Chapter 204: Dragon Soars
Within the ragged tear of broken space, Goku drifted—one arm shattered, a foot blown apart, his entire body charred black. His aura was perilously faint; his flesh was on the verge of collapse.
He stared coldly at the figure in the void. Killing intent rolled off him like frost. That divine punitive thunder had nearly erased him—hatred surged to the extreme.
'Damn it. I'm still not strong enough.'
The thought flashed through him, and the hunger to grow stronger only burned brighter. He shot the Sovereign a hard look. With a twist of will, a seven-colored portal unfolded before him, and he dove into it.
"Hmph. why even weaker creatures thinks they can run from me?"
The Sovereign snorted. Having struck first, he had already set a death-feud between them; he would not allow Goku to escape. A time bomb like this could not be left at large—he understood all too well how terrifying Goku's growth rate was. In truth, Goku posed an even greater long-term threat than Yuanmie.
Divine power flowed through the Sovereign's palm, vast and unfathomable. He slammed down with a single strike. Space perished; the universe unraveled. The blow crashed against the vanishing dimensional gate—
Boom!
Thunder rolled through the void. Under that one dreadful strike, this slice of reality collapsed. The portal exploded to fragments under the wave of light. A scream rang out; blood sprayed from within.
The universe split; space was ruined—yet a strange ripple spilled from the Sovereign's hand. The collapsing cosmos froze, then time reversed. In a blink, all returned to its beginning.
Gazing at the place where the portal had shattered, the Sovereign frowned slightly. His figure faded, but a low murmur drifted across the void: "That was… dimensional power. It seems this isn't over."
---
Drenched in prismatic light and crossed by lightning, the dimensional corridor streaked past at impossible speed.
Goku floated within it, body drenched in blood; half of him had been blasted away, flesh a ruin.
He had survived the Sovereign's final blow—but barely. The high law embedded in the strike continued to ravage him from within. His "immortal body," so often invincible, failed here; the Sovereign's rule-power was not something a mere dragon's wish could negate.
"Damn… I underestimated how terrifying that universe's Sovereign is. I couldn't even take a single exchange. Thank heaven this gate still held—otherwise I'd be finished."
He popped a senzu bean—but the wounds didn't knit. The pain dulled, his life stabilized, yet the damage remained. He opened the God eye; even his divine radiance barely helped.
Unless he purged the residue of that rule-power, he wouldn't recover anytime soon.
"So this is what high-tier law feels like… I'll have to grind it down with my own."
"Heh heh… Found you, Goku."
A towering figure stepped into the corridor. Goku's face changed. "Yuanmie?! How did you get in here?"
"I'm the Evil of the Dimensions. I can move freely between universes," Yuanmie said, standing proud in the passage. He smiled thinly. "Looks like you're badly hurt. Hand over the dimensional power lingering in your body, and perhaps I'll consider letting you live."
"Dimensional power? You mean the force that lets me open dimensional gates?"l
"That's the one—divine energy left by the Dimensional God who sealed me. Once I absorb it, I'll recover most of my strength in an instant," Yuanmie said bluntly.
"So even a Dimensional God is part of this now? Interesting." Goku's eyes cooled. "But if it matters that much to you… why would I give it to you?"
"In front of me, you don't have a choice."
Contempt flickered in Yuanmie's gaze. He hadn't feared Goku at full power—why would he fear him half-dead?
"That look is really irritating." Goku's voice was flat. "I've fought hundreds of battles and never truly lost. I didn't expect to fall this hard today… but this will be the only time. Goodbye. Next we meet—whether it's you or the Sovereign—I'll erase you."
Seven-colored radiance erupted from him, a terrifying wave rippling outward as the corridor itself began to crack like glass.
Yuanmie's face tightened. "Dimensional collapse?! That's the dimensional power—damn you. You'd destroy the entire sector? Madman!"
His roar was swallowed as the passage detonated. A storm of spatial turbulence surged forth, engulfing them both. That pocket of reality fell into silence and returned to nothingness.
