Dragon Ball: Ascension

(A/N: Bonus Chapter! Thank you for your continued support! And don't hesitate to leave a comment or powerstone if you like the story!)

By the time Karnel sensed the incoming threat, the sneak attack was already upon him.

He barely managed to raise his arms to protect his vital organs as the two attackers closed in with murderous intent.

Nedovich and Kanduba struck simultaneously, Nedovich's hate-filled punch crashing into Karnel's chest while Kanduba's fist slammed into his exposed back.

The frontal attack, cushioned by Karnel's defensive arms, caused minimal damage to his torso, though one arm cracked slightly under Nedovich's vicious blow. But Kanduba's strike to his unguarded back was devastating. The impact drove deep, sending waves of agony through Karnel's exhausted body.

Blood erupted from Karnel's mouth as the combined force launched him a hundred meters through the air before he crashed heavily to the ground.

Fortunately, both attackers were several times weaker than Karnel even in his depleted state. Their full-power assault had only managed to inflict serious injuries. If Kairos had launched such a sneak attack, the outcome would have been... unthinkable.

The moment Karnel was sent flying, Kairos rose to his feet with a thunderous expression, his voice cutting through the air like ice: "What do you two think you're doing? How dare you attack my opponent! If anyone is going to kill him, it will be me. When did it become your decision to make?"

Kairos had ruled the Kaimo race for tens of thousands of years, and his royal authority had long since seeped into the very bones of his subjects. Hearing their king's wrathful rebuke, both Nedovich and Kanduba trembled visibly.

"King Kairos," Nedovich stammered, his voice shaking, "this monkey poses too great a threat to our people. Even you were defeated by him. This is our chance, while he hasn't recovered his strength, Kanduba and I can work together to eliminate him."

"Yes, my king," Kanduba echoed, though his voice grew quieter with each word. "We must kill him now! Otherwise, when he recovers, our entire Kaimo race will be slaughtered. Even you, my lord, could fall to his power..." His final words were barely audible.

Hearing this, Kairos threw back his head and laughed, a sound devoid of any warmth. "So, you claim to be acting for the future of our race?"

"Yes, King Kairos! That monkey has been seriously wounded by our attack. We just need to finish him off—"

"Exactly, my king! You must kill him now!"

Kairos beckoned to them with a deceptively gentle expression.

Thinking their king was summoning them for praise, Nedovich and Kanduba approached with eager smiles.

"You two have done magnificently," Kairos said with apparent emotion as they drew near. "Truly magnificent work."

Before he finished speaking, murderous intent flashed in his eyes, and his tone became glacially cold: "Tell me, is it because I haven't taken action in so many years that you've gradually forgotten your place? Do you really have the audacity to interfere in my affairs?"

Without warning, his hands transformed into crystalline spikes that pierced straight through both subordinates' spines.

Kanduba gasped in shock. The cold spike penetrating his body triggered a familiar, terrifying recognition, it was the organ the Kaimo people used to drain life force.

Nedovich stared at his king in complete disbelief. He couldn't fathom that Kairos would actually turn on them.

"My king... why?" he whispered.

"No particular reason," Kairos replied with chilling calm. "You two have angered me. Your so-called concern for the Kaimo race is nothing but a joke in my eyes. I care nothing for their lives or deaths. But you, you dared to challenge my authority. For that, I cannot allow you to live. The only value you have left is that I can absorb the power in your bodies and evolve to an even higher form of existence."

Nedovich and Kanduba could barely draw breath as highly corrosive fluid flooded their systems, dissolving their internal organs and muscles into pure life energy that flowed through the spiked tentacles into Kairos's body.

Meanwhile, Karnel had consumed a Senzu bean and was restored to full vitality. Sensing the surge of malevolent energy, he launched himself skyward with lethal intent, flying back toward the battlefield. When he looked down at the scene below, he froze in complete shock.

Kairos naturally noticed Karnel's return, utterly baffled by how someone who had been grievously injured and near death moments ago could now appear perfectly healthy and energetic.

Kairos glanced up at him with surprise but said nothing. As he absorbed the energy from his two subordinates, beings only one level below his own power, he felt a massive surge of vitality coursing through his body. His physical strength returned to peak condition, and his cells began an accelerated cycle of division, death, and renewal.

Karnel frowned, deeply unsettled by the transformation taking place before him. He could sense Kairos's energy suddenly surpassing his own and continuing to climb without any sign of stopping.

Kairos's body underwent subtle but significant changes. His form became more compact and perfectly proportioned, radiating an aura of flawless efficiency and deadly grace.

Soon, Kairos's energy reached a plateau and stabilized at its new level.

Karnel could feel that his opponent's power had more than doubled from their previous battle.

"Karnel," Kairos said, opening his eyes as his evolution completed, "I have now evolved to a higher plane of existence. I call this my Ultimate Form. My strength has doubled. I don't know how you recovered so quickly, but you are no longer my equal."

This was an undeniable truth. Kairos's transformed presence radiated such overwhelming power that it blazed like a beacon in Karnel's energy perception.

Karnel sighed with a mixture of admiration and exasperation. "That's absolutely ridiculous. Is your entire race this abnormal when it comes to power enhancement? You can just eat a couple of people and jump to a whole new level?"

"Hmph!" Kairos snorted dismissively. "Only the lower-class members of our race work that way. They can absorb energy to reach certain fixed plateaus, but beyond that, no matter how powerful the life force they consume, their strength won't increase by even a fraction. But I am different. While my evolution may be slow, I can continue ascending indefinitely. Even I don't know the limits of how far I can evolve. This transformation to Ultimate Form represents tens of thousands of years of accumulated potential. The life force of those two was merely the catalyst needed to trigger my evolution."

Despite the overwhelming odds, Karnel's blood began to boil with anticipation. Every fiber of his being ached for another battle against this newly empowered Kairos.

"Karnel," Kairos observed after studying his opponent, "your current strength is far inferior to mine. With double the power, I could defeat you easily. There would be no sport in it."