In the starry expanse, the two of them stood facing each other.
Both stopped attacking in perfect unison and glanced at one another.
Then—
Bang!
Soya and Beerus clashed once more, just as if they had agreed to do so.
A thunderous rumble echoed. Under the deafening roar, Soya's body shuddered, and he retreated several steps.
His arms, which he had just used to block Beerus's attack, trembled incessantly and had gone slightly numb.
Beerus, by contrast, remained where he was, looking as though nothing had happened.
"How is that possible?"
Seeing that Beerus hadn't been injured by his punch and hadn't even budged, Soya couldn't help exclaiming in shock.
"What? Do you really need to be so surprised? Don't forget, I'm the God of Destruction!"
Seeing Soya's shock, Beerus replied calmly, entirely unfazed by his reaction.
"Soya, you're quite strong. Among the humans I've encountered, you'd rank in the top five.
"But that's all you are. It's nothing special.
"To deal with someone at your level, I don't need to exert myself much. Three-tenths of my strength is enough to defeat you."
Beerus spoke slowly, as if he were discussing something trivial.
And indeed, even Soya could sense it.
Although Beerus had said as much earlier, he still hadn't shown much of his true strength.
He had dealt with Soya's attacks as effortlessly as if they were playing a child's game.
"Three-tenths of your strength is enough to defeat me?"
Soya's gaze flickered as he looked at Beerus.
"That's right."
Beerus nodded, utterly confident about this.
It wasn't blind confidence. It came from his certainty in his own strength as a God of Destruction!
"Since you say that, I'd like to see whether you can really beat me with just three-tenths of your strength!"
Soya roared, and the power within him erupted, transforming into an unimaginable, terrifying storm.
Centered on Soya, it spread wildly in every direction the instant it appeared.
Bang!
Bang, bang!
A series of deafening booms rang out. Some nearby fragments of rock crumbled beneath the storm around Soya, disintegrating into dust.
"Come on, Lord Beerus! Use three-tenths of your strength to defeat me—if you really can!"
Soya's voice was resolute. He knew exactly how strong he was.
Though he was nowhere near Beerus's level, defeating him with only three-tenths of his strength wouldn't be easy.
Even if Beerus was the one making that claim, Soya wasn't someone who would give in easily.
At the very least, he had to force Beerus to reveal more of his power.
"Ah!"
A low growl escaped Soya's throat.
At the sound, a powerful force erupted from within him.
The force was immensely powerful. The moment it burst forth, it gathered in Soya's hands.
Whoosh!
Soya brought his hands together, and the energy between them formed a sphere of light.
It looked small, but the energy it contained was astonishing.
With a flick of his hands, he sent the sphere flying. It shot toward Beerus at tremendous speed, trailing a tearing sound.
"Child's play!"
Seeing Soya's move, Beerus gave a disdainful smile, unconcerned.
"In the end, this is all you can do."
Beerus shook his head. As the sphere approached, he raised his right hand and casually pointed at it.
Boom!
The instant the sphere neared Beerus's finger, it suddenly stopped.
Crack!
As the sphere halted, Soya abruptly clenched his right hand into a fist.
Boom!
The sphere before Beerus suddenly exploded in response to Soya's slightest movement.
"What?"
Beerus's expression changed. Caught in the explosion, he couldn't dodge in time and was immediately engulfed by the terrifying force within the sphere.
Soya didn't attack again. He knew some techniques could only be used once, and he couldn't get carried away. He had to stay calm.
Otherwise, the one who would end up in trouble would be him.
Especially since his opponent this time was Beerus. Soya had to stay alert when fighting someone like him.
So he remained where he was and waited quietly.
The smoke swirled and gradually cleared, revealing Beerus.
But he looked somewhat disheveled.
"Looks like I underestimated you. With your strength, it could be troublesome if I got careless."
Beerus looked at Soya.
While the smoke had filled the air, Beerus had already prepared for Soya to press his advantage and follow up with another attack.
But he hadn't expected Soya to disappoint him by not taking that opportunity to close in.
That left Beerus somewhat annoyed.
That was exactly why he said this once the smoke had cleared.
"Compared to your strength, your mind is even calmer."
After Beerus finished speaking, his gaze gradually sharpened, and his expression grew more serious as he looked at Soya.
This was the first time he had truly taken Soya seriously.
"Do you still think you can defeat me with three-tenths of your strength?"
Soya looked at Beerus and asked the question again.
"That's right. I only need three-tenths of my strength to deal with you."
Beerus answered as before and nodded.
"Fine, then!"
Soya didn't say anything more. He simply looked at Beerus.
"When I was in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, I trained not only in Divine Power but also in a few special techniques of my own.
"I've never used them before, but now seems like a good opportunity."
Soya looked at Beerus, anticipation in his eyes—anticipation for the special move he had created.
"Lord Beerus, what do you think of this move?"
Soya raised his right hand. Golden ki immediately appeared and took shape at his fingertips.
There wasn't much of it, and it looked rather faint.
But the moment it appeared, a tremendous force radiated from it.
"What is that?"
Looking at the power at Soya's fingertips, Beerus narrowed his eyes and asked in confusion.
"This is a special move I created myself. I've named it the Heaven Origin Cannon!"
As soon as Soya finished speaking, golden ki surged forth and spun in midair.
With each rotation, energy was drawn in from all directions and absorbed into the sphere of light, making it even more powerful.
In just a few breaths, the sphere had grown several times larger.
The power within it had also become increasingly terrifying.