiten Taisei and Genjo Samja. He said that he set it all up so Seiten Taisei could devour Samja and have his powers combined with hers so Ryujin could take over his perfect body and use it to bring chaos to the Multiverse. Due to this, he was banished to the mortal realm, losing his powerful claws and his godly powers in the process, thus making him a serpent demon lord. He was also sealed in one of the caves on Magus Island just as Seiten Taisei did, however, he somehow managed to break free from being sealed two million years ago. Filled with rage towards the gods, he searched for the Seiten Taisei in his hopes of possessing his body and using that almighty power to wreak havoc in heaven and destroy all the gods. He never found the Seiten Taisei though. Realizing that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven has disappeared and nobody knew whatever happened to him, he had no other choice but to make use of the most powerful Gods of Destruction from the Thirteenth to Eighteenth Universes back then instead, to wage war against the gods. That was how the First Great Heavenly War happened."

"Yeah, Heles told me that story before," Vegeta told him. "But there's something I couldn't understand. If Mu obliterated the Orochi two million years ago to end the First Great Heavenly War, then how come it is about to be reborn in this time?" he asked.

"That's what I don't understand either," Whis admitted.

Silence fell between them for several seconds.

"I was thinking whether the time rift has something to do with this," Vegeta said, breaking the awkward silence between them. "But if that was the case, was the Orochi powerful enough not to be recorded by the Time Scrolls? I believe there was no reason for the Time Patrol to lie about or hide this information from me. I don't think those Vegetas were brainwashed either, else I would have known since those two are myself from another reality."

Vegeta lowered his eyes and frowned. He looked down at his hands in deep thought after he remembered his two alternate reality counterparts. He thrust his hand forward, utilizing Spirit Control Proliferation. Black purple mist burst out of his palm and formed into another clone of his. It simply stood there with a neutral expression as if it was a mannequin. Vegeta put his hands together in a hand sign and concentrated his spirit to transfer it to that clone, causing his original body to fall into a state of stupor while the clone began to blink as if it had found life and spoke.

"I have a theory. What if the Orochi has an ability that allows him to separate his spirit from his original body completely and whatever King Mu has obliterated two million years ago was nothing but an empty shell?" the Clone Vegeta said while he pointed at his original body.

Bulma was astonished by what he just did. "Woah! That's cool!" she gasped in awe. She had never seen astral projections done like this.

Suddenly, the clone's expression turned blank and the original body's vigor returned, blinking as Vegeta's spirit came back to his original body.

The God of Destruction continued his theory as he looked back at Whis and Bulma, "You know… Just like the empty shells the people on this island had been reduced into… Since the Orochi is said to have the ability to possess several people at once just like some sort of virus, he could have hidden his real spirit in one vessel when King Mu decided to obliterate him so he could preserve his own spirit and be reborn one day."

He turned to his clone, "Come back to me," he commanded. The body double eventually dissolved back into a black-purple mist and re-entered the original.

Whis gave him an angry glare, leaning towards him to scold him about what he just did, "And what did you just do, Vegeta-sama?! You know that leaving your original body completely like that is dangerous!"

Vegeta shrugged, turning away, "I know that, Whis. I just tested out that theory. I'm fine. Don't worry," he assured him with a smile.

"Don't you ever do that again, milord. Remember that with one wrong move, you may never come back to your original body," Whis warned him with a stern voice.

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

Bulma interrupted the pair, "So how does he do that? Was it similar to what you just did? Or was it more about Astral Projection?"

Vegeta placed his fists on the sides of his hips and huffed haughtily in the air, "Hmph! How should I know? I never saw the Orochi in my entire existence. How about you, Whis? What do you think?"

"In theory, yes, I believe that your what-if could be possible. I'm impressed that you managed to come up with such a theory no one ever thought of," Whis told him.

"So it's possible then," Vegeta nodded, haughtily praising himself with loud huffs of approval. "Let's say my little theory was correct. If King Mu destroyed the Orochi's original body which had become an empty shell, and Orochi's spirit concealed itself in some vessel, then how come the gods didn't know this?"

"They didn't know," Whis assured. "Even I didn't know. Nobody knows how he was able to do so. Perhaps, it was due to his own will since he still wanted to find the Seiten Taisei."

"And now, he found what he's looking for through me," Vegeta deduced. "That's why he's going to be reborn and become my greatest enemy. Is that it? That's what all this stupid prophecy was all about, right?"

Whis nodded, "Yes, and with you reaching your full potential after you gained that new transformation of yours, the prophecy is meant to happen, and considering what we see before us now, the past may repeat itself."

"And what's Bulma got to do with that? Don't tell me I'm going to eat her too, just like how Seiten Taisei ate Genjo Samja."

Whis laughed, "Don't be silly, milord. Why are you going to eat her? Though I must say, Bulma-san must have a huge role to play for this prophecy to happen. Who knows, she might give you the motivation to win."

The God of Destruction fumed, not liking the fact that she could be in some sort of danger because of all of these.

"There is one way to prevent the prophecy, though. That is if you simply obey what Daishinkan-sama told you to do. If you destroy Hikari Ishida-san and the child to prevent Orochi's rebirth, then you can avoid all conflict and end it now. It's your choice, Vegeta-sama."

The God of Destruction scowled at his guide angel, not saying a word for a few moments as if he was beginning to weigh in his choices.

He wanted to see the Orochi's power, but that may put Bulma in danger if it's true she has some sort of role in this prophecy. He didn't wish to bring her in any kind of jeopardy, so should he nip the bud by destroying the Orochi's chosen vessel and its mother before it's reborn into this world and becomes a problem for him?

But by doing that he wouldn't get that once in a blue moon or perhaps, his only chance to relish the challenge he had been looking for this entire time.

If he chose to prevent it from happening, would it be cowardly to do so because it would seem that he doesn't want to deal with it and that he was doubting his own strength and capability to protect the people he cared about? If he let it be, would the past be repeated again where he would regret his choice if he failed to protect her when she dies once again because of him?

What to do? What to do?

Vegeta always prided himself with his own strength. Because he was born a Saiyan Prince and had become a God of Destruction, he had always managed to overcome a lot of difficult challenges by pulling off some kind of miraculous power through his sheer will and determination alone. This was because of his burning fighting soul and the limitless power of the Secret of Self-Indulgence within him. He always believed in that fact that there's no hard battle he can't surmount no matter how grueling it may be.

