In the sky, Whitley's figure had only just appeared near Broly, but the final beam struggle that would decide their victory had already entered its white-hot stage!
"HRAAAGH—!!!"
Veins bulged on Broly's forehead. He gritted his teeth so hard that trickles of blood seeped from the corners of his mouth.
His arms were bulging with muscle as he used every last ounce of strength to maintain the "Gigantic Meteor" in front of him, which was vibrating violently and emitting destructive waves.
However, his opponent, the fusion of divinity and madness, was pushing his pure-white "Calamity Cross." It glowed with an ominous light, carrying an oppressive aura that was steadily pushing Broly's "Gigantic Meteor" back. From a distance, the green light was being consumed by the white cross!
The massive white cross was about to completely pierce the green energy sphere and mercilessly strike the exhausted Broly, whose eyes now held a trace of unwillingness...
At that very last second!
Swoosh—!
A figure instantly appeared in front of Broly. His back, not particularly broad, nonetheless seemed capable of holding up the entire sky, shielding him from the suffocating, destructive energy.
It was Whitley!
An incredible light burst forth from Broly's eyes, which had been nearly filled with despair!
"Wh-Whitley-san!"
His lips moved, and he used all his strength to croak out the name, his voice filled with the joy of being saved.
But immediately, that joy was replaced by a deep sense of shame.
He lowered his head, his voice pained and suppressed:
"Sorry... I... let you down. I... still couldn't..."
Whitley didn't look back. He shook his head gently, his sharp gaze locking onto Zamasu, whose face was a mask of madness.
He slowly raised one arm, his palm open, aimed at the unstoppable Calamity Cross.
The next moment, a white-hot energy, so intense it seemed capable of melting stars, erupted in his palm like the awakening core of a sun!
"HAAAAA!!!!!!"
With a low roar from Whitley, that highly compressed ball of white light was thrust forward!
"WHITE FLASH!!!!!"
"VMMMMMMMM———————!!!!!"
A violent hum, seeming to tear eardrums, instantly swept across the world!
Under Zamasu's gaze, which turned from manic to horrified, the "White Flash" Whitley had launched instantly began to reverse-devour the massive Calamity Cross, moving at a speed that seemed slow but was utterly unstoppable!
Wherever the bright white light passed, the cross's energy, filled with chaotic divinity and the desire for destruction, melted like snow under a hot sun, and then... disintegrated!
"No! This is impossible!!!!"
Zamasu's eyes nearly bulged out of his head, his voice twisting in shock and rage.
"I am a GOD!!!! You lowly insect... How could you...!!"
"A god?"
Whitley finally spoke. His voice was calm but carried a soul-piercing mockery, his words cutting clearly through Zamasu's roar:
"These days, who isn't a god? Right? You, who parades around in Supreme Kai clothes, but are actually just... a... Su-preme... Kai... in... Train-ing... Lord Zamasu?"
"You...!!!"
Whitley's words were like the sharpest steel needles, precisely striking the one nerve Zamasu could not bear!
The color drained from his twisted, fused face, replaced by a furious, mortified rage at having his secret exposed!
That's right. When Zamasu had ambushed and killed his master, Gowasu, he hadn't yet completed the ceremony to become an official Supreme Kai. It was the eternal thorn in his heart!
"I'LL KILL YOU!!!!!"
This complete breakdown sent Zamasu into a hysterical frenzy. He desperately channeled all his remaining power, even overdrafting his body. The Calamity Cross flared, several times brighter, in a final, dying struggle!
However, reality was cruel.
The White Flash from Whitley's palm maintained its steady, determined pace!
No matter how hard Zamasu struggled, the white torrent continued to press forward, inch by inch, relentlessly crushing him!
The gap in their power was, at this moment, abundantly clear.
"No! Impossible! You... How can you be this strong?!!"
Watching his all-out counter-attack being effortlessly blocked and even pushed back, Zamasu's mind completely shattered.
His voice was filled with despair and incomprehension. In his mind, he had Broly's body with its limitless potential, and he had fused with his other self to gain even stronger god ki!
Even if he wasn't Whitley's equal, he should have at least been able to put up a fight!
How... How could even blocking be so difficult?!
Whitley looked at the other's devastated expression, a flash of pity in his eyes, but it was mostly a cold scrutiny.
"Zamasu! Did you think you could just steal someone else's body and take a shortcut to the top?"
He spoke slowly, each word a hammer blow to Zamasu's psyche.
"Did you think that by fusing with your other self, by forcibly stuffing god ki into a vessel that isn't yours, you could become invincible? Did you really, naively, believe that this kind of power, gotten by theft and forcibly stitching things together... wouldn't come at a price?!!"
As if to prove his point, the moment Whitley finished speaking, Zamasu's massive, fused body began to twitch violently!
"GAAAAAAAHHHH—!!!!"
