As Ken turned and walked away, Merus glanced back at him with quiet gratitude and gave the smallest nod.
This was exactly what Merus had asked Ken to do before stepping in.
Ken had done it perfectly.
Now all that was left was the real question: when Merus "disappeared," would Kale awaken Legendary Super Saiyan Two?
Even Ken didn't know.
For a Legendary Super Saiyan, the trigger was simple—extreme rage.
Ken couldn't be sure Merus's disappearance would hit Kale hard enough to set that off.
It depended on their bond.
"Merus-nii, stop!" Kale's face changed as she shouted. She lunged forward and whipped a kick at Cell.
Smack!
Cell raised his arm and blocked it cleanly. Then he grabbed her ankle, yanked, and smashed her down.
Boom!
Kale's face hit the ground hard.
"You bastard!" Gohan roared, rushing in to help.
Thud!
Cell flung Kale's body straight into him. The two tangled together and crashed down again.
"Kale. Gohan. Both of you, back off," Merus snapped. "I'll handle him."
"Merus-nii, don't fight with Angel power!" Kale blurted, panic all over her face. "You'll disappear!"
"Relax," Merus said with a calm smile. "I can beat him without using Angel power."
Kale blinked, then suddenly remembered something. "Wait—there are Gods of Destruction here. Why aren't they fighting?"
Merus paused, then immediately tossed the blame upward. "Well… Zeno-sama won't allow it," he said, then added, "And besides, none of the Gods of Destruction here belong to Universe 7. They don't have jurisdiction over this."
Kale went silent.
Gohan stared, baffled.
Is that really how it works?
Why does Merus-nii sound like he's putting on an act?
"Alright. I'm going in," Merus said with an easy smile. "Don't worry. Leave it to me."
He gripped the baton and charged Cell again.
Cell ground his teeth.
Why is fighting this guy so exhausting?
This makes no sense.
I absorbed Legendary Super Saiyan cells!
By rights, I should be the strongest mortal in the entire universe now!
So why can't I even put down one guy like this?
Crack!
Merus whipped his baton and knocked Cell off his feet. Cell hit the ground face-first, and for a moment he felt like the world itself had turned against him.
He clenched his jaw and forced himself back up.
"This is impossible!" Cell bellowed, fury boiling over. "Why can't I beat even you?"
"Not being able to beat me is completely normal," Merus said, smiling like he was explaining something obvious.
"Normal? Because you're a god from Universe 7?" Cell demanded.
"Yes," Merus replied. "I'm an Angel from Universe 7—a special kind of lifeform." He smiled and continued, "If you want a simpler way to think about it, I'm condensed from cosmic essence. The entire universe is my home. I love my universe."
As the words left his mouth, Merus's body trembled slightly—and he reverted to his Angel form.
At the same time, the baton reshaped into an Angel's staff.
"Merus-nii… y-you… why did you show your true form?" Kale blurted.
Merus froze for half a beat.
True form?
What is she saying, like I'm some kind of monster?
"Ah… it just slipped out mid-fight," Merus said with a smile, playing it off. "No big deal."
"You're sure you'll be okay?" Kale pressed, still anxious.
"I'll be fine," Merus said, shaking his head and giving her a reassuring look.
"An Angel… a special lifeform…" Cell stared at Merus, then flicked his eyes toward Ken on the distant ridge, and something clicked. "You… Ken is an Angel too, isn't he?"
"Yes," Merus said, nodding.
"So that's what you are," Cell said, a strange excitement creeping into his voice. "Special lifeforms of the universe. Interesting."
Then a thought slammed into Cell's mind so hard it almost made him grin.
I've never absorbed Angel cells.
If I can absorb an Angel's cells… doesn't that lock in my position as number one in the universe?
It has to.
"Good," Cell said, baring his teeth. "Let me see what's so special about you!"
He rushed Merus.
Merus lifted his staff as if he was about to counter—then hesitated, deliberately giving Cell a little room.
Merus only blocked.
Cell didn't want a clean exchange. The moment he got close, he flickered out of sight.
In the next instant, he was behind Merus.
Cell's tail snapped out, stretching several times longer and stabbing toward Merus's back.
