The force behind the [Accelion Buster] shocked me for a moment, but it wasn't enough to break through my guard.
Even as Super Saiyan 2 it would've been tough, but at Super Saiyan 3 or higher, I could easily intercept that blast with a barrier.
So Auntie's real target couldn't have been the [Accelion Buster] that grazed me—it had to be the [Accel Shooter] hurtling in from behind.
Kuut!
Thanks to Super Saiyan 3, my senses were razor-sharp; I could almost predict the attack's trajectory.
I sidestepped the [Accelion Buster] in a blur, then launched myself after the beam to close the gap on Auntie.
The [Accel Shooter] dove toward me from behind, but I ducked, letting it slam into the place I'd just vacated and vanish in a flash of pink energy as I rocketed forward.
The instant Auntie appeared before me, I whipped out a punch—only for her to snap her head aside and evade with inhuman grace.
She cancelled the [Accelion Buster] on the spot and spun up her mana to conjure a shimmering round shield, blocking my kick in a flash.
"Heh~"
"Huff…!"
While I grinned, Auntie broke into a cold sweat. I tumbled back in a flawless back-dive to reset the fight.
As I landed, I saw the [Accel Shooter] drive into the ground where I'd stood, and Auntie's hand shot out toward me.
"Accel!"
At her shout, the shards of [Accel Shooter] swiveled and lunged at me with terrifying acceleration. I leapt skyward, condensing Ki in both hands.
The moment my Ki peaked, I spun to face the incoming cluster and flung my palms open, unleashing a volley of orb-shaped energy bolts.
The orbs slammed into the [Accel Shooter] fragments, igniting a series of explosions that billowed smoke and haze.
The problem was the collision of mana and Ki had created an artificial mist—Auntie's aura was impossible to read.
I tuned my Ki finely, probing the murk for her position.
"Here!"
Kuut?!
I punched through the smoke straight at her, and Auntie, caught off guard, cancelled her bombardment spell and blocked with her bandaged arm.
I seized the opening, raining follow-up blows with fists and feet.
If I gave her time to recast her artillery magic, she'd simply back out of range and fire again.
To my surprise, she was holding her own.
Even strikes I aimed to bypass the Raging Heart were caught by her arms and legs.
Nothing had changed in [Exceed Mode], so how was this possible?
It was as if her body had received a Super Saiyan-level boost…
"Could it be… the Blaster System?"
"?! How—?!"
Auntie's eyes widened at my guess as she shoved me back, and I hopped away, expanding my Ki sense.
This time I definitely felt the subtle fluctuation in her aura.
No, it was… charged?
"Raging Heart!"
[Divine Buster]
Four pink-glow blasts erupted from the Raging Heart's Blaster Bits, hurtling toward me in a sweeping barrage. Dodge it? Impossible. Break free first? Also impossible. From the moment she unleashed that aura, I knew the bind was designed to snare even Super Saiyan 3.
There was only one option.
I pressed my thumb and forefinger to my forehead. As soon as I seized Auntie's Ki, I vanished behind her with teleportation.
When I opened my eyes, I was right behind her. I swung a punch at her back.
"So this is your trick."
"What?!"
Her round shield popped up just in time, and pink chains snaked out to ensnare my fist and arm.
"Zero Distance Bind?!"
Not just that—the two Blaster Bits that appeared bound my other arm, legs, and waist, locking me immobile.
Kuut!
I poured Ki into the bonds, but they only squeezed tighter. A bind skill that could restrain a Super Saiyan 3 at once?
"[Accelion Buster], [Force Burst]!"
[Load Cartridge]
The Raging Heart clicked as a cartridge latched in, pink wings of energy unfurling in [Exceed Mode]. In an instant, crimson spear-blades formed at its tips and began to gather monstrous power, as if mocking every attack so far.
"Break Shoot!"
A titanic beam of pink devastation hurtled toward me.
Evade? No chance. Free myself first? No way.
I'd known from her Ki that this bind was tailor-made to trap Super Saiyan 3.
So what could I do?
There was only one choice.
I closed my eyes.
My long hair retracted to its normal length.
My overgrown muscles shrank back to baseline.
To anyone watching, it must've looked like I'd given up.
But I hadn't. I never intended to.
I opened my eyes slowly.
Divine Qi flickered across my skin like living flames.
The binds that held me dissolved into light and melted away.
Freed, I brought both hands forward and released a circular Ki wave.
It might've looked like a simple blast, but this was a bind technique channeled through Divine Qi.
Even a basic bind powered by god-level Ki hit far harder.
"Wh-what?!"
The wave erased the [Accelion Buster] fragments, then cut through Auntie's defense, binding her in place.
"I think I've won."
I smiled, and Auntie's eyes went wide.
"…I can't feel anything."
"That's because I've reached the realm of the gods."
"The realm of the gods… So that's what everyone's been talking about."
—Super Saiyan God.