A piercing scream erupted from Zamasu's mouth!
His right arm instantly began to swell and twist as if being inflated, the skin turning a bizarre, deep purple. Half his body was losing its humanoid shape!
At the same time, his left cheek began to writhe and deform, the muscles bulging and knotting, becoming horrifically ugly!
The form he had barely managed to maintain was now rapidly degenerating into an indescribable monster!
"Look! This is your true form!"
Whitley's voice echoed in Zamasu's ears.
"Your mind can't handle the wildness of Broly's bloodline and the divinity of a Supreme Kai! Your soul is unworthy of this body! A twisted, ugly thing like you, who can't even maintain his own form, still has the nerve to call himself a god?! You're just a pitiful wretch, consumed by a power you can't control!!!"
Zamasu looked down at his enormous, grotesque purple right arm. He reached up with his normal left hand to touch his distorted left cheek, feeling the uneven, monstrous texture. His pupils contracted.
His mouth opened, but no more arrogant words came out, only a meaningless "Heh... heh..." sound.
Whitley's words were a mirror, reflecting the deepest, most twisted and ugly parts of his heart, with nowhere to hide.
"Forget it."
Whitley shook his head, seeming to lose interest in the conversation.
"Talking to a small-minded guy like you, who only knows how to steal the achievements of others, is pointless. You think what you stole is yours... You don't deserve to be called a warrior. You don't even deserve to be called a complete being!"
His eyes hardened. The White Flash in his palm, which had been at a steady output, suddenly became blindingly bright as its energy level skyrocketed again!
"Broly!"
Whitley shouted without turning.
"Can you still move? Let's go together. Give this thief, who takes what he hasn't earned, his final end!!!"
Broly, who had been listless from exhaustion and shame, snapped his head up at Whitley's call.
Seeing Zamasu's ugly, twisted form, and hearing the trust and encouragement in Whitley's voice, the fire in his eyes re-ignited!
"Yes! Whitley-san! HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"
An indomitable will supported Broly's exhausted body as he erupted with astonishing power once more!
Though not at his peak, the green aura burned stubbornly!
He slammed his arms together in front of his chest, pouring every last bit of his strength into them!
"GIANT!!! WAVE!!! METEOR!!!!!"
A green energy sphere, smaller than before but far more concentrated and intense, formed in front of him!
Opposite them, Zamasu, seeing their team-up and feeling the renewed pressure from Whitley's power, let out a final roar of primal instinct and mad obsession.
He no longer cared about his body's collapse, pouring all his chaotic, conflicting, and rampaging power into the Calamity Cross!
"JUST... BE GOOOOOONNNNEEE!!!!"
Miraculously, in that final, desperate overdraft, Zamasu's Calamity Cross, which was barely holding its shape, actually managed to briefly hold back Whitley's enhanced White Flash, even showing the faint possibility of pushing it back!
"Oh?"
Whitley raised an eyebrow, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
"I'll be. You thief... you've actually got some guts for a final stand?"
He wasn't flustered. He didn't even increase his own power output, just maintained his current strength, allowing Zamasu his final struggle.
He was waiting. Waiting for Broly to be ready.
The next few seconds felt like an eternity.
Whitley could clearly feel Broly's aura, which had been rampaging, now becoming restrained and calm in a strange way.
This was a sign of his improved control.
"Whitley-san!"
Broly's voice, though tired, was firm.
Whitley knew. It was time!
"Since you're ready, then..."
A sharp grin spread across Whitley's face.
"Let's end this in one go! Let's go, Broly!!!"
"WHITE!!!! FLASH!!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
The white light in Whitley's palm swelled, shining like an exploding supernova!
"YES! GIANT!!!! WAVE!!!! METEOR!!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
Broly thrust his arms forward. The green sphere, containing all his will and power, slammed like a comet into Whitley's white torrent!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!
The two vast, yet different, powers did not repel each other. Instead, under Whitley's masterful guidance, they merged perfectly!
White and green light spiraled together, instantly forming a white-green torrent of unimaginable diameter. Like a roaring divine dragon, it completely, devastatingly, annihilated Zamasu's Calamity Cross!
"NO!!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!!! I AM ZAMASU!!!! I AM THE SUPREME GOD!!!! HOW CAN I LOSE?!!!! I'LL NEVER ACCEPT IT!!!!!"
Zamasu's figure struggled violently within the destructive torrent, letting out a final, desperate, unwilling shriek.
His body began to disintegrate under the energy, his grotesque purple arm and twisted face turning to ash first.
"I am... the new world's... KAMI..."
In the end, only that fragmented ambition remained, before his voice was completely swallowed.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!
The white-green energy, after annihilating Zamasu, continued unabated, blasting through Earth's atmosphere and hurtling toward the deep solar system!
"Crap!!!"
Whitley's expression changed instantly.
