High above the world, at the Lookout, the Guardian and Mr.
Popo stood at the edge of the palace, silently watching the battle unfolding below between Alvin and Demon King Piccolo.
“Guardian…”
Mr.
Popo asked quietly,
“Will Alvin win?”
His face remained as expressionless as ever, but beneath that calm exterior lay a mixture of hope, anxiety, and anticipation.
The Guardian turned toward him with a faint smile.
“Do you want him to?”
Mr.
Popo nodded.
“I hope the young man wins…”
“…but I don’t want the Guardian to disappear.”
The Guardian chuckled softly before returning his gaze to the battlefield below.
“Demon King Piccolo…”
“…is the greatest mistake of my life.”
“If a Guardian were allowed to take his own life…”
“I would never have been forced to watch my own evil continue bringing disaster upon this world.”
He paused before speaking again.
“In terms of raw strength…”
“…he has already surpassed me.”
“Even I…”
“…am no match for him.”
Mr.
Popo could hear the regret in the Guardian’s voice.
Centuries ago, in order to purge the evil within his heart and become Earth’s Guardian, the Namekian had divided himself into two beings.
His pure half became the Guardian.
His malice merged with the demonic energy flowing through Earth’s Demon Realm…
Giving birth to Demon King Piccolo.
It was the greatest mistake of his existence.
If he could turn back time…
He would rather abandon the position of Guardian entirely than allow his other half to plunge the world into darkness.
“…It’s time to correct that mistake.”
The Guardian sighed quietly.
Then he placed two fingers against his forehead.
…
“Yajirobe!”
“Yajirobe!”
Flying toward Korin Tower, Yajirobe suddenly heard someone calling his name.
“Goku!”
“So you’re finally awake!”
“Hurry up and tell me where Korin Tower is!”
“Alvin told me to take you there, but I have no idea where it is!”
He glanced toward the unconscious Goku…
Only to discover that Goku was still sound asleep.
“…Huh?”
“Then who was talking?”
“A GHOST!!”
Yajirobe shrieked in terror, nearly reaching for the emergency parachute.
The calm voice sounded once more inside his mind.
“Yajirobe.”
“Fly southwest.”
“Keep heading in that direction.”
“You’ll eventually see a tower so tall that its summit disappears into the heavens.”
“That…”
“…is Korin Tower.”
“At its peak lives Korin.”
With that, the Guardian ended the telepathic connection.
Ignoring Yajirobe’s frantic screaming, he watched as the terrified swordsman obediently changed course and headed southwest.
Mr.
Popo looked at him worriedly.
“Guardian…”
“The laws of the heavens forbid a Guardian from interfering with the affairs of the mortal world.”
The Guardian laughed.
“I didn’t interfere.”
“I merely caused someone…”
“…to hear a voice.”
He waved dismissively.
“Don’t worry about it.”
After a brief silence, he turned toward Mr.
Popo.
“Popo…”
“If I disappear…”
“…bring Alvin and Goku here.”
“Train them.” Find the original chapter at g.com.
“And choose one of them…”
“…to become Earth’s next Guardian.”
Mr.
Popo bowed respectfully.
“Yes…”
“…Guardian.”
Mr.
Popo’s voice carried both sorrow and acceptance.
“Now…”
“…this is no longer a contest of strength.”
“It is a battle of will.”
“Give it everything you’ve got, Alvin.”
“I believe…”
“…you will defeat Demon King Piccolo.”
Below, the battle had reached its most brutal stage.
Neither Alvin nor Piccolo held a clear advantage anymore.
For different reasons, both had been pushed to exactly the same point—the absolute limit of their bodies.
The two stood facing one another, breathing heavily.
Every inhale burned.
Every exhale carried blood.
Piccolo was the first to speak.
“…How about we stop here?”
His swollen face was almost unrecognizable.
Several teeth had already been knocked out.
The once-feared Demon King looked pitiful beyond words.
“I acknowledge your strength.”
“After I conquer the world…”
“I’ll give you half of it.”
“You can rule your half however you like.”
Alvin answered with nothing more than a cold laugh.
“Heh.”
Without another word, he charged again.
The Divine Fist Burst remained active.
He didn’t dare deactivate it.
The moment he did…
He was certain he would never have the strength to stand again.
Power level: 90 / 252.
That was all he had left.
