Up on the throne, a tiny, stubby little hand rose high into the air.
"In that case, you can disappear now…"
"Wait a moment!"
Levos stepped out in a hurry.
"Mm?"
The small hand froze midair.
"I would like to ask," Levos said, "why does Universe 7 have to be erased?"
Zeno's anger could have come from the fact that both Universe 7 and Universe 10's Gods of Destruction had died one after another.
But right now Beerus was alive again, standing here perfectly fine.
Why erase Universe 7 without even giving them a chance to explain?
The little hand slowly curled back. That unbelievably simple, innocent-looking face turned toward Levos.
The being who filled all the gods with unspeakable terror was, to mortals' eyes, just a tiny, vacant-faced child.
Zeno spoke slowly.
"Because the gods of Universe 7 did not do their job properly. They were lazy."
Hearing this, Beerus and Supreme Kai Shin almost flattened themselves against the floor.
Cold sweat poured off them. Neither could squeeze out a single word in their own defense.
At that moment, Whis lifted his head.
"Omni-King, if I may… Lord Beerus has actually been doing a decent job lately. And Lord Shin is a very diligent Supreme Kai."
"Really?" The Grand Priest narrowed his eyes slightly. "Whis, are you not the one who often complains that Lord Beerus never does anything proper, and prefers sleeping and eating to his duties as a God of Destruction?"
Beerus's eyes bulged as round as copper bells. Sweat streamed down his cheeks.
He deflated like a punctured balloon, collapsing on the floor in despair.
Whis's expression stiffened for a heartbeat. Then he immediately composed himself.
"That was quite a long time ago," he said solemnly. "These days, whenever Lord Beerus sleeps, he sets hundreds of alarm clocks. He is working very hard to fix his habit of oversleeping."
"And in order to resist the temptation of gourmet food, he even gave a planet renowned for its cuisine away to someone else."
Beerus, sprawled on the ground, stared at Whis in disbelief.
"Is that true?" Zeno asked curiously.
Beerus nodded at once.
"Yes, Omni-King. Everything Whis said is true."
"Oh?" The Grand Priest's gaze slid past Whis and swept over the people of Universe 6.
Champa stared at the floor, not daring to meet his eyes.
Whis, on the other hand, looked perfectly calm.
"Lord Champa can testify to this," Whis added.
Champa jolted, but could only grit his teeth and admit, "I did receive a gourmet planet from Beerus. But… the formal transfer is not fully complete yet…"
"I will tentatively believe you," the Grand Priest said with a mild smile.
Champa and Beerus wiped the sweat from their faces in unison.
"So, should we have the Omni-King wait," the Grand Priest added lightly, "until you two finish transferring the planet?"
There was something in his tone. A hint of meaning tucked between the words.
The twin brothers, who had just managed to relax, tensed right back up.
"This…" Beerus hesitated, at a loss for how to answer.
Was Universe 7's destruction already decided? Was there nothing left but to accept that fate?
At that moment, Levos's voice rang out again.
"Omni-King, I don't think erasing entire universes is a fair punishment."
"In fact, it might not even serve as a warning to the other gods. If anything, when they make mistakes, they might try to frame others to protect themselves."
"I believe your original intention is to make each universe develop better, not to wipe them out completely."
The Grand Priest glanced at him with real interest.
"So what you are suggesting," he said, "is that the Omni-King punish only the gods who failed to do their jobs?"
Levos's heart skipped.
"In truth… the gods of Universe 7 have been relatively responsible," he said carefully. "It would be better to let them continue to manage the lower realms."
The Grand Priest smiled faintly.
"I understand what you mean. Whoever makes the mistake should bear the punishment alone, without dragging the innocent down with them. That sounds very reasonable."
"However, the Omni-King is the master of all things. He can change the fate of every universe at will. In the end, everything depends on his will."
He paused, then turned back toward the throne and bowed slightly.
"Omni-King, what do you think?"
Zeno's little face scrunched up in distress.
"This kind of thing is really complicated," he complained.
"The Omni-King means," the Grand Priest explained, "that judging each god's rights and wrongs one by one would be too time-consuming, and managing it all would be very troublesome."
"Mm! Managing it is very troublesome," Zeno agreed, nodding seriously.
Levos felt a headache coming on.
Zeno might be cute, but his way of doing things was impossible to predict.
Whether in body or in mind, he looked entirely like a little kid.
Yet the Grand Priest, the chief of all angels, always asked for his opinion in that same serious, meticulous tone.
Levos could not help wondering: was Zeno playing dumb, or was the Grand Priest using Zeno's name to steer things however he liked?
Either way, he could not see through the true relationship or intentions of those two.
So he could only let Goku take the stage.
Levos immediately sent him a telepathic message.
Goku responded with a firm look, then strode toward the throne without hesitation.
"Hey, Omni-King."
Swish.
Before he could get close, two tall, stick-thin figures flashed into place, blocking Goku's path.
He sucked in a sharp breath.
"Not even allowed to say a couple of words?" he muttered.
The two Zeno guards shook their heads, unyielding.
The air went stiff.
Beerus's heart shot up into his throat.
"Hey, you!" he barked. "You think just anyone can walk up and talk to the Omni-King?"
The other Gods of Destruction realized this was a chance to show their reverence in front of Zeno.
"To stand before the Omni-King with such disrespect!"
"A mere mortal with no sense of decorum. Kneel!"
"Heh. Typical of someone from Universe 7. No reverence at all. No wonder they are first in line to be erased."
Universe 9's Supreme Kai, Roh, joined in the chorus.
His eyes swept over Levos and Goku with open disdain.
"Humans of Universe 7," he sneered, "you would be better off accepting your destined annihilation quietly."
Levos's gaze flicked over to him.
The Potara earrings Roh wore were a deep red.
His personality was completely different from the other Supreme Kais: insidious, petty, calculating.
In the anime's original timeline, during the exhibition match between Universes 7 and 9, he had mocked Universe 7 relentlessly.
On the eve of the Tournament of Power, he had even joined with Universe 9's God of Destruction, Sidra, to plot Frieza's assassination.
Now, here he was, in front of all the gods, spewing venom at Goku again.
Levos rubbed his chin.
If he remembered correctly, the universe with the lowest level of mortal development… was Universe 9.
Even worse than Universe 7.
Facing Roh's ridicule, Levos just chuckled softly.
Then he walked to stand at Goku's side and said, almost casually,
"Oh, right, I forgot to mention something. In other timelines, Mr. Goku is actually a very good friend of the Omni-King."
"Hmm?!"
The entire hall fell completely silent.
Every god's eyes went wide.
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