BOOM!
The colossal energy bomb Frieza hurled was forced back by Zeltron and rocketed into the void. Moments later, like divine punishment, it collided with a nearby planet.
In an instant, light engulfed the heavens.
The planet erupted outward—fireworks of catastrophic brilliance—before shattering into nothing, silenced forever in the endless abyss of space.
Even from far away, the taboo explosion rocked Namek. The sound rolled across the atmosphere, a low thunder that shook the ground beneath them.
Goku and Gohan stared upward, breathless, still wrapped in the aftershock of what they'd just witnessed. Their hearts pounded, as though still sinking in the reality that they had survived.
"…Saved?" Gohan whispered. His voice cracked under the weight of disbelief.
Only then did Goku's eyes, blazing with turquoise fire, lift once more toward the battlefield above—at Zeltron, gleaming golden against the sky, and the horned tyrant trembling before him.
Frieza's face twisted into a ghastly mask.
His teeth ground audibly, rage clashing with the burning taste of humiliation as he glared at Zeltron's golden aura.
"Ghrrrr…!" his body trembled, his voice shaking with hatred.
"Damn you… Saiyan!!"
Zeltron's sharp gaze met him calmly, and his lips curled with a mocking smirk.
"If you plan to run, Frieza… then I'd say now's your chance." His voice cut with icy disdain.
The remark was like a blade to Frieza's pride.
"INSOLENCE!" The tyrant screamed, veins bulging in his temple. His body flared, shrieking bursts of purple energy ripping across the battlefield as he poured out power feverishly.
"Don't you dare look down on me! I am FRIEZA—the emperor of the Universe!!"
His aura burned hotter, his ki rising higher and higher.
On the ground, Gohan staggered back, eyes wide. "Dad… his energy… it's rising again!"
Goku's pupils narrowed, his senses keen. 'So he was still holding back…! That means the monster we've been facing… wasn't even serious.'
But Zeltron remained unfazed.
'Of course. I already knew... He's been fighting at half his strength until now.'
The aura surged, spikes of violet ki bursting outward like flares. Frieza's body shook as he forced his strength higher—past fifty percent, past sixty… seventy. His shrieks of fury echoed with each push.
"Still climbing… but not enough," Zeltron murmured to himself. His form blurred into light. Suddenly, he appeared before Frieza, golden flames radiating around him.
The tyrant's heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened, instinct jolting him to fling his body backward, escaping the strike that nearly ended him.
"Ughhh!" He wheezed, staggering, sweat beading across his forehead.
"Damn you… just a little more… just a little more and I'll be at full power!"
His face twisted with both desperation and obsession. His aura clawed desperately higher to seventy-five percent.
But Zeltron's eyes sharpened, merciless.
"Don't fool yourself, Frieza. Even at full power… you'll never match me."
He lifted his palm. Golden ki surged instantly along his arm, condensing in his open hand, coalescing into a rapidly expanding sun of raw energy. The light bathed the battlefield, and Frieza felt it—his skin crawled, his soul quaked. This was death, condensed into a single orb.
"NO—!" he exclaimed, body shaking violently.
"What… what power is this?!?!"
"Frieza," Zeltron's voice thundered coldly.
"This is where your tyranny ends."
The burning aura of destruction pulsed in Zeltron's palm—ready to annihilate everything.
But—
"Wait!"
The shout cut through the tension, sharp and desperate.
Zeltron paused mid-release, turning his sharp gaze aside.
Goku appeared, golden aura flaring around his body, eyes burning serious. He floated closer, putting himself between Zeltron and Frieza.
"This fight… is mine."
"Please let me end this."
The words were spoken with clear conviction.
"Goku…" Zeltron muttered, narrowing his eyes.
The energy sphere between his hands continued to churn and flicker, but he did not release it.
Without giving him a choice, Goku exploded forward.
His fist locked against Frieza's, golden light versus evil violet. In the next second—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The two clashed violently, shockwaves echoing across the sky, the sea splitting in giant waves below.
Watching from a distance, Zeltron's ears echoed suddenly with the chime of his system.
[Ding! — Congratulations to the host, acquiring +1,000,000 power level attribute …
Ding! — Congratulations… +1,000,000 power level attribute …]
Zeltron's eyes flickered.
'So… every strike they exchange—releases fragments of pure combat power. And I can absorb them… interesting.'
Smiling faintly, he withdrew the energy sphere from his hand, allowing it to dissolve into golden motes.
"'Fine then… it's not a waste. I'll take this chance to strengthen myself.'"
Gradually, his golden glow faded, hair and brows reverting from blazing gold back to black. His Super Saiyan aura dimmed completely as he hovered down toward the ground.
Frieza's eyes tracked him, snarling mid-clash.
He ripped free from Goku's strike and screamed, spittle flying: "YOU! You're not getting away, Zeltron!"
His body blurred, ditching Goku as he lunged toward his true obsession.
The one who humiliated him.
The one who mocked him.
The one he hated above all!
But before he could land his blow, Goku flashed faster, slamming into him with a brutal knee that caved into his gut.
"UGH—!!" Frieza spat a mouthful of purple blood and bile, the air shaking from the impact.
"Frieza!" Goku's voice thundered, merciless, as his eyes locked on the tyrant.
"I told you! Your fight—IS WITH ME!"
His clasped fists hammered down on the tyrant's back like a falling mountain.
BOOM!
Frieza's cry torn from his throat as his body plummeted like a meteor, crashing through the ocean below. The sea erupted into towering waves, frothing under the violence of his fall.
On the shore, Zeltron's mind chimed again.
[Ding! — Congratulations, host, acquiring +1.5 million power level attribute.]
[Does the host want to Collect all of these attributes?]
"Yes" Zeltron muttered calmly. Streams of invisible light surged into his body as combat attributes absorbed into his veins.
On his system screen, the numbers spun upward at frightening speed:
[Power Level: 51.34 million → 61.24 million.]
Nearly 10 million gained in mere moments—base power alone.
'Heh… and once I transform again… that's another 500 million+ added instantly.'
A sharp grin formed on Zeltron's lips as his black hair swayed in the sea breeze.
The battle of gods raged on above—but he could feel it.
Every strike, every clash, every ounce of power—they were all stepping stones for his own ascension.
And Frieza's nightmare was only just beginning.