And so he chose to hold unto his pride as a Saiyan warrior rather than be a bit more rational.

"Nah, not a chance!" he declared childishly.

"So, what's your plan?" Bulma asked him.

"I will wait for the brat to be born, and then, I will test it out. If he turns out to have some sort of power then I will let it live a little more until it reaches its full potential. Once it's strong enough to be a good challenge to me, I will fight it and obliterate it completely."

"But won't that be dangerous?"

Vegeta gave her a villainous smile, "Then would you want me to destroy them now? I believe you were so against me killing them a few moments ago."

"I didn't say that! I just don't understand why you would allow it to live if it's dangerous to let it be. Plus, maybe you could find another way to stop its rebirth without killing them?"

"No! I want to see its power, that's why!" Vegeta declared with a crazy grin. "I cannot wait to see it. It has been a long time since I had this much excitement over the prospect of fighting someone that strong! I hope it comes out soon enough and becomes a proper challenge for me to relish! I could get quite impatient sometimes!"

"What's the matter with you?! What if that thing becomes stronger than you, huh?! What are you going to do about it?!" Bulma yelled, criticizing his implausible plan.

Vegeta's smile just widened and his eyes turned crazier. "Oh come on. Not you too. This is something that I've been longing to feel since I've become a God of Destruction. It would be exciting to see if the Orochi could prove to be a real challenge. This could be my chance to use my new powers in battle!"

"It appears that this could become a bit of a problem," Whis sighed.

Bulma turned her head to the tall, effeminate guardian, "Huh?"

"I suppose we can attribute this behavior of his to the fact that he came from a warrior race. This kind of reaction is natural coming from a Saiyan. We can say that this is clearly the essence of Vegeta-sama's true nature."

"He sure is battle-crazy but does he really have to risk it all just to see how powerful this enemy is?"

"Saiyans exhibit a miraculous ability which allows them to overcome any obstacle the more they are pushed to the wall and challenged in the heat of battle. Perhaps, this is the miracle the Seiten Taisei blessed them with.

"I just hope the multiverse is ready to handle all that power."

"Oh well, in case he failed, I'm sure that the other Gods of Destruction would help, right?"

"Oh, that won't happen, Bulma-san. Aside from the fact that our proud and arrogant Vegeta-sama wouldn't want anyone interfering his battles as he only relies on his own power, the Gods of Destruction fight for their own purposes too. No matter how huge of a threat the Orochi may become, they won't fight together as a team. It's more likely that they will fight against each other over who will defeat the threat, but never alongside each other. It's a good thing that Gods of Destruction fighting against one another is a taboo unless the Kings of All and Nothingness requested them to do so in an exhibition match in the Null Realm just to fend off their boredom."

"What would happen if Gods of Destruction fight against each other?"

"The damage caused by their clash of powers would be catastrophic to the balance of not just their own Universe, but the entire Multiverse as a whole. Which is why it is necessary for them to fight in the Null Realm so they won't affect the fabrics of the Multiverseamd accidentally destroy everything."

They finally came out of the cave and realized that the sun had finally set.

"There's nothing else we can do until Hikari Ishida gives birth or unless the enemy decides to act first. Let's end our investigation for today and return to Freya's house," Vegeta said. "Oh! We should go back to the sushi restaurant from earlier. I'm famished."

"I think I should stay a little bit here. You two need your time together after all," Whis said with a wink, causing the couple to become flustered.

"Wha-What are you talking about, Whis?!" Vegeta shouted. Then he glowered back at him before huffing and mumbling, "Fine, do what you want."

"Stay out of trouble, milord." Whis smiled. "Bulma-san, please take good care of him."

"Thank you, Whis-san. I will take care of him, I promise," Bulma said with a grin, grabbing Vegeta's arm and pulling him.

"Hmph!" Vegeta snorted in the air, allowing his Bulma to drag him away.

The couple left Whis alone in that cave. Vegeta turned to see his guide angel waving at them, and when Whis saw him, he found the angel doing some weird gestures the God of Destruction couldn't even make any sense of.

"Huh?!" Vegeta uttered with a weird, funny look.

Bulma giggled next to him, "He says you should have fun with me, give me lots of hugs and kisses and treat me to a nice romantic dinner."

"As if!" Vegeta scoffed, looking away with an angry pout. Bulma cackled at that. As expected of him.

Vegeta's jaw twitched before he carefully shifted his murky eyes back at her with a bashful smirk as he chuckled back. He looked down, slowly letting out a shaky breath. He gently took Bulma's right hand with his right and gingerly intertwined his fingers with hers as they walked together side-by-side. He muttered something timidly before he smiled sheepishly, his cheeks warming with a faint tint of red.

Bulma stared at him, blinking in wonder as she observed him carefully. This was the first time he tried to be gentle with her, to the point that she didn't feel something jolting within her chest when he touched her. She thought that perhaps, this was a way of him concealing his terrifying and despotic God of Destruction persona to be a normal guy.

She smiled, recalling how Whis was right. Vegeta was nothing different from mortals in an ordinary time when he put the hardened walls of his heart down and didn't need to be the God of Destruction. It's actually surprising to find out he's such a sweet, shy guy.

"It's only rarely but sometimes, I feel like doing regular things," Vegeta admitted to her, hearing her thoughts. "Like spending time as if I'm just an ordinary mortal and letting my body indulge in these things. I used to be a mortal after all and as such, I used to feel common mortal emotions too. I'm just not used to openly showing it to just anyone. You managed to win my trust and I let you into my world, so you are welcome to see this side of me. I just hope that you won't think that this doesn't mean I don't have a darker side, though."

"I know. I'm just surprised, and was glad to see you put down that invisible wall for me."

He halted his steps and so did she. He turned to her, looking straight into her eyes and raising a hand to caress the right side of her face.

"I don't know what role you have in the prophecy of the gods and why the guardian deity of the mountain thinks you were also being called upon this island with me. If I only knew, I shouldn't have brought you here."

"It's not your fault. We both didn't know. Plus, you're here with me. I have nothing to fear because you're on my side."

