Beerus' lazy amusement had vanished from his purple catlike face. In its place was a solemn focus he'd rarely shown.
His golden eyes locked onto the faint silver sheen around Vitelli. His body sank into a truly serious stance.
The terrible pressure of a God of Destruction spread like solid force. Even the wind seemed to freeze.
His voice dropped, carrying the weight of a formal challenge.
Vitelli's silver-tinged eyes were calm as a starry void.
He moved.
One instant, his figure blurred.
The next, he was right in front of Beerus.
Vitelli's movement wasn't just fast—it was airy, rhythmic, like he'd fused with the world itself.
A silver-wrapped fist that looked light yet carried space-piercing force slammed toward Beerus' face from an impossible angle.
A dull impact sounded.
Beerus barely got his arm up. Even so, the compacted force blasted through his guard, sending him stumbling in midair. He spun awkwardly before stabilizing himself.
Beerus shook his numb arm, and the grim look melted away.
What replaced it was… delight. Like a kid who'd found a new toy.
He grinned, showing sharp teeth, eyes gleaming with understanding.
"So it's only a half-baked version! Hah! Interesting! Just half-baked!"
He'd figured it out.
Vitelli had indeed called forth Ultra Instinct's silver glow, but it was unstable, sluggish, rootless. Nowhere close to true Ultra Instinct—not even "Sign."
It was more like a forced brush with the threshold, a pseudo-state born from talent and endless training.
But even half-baked, paired with Vitelli's base power, it was enough to thrill Beerus—and make his hands itch.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam—!!!
They stopped talking and collided again.
This time the fight was far more savage.
Clear silhouettes vanished, leaving only two flashing streaks that slammed together, separated, and tangled again—
One violet, dangerous, destructive.
One flowing with silver light.
Each shock sounded like rolling thunder above the heavens.
Every hit blew visible shockwaves that shredded clouds.
Below, the wasteland was plowed and cracked by sonic booms and stray energy, sand blasted skyward into storms.
"Good kid! Even half-baked, but—"
Beerus' wild laughter rang through the impacts.
"—you're qualified! Hahahaha!"
He hadn't fought seriously in ages. Now he was laughing like he'd missed this for millennia.
They crashed together again at impossible speed.
Beerus' eyes flashed. At the instant their fists met, his left hand shot out like a phantom and seized Vitelli's right wrist.
Beerus shouted, twisting his hips and hurling him.
Vitelli was flung like a stone from a catapult, silver trail streaking through the sky.
But Beerus was faster than the throw.
He vanished, then reappeared perfectly behind Vitelli's flight path.
SMACK—!!!
A crisp, explosive sound detonated in the air.
Beerus wore a prankster's grin as he whipped a heavy kick straight into Vitelli's completely unguarded… butt.
"Ugh—!!"
Vitelli sucked in pain, caught totally off guard.
The physical blow hurt, but worse was the sheer shamelessness of the attack. It shattered the delicate Ultra Instinct mindset he'd been maintaining.
The silver glow on his body wavered hard, nearly collapsing.
He forced himself stable, clutching his burning backside, glaring at Beerus with stunned fury.
"Beerus! Are you kidding me?! A God of Destruction kicking someone in the ass? You seriously play like that?!"
"Hoo hoo hoo~ A fight's a fight. If you win, you win. Who said I can't kick your butt?"
Beerus shrugged, unapologetic.
Vitelli choked on rage. He didn't waste words.
His hands flew in front of him, spawning countless compressed silver ki blasts like a downpour. They roared toward Beerus in a storm.
Vitelli's own body hid behind the barrage as he charged.
Beerus stayed calm, hands becoming a blur of violet light as he swatted the blasts away like flies.
His eyes stayed locked on the shadow behind them.
Vitelli's serious, furious face suddenly curved into a sly smile mid-charge.
Right as he slipped past the final blast and closed in—
He snapped both hands to his forehead, palms spread toward Beerus' eyes.
"SOLAR FLARE!!"
A thunderous shout.
WHOOOM—!!!
A gold light so bright it couldn't be described exploded between his palms and swallowed Beerus' vision.
It was like the sky itself became gold.
Down below, Bulma in her craft couldn't see a thing. She pouted.
"Hey! I can't see anything like this!"
"Hoo hoo hoo~" Whis chuckled, casually flicking away stray blasts that might reach them.
