Number 8, who had been standing quietly in the shadows, tensed as he watched Frieza's dismissive attitude toward his master. His fists clenc
Number 8, who had been standing quietly in the shadows, tensed as he watched Frieza's dismissive attitude toward his master. His fists clenched, ready to strike, but Karnel caught his eye and gave him a subtle shake of the head. Not yet.
"Oh? I'm not interested in being anyone's subordinate," Karnel said with casual arrogance, his eyes scanning the opulent chamber. "But you seem to have that covered. How about you come work for me instead? I already have several members of the Ice Clan under my command."
His gaze settled on an ornate box containing a black star sphere, the final piece he'd been searching for.
Frieza's expression turned glacial. "Interesting. You Saiyans don't seem to understand your place just because you defeated two worthless underlings. My power is beyond your primitive monkey comprehension."
Karnel ignored the tyrant's bluster entirely, walking calmly toward the box. He lifted the Black Star Dragon Ball, feeling its familiar weight in his palm. Finally. The seventh one.
"Saiyan!" Frieza's voice cracked like a whip. "Your arrogance is... refreshing. You completely ignore me and take that black sphere as if you own this ship. Very well!"
Though Frieza's fury was genuine, his calculating mind raced. What is that black orb? This Saiyan clearly knows its significance.
"Hmph." Karnel tossed the six-star ball casually into the air, catching it with practiced ease. "Frieza, you've gotten so comfortable ruling this little corner of the northern galaxy. Do you really think you're the emperor of the universe just because no one's bothered to deal with you yet?"
A thin smile played at Frieza's lips, though his eyes burned with murderous intent. "Stinking monkey, what is the origin of that black sphere?"
"Why should I tell you?" Karnel's voice dripped with contempt as he closed his fist around the Dragon Ball.
"No one has ever dared speak to me, Frieza, in such a manner." The emperor's laugh was cold and sharp. "You Saiyan can go to hell."
Still seated on his hover pod, Frieza pointed a single finger at Karnel. A thin beam of deadly energy lanced through the air with a whistling sound.
So arrogant. Karnel didn't even bother to dodge. The death beam struck his chest dead-center, and when the smoke cleared, he was patting his unharmed torso with an amused expression.
"Impossible..." Frieza's eyes widened in shock before he quickly composed himself. Turning to Number 8, he asked, "Father, do you know what those black spheres are?"
Number 8 received another subtle signal from Karnel and stepped forward. "I have never seen those particular orbs, but I've encountered similar artifacts on a distant planet. Legend speaks of seven such spheres in total. It's said that gathering all seven allows one to summon a dragon capable of granting any wish."
Frieza's breath caught in his throat. A wish? Any wish?
"Make a wish..." Frieza's voice grew hungry, his eyes gleaming with terrible possibility. "If I could find all seven, I could wish for immortality! I would rule the northern galaxy forever, no, the entire universe! I would be the eternal emperor!"
"Frieza's ambition knows no bounds," Karnel observed mockingly. "Even dreaming of immortality."
The tyrant spun around, his composure cracking. "Stinking monkey! You survived my death beam without a scratch, I'll admit you have some skill. But that changes nothing! Hand over those spheres immediately!"
"This sphere? Or do you mean..." Karnel's eyes glinted with mischief as he produced the other six Black Star Dragon Balls. All seven orbs began to pulse with an ominous dark energy, their surfaces crackling with strange lightning.
Frieza's eyes went wide with greed. "Magnificent! Give them to me, monkey, and I might spare your worthless life."
Though of course, Frieza thought, all Saiyans deserve to die. I'll kill you the moment I have them.
"If you want the Dragon Balls," Karnel said coldly, "you'll have to prove you're strong enough to take them."
He hurled a crackling energy blast directly at Frieza's position.
The emperor's reflexes were lightning-fast, but even he was surprised by the attack's speed. He barely managed to dodge as the energy sphere smashed through the reinforced viewing window behind him.
CRASH!
The massive transparisteel viewport exploded outward, and the ship's atmosphere began rushing into the vacuum of space. Debris, unconscious soldiers, and everything not bolted down was sucked toward the breach.
"Don't even think about getting these Dragon Balls!" Karnel laughed as he rocketed through the shattered window into the star-filled void.
"Dragon Balls... so that's what they're called," Frieza snarled, his composure completely shattered. "Saiyan monkey! Do you think you can escape from the universe's emperor?"
The power to grant any wish was within his grasp, seven mystical orbs that could make him truly immortal. Nothing would stop him from claiming them.
Of course, Karnel was deliberately leading him away from the ship. If he'd wanted to escape, he could have vanished instantly using his dimensional abilities.
Three streaks of light, Karnel, Frieza, and Number 8, shot away from the massive vessel before coming to a stop in the silent depths of space.
"You cannot escape me, Saiyan!" Frieza's voice carried perfectly in the vacuum, his bio-suit allowing him to survive in space. "Hand over those Dragon Balls! But wait..." His expression shifted to puzzlement. "How can you survive in a vacuum? No Saiyan from Planet Vegeta possessed such ability."
"Oh? You want to know?" Karnel's Dragon Balls suddenly vanished, stored safely in his dimensional pocket. "You'll find out when you manage to take them from me."
"Dragon Balls... of course!" Frieza's eyes lit up with understanding. "You used them to wish for the ability to survive in space! How cleverly wasteful of you, monkey."
But when the spheres disappeared from Karnel's hands, Frieza's expression turned murderous. "Saiyan! Where did you put my Dragon Balls?"
"Your Dragon Balls?" Karnel's laughter echoed through the void. "You'll have to earn them first, Frieza. Show me the power of the so-called emperor of the universe!"
The real battle was about to begin.