Pshhk !
A Cell created by Ozotto drove its tail needle in, stabbing into the left waist of Dark-Gold Cell Max!
At the same time, a Majin Buu clone burst into countless pink tentacles that coiled up from beneath his feet!
Levos calmly savored the sensation of being "double-absorbed," while using Cell Max's superbrain to analyze and compute.
Half a second later, he reached a conclusion.
"Such pathetic energy conversion efficiency… it's laughable."
The spots across the dark-gold carapace flared with dazzling golden light, and countless scorching energy beams shot outward in every direction!
"In front of me, your 'absorption' is nothing but a child sucking on his own fingers."
Cell and Buu melted into two screaming puddles of sludge, and then together with Merus were swallowed straight into Cell Max's body.
In the blink of an eye, the enemy was wiped out.
Chronoa was first thrilled… then immediately anxious.
"You're not going to get overstuffed and explode again, are you?"
Levos shook his head. "This time's different."
"How is it different?" Chronoa didn't understand.
"These clones didn't contain much energy. The moment I absorbed them, Ozotto's main body cut off the power supply immediately…"
Chronoa's eyes widened. "So the ones you absorbed weren't real bodies?"
Levos nodded. "Compared to the Gods of Destruction in our universe, these clones don't even hold one percent of the originals' energy."
Chronoa frowned. "Did Ozotto predict this would happen?"
Levos didn't think so.
"That guy probably mastered long-range power transmission. It drastically lowers the risk of remotely controlling clones."
This enemy was sly and cautious far harder to deal with than Levos had imagined.
Still, absorbing those clones wasn't a small boost, especially individuals like Merus and Moro. They pushed Cell Max's angel-evolution and magic-evolution routes forward by a huge margin.
"So what do we do now?" Chronoa asked.
"What do you want me to do?" Levos countered.
Chronoa sighed. "This is exactly what I told you when a powerhouse changes even a single thought, the direction of history shifts."
"This timeline's fate was supposed to be sealed long ago, but now something's gone horribly wrong. Even the Grand Priest and Zeno have fallen."
"To set everything back on track… we have to completely destroy Ozotto's true body."
Suddenly, Chronoa's face went pale.
"Damn it there's a massive dimensional collapse over there!"
With his razor-sharp senses, Levos detected tens of thousands of Ozotto clones spreading out like locusts, gnawing at the fabric of time-space in a frenzied swarm.
"Let's hope we can still stop it…"
With Instant Transmission, Dark-Gold Cell Max appeared before a Merus clone, and the tail needle pierced the trainee angel's body from a perfectly chosen angle.
No pause. No hesitation.
In the next moment, Levos reappeared beside an Ozotto clone in another star region. The dark-gold tail snapped out wrap, tighten swallow.
Like a fire captain racing from blaze to blaze, Levos dashed nonstop to every outbreak point, suppressing each clone while continuously devouring power to strengthen himself.
But the Ozotto clones were obsessed with wrecking the structure of the universe. They had no intention of gathering.
Even as Levos fought for every second, he could feel the entire time-space… screaming.
"This is still too slow! We're out of time. Trying to break through to Black-Gold by devouring these clones is unrealistic!"
Dragged around at high speed, Chronoa finally gained a clearer understanding of just how desperate their situation was.
"…There's no hope." She stared straight into Levos's eyes, enunciating each word. "I've decided. We fuse."
Hearing that, bitterness rose in Levos's chest yet what he felt even more was irritation.
He'd fallen into the "we-have-to-fuse" mess again… and this time it was with a girl.
Just thinking about it was absurd beyond words.
Wait… why did he think again?
As memories flashed through his mind, Levos's cheek twitched.
He pulled out the Potara earrings, steeled himself, and gritted out a warning:
"After we fuse, we are NOT naming it. And this never gets mentioned again. Ever."
"As if I want to fuse?" Chronoa snapped. "At a time like this, you're still hung up on that? Once you use Potara, a new being is born one that can't be separated. There won't be a 'you' and 'me' anymore. From then on, guarding time-space will be his responsibility…"
Her eyes brimmed with reluctant affection as she took one last look at the shattered world… then decisively hung the Potara on her crystal-clear right earlobe.
Levos's face darkened even more. In a panic, he dug out the other earring and fumbled with his left ear.
The instant the earrings clicked into place, he couldn't help but roar
"FUSE WITH ME!"
Like opposite poles of a magnet snapping together, their bodies slammed toward each other.
A pillar of light exploded outward, bleaching the entire void into blinding white.
In that brilliance, their two silhouettes seemed to merge into one
Then
A faint crack sounded.
The two Potara earrings shattered into powder.
Their bodies split apart even faster than they had rushed together.
"Wh… what?" Levos stared blankly at his completely unchanged body. It took several seconds for the reality to register.
The fusion… had failed.
"How is that possible?" Chronoa was just as stunned.
Levos touched his now-empty ear, his voice sinking.
"The Potara couldn't withstand my power."
Dark-Gold Cell Max's current strength was already comparable to the strongest God of Destruction Beerus.
Against an ordinary angel, he might not win… but he could absolutely fight.
And in raw power, he crushed them.
What a curse.
Levos hadn't expected that getting too strong, too fast, would come with a side effect like this.
"From now on, Cell Max has to walk his own unique path," Levos muttered. "Otherwise, we'll never offset the downside of being unable to fuse."
His emotions were complicated heavy, yet also strangely relieved.
He had to admit it: the psychological burden of fusing with Chronoa was… enormous.
A maddened cosmic storm swept past, and another entire star region collapsed into nothingness.
"It's over… the history scroll is about to be destroyed." Chronoa looked helpless, hating her own powerlessness.
"Levos…"
She suddenly raised her head and for the first time spoke her companion's name with solemn gravity.
"Please take my place as the Supreme Kai of Time. You're the most suitable, and the only, candidate. Don't refuse me. There isn't much time…"
"What are you planning?" Levos demanded.
"Devour me. That will give you the complete inheritance of the Supreme Kai of Time. Maybe just maybe you'll find a way to undo all of this!"
Then she added one more instruction, as if afraid she wouldn't get the chance again:
"And… remember to brush Toki Toki's feathers once a week. I always did it myself before…"
"Who wants that ridiculous job?" Levos scoffed. "It's nothing but a pile of trouble, and you have to take care of a pet too. Besides why would I devour you?"
Chronoa felt both furious and wronged. She'd already braced herself to sacrifice everything, and this guy not only rejected it he mocked her to her face.
But after surviving so many crises together, she quickly realized: those words weren't truly what he felt.
"I know you're worried about me," she said, forcing herself to stay steady, "but this isn't the time for romance and "
What kind of leap in logic was that?
Levos couldn't follow her train of thought at all, so he cut straight to the point.
"You're saying the inheritance can help us find a solution, right?"
"Yes."
"Then we don't need you to be absorbed."
Chronoa blinked, confused.
"What I mean is…" Levos said, utterly serious, "…I only need to take one sip."
"Huh?"
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