Gogeta's energy purified the underworld completely. Evil dissipated instantly as the entire realm fell silent, with hazy, clear light drifting through spaces that had moments before been consumed by darkness.
The being possessed by evil energy didn't perish—he reverted to his original form as a red-faced ogre. The small creature looked utterly bewildered, having no memory of recent events. Seeing two towering warriors wreathed in golden flames regarding him with stern expressions, the ogre immediately froze before rolling his eyes back and fainting.
"What happened to him? Did he pass out?"
"Probably scared him."
"Hmm..." Gogeta nodded indifferently. "Most likely." He didn't seem to consider this his fault at all.
The two warriors collected the unconscious ogre and headed directly to King Yemma's palace.
After the fierce battle, tremendous vibrations had ravaged the structure. Even within its protective barriers, damage remained severe. Staff members hugged pillars or huddled in corners, trembling with residual fear.
King Yemma himself sat dazed, eyes closed while gripping his desk, still recovering from the overwhelming shock.
The moment Janemba vanished, the barrier dissolved simultaneously. The pathways between living and spirit worlds sealed themselves as everything returned to normal. Those who'd escaped and remained undefeated in the mortal realm were drawn back to the underworld through purification—their brief taste of renewed life becoming a miracle that would never repeat.
"Hey, King Yemma! Open your eyes!" Raditz shook the massive oni while depositing the red-faced ogre beside him.
The confused King Yemma remained lost in terror until recognizing Raditz's voice. His eyes shot open, excitement overwhelming his composure.
"Wahaha! You defeated him! You actually defeated him!"
"It wasn't just me—Gogeta deserves the credit. Thanks to his purification of all evil energy, we eliminated Janemba completely," Raditz smiled, gesturing behind him.
King Yemma followed Raditz's indication and thanked Gogeta repeatedly. Upon learning that Gogeta was actually the fusion of Goku and Vegeta, shock rendered him speechless. Who could have imagined two people becoming one? Gogeta's cold, serious demeanor made extended conversation feel inadvisable, so Yemma quickly shifted topics.
"By the way, Pikkon was injured battling Janemba—he should be somewhere in Hell right now. Please, Raditz and... and Gogeta, bring him back to the Grand Kai's planet."
Yemma glanced at Gogeta cautiously, speaking with careful deference. Meanwhile, the surrounding ogres began restoring order and preparing to process the returned dead.
"I can sense Pikkon's ki signature. All right, let's retrieve him," Raditz agreed.
They traveled to Hell, administered senzu beans to the wounded fighter, then returned together to the Grand Kai's world.
The assembled Realm Kings jumped excitedly, shouting praise and gratitude to both Raditz and Gogeta. Of course, Raditz had long grown accustomed to such flowery words. He waved dismissively to stop their flattery, his expression turning serious.
This change made the West Kai tremble nervously. He's not looking for trouble with me, is he?!
But Raditz couldn't care less about such a minor figure—the petty West Kai barely registered in his awareness now!
"As I understand it, Janemba's manifestation resulted from leaked evil energy in the underworld. There was likely a malfunction in the soul purification process. But everything has operated normally for eons—how could this suddenly happen?"
The Grand Kai frowned thoughtfully. "Soul purification has never experienced problems before. This disaster is indeed peculiar."
"So I suspect someone was operating behind the scenes."
Raditz's piercing gaze made everyone present shudder.
Someone had secretly infiltrated the underworld to cause chaos? Impossible! The Realm Kings couldn't believe such a thing could occur. They found it more plausible that the soul cleansing machinery had malfunctioned.
"Towa. It might be her."
Suddenly, Gogeta spoke. "Only that woman possesses the ability to interfere with the underworld's operations. When I was purifying Janemba, I sensed traces of Demon Realm energy within him."
"So my premonition proved correct—she's still alive!"
Janemba was merely a preview—a glimpse of greater challenges and terrors to come. What enemies lay ahead remained unknown.
Fear of the unknown was often the most paralyzing.
Janemba's appearance reminded Raditz that danger hadn't been completely eliminated.
While everyone discussed these implications, King Yemma contacted them urgently. His voice carried obvious panic: "This is terrible! Absolutely terrible!"
The joy of restored peace was instantly shattered by this latest crisis, making the Grand Kai feel increasingly agitated. "What's wrong now?! Wasn't everything resolved?!"
"The problem is... one soul is missing!" King Yemma shouted emphatically.
King Kai, Pikkon, Gogeta, and even Raditz stood stunned. With the underworld's order restored, logically all deceased souls should have returned to their proper places! Why was one missing?
"Who?"
"Frieza! Frieza has vanished! We prioritized counting major villains, planning to process them first. Cell, Bojack, and the others were all accounted for, but Frieza wasn't found! I'm absolutely certain—he hasn't returned to the underworld!"
King Yemma spoke with complete conviction. He might make errors in other duties, but after countless years of judging and registering deceased souls, he would never mistake this.
Before Frieza's disappearance, he'd caused havoc in Heaven—news that had reached King Yemma's ears. This meant Frieza had vanished sometime after that incident.
"Where was he originally confined?" Raditz asked.
"For villains like them, we typically render judgment and assign them to Heaven, providing beautiful environments to resolve their grudges. Some are placed in specialized Hell zones for punishment. Frieza was assigned to Heaven, same as his brother and father."
"Cooler and King Cold returned?"
"Everyone except Frieza."
"Damn, how did he escape?" Raditz felt genuine surprise, his expression darkening. "Is this also Towa's doing?"
He thought of the Demon Realm's strange abilities and couldn't suppress growing unease. Frieza was a consummate schemer—there was no telling what he might accomplish if truly resurrected in this world. Combined with potential alliance with Towa, the threat could rival that of the Demon God himself!
"Whether or not the Demon Realm intervened, we must apprehend him. He's supposed to be dead—reversing the natural order violates universal law," the Grand Kai declared gravely.
King Kai dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief. "Well, at least Frieza's no longer a significant opponent for you."
"Don't be so certain. Frieza's potential isn't inferior to any Saiyan's. If he trains seriously, he might even reach levels I'm still pursuing!"
Raditz's tone carried extreme gravity—this was no joke. Everyone felt sudden chills throughout their bodies as Frieza's terrifying visage flashed through their minds.
Could he possibly reach levels that Raditz was still chasing? Looking at Raditz's imposing figure, everyone stood momentarily speechless.
Raditz knew of Golden Frieza's existence—he understood that the Frost Demons possessed advanced transformations beyond imagination!
That represented power comparable to the gods themselves...
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