Vegetto's grip on the Xy'pher did not waver; the arm strong in holding the creature upright while Bage commanded the Potara fusion to stop. The words spoken by Bage and Superman went on without an interruption or immediate reply from Vegetto; a small moment of silence forming. Yet soon, Vegetto spoke once more with a firm and resisting tone, the glare never once leaving the Xy'pher despite his words being clearly a rebuttal to Bage but directed at Clark.
"You told me long ago that being a hero means being more than just Vegetto."
Despite the bold claim of self worth merely seconds ago, the pointed words of frustration finally brought the true feelings Vegetto held within for as long as he knew Cayde and Superman.
"These people...these creatures...need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy, and I can't do that as Vegetto. Vegetto was flesh and blood...he was destroyed. But as you said...if I become more than just a man...if I become a symbol, then I become unbreakable...I become...everlasting."
His white gloved fingers tensed a bit on the Xy'pher's neck, his glare sharpening even further.
"And if I can't be the symbol of hope....then I'll be one of terror."
Vegetto bore his teeth in a viscous grunt, jolting the Xy'pher once more with a shake of his arm.
"Tell me where he is!"
Cayde stood still throughout the exchange; the eyes locked onto Vegetto across the way. With both Bage and Clark having stepped in to try and reason with Vegetto, the android found his worth better served in a different approach. The twisted ideology and failure to understand Clark's teachings were in part of the situation the group found themselves in, and just as Cayde initially suggested with the Breakers with Vegetto during their secret meeting, so too did the android prepare for the worst.
His hand had already unhooked the band on his holster keeping his hand cannon in place, his fingers wrapping around the grip of the gun and slowly pulling the hammer back in preparing to draw while he watched the developments on in silence.
"Please let's not kill the Xy'pher without asking the vital questions," Nia said as she tried to pry Vegetto's fingers away from the Xy'pher, failing miserably. "If you continue to squeeze its throat, it won't be able to tell you anything. Use your brain juice." Using her psychic powers, Nia was able to pry Vegetto's hands away from the Xy'pher just enough to free it. The Xy'pher tried to make a run for it but froze in place by Nia's powers.
"Now then, let's get this over with..." Nia sighed and began to speak in the Xy'pher language, pointing to May, Berserk, and Vegetto as they each address their question. However, as Nia questioned the prisoner, Avalon came closer to the Xy'pher and poked it with his scroll, remembering the trait of it being able to tell lies. He took a step back and sat down, examining the scroll with everything both Nia and the Xy'pher said. "...Is this normal?"
"My scroll will be able to tell if the Xy'pher is lyin'. That way we know the whole truth." Avalon nodded. "It works in real time, so don't mind me."
"Ah, I see. Interesting mechanic." Nia then turned to May first. "To answer your question, every Xy'pher, even our Elites, has one common weakness: our cores." Nia tapped her cracked core and proceeded to tap the prisoner's core (right on its forehead), causing it to flinch. "If you destroy our cores, then we will die, or rather, lose our physical forms. However, in this case, it's a bit different. I noticed these odd... coins-like trinkets inside the cores of the newer Xy'phers. When I destroyed a Xy'pher to retrieve its core, the core wasn't destroyed, almost as if protecting the Coin. The body disappears all the same, however, so I can concur that our weakness remains entirely the same."
Nia then pointed at Berserk, to which the Xy'pher spoke out and shuddered slightly. The name Eleki slipped from Nia's mouth as the Xy'pher hissed in disgust, similar to how he views her.
"The one known as Eleki is a Xy'pher produced by something called a... Black Crystal? It mentioned something about Dark Energy. The birth of that Elite, or as they call them, Dark Xy'phers, was unethical. The King took one of the superior Xy'phers at the time and forced the core and this crystal to merge. Many perished. The few Xy'phers that survived grew significantly stronger but incredibly unstable." Nia turned to the Xy'pher who pointed at Vegetto before lowering its head. "And it seems that Veh-Gee-Toe fought one. There is one more out there born of such revolting ways. He says that ever since the Eleki fight, this next one got upgraded by the King to protect against what he learned in the Eleki fight, and to make matters worse, it has a partner."