He was so focused on finishing Zamasu that he had underestimated the lingering power of his and Broly's combined attack!
If that energy was allowed to rampage through the solar system, God knows how many planets... or even stars... it would destroy!
"Got a little carried away!"
In his haste, he swallowed his pride and shouted to the ground below:
"Marcarita!!! Help!!!"
On the ground, Marcarita, who had been pretending to leisurely sip her tea but had never taken her eyes off the battle, elegantly placed her cup back on the table.
She sighed in exasperation, though her eyes held a spark of eagerness.
"Hmph! What a troublemaker..."
She tapped the bottom of her staff lightly on the ravaged ground.
"Voom—"
An invisible, yet vast, ripple of space-time spread silently from the staff.
It passed over the mountains, over the oceans, through the atmosphere, until... it enveloped the entire solar system!
In an instant, it was as if someone had pressed the universe's pause button.
Flying debris froze in mid-air. Surging energy stopped fluctuating. The worried expression on Trunks's face was frozen. Dr. Hedo's open mouth could not close.
Even the white-green torrent, which had just left Earth, was frozen in its tracks, a static image against the black backdrop of space.
The entire world fell into a dead, monochrome silence.
Time had been artificially stopped.
In this realm of absolute stillness, only Marcarita, holding her staff, remained in full color and motion.
She pouted, her figure flickering and reappearing in the sky, standing right in front of the statue-like Whitley.
She tilted her head, studying his "energy-pushing" pose. She wrinkled her small, delicate nose, a smug, playful look on her face.
"Hmph! You brute, you only know how to use brute force when you fight, no restraint at all! Now you see the mess you've made, don't you?"
She flew a circle around Whitley, as if admiring an interesting piece of art.
"Now you see how useful I am, right? At the critical moment, I have to be the one to clean up your mess~"
As she spoke, she couldn't resist reaching out a slender finger to poke Whitley's cheek.
It was hard, and still warm from the battle.
Not satisfied, she playfully pinched his nose, watching his "helpless" state, and the corners of her mouth turned up.
After her little prank, she moved closer... and almost subconsciously, sniffed lightly at his neck.
"This guy's scent..."
She muttered to herself, an imperceptible flicker in her pink eyes.
"It's... not unpleasant..."
She glanced at the orb of her staff, which was flashing lightly, indicating the time remaining on the time-stop.
"Two minutes left... better clean up this mess..."
She looked at Whitley, who was right in front of her, and suddenly snapped to her senses.
'What am I doing?! With this annoying guy...'
A hot flush instantly flooded her cheeks. Marcarita leaped back like a startled rabbit, fumbling to straighten her perfectly fine clothes, taking deep breaths to calm her inexplicably fast heartbeat.
Just as she'd composed herself and raised her staff to unfreeze Whitley so they could deal with the energy blast...
Whitley's eyes, suddenly, and very slightly... blinked.
Marcarita: "!!!"
She froze completely, her staff poised in mid-air.
Her beautiful pink eyes went wide, staring in disbelief at Whitley's... which were full of exasperation, embarrassment, and even... a hint of teasing.
He... he wasn't frozen?!
He was awake this whole time?!
Then... her poking his face, pinching his nose, and leaning in to sniff...
He knew it all?!!
"BOOM—!"
It was as if fireworks exploded in Marcarita's head. She felt an indescribable heat rush from the soles of her feet to the top of her head!
Her flawless, exquisite face turned bright red, and in an instant, even the tips of her ears and her white neck were stained a deep, alluring crimson.
This time, she was well and truly beet-red.
"You!!!! You-you-you-you-you-you GUY!!!!!"
Marcarita pointed at Whitley, her voice trembling with pure, unadulterated mortification.
"You... you weren't frozen by the time stop?! You... you... you were pretending this whole time?!!"
Seeing that he couldn't fake it any longer, Whitley raised a hand and rubbed his nose, giving the fuming Angel an apologetic, yet thoroughly punchable, smile.
"Well... about that... I just forgot that I don't get frozen... You... believe me, right?"
He tried to bluff.
In truth, having cultivated Ultra Instinct to such a high level, his body and mind had long since achieved a state of autonomy that defied common sense.
He was extremely resistant to temporal interference.
If the Grand Priest himself had done it, he might have been frozen. But Marcarita's time-stop...
The effect on him was severely diminished. He had adapted and regained consciousness almost instantly.
"I... I'm not interested in a pervert like you!!! What just happened... what just happened! FORGET IT ALL!!! Immediately! Right now!!!"
Marcarita stomped her foot, shaking her small fist as she roared through gritted teeth.
She looked as if Whitley dared to say "no," she would pounce on him and bite him.
Whitley, seeing she was truly on the verge of exploding, quickly backed down, raising his hands in surrender.
