The Monster (26.2)

Game

Thoughts

"Talking"

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Kami POV

"...He's a monster," Kami spoke, staring at a crystal ball. Next to him stood Mr. Popo, both 'deities' watching the Pendulum Room intently. Kami's eyes were wide, a slightly fearful look in them as he watched Gray's body change again. 

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Hahahahhahahahahahahahahahaha. Haaaaa. Ha." Mr. Popo's creepy laugh echoed in the small blue room, the dark man turning his huge white eyes to Kami, "Yes."

When Kami had first seen the training Gray was undergoing in the Pendulum Room, he had seen no problem with it. Everyone who Mr. Popo sent into the room faced hellish training. Training where one's death wasn't impossible. 

However, this was different. While Mr. Popo put his trainees in deadly situations, he did not send them to their deaths. Kami was not well versed on everything Saiyan-related, but he knew bits and pieces from what he'd pulled out of Mr. Popo. The genie-like man wasn't very sharing of what he knew, but he seemed to know everything about anything.

And so, Kami was well aware of who Yamoshi was. Even if he wasn't, he would've known after watching him fight through the crystal ball. 

Kami had seen many fighters throughout his many years - hell, he'd trained some of the best fighters on the planet. He'd seen many fighters come and go. Many impressive ones.

The young monk, Krillin. A man who could use an unblockable technique - a disk that could cut through even the strongest of materials - and the strongest of fighters.

Muten Roshi - A centuries-old martial arts master who could pull seemingly infinite techniques out of his - pardon Kami's language - behind. The man who could destroy planets with a Kamehameha wave.

Tien Shinhan - A young martial artist who could channel his very lifespan into a powerful attack. Up until recently, that was the strongest attack he had ever seen.

Demon King Piccolo - His other half. A demon who had no regard for life. A killing machine.

And then, the one who Kami truly believed would become the strongest in the universe. Demon King Piccolo's son - Piccolo. 

Kami hated to admit it, but the offspring of the Demon King was a genius. He had created the Special Beam Cannon, the technique that now firmly held the spot of 'strongest technique Kami has ever seen.' His fighting style was one of the best Kami had ever seen - a delicate mix between offense and defense. Most fighters tended to favor one side pretty heavily, but the young Namekian had both. 

And then, Kami saw Yamoshi. He was glad the man was just a ghost of the past, because he was stronger than anyone he had ever seen during his long life. His fighting style was perfect - a perfect mix of offense and defense that put even Piccolo's to shame.

While Piccolo's style was a balance of offense and defense, Yamoshi's was an overwhelming wave of both. It was as if he was a fighter who had put everything he had into offense - and yet he also looked like a fighter who put everything he had into defense. Truly, Kami knew that no matter how long he lived, he would never be able to come close to the Saiyan.

When he had first transformed, Kami had called him a monster. And then, he saw a true monster.

The weak boy Piccolo had saved on a whim. A monster that should've died, but was saved by the Demon King's offspring.

Did he know?

Kami's mind was clouded with doubt. He saw good in Piccolo's heart - he knew he was not pure evil like his father. However, while he wasn't pure evil, he was far from a good person. Him saving a random Saiyan boy was strange. Did he know? Did he know that the boy was…

…A monster?

What the boy was experiencing was not normal. Kami didn't need to know everything there was to know about Saiyans to see that. Kami had seen transformations before, as more than a few strange races had arrived on Earth in one of the galactic overlord's forces. What was happening to Gray was not a transformation.

It wasn't what the Saiyans referred to as 'growing stronger through combat' either. Unless Kami was missing out on a big chunk of information, Saiyans only became stronger after reaching near death and recovering. The boy was certainly almost dying, but he was not recovering. Every time Kami was certain he would die, he seemed to grow even stronger. His body seemed to shift, becoming less and less human by the second.

When Kami had first seen the boy, he could've passed for a human. A strong human, who had been practicing martial arts his entire life, but a human nonetheless. Now, he would've needed some strong convincing to accept that the boy was a human.

His body was unnaturally large and long. It wasn't like a bodybuilder - where their muscles covered every inch of them, making them seem like a bowling ball. No, as his muscles grew larger, so did his body. The proportion stayed nearly the same, his body becoming more muscular but not overly muscular. It was as if his body was growing closer and closer to becoming made for fighting. Slowly morphing into a perfect body for combat.