"After learning about that story from Whis earlier, I thought that perhaps, despite how we were meant to meet each other, we were also meant to lose one another. You were born thrice in this world, all of your lives have been associated with my first life and this current existence. Both of your previous lives ended because you were on my side. I just can't help but think about your role in this prophecy and I wonder if you will end up dying because of me again. I think I understand now why the gods were preventing me from loving you, and why they are afraid of us and my power. They were aware of the prophecy, they probably know what roles we have to play in it, and maybe they already saw how it would end. Considering how I destroyed everything on both occasions when I lost you on both your first and second lives and how much dangerous I have become now, there's no doubt about it, that the past may repeat itself once again. If I lose you, I would probably lose control of myself again and destroy everything for real this time as there will be no one capable of stopping me with the power I now hold."

"Hey…" Bulma said, looking up at him and pressing his hand with her fingers. "Tell me, Vegeta, do you honestly believe that?"

He looked up at her eyes, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "No. I just couldn't help but think about it."

"Then don't think about it. You are stronger now. You are different from Seiten Taisei or from how you used to be during my second life. You are more powerful now. I–well, I guess I will try to find a way but know that I trust you. I believe in you and your power. I am Bulma Briefs, and is different from Genjo Samja or Bloomer. We are different from what we were in the past and we will never let the past repeat itself again."

Vegeta smirked and nodded.

"Of course," he assured her. "That's exactly what I needed to hear from you."

He suddenly turned his head to the direction where they came from. He just sensed Whis left this realm, he pouted. "And where did Whis go now?"

"Come on and leave him be. Give him some time to recover after recalling all those tragic and painful memories. Let's go back to the sushi restaurant. Didn't you say you were hungry?" Bulma said, holding his hand and dragging him.

---

Whis watched Vegeta and Bulma as they left him. While he tried his best not to show any concern about what's been setting up on this island, the guide angel knew that the God of Destruction must have deduced the same thing he was thinking as well. He tried to sway his master's thoughts by allowing him to spend his time with Bulma so as to help him forget about that eerie predicament.

Whis sensed someone was watching him from behind with a pair of intimidating eyes. Whoever it may be was quiet, careful, and surprisingly has no ki in him. But even though that was the case, it felt like this mysterious person was calling out for his attention, and his attention only. It was strange how Vegeta failed to notice this guy's presence since this person had been watching them since they arrived on this island.

"Who's there?" he asked.

The guide angel turned in the direction where he could sense that person. He appeared to be someone with a child-like size, wearing a red cloak with its hood over his head and a white oval mask with a black ring painted near its center and two small and slanted holes in its eyes. The lip part was painted and shaped like the muzzle of a cat. A looped golden band was engraved on the forehead part of the mask.

"Who and what is this guy? I can't sense anything from him at all. Wait… that mask. Is that the Menka Seikuyou?"

"What's the matter, Whis? Don't you recognize me?" the robed man, or boy, said as he walked out of the shadows and finally revealed himself to the guide angel.

"Oh, was it because of this body? Or was it because of this mask? Sorry, I can't take this off here considering his presence but if you wish to know, I will show you if you take us to the Sacred Space of Spirit and Time so we can talk there in private without him hearing what I'm about to tell you. Just between the two of us. It's really important."

Whis felt like he knew this man very well and that he was definitely someone he could trust so he agreed to the man's demands. Whis took his scepter out and tapped the end of it against the ground to teleport himself and this stranger to the Sacred Space of Spirit and Time.

"Thank you, Whis." the man under the crimson cloak said.

"Now then, who are you? Why are you wearing the Mask of Suppression and why do we need to go this far to prevent Vegeta-sama from hearing this? Please do make it quick before the God of Destruction finds out that I'm gone."

The cloaked boy nodded in understanding and he pulled his hood off his head and removed his mask from his face, revealing a visage that looked almost identical to that of Vegeta but with golden slanted and narrowed eyes, black vertically-slitted pupils, long, wild, dark brown hair that went over his shoulders, thick fringes, and animal-like fangs.

"I know I look different but you should be able to still recognize me, right?" he said.

When he removed the mask, Whis instantly recognized the feeling of his fiery spirit and was completely taken aback in shock.

"What-?! How did you-?! Don't tell me-?!" Whis gasped in confusion.

"I will tell you everything you need to know. I have come for the Destined Strong One to prepare him in his mission. I will train him and guide him on his path to power so he can fulfill his proper role and put an end to the Ragnarok prophecy once and for all," the boy revealed.

---

Vegeta and Bulma went to the sushi restaurant where they ate their lunch that day. The waiter who collapsed dead before them earlier that day was back to his normal self, taking their orders with a smile on his gentle face.

"Hey, isn't that the guy who died in front of us earlier? How is he alive?" Bulma gasped in disbelief.

She found Vegeta scowling and was in his deep thoughts while he sat down on the same table they had that morning. Bulma thought that his expression was scary. What's up with him?

Vegeta blinked his eyes, his brows furrowing. At that moment he was communicating with the clone he sent to follow Hikari and Miho earlier. He nodded silently as if listening to someone speaking to him, which Bulma obviously couldn't hear.

"I see," he muttered mostly to himself. "Then there must be really something within her, huh? Fine, let's see what happens here from now on. I will take care of this matter myself. We don't need any other intruders interfering. Leave that boy for now. We will uncover the identity of that bastard later. For now, continue following them. I will tell you to come back to me later."

He must be talking with the clone from earlier, Bulma deduced.

Vegeta blinked, finally looking at her as he answered Bulma's question earlier.

"His soul was among those I retrieved when I destroyed the Yokai earlier. It hasn't been long since his soul was eaten so he was brought back to life when his soul returned to his original body," Vegeta explained.

"So are they back to normal now?" she asked.

"For now, yes. But this isn't over yet as the enemy hasn't made any move to recollect their souls yet."

"The enemy's going to recollect them?"

"Yeah, the Yokai from earlier was just a lackey. He's not the mastermind behind all of these."

"And you really do plan on waiting like that? Aren't you being a little too complacent? I think you shouldn't allow your enemy to make the first move on you."

Vegeta smiled at her, "And what do you propose I should do then?"

Bulma frowned as she went deep into thinking.

"Hmmm… You can collect those souls too, right?" she asked him.

"Yeah, by using Forced Spirit Fission and Reversed Forced Spirit Fission."

"If it is true that the enemy is also collecting human souls to feed and revive his master, then why don't you take that opportunity away from him? You should make the first move and keep those souls to yourself. After all, he needs a huge amount of souls to collect. How do you think the enemy would react if he realizes that he's losing a lot of souls to offer his master?"

Vegeta's lips stretched into a wicked smirk, "It would force him to come out of hiding and show himself in front of me."