"Great... The Dark Xy'pher has a mini-minion." Avalon groaned before glancing at his scroll. So far, the Xy'pher was telling the truth, to which he gave everyone a thumbs up.
Nia and the Xy'pher mumbled back and forth together before Nia scratched her chin. "Ah, so he has one Dark Xy'pher and one Elite. A man with portal powers is his current ace, untouched by the dark energy. You Breakers are in luck, Elites take a very long time to produce. I guess that explains why the King is trying to use these Dark Xy'phers to replace the time gap..."
As Bernkastel headed through the portal, Zenta was behind her, carefully listening to the start of the conversation between Nia and the Xy'pher.
Well, if the others have not attacker her, then she must be trustworthy...
Nia then pointed at Vegetto, speaking in her language. For a moment, the two were speaking over each other before Nia smacked the Xy'pher on the head.
"The location of the King is somewhere far from here. It's in a castle lost in the middle of no where. This Xy'pher was aided to the city by the one who casts portals, so he doesn't know the way on foot, unfortunately. He says the King is always watching, and if you impress him, then you can visit him in the castle."
As Zenta listened quietly to the questions and answers, he occasionally blanked out, his mind still wondering and thinking about something else. The thought of the two captured Breakers could not escape his thoughts, so when Nia finished talking, Zenta took a step forward, holding his hand up.
"Excuse me, I have a question. I was wondering if this Xy'pher knows about the two Breakers that were captured. The Red King mentioned that he has captured two Breakers, but this was a month ago. Is this true or a ruse?"
Nia began to translate and quickly got an answer.
"It is true. The King knows some of you by name. He does not know the name of the two he has captured, but he knows both are Breakers for sure."
"How sure?"
"He saw them on TV or something, and through some espionage, he discovered the identity of a Breaker that was temporarily in your group."
Zenta flinched slightly upon hearing Nia's confirmation that there were two captured Breakers. He had his doubts, but now, he could not deny it. His mind instantly thought about Cuki, but even then, he did not want to assume that she was one of the captured Breakers. His persona changed drastically and visibly. His tails were twitching wildly, his body shook, and his hands were tightening into fists. For the first time, he was scared about what he was going to hear next.
"There was an escape attempt by the captured Breakers. One managed to escape, but the other was tragically killed by the King helping the other escape and turned to a Xy'pher. She is currently serving him."
"...Who perished..?"
"A girl with a tail."
Zenta froze in place, Nia's final words echoing in his mind. His fists eased up, his trembling stopped, and his tails relaxed. There was a small exhale from his jaws as he smiled, walking over to the Xy'pher being questioned. He circled the crystal being playfully, almost as if trying to make the Xy'pher feel relaxed. The air surrounding him, Nia, and Avalon grew thicker and the pressure rose. Something powerful was rising up, powerful enough to make it difficult to breathe, and eventually, it spread to the other Breakers.
"A girl with a tail, you say? Ah, how oddly specific..." Zenta chuckled. "I know a girl with a tail, aside from Lady Bernkastel, of course." The beast stood behind the Xy'pher and rested his chin on its shoulder. He was oddly friendly, almost too friendly. Tilting his head to Nia, his voice suddenly grew dark and venomous. "You said your King is always watching, yes?"
"Uhh, yes?"
"Good, let me give him a show."
Without warning, Zenta slapped Nia away from the Xy'pher, releasing her psychic hold on it. He gripped the Xy'phers ankle and lifted him into the air before violently slamming the creature on the floor multiple times, shattering it more and more upon impact. The Xy'pher was already dead on the first impact, but Zenta continued even when the Xy'pher was limp and motionless. Eventually, the leg of the crystallized being ripped off, yet, Zenta continued, this time, beating it with its own leg. Once the leg shattered to bits, he continued still. Stomping on its torso until it was turned to dust, the beast still refused to let up, pounding at the dust until it created a cloud around him, shrouding him briefly. Once Zenta stepped out of the cloud of dust, he was shining and dusting off the head of the Xy'pher, examining it like a toy. He stood there, saying nothing, as the dust slowly began to settle.
