Zamasu now possessed the Power of Destruction.
When coupled with his immense raw strength and his immortal body, he had become an entity that perhaps even a legitimate God of Destruction could not easily erase. In every sense of the word, Zamasu had become a God of Destruction himself.
Raditz was dragged by Zamasu through the cosmos, a ragdoll in the grip of a deity. They smashed through planet after planet, shattering the starry sky. At times, the sheer velocity of their travel tore holes in the fabric of the universe, briefly exposing parallel dimensions and fragmented timelines before they plunged back into the void.
Space shattered before them like a fragile mirror.
Raditz felt as though he were being squeezed to death. His body was subjected to constant bombardment, the friction of their travel burning his skin as they broke through the final barrier.
They crashed into a deep, swirling black vortex. A powerful gravitational force seized them, dragging them forward with maddening speed. It was a singularity that devoured all matter—not even light could escape its hunger.
Finally, they emerged.
Zamasu staggered out of the rift, still clutching Raditz, but this time he didn't slam him into the ground. instead, he carelessly tossed the Saiyan onto the hard earth.
It seemed that Zamasu had rampaged across the universe, breaking through countless spatial barriers, just to reach this specific destination.
Raditz tumbled across the ground, gasping for air. He forced himself up, coughing, and took a moment to scan his surroundings. Immediately, he froze.
The air was heavy with an ancient, sepulchral wind. Lonely, weathered stone pillars stretched toward a clean, colorless sky. A vast, silent lake reflected the desolation.
And there, dominating the horizon, was the Great Tree.
It pierced the clouds, old beyond reckoning yet full of terrifying vitality. Raditz recognized this place instantly. These were the Ancient Ruins—the graveyard where the Gods and Angels of the past were buried.
"Why... why are we here?" Raditz wheezed, taken aback.
He didn't get time to ponder. A sudden gale pressure hit him. A roar like a dragon erupted as Zamasu launched a devastating blast. It was a shockwave of silver-white energy, wreathed in a sinister pink halo and crackling with purple lightning.
It was the Energy of Destruction.
Raditz crossed his arms instantly to block. The impact was cataclysmic. His muscles tore, and blood sprayed from between his clenched teeth as he was pushed back.
"Hahahaha! You are too weak!" Zamasu laughed. He was a master of energy manipulation, and with a casual wave of his hand, he had put Raditz in a desperate situation. "HAA!"
The energy bloomed in front of Raditz like a gray flower of death, monstrous and expanding.
BOOM!
Under the bombardment of this god-tier energy, the ground of the Ancient Ruins only sank into a deep pit. The earth shattered in a small radius, but the planet did not fall apart. The fact that the environment survived proved just how solid and magically reinforced this dimension was.
However, Raditz was not so durable. Two deep grooves, tens of meters long, had been carved into the ground where his feet had dragged. Smoke rose from his forearms, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably.
"Huff... huff..."
Raditz's stamina was bottoming out. Damn it. This guy's pressure... he has truly reached the level of a Destroyer. I can't match him in a contest of power.
I have only one option left.
Raditz knew he couldn't overpower Zamasu. He could only survive if he stopped thinking.
Let go.
Raditz purged his mind of fear, strategy, and pain. He immersed himself in the state of emptiness.
Ultra Instinct.
The aura around him changed instantly. The violent, flaring ki vanished, replaced by a calm, silver-white luminescence that clung to his body like mist. His hair bristled slightly, and when he opened his eyes, his irises had turned a sharp, crystalline silver.
A silent, admirable coercion filled the air.
"That trick again?" Zamasu raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Hmph. I am no longer afraid of your parlor tricks."
With a yell, Zamasu flew forward. Raditz instinctively launched a ki blast to intercept, but Zamasu didn't dodge. He simply swatted it. The moment his hand touched the energy, the blast didn't explode—it was erased from existence.
Zamasu was now proficient in Hakai. Anything that touched him—be it energy or flesh—would be destroyed instantly.
Raditz's pupils contracted. His body moved on its own, spinning away instinctively.
Swish!
Zamasu's fist grazed Raditz's hair. The first strike missed.
Zamasu's expression didn't change. He pressed the attack immediately. Second strike. Third strike. Fourth strike.
A phantom-like barrage of punches rained down, each one capable of erasing a galaxy. Raditz weaved through them like water, dodging with hair's-breadth precision.
It was the Realm of Gods versus the Technique of Angels.
For a long time, the two maintained a terrifying balance. But ultimately, Raditz's mastery was incomplete. The longer he maintained the Omen state, the more his conscious mind tried to take over. The moment he had a stray thought, his speed lagged behind Zamasu's divine velocity.
Bang!
A fist connected squarely with Raditz's chest.
Raditz was sent flying, a column of blood spurting from his mouth. The brilliant colors of his blood against the gray ruins seemed to excite Zamasu, who began to walk over slowly, savoring the victory.
Raditz hit the ground hard. His chest felt like it had exploded. Violent destruction energy drilled into his body, breaking ribs and rupturing organs. He was a mess. His lower body was numb, and as he looked up at the approaching God, he found it difficult to even mobilize the strength to sit up.
Zamasu could have killed him with a little more force. But he hadn't.
"Raditz, you are lucky. Shadow Emperor does not wish for you to die yet. Otherwise, I would have erased you long ago," Zamasu said fiercely, staring down at the broken Saiyan. "For the sake of your status as a fellow divine being, I haven't given up on saving you from your own stupidity. As long as you cooperate with me, we can let go of the past."
Zamasu was a walking contradiction. He despised mortals with a fervor that made Kibito look tolerant, yet he saw himself as a savior. He genuinely believed he was offering Raditz salvation.
Raditz ignored the sermon. His eyes darted to the Great Tree.
Previously, there had been several Angels dormant in the branches of that empty tree. Now, they were gone. The Angels that had stopped functioning had been resurrected and had fled this realm.
If Zamasu was working with the entity that controlled this place, then their purpose was terrifying. But why keep Raditz alive?
"What... exactly does 'Shadow Emperor' want to do?" Raditz spat out a mouthful of blood.
"To fulfill the lofty ideal, of course. An ideal that aligns perfectly with my own justice," Zamasu said cryptically, a trace of genuine longing on his face. Then, his expression hardened. He reached down and hoisted Raditz up by the neck. "Unfortunately, a mortal mind cannot comprehend it."
Raditz couldn't resist the grip. He choked out, "Where... are you taking me?"
"You are very special, Raditz. We intend to transform you. You will gain power you have never possessed before—just like me. However, the price is loyalty. You must become one of us and remove certain obstacles."
"Heh..." Raditz managed a weak, bloody smirk. "So, 'Shadow Emperor' is still afraid of the Omni-King, isn't he? Otherwise, he wouldn't be hiding in the shadows. He wouldn't need pawns."
It all made sense. Zamasu was doing the dirty work. The Angels were gone because they had sensed the danger and fled—or had been moved. The villains were hiding here because they still feared Zeno and the Grand Priest. Their strength wasn't enough for a head-on confrontation yet.
Zamasu's eyes narrowed.
"You are very smart. But soon... soon, we will no longer need to fear the Omni-King or his Angels." Zamasu's smile returned, cold and full of absolute certainty. "Soon, the hierarchy changes."