Chapter 92: This is how Instant Transmission is used (Patreon)

Goku's muscles bunched tighter, and his eyes were as sharp as blades.

He roared, and a shockwave of ki blasted out in every direction, painting the whole sky gold.

Cell's smile vanished.

A suffocating pressure closed over him, crashing down from Goku in every direction.

"What... is this?" Cell's voice dropped low.

Vegeta stared at Goku, eyes wide, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Gohan froze too, his mouth hanging slightly open.

Oryon let out a soft breath.

Krillin had escaped being a sacrifice on Namek, only to meet Cell. What a cruel fate.

"Why did you kill him?!"

Goku raised his head. Nothing but killing intent was left in those golden eyes.

"Krillin was such a good person. Why did you kill him?"

Cell shook off that flicker of fear and sneered. "So you'd fight me with everything you've got!"

Goku roared and charged at Cell.

Before Cell could react, Goku was already in front of him.

Cell couldn't even track his speed. A fist was already buried deep in his stomach.

Cell's body caved inward as if struck by a giant hammer, green blood spraying out.

He flew backward, and before he could land, Goku appeared behind him and brought a foot down like an axe.

Cell slammed into the ground like a meteor, throwing up a sky-high cloud of dust.

"Damn... you..." Cell hauled half his body out of the crater, one shoulder shattered.

Goku gave him no time to regenerate.

He pressed in, every blow landing flesh-deep, each strike crackling with terrifying lightning.

Cell's body kept breaking apart and kept regenerating, but it could never keep up with Goku's speed and power.

Green blood splattered across the ring, a sight almost too brutal to look at.

This was the first time Goku had ever struck this hard.

Against ordinary enemies, Goku always held back.

In just a few dozen seconds, Cell felt like he'd lived through Hell itself.

Every move Goku made came from a desire to avenge Krillin, and every blow was meant to kill.

Cell's self-healing was extraordinary, yet even he was nearly unable to recover.

Facing Goku's fury, he was finally afraid.

Cell bellowed and, with all his strength, fired a ki blast to force Goku back.

Goku sidestepped, and the beam shot into the sky, tearing the thick clouds apart.

Goku swung back with one hand, and an arc of golden light sliced through most of Cell's body.

Both of Cell's legs and his right arm shattered, leaving only his upper body and left arm, rolling among the rubble.

"I... I'm no match for him at all..."

Cell's voice trembled. The pride and confidence from before were gone, and fear filled him now.

Goku stood over him, gathering a blue-white Energy Blast in his hand.

"Cell, I'm going to avenge Krillin!"

Goku roared and the Energy Blast burst forth, swallowing Cell whole.

"No, no..."

A blinding glare spread outward, lighting every face a stark white.

When the light faded, Cell still wasn't dead.

But he'd been blasted down to a single lump of flesh.

Oryon looked at that lump, and his gaze suddenly sharpened.

"Don't tell me he's going to evolve again."

The scorched black lump twitched at the bottom of the deep crater like a beating heart.

Green tissue sprouted wildly. Blood vessels and muscle wove themselves together in midair, and a skeleton took shape in an instant.

In the span of a single breath, a complete figure rose from the ashes.

His appearance was the same as before, but blue-white lightning coiled around his body, and his power had swelled to nearly double what it had been.

"That was close," Cell said softly.

He flexed his fingers, and the joints cracked sharply.

"I almost really died. That was a narrow escape. Goku, I have to thank you.

The Saiyan cells in my body were fully awakened by the brush with death.

You all surpassed Super Saiyan, so it seems I can now too."

He looked up at Goku, a smile back on his face, colder this time.

"I don't just have Saiyan cells. I have Piccolo's cells as well.

As long as my core is intact, I can regenerate endlessly. And every time I regenerate, I grow stronger."

Piccolo, watching from the side, looked grim.

He clenched his fists and said in a low voice, "That thing's regeneration is far beyond mine."

Cell threw his head back and laughed, blue-white lightning crackling around him.

The sky changed color. The scattered clouds gathered again, churned into a whirlpool by his ki.

Goku forced himself to his feet and went Super Saiyan 2 once more.

Golden aura and lightning intertwined, but he was clearly exhausted.

Blasting Cell apart a moment ago had burned through most of his stamina.

Now Cell had returned in an even stronger state, and the situation reversed in an instant.

"This time, I won't be careless," Cell said with a smile.

The two clashed again.

This time, Cell's speed fully matched Goku's, and he even held a faint edge in power.

When their fists and palms collided, the shockwaves sent reporters far in the distance tumbling away.

Lightning and ki blasts crisscrossed, making the whole sky flicker between bright and dark.

Goku gave it everything, but Cell seemed incapable of tiring, and his regeneration healed his wounds in moments.

After a few dozen exchanges, Cell drove a knee into Goku's chest.

Goku's whole body bowed backward, and he coughed up blood.

Cell chopped down with a palm and smashed him into the ground.

