The energy sphere dragged a tail-flame capable of erasing everything in its path, and was about to slam into Frieza
When time itself seemed to be slapped on pause.
A figure appeared without warning in front of the attack. He raised two fingers and, as casually as if he were pinching away a fly, pressed them against the incoming blast.
"Hm?"
His fingertips applied the slightest pressure.
The energy sphere shattered in an instant, exploding into a sky full of glittering motes.
"Who are you?!" Bardock's pupils contracted. He stared at the sudden back in front of him, tense as a drawn bow.
"Mr. Levos!"
"Levos!"
The moment the people on the Lookout recognized him, the hall erupted in delighted shouts.
Beside Levos stood a dazed-looking Goten, and a bizarre fellow dressed in a pink full-body suit with a green, skintight outfit layered over it.
"When I left, Earth was perfectly fine." Levos's gaze swept over the wrecked temple and the scarred, dying planet below. His brows knitted. "What happened while I was gone?"
His eyes flicked between Frieza and Super Saiyan 4 Bardock.
"And King, how did you manage to piss off the Son family again?"
Frieza felt wronged. He was the one who got jumped first!
"Dad, that's Levos," Goku explained to Bardock. "He's the strongest warrior on our Earth."
Bardock kept staring at Levos. The man's aura was restrained, almost calm but a thousand years of battle-hardened instinct screamed one thing at him.
Dangerous.
"This is between me and Frieza," Bardock rasped.
Frieza struggled to open one eye. "Mr. Levos… you're finally back. You remember our agreement, don't you…"
If not for that promise, he would've passed out long ago. He never would've held on this long.
"Of course I remember. You bled for Earth, and you contributed to Universe 7. I'm not going back on my word."
Levos flicked his hand.
A gentle force wrapped around Frieza, lifting him from the crater into midair. His wounds sealed shut in an instant.
"Ohohoho…" Frieza exhaled, visibly brighter. "This time I was careless. Next time I face Saiyan monkeys, I'll be much more cautious…"
Seeing that, Bardock's eyes went bloodshot.
"Calm down, Mr. Bardock." Levos's tone stayed flat. "I know you hate Frieza. But right now, he's a warrior of our Earth."
"Why?!" Bardock roared, unwilling to accept it. "Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta! He slaughtered our people! He killed Gine! How can a blood-deep vendetta like that not be repaid?!"
"Because Universe 7 needs him," Levos said slowly. "If Frieza weren't here… who knows how chaotic this universe would be."
"In the past twenty-plus years without Frieza, we've had countless monsters emerge stronger than him, and far more brutal. Without him, this universe… who knows how many would've become emperors, how many would've become kings."
That sentence stunned everyone into silence.
After the recent attack by Turles and his crew, the people of Earth had the most right to speak on it.
"He's not wrong. Without Frieza, Universe 7 would be a disaster."
"That Saiyan Empire kidnapped populations and turned planets into deserts. They were worse than the Frieza Force!"
Even Frieza didn't expect Levos to rate him that highly.
"And one more thing." Levos's gaze softened. "If your wife Gine was truly a good person… there's a chance we can revive her with the Dragon Balls."
Bardock's body shook violently. The crimson fur faded away as he returned to normal.
"Revive… Gine?"
He turned to look at Goku.
"Kakarot… is it true? The Dragon Balls can really bring her back?"
Goku nodded solemnly.
A boundless joy flooded Bardock's chest.
Everyone on the Lookout finally exhaled, relief washing over them.
"As expected of Levos. He comes back and resolves their conflict just like that."
"He's created too many miracles. Handling something like this isn't even a challenge for him."
They returned to the Lookout together.
Tien then explained everything that happened on Earth after Levos left.
"Dark Ultimate Omega Shenron, Super Baby, Super Saiyan 4 Black Goku, Bio-Broly…" Levos repeated, then looked at Gohan with open approval. "Gohan can hold the line on his own now, huh!"
The Son family in this timeline is insane. Every one of them is a beast.
Levos had thought bringing Goten back would shock everyone.
Instead, it was Super Saiyan 4 Bardock who shocked him more.
"Training under Towa for a thousand years…" Levos stroked his chin. "This Bardock's lived through a lot."
"Turles has been contained too. What do we do with him?" Piccolo asked.
