44 Chapter Forty-four

"G-GOKU LOST?!" Lord Beerus was kneading his ears in frustration. "How did these chumps get so strong so much better?"

"And better is an apt way of phrasing it my lord. Looks like their growth was not merely strength based..."

Meanwhile Champa was overjoyed at this new development. "AHAHAHAHHAHAH!

NICE WORK CAULIFLA! MAKE SURE THAT IDIOT CAN'T REPRODUCE! Err... ANYMORE!"

And as an argument erupts between the two brothers the actual participants of Universe 7 also start having their little conversation.

"She kicked me in the dick... Why? Why did she kick me in the dick?" Goku whines in a high pitched voice while Vegeta is laughing his ass off.

"AHAHAHHAHAHAHAH! I change my mind! This is the best day of my life!"

"GOKU!" The poor mans wife cries out.

"THAT LITTLE SKANK! I'LL KILL HER!"

"Bring it on granny!" Caulifla responded.

"GRANNY?! I'LL KILL YOU!" The woman flares up with a menacing red aura which only seems to concern her friends from Universe 7 and not the tired Saiyan girl.

"Well whatever... Hey Champa! I quit!"

Champa stares down at Caulifla and for a moment there seems like he's about to go "Just as planned" but he quickly puts up a facade. "OH NO! CAULIFLA IS EXHAUSTED!

WHATEVER SHALL I DO?!"

"You are hamming it up too much my lord."

"Shhh... Don't... make... a sound Vados!"

As Beerus overhears Champas act his mood lifts up tremendously. "Phew... that's right! I still have three fighters left while Champa has only a single Earthling. I almost got scared there." He then looks over to the only human on his team. "Hey Shorty!"

"URK! M-me? I have a name you know?"

"I know but I don't care. Go down there and... try to tire him out at least. I don't care if you get bodied."

"Sheehs... so much for encouragement..."

"Don't even pay attention to him dear.

Just do your best and make me proud!"

"Go Papa!"

"Heh... Thanks 18, Marron! Don't worry! I'll win this one for you!"

And as the little man takes off for the ring Champa gives you a little glance. "Do your thing..."

Nodding you jump off and land in front of Krillin who begins laughing nervously.

"Weird how this worked itself out, huh?

Two Earthlings facing off against each other in the second biggest tournament of all time..."

You chuckle. "I guess you're right."

"But don't worry about that! What do you say? Shall we ignore these guys up there and just enjoy ourselves a bit? I gotta admit I'm curious to see how you guys fight!"

You start cracking your neck. "Heh... Okay.

I gotta say... I'm also a bit curious to see how I compare."

"Alright! Then it's settled!"

The little man then extends his fist to you.

Chuckling you slowly walk up to him and once close enough you lower your arm and tap knuckles with him. Exchanging a little grin you break away from him and both of you assume your fighting stances on your respective side of the ring.

"ALLLLLRIGHT CONTESTANTS!" The announcer starts shouting in his microphone.

"LET THE MATCH.... BEGIN!"

Much to your surprise the little man actually takes the initiative and charges you by hovering just barely above the floor and flying at you. Due to his short stature and his stubby little arms he has to really close in on you in order to land any punches and with his speed he's kinda succeeding. But his body also has many downsides as he might be quick and nimble, but you have reach.

Prematurely stopping him by throwing a punch he's forced to exchange blows with you from afar. And to his credit he's pretty good, his style kinda reminiscent of that Goku characters. But it's obviously different.

He counters your punches with his own, nullifying your strikes.

But despite being able to either block, meet or parry your blows he can't do much else as you don't allow him to get close. This is when he starts getting frustrated and starts picking up speed in order to overwhelm you. His small body makes him rather quick, which is then boosted by his skills.

He leaves an after image behind which you fall for once. However even though you're caught off guard when your fist phases through the mirage Krillin can't capitalize on it as you react almost immediately and cause him to retreat with a wide spin-kick.

He wipes off some sweat off his brows as he chuckles. "Whew... that almost got me!

You're a pretty good martial artist!"

"The same goes to you. But don't think I'll be letting you win just because you are polite!"

"Heh... wouldn't dream of it!" The dwarf then crosses his arms in front of him. "But how about this?!"

Suddenly Krillin splits into not one but several different clones, all shimmering as you look at them. "More afterimages?"

The clones all begin laughing at the same time. "Well? How is it? Can you guess which one is real?"

As you look around you try to separate the real one from the fakes but fail to notice anything that could help you differentiate them from one another. However you didn't really have to as the little man thought it'd be smart to try and ambush you in this confusion. Raising your clutched fist up to your face you feel a chunky "Thump" as you manage to strike the bald, midget where his nose ought to be.