---
The desert stretched to the horizon. Sand-laden winds howled. The sun scorched the dunes until they burned beneath the feet. A breathtakingly beautiful girl moved beneath that brutal glare, leaving a wavering trail of footprints that the wind strove to erase.
She wore a beaded headscarf and richly patterned garments of a distant land. A crisp, practical short outfit and a high, neat ponytail gave her a clean, forthright air. Her deep black eyes were bright and lively—one glance was hard to forget.
"According to the goddess's instructions… it should be this way."
She ran lightly across the rolling sands. The shifting ground barely slowed her.
"Huh? What's that…"
She halted, frowning at a shape partway down a sandy slope, then hurried toward it.
"So badly hurt… and still alive?"
She lifted the man from the sand. Wounds crisscrossed his body—his robe was torn to rags, dried blood caked over flesh that looked as if it had endured a thousand cuts. Terrifying to see.
By rights, a body torn like this—if not killed outright—should have bled out long ago. Yet his chest rose and fell faintly. He lived.
The girl formed a quick hand seal. Gentle light gathered over her palms and flowed across his wounds—then her brows knit.
"No effect? What in the world injured him?"
Hesitating, her nature wouldn't allow her to leave him. She tore a strip from her hem, bound the worst gashes, and with effort hoisted him, trudging toward the far edge of the desert.
Alone, she had danced over the dunes with ease. With a motionless burden, every step was a battle.
The sun pounded down like a furnace. Sweat soaked her clothes, but she clenched her teeth and refused to stop.
By sunset, the golden sea still stretched without end.
A low roar rose. The earth seemed to shiver. Far off, the sky darkened as a wall of sand climbed to the Sky—a devouring column racing their way.
Her face blanched. In the desert, this was the reaper: a heaven-piercing sand tornado that even the sky might not withstand.
She dragged him to the lee of a sandy ridge and huddled there, praying the column wouldn't pass directly over them.
Fate was unkind. As if sentient, the funnel curved toward them. Wind screamed; sand scoured the air; even keeping one's eyes open was impossible. The cyclone howled like a blade, promising to rend everything.
Terror struck her heart. The man she gripped was torn skyward first; a heartbeat later her own feet left the ground, and she vanished into the raging sand.
Her small body spun violently. Her clothes shredded in strips, carving bloody lines across her pale skin.
"Mm… Where am I? Still trapped in a space-time storm?"
The stabbing pain dragged Goku toward consciousness. The world reeled—he was whirling in a raging column. But—
"This 'storm' is weak."
He swept a hand. A crushing surge of force billowed out—no grand collision, just irresistible pressure. The towering sand funnel scattered to nothing.
He blinked at the endless dunes, then looked up, sensing something—and a shadow dropped from the sky.
The cloth torn from her hem matched the bandage around his arm.
"So she saved me…?"
He raised both arms and caught the falling figure.
Her face was exquisite; her foreign dress, striking. Goku stared for a beat. "I've seen you somewhere…"
A spike of pain lanced through him and forced a hiss between his teeth, breaking the thought.
"P-put me down…"
Her voice was soft and musical, her cheeks flushing. It was the first time she'd been carried like this.
"Ah—sorry."
He set her down gently through the pain. Goku's womens were all peerless beauties; he didn't lose himself easily.
"Mm—"
She winced as she found her feet. The cyclone had cut her badly; cracks and bloody slashes marred her arms and legs. Only now did Goku notice her clothes were ripped open in strips, baring smooth, reddened skin—disconcertingly alluring.
"What are you looking at…?"
His gaze made her blush hotter. Flustered, she slapped out with her palm.
"Argh—!"
Agony flared; his knees buckled and he collapsed into the sand.
"I—I'm sorry! I forgot you were still injured!"
She knelt and helped him up, eyes worried. "Are you all right?"
"If you'd hit any harder, this wreck of a body would've fallen to pieces," he said with a wry smile. His wounds were so grave that, immortal or not, an ordinary man would have died ten times over.
"What kind of monster did this to you…? It's a miracle you're alive at all."
She looked over the lattice of wounds, a chill running through her.
___
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