Bardock spotted Quitela in the distance and frowned.
From far away, he could see Quitela erasing someone with a God of Destruction's technique. He couldn't make out who it was at that range, but he was certain the person had been wiped out.
Why was he out here destroying a mortal? Bardock couldn't make sense of it.
A chill ran through him.
Isn't this the region around Planet Vampa? Don't tell me… Quitela erased Broly's father? If that was true, it was bad—really bad.
It would mean I gave him Paragus's location, and then he went and erased him…
If this gets investigated, it's on me too.
Is Quitela's head screwed on wrong?
You erased Broly's father… what are you trying to do?
After chatting with Goku and Gohan for a while, Bardock had left Namek feeling genuinely satisfied. Seeing his son and grandson grow this far made him happy—especially when Kakarot, a low-class warrior, had surpassed even a prodigy like Vegeta in battle power.
Bardock knew what he had to do now: raise his own strength as fast as possible. Only when he reached, at the very least, Broly's level could he keep his son and grandson safe—and rebuild a family with Gine after her revival.
So he needed to keep training.
As for what happened on Namek, Frieza had already been kicked into space. With his son, grandson, and their friends there, making their wishes shouldn't run into any major trouble.
After saying goodbye, Bardock headed toward Beerus' Planet to take a look. But the moment he entered this region, he saw what was happening in the distance.
He couldn't see clearly, but he approached without giving anything away and appeared in front of Quitela.
It really was him.
So who did he erase?
"Bardock, huh?" Quitela froze, his mouth twitching as he forced an awkward smile. "Did you wrap things up on Namek?"
"It's settled." Bardock nodded.
"Good… good." Quitela answered, distracted.
"Did you find Broly's father?" Bardock asked, watching him closely and staying on guard, worried Quitela might try to silence him.
"Didn't find him… no." Quitela shook his head.
Bardock fell silent.
Should I say I saw you erase someone? If I say it, he'll kill me without hesitation. With my current strength, I'm no match for him.
"Why are you here again?" Quitela tried to steady himself.
Paragus can't get out to a second person. If this reaches Broly, I'll die horribly. That monster is level 58.
"Since Namek's business is done, there's no point in me staying. That place is for the young ones to sharpen themselves. I'm planning to go see Beerus' Planet." Bardock said.
"You're right. You should go." Quitela nodded, waving him off. "Go on, go on."
"And you? Not coming?" Bardock asked.
"I've got things to handle. I'm not going with you." Quitela replied, shaking his head.
Bardock didn't speak. He just stared.
"What's with that look?" Quitela asked, suddenly guilty.
"Nothing. I'll be going. Goodbye." Bardock turned and left, becoming a crimson streak as he shot toward the realm of the Gods of Destruction.
Only after he'd flown far away did the tightness in his chest ease. He'd been terrified Quitela would strike from behind.
I wouldn't be able to stop it… not at all…
Bardock felt like surviving at all was a miracle.
Quitela didn't dare kill him, either. This was already a mess of a misunderstanding—if he erased Bardock too, Broly would beat him to death.
And Ken, as an Angel, could investigate the cause of death of a God of Destruction. Of course, he could also investigate Paragus's death. If it really got investigated, Quitela almost felt relieved.
Because from start to finish, it was an accident.
If Broly sees that footage… he shouldn't blame me, right?
No, no—this won't do!
I need to go to the Other World right now. I have to find Broly's father's soul.
…
Universe 7, the Other World.
"Everyone line up! No cutting! That white soul—yeah, you! Stop cutting!" A staffer held a loudspeaker and kept order among the queued souls.
He'd shouted it again and again: you're all dead, and you'll be judged by Yemma-sama next. So stop cutting! Stop cutting!
Sooner or later, it happens to everyone. Nobody's getting away.
And yet, souls still cut in without thinking.
"Hey! My son is a God of Destruction! Let me go first!" Paragus shoved ahead several times, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"I don't care what 'God of Destruction' you're talking about. You're dead, you're a soul, so get in line!" the staffer snapped. "Yemma-sama is the boss here!"
"My son really is a God of Destruction! He's the Great God of Destruction!" Paragus screamed himself hoarse.
His voice carried. Before long, King Yemma heard the commotion inside his hall.