"Alright, alright! I forgot! I didn't see anything, didn't feel anything. What just happened? I was just finishing off Zamasu."
He spouted deadpan nonsense, then quickly changed the subject.
"So... uh... my righteous, kind, beautiful, and powerful Ms. Marcarita... shouldn't we first deal with this... uh... tiny energy problem?"
"Hmph!"
Marcarita huffed, glaring at him, but let him off the hook for now.
She raised her staff and tapped the void again.
"Voom~"
The strange ripples spread out.
The frozen white-green torrent and all the stillness around it began to rewind.
The shattered cross reformed, the energy blasts flowed back into Whitley's and Broly's hands...
Under Marcarita's power, time was forcibly dialed back to the instant just before their attack hit Zamasu.
"Honestly, control your power! If you're this reckless again, I'm not helping!"
The blush hadn't completely faded from her face as she threw those words at Whitley. Her figure flashed, reappearing on the ground by her table and chairs.
The moment she vanished, the flow of time returned to normal.
Whitley felt the power in his hands.
This time, he was ready. The moment the energy shot out, he skillfully retracted most of the power.
"NOOOOO—!!!"
Amidst Zamasu's final, despairing, and uncomprehending howl, the (now weaker) white-green torrent still easily engulfed and purified him, not even leaving a speck of dust behind.
This battle, which had lasted for days and nearly destroyed the continent, had finally, completely, come to an end.
...
Down below, Trunks, Dr. Hedo, and the others, who had been watching with their hearts in their throats, all let out a long, collective sigh of relief as Zamasu's figure vanished.
Their taut nerves finally relaxed, and the joy of survival filled their hearts.
Marcarita picked up her teacup again and took a seemingly calm sip.
As she did, the pale white barrier that had protected them all dissolved like a ripple in water.
The crisis was over. The protection was no longer needed.
Gamma 2, seeing the barrier vanish, immediately remembered.
He recalled his tactless words, calling this kind... (if a bit grumpy) Ms. Marcarita "auntie" and "grandma." He was filled with guilt.
She hadn't held it against him and had even protected them. He felt he had to apologize!
Otherwise, how could he call himself a hero of justice?!
He mustered his courage, walked over to Marcarita, stood bolt upright, and said sincerely:
"Um... Ms. Marcarita!"
Marcarita lazily lifted her eyes to glance at him.
2 immediately continued:
"For my rude words earlier, I offer you my most sincere apology! I am very sorry!"
He bowed deeply.
"Also, if you are tired from protecting us, please don't hesitate! We have spare rooms at our base. You and Whitley-san can go there and rest! Don't worry, I can give my room to Broly-san. You and Whitley-san can just share one room..."
Trunks, who had wanted to stop 2 from the first sentence, heard the part about the room arrangement and just slapped his palm to his forehead, wailing internally:
"It's over!"
Hearing Gamma 2's words, Marcarita's tea-sipping motion froze.
She slowly lowered the cup. The blush that had finally started to fade "WHOOSHED" back, even brighter than before!
She forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes and asked, in a terrifyingly mild voice:
"You... just said... I should share a room... with who?"
Completely oblivious, and thinking he had made a very thoughtful arrangement, Gamma 2 replied as if it were obvious:
"Huh? Is there a question? Of course, you and Whitley-san! You're Whitley-san's woman, so you two would definitely..."
"MMMPH MMMPH!!!"
He couldn't finish his sentence. Trunks had lunged from behind and clamped a hand over his mouth.
But... it was... too late!
The mild smile on Marcarita's face vanished, replaced by an aura of black rage so thick it was almost visible!
She shot to her feet, grabbing her Angel staff.
"WHO!! IS!! HIS!! WOMAN?!!!! YOU STUPID ROBOT!!!! YOU SHORT-CIRCUITED TIN CAN!!!!"
The next second, the staff fell like rain on Gamma 2's metal head. DONK! DONK! DONK!
"Ow! I'm sorry! I was wrong! Ms. Marcarita! Mercy!!"
2 clutched his head and scrambled to run, but in front of an enraged Angel, his speed was useless.
While those two were engaged in a chase, Whitley, supporting the exhausted and weakened Broly, slowly descended from the sky.
He had just landed when he saw the scene.
Whitley paused. Seeing Marcarita's rampage, and the sparks and (what looked like) screws flying off Gamma 2, he very wisely and silently pulled Broly back a few steps, ensuring a safe distance.
He didn't know what had happened, but seeing Marcarita this furious... it was safer to be far away.
Yep. Definitely not because I'm scared. I just don't want to get hit by a flying part.
He even casually pulled another Senzu Bean from his pocket and handed it to the panting Broly.
"Good work. You did well this time."
As for the one-sided "educational" beating happening over there...
Yep. What nice weather today.
Whitley thought to himself, looking up at the still-dark, cloud-filled sky.
...
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