A Miracle Reappears!

"Impossible... this is absolutely impossible!" The Saiyan officers hiding behind the blast-proof bunkers turned ash-gray; some didn't even notice their tactical scanners slipping from their hands to the ground.

Lord Vegeta, the number one warrior under the King and the second-strongest combatant on Planet Vegeta, had actually lost! He was being trampled under the feet of some mongrel Saiyan who had appeared out of nowhere, unable to even recover from his injuries.

A deathly silence permeated the battlefield. The faith of every Saiyan soldier collapsed in that instant.

Trunks hovered over the ruins in the distance, arms crossed, his face devoid of any surprise. He watched Son Gohan's violent, green-aura-clad back, his eyes filled with pride and adoration. This was his master, his brother Gohan!

"It seems the Miracle Power has been completely exhausted." Son Gohan looked down coldly at the battered Vegeta beneath his feet. He could feel that the bloodthirsty battle intent within his Legendary Super Saiyan bloodline had not yet been fully satisfied, but a Vegeta who had lost his ability to recover and whose power was drained could no longer offer him any improvement.

Since he could no longer be used to hone his own combat power, there was no need to keep him alive. Son Gohan slowly raised his right arm, aiming his palm at Vegeta's head. Violent green energy compressed rapidly in his palm, emitting a piercing hum.

"The battle ends here, Vegeta." Son Gohan's gaze was cold. He prepared to shatter his skull in one blow, resolve this trouble once and for all, and then go deal with King Kakarot, who had been lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike when least expected.

"Don't... joke... around..."

A faint voice came from beneath his feet. Vegeta's fingers dug deep into the hard rock, his nails peeling off completely, blood dripping everywhere. "How could I... possibly lose to a piece of trash like you with no known origin!"

He gritted his teeth, using his final strength to turn his head and glare at Son Gohan. "I am the number one warrior under the King, personally appointed by King Kakarot! I am the glory of the Saiyan Empire! I am Vegeta!"

"Stand up... I must stand up... I haven't lost yet..."

"I refuse to accept this! I refuse!!"

As if in response to his desperate roar.

Hum.

Deep within Vegeta's body, the Miracle Power that had been on the verge of exhaustion flared up, erupting with a final radiance. A brilliant white light instantly enveloped him; this was the final manifestation of a miracle!

His broken spine clicked and snapped back together. His sunken chest rose again at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his shattered facial bones restored themselves as if nothing had happened. His fatal injuries were completely healed in half a second.

"Lord Vegeta has stood up!" The Saiyan soldiers in the defensive line erupted into earth-shattering, fanatical cheers, their morale reignited.

Taking advantage of the moment of recovery, Vegeta forcibly pushed back against Son Gohan's heavy pressure and flashed a hundred meters away. He gasped for air, staring fixedly at Son Gohan. The Miracle Power that had shielded him had completely dissipated; there would be no next time. This was his true final stand.

"Heh heh heh, I said something similar when I fought that purple-haired brat earlier." Vegeta wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice low and hoarse. "I have three more transformations like the Super Saiyan. You have already witnessed Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3."

Son Gohan raised an eyebrow, not rushing to attack.

"But that final form... I have always tried my best to avoid using it." Vegeta let his arms hang at his sides, his body trembling uncontrollably from extreme excitement or some other emotion. "Because even I find it difficult to control. Once unleashed, I will lose all reason and become a monster that even I fear."

He bared his teeth in a grin more hideous than a cry. "But today, to defeat you—to defeat the legend—I don't care anymore! Hahaha... Hahahaha!"

In the palace throne room.

King Kakarot reclined on the massive throne, toying with an exquisite wine glass. The white light curtain in the void clearly projected Vegeta's desperate back.

Hearing Vegeta's words, his face showed no surprise; he had long anticipated that Son Gohan would push Vegeta to this point.