"Who's making that noise?" King Yemma pricked up his ears and asked the little ogre beside him.
The report came up quickly.
"His son is a God of Destruction?" King Yemma blinked, then immediately ordered, "Bring him up here!"
Paragus was dragged in.
King Yemma narrowed his eyes, then pulled out the Book of Life and Death and skimmed Paragus's record.
Paragus: Male. Saiyan. Born on Planet Vegeta. Has one son, Broly, said to be the Legendary Super Saiyan.
That was his whole life, summed up in a few short lines.
"Broly?" King Yemma paused. "That name sounds familiar."
The little ogre immediately tried to remember where they'd heard it.
King Yemma kept reading.
Cause of death: Unable to survive in space. Taken into space by Quitela and died.
Then came his sins and good deeds.
Paragus had almost no good deeds, and not many crimes either. Mostly because he'd been stranded on Planet Vampa while still young, without many chances to do anything at all.
Normally, a soul like that would be cleansed and sent to reincarnate.
But after the Mule incident back then, King Yemma handled things carefully. He didn't dare act as recklessly as before.
"Hey, King Yemma, how are you judging me?" Paragus demanded arrogantly. "You'd better watch yourself. My son is a God of Destruction."
"Once, a soul came here and said his father was a God of Destruction. I ended up dispersing him on the spot…" King Yemma sighed. "If I didn't have that lesson, I'd have stabbed you to death today."
Paragus's mouth twitched.
So the title 'God of Destruction' doesn't mean much here.
"Take him down and lock him up. We'll deal with him later!" King Yemma ordered.
"Yes, Yemma-sama!" the little ogre answered respectfully.
Paragus was taken away and temporarily imprisoned.
King Yemma had already decided he'd judge him later.
"Since you lived on a place like Planet Vampa, we'll put you somewhere similar." The little ogre said, sending Paragus's soul off to a Vampa-like area for confinement.
Paragus: "…"
Paragus wanted to die all over again—and he wanted to curse, too.
I finally got off that hellhole, and you dump me somewhere like it again?
Broly, you little bastard—your 'God of Destruction' title is useless. I thought they'd be scared of you!
And that rat underling of yours!
What a trap.
Did you set your underling on me on purpose? Was this your way of getting me killed?
The more Paragus thought about it, the worse it felt.
What a random death.
I died the moment I hit open space.
Who's got it more tragic than me?
Paragus wanted to cry, then threw his head back and howled, "Twenty-seven minutes! Twenty-seven minutes! I've been stuck here for twenty-seven minutes!"
…
Universe 7, the vast starfield.
Broly flew through space at high speed with Ai.
"So fast… Ai can barely keep up with the calculations… Broly, you're already faster than light." Ai's innocent voice chimed.
Broly nodded slightly, gently stroking Ai's body.
After flying for a while, he looked up and realized the starfield felt familiar.
A little farther ahead… that should be Planet Vampa.
Back then, I followed Ken off Planet Vampa, entered this starfield, and everything after that happened.
Broly thought it over and decided to go back and take a look.
He couldn't just leave his father on that planet.
If he can repent, I'll take him away, find him a suitable planet, and let him live out his old age. That'll count as me doing my duty.
With that, Broly accelerated toward Planet Vampa.
As he flew, a familiar figure appeared ahead.
Quitela?
The moment Broly spotted him, Quitela also saw the dark-green streak blazing through space.
It was the brightest light in the whole starfield.
Quitela started trembling all over, the color draining from his body until he went pale.
Of course… of course he shows up now.
Broly came?
Is he here for his father?
Then I'm finished.
At this point, Quitela didn't have time to think—and he didn't dare run. The gap between level 55 and level 58 was too big.
Quitela figured that if it were Beerus, he could at least put up a fight and die with some dignity. But this was Broly. Three levels apart—forget it.
As Broly closed in, Quitela rushed forward and dropped to his knees in greeting.
"Greetings, Great God of Destruction." Quitela said respectfully, jittery like a child who'd done something wrong.
"You're not with Majin Buu and the others?" Broly asked.
"Great God of Destruction-… I had business, so I split off from them for now." Quitela trembled as he answered.
