บท 488: Last of the Quarterfinals

"BARDOCK AND KRILLIN, COME ON DOWN!" The announcer cried out as the spectators cheered for the next match, while Bardock casually strolled out of the tunnel into the arena.

Dismissive of the cheers he was receiving, Bardock made his way to the stage where they would stand before being sent to their actual arena, but as he did so everyone began to wonder,

Where is Krillin?

There was no sign of the short human anywhere as people began looking for him with a growing sense of urgency, while the announcer declared,

"IF YOU WILL GIVE US A MOMENT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WE ARE WORKING ON LOCATING CONTESTANT KRILLIN RIGHT NOW!"

Bardock clicked his tongue from annoyance and impatience as he just wanted to fight, while there was also growing unrest from the spectators as well the longer it took for Krillin to make his appearance.

"I'm here!" Krillin's voice suddenly shouted, drawing everyone's eyes to the tunnel, where the majority then twitched noticeably.

After all, there was Krillin, hurrying to tie his Gi back into place, and with different colors of lipstick all over his bald head and neck.

"S-sorry about that..." Krillin apologized sheepishly, even as he shrunk under Bardock's piercing glare.

"I'm sorry, did we disturb you?" He growled angrily, not at all understanding how someone would potentially miss an important fight for such a stupid thing. Krillin however could only silently turn red from shame and embarrassment.

"Ah young Krillin, thou still needs to properly cultivate the dao of shamelessness." Alex said sagely as he watched the interaction with a humorous smirk, while ignoring all the pointed looks he was receiving as Heles bounced up and down in his lap.

The goddess of Destruction acting like a common whore aside, Krillin squirmed from embarrassment until he heard someone cry out his name.

"""Krillin!"""

Looking up, Krillin saw the three girls from the Kamikaze Fireballs cheering him on in the stands. His heart warming from their encouragement, Krillin lightly slapped his own cheeks as he cried out,

"Ok then! Lets go!"

Even a s his opponent got pumped up for their fight, Bardock snorted while the announcer declared,

"ALRIGHT THEN EVERYBODY, LETS GET THIS MATCH STARTED!"

As he said that the list of different arenas began to flash, before finally settling on one named 'The Endless Blue'.

"AND THERE WE HAVE IT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! LETS GET THIS MATCH UNDER WAY!"

As he said that both Krillin and Bardock found themselves standing on two of numerous floating platforms that bobbed in the seemingly endless ocean around them. Instead of remaining on them though, both Krillin and Bardock took flight into the air as they stared the other down.

"FIGHTERS READY? FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!"

"Here I come! Kaio Ken times three!" Krillin cried out as he swiftly powered up, knowing that he couldn't take Goku's dad lightly.

As his opponent powered up though, Bardock just hovered there silently, a glower on his face as he waited.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Krillin cried out as he rushed Bardock, moving at speeds that far exceeded his usual limit.

*thud*

"Eh?" Krillin uttered as his attack was casually caught by Bardock.

"Is this it?" Bardock sneered down at him, while Krillin slowly looked up at him like his neck was on a rusty hinge.

"Hehe....." He chuckled awkwardly, before Bardock's grip tightened on his hand painfully.

"Is that all you can muster?" Bardock asked again, his glare deepening as Krillin tried to free his hand from his grasp.

*BOOM!*

The next thing Krillin knew he was flying backwards after a single hit from Bardock, before he began skipping across the ocean below painfully until he ultimately slowed and sank down into it.

Bardock slowly descended down until he was just above the surface of the water, watching the surface while scanning for any signs of Krillin or his energy. Despite finding neither, Bardock never dropped his guard as it was obvious Krillin was still conscious since the match was still ongoing.

Then he suddenly detected a small bit of energy hurrying away from him, prompting Bardock to give chase as he tried to end the match.

"HA!" Krillin suddenly cried out as he emerged from the water from directly under Bardock, wreathed in the red energy of the Kaio Ken that he'd just activated.

"GA!" Bardock exclaimed as Krillin's fist sunk into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him as he was launched back up into the air.

"Hiyah!" Krillin cried out as rushed Bardock before he could recover, his leg swinging wide to deliver a powerful kick.

