The dust and debris were still falling heavily inside the cave, on top of Broly, when, in a simple blink, Zaiko materialized out of nowhere by her side.
The Saiyan was barely getting up from the ground, leaning on her hands and knees, growling from the bottom of her throat with a ferocity that made her seem like a cornered wild beast, or worse yet, a huge dog that had just contracted rabies.
While he watched her regain her composure to resume her attack, Zaiko realized something fascinating.
The combat instincts of the authentic Zaiko were beginning to flow naturally through his mind, coupling perfectly with his human consciousness.
His body knew exactly what to do and how to move in a battle without him having to force it.
He also realized what he had just done.
He hadn't moved fast; he had teleported.
«Kai-Kai», he thought.
Kai-Kai is a divine technique that allowed the user to teleport instantaneously to any other planet, location, or even transport other people across the twelve universes created by the Superdemon Rymus.
To the naked eye, Kai-Kai was very similar to the Instant Transmission that Goku had learned from the Yardrats, but with a vast difference, as it had no limitations.
Unlike the Yardrat technique, the user of Kai-Kai had no need to focus on searching for a specific Ki signature to use as a jump target.
It was an exclusive and purely divine technique, used primarily by the Supreme Kais and their direct attendants.
Most likely, Zaiko deduced in a split second, was that the original Zaiko had inherited or learned it directly from his mother, the Western Supreme Kai, Lila.
Zaiko's red eyes opened wide in the middle of the cave's darkness while a smile of pure realization lit up his face.
«Wait a minute...!», he thought, suddenly feeling like the biggest idiot in the universe. «I don't need the coordinates of any damn ship! I didn't even need to approach Paragus in the first place!»
All his problems had just been magically solved.
With Kai-Kai at his disposal, he could leave filthy Planet Vampa whenever he wanted.
He could simply teleport to planet Earth in a single instant, appearing in the middle of West City or on any paradisiacal beach he fancied, leaving this dysfunctional Saiyan duo behind.
He could leave right now, simply disappear.
Zaiko looked down, where Broly was finishing standing up.
Her yellow eyes glowed with anger, and her green aura erupted again, cracking the cave walls.
The idea of leaving for Earth was tempting and undoubtedly the most logical.
But Zaiko cracked his knuckles slowly, letting out a sigh as his Saiyan blood began to boil with anticipation again.
Earth could wait a few more minutes.
First, he would give Broly a good beating.
At least until her bad mood had calmed down.
In an instant, Zaiko's Ki erupted violently around him.
A column of energy rose from the ground, completely enveloping his body with an entirely black aura, outlined by dark purple edges that crackled intensely.
Observing the aura surrounding him, Zaiko examined it for a second.
«Wow...», he thought. «It's very similar to Goku Black's.»
The creation and conceptual design of Goku Black had been largely inspired by Zaiko, so it made sense.
I lunged at her immediately, closing the distance in a fraction of a second, cocked my arm, and landed a direct, brutal uppercut to her jaw just as she had finally recovered and stood up.
The impact resonated loudly, but she barely tilted her head back.
She didn't back down a single millimeter.
Instead, she stood planted on the spot, staring intently into my eyes with her yellow pupils, resisting my blow with pure brute force.
To make this fight even a little fun, I had deliberately put myself at her level, but feeling how her power had increased in just a few moments to be able to withstand my punch filled me with surprise.
A smile spread across my face.
"You're a damn monster..." I muttered. "I think I like that."
Barely had the words left my mouth, she counterattacked.
Her fist smashed against me with devastating force, launching me like a missile straight against the cave wall.
I crashed through thick solid rock and sent flying several hundred meters through the air, while the entire cave finally gave way and collapsed on top of Broly.
But the mountain of debris didn't stop her.
A second later, Broly shot out from among the rocks, completely unharmed, flying fiercely in my direction.
I controlled my own body in the air, stopping dead in the sky before ending up crashing against another mountain behind me.
Seeing Broly approaching at breakneck speed, my smile widened.
Both of us lunged at each other like two meteors.
Our fists clashed.
The entire planet Vampa felt the impact.