At Bulma's complaint, he twirled his staff, and a clear projection screen appeared inside her cockpit.
It showed Beerus and Vitelli's fight—slowed down massively so she could see every motion.
"Wow! Thanks, Whis!"
Bulma lit up and leaned in.
…And instantly regretted it.
The slow-motion playback reached the moment Vitelli unleashed Solar Flare.
WHOOOM—!!!
Even through the projection, she got hit.
"AHH—MY EYES!!"
Bulma yelped miserably, clapping her hands over her face.
Following Beerus, she too had been "Solar Flared."
Up in the sky, the blinding light faded.
Beerus squeezed his eyes shut, a tear beading at the corner. He shook his head hard, trying to clear the afterimage.
His eyes wouldn't be harmed, of course. But the sudden "blind" effect was unbelievably… infuriating.
Vitelli hovered nearby, smiling brightly, silver eyes full of mischief.
"Aww? What's wrong, Lord Beerus? The noble god… got tricked by a mortal's cheap stunt?"
He heavily emphasized "noble."
"Bastard!!"
Beerus' eyes snapped open. Anger blazed.
You little punk—just because I kicked you once, you think you can sneak attack like that?!
Space warped.
Beerus was still where he stood—yet another Beerus appeared instantly before Vitelli.
Too fast for Vitelli to track in this state.
Beerus' fingers formed a blade. With a shriek that tore through space, his arm swung for Vitelli's chest.
This strike carried real wrath—and real power.
Vitelli's pupils shrank to pinpoints. He couldn't dodge.
But before thought could command it, his body reacted—
Arms crossed in front of his chest, giant instinct, angelic ki binding to them.
BOOM—!!!
A heavy, terrifying impact.
It felt like a planet had slammed into him.
His arms screamed. Bones groaned.
He was blasted away like a shell, blood spilling from his mouth.
Beerus didn't pause. He caught up instantly, appearing above and to the side.
Vitelli's body didn't fully respond in time.
A crushing punch smashed into Vitelli's left cheek.
His mind went blank, pain and dizziness exploding.
He dropped like a cut kite.
CRASH—!!!
He hit the wasteland like a meteor, carving a massive crater and kicking up a sky-high cloud.
"Vitelli!"
Bulma's heart leapt into her throat. She forgot her stinging eyes, staring at the screen.
Dust drifted down.
At the crater's center, Vitelli knelt on one knee, right hand braced on the ground, breathing hard.
Blood at his lip. Left cheek bruised dark.
Yet his silver eyes stayed sharp, locked on Beerus.
Beerus descended to the crater's edge, looking down at him. The anger in his eyes remained—but so did a trace of respect.
"Yeah! Vitelli! Hit him back!"
Bulma pumped her fist, cheering quietly when she saw he was still okay.
"Not yet, Miss Bulma."
Whis had somehow produced a bag of snacks again. He ate gracefully, eyes shining.
"From here on… Lord Beerus is going to get a little serious. And Vitelli… his real fight may only just be starting."
BOOOOM—!!!
As if to prove it, Beerus erupted in an even more terrifying violet aura.
He dropped from hover, planting his feet on the earth.
The wasteland shattered like brittle crackers under the force.
A sonic boom detonated behind him as he became a violet meteor of destruction, crashing toward Vitelli.
Vitelli's eyes narrowed. His body already felt that crushing force.
He gritted through the pain, ki raging.
He didn't block head-on—he shot upward toward the stratosphere, racing for Earth's upper edge.
Beerus snorted and followed.
In a blink they broke through clouds and reached the border of the atmosphere.
Thin air. Unfiltered sunlight. Below, the blue curve of Earth. Above, endless star-black.
They hovered thousands of meters apart, the chaos below muted in the near vacuum.
Beerus' violet aura settled, but the lethal pressure condensed tighter.
His eyes studied Vitelli. The mockery was gone. In its place was… admiration.
"You're good."
His mouth curved as if making a decision.
"Want to be the Seventh Universe's apprentice God of Destruction?"
Vitelli froze. Silver eyes flashed in surprise.
He'd expected a heavier assault, a taunt, a new technique—
Not this.
An apprentice God of Destruction?
He didn't even hesitate. He shook his head.
"I refuse."
His voice was calm, unwavering.