Avalon threw himself back, moving away from Zenta and the murderous aura he gave off while he overkilled the Xy'pher. He looked to the others, almost as if asking for answers to what just happened. It was getting hard for him to breathe thanks to a powerful pressure being released from Zenta. He was always so calm and collected, so watching him snap the way he did was more than just a shock. However, with no Xy'pher left to interview, any information they had was now gone thanks to Zenta's sudden burst.
"Zenta, you killed our only source of information!" Avalon said, wobbling up to his feet. "I-I know you're upset but... don't you think you that was overkill?"
"No." Zenta said as he approached Zenta, towering over him and watching him fall right back to the ground due to the pressure he had. He lowered himself to Avalon's height and held the head next to his maw. A wicked and demented smile began to form on the jaws of the beast as he held back the urge to laugh. "No, not at all."
May says "In my experience Vegetto being a hero or a villain is all a matter of perspective." treating it as a matter of fact.
May says "In essence the coined types have that weakness resolved." May asks "So cores can be placed almost any were? If so, we need to look out for them? For the coined type all we can hope for is that hitting their cores stun them? If do Xy'phers end up a coin?"
Bage listened closely Vegetto's speech only earning a sigh from the Senior detective. However, his irritation was subdued once the Xy'pher began answering the questions of the group. He made sure to jot down all important information. Especially about the black crystal elites. It was going to be difficult to get to the king if they'll have to face another one of those dark Xy'phers.
One Zenta began asking about the two Breakers captured, the detective tensed, focusing in as Nia translated. So the rumors were true. Two people in their group had been captured and they were about to find out who. He could only hope... Bage's eyes widened as the Xy'pher mentioned a girl with a tail dying at the hands of the king before the captive was destroyed completely and brutally by Zenta. Zenta of all beings! The detective wasn't entirely sure if he was grateful or not that the Xy'pher hadn't finished clarifying any description of the girl.
Frozen on the detective's face was mixed expression of disbelief and anger. Once Zenta finished his onslaught silence lingered in the air, and thankfully so. Bage needed a moment to process what just happened. He shut his eyes for a moment, collecting himself before responding in calm tone.
"Do you feel better now?" He asked, frowning toward Zenta. "This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, especially you, Zenta. I'm sorry about Cuki... But An elite has already told us about this capture back in Metropolis now. This mission can't keep being thrown off course due to emotions! Whether we like it or not Cuki just may be a Xy'pher now. You should have come to terms with that long before this moment!"
It hurt to say, the sheer thought of Panich having been turned onto one was something he'd like to deny too. But the Detective's glare remained firm.
Vegetto's eyes turned down at the sight of Nia's attempts to pry the Xy'pher from his hand, the logic of destroying the Xy'pher making it through just a bit in his mind. Yet at the pressure of the psychic powers, Vegetto promptly flicked his wrist back in disgust, his glare strongly turning down onto Nia as he balled his hands into fists.
"Don't ever touch me like that again."
Cayde sighed in tandem with Detective Bage, dropping his hand off the handle of his gun while he watched on in silence as the answers came forth. His head turned once the others emerged from the portal, following Zenta, Bern, Spina and Gogeta while Zenta approached the pair of Xy'phers to pose the question about the captured Breakers. The android thought to himself for a moment, thinking on the first time who the captured Breakers could be. The footage of the Doom fight replayed in his mind, having spent many hours analyzing the same coverage of the Breakers during the fight mostly to understand their powers, but he remembered the girl that seemed to be missing from the original cast. Cayde furrowed his brow, the thought striking him in the notion that every time he brought up questions on what the main Breakers could do, Vegetto never clarified any information on the girl let alone even acknowledged her existence.