The ground trembled violently, cracking beneath us and threatening to give way under the monstrous pressure generated by our clash.
Around me, I could feel how the energy signatures of all nearby creatures were moving away rapidly in the opposite direction, fleeing desperately to not be involved in the combat.
Although they were simple beasts, they still had a certain degree of intelligence and knew how to recognize danger perfectly.
This is commonly known as survival instinct.
Without giving her time to react, I used Kai-Kai and teleported right behind her, above her head.
I raised my leg and brought my foot down hard, hitting her from above as if it were a hammer.
Broly plunged toward the ground, crashing against the rock, but I didn't ease up the pressure.
I concentrated my Ki in both hands, bringing them back, and immediately after, launched a hail of large luminous energy spheres directly against her.
"HAAAAAAAAAA!"
This technique, known as Sacred Light Bullet or Shinsei Kōdan, was the same one the Western Supreme Kai had used in a desperate attempt to destroy Majin Buu.
However, used by me, the technique was incredibly more powerful and destructive than the original version.
Broly was completely enveloped in a gigantic explosion that shook the entire terrain, devastating and evaporating everything in its path into an immense crater.
In the distance, Paragus watched the scene petrified.
He couldn't believe that his daughter, the Legendary Super Saiyan of legends born only once every thousand years, was being massacred and surpassed that way.
But then, the smoke dissipated.
Broly came walking out of the center of the explosion without a single scratch on her body, her green aura burning more furious and her musculature appearing even stronger than a few minutes ago.
Seeing her unharmed, Paragus's panic disappeared, and he couldn't help exclaiming, raising his healthy arm as if he were just another spectator in a boxing match:
"That's it, Broly! Finish him!"
Broly took off, and both went back to hand-to-hand combat.
Every time she threw a wild and uncontrolled punch, Zaiko dodged it with a small and arrogant smile on his face, returning the impact with double the force.
Furthermore, due to the sharp scales protruding from his knuckles, his punches were much more damaging and painful than they should be.
Soon, the effects became evident as Broly's face began to fill with blood and cuts.
Maddened by pain and frustration, Broly growled with rage and roared toward the sky while her immense aura grew even larger.
I stopped for a moment, noticing how she was panting violently.
Her chest rose and fell sharply, and deep down, it seemed as if she were trying to calm down, fighting against her own mind, unsuccessfully, letting herself be swallowed by rage and completely losing control.
I frowned seeing the state she was in.
What the hell was she doing?
Was it really fun fighting against someone who couldn't even control her own mind? Someone who only fought like a wild and irrational beast, letting herself be led blindly by pain and instinct?
Suddenly, I remembered how Broly had offered me her food just a few seconds after meeting.
I remembered how she had stepped in before Paragus and called me friend, even though she didn't even know my damn name.
And here I was, having fun at her expense, hitting her while she suffered for having lost control.
I stroked my own hair with one hand and shook my head slowly, closing my eyes while letting out a deep sigh.
I had gone too far.
I opened my eyes and observed her.
Broly was grabbing her head with both hands, totally maddened.
She roared and growled like a wounded beast, letting trails of saliva escape her mouth while clenching her teeth hard.
Her wild hair was also beginning to change.
The black locks flickered slowly, and her green aura oscillated unstably.
Small yellow flashes were beginning to mix in her green aura, and her hair threatened to turn that same golden color.
Was Broly... about to transform into SSJ1?
Yes... definitely this had gone too far.
Although I wanted to keep fighting, since I had really had fun, all the excitement evaporated as soon as I became aware of her maddened state and her agonizing attempts to control her own rage.
"This is no longer fun..." I muttered, my voice becoming extremely serious. "It's sad."
Honestly, I wanted to keep fighting her.
And someday, without any doubt, we would do it again.
But by then, I would make sure she didn't lose control of her own mind this way.
Next time, both of us would fight on equal terms, for the simple pleasure of enjoying combat.
-----------------
I'm an idiot.
I originally planned to write two whole chapters about the fight between Broly and Zaiko...
But I feel too sorry for Broly to write about him getting beaten up.
Anyway, more fights are coming soon...