Bulma nodded, "Right."

Vegeta chuckled darkly, before breaking into a fit of mad laughter, making Bulma pout back at him, "What's so funny?" she asked.

He gave her a downright villainous smile, chuckling in a sinister way, "I find it quite amusing because that was actually my original plan! But then, I thought you might get in my way again and tell me something ridiculous such as not putting the innocents in danger. For you to suggest this idea to me was quite surprising, woman. It's almost as if you're sacrificing them all to me."

"I know it's a bit ruthless but I trust you that you will return everything back to normal, just like how you returned these souls back to their original bodies."

"..."

Vegeta's smile faded, staring back at her as if she just grew another pair of arms on her back.

Bulma grinned at him with an expectant smile, leaning forward to draw her face closer to his, staring straight at his raven-colored eyes, "Right?"

"..."

Vegeta's lips curved down into a deep, upside down v, his eyebrows furrowing and eyes narrowing as he pulled himself away from her by leaning his back on the backrest of his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared back at her coldly.

"..."

Bulma's smile faded a little, noticing his facial expression.

"What are you talking about?" Vegeta asked her with a tone of disinterest, unable to understand what she was trying to tell him and whatever she was thinking.

"I mean– didn't Whis-san said that if this goes on, it would cause an imbalance in the Universe, and as the God of Destruction, you are tasked to maintain that balance?"

"Yeah? And?"

"You would protect everyone, right?"

Vegeta raised at eyebrow at her, "..."

"Right?"

The God of Destruction rolled his eyes and scoffed back at her, "Pfft..! I wouldn't count on that if I were you," he warned. "Don't misunderstand me. I never intended to do whatever you think I would do in the first place. As I said, retrieving their souls was part of my plan. I didn't return them just because I wanted to feel nice and save them. I already told you that as a God of Destruction on-duty, I will do even the most ruthless method if I find it necessary to do so. So it doesn't really matter to me if I must use some insignificant mortals' existences or sacrifice an entire planet just to do what I must."

"But if you do that, wouldn't that create a rift in the balance you were supposed to maintain? And if that happens and this Universe's balance collapses, wouldn't that mean everything will be doomed?"

"Yes, it will, but if it's what I have to do to win a battle, I won't hesitate to do so. A little rift in the balance won't do that much harm so long as I could find a way to fix it. Don't worry about it. I've done this a lot of times before."

Vegeta returned to eating his Maguro Nigiri as if the words coming out of his mouth were just mere, meaningless words to him.

Bulma lowered her eyes in her disappointment.

Oh yeah, this was how he originally was. What was I expecting anyways? Stupid, she thought as she pondered about the way he spoke to her.

Vegeta noticed her demeanor change into something melancholic and observed her expression and thoughts for a while. He could tell she was disappointed at the fact that she expected him to agree on her plea.

"Bulma," he called her name with an unexpected warmth compared to his earlier cold and callous tone to repent for his own rudeness.

She looked back at him with a perturbed look.

"You must know that the people on this island aren't supposed to exist. You heard what the guardian spirit deity said to us earlier. They just appeared out of nowhere without knowing how and why they existed. The people you see may seem human, but they actually aren't human at all. They do not belong and aren't welcome in this Universe. They have no purpose, no sense of self, no ambition, no other use or any reason to be in here. They merely existed for the sole purpose of fulfilling the enemy's desired plan as he knows that he might attract my attention if he uses the mortals that actually existed in my Universe. I only managed to learn about this place due to the time rift that appeared on this island. And… let's say a special invitation to observe and be a witness to some grand event. If they continue to exist, they will cause a greater disturbance in the balance of this Universe, that's why I'm here to bring judgment and bestow their punishment. So don't feel bad about those people. They shouldn't be of any concern to you."

"Then how about Vanilla and the others? Hikari Ishida? The other girl who was with her? They're not from this island. Are you also planning to sacrifice them? Is that why you brought them all in here?"

"It's their fate. They have already associated themselves with me and chose this path themselves. They are all destined to be destroyed soon due to their foolishness. As for Hikari Ishida, who I saved twice from the deadly fate I bestowed upon her, and Miho Lim who made a contract with me to save Hikari Ishida from Yami Shimono's plans… Both of their fates have already been decided with a brutal death even worse than what I originally planned for them. That's just the way it is in this cruel reality."

"..."

"This is the power and the duty of a God of Destruction. And I must do what must be done to keep the balance of this Universe, even if I have to resort to ruthless methods such as sacrificing others or an entire world. Everyone cannot be saved. One should make sacrifices to fulfill what's for the greater good."

"I know…" Bulma nodded at him grimly, reluctantly accepting and still trying to force herself to understand. It felt like swallowing something utterly bitter, something she couldn't bear but needed to force herself to take in.

"I will be proceeding with the plan," Vegeta said as he rose from his seat and whispered in the air, "Infuu Seikuyo," creating a closed space using the Seal of Suppression and filling their surroundings with infinite darkness.

He stretched out his right index finger and put it at chest level, chanted a spell in the divine language of the gods, and began recollecting the Cores of Existence of those around him using Forced Spirit Fission and Reversed Forced Spirit Fission. Blue streaks of light gathered at the tip of his finger, coalescing into a small blazing orb of bluish white flame.

Bulma watched him with a rueful gaze while he did the plan she actually suggested. She saw how the waiter who served them sushi earlier fainted and collapsed dead on the floor for the second time that day. Looking at his now lifeless body, she thought with regret to herself: "He has died again…" then turned her eyes away. "I really couldn't get used to this no matter how much I try."

Her hands balled into shaking fists on her lap. Why was she feeling upset? It was she who gave Vegeta this idea after all. She turned her eyes back at him, observing the several blue streaks of flame whirling around him, gathering on that small orb blazing fiercely on the tip of Vegeta's finger. Bulma wondered if the enemy would eventually show up soon. He must be pretty ticked off if she could only imagine him.

A battle will surely begin in this place.

---

Looking down at what looked like a map of Magus Island drawn on a board with several floating dots lighting up its surface, a petite female figure sat in a darkened room. The dots drifting above the map board was the only source of light against the blackness of the room. There were about forty of them, but it slowly diminished in number, causing the villainess to gasp as she watched those lights gather at some point. In her left hand was the Shinpogu, Sor Eita, which she was slightly shaking in the air for quite some time, but whatever she was observing at the map board caused her this much concern.