"Owowowowo!" He stumbles backwards as his clones fade.

You crack a smile at that. "Not good enough!"

Grinning the two of you charge at each other again and start exchanging blows once more, with Krillin relying on flight this time in order to reach you. Meanwhile members of the audience cheer both of you on, while some others quietly observe.

"Do you see this Gohan?"

"Yeah. He's keeping up with Krillin."

"Yes... And though he's clearly not a seasoned martial artist like Krillin but... He knows how to fight."

And at the same time you hear VERY similar cheers coming from both sides. "Go Papa! Go!"

"Do it Daddy!"

"Bastard! What did you just say?"

"You heard me! Your「Dad」does not compare to mine!"

"Foolish! Look at you! Your「Dad」can't even do anything besides approaching mine!"

"That's because he needs to get close in order to beat the crap out of yours!"

Or at least... that's how it felt for the two girls.

In reality it sounded more like this: "No! My dad will win!"

"No! MINE!"

Hearing this both of you stop and look up.

"Hehehe... Guess neither of us can loose now!" Krillin observes. "But I didn't realize she's your little kid."

"Well you know... sporadic reproduction is like that. Sometimes they don't quite resemble you."

"Wait... that's how it works for you?!"

"Heh. No. I'm just messing with you."

"Oh. I see! Well then... what do you say we start picking up the pace?

Or would you rather warm up a bit more?"

"I was just about to ask the same thing."

"Okay... HERE GOES!"

"Let's start with a classic!" Krillin changes his stance a bit and after cupping his hands together he pulls them back. "Kaaaaaa-"

"This?" You ask him. "What? Is there no trademark on that thing? Do you just... share all your moves? Or do you all steal from each other? Because I know that feel-"

"MEEEEEEEE!"

As the ball forms in his hand you continue trying to throw him off a bit. "But seriously, it has such a long wind-up. Does everyone just... wait patiently for you to charge that up?

Or do you have a way to fire it quickly but weaker?"

"HAAAAA-MEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAA!"

His eyes are practically shinig brightly when he fires the thing, sending chunks of the arena scattering around him. It'd almost be impressive... had you not seen a far more dangerous one previously. But this one? This is just cute.

You let out a little smirk and sway to the side right as it gets close enough to you. The wave passes by harmlessly and you even touch it slightly to know how it feels. It's not burning at the very least but it's certainly some highly compacted energy. It would certainly be unpleasant to let it hit you.

But while the beam is still going you start running alongside it, charging up on Krillin.

The little man gets shivers all over his body and begins to pull the beam to the side. Looking over your shoulder you see the rest of it bending and changing its course. "Neat!"

As the Kamehameha starts to follow your movements you finally reach Krillin and attempt to kick him in the head, which makes him drop the attack mid-way. He attempts to dart around but now he has a loose beam attack to deal with, as well as you.

Taking a large, leaping step forward you try to uppercut him so he'd hit his own attack.

To give him credit he tries to fight back, he even takes a decent swing at you but with a quick jerk of the head and some very minor telekinesis to make his arm move to the side you dodge it. With a loud shout you manage to strike him in the stomach before pulling your fist back only to hit him again. "SHIN! SHORYUKEN!"

The midget flies upward and as air uncontrollably escapes his lungs he can't help but helplessly hover right into his own attack.

You see the beam tearing his shirt to shreds as you smile to yourself. "You win. Perfect."

You can hear a mixture of cries coming from the Universe 7 benches. Cries like "Krillin!" "Papa!" or "Honey!". But that's none of your problem. After all... he's not dead yet.

Falling out of the sky with his shirt in tatters Krillin dusts himself off with a wince.

"Ouch! That one really hurt!"

"Hey... Don't look at me! Most of that damage was from you! You shouldn't really toss around what you can't take yourself!"

"Heh... Maybe. But that's sadly not how we had to do things back home. Nowadays we really gotta put everything behind our attacks for them to even dent the enemy!" You nod. You get that. You get that a LOT. But this is probably not the way you'd go about it. "But this got me thinking." The little man gives you a sharp look. "I'm not done yet! I can still fight! And... I think I just figured out the way to beat you!"

"Oh?"

The little man charges you with the clear intent to strike you but as he approaches he quickly shouts this. "What's 1000-450x0.5?"

"775!" You respond immediately before elbowing him in the cranium and crashing him into the ground.

"Owowowow!

WHAT?!"

He asks in confusion.

But before you'd answer you kick him in the stomach which sends him flying off the stage.

He rolls around helplessly before the referee grabs the mic. "AND THE WINNER IS ERIC OF UNIVERSE 6 VIA DROP-OUT!"

"I... I can not believe this!" Beerus shouts.