Two unbelievably powerful Saiyans, fighting to the death and becoming stronger by the second. If either of them were alive in the present time, then Kami was certain the Earth would be doomed. Now, Kami understood why Mr. Popo had thrown Gray into such a heinous training scenario.

He realized. Mr. Popo knew that the boy was a monster.

And so, what do you do when an apocalypse-inducing monster appears on Earth?

You kill him.

Kami was almost sad. Almost.

He had seen the boy's heart was not pure evil - in fact, it was more good than any other Saiyan he'd seen so far. It would've been sad to see such a kind-hearted Saiyan die young.

Would've been, if he wasn't a monster.

Kami watched as Gray's body twitched again in the crystal ball, his strength rising as his body spazzed and shifted.

He'll keep becoming stronger. Eventually, he'll kill Yamoshi.

The thought of a Saiyan strong enough to kill Yamoshi coming back to Earth was terrifying. Luckily…

His body won't survive. No one can handle their body changing so much so rapidly. If it had been over the course of years, he would've become a true monster.

Instead, he would die. Either by the hands of Yamoshi or by his own body being forced to adapt too quickly.

Either way, I will not mourn the death of a monster.

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Gray POV

Gray clenched his fist, staring down the hulking form of Yamoshi. The planet below them was a pool of magma. Lava spouts shot into the air, small platforms of rock sailing on the river of lava. Truly, it was a hellish sight. Gray knew that some Saiyans must have survived - after all, if they hadn't then their race would've gone extinct - but he didn't know how. 

Maybe the current 'Prince Vegeta' was off planet right now. Wouldn't that be ironic?

Gray had no time to think on it, as Yamoshi blitzed forward, the large mass of muscles and green Ki barreling at him. Gray crossed his arms, his own Ki exploding around him into a white aura as he shot forward. They met in the middle, both men barreling into each other in a pure display of strength. 

And, as was becoming common in their constant yo-yo-ing of power, Yamoshi easily slammed into Gray and sent him careening downward. His hand shot upward, grabbing Gray's neck and dragging him down. The Legendary Super Saiyan didn't seem content with just being a lot stronger than Gray - every time Gray closed the gap even slightly, Yamoshi's strength shot through the roof. Even while mindless and consumed by rage, Yamoshi refused to be anything less than dominant in a battle.

Gray felt his skin crawl as he was plunged down into the lava below, Yamoshi not caring about it in the slightest as he flew down into it, dragging Gray down with him.

-25,000HP! (308,000/1,675,950)

Gray slammed his mouth shut, holding his breath as he was dragged downward into the pit of magma. Yamoshi's aura shot outward, shoving the magma around them backward and creating a small safe bubble around them, but he continued dragging Gray further down. 

Fuck, he's really lost it. He's dragging me into the core of the planet!

Gray gritted his teeth, his hand shooting up and gripping Yamoshi's hand around his neck. He forced all his strength into his hand, grabbing at Yamoshi's arm and trying to rip it off his neck. It was to no avail, as he couldn't even get Yamoshi's hand to budge. 

I need to do something.

Gray's mouth opened, a Ki beam slamming directly into Yamoshi's face.

100,000HP! (?/?)

The attack didn't even phase Yamoshi, as the Super Saiyan continued to drag him down deeper into the inside of the planet. Gray grimaced, a small black orb forming in his hand. He pulled his hand off Yamoshi's, letting the Super Saiyan continue to drag him further down as they started to spin around the orb. 

Electricity crackled in his hands, the ball spinning faster and faster, and Gray's hands didn't even bleed this time. He thrust them forward, slamming the ball directly into Yamoshi's chest.

"[Ankoku Rasen!]" Gray screamed, and the orb slammed directly into Yamoshi's chest. The ball continued to spin, drawing blood as it cut into his chest.

150,000HP! (?/?)

More!

Gray slammed his hands forward, forcing Ki into the ball as if his life depended on it - which it did. The ball cut in deeper, and blood started to roll down Yamoshi's chest like a waterfall.

250,000HP! (?/?)

Yamoshi didn't seem to care, his eyes empty as he continued dragging Gray deeper and deeper into hell.

More!

Gray funneled more Ki into his attack, the ball slashing and cutting deeper into Yamoshi's chest. It tore through his pecs, starting to create a hole as splotches of blood flew out, landing on Gray's face and in the lava surrounding them.