"What is happening here? Why can't I collect any of those souls? Wait, they're all gathering somewhere else… Is this the God of Destruction's doing?! But that's impossible! He can't possibly know about this, yet! What is he doing?!"

She quickly realized that she couldn't gather the souls the God of Destruction retrieved from killing Ensui earlier. She couldn't understand what the hell was happening. Wasn't the God of Destruction supposed to maintain the balance of this Universe? If he continues to do that, then he would disrupt that said balance he was meant to protect on his own!

Her plans… It's falling apart… Just how did the God of Destruction know about her plan? Did Ensui run his darn stupid mouth out of his fear? No… That can't be…

It was then she discovered that the God of Destruction was quite sharp-witted and ruthless. He doesn't care about anything at all so long as he could get what he wants. She didn't expect that from him.

If she needed to gather the necessary souls to offer the savior, she must confront the God of Destruction on her own and take back from him what he stole from her and what she must have accumulated by now. She knew he was trying to provoke her into coming out of the shadows and reveal herself to him, but she wasn't a fool to fall into his mindless trap.

"This is unforgivable," a voice behind her growled. "We have to hurry in collecting souls. It's almost time. Let me take care of the God of Destruction and retrieve the souls that should be ours in the first place."

The villainous lady turned her head to face the shadowy figure, "No, I can tell that he is trying to provoke us into coming out of hiding so he could destroy us. He must think we're stupid enough to fall into his trap. It's like he's clearly stating 'What are you going to do now?'. No, we must not reveal ourselves until the savior is born."

"But how are we supposed to retrieve those souls back for our master? Without it, there's nothing we can offer him to speed up his rebirth process. Plus, tonight is the last night of the full moon. Tonight's our only chance."

"I know… I'm thinking of something."

The lady thought for a while. "That human girl who is always by his side. I wonder what she means to him and he's keeping her with him all this time."

"You mean the blue-haired woman?"

"Yes, she seems to be under the divine protection of the Larumes Chahbi. I wonder why a God of Destruction would give such an esteemed Shinpogu to an ordinary human as some sort of protection."

"Could it be that she held some sort of importance to him? But why would a God of Destruction care about an insignificant mortal?"

"Who knows? But if it's true that he cares about this woman, then I can see a chance for us to retrieve the souls he stole from us. We can make use of her to force him into surrendering what must be ours."

---

Once Vegeta gathered all the souls into a single blazing ball of flame floating above his fingertip, he turned around to face Bulma, who had a regretful look on her eyes.

"What's wrong? You were the one who suggested this, right?" he asked her.

Bulma only nodded back with a grim look upon her face.

Vegeta blinked back at her, one of his eyebrows raised, tilting his head to the side and his jaw dropping at her lack of response.

"Bulma..?"

"I know!" she responded, forcing herself to smile, however, Vegeta could easily see through her. Was she trembling from her fear, guilt, hesitation, or refusal to accept that this is the cruel reality of this world?

Vegeta lowered his eyes to stare down at the flame of collected souls on his hand. It included the souls of Vanilla, Mint, Mocha, Rocky, Leiri, and Braun. These were people Bulma knew. People who were just with them for these past few days.

Bulma let out a shaky breath before she lowered her voice to assure him once more.

"I know, Vegeta… I'm sorry, I just can't get used to this thing no matter how much I try to tell myself that this is normal," she said.

The way she told him that reminded Vegeta of himself during his earlier days as a God of Destruction.

He remembered when he first became a God of Destruction, he was initially reluctant to make innocent sacrifices to fulfill his duty too. Heck, he felt guilt, reluctance, and regret when Beerus told him that his first task was to destroy him, his predecessor, the cat-man who had become his teacher, master, godfather, and his father-figure.

Vegeta wasn't as cold and merciless as he tried to think of himself to be.

While he was indeed ruthless and unsympathetic towards his enemies or his targets, he doesn't feel the same way about the innocent and helpless people. Even during his mortal childhood days as a young soldier from the Freeza Force, in his hardened heart, he felt regret about slaughtering all of those innocents. He simply tried to bury all the gnawing guilt and pain deep within him as he was expected to live up to his reputation as a cruel warrior prince and later, the unsparing destroyer deity.

And over time, he managed to accept it and has gotten over it, mainly because of those cursed voices that threatened his sanity whenever he felt any remorse or reluctance.

"Hn," Vegeta nodded, acknowledging and understanding her feelings. "It may probably take some time for you but you will get used to it. You just need to think and accept this cruel reality. This is just the way it is and nobody can do anything about it."

Bulma nodded gloomily. "Yeah."

He took the orb of collected spirits in his hand and absorbed it into himself just to keep it safe within him for now. Then he put the closed space down and sat back down to continue eating. Bulma approached him and sat back to her seat in front of him as if dragging herself.

"Now we will wait for the enemy to make his move," he said.

"Yeah," Bulma agreed.

They sat back down on the table and waited there quietly.

Vegeta sensed the enemy's presence nearby and said, "Here it comes."

Bulma felt her heart pound against her chest when he said that and she quickly raised her eyes to look at him. Vegeta rose from his seat quickly, his petite but strong body ready for battle.

He raised his head, his eyes burning with a destructive mauvish-crimson glow and igniting an explosion on the roof above them, destroying it completely with his destruction power.

From the smoke, a Yokai appeared levitating in the air. He appeared to be a beautiful-looking human male with silver hair, small green eyes, a sharp nose, thin lips, and a gentle-looking face. His skin was smooth and as delicate-looking as porcelain. He wore an immaculate-looking formal tuxedo with a white veil wrapped around his head.

"Hmm? Ramies, huh?" Vegeta recognized the enemy's energy.

Ramies is famously known for being a soul collector demon. Humans call him one of the Shinigami or grim reapers in their folktales, although they're simply psychopomps and not gods of death because the God of Destruction is the actual deity of death.

Vegeta scowled, facing Ramies, who was looking down at him with his icy jade-green eyes. The enemy doesn't look impressed.

Behind Vegeta, Bulma instantly was fangirling with the fine-looking gentleman.

"Hey, Vegeta. Who is that? He's… He's so gorgeous! Oh, my heart! I think I'm falling for him!" she asked, almost squealing.

Vegeta flinched in disgust upon hearing her say that. He turned his head to give her a sideward glare and he found her almost drooling, her eyes sparkling with hearts as she fixated over the good-looking Ramies.