His eyes lifted over to Gogeta, who stood behind Bernkastel and when the news broke of one Breaker having perished in the escape attempt, the fusion immediately frowned and glanced off to the side. Cayde narrowed his eyes a bit; the strange behavior in seeing Gogeta, of all people, show some remorse at the demise of this mystery Breaker prompting his attention. Yet whatever brief reprieve he heard from Detective Bage's dropping of her name was short lived; Cayde watched on in near horror at the realization of how his friend handled the memory of Cuki. Vegetto raised his right eyebrow with a deadpanned, emotionless expression that was as empty as his dual voice when he spoke. Despite the harrowing lack of empathy present, his wording indicated a mostly genuine question that followed; a clueless expression on his face devoid of any emotion.
Bara was evidently shocked as she watched Zenta go off after this sudden reveal.
"Cuki... gone?!" She muttered, clearly horrified by the realization of this, before her expression grew serious once more... "whoever killed her will pay for this... they will drown in their own blood!"
Listening to Nia's translation, Berserk crossed her arms with an annoyed expression on her face. She groaned quietly to herself in agreement with Avalon.
"Well ain't that just great? Not like we didn't scrape past Goku alive as a Xy'pher or anything... On the bright side, it's just one elite and one of those Dark Xy'pher things. Bad news is we don't know how to deal with either type properly."
As the interrogation continued on, Bernkastel appeared with Gogeta and Zenta in tow before stopping a measured distance away from where Nia and Vegetto stood with the captive Xy'pher in hand. The Witch got the impression they were in the midst of questioning it and remained silent so as to not disturb the flow of information. Her expression was mostly relaxed as she listened until the question of the captive Breakers was brought up by Zenta.
In tandem with Gogeta her expression stiffened with an immediate frown, and she did not show overt shock. With a demeanor of what seemed like acceptance, she briefly glanced away before stewing on the details revealed to them. Bernkastel's brows furrowed pensively, wondering about the two captives associated with the Breakers.
If it really was Cuki who stayed behind, then who is the one that escaped? This was Bern's personal burning question. If they could figure out who the escapee was, and then track them down, the group could gain a huge advantage. But who was it? Whis hasn't appeared on television, but if he escaped, he'd likely be able to seek us out with ease... And yet, everyone else in that fight was effectively deceased.
"Hmm... Does it happen to know who--" Bernkastel stopped as she looked up to see a large plume of dust kick up from a sudden outburst, holding her arms up to shield against any flyaway debris. Eyes wide, she stared ahead to determine what happened. Assuming it was Vegetto due to his proximity and volatile nature, Bern's glare remained until the dust settled to reveal it was not the fusion... but Zenta himself.
Berserk stood there, speechless at Zenta's sudden display of violence. Clearly not ever having seen him like this before in the time she'd spent by him, the Powerpunk glanced around to see if the others were just as surprised. She wasn't sure what to do or say, as Zenta's presence carried a dangerous air around him.
Bernkastel looked on as Bage moved to try and speak some sense into him, her eyes drifting to the Xy'pher's scattered body part fragments until she found its head in Zenta's hands. Realizing he had killed it, her eyes narrowed and her sleeves balled up into fists. Of all the things one could do, interfering with Bernkastel's ability to draw lines of logic with vague information was a great offense. With anger clearly simmering, she grit her teeth before hearing Vegetto speak.
It cut through the air like a knife, and yet Bernkastel was so stunned she thought she had misheard him. "Who?! Wh-- You can't be serious!" she exclaimed, face livid with shock.
Berserk, took a small tiptoe forward to sneak past the group before zipping to Avalon's side. She sensed that right now was a good time to get him out of Zenta's sight. Holding a finger to her lips, she grabbed his arm to start moving, looking around for Nia in case she'd relinquish cooperation.
As each person spoke out in protest to his actions, Zenta simply kept his attention on Avalon, even as Berserk dragged him away. To both youngsters, even though he didn't move, it felt like the beast was ready to launch himself towards them if they made a wrong step; however, the sensation moved slowly died down as Bage began to lecture him on his actions. In a way, when Bage talked down to him, it made the beast realize the terrible action he did.
