At that very moment.
Cell's pupils contracted violently, his terror reaching its peak.
He looked down at Android 18, who lay unconscious after being spat out, wanting to absorb her again.
But he no longer had enough strength to do it.
"No, this is unforgivable! I won't forgive you! I'll never forgive you!" Cell roared, his eyes bloodshot.
Extreme terror could drive someone mad-recklessly, utterly mad.
Cell was no exception.
Looking at the distant crowd and One-Armed Son Gohan slowly approaching him, he gave in to his vicious impulses, a mad idea flashing through his mind.
He decided to self-destruct!
He would take everyone down with him.
"Aaaah!!!"
With a roar, the golden aura around him burst outward.
The powerful gust hurled the unconscious Android 18 away, sending her tumbling into the dust in the distance.
The next instant!
Dazzling light erupted from Cell, surrounded by crackling flashes of electricity.
Trunks asked in confusion, "What's he trying to do?"
With Cell having regressed to this stage, he should have understood that he had no chance of winning.
Anything he did would be futile.
That made his current behavior all the more unusual.
At the center of the storm.
Cell's body abruptly changed.
His already muscular frame suddenly bulged, then swelled into an enormous, round ball.
Terrifying energy continued gathering at a frenzied pace.
An unnerving pressure spread relentlessly outward in every direction.
"No, this is bad! He's going to self-destruct!" Piccolo realized what was happening and shouted.
Almost simultaneously, everyone else understood Cell's intentions.
Son Gohan said, "Don't worry. Earth has been strengthened several times. With the energy Cell has now, he can't take the planet down with him."
"So we're just going to let him explode?" Bulma asked.
"Of course not. Let's see how he handles it first," Son