The powerful airflow kicked up huge clouds of smoke and dust, but it could not conceal the increasingly terrifying power within.
With a burst, the smoke and dust gradually dispersed, and what appeared before everyone was no longer a tall, terrifying monster with an alien-like appearance, but something that looked somewhat small and delicate.
"Are you satisfied now?"
Ethan looked at Frieza before him. This was indeed Frieza's strongest form. Although his power level had only just exceeded three million, his power and aura were still rising at an astonishing rate. It seemed Frieza needed some time to truly unleash his full strength.
"Must be from suppressing it for too long!"
Ethan did not care about the reason. Since Frieza had revealed his final form, he no longer had any reservations. The next step was to beat this guy to death!
Flexing his fingers and arms, Ethan no longer looked as casual as before. His expression finally turned serious.
"Hehehe..."
Frieza saw that Ethan's expression had finally changed, realizing that his power had finally made the other party wary. He felt extremely smug, especially since the power he was currently displaying was still far from his true strength.
"I can't wait to see what kind of expression you'll make at that moment!"
Spreading his hands, Frieza decided to have some fun with this guy.
"Saiyan, are you ready?"
Ethan took a simple stance. He could sense that Frieza had once again regained that condescending attitude, apparently thinking he had him cornered.
"I'm afraid I need some warm-up exercises."
"Don't worry, I'll give you a thorough warm-up!"
As he spoke, he vanished from his spot and reappeared above and behind Ethan. He launched the same high-leg downward chop attack that Ethan had used on him earlier. Unfortunately, Frieza underestimated Ethan's reaction speed, and his attack did not hit Ethan at all.
"Oh?"
Dodging the attack to the side, Ethan threw a heavy punch straight at Frieza's cheek, which Frieza blocked with a swift reaction.
An intense close-quarters battle instantly erupted. In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged attacks and parried each other's blows countless times. The people in the distance could hear a continuous series of impacts until a loud bang caused the two figures in the battlefield to retreat at the same time and pull apart.
"Hoho?"
Frieza had not expected that after his third transformation, after releasing his true power, this Saiyan could still fight him evenly without falling behind.
"Your strength truly exceeds my expectations by too much!"
On the surface, he sounded appreciative, but deep down, he was determined to kill this guy! Frieza had never imagined that a Saiyan could become this strong. It seemed destroying Planet Vegeta back then had absolutely been the right decision. Otherwise, with so many powerful Saiyans, his position as Emperor of the Universe might not have been secure.
"Oh!"
Ethan responded casually. During the exchange just now, Frieza's punches had been getting heavier and heavier, and his speed faster and faster. Through this short clash, he had finally adjusted himself to his optimal state, and Ethan was gradually finding it a bit hard to keep up.
Sure enough, trying to fight Frieza, whose power level would gradually soar to sixty million or even higher, with a base power level of two million was simply impossible.
"Too bad you're a Saiyan!"
Frieza still thought Ethan was a Saiyan. A Saiyan who could display power capable of challenging him absolutely could not be allowed to remain in this world!
Even if Ethan were not a Saiyan, Frieza would never spare his life. Anyone who threatened his position had to be eliminated!
Just as Frieza was preparing to overwhelm him and beat him to death in one go, black energy suddenly erupted from Ethan's body.
Frieza did not know what that black, flame-like energy was, but he vaguely felt that the guy opposite him seemed to have undergone some kind of change.
"What is this? Is this that transformation called Ethan's?"
Vegeta stood in the distance. Seeing the change in Ethan's body, his first reaction was transformation, especially since Ethan's power level was soaring at an alarming rate, quickly breaking through the twenty million mark and continuing to rise rapidly.
"No, it's just a technique called the Evil King Hellfire Fist, which can unleash twenty times the user's power level for a short period!"
Vegeta had no idea Ethan also possessed such a skill. To him, this technique was no different from a transformation, although he learned from Raditz's explanation that it was only a short-term burst. But that was a twentyfold increase in power! In a battle against an enemy, even an instant of a twentyfold increase in power level could change many things!
On the battlefield, Frieza, who had held the advantage in power level and had been steadily widening the gap, was suddenly dealt a critical blow.
Ethan's instant burst of power was much greater than Frieza's. In the blink of an eye, the balance of power between the two was reversed once again. Frieza did not even realize what had happened before he was struck by Ethan, who had suddenly appeared in front of him, and sent flying into the sky.