A God of Destruction? Not his path. He sought the apex of power itself—the true mystery of Ultra Instinct. When he mastered the complete state, a mere God of Destruction would be nothing.
Beerus seemed to have expected it. He snorted and said no more.
Battle intent flared hotter.
No need for words.
Vitelli's silver aura surged again. He attacked first, turning into a silver lightning bolt.
Beerus answered with a flood of violet destruction.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!!!
Now it truly became white-hot.
The stratosphere was like a chain of nuclear detonations.
Every clash birthed storms of power ten times worse than before.
Shockwaves rippled into space and shoveled through the atmosphere below.
The Earth screamed. People screamed.
Even cities dozens of kilometers away shook violently.
Windows exploded. Buildings wobbled. People fled into open spaces and looked up in terror—
High above, clouds churned into a monstrous void, flashes tearing through it like the world ending.
In the center of their collision, space itself cracked like glass.
Super winds blasted downward, birthing monstrous storms at the surface.
At last, after another earth-shattering collision, they separated and hovered apart, still facing each other.
Both were breathing rough now, ki unsettled—yet their fighting spirit only burned higher.
Beerus' voice carried a faint grin, full of acknowledgement.
"I admit you're not bad. If you can withstand this next move…"
He raised his right hand with one index finger extended.
Bzzzz—!!!
A soul-shivering aura of destruction condensed instantly.
A basketball-sized sphere of deep violet energy appeared at Beerus' fingertip.
Inside, purple lightning writhed, radiating the end of all things.
Even its mere presence made Vitelli's silver aura flicker like it might go out.
"If you block it, this fight counts as your win."
Beerus' voice was flat, cold, like a divine verdict.
He flicked a finger.
The sphere moved silently—so fast it shredded time and space, crossing kilometers in an instant.
Where it passed, space was torn into a black trail that refused to heal.
Vitelli spread his hands to meet it.
A blazing white light compressed wildly between his palms: White-Hot Flash, charging.
But the pressure of that destruction sphere warped his face before it even arrived.
His body felt crushed under a mountain.
Bones moaned.
This power… was far beyond what Beerus had shown before.
The white light in his hands compressed—too slowly.
Way too slowly.
Not enough time to finish White-Hot Flash before impact.
Vitelli's silver eyes flashed panic for the first time.
Was he going to lose?
Was he about to be erased—
A volcano of unwillingness and fury erupted in his chest.
I refuse to lose!!! To a mere God of Destruction—how could I?!
At the razor's edge between life and death—
Bzzzz—!!!
The thin, unstable silver glow around Vitelli detonated like a supernova.
The faint silver at the rim of his pupils surged outward, swallowing all black.
In one breath, his eyes became pure, complete silver—like mirrors of cosmic truth.
A sensation beyond words flooded his whole being.
Time slowed.
Thought sharpened to a terrifying clarity.
Every cell in his body sang.
He felt it—
The tiniest flow of wind at this altitude.
The vast living pulse of Earth below.
The deep, absolute stillness of the cosmos above.
He even felt the internal nodes of energy within the destruction sphere—every pathway, every turning point.
He wasn't a fighter anymore.
He was the wind, the planet, the void—
Part of all things.
No thinking. No controlling.
Body moved as will moved; will moved as mind moved.
This… was true Ultra Instinct.
In that moment of enlightenment, White-Hot Flash accelerated a thousandfold.
Compression. Condensation. Ascension. All in one smooth breath.
And his stance changed naturally.
From two-handed charging to a single hand extended forward.
Fingers spread, palm facing the violet sphere.
The movement was flawless, flowing, carrying a perfect rhythm.
As the destruction sphere reached him—
Vitelli's silver eyes reflected violet light, calm as still water.
His lips moved. His voice was faint, indifferent, carrying into Beerus' ears.
"White-Hot… Flash."
Bzzzz—!!!
A razor-pure beam of white light exploded from his palm.
No grand fireworks. No wasteful overflow.
It was pure light—pure edge—drilling straight into the sphere's core.
Shhkk—!!!
No explosion. Only a soft sound like a hot knife through butter.
The destruction energy was pierced and unraveled instantly, unable to scatter even a ripple.
The white beam kept going, roaring toward Beerus behind it.
For the first time, Beerus' pupils displayed raw shock.
He hadn't expected such a sudden transformation.
He shouted, crossing both arms.
Violet destruction power surged into a dense shield in front of him.