Goku tried to struggle up, fingers clawing at the dirt, but he had no strength left.

The golden aura went out completely. The lightning vanished too, and he reverted to his base form.

His stamina was spent.

His anger had also faded with the fighting, no longer as fierce as before.

"It's finally over," Cell said.

He walked up to Goku, raised a hand, and gathered a black-red ball of energy.

"You were a worthy opponent, Goku. I'll remember you."

"Stop!"

A calm voice came from the side.

Cell turned his head.

Oryon took off his jacket, handed it to Bulma beside him, and walked slowly toward the center of the ring.

"Oryon!" Bulma's voice shook.

Android 18 wanted to pull him back. Her fingers twitched, but she drew her hand away.

In this world, they could only rely on him now.

But he'd never trained. He'd spent all that time indulging himself with them. Could he really win?

Android 18, Bulma and Lunch all felt a pang of guilt.

Cell narrowed his eyes.

"Courting death? Don't worry. Once I've killed Goku, you're next, and then everyone on Earth."

Oryon walked up to Goku and stopped.

He raised his head and looked straight at Cell.

"Your Cell Games has only held two matches. What's the rush?

Now, it's my turn."

Cell snorted coldly, still not taking Oryon seriously.

He flicked his wrist, and the black-red ball of energy shot straight at Oryon.

The blast tore through the air with a piercing whine.

Oryon didn't dodge. With a casual wave of his hand he swatted the Energy Blast into the sky, where it exploded.

The blast whipped up a gust of wind that stirred the hem of his clothes, but Oryon himself didn't budge an inch.

Cell's smile froze.

Oryon slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his pupils had turned gold.

His hair stood straight up, a golden aura erupted from him, and blue-white lightning exploded around his body.

The ground sank as if pressed by some giant, collapsing several meters in an instant. Every camera still standing in the distance burst apart, and the helicopters in the sky were shoved far away by the shockwave.

Vegeta's pupils contracted sharply, and he even stopped breathing for a moment.

"Impossible! He's broken through Super Saiyan too!" Vegeta's voice was hoarse.

And his presence was stronger still. Far stronger than Kakarot's, far stronger than Cell's.

Goku, eyes half open, watched Oryon's back, the corners of his mouth twitching faintly.

"As expected of Oryon... Really something."

Android 18's eyes widened, her lips parting slightly.

She knew Oryon was strong, but she had never seen him show this new form.

This was the form Goku had just broken through to when Krillin died. So Oryon had mastered it long ago?

Just standing there, the sheer force of his ki made her scalp prickle.

Oryon sighed inwardly.

If he didn't step in now, it would be inexcusable.

[Ding! Bullying Vegeta successful. Reward: three days of cultivation.]

Oryon was in Super Saiyan 2 while Vegeta was only in base form, so three days was already generous.

Oryon ignored the prompt in his mind and walked toward Cell, one step at a time.

Cell took an involuntary step back.

The Saiyan cells in his body were screaming, as if he'd met a natural predator.

"Who... who are you, really?" Cell asked in a low voice.

"Your nightmare."

The moment the words left Oryon's mouth, he was gone.

Before Cell could even raise an arm, a heavy punch drove into his gut.

His whole body folded like a bow, green blood spewing from his mouth.

Before he could fly backward, Oryon was already above his head, and an elbow smashed down.

Cell slammed into the ground like a green meteor, and the earth for a hundred meters around heaved up.

"This power... what..." Vegeta's voice went dry.

Oryon dropped from the sky and landed beside Cell.

He didn't rush to finish it. Instead, he bent down, grabbed Cell's tail, hoisted him upside down, and drove a fist into his back.

Cell's shell cracked open and blood sprayed.

He screamed and tried to regenerate, but Oryon's fists were faster than his regeneration.

After a string of punches, Cell's body began to convulse.

Goku struggled to lift his head and shouted hoarsely, "Oryon, kill him quick! Any later and it'll be too late!"

Cell's chest heaved violently, and a strange gurgling rose from his throat.

Suddenly his mouth gaped, and a white shape was vomited out and rolled across the ground.

It was a boy.

Black hair, a red scarf, soaked through, coughing violently on the ground.

"Android 17!" Android 18 cried out.

With Android 17 gone, Cell's body began to shrink unsteadily, regressing to his first form.

Yet he burst into frenzied laughter.

"You think this is enough to beat me? If I can't live, then we all die together!"

His body swelled rapidly, like a balloon blown to its limit, and an extremely dangerous presence spread in all directions.

"Not good! He's going to self-destruct!" Vegeta shouted.

Everyone's face changed in horror.

Bulma clutched Lunch's hand, and Android 18's face turned abruptly ashen.

She had a self-destruct function too.

That old bastard Dr. Gero had fitted every Android with a bomb.

Cell's belly had already ballooned into a sphere, and he grinned wide.

"You'd better not touch me. One minute left.

