"So you absorbed Seven-Three?" Gohan asked.
"That's right." Moro touched the crystal on his forehead with a satisfied smile. "I absorbed his abilities along with him. Thanks to that, I've recovered completely."
His smile widened.
"No... I'm stronger than before. My power and Seven-Three's have been combined into one. Quite unfortunate for all of you."
Piccolo's expression darkened. "So you've added Seven-Three's strength on top of your own."
"Exactly."
A streak of light shot up from below.
Vegeta had already recovered from the blow that knocked him down and came charging straight back toward Moro.
"Then I'll just split you apart again!"
He launched into another assault, but this time Moro avoided everything.
Vegeta's punches and kicks tore through empty air again and again without touching him once.
Moro smiled.
"That technique of yours only works if you actually hit me, doesn't it?" He slipped past another punch with almost insulting ease. "I won't make the same mistake twice."
Vegeta gritted his teeth.
"Damn it..."
Gohan suddenly remembered something.
"Vegeta! If he absorbed Seven-Three's abilities, then shouldn't they only last thirty minutes?"
Kale immediately caught on. "Gohan-nii's right! Seven-Three's copied abilities had a time limit!"
Piccolo nodded. "If that restriction still applies, we only need to hold out until the thirty minutes are over."
Goku looked between them, completely lost. He had missed far too much while training with Merus to understand why everyone kept talking about copying and time limits.
Moro laughed.
"You still don't understand." He spread his arms slightly. "The power stored in Seven-Three was originally mine. It has simply returned to my body. Why would my own power disappear after thirty minutes?"
That answer wiped away their brief hope.
"And there's more."
Moro vanished.
Vegeta sensed him too late.
Moro appeared behind him and seized the back of his neck.
Vegeta's eyes widened. He immediately tore himself free and spun around.
"Get your filthy hand off me!"
Then he saw Moro's palm.
A blue crystal embedded there now displayed Vegeta's face.
Vegeta froze.
"What the hell is that? Why is my face in your hand?"
Moro clenched his fist and grinned.
"Because Seven-Three's Copy Ability belongs to me now."
Gohan's expression changed instantly. "He copied Vegeta!"
"What are you all talking about?" Goku demanded. "You've been saying 'copy' this whole time!"
"Seven-Three could copy someone's abilities by grabbing the back of their neck," Gohan explained quickly.
Kale looked toward Vegeta. "And Moro just did the same thing to Vegeta."
Goku finally understood.
"Seriously?"
Merus watched from beside Ken, his expression growing more serious. "This turned around quickly."
"Yep." Ken gave him a light pat on the shoulder. "Your turn is coming up soon."
Merus nodded. "All right."
Moro moved first.
His fist crashed into Vegeta's head and drove him straight out of the sky.
Vegeta slammed into the ground and rolled to a stop, clutching his skull as his ears rang from the impact.
When he looked up again, energy was already gathering around Moro.
Piccolo's eyes widened.
"That's—"
"One of Vegeta's attacks!" Gohan shouted.
Moro raised one hand, a brilliant sphere of energy forming above his palm.
"Big Bang Attack! That's what you call it, right, Vegeta?"
The blast came down.
Vegeta barely had time to react before the explosion swallowed him.
The ground caved in beneath the impact, leaving an enormous crater behind. When the smoke finally cleared, Vegeta lay at the bottom in his normal state, his Super Saiyan 4 transformation completely gone.
"Vegeta!" Gohan shouted.
Kale clenched her fists.
Piccolo's expression became even grimmer.
Moro glanced down at the crater with obvious contempt.
"Big Bang Attack? It's just an ordinary energy blast with an unnecessarily dramatic name."
Piccolo barely heard him.
There was a much bigger problem.
"If Moro copied Vegeta's abilities, then he copied Forced Spirit Fission too."
Goku's face changed.
Piccolo continued, "That means fusion and absorption won't work against him either. If anyone tries to combine their power, Moro can simply separate them again."
For a moment, nobody had an answer.
Then Merus stepped forward.
"I'll go."
He took a slow breath and walked toward the battlefield.
Moro was already preparing to finish Vegeta when a gunshot cracked through the air.
The bullet carried far more than ordinary force.
Moro sensed the incoming energy and crossed his arms just before it struck, the impact pushing against his guard hard enough to make his expression change.
He turned toward the shooter.
"You infused your own energy into the bullet."
Merus stood calmly with his Galactic Patrol blaster still raised.
After a brief silence, the corner of his mouth lifted.
Moro narrowed his eyes.
"You... aren't you a Galactic Patrolman?"
Jaco stared at him in shock. "Merus?!"
Merus holstered the blaster and appeared directly across from Moro.
"Merus!" Goku called out.
Merus glanced back and smiled. "It's all right, Goku."
Piccolo studied him carefully.
"So Merus is joining the fight. If he actually gets serious, Moro shouldn't stand much of a chance."
"No," Goku said. "Merus told me he can only fight using the power he has as a Galactic Patrolman. He can't use his Angel power."
Everyone turned toward him.
Goku realized he had skipped one rather important detail.
"Other Angels aren't allowed to fight. Ken is the exception."
Vegeta forced himself upright inside the crater, still battered from Moro's attack. "Why?"
Kale looked equally confused. "What happens if an Angel fights?"
"They disappear," Goku said.
Piccolo frowned. "Disappear? But Ken fought with us against Zamasu."
"That's different. Ken started as a mortal and became an Angel through training. The same rules don't apply to him."
The explanation was strange, but they understood the important part.
Piccolo looked back toward Merus.
"So if he can't use Angel power, he has to fight Moro as a Galactic Patrolman."
Jaco's jaw slowly dropped.
"Wait."
Everyone looked at him.
"Did you just say Merus is an Angel?"
Goku blinked. "You seriously didn't know?"
Jaco stared at him.
"How was I supposed to know?! Nobody ever told me!"
He looked back at Merus, who was standing calmly in front of Moro as though none of this were unusual.
Jaco had worked beside the man all this time.
And somehow Merus had hidden something this ridiculous from him.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]