BOOOOOOM—!!!
The white beam crashed into the shield, and this time the explosion was cataclysmic.
Energy raged like a boiling sea, shredding the thin air.
The light illuminated half the Earth's night side.
Seconds later, the storm receded.
At the center, Beerus still hovered there.
His crossed arms trembled. His divine robes were torn and scorched.
He looked battered—but not truly injured.
His aura was still immense.
But his face now held shock, gravity, and a complicated awe.
Vitelli continued floating with one hand extended.
The silver glow drained away like a tide.
His eyes returned to deep black.
He looked calmly at Beerus, voice weak with exhaustion.
"Beerus… I… won…"
His eyes dulled.
His body tipped backward, limp.
"VITELLI—!!"
Bulma screamed in the craft. Tears burst free.
She rammed the controls to race over, but they were too far.
"Whis! Save him!"
"Hoo hoo hoo~ A feast!"
Whis laughed lightly, tapping his staff.
He vanished, then reappeared beside Vitelli, catching him by the collar like a kitten and setting him gently beside Bulma.
"Vitelli! Vitelli, wake up!"
Bulma threw herself over him, heart breaking at his pale face and bloodied lips.
Then she fumbled desperately.
"Right—senzu beans! Senzu!"
She remembered he always kept capsules in his combat suit.
After frantic searching, she found one labeled "Senzu" at his waist.
Bang! The capsule opened, dropping plump green beans into her hand.
She pried his mouth open carefully and fed them to him.
The life energy flooded through him instantly.
His color returned, bruises vanished, breathing steadied.
"Mm…"
Vitelli's lids fluttered. He opened his eyes to Bulma's tear-soaked face.
"Bulma? I'm fi—"
Then he felt cold air on his skin.
He looked down.
"WHAT THE—?!"
His familiar black battle suit was gone.
He was wearing something eerily familiar—
Deep blue, with purple patterns and gold trim.
A simplified version of Beerus' own divine uniform.
Vitelli exploded.
He glared up at Beerus and Whis, voice furious.
"Who?! Who changed my clothes?! What are you doing?!"
Beerus floated there with arms folded, smug and tyrannical.
He flicked Vitelli's forehead with a loud thunk.
"Ow!" Vitelli clutched his head.
"Be happy, kid!"
Beerus snorted, wearing a "you should be grateful" face.
"In thousands of years, I've never personally chosen an apprentice God of Destruction. You're the first. That's your honor."
He pointed to Vitelli's new outfit.
"This uniform is the symbol of your status. From today on, Vitelli—you are the Seventh Universe's apprentice God of Destruction!"
Vitelli: "…???"
His mind was blank. Apprentice? Since when? Who agreed?!
"Lord Beerus isn't worried Vitelli will come after you for revenge later?"
Whis asked cheerfully, covering his mouth as he smiled.
"Afraid of him?" Beerus scoffed. His eyes looked down on Vitelli with arrogant disdain.
"I, Beerus, need to fear him?!"
Then he turned to Bulma.
"I heard you promised Whis a meal. When does that start?"
Bulma looked at Vitelli—who had just been beaten into unconsciousness, then dressed in a job uniform against his will—then at the utterly shameless God of Destruction demanding food.
She sighed deeply.
She could not understand how a god trained such a thick-skinned personality.
You literally just beat my husband half to death!
But when her gaze fell on Vitelli in that strange yet oddly majestic uniform—and on his furious, helpless expression—the sharp ache in her chest softened into a bizarre pride.
She pulled out her phone.
"Hello? It's me. Prepare a banquet immediately. Yes, the best ingredients. Get the whole chef team ready. And also…"
She glanced at Vitelli still glaring at Beerus and couldn't help smiling.
"Let's call it… a celebration for Vitelli's… promotion."
She reassured herself quietly:
Apprentice God of Destruction's wife? Weird.
But still a god's wife.
Not a bad deal.
Bulma Briefs' husband is a god.
Telling her girlfriends would be so cool.
Even if that god currently looked like he wanted to pin his boss to the floor and beat the stuffing out of him.
Vitelli watched Bulma set up a banquet, then looked at Beerus' smug face and Whis' "this is hilarious" expression.
In the end he could only scratch his head in defeat.
He tugged at the new uniform on his body, sighing in resignation.
What the hell even is my life now?!