Chapter 205: A New Form, A New Magic
Up in mid-air, Demigra wore an expression of contempt and swung his arm without a word.
"…Uh, why are you guys suddenly getting all sentimental?" Lin Qi looked increasingly annoyed, his expression scrunched up like that grandpa on the subway squinting at his phone.
Sure, Demigra had now converted all his energy into divine power, and that grotesque form of his did indeed conceal an extraordinary level of power.
But Lin Qi—hadn't he yet to use his true strength? Why was everyone already giving up?
Aside from the puzzled Lin Qi, Demigra had swung his arm to check his own injuries.
Though his life had been preserved thanks to his new form, he'd still sustained an injury to his arm—even if it was just a minor graze.
Demigra frowned at the wound, a mix of disdain and irritation on his face. He knew he had to get serious.
"Haaahhhh—!!"
The more Demigra thought about it, the angrier he became. Roaring, his aura surged upward, and as the energy flared, he looked down at Lin Qi with scorn.
"I'm sure you've felt it—my power. You can't possibly defeat me… I'm stronger than Mechikabura now!"
"Keep bragging, Demigra. Just show me how powerful you really are!"
Lin Qi used Instant Transmission to appear mid-air, completely ignoring the despondent group on the ground. "Let's fight. Cut the crap."
"This time, I won't be that foolish again!" As soon as he saw Lin Qi rise into the air, Demigra immediately leapt back to widen the distance.
With a wave of his hand, enormous stone hands burst from the ground, lunging at Lin Qi.
It was magic!
Lin Qi was caught in the grasp of the giant stone hands. Glancing at his restraints, he sneered, "Demigra, did I punch your brain loose?"
"Even if you're using magic, this kind of trick isn't going to work on me…"
With a burst of power, Lin Qi shattered the stone restraints outright—even though magic had reshaped them into hand-like forms.
But stone… is still just stone!
As chunks of rock rained down, Lin Qi casually dusted off the debris from his body, expression indifferent. "Looks like magic isn't all it's cracked up to be."
"Oh? Then how about this?!" Demigra wasn't discouraged in the slightest.
With another motion of his arm, the stone fragments Lin Qi had just blown apart reassembled into new massive hands that lunged for him again.
"Still the same useless stuff—no substance!" Lin Qi, once again trapped by the stone hands, spoke coldly.
With a forceful flex of his arms, he shattered the stone again.
Impatience flickered across Lin Qi's face. Gathering energy at his waist, he said, "If that's all you've got, then it's time for you to move on."
As the energy wave shot out, Demigra was forced to dodge in a panic—only for Lin Qi to suddenly appear in front of him.
A punch charged with overwhelming force landed straight in Demigra's abdomen, and Lin Qi frowned.
"Something's off…" Lin Qi retracted his fist, staring in confusion at Demigra, who had simply doubled over in pain like a cooked shrimp.
Given the force behind that punch, Demigra should've been sent flying.
But the moment Lin Qi made contact with his body… it was like his fist turned soft and powerless?!
There was no damage at all!
Frowning, Lin Qi rapidly threw several more punches—each one stronger than the last.
But just like before, his power vanished inexplicably each time!
"What the hell…"
Lin Qi couldn't make sense of it—but Chronoa had spotted the problem. She cried out urgently, "Lin Qi! That guy absorbed your energy when you struck him!"
"Don't get close to him! Back off immediately, or he'll drain you dry!"
"Drain me?" Catching the sly smile on Demigra's face, Lin Qi quickly leapt back. "What is this, are you some kind of android…?"
"Busybody," Demigra muttered irritably as his gaze flicked toward Chronoa. "Tch. And here I thought he hadn't noticed."
"Is this magic?" Lin Qi narrowed his eyes at Demigra, his tone icy. "Hmph… didn't expect something like this!"
He recalled Trunks mentioning that Demigra could absorb negative scrolls. This guy must have some method to absorb energy too!
"Lin Qi, he's trying to provoke you—he must need physical contact to absorb your energy!"
Hearing Chronoa's warning, Demigra no longer bothered to hide it. "You must be running low on energy, aren't you?"
"Haaah!"
Demigra let out a sharp shout, and his aura flared once again. Clearly, he was converting the energy he'd just stolen from Lin Qi into his own strength.
"Hmm…" Lin Qi looked at his hands. "No doubt, I've lost a lot of energy."
While Lin Qi was checking himself, Demigra made his move. He rushed forward, hand outstretched, aiming straight for Lin Qi's head.
"So you need physical contact to absorb energy?" Lin Qi smirked coldly at the monstrous claws reaching for him. "You really are trying to drain me, huh?"
He lashed out with a kick, knocking Demigra's hand aside—but even that brief touch caused more of his energy to vanish. Demigra burst into triumphant laughter.
"Ahahaha… Yes, this ability only works through contact. So now—how are you going to fight me?!"
"That guy's absorption isn't like the androids'. He can directly convert what he absorbs into his own power…" Time Patrol Vegeta growled through gritted teeth.
"Damn it, how despicable… using others' energy to make yourself stronger!" Time Patrol Goku added furiously.
Demigra didn't care in the slightest. He grinned smugly. "Say whatever you want. You'll all be dead soon anyway!"
"Oh yeah?" Lin Qi seemed completely unfazed. He fired off a barrage of energy blasts around himself and Demigra.
As the blasts exploded, smoke engulfed the battlefield, hiding both figures from view.
Boom!
Inside the smoke, Lin Qi silently appeared behind Demigra. Before the latter could react, Lin Qi delivered a vicious kick.
Demigra stumbled from the blow, and by the time he recovered—Lin Qi had vanished again.
"You can absorb energy—so what? If you can't react in time, that ability's useless!" Lin Qi's voice echoed from all directions around Demigra.
Surrounded by the disembodied voice, Demigra clenched his fists. "Damn that guy…"
"You can't find me, but I can clearly sense your divine energy!!"
With those words, Lin Qi suddenly burst from the smoke—launching a point-blank energy blast straight at Demigra's face.