"YES! GOOD WORK ERIC! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!" The rest of your team looks at Champa as if they don't quite agree with his theatrics.

But you gotta say... you appreciate his efforts.

One down. Two to go.

As he rubs his head Krillin slowly flies back up where he came from. There his friends quickly start swarming him, especially the two other contenders. "What was that?"

"Guys... I think the guy might be psychic."

"What, like Chiaotzu?" The Namekian asks him.

"Oh yeaaaah! Now I remember!" Goku chimes in. "You wanted to confuse him like you did with Chiaotzu!"

"What makes you think that?"

"I just... I don't know. I felt like my hand slightly moved on its own... So I thought that- But apparently it was nothing."

"Hmmmm..."

"What's wrong Mister Piccolo?"

"Gohan... I'll go next. Make sure to watch everything. I don't like this guy... not one bit. If I fail, you'll have to take him out."

"A-Are you certain?"

"Yes. Champa's been awfully busy trying to sound desperate. Yet I don't think he's even slightly afraid."

"You think this is all a ruse?"

"Maybe. Which is why I need you to pay attention. Got it?"

"Yes!"

"Good."

The green man flies down and starts undressing in front of you. As he tosses his cape and hat on the ground they make an audible thud before he starts cracking his knuckles.

"Namekian huh? That's cool. You know I met some Namekians once. Nice guys, especially the ones that are knowledgeable in Earth pop-culture. But could you do me a favor and NOT use those nails? Thank you. I had enough of those for a lifetime."

"I suggest you cut that out!"

"Huh?"

"You may have fooled everyone else but I see right through you. So you'd best drop the act and show what you're really made of!"

"I'll say it again... HUH?! I was just being nice!"

"You want me to believe you're nothing more than Champas cook who got brought in because he couldn't find anyone else?

And that you still managed to beat Krillin?!"

You hear an almost unanimous shout of surprise coming from Universe 7. "What? He's been pretending up until now?"

"Errr-"

"So what's your game then? Are you another galactic tyrant pretending to be someone else?"

"What?!" You shout in utter shock. Looking over your shoulder you see Champa awkwardly looking away and whistling to himself. "Thanks for that boss..."

"Hey asshole! I AM the personal chef of lord Champa! And proud of it! If you so much as dare to insult my cooking I'll show you hell! Oh... and by the way... there is that. I technically hold the title of the demon king.

Right Vados?" You look up.

"That is entirely correct. Eric's the most wonderful little cook we've ever seen. Lord Beerus can attest to that."

"Asifyousonsof-"

"I knew it! So you're a demon!" The namekian points at you.

"No? I'm a human from Earth! I took that title!"

"Technically Eric you no longer have it."

"WHA-"

"Yeap. What did you expect? You weren't around to defend it so it got taken."

"SONOVA-" You hear a shout coming from WAY behind Champa and everyone looks in its direction.

"What was that?"

"I believe a stowaway my lord."

Everybody just waves off Salas surprised scream and returns their attention to the tournament. "Hmph. Regardless you are still far more than you show." The namekian continues.

"Oh please, when did I state I was weak exactly? Y'all idiots just assumed so. And besides. I liked fighting that other guy, he was a good sport unlike a certain someone.

And besides... you talk like YOU aren't stronger than him!"

"Whatever. I'll uncover the true extent of your abilities. Even if I have to pry them with my nails."

"Okay! That's it!" You shout. "I told you! No claws! If I so much as SEE you trying to scratch me I'll SHOW you why I USED TO BE the Demon King!"

"Erm..." The referee awkwardly mutters in his mic. "A-Are both contestants ready? Can we start now?"

"YES!" You both shout at the same time.

"O-kay... BEGIN!"

You see the guy assuming his fighting stance and spreading his fingers apart in an attempt to display his claws to you. Fuckin' asshole.

As you let out a sigh and assume your regular fighting stance you hear someone call your name from the audience. "ERIC! KICK! HIS ASS!"

You look up and see Kale actually shouting at you while Caulifla is looking just as confused as you are. Turning around you give her a wink and snap your fingers. "You got it!"

Then you turn back and start shouting.

"AND TO ALL LADIES IN THE CROWD! You're welcome!"

You hear more than a few confused "what"s coming from the crowd before the Namekian finally attacks you. By thrusting his arm out he shoots it out like some sort of gun, claws first of course. As it approaches at an alarming rate you close your eyes and start chanting a mantra.

"Conserve. Sharpen. Raise to the maximum."

And when the Namekians hand reaches you... You grab it. With your fingers entwined you grin at him. "And don't let a drop go to waste!"

But it looks like your opponent doesn't exactly think what you did was anything special as he starts making his way to you in a rather... unique way. By retracting his arm he actually pulls himself to you, readying another blow.

