Dragon Ball: Ascension

"Karnel! You came back so soon?" Ceros said, his voice heavy with disappointment. "Weren't you strong enough to match them after all?"

Karen was still lost in grief, her voice trembling as she spoke. "The enemies they sent this time are far more powerful than before. We've been training relentlessly for a month, our strength has doubled, but in their eyes, we're still nothing more than a joke. More than half our people in the city are dead by their hands."

"If I had returned any later, you Bargonian people would have been completely wiped out by that Kaimo," Karnel said, his transformation fading as he returned to his base form.

"Yes, that Kaimo warrior is impossibly strong," Ceros agreed with a bitter smile. Despite being the leader of his people, he struggled to maintain composure through the pain. "Even with our increased power, we were no match for him. If you'd been even a little later, Bargonia would have been destroyed."

"Well, everything's been resolved now," Karnel said with quiet confidence. "There will no longer be such a brutal race that evolves by devouring human lives. You can rest easy."

Ceros' eyes widened in amazement, his voice stuttering with disbelief. "You... are you telling the truth? Did you actually eliminate all of these terrifying demons in such a short time?"

Karen, still mourning their losses, raised her head and stared at Karnel with newfound hope flickering in her eyes.

Karnel sighed deeply. "I'm telling the truth. The Kaimo tribe that ruled the entire Western Galaxy has been completely dismantled and eliminated by me. But..."

"That's incredible! These demons are finally dead! We Bargonian people are finally free!" The big warrior Karen had tears streaming down his face, his body shaking with overwhelming relief and joy.

Ceros' expression showed cautious joy, though he remained much calmer than Karen. "Just what?" he asked with growing concern. "Karnel, didn't you kill them all?"

"No, their king is extraordinarily powerful. I didn't kill him, in fact, I nearly died at his hands," Karnel admitted with a heavy sigh.

The terrifying experience of hovering on death's edge to achieve his breakthrough was something Karnel never wanted to repeat.

"Although their king still lives, he's very different from the ordinary Kaimo tribe," Karnel continued reassuringly. "He wouldn't engage in the wanton slaughter of planetary populations like his subjects did. Besides, he's already left the Western Galaxy, so you don't need to worry about him."

"That's a relief," Ceros said gratefully. "Karnel, I thank you on behalf of all the Bargonian people. You saved our entire race."

Though a king of unusual strength still existed, Karnel had made it clear that this opponent was so powerful he'd nearly killed him. Ceros had no right to ask for more, helping them had been an act of kindness, and expecting someone to risk their life further would be unconscionably ungrateful.

"That's not necessary," Karnel said with genuine concern. "Your city has been destroyed and is uninhabitable now. Let's go take a look and see about settling the surviving people."

Ceros said nothing more, but with a heavy heart, he led the three surviving warriors as they flew toward their devastated town.

The settlement was filled with acrid smoke and scarred with craters of all sizes. Not a single building remained intact. Even the largest martial arts square in the city center lay in complete ruins. The streets were littered with countless corpses of Bargonia's people, children, adults, and elderly alike, all who had died horribly.

As they reached the town center, Karnel surveyed the apocalyptic scene. Though he felt some reluctance in his heart, he showed no sympathy on his face. Without sufficient strength, one could only blame bad fortune.

Seeing Ceros and the others return, Bargonia's people who had been hiding in the ruins began emerging one by one. Their numbers were less than half of what they'd been before, and all bore expressions of profound grief.

"Chief, so many of our people are dead... those damned demons," an elderly Bargonian citizen wept bitterly.

"Both father and mother are gone..." A young child who had watched his parents being devoured by cruel Kaimo warriors to protect him collapsed emotionally, muttering with vacant eyes.

Ceros' throat tightened, and he forced back the tears threatening to fall. Taking a deep breath, he spoke with forced determination: "My fellow people, the crisis has been resolved. Those cursed demons have been eliminated. You need not fear any longer. From now on, we will no longer face threats from those monsters. True peace awaits us!"

Karnel opened his mouth several times as if to speak, but ultimately remained silent.

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind. Seeing the Bargonian people who had been like helpless prey strengthened his desire for power more than ever. He refused to become someone's victim one day.

"Karnel, people can't live in the city now. Would you like to visit the training base?" Ceros asked, turning to him while directing Karen and the other three battle survivors to assist with burying the dead and beginning repairs to the town.

Karnel nodded, thinking to himself: "I'll be leaving here soon anyway, so I'll go retrieve the gravity chamber. Now that the Kaimo people have been eliminated, Ceros and his people no longer have urgent need of it, but it's still extremely valuable to me."

"Karnel, thank you again for saving us Bargonian people and all the peace-loving races in the Western Galaxy," Ceros said sincerely upon reaching the beach, bowing deeply in gratitude.

"I was also seeking information from the Kaimo people for my own purposes. You don't need to do this," Karnel replied with a smile.

Ceros took note of this gracious response and asked, "Are you preparing to leave?"

Karnel nodded, his voice carrying a hint of joy. "Yes, I've found a way to return home, but I can't stay here any longer."

"There's no need for more words. If you truly want to repay me, then work hard to become stronger. Now that the Western Galaxy's oppression has ended with the Kaimo's destruction, I suggest you bring the Western Galaxy under Bargonian rule and maintain the hard-won peace we've achieved."

"This... can we really do such a thing?" Ceros hesitated, uncertainty in his voice.