Levos thought for a moment. "He's got plenty of experience planting that Tree of Might. He might be useful someday."
Then Levos formally introduced the Goten he brought back, as well as "Zeno-egg" to everyone.
"Hello, Mr. Monaka." Vados looked… conflicted.
"Wait!" Goku scratched his head. "Goten? You mean he's my second son, Son Goten?"
Chi-Chi rushed up and pulled the boy into her arms.
"Mom…" Goten's eyes reddened.
Levos watched with a faint smile. This timeline's Son family is almost fully assembled now.
"Oh, right Levos." Bulma spoke up. "The Dragon Balls you had Dende and Mr. Popo make are ready. All that's left is the final step from you."
"Then let's begin."
When the last giant Dragon Ball was moved onto the plaza, Frieza's face twitched so hard it almost went numb.
Earth really did have a new set of Dragon Balls again and each one was absurdly enormous.
Frieza couldn't even imagine what the upper limit of this set's wishes might be.
Levos was looking forward to it too. He wanted to see just how powerful a new Shenron bound to his power would be.
For that, he instantly recalled Cell Max from the Time Nest.
"First, we need to infuse power from the Namekian dragon clan bloodline." Dende acted as the officiant for the ceremony.
Cell Max stepped forward and poured divine power mixed with [Time Power] and [Light Power] into the new Shenron model.
Vados's eyes flickered.
The power Levos injected was purer and denser than even Champa's or Beerus's destructive energy.
However… because what he infused was light rather than darkness, the wishes this dragon could grant would be limited to "white magic" only.
Vados covered her mouth, chuckling softly, already anticipating Levos's reaction when he realized that "small mistake."
The seven Dragon Balls flared brilliantly.
Storm clouds gathered.
In the blink of an eye, the entire Earth was swallowed by darkness.
ROAR !
A draconic bellow split the heavens. An enormous shadow shot up through the clouds so massive that mountains and rivers looked like toys in comparison.
Its body stretched on and on without end, until it finally coiled around the entire planet.
"S-So big!" everyone gasped. "How can a Shenron be this huge?!"
No one could see the dragon's full form.
The pressure rolling off it punched past Earth itself, rippling out into the entire star system.
Then, above the Dragon Balls, a slightly smaller phantom projection appeared still colossal by any normal standard, but at least now they could finally make out what the newborn dragon looked like.
A black five-clawed dragon.
Its scales resembled Cell Max's mechanical armor, gleaming with metallic luster.
Black supreme and sovereign.
In Levos's memory, the Primordial Dragon revered black above all else.
The black dragon radiated endless majesty.
"Th-That's… one terrifying Shenron," Yamcha stammered.
Frieza's pupils shook.
From that dragon, he felt power of the same origin as Levos's yet even purer, more refined, more rule-like.
For the first time in his life, the desire to use Dragon Balls for immortality and power didn't even dare rise within him.
He had a gut feeling
If he made any "evil" wish in front of this dragon, he'd be erased on the spot.
The black dragon looked down on everyone.
But the instant it saw Levos, the dragon's arrogant gaze snapped away, turning cautious
And… almost flattering?
Levos wasn't sure. He studied the newborn dragon carefully.
"Mr. Levos," Dende said, "please bestow a name upon the new Shenron."
"Uh… a name…" Levos frowned. "Following our naming tradition… it should have the surname Ao. But what do I call it?"
He wracked his brain.
After a long while, his eyes lit up.
"Ao… surname Ao…" He nodded to himself. "Alright. From now on, you're Ao Debiao."
He explained the "beautiful meaning" behind it with a straight face.
"May you inherit the spirit of the working people at the bottom unyielding, unbroken, never bowing to fate."
Ao… Debiao?
Everyone thought the name sounded kind of odd, but the symbolism made it feel strangely… grand.
The black Shenron, Ao Debiao, looked genuinely grateful. "Lord Levos, thank you for granting me a name. This little dragon will serve you with utmost devotion."
His voice was deep and mighty yet the words coming out of his mouth felt almost too flattering to Levos.
Have some dignity, man.
Levos only meant that as a private complaint
But Ao Debiao's voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
"Lord Levos… what is 'dignity'? This little dragon does not understand."
Levos blinked, startled.
I can communicate with him mentally?