This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, especially you, Zenta...
Bage is right... Zenta thought silently as he lowered the decapitated Xy'pher head. His shoulders slumped slightly as he felt his head stare right at the floor. What has come over me..?
There was a moment of silence and shame for Zenta. He glanced at the head of the Xy'pher before letting it slowly roll out of his hand and onto the floor. His depressed sigh was followed by his tails falling limp on the floor. He knew he messed up big time, especially in such a crucial part of the mission. Whether Cuki was the fallen Breaker or not, he knew that deep down, Bage was right.
At the end of the day... I have to come to terms with this. I am used to this, so why is it so difficult to keep my composure..?
As Zenta pondered to himself about what is wrong with him, Vegetto's voice rang out in the silence he made for himself. The serene silence that was around Zenta instantly began to turn to a low rumble, followed by the floor cracking under everyone's feet. His placid tails began to twitch wildly and uncontrollably. Snarls and growls began to simmer out from Zenta's jaw, which now exposed his gums and canine teeth. The pressure in the air rose greater, so much that it would cause large fissures in the ground and force levitation users to the ground. The city rumbled harder and weak structures near and far began to collapse from the pressure. His visor cracked under the immense weight of the air, and particles of energy from both the Breakers and the air started to gravitate towards the beast.
Avalon slipped away with Berserk, remaining quiet thanks to her sneaky antics, yet, Zenta already had him paralyzed with fear. He did not understand it, nor did he know where the fear came from, but there was something about Zenta that made his very bones frozen with terror. Within Berserk's grasp, he shook violently, yet his body was hot. Was it fear? Anger? Thrill? Even Avalon did not know, yet, all he could do was stare.
Nia, on the other hand, dug herself out of the ground, spitting out rubble as she rubbed her cheek. The pressure from Zenta's rising aura and power prevented her from floating. As Berserk and Avalon crept closer to her, she, too, grew scared of Zenta's presence.
"W-What is the Dog doing? ...Is this normal behavior?" Nia whispered to the Powerpunk and Avalon. "His presence is... terrifying and vicious."
Zenta's body shivered with anger with Vegetto's simple question, but as the energy particles began to circle around him, they grew larger, absorbing into his body and creating an image made entirely of a wisp-like aura. As the beast turned around, his attention was solely on Vegetto with his arc stretched out, hand open as if to grab him. He moved slowly towards Vegetto and the aura-like image was more visible to him. It was enormous, towering even the tallest buildings in Rogue and Reflection City. The image was that of a demonic looking fox with strange markings, chains, and multiple eyes, all locked on Vegetto. Every slow step Zenta took towards Vegetto made the Fusion feel as if there was a magnet pulling him towards the beast, particularly his hand. The energy absorbed into Zenta's body turned red and swirled around his hand chaotically, entirely opposite to how he normally controls energy. It was entirely violent and volatile.
I hope to find Vegetto one day so that we can be a family again, y'know? I know he's bummed out about Kass', but maybe if he comes back with us, then he won't be so lonely. In a way, I know how he feels... it's the same feeling when I lost you, Master... I don't want him to feel alone anymore, it's a horrible feeling...
"Cuki is the only person that cared about you when there was no one else left in your life, Vegetto."
Zenta finally reached Vegetto and stood in front of the Saiyan Fusion, his hand just an inch from his chest. The magnetic feeling that pulled Vegetto to Zenta's hand was stronger than ever, yet, if Vegetto were to move his body, he felt perfectly normal. The wisp-like demon fox lowered its head to gaze directly at Vegetto with its many eyes, salivating as it watched him. Zenta's hand gently brushed over Vegetto's chest and balled into a fist, pulling back something. Within Zenta's balled up fist was Vegetto's entire energy/aura being yanked out straight from the Saiyan's body. It was slow, but to Vegetto it felt like he was having his literal life force tearing out of his body. The wicked red aura around Zenta's hand morphed into worms with teeth, slithering within the Fusion's aura, eating it bit by bit. To Vegetto, it felt as if his whole body was going into shock or a heart attack, but thanks to the grip Zenta held on his energy, moving a single muscle felt like moving boulders.