500,000HP! (?/?)

Mor-

"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Yamoshi's scream roared out, and his green aura exploded outward again. It slammed into Gray's attack, extinguishing it like it was nothing. His hand tightened on Gray's neck, crushing his throat as he continued dragging him down.

-80,000HP! (228,000/1,675,950)

Gray grimaced, his hand clutching at Yamoshi's arm again. Yamoshi's other hand slammed forward, punching Gray in his stomach and causing spit to fly from his mouth.

-100,000HP! (128,000/1,675,950)

Gray grunted, his own fist flying up and slamming into Yamoshi's stomach in return, but the Super Saiyan didn't even flinch.

100,000HP! (?/?)

Gray grunted, a hot feeling forming on his back as they blitzed closer and closer to the center of Planet Sadala. He felt as if a huge Ki blast was constantly slamming into his back.

-20,000HP! (108,000/1,675,950)

-20,000HP! (88,000/1,675,950)

Gray grunted, his hand forming a gun-shape. He fired a bullet directly into Yamoshi's bloody chest, but it dissipated against his skin and didn't phase the man.

100,000HP! (?/?)

-20,000HP! (68,000/1,675,950)

-20,000HP! (48,000/1,675,950)

Damn.

Gray clenched his teeth but didn't let fear or frustration fill him. Nothing but a slight dissatisfaction at his attack's failure. His body wouldn't let doubt form - it was still confident that despite the dire situation, he would still win.

-20,000HP! (28,000/1,675,950)

-20,000HP! (8,000/1,675,950)

If anything, his body was even more confident. He could feel his body start to shift, adapting to the situation. He could feel a huge power boost coming.

I won't los-

Gray's back suddenly wasn't covered in burning hot magma, but instead slammed into something hard. Yamoshi disappeared, the magma around them vanishing with him. Instead, in front of him were two giant white eyes.

…what?

"Did Popo ever tell you the pecking order?" Mr. Popo asked, his huge eyes growing as they filled more of Gray's vision.

"There's you." His eyes became bigger, "A maggot without dirt."

"Then, there's the dirt." His eyes grew larger, the pure white void pulling in Gray's soul, "Then, the maggots in the dirt."

"Then, Popo's stool. Then Kami." Mr. Popo's eyes filled Gray's entire world, his brain unable to think of anything.

"Then, Popo." Slowly, a small smile formed on Mr. Popo's face.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Hahahahha. Hahaha. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH. Ha. Ahah. Ha. Ha. Ha. Haha. Ha. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Mr. Popo's creepy laugh became louder, and his eyes stared into Gray's soul.

"Congratulations, maggot. You've been promoted. Popo will let you sit on his stool." 

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Gray Tanaki:

[Mr. Popo's Favorite Student]

Age: 18

Wallet: 119,650 Coins

Lvl: 17 (85,000/750,000 XP)

PL: 2,631,084,700

Available Points: 0

HP: 8,000/1,675,950

TKI: 27,770/2,073,725

STR: 1385

AGI: 1570

END: 1210

INT: 1325

CHA: 1125

LUK: 715

KI: 1565

HREG: 1096

EREG: 1096

Skills: [Observe LVL 10], [Running LVL 15], [Determination LVL 15], [Ki Control LVL 14], [Ki Gun LVL 11]. [Ki Enhancement LVL 9], [KI Suppression LVL 10], [Ki Sense LVL 8], [Pushup LVL 15], [Punch LVL 15], [Kick LVL 15], [Jump LVL 15], [Flight LVL 9], [Prediction LVL 7], [Zenkai Boost LVL 6], [Cognitive Acceleration LVL 7], [Ah! Lord Freiza! LVL 7], [Mouth-Beam LVL 6], [Ki-Blade LVL 6], [Cooking LVL 6], [Ki Array LVL 8], [Ki Explosion LVL 6], [Ki Vision LVL 6]

Perks: [Gamer's Mind], [Gamer's Body], [Double-edged Sword], [Legendary Super Saiyan], [Perfect Ozaru], [A Cute Pawn], [A Humble Master], [Ladies Man]

Fighting Styles: [Boxing Style: Kolra LVL 2], [Fighting Style: Broly LVL 1]

Party: [Saeko, Celia, Asuna, Ranfan]

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AN: Thank you for reading! You can read the next 4 chapters right now at Patreon.com/Koyon !

See ya next week!