"This idiot woman," Vegeta grunted to himself, almost wanting to raise a palm over his face.

Finally noticing Vegeta glaring back at her, Bulma laughed nervously, "Sorry, Vegeta. I can't help it. He's so good-looking. Are you jealous?"

"Tch! Why the hell am I going to be jealous over a weakling like him?! I don't feel stupid things like that! I'll just destroy you both!"

Out of his envious fury, Vegeta fired a blast towards Ramies who dodged the attack. Bulma flinched at that. Boy, he sure was jealous… and mad about it. It's rather cute to be honest but he was also terrifying. Bulma shrugged and decided to take a step back.

"Ah… That was close! I was kind of surprised you were able to know that I am here," Ramies said.

Vegeta turned his attention back to the enemy. He faced Ramies with a serious countenance.

"Of course. You cannot hide your stinking presence from a God of Destruction," Vegeta said in a gruff tone and a scowl.

"So you are the actual God of Destruction, huh? I'm surprised to see that you are this small, child-like midget."

"Did you come all the way here to throw insults about my height or to retrieve what I stole from you?"

"Ah yes, you have destroyed our welcoming gift for our long-awaited savior. This predicament made me really angry."

"And? What will you do now? Don't tell me that you came here to fight me over those souls?"

"I am going to take those souls back! Prepare yourself!" Ramies roared.

Suddenly, his entire body got enveloped by black flames which grew into a massive ball of fire that burned the entire sushi restaurant and along with the houses and buildings near it.

Bulma was thankful that the pendant Vegeta gave her earlier that morning was a very effective shield from all of those flames, else, she would have burned to ashes by all the fiery energy. Still, she couldn't help but shield her eyes from the gust of wind being caused by the powerful presence of the enemy. She looked over at Vegeta's direction, he was in front of her, standing still and strong. He wasn't being affected by all of these at all.

He truly was a very powerful being.

From the gigantic ball of black fire emerged a giant skeleton consisted of those same black flames, complete with its scythe and eerie dark cloak. The avatar reminded Bulma of the common look of a grim reaper.

"Oh… So this is your true form, eh?" Vegeta mused at the creature. "A grim reaper, the harvester of souls. The Earthlings' belief of what a bringer of death looks like."

"That's right!" roared Ramies. "Now you are going to give me back all those souls, Hakaishin!"

"Hmph! Who do you think you're dealing with, fool? I am the actual deity that's responsible for death and devastation in this Universe! You are nothing but death personified and created by ignorant humans' imagination of what could symbolize death!"

Vegeta flared his purple aura and the flames of his destructive power enshrouded his entire being, harnessing Spirit Control to make his spirit grow and create a colossal manifestation of his own burning fighting spirit.

From the pillar of swirling purple flames materialized a mass of spiritual energy in the guise of the Oozaru, Vegeta's inner beast. It howled mightily into the skies. The God of Destruction could be seen drifting within the massive monkey beast avatar as its 'brain'.

Below him, Bulma's jaw dropped in both terror and awe at the sight.

"What the hell is this?!" the Grim Reaper giant gasped, not expecting that Vegeta could make a giant form to match his own colossal form. He began to back off, visibly scared.

"What are you going to do now? Think you can get back these pitiful little souls?" Vegeta asked him.

"I–I…" Ramies stuttered.

"You called yourself a god of death? Yet look at yourself being frightened at the sight of your doom! You are nothing but a coward who must be destroyed from existence!"

"Vegeta!"

When the God of Destruction was about to destroy Ramies, he noticed his enemy's change of demeanor, from downright terrified to a villainous, crazed one. Wondering what the hell was wrong with this fool, he suddenly heard Bulma's cries for help. He quickly turned around and saw how fast a black portal appeared behind Bulma and a pair of hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her towards it.

"A distraction?!" Vegeta realized.

"Bulma!" he shouted, phasing out of the Oozaru avatar with incredible speed towards Bulma, the avatar burning away as it dissipated into sparks of flame as soon as he removed himself from it.

However, the portal closed before he could even grasp her hands that were reaching out to him.

"Why you, damn bastard!" Vegeta roared, returning his attention to his earlier enemy, charging at Ramies furiously.

With a burst of his flaming aura, he unleashed the Oozaru avatar almost instantly and with a mighty push, rammed the Soul Collector into the ground and snarled at him animalistically.

"So this was your plan after all? You came here to distract me so you could take the woman away? You damn cowards!"

Ramies chuckled, "This is quite a surprise. I didn't know you actually cared about her. It seems my comrade was right about that since you always keep her by your side."

"If you bastards do anything to my Bulma, I swear I will make your destruction as agonizing as possible," Vegeta growled.

"If you destroy me here, do you think my comrade will keep her safe? Let me go and I will tell you where she is."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed. He looked down at Ramies' chest and made a connection to his core of existence before he let the villain go with a harsh shove.

Both of their colossal energy avatars disappeared and Vegeta stood before Ramies, who was picking himself up from the crater Vegeta made from his earlier attack.

"Now speak," the God of Destruction ordered him.

"We took her away to offer her as a sacrifice to our savior in exchange for the souls you have taken from us earlier. She, along with the pregnant girl and the child in her womb."

"You mean Hikari Ishida?"

Ramies nodded, "Yes, now if you want to get them back safely, then let me take you to the top of the tallest Mountain here on Magus Island and surrender all those souls you stole from us."

"A God of Destruction doesn't make any wager to lower beings such as yourselves."

"Of course, not unless you wanted for the woman's body and soul to serve our lord as an immolation–"

"You will do no such thing," Vegeta told him intimidatingly, stepping away from Ramies. "Come back to me." he said mostly to himself.

The clone Vegeta sent earlier to follow Hikari and Miho appeared behind him and relayed to him what he saw...

Hikari and Miho were at the beach where they first arrived. Hikari walked around the welcoming bamboo path, wondering the meaning behind the visions she was having and its connection to this place and the man with flame-shaped hair.

Someone with the size of a twelve-year old child wearing a red cloak and an odd oval-shaped mask appeared and sauntered towards Hikari. His sudden and threatening presence caught the attention of the two human girls who asked who he was.

The masked boy didn't say anything to answer their question and simply drew out an energy sword and quickly charged at Hikari without any warning. Out of pure instinct, Vegeta's clone appeared in between the boy and the pregnant woman, blocking the attacker's wrist with his raised leg. The powerful impact caused a mighty shockwave that blew the sand around them like a maelstrom of sandstorm. The clone ordered the terrified Hikari and Miho to run away, which the two girls quickly did.