"Is that... Vegetto's actual energy?" Avalon said to himself, feeling the situation getting worse. "Holy crap..."
"Perhaps your question is genuine, so I will answer honestly," Zenta said, yanking out more of Vegetto's energy. "Cuki gave me the same feeling that Kassava gave to you: A reason to change."
The beast snarled under his breath as he gripped the Fusion's aura harder, causing the wisp-like worms to act more violently. The demon-fox watching down leaned in closer and closer, opening its large jaws and leaning forward towards Vegetto. There was no mistaking it, the demon-fox was preparing itself to eat Vegetto's aura. If the worms were doing this much damage to Vegetto, the fox would do worse.
"But since both of them are gone... we have no reason to continue... yes? Come, Vegetto, let me show you the world I lived in; a world without Cuki or Kassava..."
Avalon bit his lip, listening to Zenta and realizing the situation went from bad to worse. He knew there was nothing he could do to stop Zenta, nor would he be willing to, but he had to be stopped. If Zenta is willing to go this far with Vegetto, who knows what he'll do to the other Breakers. He gently pushed Berserk away from him, but never once left her side. His hands balled into fists, but his entire body shook like a leaf.
"Zenta, enough! Killin' Vegetto won't bring Cuki back and you know it!" Avalon shouted. "What about Bernkastel? Doesn't she matter to you? Didn't she help you change? And Gogeta? You said you were proud of him! They're your family too! They gave you a purpose! You said so yourself!"
Before the maws of the demon-fox chomped down on Vegetto's aura, it stopped in its place while Zenta's ears twitched to listen to Avalon. For those precious few seconds, the entire world stood still.
"Listen, Bage is right. Our emotions are getting in the way of everythin'. We've been a mess since day one, but we have accomplished a lot since then! If the King stays one step ahead of us, then you'll lose more than just Cuki," Avalon pointed to Bernkastel and Gogeta, then to the rest of the Breakers. "You'll lose everyone else too. Don't let the King take away Bernkastel or Gogeta or your new family... You can help them, but you need to stay focused on the task at hand!"
There was a long moment of silence between Avalon's last sentence and Zenta's reaction. The Demon-fox pulled its head up and disappeared into particles that were reabsorbed into Zenta's body, and the worm-like tendrils squirming in Vegetto's energy disappeared. Zenta released a sigh and opened his hand, releasing Vegetto's aura as it quickly zipped back into his body, stabilizing him. The pain was still there, lingering. The beast took a step back from Vegetto, turning his back to the Fusion. For the meanwhile, the beast was back to his calm ways, yet his tails were still twitching with agitation. He took a deep breath, trying his best to recompose himself. Did Zenta truly intend to Kill Vegetto, or was he simply finding ways to cause him pain? His actions no doubt caused a huge problem for the Breakers and he held his head in shame.
"...Forgive me, Breakers..." Zenta seemed to address this particularly to the Breakers, completely ignoring Vegetto behind him. "Especially to you, Lady Bernkastel. I understand if... you have second thoughts of me."
Vegetto’s eyes turned to Bernkastel, and despite the clear malicious nature of their relationship, he stared back at her questioning with an unchanged expression. Rather than a cocky smirk or taunting follow up, he stared back at Bernkastel with a look of pure indifference that began to slowly morphing into confusion in seeing such a reaction prompted from the witch.
Yet soon, the overbearing presence of Zenta’s malicious intent prompted Vegetto to look back, seeing the taller beast approach. His body immediately tensed up, the confusion prominent as he stared up at the massive fox that signaled an impending attack. He gasped in surprise once his very life energy began to siphon away once more, his eyes instantly narrowing and twitching under the intensity of the drain. Yet despite the damage being done from the wisps tearing into his very energy, Vegetto stood tall with a determined glare; recognizing a similar pattern in the technique used by the Librarian that nearly erased him from existence.
