As Zeno and the Grand Priest departed, the expected uproar never came.
Instead, the World of Void fell into an eerie silence.
Every face was filled with fear.
Even Gran had not expected Zeno's punishment to be this.
He thought to himself—if Universe Seven had lost…
Then their Mortal Level would have had to increase from 3.50 to 4.50.
That actually didn't sound too bad.
But…
Suddenly, Gran thought of something.
His expression immediately darkened.
He had once declared that he would raise Universe Seven to first place.
But now, under Zeno's punishment—
If Universe One increased its Mortal Level by another point…
Then for Universe Seven to surpass it, they would have to increase even more.
"I'm starting to feel like the Grand Priest isn't punishing everyone else…"
Gran looked up toward the place where the Grand Priest had just left.
"…he's punishing me instead!!"
When the Grand Priest had departed earlier, he had given Gran a meaningful glance.
Could it be that the Grand Priest and Zeno were really that devious?
"Lord Gran, Lord Champa and the others are coming down," Hit said from the side.
Gran stood on the icy plain and snapped back to reality.
In his sight, Beerus and the others had begun moving, leaping down from the viewing platform.
As they landed on the frozen ground, crisp tap-tap sounds echoed across the ice.
"Gran! That was absolutely magnificent!"
Beerus strode over excitedly, lightly bumping Gran's chest with his fist before pulling him into a brief embrace.
Whis smiled with satisfaction.
"Indeed, remarkable. As expected of the disciple I personally trained."
The Old Supreme Kai behind them let out a somewhat lecherous chuckle.
"Good thing we had Gran. Otherwise, we'd be accepting punishment alongside those guys."
From their voices, it was obvious that they were thrilled and exhilarated.
And understandably so.
This was a victory belonging to Universe Six and Universe Seven.
They wouldn't need to suffer punishment.
Nor would they face the risk of erasure.
With that in mind, it was impossible not to feel happy.
Yet while everyone else was laughing—
Gran wore a bitter expression.
Beerus noticed immediately.
Releasing Gran, he frowned.
"What's wrong with you?"
His question drew everyone's attention to Gran.
"Lord Beerus… I feel like the Grand Priest isn't punishing the others."
Gran forced a wry smile.
"He's specifically punishing me."
"What do you mean?" everyone asked in confusion.
"Did you forget?" Gran sighed.
"I said I was going to push Universe Seven to first place."
"If the other universes keep increasing their Mortal Levels, then won't I have to keep chasing after them?"
As soon as he said this, everyone fell silent.
They understood Gran's ambition very well.
Soon—
Champa suddenly clutched his stomach and burst out laughing.
"Well whose fault is that?! You're the one insisting on making Universe Seven number one!"
"If you stop aiming for first place, then there won't be a problem!"
The Supreme Kai of Universe Six, Fuwa, nodded in agreement.
"Mr. Gran is simply making things difficult for himself. In my opinion… perhaps it would be better to give up."
Give up?
The members of Universe Seven exchanged glances.
Given Gran's personality—
Once he said something, he always followed through.
There was no way he would abandon that goal.
Which meant…
Zeno's punishment seemed to target others—
but in reality, it was also punishing Gran.
"Whis, why don't you go ask the Grand Priest if the punishment can be canceled?"
Beerus suggested cautiously.
"That way Gran wouldn't have to suffer so much."
Whis rolled his eyes at the skinny purple cat.
"If you want to ask, then go ask yourself. I certainly won't."
Hearing that, Beerus immediately shrank his neck.
"On second thought… forget it."
Gran shot his own God of Destruction a speechless glance and said nothing more.
The arena fell quiet again.
No one could guess what Gran was thinking.
"You did pretty well too."
Champa suddenly patted Hit on the shoulder.
"Everyone thought you were going to die at the hands of that fat pig from Universe Two."
"But in the end, you relied on your willpower to dodge that fatal strike!"
The other Universe Six God of Destruction candidate, Roz, said excitedly:
"Good thing you were the one who entered the competition. If it had been me, I would've died countless times already."
Hit glanced at Gran and shook his head.
"The reason I survived until now is all thanks to Lord Gran."
"We should be thanking him."
"Of course I know it's his achievement," Champa snorted.
"But you also contributed a lot."
"Don't worry. I promised you already—when we return to Universe Six, I'll grant you everything I said I would."
"Thank you, Lord Champa."
"..."
While they continued talking—
Gran had been looking upward the entire time, as if searching for something.
"Where did he go…? Did he run away?"
Gran muttered under his breath.
"Who are you looking for?" Whis asked curiously.
"Quitela."
Gran answered openly.
Yet the moment those words left his mouth—
Everyone's hearts trembled.
Beerus's expression grew serious.
"What are you planning to do?"
"What else?" Gran replied calmly.
"Strike while he's injured and finish him off."
Although his tone was calm—
Those who knew Gran well could clearly see the killing intent in his eyes.
Champa and Vados exchanged a glance.
Good heavens…
This kid had just slaughtered a large group of God of Destruction candidates.
And now he was already turning his attention toward an actual God of Destruction.
Wasn't that a bit too bold?
"Lord Zeno only forbade Gods of Destruction from fighting each other."
Gran rolled his neck, his joints cracking loudly.
"He never forbade a God of Destruction candidate from fighting a God of Destruction."
"That damned rat once sent someone to ambush me."
"If I hadn't been strong enough, the one who would've died back then would have been me."
"For someone who tried to kill me…"
"How could I possibly let him go?"
The reasoning made sense.
But Quitela was still a God of Destruction, second only to Beerus in strength.
Even if Zeno's punishment had left him severely injured—
a dying camel was still bigger than a horse.
Champa originally thought Beerus would try to calm Gran down.
But instead—
"Yeah, we definitely can't let him go."
Beerus scanned the sky above in confusion.
"Where did that guy disappear to? Did he run away?"
"He did escape."
Whis raised his staff and projected an image into the air.
It showed the moment Quitela left.
The instant Zeno and the Grand Priest departed—
Quitela had quietly fled the World of Void as well.
However…
The Angel Cognac was still in the World of Void.
It seemed he still had something to do there.
"You guys…"
After hearing the conversation between Gran, Beerus, and Whis, Champa's eyes widened in shock.
From the looks of it—
These three were seriously planning to kill Quitela.