The masked boy was taken by surprise at the appearance of the God of Destruction, while the clone told him to calm down. The boy halted his attack. He hesitated a little bit, wondering if he must follow the girls and kill them, but knowing that Vegeta was there (probably not knowing it was a clone) he will be forced to fight the God of Destruction.

The clone demanded who the masked boy was and why he was trying to kill Hikari Ishida. The boy hesitated once more, and responded with only a sneer before he engaged in a fight with the clone.

During the fray, the boy mentioned that the woman was carrying the bringer of chaos within her and the bastard must be killed before it's already too late. The clone said that the God of Destruction will take care of that matter and that the boy doesn't have to interfere. The boy said that if Vegeta doesn't do his duty, he would live to regret it someday.

Then the boy pulled himself away from the fight, and before he disappeared, he told the clone to tell that to the God of Destruction, appearing that he was aware that he was dealing with a body double after all.

Vegeta's clone was supposed to chase after the boy, but Vegeta, who was in the sushi restaurant, commanded him not to and to continue with his original mission.

Vegeta's clone retreated to follow wherever Hikari and Miho ran off too, only to realize that he missed the both of them. After searching through the forest for quite some time, he found Miho unconscious on the ground. He woke Miho and asked her where Hikari was, and she said that her friend was dragged away by someone.

The body double followed Hikari's faint ki signature to the top of Mount Kakazu, where a familiar-looking lady was assisted by Ramies in bounding the pregnant woman by her wrists and ankles against a wooden cot at the center of a pentagram created from some kind of yellowish incense powder. At each point of the star were objects representing the five elements: fire, water, air, earth, and an orb that represents energy, which was on the top.

The clone listened on to their plans as they watched over the Magus Island using the magical map-like board. It was then they realized that Vegeta was recollecting the energy they were supposed to gather again. Speculating that the blue-haired woman who was under the protection of the Larumes Chahbi must be someone the God of Destruction cared about, the villainous lady sent Ramies to distract the Hakaishin while she capture the woman to take her as a hostage and force Vegeta to submit to their demands…

Vegeta nodded in full understanding and thanked the clone for doing a good job. The clone nodded back before it dissolved back into the purplish-black energy mist which the original absorbed back into himself.

With a menacing countenance, Vegeta turned his back away from Ramies and began walking in the other direction, completely forgetting about Ramies. His enemy simply stared and gaped at his back in bafflement, wondering if the God of Destruction was simply going to leave him in there without even finishing him off.

Sighing with relief and thinking that he was spared from the God of Destruction's wrath, Ramies rose from his earlier disgraceful position and said, "You will not stop us. There is nothing you can do to prevent your doomed fate, Hakaishin. You will learn soon enough how it would feel to be destroyed, just as you always do to many. You will reap what you have sowed. What fate has planned for you is bound to happen no matter what!"

"Return to dust which you came from," Vegeta uttered an imperious command as he continued walking forward.

The night sky was instantly covered with black, swirling thunderclouds. At the sight of it, Ramies' jaw dropped in horror as he felt the sheer amount of overwhelming power the God of Destruction possessed.

There was a flash of lightning, followed immediately by a boisterous clap of thunder. Ramies gasped as he instantly looked up and that huge bolt of lightning struck him head on, turning him into ashes right on the spot. The force of that thunderbolt exploded on impact, destroying the entire place as if an atomic bomb had dropped without warning upon it, completely annihilating all that was around them.

Ramies' ashes scattered in the scorching wind as Vegeta walked past the blast created by that powerful thunderbolt he had summoned. A huge fire broke out on the area, burning whatever remained there as if it was symbolizing the God of Destruction's fiery rage that was seething within him.

Vegeta sauntered forward to where he could sense Bulma's existence. His eyes glowing eerily. With each step he took, his anger and his ominous aura would send devastating waves of his destructive power around him. The ground cracked underneath his feet, the plants and trees withered as gusts of cold wind whirled around him, blowing dust and particles away. There was a spine-chilling vibration that came along the wind, as if it was trembling in fear of the God of Destruction's fervid fury.

---

Bulma struggled against the strong grasp of her captor and when it thankfully let go of her, she realized that she was in the forest.

Where am I? Is this the place where we found the pieces of those stone eggs where the Great Sage was born? She wondered, finding the white pieces of rocks not far away from her.

On her right, she found Hikari Ishida bound into a cot. The pregnant girl seemed unconscious. Worried, Bulma tried to come over there to wake her up but she sensed her captor moving behind her.

Terrified, she turned her head to look at her abductor and quickly recognized, "Eh?! Freya-san?!"

Freya grinned back at her in a sinister way. She stretched her neck around and before Bulma's eyes, magically morphed into a very petite creature with a face that looked like a plague doctor's mask. Bulma's blue eyes widened.

"As you can see, I am not Freya. I have merely taken the existence and form of Freya Ike, whose soul I've already devoured among most of the creatures in this island. I am called Jaki," the creature said.

Jaki? This is the creature behind the strange cult Zchala was talking about.

"I've heard of you," Bulma said. "The guardian deity of the mountain told us about you. You have been spreading false rumors about the God of Destruction to the people of this island and created a cult against him. Why did you bring us here?"

"False rumors?" Jaki said. "I don't think my claims were false. He really did come here to destroy everything on this island."

"This place shouldn't exist in this Universe. Of course, if its presence would bring imbalance to the Universe, it should be his duty to destroy it."

"Is that what he told you about? Let me ask you... Is it that bad for people like us to just want to live and exist? All we wanted to do is to continue to live and exist in this world, without fearing anything such as death and destruction at all. The God of Destruction knows nothing about that desire, he only knows how to destroy, and he doesn't care about anything but to do his sacred duty. That's why the people here are afraid of him and are in dire need of a savior who would protect them from him. Tell me, is it really fine with you that he destroys all those people you have seen while on this island?"

"..."

Bulma recalled the young man in the sushi restaurant.

"How about the others whom he destroyed in exchange for the contract they have made with him?"

Bulma remembered Himawari Maeda, Anaheim Brozis, Cayena Hale, and Miho Lim, and pictured several other beings whom she never met but she knew were only victims of their own miseries. In their dire need to be saved from their sufferings, they chose to make a contract with the God of Destruction.

