Disappointing.
Vegeta couldn't help but have that kind of thought as he made quick work of eliminating the problem he had caused, flying to every focal point where those Grimm were acting out of control.
In fact, this was all so easy that the only difficulty Vegeta had was dealing with the memories of an unpleasant past.
This kind of tedious extermination was something recurring back in the days when he was in the Freeza Force, conquering planets and committing mass genocide.
Inevitably, finding himself in that position again, even if it was for a different reason, made the whole experience much worse than it should have been, and that bothered Vegeta deeply.
So much so that he didn't even deign to go down to the ground to engage in hand-to-hand combat; not only did he not want to waste time, but not one of those things was worth the effort.
Really, if Vegeta thought about it for a second, it was pathetic and disappointing to think that things as weak as this could do against the population of this or any world.
If there had been at least one person capable of using Ki, none of this would have happened. Unfortunately, the power provided by the soul was overprotective and didn't allow life to manifest, thus sealing off the latent potential of all the people in this world.
Until now.
In the end, Vegeta wouldn't be the only one to benefit from this journey in search of absolute power, and even if disaster had befallen this world because of his recklessness, it could and would all be undone... when the time came.
Earth's Dragon Balls were out of the question as he no longer wanted to return to that planet, so there were only Namek's, which would be available for use in a few months' time since...not one wish had been granted the last time the dragon was summoned.
Until then, Vegeta would have to bear the consequences of his thoughtless actions and mitigate the damage as much as possible, just as his little students were trying to do.
From afar, he could sense that the princess and the little girl, Weiss, and Ruby, were giving everything they had against one of the strongest Grimm in the world... Which wasn't much, but it was still a good challenge for someone who hadn't fully recovered and didn't even know how to make proper use of their powers.
If Vegeta had to stipulate, the power they had managed to recover so far was hardly more than a third of the total they actually had.
After all, when Vegeta used Forced Spirit Fission on them, he did much more than awaken their Ki. In fact, he released some of the hidden potential they had accumulated after training for years to become guardians of this world.
As a result of his little help, the unique power of their souls also evolved to bring those little transformations to life. As far as Vegeta could tell, the forms they had obtained were still incomplete, but it was a good start.
Maybe it's because of the nature behind their Semblance, but the princess is stronger than the little girl. Even now, he could feel the difference in the level of power they were using, even if it wasn't much. How long will it stay that way, I wonder.
Considering the similarities he had with her, Vegeta instinctively wanted Weiss to stay on top, but life taught him that things were hardly that easy.
The fact that the little girl had a spark of divinity in her eyes proved that she was naturally blessed and had much more potential to grow.
That could change, though. Vegeta blew up another horde of Grimm, his mind working through the possibilities. God ki could be obtained by anyone if given the chance.
Whether Weiss would prove worthy of this power, however, only time would tell.
Hopefully, Vegeta would pass on everything he could to those two apprentices of his before his fight against Kakarot, thus leaving some kind of legacy that didn't involve Bulla behind.
Or that was the plan he came up with after settling in this world.
Feeling a surge of power appearing in the distance, however, made Vegeta start to rethink those goals, and for good reason.
It wasn't much, but when power was manifested without control, even a tiny amount like that could cause tremendous damage to the world around you.
The mere thought of these apprentices making the mistake of blowing up an inhabited area was what brought this apprehension to life.
"Was that... the little girl?" Vegeta stopped in mid-air after exterminating yet another of those large creatures of darkness, a type of snake with countless heads, and saving some of the weaklings who were clearly fighting a losing battle. "To have so much trouble against a weak enemy and do something so reckless..."
What was he supposed to think about that?
On the one hand, it was impressive that Ruby was able to amass Ki and Aura together to create a powerful attack... for someone of her level of power.
On the other hand, it was undeniable that this had been a desperate measure, and excessive destruction was the result.
Was this his fault as a master for sending them away without teaching them the minimum, or was it their fault for getting involved in this fight when they weren't prepared?
Considering that in life, Trunks was able to use power to destroy stars with less than half the age of these two while playing and never destroyed anything, to his knowledge, the answer seemed obvious.
"I can't let this go on." Vegeta relaxed a little as the wind from the resulting impact blew past him, feeling that the worst hadn't happened and no one had died. "Their training will have to start earlier than planned."
All to prevent something similar from happening again, and in the worst way.
"But first." Vegeta turned in the opposite direction, where there were still other creatures that were relatively strong for the fighters of this world and that needed to be destroyed. "I have to finish what I started."
Without wasting any more time.
His Aura grew along with the amount of power being unleashed, and Vegeta disappeared as he began to literally circle the world to hunt down all the powerful Grimm, aiming to finish this in less than five minutes, as well as exterminate far more of them than was initially planned.
