The supernova's blinding light faded, leaving behind only empty space where the planet had once existed. Karnel floated motionless in the void, his golden aura flickering like a dying flame. The tremendous energy expenditure of his Ten Times Kamehameha had drained him completely, forcing him to drop out of his Super Saiyan form.
His black hair fell across his exhausted face as he slowly made his way through the starry darkness toward where Leila and Kibito waited among the floating debris.
"Karnel!" Leila's voice was filled with relief and joy. "You did it! We finally destroyed that terrible monster!"
But Karnel's expression remained grim as he surveyed the destruction. Something felt wrong. His enhanced senses, sharpened by years of divine training, detected no trace of Buu's malevolent energy signature, yet an nagging unease gnawed at him.
"Wait," Kibito said, suddenly remembering something crucial. "What about the magician? Bibidi was still on one of those floating continental fragments!"
Leila's eyes widened with realization. She quickly scanned the debris field until she spotted a familiar figure clinging desperately to a chunk of rock. With swift movements, she grabbed the cowering Bibidi and hauled him before the group.
"You evil sorcerer," she snarled, her grip tightening around his throat. "To prevent you from ever creating such a abomination again, you must die!"
Bibidi's short, wizened form trembled in her grasp as he begged pathetically, "Please! Don't kill me! I can be useful! I can—"
"You've caused enough suffering!" Kibito interrupted, energy crackling around his raised hand. "Die, you monster!"
"Buu!" Bibidi suddenly screamed into the void, his voice cracking with terror. "Save your master! They're going to kill me!"
Leila's expression twisted with contempt. "Scream all you want, magician. Your precious creation has been vaporized. Nothing remains but cosmic dust." She raised her finger, energy coalescing at the tip as she prepared to execute the evil wizard.
That's when Karnel's divine awareness suddenly flared with alarm.
"I sense an High-intensity energy!" he shouted, his face going pale with shock. "Everyone get back! He's not dead!"
FWOOSH!
A brilliant pink beam of energy materialized from seemingly nowhere, punching a fist-sized hole clean through Leila's abdomen before anyone could react.
"LEILA!" Kibito's anguished cry echoed through space as blood poured from the Supreme Kai's wound, her white robes turning crimson.
While everyone stared in horror, Buu's form materialized from the void, battered, smoking, with dozens of holes in his pink flesh that leaked white steam, but undeniably alive. He snatched Bibidi from Leila's failing grip and retreated several hundred meters, his red eyes blazing with murderous fury.
"I... I can't..." Leila gasped, her hands pressed against the gaping wound as her strength ebbed away.
"Don't speak," Karnel said gently, catching her falling form. "Here, eat this." He pressed a Senzu Bean between her lips, supporting her head as she swallowed.
Within seconds, the hole in her abdomen sealed completely, her strength returning in full. Leila stared down at her unmarked skin in amazement.
"That's a Senzu Bean," Karnel explained with a tired smile. "It can instantly heal any injury and restore your energy, though it comes at a hidden cost we can't afford to abuse."
"Leila, thank the gods you're alive," Kibito said, tears streaming down his face. "If you had died too... I couldn't have borne losing another friend."
Karnel's fists clenched as he glared at the floating Buu. "This creature is beyond difficult to deal with. Even a planetary explosion couldn't destroy him."
The truth was becoming painfully clear. While Buu's power level wasn't overwhelmingly superior to Karnel's, his regenerative abilities made him virtually immortal. Unless someone could completely obliterate every single cell in one devastating attack, Buu would simply recover and continue fighting until his opponent collapsed from exhaustion.
"What can we possibly do?" Kibito asked desperately. "Even if the Grand Supreme Kai himself came, could he defeat this monster?"
Leila's eyes blazed with determination. "Karnel, I've recovered my full strength. Let me fight alongside you. Even if I have to sacrifice my life like Todd did, we have to find a way to destroy this abomination!"
"No," Karnel shook his head firmly. "It's useless. Even if you managed to restrain him through self-sacrifice, my current power isn't enough to completely annihilate him. We need a different strategy."
Suddenly, Buu's muscles bulged with renewed fury. The near-death experience had pushed his rage to new heights, and he launched himself at the group with reckless abandon.
"He's coming! Scatter!" Karnel shouted.
But before Buu could reach them, a brilliant flash of steel cut through space itself.
SLASH!
Buu's body was severed cleanly in half, both pieces spinning away into the void. Standing between them and their attacker was a figure they had never expected to see.
"Grand Supreme Kai!" Leila gasped in relief and surprise.
The Grand Supreme Kai was shorter and rounder than the other Kais, with a gentle face that belied the incredible power radiating from his compact form. In his hands gleamed an ancient weapon that pulsed with divine energy.
"Forgive my lateness," he said with deep regret. "I was in deep meditation and didn't sense the disturbance until it was almost too late. When I realized what was happening, I brought the Z-Sword from our sacred vault."
The sight of their leader caused Leila's composure to finally crumble. "Grand Supreme Kai... Todd and Barro are dead. They died trying to protect the universe."
"Their sacrifice honors the title of Supreme Kai," he replied solemnly. "They fulfilled their sacred duty. The universe will remember their courage."
Kibito wiped his eyes silently, overwhelmed by grief and the weight of their losses.
"Grand Supreme Kai, be careful," Karnel warned urgently. "Buu's regeneration is unlike anything we've ever encountered."
As if summoned by his words, the two halves of Buu's body began stretching toward each other like living rubber. Within moments, he had reformed completely, his terrifying grin wider than ever as he faced the newcomer.
"Even the Z-Sword cannot inflict permanent damage," the Grand Supreme Kai observed with growing alarm. "His healing power transcends the physical realm."
Buu had endured enough. The planet's explosion, the constant battling, the humiliation of being cut in half, his rage had reached a boiling point. Without warning, he launched himself at the Grand Supreme Kai with every ounce of his considerable power.
"The Grand Supreme Kai is strong, but he's weaker than I am right now," Karnel analyzed grimly. "He won't last long against Buu fighting at full strength."
The prediction proved accurate. Despite his divine weapon and techniques, the Grand Supreme Kai was soon overwhelmed by Buu's relentless assault. A devastating blow to his rotund midsection left him doubled over in agony, and Buu immediately capitalized by stretching his body into a binding coil that wrapped around the helpless Kai.
The tentacle on Buu's head began to glow with that familiar, terrifying light.
"No!" Leila screamed, recognizing the technique that had claimed Barro's life.
The Grand Supreme Kai struggled against the magical transformation, his divine power providing more resistance than Buu's previous victims. But it was only delaying the inevitable.
"Karnel!" he called out desperately as the magic began to take hold. "You must return to the Kai realm! Find the Super Dragon Balls! They're our only hope of stopping this evil permanently!"
POOF!
A small puff of smoke rose as the Grand Supreme Kai was transformed into candy and promptly devoured.
The absorption caused immediate changes in Buu's form. His savage features softened slightly, becoming rounder and more childlike, while his overall size decreased. The Grand Supreme Kai's benevolent nature was now mixed with Buu's pure evil, creating something far more unpredictable and dangerous.
The survivors floated in stunned silence, watching as their last hope disappeared into the belly of the beast.