"Vegeta said that destruction is the consequence they have to pay for bestowing destruction to others. The God of Destruction was merely heeding to their request and it was by their own choice and decision when they entered a contract with him or chose to associate themselves with him. Plus, I don't believe that you were only doing this for the sake of the people on this island. If what you just said is true, then why are you sacrificing their souls for your master and your selfish plan? You made them believe that it was all the God of Destruction's doing so they could put all the blame on him when it was you who was doing it all along! This is unforgivable! Vegeta will come for you and punish you for what you have done to everyone on this island!"

Jaki was caught off guard with that. He didn't expect for this girl to be that smart. Despite that, he did his best to remain in his calm composure.

"Really? And for your sake as well?" he asked.

"That has nothing to do with anything!" Bulma retorted.

The demon chuckled, "Hehehe... Such faith you have in him… But I can tell, you know, that you were trying hard to convince yourself to love someone like him. You believe that he is something like a lost, redeemable soul. You don't seem to completely agree with the way he does things, but you try to force yourself to accept whatever he feeds your feeble mind because you want to love him. You know that Vegeta's ways are downright cruel and merciless, right? You know you don't agree with the cruel reality he was making you believe."

"That's–!"

"–You know I am correct. We shouldn't blame him though. He is the God of Destruction after all and it was his job to bestow destruction upon whatever displeases him in this Universe. But then… I find it quite miserable and pitiful."

Bulma looked back at Jaki. What does he mean by that?

"The Gods of Destruction are pitiful, aren't they?" Jaki continued. "They have given up everything in their mortal lives just to gain the power of destruction, forever giving themselves into an eternity where they must always kill and destroy, and be cursed, feared, and hated by everyone. They aren't allowed to feel anything aside from their own anger, and are expected to be bound to their duties in order to keep the balance of their given Universe no matter what. I feel pity for them, and I'm sure that you feel the same way towards him. You feel bad about him, don't you? That's why you chose to love him, even though you know perfectly well that he cannot reciprocate your feelings."

Bulma lowered her eyes in shame. That was partly true. That's exactly what she initially thought about how she felt towards Vegeta. She decided to love him so he could become the person she loved the most in order to save her world from him because he threatened that if she doesn't make the contract, then Vegeta will destroy that one she loved the most. She decided to make Vegeta that person, so she could protect her sister from him, knowing full well that Vegeta won't be able to destroy himself and that she won't lose anything.

After everything that has happened between them, she eventually realized that her feelings toward him only grew, moreso upon learning more about him and experiencing his gentler, softer side.

She just knew that she was beginning to like the God of Destruction and was glad that she managed to soften him up after getting on his nerves for quite some time. And she eventually realized that after seeing that good side in him, she thought that perhaps, she was falling in-love with him too. That her 'love' which was supposed to be just a forced, desperate act to appease him and save this world from him was beginning to get real.

How did they get up to this point?

However, what Vegeta did earlier in the restaurant somehow shook her. At the knowledge of Rocky, Vanilla, Mocha, Braun, Mint, and Leiri being used as his 'fish bait' for the enemy and Hikari Ishida about to be killed or destroyed because he was suspecting that she was carrying some demon child in her womb… She thought it was just plain cruel.

No matter how many times Vegeta told her that this was reality and that this was a duty he must do and that she tried to understand, she realized that no matter how powerful he actually was, his power wasn't enough to change that cruel reality and he still had no other choice but to do his duties as a God of Destruction.

It feels like a never-ending cycle as he was tasked to maintain balance to the Universe whether he likes it or not.

An eternally cursed existence he will never escape from.

And that broke Bulma's heart. If only she has the power to break that cycle, she would want to save him from that fate. And to save everyone from the man she fell in-love with.

She recalled that time when Vegeta asked her that if he were to destroy the world, what was she going to do and she admitted that she wouldn't be able to do anything about it because of how utterly powerless she is against him.

While Bulma thought that it was only his hypothetical question at that time, now that she had given much thought about it, will she really be able to simply stand by his side and just watch him destroy everything she knew?

What happened in the restaurant proved that she won't be able to stand it and it frustrated her. Was she really this powerless and had to always depend on Vegeta to save or protect her everytime? When he destroys the world, would her feelings be enough to stop him? But what if due to her own weakness, she could become the reason why Vegeta would destroy the world again, just like how the Great Sage did after Genjo Samja's death or how Vegeta himself did after Bloomer died?

How was she going to stop him?

How was she going to save him and everyone?

Vegeta feared it happening too because of the threat of the Orochi and Bulma tried her best to reassure him that they will not let the past repeat itself on them. She could only encourage him by saying how stronger he had become and how different he was from back then. But how about her? How was she going to help him out? How can she help him prevent that doomed fate if she couldn't even defend herself from these gods, demons, and monsters? How was she going to protect herself from the creatures who would do whatever it takes to separate them if she was only an ordinary human who doesn't possess any superpowers at all?

I wish I could become strong enough for Vegeta and for everyone... I wish I can do something to protect them all from destruction itself. I wish I wasn't this weak. I want to become strong for him too, so I can save him and be with him forever.

"Hmph! I don't remember choosing this path just to be pitied by the likes of you!"

Bulma and Jaki turned their heads to where that comment with a deep, ice-cold tone came from. There they found Vegeta standing on the top of a rock formation. His ablazed magenta irises peering down on them with a menacing and piercing gaze.

It was only then that the both of them finally noticed the black cloak of clouds surrounding the sky above them and that the grass, plants and trees that surrounded them had succumb to lifelessness all due to the quiet, bristling indignation of an apoplectic God of Destruction.

"And for your information, I am different from the other Gods of Destruction," Vegeta continued, turning his profile to face them entirely so they could see his lividness more clearly. "There is a reason why I chose this path and I don't need pity coming from someone who wouldn't even understand."

Then Vegeta's lips stretched into a sinister smirk. His mauvish-crimson irises seemed to blaze even more as he allowed his mind to delve deep into his rage and his desire to destroy this bastard who dared to harm and endanger his chosen beloved's life. The power brought forth by the Secret of Self-Indulgence technique flowed through him as his body became inflamed with his menacing God of Destruction aura.

"But don't worry though, you are about to find out why soon enough."

The air that surrounded him began to vibrate even more as he let his suppressed wrath and nature as this Universe's feared destroyer deity emerge to the surface of his being.