Vegeta wanted to destroy only half of the Grimm who had gone mad and leave the other half for the girls, as a sort of test for later...or punishment. However, after seeing so much death and destruction, he couldn't take any more risks and decided to eliminate eighty percent of everything, leaving the other twenty percent for the girls.
That and all there was on the ice-covered continent, where an interesting floating city resided; the only place in the world that hadn't been affected by his power.
The Grimm of that continent would come last, but first, the others, and then Vegeta would confront those girls.
-----
How long had it been? Since Ruby had last felt fear like this? To the point of making her forget the excruciating pain of a broken bone and the burned skin of her hands?
More than she could remember, or perhaps because such an event didn't even exist in her memory to be used as a comparison with this reality.
What for a moment had been a desperate move and the coolest thing in the world had quickly become the lived representation of a nightmare.
Just as Weiss had said, the mountains that were part of the image that painted a beautiful horizon had disappeared, and in their place, only a crater shrouded in dust remained.
No matter how Ruby thought about it, she couldn't understand.
How could an attack derived from her power cause so much damage?!
If it were Vegeta in her place, and based on the vast amount of power he displayed, being able to light up half the planet without even trying, the madness before her would be more acceptable and less frightening.
What's more, the Prince was a licensed Huntsman and had a lifetime of training with an unknown energy to justify his abnormal power.
Ruby, on the other hand, hadn't even started her training with Ki!
She shouldn't be able to do any of this!
"I-I... just..." Ruby was terrified, for the first time in her life, feeling afraid of herself, afraid of what she was capable of now, and even more afraid of what could have happened. "What if... the academy was in that direction? Or even worse, the kingdom?!"
One mistake during the last moments of that fight, one change of angle when unleashing that attack, and Beacon or Vale would have disappeared along with the lives of hundreds of thousands of people!
In fact, what guarantee was there that there weren't people in the area she decimated?!
For all she knew, a settlement could be gone forever!
"My God..." Ruby had tears streaming down her face, her one good leg almost giving out with the sudden weight on her conscience and the sapping of her willpower. "Please..." she cried, "don't let this be true..."
She didn't want to be a murderer!
"Ruby!" Weiss had to endure the pain of her broken ribs as she shouted her partner's name and tried her best not to let her fall. "Calm down!"
Words that fell on deaf ears, the girl's mind was distant and full of remorse, full of guilt.
How could she not be? Ever since she was little, Ruby's dream had been one: to follow in her mother's footsteps, become a hero to fight against the darkness of this world, and protect other people.
Just like it was in the tales Yang used to read to her as bedtime stories.
When Ruby met Vegeta and saw his power, she could only think of the cool things she would be able to do and the people she could help.
Instead, Ruby had... she had...
The image of an empty coffin, people mourning and suffering from the pain of losing a loved one, was all that remained in her mind.
"I-I didn't want to do any of this!" she cried even more, almost collapsing like on the day of her mother's funeral. "I'm so, so sorry..."
In the end, Vegeta had been right all along!
When he said that his power was dangerous and could easily be used to kill and destroy in the wrong hands, he was right!
Instead of agreeing and accepting his words, Ruby insisted like the foolish child she was and convinced him to give her a chance...only to disappoint him completely.
Not just Vegeta, Ruby had disappointed everyone who believed in her!
"Ruby..." Weiss might not know many people on a personal level, but she had witnessed a lot of pain over the course of her life, whether in her own family or because of the negative impact the Schnee Dust Company had on the lives of many. Except that nothing compares to this.
That's because Ruby was her first and only friend.
Seeing her in this state made Weiss' heart almost break, even worse than finding out about the war Vegeta had caused by unleashing all that power, knowing that, in a way, she was indirectly to blame for the deaths of many.
For this reason, Weiss couldn't stand by and do nothing!
"Ruby, listen to me!" She grabbed her partner by the shoulders, trying to force her to look her in the eye. "It's not your fault!" Her voice sounded as loud as Weiss could manage without collapsing from the excruciating pain of her broken ribs and pulling her friend out of that pit known as despair. "It must have been an unknown Dust vein that caused that explosion, not you!"
It had to be because only that could explain this insanity!
The other option was to believe that they had the power to wipe a kingdom off the map even when exhausted, and that was ridiculous!
"Besides, that was a mountainous region." Weiss held Ruby to her chest as she stroked her hair, trying to calm her down. "A Grimm territory, so nobody lives there."
Ruby didn't say anything, but her crying subsided, her best friend's words resonating in her mind.
Even if it wasn't true, she wanted to believe what was said; to believe that she wasn't a monster.