He quickly turned to Dende. "Is the ceremony complete like this?"
"What should the cooldown be, Mr. Levos?" Dende asked. "What's the longest and the shortest possible?"
"Since this Shenron was born on Earth," Dende explained, "the shortest cooldown is one Earth year. As for the longest… there is no limit."
Levos clicked his tongue inwardly.
If this dragon had been born on Kaio's planet, the cooldown would've been ridiculously short.
But unlimited Dragon Ball usage was dangerous anyway. Who knew what kind of "super evil dragon" might be born someday if they abused it too far?
"Set it to one year," Levos decided.
"One last step remains," Dende said. "Please set the summoning incantation, Mr. Levos."
A summoning phrase?
Levos vaguely remembered that Super Shenron's chant had a "I want to…" line in it.
So what should this set's chant be?
He thought hard, then settled on a theme.
"Set it to 'Come forth, Shenron. Grant my wish. I want to win!'"
With "winning studies" all the rage these days, it fit perfectly and even echoed the Primordial Dragon's obsession with winning.
Perfect.
Levos was quietly pleased with himself.
With all preparations complete, it was time to make wishes.
Ao Debiao's authority and power far surpassed Earth's Shenron and Porunga's.
In some ways, it had already brushed the threshold of the Super Dragon Balls.
"State your wishes. Any wish may be granted up to three."
"The first wish." Levos raised his head. "Restore Earth to its perfect state from before it was damaged."
"Simple." Ao Debiao's eyes flashed red.
A soft golden radiance expanded from its body, sweeping over the entire planet.
The land healed. Chasms sealed. Springs returned to dried riverbeds. Withered forests surged back into life.
Across the world, ruined cities rose again, restored to how they once were.
But it didn't stop there.
Lives lost in the disaster human and animal alike were reshaped within the light, standing up dazed and confused, with no memory of dying.
"…What's going on?" Everyone stared. "That was only the first wish. Why did people come back too?"
Did something go wrong?
Even Levos looked up at Ao Debiao, demanding an explanation.
"A small bonus gift," Ao Debiao replied. "Within the scope of my authority, I will satisfy the wisher as fully as possible. Therefore, I revived all innocents who died in this calamity and erased their memories of death as well."
It could do that?
Multiple objectives folded into one wish?
Levos immediately began thinking: if he wished for Earth to be sturdier, then it wouldn't be blown apart so easily. Goku and the others could fight without holding back, and he'd have fewer worries.
"Lord Levos," Ao Debiao's voice sounded in his mind again, "that request is too simple. As my creator, you need not waste a wish on it."
Levos's eyes lit up. "Good. Then raise Earth's durability to the level of a Supreme Kai planet."
"Uh… Supreme Kai-planet level…" Ao Debiao hesitated. "As a creator's request, it exceeds my authority by… just a tiny bit. If it were a wish, however, it would be extremely easy."
Levos switched strategies. "I've collected several Supreme Kai planets and God of Destruction planets in my storage space. Can we take some soil from those and spread it over Earth?"
Ao Debiao immediately perked up. "Extremely simple! I will complete the mission perfectly!"
In the next instant, Ao Debiao now granted access to Levos's storage space began remodeling Earth at once.
"Complete, Lord Levos!"
In just a few minutes, a dying world not only returned to life, but its toughness underwent a qualitative leap.
Levos briefly considered having Frieza test whether Earth could be "middle-parted" now
But he didn't trust him, so he tested it himself.
Boom!
A ki blast slammed into the ground. An attack that should've carved a crater only left a bowl-sized dent.
"…Will farmers still be able to plow the soil?" someone asked anxiously, voicing a very practical concern.
"Your first wish has been granted." Ao Debiao's majestic voice boomed again. "State your second wish."
The second wish?
Originally, Levos's plan had three steps: restore Earth, revive the dead, and finally revive Gine.
But now the first two objectives had been delivered as a one-stop service, all in one.
Frieza's eyes gleamed, unable to hold back. "Mr. Levos, you see "
Levos nodded. "State your wish, King. Earth thanks you for your contribution."
Frieza was about to speak
But the moment he felt all those curious eyes surrounding him, he froze like someone had pressed a switch.
Say it… or don't?
He stiffened, caught between pride and fear.
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