"So you're finally willing to bring it out." King Kakarot's lips curled slightly as he crushed the wine glass into powder.

He knew all too well what that form signified. Compared to Super Saiyan 1, 2, or 3, it was a true qualitative change. It was the vast difference between an ant on the ground and an Asura in the clouds.

"The game should end now." King Kakarot chuckled, his contemptuous gaze sweeping over Son Gohan in the light curtain.

On the battlefield.

Hearing Vegeta's words, Son Gohan's expression finally turned solemn. A transformation beyond Super Saiyan 3? Could it be the Great Ape Transformation? No, the Great Ape Transformation only amplified power tenfold; it wasn't nearly as strong as he described. Could it be... Super Saiyan 4?

If it were Super Saiyan 4, combined with Vegeta's currently high base state, it would indeed be a formidable enemy worthy of his full attention. Son Gohan's green aura burned violently, his muscles tensed, ready to meet the new form Vegeta spoke of.

In the distance, Trunks felt the oppressive atmosphere, and sweat beaded on his palms. But then, remembering something, his tense nerves relaxed.

"What is there to worry about? Even if he really has a new form, brother Gohan still has his Super Saiyan 4 trump card left. He absolutely cannot lose." Trunks muttered to himself, possessing absolute confidence in Son Gohan.

"AAAAAAAHHH--!" Vegeta threw his head back and let out a heart-wrenching roar.

But something abnormal happened. There was no howling wind, no collapsing earth, and no earth-shattering energy explosion. There wasn't even any movement of air.

The muscle expansion and red fur Son Gohan had anticipated never appeared. Even the dazzling golden light that usually preceded a transformation failed to ignite.

Vegeta's roar ceased abruptly. He hung his head, standing motionless in place. The surrounding environment was terrifyingly calm; compared to the commotion of a standard Super Saiyan 1 transformation, it was as if nothing had happened at all.

But every hair on Son Gohan's body stood on end, and his primal, Legendary Super Saiyan instincts screamed in terror. Danger! Extreme danger!

Vegeta slowly raised his head.

His once-spiky golden hair had turned a dull, brownish-black. It wasn't the black of his base state, but a lifeless, dead color.

Most chilling of all were his eyes. The whites of his eyes had completely vanished, the entire sockets filled with a thick, abyssal black. Those hollow eyes stared straight at Son Gohan, the only emotion within them being slaughter.

Demon Saiyan!

BOOM!

A layer of tangible black aura erupted from beneath Vegeta's feet, wrapping around his entire body. There were no golden arcs of electricity, no deafening roars—only a blackness that seemed to swallow all light.

A terrifying amplification of ten thousand times his base combat power!

Vegeta's combat power instantly shattered the upper limits of every scanner.

"25 quadrillion!" a Saiyan exclaimed in a voice choked with shock.

A leap of this magnitude had created a total, high-dimensional suppression. The invisible fluctuations radiating from that layer of black aura alone were enough to cause the weaker Saiyan soldiers hiding in the blast-proof bunkers to pass out on the spot, their eyes rolling back, without even a chance to scream. The entire defensive line was effectively wiped out.

Trunks, who had been standing too close to the battlefield, was also enveloped by this invisible pressure, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Son Gohan withstood the weight that was enough to crush space itself, his green aura pressed so tightly against his skin that it could not expand outward by even a fraction. This was not Super Saiyan 4 at all. It was an evil form he had never seen before, one born purely for slaughter.

"As a half-breed, a cripple..." Vegeta began. His voice had completely changed, sounding like two jagged pieces of metal grinding violently against each other—piercing and cold to the extreme.

His pitch-black eye sockets locked firmly onto Son Gohan.

"To be able to die by this form of mine, Son Gohan, you should be proud."

The moment those words fell.

The last shred of reason remaining in Vegeta was completely submerged and devoured by that pitch-black power. He bared his teeth, revealing an extremely twisted, hair-raising, and eerie smile.