These Darklings had learned.
They were going to Fuse with Potara earrings.
That was terrifying enough on its own. But if they started stacking second, third, even more layers of Potara Fusion… their power would spiral into something unquantifiable.
Levos' gut tightened.
"Their earrings allow permanent fusion," Chronoa said crisply. "The resulting warriors spike in power. We have to stop them."
"I know. I'm working on it."
Levos' thoughts flashed like lightning.
He might get only one clean shot with the Evil Containment Wave. Once these enemies saw it, landing it again would be much harder.
But where to seal them?
There were too many. Even if he nested containers like Russian dolls, they'd break free. And if he tried sealing them inside himself, the raw energy might blow his body apart.
…Was he really going to have another litter?
The first time, absorbing Gogeta (Rose) alone had "birthed" fourteen little ones. This time he'd swallowed more enemies than he could count how many would he end up "delivering"?!
The mental image made his face twitch uncontrollably.
Chronoa caught his look. "Well? Did you find a countermeasure?"
"No!" Levos snapped.
He wanted to teleport off Earth and never look back.
Why is it always me making the indecent sacrifices?! he howled inside.
He had no other choice.
"Evil Containment Wave !"
Levos' roar cracked the sky as he swept his arms wide.
A towering spiral of green light slammed down from above, spinning into a colossal vortex. Its pull became a bottomless appetite, sweeping toward the Darklings' densest knot.
"What is that technique?!"
"Don't panic. I don't sense Hakai from it."
"Heh no killing intent. Typical mortal."
"Watch for the Supreme Kai of Time this could be misdirection!"
"Stay on plan! Keep fusing!"
They barely gave it a glance and raised their hands to their ears.
Light burst repeatedly from the mob. One after another, new Fusions stepped forward:
Frieza + Cell.
Cell + Kid Buu.
Kid Buu + Frieza…
Levos had to admit some of these mash-ups were wild.
And some of them pressed on his lungs like iron: Kale + Caulifla; Hit + Frost; Granolah + Gas; Baby + Omega Shenron…
He even felt the pressure spike around a Hit–Jiren fusion and a Super Saiyan 4 Vegito.
They strutted and preened, sure no one could touch them.
They even took time to grandstand.
"All timelines shall kneel beneath our heels!"
"Ruling this universe is but a minor waypoint in our grand design."
"Any who dare oppose us will drown in despair!"
"I am the one true god hahahahaha!"
One second later
The Evil Containment Wave hit.
Space itself seemed to buckle. The vortex's suction became a green abyss.
Whole swathes of Darklings lost control and tumbled screaming into the spiral. The rest stared, appalled.
"Impossible! This technique is broken beyond reason!"
"Damn it we fall to a mere human?!"
Their fury and the Wave's howls braided together, a single, endless wail across the sky.
Levos clenched his teeth and drove the technique, riding its edge until he hit the limit of what he could hold. His expression darkened; he flared his tail wide
and guided the seal into himself.
Only a handful of the strongest Darklings slipped the net and blasted free. Levos didn't chase; one crisis at a time. Stopping the mass Fusions came first. The real problem was not exploding under what he'd just swallowed.
With the final coil of light, the Evil Containment Wave collapsed. The vast majority of Darklings were simply…gone.
Chronoa's eyes flashed with relief. She glanced around, eager to share the win then looked back at Levos and gaped.
"Why the long face? You've got a technique that counters them perfectly, and you look like you've been humiliated."
Levos' expression blackened further.
"Shut it."
Inside, the keening wouldn't stop. I do not want to have a second litter…
He turned inward, feeling for the change.
And went cold.
"Problem. Big problem."
"My body… doesn't seem able to birth anything."
"As in I've lost that function?!"
No way. "You're telling me absorbing this many Darklings still isn't enough to push Cell Max into Ultimate Cell Max?"
What he'd sealed inside was already breaking down, pouring wave after wave of energy into him.
Panic pecked at him. He forced his brain to spin.
What were the conditions last time?
Right he'd absorbed the Bulma + Android 18 fusion, reached Ultimate Cell Max, then dropped out of Mechanical Form and kicked on Kaiō-Ken ×1,000…
He canceled Mechanical Form and glanced down at himself.
"What? Even after devouring this many Zamasus I still haven't re-evolved into Ultimate Cell Max?"
"Does it have to be the Bulma–18 fusion DNA to trigger that evolution?"
He stood there, dumbstruck.
In his plan, a dozen Cells' worth of fodder should have been plenty to cross the threshold. How had the result gone sideways now?
Eighteen was missing. And he wasn't going to risk Bulma again even one more wouldn't be enough.
His mouth twisted into a bitter smile.
"At this rate I'm going to burst from the Darklings' energy. The blast won't be small. Might take the whole universe with me…"
Chronoa blanched. "You mean if you pop, the universe goes with you?!"
Levos leveled a bleak look at her. "Yes."
"You're joking."
He suddenly felt very, very tired. "Do I sound like I'm joking? I'm barely holding myself together."
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