"Super Kamehameha!"
Cell's desperate cry echoed across the battlefield as he vanished from the clouds above, reappearing directly behind Karnel in a burst of blue energy. At point-blank range, he thrust his hands forward, a stream of devastating power erupting toward his target's unprotected back.
It was a perfect ambush, or it would have been against any normal opponent.
Karnel didn't even bother to turn around. Instead, he simply raised his leg in a fluid 180-degree arc, his heel connecting with Cell's skull with bone-crushing force. The bio-android's eyes widened in shock as the tremendous impact drove him straight down into the earth like a nail being hammered into wood.
CRASH!
Cell's body carved a crater dozens of meters deep, his perfect form disappearing beneath layers of shattered rock and debris. The golden energy waves he'd unleashed struck Karnel's back with sizzling intensity, but they simply dissipated harmlessly against a thin crimson barrier that surrounded him like morning mist.
Karnel's energy pulsed outward with casual ease, completely negating the residual effects of Cell's attack. He looked down at the smoking crater with mild disappointment.
"Come out," he called, his voice carrying an undertone of boredom. "Hiding underground won't help you, little mouse. I know you're not dead, someone with Piccolo's regenerative abilities doesn't die that easily."
Silence greeted his words. Cell's energy signature had vanished completely, suppressed to virtually nothing as the bio-android desperately tried to mask his presence. But to Karnel's divine senses, the frantic pulse of Cell's soul was as obvious as a beacon in the darkness.
A thin smile crossed Karnel's lips as he began walking slowly across the scarred landscape, following the underground trail like a predator tracking wounded prey. "Running away without a fight? How disappointing. I wonder how far you think you can actually escape?"
Far beneath the surface, Cell tunneled through solid rock using only his physical strength, not daring to emit even a trace of ki. His perfect features were twisted with panic and humiliation, emotions he'd never experienced in his short but arrogant existence.
How is this possible? his mind raced as he dug through the darkness. I absorbed Seventeen and Eighteen! I achieved the perfect form! I should be invincible!
But the reality was undeniable. This mysterious Saiyan hadn't even transformed, yet he'd made Cell look like a helpless child. The bio-android's pride, so carefully constructed around his genetic superiority, lay in ruins.
I need to escape, Cell decided, his movements becoming more frantic. Find an opportunity to absorb his cells when he's not expecting it. Then I'll show him what true perfection looks like.
Meanwhile, Karnel had stopped his leisurely pursuit and turned his attention to the small group of warriors watching from a safe distance. In an instant, he appeared before Gohan and Trunks, his casual use of Instant Transmission making their eyes widen in recognition.
"Karnel," Trunks breathed, his voice filled with awe and disbelief. "Did you actually defeat that monster? He absorbed both androids, I thought he was unstoppable!"
The young half-Saiyan's mind reeled as he tried to process what he'd witnessed. The creature that had effortlessly destroyed the androids, beings that had terrorized his timeline for years, had been completely outclassed by this enigmatic warrior.
Gohan's eyes burned with inspiration as he stared at Karnel. "You didn't even need to transform into a Super Saiyan," he whispered. "Is it really possible for us to become that strong? Could I...?"
Karnel shook his head, his expression remaining serious. "Don't celebrate yet. That little mouse has Piccolo's regenerative capabilities, it's not that easy to kill. Right now, it's digging underground like a frightened mole, trying to escape."
"What?" Gohan's face paled. "But if something that powerful gets away, the remaining humans on Earth..." He trailed off, unable to voice his fears.
"Don't worry," Karnel said with quiet confidence, his tone suggesting the outcome was never in doubt. "It can't escape from me. Nothing can." He paused, tilting his head slightly as if listening to something only he could hear. "Ah, it seems our little mouse is finally ready to show itself again. Wait here."
A thousand meters away, Cell's head cautiously emerged from a newly-dug hole, his compound eyes scanning the area with desperate hope. When he saw no sign of the terrifying Saiyan, relief flooded through his system.
I did it, he thought triumphantly. I actually escaped! Now I just need to find a place to hide and plan my revenge—
"Little mouse," a familiar voice said directly behind him, "running away from battle isn't very becoming of a so-called perfect being."
Cell's entire body went rigid with terror. He spun around to find Karnel standing there with his arms crossed, that same infuriating smile playing across his features.
"Impossible!" Cell screamed, his voice cracking with panic. "When did you, how did you—"
He leaped backward a hundred meters in a single bound, his body coiled in a defensive stance that radiated pure fear. Every instinct screamed at him to run, but he knew it was useless. This Saiyan had tracked him through solid rock as easily as following footprints in snow.
Karnel casually kicked a small pebble, and it shot toward Cell like a bullet, the air cracking from its velocity. "Where did you learn such cowardly tactics?" he asked mockingly. "I seem to remember that Earth's warriors have more pride than this."
Cell shattered the stone with a desperate punch, his face flushed with rage and humiliation. "Saiyan! Don't push me too far!"
"Too far?" Karnel's expression suddenly turned cold, all traces of amusement vanishing. "I haven't even begun to show you what 'too far' looks like. I promised to destroy you so completely that not even a single cell would remain, and I always keep my promises."
Before Cell could react, Karnel vanished in a flash of crimson light. The next instant, he materialized directly in front of the bio-android, his fist driving cleanly through Cell's chest with devastating precision.
Cell's eyes bulged as he looked down at the arm protruding from his torso, dark blood pooling around the wound. But instead of despair, a manic gleam entered his gaze.
"Hahaha!" Cell laughed wildly, his voice rising to a hysterical pitch. "Stupid Saiyan! You could have killed me safely from a distance with energy attacks, but you chose to come close! You've made the greatest mistake of your life!"
Cell's arms wrapped around Karnel in a death grip, holding him in place as brilliant light began emanating from every cell in his body.
"Die with me!" Cell shrieked triumphantly. "My self-destruction will reduce this entire planet to cosmic dust! You wanted to destroy every cell? Let's see you survive when they all explode at once!"