Piccolo’s remaining Ki was roughly the same.
During the past thirty minutes, Alvin had burned through more than a hundred points of battle power.
Piccolo had fared even worse.
His aged body simply couldn’t endure such prolonged combat.
Their fists collided again and again.
Scarlet blood and purple blood splashed across the battlefield.
Both were covered in wounds.
Both bodies were on the verge of collapse.
Neither possessed enough stamina to continue their earlier high-speed exchanges.
The lightning-fast battle had become a savage slugfest.
Every punch carried enough force to shatter massive boulders.
Every kick landed with devastating power.
Even bodies this strong had their limits.
Another violent clash…
Another exchange of fists…
Then both men were blown backward, rolling across the ground before collapsing onto their backs, gasping for air.
High above them, aboard Piccolo’s aircraft…
The bird-headed strategist wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
At this rate…
Lord Piccolo will die from exhaustion before he ever regains his youth.
He immediately turned toward Pilaf.
“Are there any weapons left aboard this ship?”
“I’m talking about something powerful.”
“Ordinary firearms won’t do anything to those monsters.”
Pilaf hurriedly answered.
“We still have a small attack plane.”
“It’s equipped with heavy machine guns.”
“They can punch through steel.”
“Good.”
The strategist’s eyes flashed with killing intent.
“Launch it.”
“Kill that boy.”
“Just make sure you don’t hit Lord Piccolo.”
He absolutely could not allow Piccolo to die here.
Pilaf immediately barked an order.
“Shu!”
“Go!”
“Kill that brat who’s ruining our dream of conquering the world!” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“Yes, Emperor Pilaf!”
The dog-like warrior Shu, a short sword strapped across his back, saluted loudly before sprinting toward the aircraft bay.
…
Just then…
The battle below reached its climax.
“Demon Light Cannon!”
Gathering every last ounce of Ki, Piccolo fired a brilliant beam of energy straight toward Alvin.
Alvin answered without hesitation.
“Kamehameha!”
He poured every remaining drop of Ki into the attack.
The two beams collided.
BOOM!!
A terrifying shockwave erupted across the valley.
The small fighter Shu had just launched lost control instantly, caught in the violent collision of the two energy waves.
“No!”
“The plane’s out of control!”
“It’s crashing!”
Pilaf and Mai screamed.
Without hesitation, they jumped from the aircraft.
If they were lucky…
They might survive the fall.
If they weren’t…
At least their bodies would remain intact.
Staying aboard meant certain death in the inevitable explosion.
“Save me!”
“Someone save me!”
The bird-headed strategist cried desperately.
But no one could save him.
Pinned helplessly against the aircraft by the raging turbulence and the overwhelming shockwave from the beam clash, he plunged with the aircraft into the forest below.
A massive explosion followed.
Nothing remained of him.
…
Piccolo…
…had grown old.
His body had long since reached its limit.
Using the Demon Light Cannon consumed an enormous amount of Ki.
For the briefest instant…
His vision blurred.
Alvin’s eyes flashed.
“Demon King Piccolo…”
“Your era ends here!”
“HAAAH!”
He was already beyond exhaustion.
Only sheer willpower kept him standing.
He had endured…
Waiting for this single opening.
The Kamehameha overwhelmed Piccolo’s beam and surged forward.
In the blink of an eye, it reached Piccolo.
At the final moment, Alvin deliberately shifted the beam slightly off-center.
The blue torrent grazed Piccolo instead of striking him head-on.
When the light faded…
Half of Piccolo’s body had vanished.
Only the remaining half collapsed onto the ground.
“Cough…”
“So what…”
“…if you destroy me?”
“My child…”
“…will avenge me…”
With the last of his strength, Piccolo spat out one final egg.
Wrapped in his remaining Ki, it shot into the distant sky before disappearing beyond the horizon.
Only then…
Did Demon King Piccolo finally die within the valley.
Alvin watched everything through blurry vision.
He watched Piccolo lay the egg.
He smiled.
If Piccolo could leave behind a child…
Then the Guardian wouldn’t disappear.
The Dragon Balls would continue to exist.
That…
…was enough.
Satisfied, Alvin collapsed onto the ground.
Darkness swallowed his consciousness before he could even hear the System’s notification.
[Power Level +48]
[Demon King Piccolo defeated]