Demigra was genuinely rattled now. The power he'd been so proud of—power accumulated over seventy-five million years—seemed utterly vulnerable before the God of Destruction. To think he'd actually planned to use Beerus as a puppet to rule the multiverse! What a joke.
At least the God of Destruction showed no interest in fighting him personally. That small mercy allowed Demigra to breathe easier, even if just for a moment.
As for Raditz's bold tone? Demigra didn't take him seriously at all. Since ancient times, the Supreme Kais had never been true warriors—their power couldn't compare to fighters on the real stage of combat. The demon god naturally looked down on them with contempt. Despite Towa's repeated warnings about Raditz's exceptional strength, Demigra remained convinced the Saiyan Supreme Kai was nothing to fear.
His mind was already working on escape plans. Retreat now, regroup, then strike when the circumstances were more favorable.
"My barrier should be able to trap them for a while," Demigra said, turning to Towa. "Let's retreat and reassess."
When Towa heard the Demon God suggest withdrawal, her tightly wound heart finally relaxed. Honestly, she had no desire to face the Supreme Kai of Time, Raditz, those monstrous Saiyans, and a God of Destruction all at the same time.
"Farewell! Next time will be your death day!" Demon God Demigra reopened his space-time vortex, preparing to flee the Capital of Time. Before departing, he couldn't resist one final threat, trying to save face.
"There won't be a next time." In an instant, Raditz materialized directly in front of Demigra, blocking his escape route. He snapped his fingers casually. "Mr. Whis, if you would?"
"Whis!" Beerus nodded his approval.
"Haha, let's create a suitable arena for them. This should be entertaining." Whis smiled gracefully and tapped his staff against the ground. The bottom of the scepter touched the stone, and layers of rippling waves spread outward. A holy white light circle exploded across the Time Nest with a resonant hum.
The blood-red sky was purified in an instant. The entire world became crystal clear as the oppressive darkness lifted. The space-time vortex Demigra had prepared dissipated completely, scattered like smoke in the wind. The sacred aura generated an entirely new dimensional space, one that enveloped both Demigra and Raditz within its boundaries. The pocket dimension hung high in the air above the Time Nest—a perfect arena.
Through the glass-like curtain wall, everyone below could see clearly into the space Whis had created.
"This... this is..." The assembled warriors stared at the scene in disbelief, marveling at Whis's terrifying abilities. Even Demigra's eyes nearly popped from their sockets, his expression shifting through a dozen emotions in seconds.
The dimensional space surrounded him completely. Escape was now impossible—the walls were absolute.
Towa, isolated outside the barrier, panicked as her previous elegance and composure shattered. She'd made a critical miscalculation. There was nothing in this universe that could overcome absolute power! Nothing!
"Mr. Whis, my brother—" Son Goku started to voice his concern.
"This is Raditz's own request," Whis replied with that knowing smile. "He specifically wanted to confront Demigra head-on."
Vegeta snorted coldly. "No wonder he came here! Though I could handle that kind of opponent myself."
"That's not necessarily true," Beerus interjected suddenly, his gaze shifting to both Goku and Vegeta. "From that brief contest just now, I could tell Raditz's strength surpasses both of yours. That demon god Demigra appears simple on the surface, but there's depth to his power. Your current strength might not be sufficient."
Beerus's blunt assessment silenced Vegeta immediately. After all, they really had been thoroughly beaten just moments ago. And who knew if Beerus had even taken them seriously? How much of his true power had he actually used?
Regardless of what Son Goku and Vegeta were thinking, everyone in the Capital of Time focused their attention on the barrier floating in the sky.
"Supreme Kai, I didn't expect you to genuinely want to fight me. You've vastly overestimated your own strength." Seeing that only he and Raditz occupied the barrier, Demigra found a glimmer of hope amidst his doubts.
If Raditz was his only opponent, he still had a chance! Finding hope in what had seemed like certain doom, Demigra's eyes lit up with renewed confidence.
"Hmph. Is your perception truly that warped?" Raditz smiled coldly. "I think you're too bloated with ego—you haven't seen yourself clearly from beginning to end. Pathetic demon."
Raditz had been measuring the gap between himself and Demigra throughout their encounter. His conclusion? They were roughly equal in power. Before meeting the demon god, he'd heard Towa constantly boasting about Demigra's might, while Chronoa had trembled in fear at the mere mention of his name. Those reactions had made Raditz expect something far more formidable. But once Beerus engaged—even playfully—Raditz could clearly read Demigra's level. Just like himself, the demon god was hovering at the preparatory threshold of true divine power.
He could handle this.
Without further words, the crimson flames surrounding Raditz's body erupted suddenly, like a volcano unleashing its fury. His red hair whipped wildly in the energy storm. In a flash, Raditz's figure vanished, launching his attack.
"There!" Demigra snorted coldly, extending one hand. The open palm appeared to have no strength behind it, yet it carried the weight of a thousand mountains. He swung out confidently toward what seemed like empty space.
Swish!
Raditz's fist shadow was intercepted by Demigra—however, the demon god's palm passed straight through!
It wasn't Raditz's real body, but a ki clone! Raditz, having achieved Super Saiyan God, no longer possessed the ki signature of a mortal. Yet he could still utilize the secret techniques of the Yardrat, creating breath duplicates to confuse his enemies.
Demigra realized his mistake, but he was a split second too late.
In that critical second, Raditz's iron-hard fist slammed into his body. The massive force exploded on impact—like the energy of an entire planet detonating instantly. BANG! Demigra's robes tore open as he was sent hurtling backward.
"How is this possible..."
Before he could finish the thought, Raditz pressed his advantage, charging in again with relentless aggression.
This time, multiple clones materialized simultaneously, attacking from different angles. They moved like genuine phantoms, each one seemingly real, overwhelming Demigra's senses.
"Damn it! I can't tell which one is real!" he shouted with growing frustration. The bone staff in his hand began emitting violent energy fluctuations.
"Then I'll destroy them all!"
With a thunderous roar, dark black flames hidden within the red light erupted with ferocious intensity. A powerful evil aura permeated the entire dimensional space. Layer upon layer of oppressive force spread outward as majestic destructive energy oscillated in waves.
Raditz's clones dissipated under Demigra's indiscriminate assault—but the real Raditz pushed forward undeterred. Like a crimson arrow shot from a divine bow, he drove straight toward Demigra's heart.
BANG!
Demigra had no time to guard against the strike. Raditz's fist connected solidly once again, sending the demon god reeling backward with sharp pain lancing through his chest.
His face darkened with both pain and confusion.
That dark energy wave just now had been an area-of-effect attack—both the clones and the real body should have been damaged equally. Yet Raditz had broken through the suppression of those layered energy barriers, his speed completely undiminished as he delivered that devastating blow.
This... this was simply impossible!
"You... are you really a Supreme Kai?" Demigra stared at Raditz with fierce intensity, his voice tinged with genuine bewilderment.
"So what if I am?" Raditz replied coldly, his crimson eyes burning with fighting spirit.
"Impossible. Impossible! There's no Supreme Kai with power like yours—your strength..." Demigra winced as pain shot through him again. If Raditz were merely fast, that would be one thing. But his techniques were bizarre, unpredictable. And his raw power was terrifyingly strong.
The force behind those two strikes had actually caused him genuine pain—something no Supreme Kai should be capable of! He'd rather believe Raditz was some secret disciple of a God of Destruction who'd stolen the Supreme Kai title.
Yet Raditz truly was a Supreme Kai, which made Demigra wonder if he'd been sealed in the cracks of space-time for far too long.
Had the world changed this drastically during his imprisonment?