"Sh-shouldn't we go there?" Ruby let her voice trail off amid her sobs of pain and doubt. "T-to be sure?"
That she hadn't killed someone by mistake.
"In these conditions?" Weiss could barely breathe, and every word she said resulted in a pang of pain that she wasn't sure she could bear for much longer. "Besides, whether before or now, I can't feel anything coming from that direction."
In other words, there was nothing alive in that place, and it was better not to talk about it.
"O-okay." Ruby used the sleeves of her clothes to dry her tears, choosing to believe her best friend. "W-what are we going to do now?" For the first time, she was lost and had no direction. "W-what are we going to say to the others?"
Not just to Yang and Blake, but to the school and everyone else who asks about what happened here, especially Vegeta.
"For starters, don't ever use that attack again," Weiss started with the obvious, and the girl just nodded, agreeing immediately and for good reason. "As for what we're going to say..." Countless stories were already taking shape in her mind to cover up this incident, and she almost hated herself for it. Of course, it had to be at a time like this for that man's influence to show. Her father knew a lot about lies and manipulation, having successfully ingrained these despicable teachings in her. "We'll... keep this a secret, but if we have to say anything, the Dust vein theory is the most logical explanation for all this."
Which wasn't exactly a lie.
Weiss really wanted to believe that unrefined Dust was the cause of that massive explosion, even more so when considering the alternative.
"R-right," Ruby nodded slowly, still busy trying to stop her tears from falling and looking at her hands, burned with pain that couldn't be considered physical. "I-I don't think I want this power anymore."
This time, she was lucky to have destroyed only an uninhabited area, but what if there had been no mountains in the way? What would have happened if the attack had kept going in that direction without stopping? While Ruby really wanted to believe what Weiss said about having large amounts of Dust in those mountains to cause all that destruction, it didn't change the fact that she now had enormous power resting at her fingertips.
If she had already done all this without even being trained, what would happen if she got stronger?
Vegeta had thrown the whole world into chaos without even trying, and Ruby didn't want to be able to do the same.
Such words made Weiss pause for a second, not knowing what to say to that. In a way, Ruby was right. This power was absurd and could do more harm than good, depending on how it was used.
Recent events were a perfect example of this, where she had gotten carried away and used her power recklessly by becoming overconfident, not to mention arrogant.
Still, Weiss didn't want to give up, knowing that she could do better in the future, and, deep down, Ruby was no different.
Before Weiss could make these thoughts known, however, someone completely unexpected was there to speak for her.
It happened so fast!
So much so that Weiss was only able to notice his imposing presence when he was already only a few meters away, almost as if he had teleported!
Looking up was the man who was able to make her heart dance with emotions and feelings she had never felt before.
The reason for such a reaction varied, ranging from the power radiating out like white waves embroidered in red to the blue eyes just like hers - this being the third eye color he had shown alongside the natural black and the ocean green of the golden transformation - the body trained to the limit that was embraced by black combat clothes that left very little to the imagination...
Weiss had her heart beating faster and faster as blood moved to warm her face and make her shy away, especially with how haggard and dirty she looked after almost dying.
She didn't want Vegeta to see her in such a mess!
For Ruby, however, the feeling she had was completely different, being a mixture of fear and shame.
"Power is just that: power, a tool used to give life to the ambition of the one who wields it." Vegeta floated slowly to the ground, his arms crossed as he looked at the sorry state of his two students, who were having different reactions to his sudden appearance. "What's your ambition, Ruby Rose?"
Ruby was wide-eyed to the limit, soon being unable to do more than look away as she couldn't find the strength to answer the question a second time.
Unfortunately for her, Vegeta wasn't getting silence as an answer.
"If I remember correctly, you said you wanted to follow in the footsteps of your mother, who dedicated her life to helping those in need." He still remembered the proud expression this little girl had when describing her mother as if she were the greatest hero this world had ever known, very different from how defeated and broken she was now. "So tell me, what's changed?"
Based on the scene before him, Vegeta could assume what some of the reasons for this change of heart were.
Not only had they almost died in the fight just now, but there was the unintentional destruction that had been caused, and the weight behind the possibility that it could have been much worse.
"I-I..." Ruby sobbed, tears returning to her eyes. "I'm not worthy..."
Her mother would never have made the same mistakes as her.
"That's not true, Ruby!" Weiss snapped out of her lovesick reverie and had to stop herself from slapping this stupid girl in the face! "I've said it before, but if you, of all people, aren't worthy, then no one in this world is!"
In her eyes, Ruby was a silver ray of light capable of illuminating even the darkest heart!