When he gets close you duck under it and-

*POOOOOOW*

The Namekian stops dead in place immediately and as his head falls over your shoulder he throws up some blood on the ground behind you. "Purple huh? That's neat."

You let go of him and he starts stumbling backwards as he tries to regain his composure. Meanwhile you hear the other Universe 7 folks slowly realizing what happened. "Uh-oh." Beerus is the first one.

"Uh-oh is right my lord."

"D-Did you guys see his fist?! Or was that just me?" Krillin gasps almost as loud as Piccolo.

"No... you definitely weren't imagining that honey..."

"Y-You mean he could've done that to ME?!"

"Yeap..."

"Holy crap! B-But wait! If he can do that to Piccolo then he's at least Super Saiyan level!"

Vegeta then looks at him in disgust.

"See? Maybe if the rest of your race was this talented then there wouldn't be any need for us to save the world all th time..."

"Hey! Cut it out Vegeta! And don't talk so tough! This Earthling coudl've murdered you with one strike back when we first met you!

That's INSANE!"

"Yes. And? Doesn't mean much now.

Besides, he's still painting you in a bad light."

"Damn straight." 18 concurs. "I haven't seen Big Green getting punched like this since that time he had a dumb fight with 17."

As this conversation is going on the Namekian named Piccolo stumbles backwards while wiping some purple blood off his face. He looks down at his stomach and sees a hole ripped through his shirt and beyond it some minor deformations in his muscles. Placing his hand on the affected area he somehow conjures new fabric and fixes the tear in his outfit.

"Clothes Beam... Huh... Neat."

"It looks like... I underestimated you.

Impressive."

"Wow. That's the first nice thing you said."

"Don't get used to it. I won't make that same mistake again." Raising both hands on his head he shouts. "SOLAR FLARE!"

A brilliant flash of light comes out of nowhere, blinding you perfectly to the point that your eyes hurt. "GOD DAMN IT! IT'S LIKE WALKING IN ON FROST WHILE HE'S IN THE SHOWER!

Wait a minute, Frost is always naked...

GAH!"

"Gotcha!" Piccolo flies around you in an attempt to strike you in the back.But as he does so he finds your arm swinging and your elbow burrowing in his cheeks. He manages to do some backflips and recover but he can't do it before you manage to walk off the effects of his technique. "H-How?"

You tap your head. "You can blind me all you want. You can even hide your power level while you do so. But you can't hide from me."

"Huh... Okay. First time for everything I guess."

He raises his arms and touches his fingertips together. "Then how about this?"

A yellowish energy begins to build up in the empty pocket of space between his palms.

This... does not feel good.

Yeah, if he thinks he'll be able to pull that shit off then he's in for a rude awakening.

You let Krillin charge his attack because he was nice, he doesn't get the same treatment.

"Wait..." You crack a smile. "Oh so that's it, huh? Okay..."

As he charges his attack with ever louder screaming you kick off the ground and make your way towards him while zig-zagging around the place to make aiming harder.

When you get near him you fly to his side in an attempt to get as clear of his shot as possible... which is when you see what his actual plan was. An extra arm sprouts from his shoulder and grabs you by the ankle.

"Gotcha!" He shouts as he starts turning around to aim his blast at you. "LIGHT GRENADE!"

"No. Got you!"

You swipe with your hand and the so called "grenade" flies harmlessly past you as the fabric of space starts to curve at your will.

A few astonished "Oooh~"s come, mostly from the divine spectators while the rest are mostly staring dumbfounded. Bringing your arms close to your body you start spinning around your axis at a ridiculous speed, fast enough to twist the Namekians newly sprouted appendage right out of its socket.

And as you land on all fours you stare up at your opponent who prepares to punch you.

Standing up you strike him first with a series of machine gun-like punches which manage to stagger him. Jumping up you look down at him. "And now I'll show you why you don't fuck with the Best Boy of Namek!" You start forming a black ball in front of you as you chant. "Null...."

In response the Namekian grunts and begins to shoot many, many, many ki blasts in your general direction. The attacks linger in the air for a moment before he brings his hands down on you. "HELLZONE GRENADE!"

"LAAAAAAANCE!"

You shoot the straight blast at the tired Namekian while quickly bringing your arms around you and begin distorting space.

The anomaly closes around you and encases your body in a bubble of null space. What was meant to be a "grenade" was apparently powerful enough to shake even your secluded little area down to its core and even crack it in a few places but it still couldn't reach you.

As you unlock your little pocket space you get to see your opponent spread out on the ground with the referee counting. "NINE! TEN!

CONTESTANT PICCOLO IS OUT!"