He was going for absorption.
Whoosh!
Merus was a real Angel. With Ultra Instinct-level evasion, he didn't even need to look—his body simply moved.
As he slipped aside, Merus swung his staff once.
"Aaah!" Cell screamed.
His extended tail was severed on the spot.
"Cell," Merus said with a pleasant smile, "you're definitely losing this."
"Damn it!" Cell roared, yellow-green light bursting as his regeneration kicked in and rebuilt the tail.
He charged again, unleashing a flurry of attacks.
Merus blocked every punch and kick with his staff.
"W-Wait—Merus-nii… your body!" Kale gasped, rubbing her eyes like she didn't trust them.
Merus still wore that calm smile.
"Gohan-nii, look!" Kale's voice shook. "Am I seeing things? Merus-nii's body is turning transparent."
"It… it is," Gohan said, nodding hard.
Kale's whole body started trembling. "Merus-nii, stop!"
"Huh?" Merus blinked and looked down at himself. "That's weird… I'm not using Angel power."
Kale didn't even know what to say anymore.
"Whatever. No time for this," Merus said, forcing a light laugh. He turned his head toward Kale. "Kale—ever since I brought you from Planet Sadala, I've wanted to raise you into the strongest God of Destruction."
As he spoke, Merus surged in and sliced off Cell's arm with one clean swing.
"Aaah!" Cell howled.
Kale went quiet. Merus's transparency was getting worse by the second.
"I'm an Angel," Merus continued, still smiling. "An Angel with an eternal life." His staff flashed again, severing Cell's other arm. "I've lived for a long, long time—tens of thousands of years."
"Merus-nii… stop talking like that… stop!" Kale broke, tears spilling out in a rush.
Merus's smile didn't change. "I know Cell will drag the universe into crisis if he's left alone. So I've decided to trade my 'life" for this universe's peace." He looked at Kale gently. "Kale, you're the future God of Destruction. One day you'll become the strongest god in the entire universe. When that day comes, no matter who stands in your way, you'll destroy them with ease."
He swung again and took one of Cell's legs.
Cell's scream turned brutal, like an animal being butchered, as the leg went flying.
Merus lifted his staff and flung Cell's body into the air.
Cell shot upward, tumbling into the sky.
"Now he's down to one leg," Merus said, still smiling. "Break that last leg and he won't be able to move." He turned his eyes to Kale. "Next… Kale, I need you to finish him for me."
Merus became a streak of starlike light and rocketed up after Cell.
And as he moved, his body became more and more transparent.
"Merus-nii… no… please…!" Kale sobbed, tears pouring down her face.
Wham!
Merus swung once and cleanly removed Cell's last leg.
Cell was reduced to a screaming stump, spinning out of control as he fell.
He slammed into the ground with a heavy crash, carving a crater.
Cell lay in the pit, wailing—terror flooding him so hard he could barely breathe.
Android 21, you liar…
I absorbed Legendary Super Saiyan cells!
So why can't I beat this guy at all?
Cell's mind was collapsing.
Android 21 is a scammer!
She said I'd be the strongest mortal in the universe!
And I just got ground into the dirt like trash!
Merus landed beside the crater.
"Merus-nii… no… don't…!" Kale choked out, staring at Merus's fading body, unable to stop crying.
Merus looked back at her with a gentle smile. "Kale, if Merus-nii isn't around anymore… make sure you eat well, sleep well, and play well."
In the next instant, Merus's body broke apart in front of Kale's eyes, dissolving into countless specks of light.
Broly stared.
Isn't that Ken's line?
Ken watched quietly and didn't comment.
"Huh… he disappeared?" Zeno-sama blinked and rubbed his eyes.
The two Guards said nothing.
"Merus-nii!" Kale screamed until her voice cracked.
Cell stared in disbelief, then felt a wave of stunned relief.
He vanished?
After beating me into this state… he just vanished?
Kale's rage detonated.
She roared, power erupting in violent waves, yellow-green light exploding around her in a pillar of flame that tore straight upward.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Kale snarled, stepping toward Cell.
Bier sighed under her breath. "No… still not enough."