"Weiss..." Ruby didn't know what to say to that, not imagining that her best friend saw her in such a positive light, and this only served to increase her internal conflict. "I'm scared." She clenched her burned hands in pain, this being a reminder of her mistake. "What if I lose control and really hurt someone?"
That's if she hadn't already been hurt, not to say killed, in that explosion just now.
"You redeem yourself by saving twice as much," Vegeta said before the princess could give her own thoughts. "Just like I did."
Probably.
Vegeta wasn't sure if the number of lives he had directly saved since turning over a new leaf really made up for the number he had killed, which included the destruction of dozens of planets.
Indirectly, however, he had saved an almost infinitely greater number of lives and planets with his contributions in combat at the Tournament of Power alone.
"You..." Weiss opened her eyes wide and felt a chill, and...disappointment at what had just been revealed. "Hurt other people before?"
Perhaps she shouldn't be surprised by that. The job of a Huntsman and Huntress went beyond merely fighting Grimm. Sometimes, they had to deal with people, too, and get their hands dirty.
"The chaos my power has caused in the world is an example of that." Vegeta wouldn't try to minimize the weight of his actions, even more so after condemning those of Kakarot. "Likewise, as soon as I heard about it, I went and fixed everything I could."
Now all he had to do was resurrect the victims when the time came and make sure something like this never happened again.
"Did you?" If it were someone else saying it, Ruby wouldn't believe a word of it, but Vegeta had no reason to lie, and she could find out the truth in a matter of minutes with her Scroll. "Still, I..."
"That regret and fear you feel," Vegeta interrupted, almost losing patience with this girl who was proving too selfless for his liking, "is proof that you are worthy of having this power and a correct choice on my part."
Someone like that would hardly intentionally misuse her powers and gifts, being just the perfect material to give life to a protector that this world would surely need one day.
Weiss was smiling now, her admiration and feelings for this man growing as she agreed with every word he said.
He may have been cold on the outside, but inside his heart was tender.
"Besides, you don't have to worry about losing control anymore." Vegeta had already decided how he was going to proceed with these two. "From now on, you two will be living with me."
Silence and confusion, then shock and much more confusion, was the reaction they had, especially Weiss, who felt her heart skip a beat!
"I-it's too soon for that!" She was as red as Ruby's cloak! "W-we barely know each other!"
Her heart wasn't ready!
"N-not what I meant!" Vegeta was red as well, a mixture of anger and embarrassment at how transparent this girl's interest in him was. "I can't risk having you blow up more mountains!" He took a deep breath, containing these emotions that stirred his heart, and his power to try to explain himself better. "I need you to live with me to avoid further destruction and to start with your training."
It wasn't exactly his favorite idea, but it was necessary nonetheless, especially with the barrier Whis had put around his house, making it the perfect place to train.
"But...what about Beacon?" Ruby decided to ignore the awkward scene from just now and focus on the other implications behind what had been said. "I don't want to be expelled."
While she had doubts and fears about the power Vegeta had given her, Ruby still wanted to be a Huntress.
"Why does that matter?" Vegeta couldn't care less. "As far as I know, that place is only meant to train you to become protectors of this world, isn't it?"
Exactly what he had intended to do, but better.
"Well, yes." Weiss also calmed down, as much as she could, and tried to explain more about it. "Beacon is the best academy in the world for training the next generation of Huntresses and Huntsmen."
That and the furthest place from home she could find to escape her father's manipulative clutches.
"In other words, it's a place that has become completely redundant for you." Vegeta wouldn't say that if it were a normal school, like the one Gohan attended in search of knowledge. "I don't know if you've noticed, but even now, you two are already the strongest on this planet, apart from me, of course."
This confirmed the suspicions Ruby and Weiss had had from the moment they began to feel the power of other people, which not even Professor Goodwitch could compare with.
Suddenly, they were the strongest girls in the world!
And yet...
"Beacon is about more than just power." Weiss couldn't get carried away with an achievement that wasn't born of her own efforts and could easily be surpassed if other people had the same opportunity. "They also teach values, discipline, and duty."
Some of the qualities needed to become an outstanding Huntress.
"That's right!" Ruby couldn't agree more with her best friend. "Beacon is a place that teaches you to be the best you can be!"
Because only the best could fight against the darkness of this world and keep people safe!
"Even if that's the case." Vegeta wasn't impressed, for he saw nothing but failures dying needlessly out there without being able to amount to anything. "It doesn't matter." He cooled his expression and attitude enough for the girls to notice that he wasn't joking. "You'll only get away from me once you've managed to control your powers, and that's final."
There was no room for negotiation.
This wasn't a request or a suggestion, but an order they couldn't refuse.