Supersonic movement created an effect similar to instant transmission. The Frieza who had been blasted backward was then smashed into the ground by Ethan's fists after Ethan moved behind him.
Frieza reacted quickly. After landing, he used the ground to push off and leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding Ethan, who came crashing down from midair.
Rumble!
Ethan had not held back at all with that kick. If Frieza had been killed by it, that would undoubtedly have been a good outcome.
However, stimulated by Ethan's burst in power level, Frieza's power began increasing even faster. The power levels of the two reached the same level again, and Frieza's power was still rising, slowly regaining the upper hand.
"How is that possible?"
The power level Ethan displayed shocked Frieza.
Looking at Ethan floating out of the crater he had created, Frieza finally realized that this was an enemy with strength comparable to his own. He had never imagined he would encounter such a thing!
"Who exactly are you?"
That black energy did not seem like a Saiyan ability. Frieza suddenly realized that he might have been mistaken about something.
"You're not a Saiyan, are you?"
"No!"
"..."
"I never said I was a Saiyan. That was just your own guess!"
While fighting, Ethan was constantly drawing on that part of the black dragon's power within his body. Compared to the Super Saiyan transformation, which could be activated instantly once mastered, his transformation required some time to mobilize that part of the black dragon's power. Using the Evil King Hellfire Fist as a burst could accelerate this process.
"So I guessed wrong..."
Frieza was not going to continue "playing" with Ethan. After this period of time, his power had gradually been "liberated." Now, he could display most of his strength.
Although this was not his full-power state, it should be enough to deal with this guy... right?
This guy named Ethan had repeatedly proven him wrong, and Frieza was starting to feel unsure about just how strong Ethan really was.
"Hmph!"
Since he was going to kill him anyway, Frieza suddenly appeared in front of Ethan and slammed his right fist heavily into Ethan's face.
Frieza, who was gradually unleashing his full power, was formidable in both speed and strength. Ethan was no longer able to completely defend against his attacks, but he could still launch powerful counterattacks. After taking a punch, he immediately swung his hand and fired a ki blast at Frieza.
Frieza took the ki blast head-on and charged after him, followed by another round of close-quarters combat. Compared to the previous intense but indecisive exchange, this round was much more brutal. Both Frieza and Ethan appropriately abandoned defense, focusing more of their attention and power on offense.
The stronger Frieza gradually gained the upper hand, finally sweeping Ethan to the ground with his tail and sending him sliding away.
"An opening!"
Seizing the opportunity, Frieza immediately gathered his power, condensing a spherical energy blast on the fingertip of his raised finger, crackling with continuously flashing sparks.
"Die!"
Ethan, who had been knocked down and was sliding, unable to get up in time, saw the small but terrifying energy ball flying toward him at high speed. He simply remained half-prone on the ground and pushed out his right hand.
Evil King Hellfire Black Dragon Wave!
This kind of Black Dragon Wave, which produced a burning effect, was suited for dealing with enemies with regenerative abilities. Its characteristics were not ideal for beam clashes. Techniques with continuous output like the Kamehameha or Galick Gun were better suited for that.
But in Ethan's hands, the Black Dragon Wave could be used in another way!
A huge, ferocious black dragon surged into the sky, opening its massive mouth to bite Frieza's energy ball. Then it swayed upward, and after reaching a certain height, it suddenly bit down hard, detonating Frieza's energy ball.
Boom!
Although it exploded high in the sky, the people on the ground still could not stand steady because of the violent airflow. Frieza's subordinates were blown rolling all over the ground, and even Frieza in midair was forced to land.
Frieza looked up at the sky, then turned back to Ethan in front of him.
The black energy on Ethan's body had disappeared. It seemed that attack just now had exhausted his strength.
"Hehe, although you managed to counter my attack, it only delayed your death by a few minutes..."
Frieza looked at Ethan slowly getting to his feet and felt that something was wrong.
"Huh?"
He noticed that something seemed to have appeared on Ethan's head. Just as he was wondering whether he was seeing things, a pair of wings suddenly spread out behind Ethan, and at the same time, a pair of curved horns grew from his head.
Having completed his transformation, Ethan stretched his neck and lightly beckoned at the stunned Frieza.
"Warm-up is over!"
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)