"What are you doing in this region?" A bad feeling rose in Broly's chest.
"This region… is there something special about it?" Quitela asked calmly, pretending to be innocent.
"My father is on Planet Vampa over there." Broly pointed to a small planet in the distance. "Don't tell me you're after him."
Quitela's heart lurched, but his face stayed steady. He hurriedly waved his hands. "Ah… so that's Great God of Destruction's father… what should I call him? Should I call him Old God of Destruction?"
"Go." Broly didn't catch anything obvious and waved him away.
Quitela's heart was practically in his throat. Hearing Broly let him go, he finally relaxed.
Run. Now.
If I don't leave, I won't be leaving at all.
But just as Quitela turned to go, Ai spoke up. "Broly, he's lying!"
Broly turned his head toward Ai.
"I just checked his heart rate with infrared. Especially when you mentioned your father, his heartbeat went completely abnormal!" Ai analyzed.
Quitela immediately shot Ai a resentful look.
Where did this robot come from?
Why can it read a God of Destruction's heart rate?
Quitela's eyes sharpened, and he quickly made out what Ai was—this sphere was forged from cosmic essence.
How much cosmic essence do you people even have?
No wonder it can pick up my heart rate!
Quitela hated Ai so much he wanted to erase that sphere on the spot.
But he didn't dare.
"You're not going anywhere. Come with me." Broly frowned and ordered.
After that, he took off first, heading straight for Planet Vampa.
Quitela nearly broke down inside.
This is a disaster.
What do I do?
Do I tell the truth?
Next, Broly's going to investigate why his father vanished. Once he looks into it, it'll be easy to trace it back to me.
The Angel race definitely has the ability to replay what happened on the scene.
If I confess now… will he go a little lighter on me?
I'm just afraid he'll slap me dead in a rage.
Quitela's thoughts tangled tighter and tighter.
If I speak, there's a chance I die to one slap.
If I don't, he'll find out sooner or later—and I still die to one slap. I just live a little longer.
Quitela couldn't decide.
While he was agonizing, Broly was already above Planet Vampa, dropping fast toward the cave where his father lived.
But inside the cave, there was no one.
Broly expanded his senses across the entire planet.
There wasn't a single person anywhere.
He didn't sense his father's ki.
Worse, he didn't sense his friend Ba's ki either.
Whoosh!
Broly flickered and appeared above the green swamp, looking down.
His brows knit tightly.
Ba was gone.
Quitela's unease only deepened.
I erased that monster too.
Now Broly's found out.
I'm finished.
Broly stared at the empty spot where Ba had been, unable to make sense of it.
Just then, his communicator buzzed. He pulled it out and answered right in front of Quitela.
"Broly, it's Bardock." Bardock's voice came through the communicator.
Quitela: "…"
That dread hit even harder.
Bardock, what are you doing?
Are you going to tattle?
If he mentions I asked about Broly's father, I look even guiltier.
"Ahem!" Quitela suddenly coughed hard.
Hearing that cough, Bardock's words stopped short.
He hadn't expected Broly to be with Quitela.
"What are you trying to say, Bardock?" Broly narrowed his eyes, glancing at Quitela.
Bardock fell silent for a moment.
But he'd been suspicious all along. He'd hesitated again and again on the way here, and still decided he had to say it. Even with Quitela coughing beside Broly, Bardock wasn't backing down.
"Broly, earlier Quitela asked me about your father. I told him about Planet Vampa, and after that I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off." Bardock said in a low voice. "After I left Namek, I went to check around Planet Vampa… and I saw something from far away. I'm not completely sure what I saw."
Quitela's heart sank.
Did Bardock see me erase Paragus's body?
Broly looked from the communicator to Quitela, eyes still narrowed.
"Hey, Bardock, can you just finish your sentence?" Quitela snapped. "Did I ever say what I was going to do?"
"He said he offended you before, and he wanted to properly show respect to your father." Bardock answered honestly.
"Then where's my father?" Broly asked, his face dark.
Quitela: "…"
"I'm calling to tell you this because my actions put your father at risk, and I'm truly sorry." Bardock said heavily.
"This isn't on you." Broly said, not blaming him. "Even if you hadn't told him, he'd have found another way to dig it up."
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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