Bardock however was having none of that, as grabbed Krillin's ankle before it could connect without effort.

"Shoulda stuck to surprise attacks." Bardock growled at him, making Krillin gulp nervously before his opponent fire a ki blast at him from point blank.

"AND KRILLIN IS DOWN! BARDOCK WINS!" The announcer cried out as the duo reappeared in the arena, with a team of healers ready to once again take Krillin to the infirmary as the trio of women follow them.

As before Bardock exited the arena without a care for the fans he has in the audience, merely wondering how long until his next match. As he left though, the Saiyan passed the last two contestants of the second round, Kokoa and Caulifla.

They were the only ones who hadn't fought yet, so it stood to reason they were next up even if their names hadn't been called yet.

"AND HERE WE HAVE THE LAST TWO CONTENDERS FOR THIS ROUND, KOKOA SHUZEN AND CAULIFLA!"

The audience cheered at the two girls as they stepped up onto the stage, both looking ready for battle as they anticipated fighting the other.

"Vampire and Saiyan, both tribes that revel in battle and revere strength. This is going to be an interesting match." Azazel said with an eager grin, while Alex and the girls watched on excitedly from their room.

"How do you think Kokoa's going to do?" Rikku asked Moka curiously. The vampiress pondered her answer for a moment before saying,

"With her healing sealed? Kokoa will probably lose, but she'll definitely put up a good fight until then." Alex nodded in agreement before smirking as he added,

"Well with an ass like this waiting here for her, maybe she'll win!" Smacking Moka's ass as he said that, Alex earned himself numerous eye rolls despite no one refuting his remark.

[DING!]

Cynthia: seeing how strong everyone is makes me want to train with my Pokemon more...

Bestia: I'd like to see that annoying Loki's face if just one of you joined my familia😈

Ty Lee: SO COOL! 😍

Tatsumaki: ...

Yang: HELL YEAH! BEAT THE SNOT OUT OF EACH OTHER!

Saya: I'm curious Alex, why aren't YOU participating?

Yang: 😳

Bestia: 😳

Ty Lee: 😳

Cynthia: 😳

Alex: simple, I'm literally too strong to participate. That's why I'm doing an exhibition match on the last day.

Alex: but I can change that if you don't want to wait.

Shia: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Moka: don't you dare!

Akua: well, there goes any chance any of us had at winning...

Alex: see?

Saya: point taken...

Shia: so you're NOT going to participate?

Alex: no, and even if I wanted to the participants are already decided.

Moka: crisis averted

Nemesis: you're all pretty scared for 'powerful' warriors😏

Shia: you can always tell when SOMEONE hasn't actually fought Alex before.

Yang: is he really THAT bad?

Shia: he doesn't hold back, even against his own wives...

Alex: equal rights equal fights. Besides, I do hold back enough to not kill them.

Akua: like that's reassuring

...

Alex smiled wryly as he watched the girls chat, before turning his attention back to the match as Kokoa and Caulifla took their respective stances.

They were in the Craggy Valley arena, a dry rocky area with numerous chasms, spires, and caverns large enough they could house an entire city.

The two girls were entirely focused on the other though as they awaited the start of the match, with Kokoa's Kou bat sitting on her wrist to transform at any moment.

"FIGHTER READY? FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!"

The second word left the announcer's mouth both Caulifla and Kokoa moved as a giant hammer appeared in the latter's hand.

*CRAAASH!*

A shockwave spread out from the point where they impacted that shattered the massive boulders surrounding them into dust, before the duo separated and clashed over and over again.

Moving faster than the majority of the audience could follow, Kokoa and Caulifla clashed with enough force that they completely destroyed their surroundings each time. But with each clash neither seemed to gain the upper hand as they both quickly broke off to try again.

"Gauntlet form!" Kokoa cried out right as she and Caulifla broke off yet again, prompting the Kou Bat to change its shape as it clad her right hand in a vicious looking gauntlet with spikes.

Caulifla didn't recoil from the new weapon though, as she readily drove her fist into Kokoa's with all her strength.

The result was Kokoa being pushed back as she became overwhelmed by the Saiyaness, but at the same time Caulifla also took damage from the numerous spikes on the gauntlet. Ignoring the numerous puncture wounds on her hand, Caulifla watched as Kokoa skipped across the craggy landscape, before finally coming to a stop as she kicked up a cloud of dust.