In this one minute, all of you will go down to Hell with me! This planet will turn to dust in the universe!

Better hurry up and say your goodbyes. Hahahaha..."

Bulma and Lunch could barely stand.

Android 18 bit her lip and ran toward Oryon.

Oryon only smiled faintly.

"You think you can take us with you?"

He stepped forward and seized Cell's swelling body.

"You don't deserve it."

With that, light flashed around him.

The two vanished at the same instant.

Only a light breeze remained where they'd stood.

"Oryon!" Bulma screamed.

"He... he took Cell away..."

Piccolo stared blankly. "He used Instant Transmission to take Cell away?"

Goku slammed a fist into the ground.

"Oryon!"

A breeze swept past, and the battlefield fell deathly silent.

Android 18, Bulma and Lunch were all in tears.

"Oryon!"

Oryon's daughters, Su Nian and Su Yi, immediately burst into loud wails.

"Waaah..."

"Daddy, Daddy, where did you go?"

Just as grief was washing over everyone, Bulma said, "Don't worry. We'll use the Dragon Balls to revive him..."

Everyone's face lit up.

Goku said excitedly, "Right, Oryon has never been revived, so he can use the Dragon Balls!"

But at that very moment, space twisted, and Oryon came back.

His clothes were a little rumpled, but he was unharmed.

"Oryon!"

"Daddy!"

"Oryon!"

Seeing him, everyone forgot what expression they were supposed to wear.

Oryon said, "I sent him to the old, abandoned Namek, then came back by myself. He should blow himself up alone like a firework."

Everyone froze for a second, then erupted into cheers of narrow-escape relief.

"Oh, right!"

Goku said, "How come I didn't think of that? Send him away, then Instant Transmission back. I'm so dumb."

Bulma and Lunch threw themselves into Oryon's arms and held him tight.

Android 18 had been a step slower. She stood to one side, her eyes red, biting her lip.

Oryon reached out and pulled her in too.

The three women crowded against him, tears streaming down their faces.

"It's all over. Let's go home," Oryon said softly.

Bulma and Lunch lifted their heads from his chest, eyes still red but already smiling.

Android 18 buried her face in the hollow of his shoulder and took a good while before she pulled away.

Gohan helped Goku to his feet, and Chi-Chi ran over, crying and slapping his arm.

"You scared me to death, you idiot!"

Goku managed a smile, but he didn't talk back the way he usually would.

He slowly straightened up and turned to look at the spot where Krillin had vanished.

There was nothing left there but a scorched mark. Not even a scrap of cloth could be found.

Cheers of victory slowly began to rise around them.

Reporters peeked out from behind the ruins, and Mr. Satan's disciples carried their unconscious master off on a stretcher.

Everyone was lost in the joy of surviving, and only Goku stood rooted in place, as if his soul had gone missing.

"Dad?" Gohan called softly.

Goku didn't answer.

He gently pushed Chi-Chi's hand aside, walked to the place where Krillin had been blasted apart, and crouched down.

His fingers brushed the ground. Nothing. Krillin was dead, and he hadn't even left a body.

"Krillin..."

His shoulders trembled slightly.

When Krillin was killed, his rage had pushed him past his limits.

Now Cell was dead, the rage was gone, and only a hollow ache remained in Goku.

"Back when King Piccolo appeared, Krillin had already died once, and Earth's Shenron had already revived him once..."

"This time he's dead, and he can't be revived again."

Chi-Chi watched Goku grieve, covering her mouth, not daring to disturb him. Gohan lowered his head sadly too.

Silence fell over the crowd.

They had beaten Cell, but the price was far too heavy for Goku.

Oryon stepped forward and patted Goku on the shoulder.

"No need to be so sad. Krillin can actually be revived."

Goku looked up and stared at him blankly.

"Earth's Shenron can't do it, but there are still Namek's Dragon Balls."

"Namek's Shenron, Porunga, has no limit on revivals," Oryon said.

Goku's eyes lit up bit by bit, as if someone had flipped a switch.

"Really?"

Oryon nodded. "Really. But Namek's Dragon Balls can only revive one person at a time. It's different from how Earth's work."

Goku's face split into a huge grin. He leaped up and smacked a fist into his palm.

"Namek's Dragon Balls will work! Hahaha, Krillin is saved!"

He spun in a happy circle on the spot, his energy fully restored.

Seeing him like that, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to Namek right now!"

Goku clenched his fists and struck the starting pose for Instant Transmission.

"Wait." Oryon stopped him. "Do you know Namek's ki right now?"

Goku froze, then slapped his forehead.

"No, I don't. Then I'll go to King Kai first and have him help me find it!"

"Go on. We'll be waiting for you," Oryon said with a smile.

Goku nodded hard, then waved to Chi-Chi and Gohan. "I'll be right back! Real quick!"

The moment he finished speaking, he put his hands to his forehead and sensed King Kai's ki on King Kai's Planet.

"Whoosh!"

He vanished from where he stood.