"Yeah," Ken said, shaking his head. "Her rage isn't deep enough."
"Merus-nii disappeared for nothing," Bier murmured.
As she said it, the specks of light beside Ken suddenly gathered.
In a blink, Merus reformed—back to normal—and immediately looked toward the battlefield.
Then he saw it.
Kale's strength had jumped massively… but she hadn't broken through into Legendary Super Saiyan Two.
Merus didn't say a word.
"You give Merus-nii back!" Kale rushed in and started pounding Cell with punch after punch.
Cell screamed in pain.
Kale kicked him hard and launched him into the sky.
Then she fired a massive blast.
Yellow-green light swallowed Cell whole.
His scream tore through the air.
When the smoke cleared, Cell's body was wrecked—cracked, torn, barely holding together.
And then, through the agony, Cell started laughing.
Kale's face twisted. "Y-You…"
"Hah… hahaha… HAHAHAHA!" Cell cackled, and his regeneration surged.
In seconds, his body rebuilt itself completely.
"That idiot is dead, right?" Cell laughed loudly.
Kale became a streak of yellow-green light and slammed into him again.
She drove a fist into his abdomen.
Cell didn't dodge. He took it head-on.
The blow landed with a dull, heavy thud.
Cell clenched his teeth as blood spilled from his mouth. Then he smiled faintly and kicked her in the chest.
Kale flew back, crashed to the ground, and rolled over and over.
"Kale!" Gohan sprinted in and pulled her up.
Kale wiped the blood at her lip and rubbed at her eyes, voice sinking. "Merus-nii… I'm sorry. I still couldn't do it… I guess I can't become a God of Destruction after all."
Merus stayed silent.
Why did the same setup work on Broly… but not on Kale?
Why didn't she awaken Legendary Super Saiyan Two?
I planned this for so long…
"Kale can't beat him anymore…" Krillin whispered, face tight.
"Cell absorbed Legendary Super Saiyan cells… his strength is beyond anything we've dealt with," Yamcha said, voice heavy.
"There's nothing we can do to him," Tien muttered, shaking his head.
Trunks didn't speak. His expression only grew darker.
Vegeta stood off to the side, tail gone, unable to fight, saying nothing.
Goku watched quietly, as if he'd already realized something, and didn't move.
Piccolo glanced toward Ken, then looked back at Cell and Kale.
"Merus… she didn't transform?" Zeno-sama said, disappointed.
Merus's face went blank.
"She was… just a little short," Merus sighed.
"So she can't do it?" Zeno-sama looked even more disappointed. He'd wanted to see what the girl looked like after transforming.
"Wait," Ken said casually. "She might transform again in a bit."
"Can she?" Zeno-sama asked, looking at Ken.
"She can. It's not a big problem," Ken replied, nodding.
"Merus said that earlier," Zeno-sama grumbled.
Ken smiled. "Zeno-sama, be fair—does what he says carry the same weight as what I say?"
Zeno-sama paused, then nodded seriously. "That makes sense."
Merus went silent.
Since when do my words not carry weight?
Cell stepped toward Kale with a low, ugly chuckle.
Kale forced herself to stand with Gohan's help, a bitter smile on her face. "Sorry, Merus-nii… I've burned through almost all my power. I still couldn't—"
She glanced toward the ridge.
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head.
"Huh? Merus-nii? You're alive?!" Kale cried, shock and joy exploding together.
Merus had been about to turn invisible.
But since Kale hadn't broken through, he decided there was no point.
"Ken pulled me back," Merus said lightly. "I was actually close to disappearing."
"That scared me to death," Kale said, patting her chest hard. "I really thought you were gone."
Merus didn't respond.
Cell looked over at Merus too, and his face immediately sank.
Why is that guy alive again?
Didn't he disappear?
Ken saved him?
No.
I can't keep playing around.
Cell scanned the battlefield.
Other than Android 16… I haven't killed a single one of them.
Did I run the Cell Games for nothing?
"Fine!" Cell roared, rage spilling out as yellow-green light surged again. "You've pushed me far enough! I'll kill every last one of you—one by one!"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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