The vampiress meanwhile had come to a stop in a comical fashion with her face in the dirt and her panty-clad butt in the air, though these panties were different from the strawberry ones everyone had seen earlier, instead having a cute bat character on the butt.

Either not knowing or not caring that she was flashing everyone her panties, again, Kokoa stood and brushed herself off while cradling her right arm, which had numerous bones broken from the force of Caulifla's hit. Though not a stranger to the pain of being wounded, Kokoa was unused to it not healing within a matter seconds, a couple minutes at the most.

"Tch! That bastard and his stupid rules!" Kokoa swore as she recalled her previous match as well, where Sting's holy energy burned her skin as it tried to purify her. That didn't mean she was without options though, as Kokoa activated her Shinso bloodline.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She cried out as blood began to ooze from her pores, covering most of her body in a seek, but powerful, black armor that similarly reinforced her arm without healing it. At the same time her strength began to skyrocket as the Youkai energy radiating off of her began to multiply.

As Kokoa finished powering up and reinforcing herself, her Kou bat returned as it automatically transitioned into the weapon Kokoa used most in this form; a massive and sinister looking sword longer than she was tall, and was a foot wide. By this point Caulifla had made her over to see the changes to her opponent, and had a large grin on her face as she felt the energy being radiated by Kokoa.

Kokoa meanwhile smirked when she saw and smelled the blood dripping from Caulifla's hand, licking her lips as if she were anticipating a meal.

"You want some? Come and get it!" Caulifla declared when she saw Kokoa looking at her like a predator does its prey, not at all concerned with having her blood drank.

Kokoa's grin only widened as some of her own blood traveled down the length of her colossal sword, before she suddenly disappeared from her current position and reappeared next to Caulifla.

The Saiyaness just barely managed to put her arm up to block the attack, only for Kokoa's sword to slice clean through it as if it were butter. Caulifla then watched as her arm soared through the air, spraying blood as it did so, before Kokoa then snatched it up.

"Thanks for the meal!" She said with a taunting smirk, before licking at the bloodied end of the arm.

Though she grimaced and recoiled form the pain of losing her left arm, Caulifla otherwise kept her cool as she was more than used to fighting with injuries, thanks to Shia. Without the Gods Water to stop the flow of blood though, Caulifla knew she was on a time limit before the blood loss made her pass out, costing her the match.

"Time to get serious!" The Saiyaness declared as she powered up, enveloping herself in a brilliant golden aura as she went right into SSJ2.

Kokoa barely had enough time to throw the arm away and put up her sword to guard, when Caulifla planted a foot into it with enough force that she got sent flying back even worse than before. With her colossal sword flying out of her hand, a pair of bat-like wings spread from Kokoa's back as she halted her somersaulting, and regained her footing.

When she looked up though, Kokoa saw Caulifla holding her sword with her remaining hand, not even seeming bothered by its extreme weight, before throwing it away with all her strength. Even if Kou could just fly back to her in his bat form, it would take quite some time for him to do so.

Disarmed of her weapon, Kokoa got creative as she manipulated her blood to form spikes on her knuckles, just like her earlier gauntlet.

When she tried to attack though, Caulifla effortlessly evaded every single one as if to show the difference between them now, before planting her fist directly into Kokoa's gut.

*SMASH!*

Breaking right through the hardened blood armor covering her body, Caulifla's fist went completely through Kokoa's abdomen and out the other side, creating a grisly scene as Kokoa hung there while impaled. The scene only lasted a split second though, as Caulifla retracted her arm and allowed Kokoa to fall face-first into the ground.

"ONE!"

The announcer began the countdown as it appeared that Kokoa wasn't getting up while Caulifla stood over her. The Saiyaness however watched as a small vial appeared in the other girl's hand, filled with a dark red liquid.

"TWO!"

As the announcer shouted the next number, Kokoa knew this was it. She either drank what was in the vial in her hand, or she lost the match.

Clenching her fist over it, Kokoa threw the vial away with what strength she could muster so that it shattered against one of the nearby rocks, just in time for the announcer to cry out,

"THREE! CAULIFLA WINS!"