Come back.
The Potara fusion shut his eyes tightly, and to most looking on, it would seem as if the man was submitting to his own demise. He stood tall throughout the siphoning; an energy building with Vegetto’s core that rose in tandem with what was lost. Yet the drain itself began to shift, and soon, the entire ordeal ended as quickly as it began.
However, with Zenta turned back towards the Breakers and issuing his apology, Vegetto opened his eyes slowly. The calm and near serene display throughout the siphoning of his very life force a direct opposite of the normal demeanor he displayed, yet now, the familiar hatred in his eyes having manifested once more. He twitched in his movements, struggling a bit to even stand under the damage done until the energy flooded back into his body.
However, once his strength returned, Vegetto immediately hurled his left fist forward as the energy empowered his body once more, Zenta having completely ignored him giving an opening for a cheap, heavy blow to the beast’s back that sent him crashing into the ground.
A flourish of the black energy swirled around the fusion as he spaced his legs, tending his arms in preparing to lunge forward. Whatever words were spoken on the explanation of Cuki and potential for Vegetto to understand where he made a mistake had little effect on his demeanor now, Vegetto’s eyes trained strongly on Zenta as if the beast was no better than a Xy’pher or Doom himself.
“Is that all the servants of Doom can do? Steal from their superiors? They may see you differently now, but I always knew you were nothing but a Doom boot licker like the witch. Get up, and finish what you started.”
"Um... uh... I dunno," Berserk answered Nia with a small voice. She held her arms close to her heart as she stared at the towering demonic apparition that appeared before them all. She couldn't hear anything besides the pounding of blood in her ringing ears, and her vacant stare never left the creature. Berserk had never seen anything like it before; she was so frozen by fear that she nearly stumbled when Avalon pushed her back. The entire long process felt like eternity as she held her breath for fear the creature would come after them next.
Bernkastel too was silent, watching the creature move towards Vegetto in what seemed like a trance. Her expression looked to be more of surprise than instinctive fear, yet even this demon was not something she had ever laid eyes upon. For several long moments, it didn't register to Bern that it was actually killing Vegetto by draining his life force out from his body. By the time she fully comprehended what she was looking at, it was already over and Zenta had stopped the attack.
Bernkastel didn't immediately respond to him, or rather she didn't know how to. She seemed to have forgotten why she had even been upset in the first place, as though the demon fox wiped her mind to a blank. Flinching with alarm, she called out to Zenta once she saw him felled to the ground by Vegetto's fist. "Zenta!"
Quickly running past the others, she knelt by his side, ignoring any sense of danger that the beastman was possibly liable to lash out still. A look of stunned confusion took over her features at the insults Vegetto threw towards herself and Zenta before she clearly was livid with fury towards the Fusion. Consequentially, by getting close to Zenta she placed herself in proximity of Vegetto, who radiated toxic black energy. One hand on the ground started to sink her sharp nails into the dirt, a murderous aura seeping out from her small body in kind.
Impudent pukespit! Make him pay! Her inner voice shouted, urging Bernkastel to act. Humiliate him by maiming him enough so he can prostrate himself while begging you to spare his insignificant life! Then grind him to dust beneath your shoe! Revoke his privilege to continue drawing breath! These overtly malicious thoughts were no doubt spurred on by Vegetto's enigmatic black energy.
Bern grit her teeth, clearly trying to resist the temptation of retaliating. No...! This is what got in the way just now-- But if I deliver the punishment... no, I'll still be the one to pay! I can't! Lowering her head to avoid gazing at anybody directly, she placed both hands on Zenta's shoulders.
"No... Don't give him what he wants. Don't let him win," she stated, though it sounded like she was warning herself rather than Zenta. Taking in a shaky breath, she only slightly tilted her head towards the Fusion. "Out of everyone here... you should know better than to call me that." It seemed to take all her focus just to talk, as she seemed to put the rest of her willpower into not moving from her spot.
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