"Damn you! Let's see if you die this time!"
God of Destruction Vermut roared.
"Ha!"
As he roared, he thrust his arm forward violently. A mass of destructive energy, as large as a small planet, shot straight toward Katakana's head.
At such close range and with such high-density destructive power, Vermut was certain, there was no way his opponent could dodge intact. Even using Instant Transmission wouldn't be fast enough!
He had waited a long time for this moment.
"What a despicable move, Vermut..."
"But you think you can kill me?"
Seeing the enormous destructive energy coming at him, Katakana's pupils shrank and his eyes widened. He clenched his teeth and growled.
Without hesitation, he opened his arms and rapidly gathered all the destructive energy in his body into them.
There was no time to dodge using Ultra Instinct, nor to gather energy. Clearly, Vermut had been plotting this for some time.
"If Vermut wants to kill me, let's see if he has the strength to!"
"Ha!!"
A roar erupted from Katakana's throat.
In the next instant, his arms, coated in destructive power, met the oncoming attack head-on.
Boom!!
Under the massive pressure, Katakana was forced backward repeatedly.
"Pfft!"
He felt something rise in his throat, but he swallowed the blood back.
"I'll have to use that move…"
The Kamehameha Wave, fused with the power of destruction and enhanced by divine explosive force, was his only option now.
If successful, it would not only defeat Vermut but grant Katakana a new ability. But if it failed, the destructive backlash could cause serious injury.
"Big Bang... Destroyer Blast!"
With a deafening roar, Katakana launched the Kamehameha, now merged with divine destructive power. Like a bulldozer, it pushed back against Vermut's overwhelming energy.
"What... how is this possible?!"
Vermut was stunned.
His first thought: he couldn't let Katakana overpower his destructive energy, otherwise, he would lose!
Panicking, Vermut poured even more power into the blast.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Crack!
Craack...
Explosions and the sound of barriers breaking echoed through the air.
In the end, the two colossal forces collided violently.
At that moment, Macarita's protective barrier shattered like paper.
Even the final layer of the shield was cracking, ready to collapse at any moment.
Boom!!
The resulting shockwave blasted both Katakana and Vermut backward.
But Katakana was prepared, he braced himself and remained unscathed.
Vermut, on the other hand, was hit hard. The explosion erupted right by his ears, and the impact left him gravely injured.
Bright red blood burst from his mouth.
"This guy is insanely strong… even Master Vermut, in his unsealed form, can't defeat him!"
"This must be reported to Father immediately."
Angel Macarita looked at Katakana, her eyes gleaming with interest.
A mortal who had mastered the powers of both a God of Destruction and an Angel's Ultra Instinct? Her father would certainly want to know.
"Kneel, Vermut!"
As Vermut struggled to recover from the explosion's aftermath, Katakana's cold voice echoed.
In the blink of an eye, Katakana turned into a beam of light and shot toward Vermut.
Boom!
This time, he used Angelic divine power.
Faster than even Ultra Instinct, Katakana was in front of Vermut in an instant.
Before the latter could react, Katakana delivered a brutal punch!
His fist slammed into Vermut's chest.
Crack!
The last protective barrier shattered upon Vermut's impact and exploded into fragments.
The power behind the punch was overwhelming…
Ugh!!
Vermut vomited bile.
" how dare you do this to a God of Destruction?!"
"I won't forgive you, never!"
Vermut roared again, summoning more energy.
But Katakana wouldn't give him the chance.
He flashed again and appeared before Vermut, another heavy punch!
Vermut raised his fist to block, but,
Crack!
A sharp snap echoed.
Vermut's arm twisted grotesquely.
"AAAGH!"
He screamed in agony.
But Katakana was relentless. With another flash, he slammed his knee into Vermut's chest.
Boom!
Gwaaah!!
Vermut spewed blood as Katakana's knee crushed his abdomen.
Then another punch to the face!
Vermut was sent flying, skidding across the ground.
"...damn you!"
"Y-you.."
He struggled to his feet, face swollen, right arm limp and useless.
"Macari… Macarita…"
"H-help me…!"
Seeing Katakana charging in again, Vermut cried out in desperation.
His body was not only exhausted but weakened further from forcibly unsealing his divine power.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Angel Macarita appeared in front of him.
She raised her palm and caught Katakana's punch.
"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Katakana."
"On behalf of Lord Vermut, I offer my sincere apologies."
"But as an Angel, it is my duty to assist the God of Destruction."
"Since it is due to my failure that Lord Vermut has been injured so badly, I must intervene."
"So I humbly ask, can we let this matter rest here?"
With a gentle smile, Angel Macarita looked at Katakana.
Her stepping in voluntarily, for the sake of Vermut, was something that had never happened before.