The palace floor trembled as the Golden Oozaru burst through, its massive form dwarfing everything in the entrance hall.
Standing nearly forty feet tall, its golden fur glowed with an inner light that cast eerie shadows across the ruined chamber.
Red eyes blazed with primal rage, focusing first on Raditz's fallen form before shifting to Toji.
"Okay... Shit," Toji muttered, taking in the enormous creature before him.
The Golden Oozaru threw back its head and roared, the sound so powerful it shattered what remained of the palace's windows and sent cracks racing up the pillars. The very air vibrated with its fury as it beat its massive chest with fists the size of small cars.
Satan had retreated to a safe distance, his perfect features displaying genuine concern for the first time. "It seems our entertainment has attracted an... unexpected guest," he called out, his voice barely audible over the Oozaru's continued roaring.
Toji's mechanical breathing remained steady as he assessed this new threat. The golden chains around his limbs clinked softly as he shifted into a defensive stance, his black lightsaber humming with destructive energy.
"Let me guess," he called out to Satan. "The First Legendary Super Saiyan? The one King Cold mentioned?"
'His fur is Golden though rather than Green, but what would I know?'
Satan's lips curved into a smile that didn't reach his amber eyes. "Close, but not quite. This is Cumber, the right hand of the God of War - what you would call the First Legendary Super Saiyan."
The Golden Oozaru - Cumber - slammed its fists into the ground, creating a shockwave that forced Toji to telekinetically anchor himself to avoid being thrown back.
"The Hand of Evil," Satan continued, gliding effortlessly to a new position as debris rained down around them. "The First Legend had two trusted friends - Yamoshi and Cumber. Yamoshi was his conscience, always reminding the King of Saiyans to show mercy and restraint."
"You need to understand, Legendary Super Saiyans aren't just killing machines. Warriors don't only focus on death. That would be... unproductive. Not how Saiyans were made as a warrior race. It would need quite the trauma for them to embrace their nature to its most destructive sense."
Cumber lunged forward with surprising speed for his size, his massive jaws snapping at where Toji had been standing a split second earlier. Toji leapt high, using the chains' momentum to swing himself onto a broken pillar.
"And Cumber?" Toji asked, keeping the latter part in mind, his breathing never faltering despite the exertion.
Satan's eyes gleamed with dark amusement. "Cumber was the whisper of corruption in his ear. The one who turned the God of War toward embracing the more... destructive aspects of his nature."
The Golden Oozaru spotted Toji on his perch and swung a massive arm toward him.
Toji vaulted over the attack, his black lightsaber slashing downward as he passed above the creature's wrist.
The blade bit into golden fur but barely penetrated the skin beneath, drawing only a trickle of blood from what should have been a devastating strike.
"How?" Toji demanded, landing on the opposite side of the hall and immediately having to roll away from another attack that pulverized the floor where he'd landed.
"Deception," Satan replied, casually stepping aside as a chunk of ceiling crashed down beside him. "The First Legend returned from battle against the Frost Emperor to find his wife dead. Cumber told him Yamoshi had betrayed him - had forced himself upon her and then killed her."
Toji narrowly avoided a beam of energy that erupted from Cumber's mouth, the golden blast vaporizing an entire section of the palace wall behind him. The heat alone was enough to make the air shimmer around him.
"But that was a lie," Satan continued, almost conversationally. "Cumber himself had violated and killed her, then blamed Yamoshi. The King, in his grief and rage, was vulnerable to Cumber's corrupting influence. Unable in that moment to see how Yamoshi would be last person to betray him- much less like this."
"Why are you giving me a history lesson in the middle of-" Toji's words cut off as he was forced to telekinetically hurl himself sideways to avoid being crushed by Cumber's massive foot. The impact created a crater in the floor that dropped into lower levels of the palace.
Satan appeared beside Toji as they both took momentary shelter behind a fallen section of wall. "Context is important. You're not just facing a mindless beast. You're facing corruption incarnate. Cumber's Ki is corruption itself."
The wall behind them exploded as Cumber's fist crashed through it. Toji shoved Satan aside with telekinesis while diving in the opposite direction, fragments of stone and metal raining down around them.
"And whose fault is it that he's free now?" Toji shouted, his voice carrying over the destruction. "You're the one who gave Raditz the DNA of the First Legend! Clearly that was the cause, his damn roaring!"
Satan glided to a new position, his perfect form somehow remaining untouched by the chaos around them. "I wouldn't have needed to if you were a calm and reasonable person," he called back, his voice tinged with amusement. "Which you clearly are not!"
"Me? Unreasonable?" Toji ducked under another swipe from Cumber's massive hand, the air pressure alone nearly knocking him off his feet. "I'm not the one who unleashed a corrupted Super Saiyan!"
The Golden Oozaru roared again, the sound physically painful even through Toji's helmet. The beast inhaled deeply, its chest expanding as golden energy gathered in its mouth.
"Move!" Satan called out, for once showing genuine concern.
Toji didn't need the warning. He crossed his arms before his chest, focusing his destructive Ki into a shield as Cumber unleashed a beam of energy that dwarfed anything Toji had seen before. The golden blast slammed into his defense, pushing him backward through several walls despite his telekinetic anchoring.
When the energy dissipated, Toji stood in a trench carved through the palace, his armor smoking but intact. The chains around his limbs glowed brighter, as if responding to the challenge.
"A little help would be appreciated," Toji called out, spotting Satan observing from a safe distance.
The perfect being shrugged elegantly. "I'm not much of a fighter, I'm afraid."
"Not much of a-" Toji had to leap sideways as Cumber crashed through the remaining walls, closing the distance between them with terrifying speed. "Then get Mereum! Where is that coward king when you actually need him?"
Toji activated his lightsaber again, the black energy blade humming with destructive power. As Cumber swung downward with a fist that could flatten mountains, Toji met it with an upward slash.
The blade bit deeper this time, fueled by Toji's mounting frustration, and Cumber roared in pain as a genuine wound opened across his knuckles.
Satan shook his head, his amber eyes tracking the battle with analytical detachment. "The Axis Mundi has been damaged in your little rampage. It's the source of Mereum's adaptations."
Toji ducked between Cumber's legs, slashing at the back of one ankle as he passed. The blade carved a shallow wound, but the Golden Oozaru merely stumbled rather than falling as Toji had hoped.
"Mereum hasn't trained in eons," Satan continued, watching as Toji was forced to telekinetically hurl himself upward to avoid being crushed by Cumber's tail. "That's why he's so weak. Why all of us - myself included - have become so weak."
Toji landed on Cumber's shoulder, driving his lightsaber downward in an attempt to pierce a vulnerable spot. The blade sank several inches into golden fur and muscle before Cumber roared and shook violently, sending Toji flying across the hall.
"In our prime," Satan added with a hint of nostalgia, "we would have given even you, Duskborn, a run for your money."
Toji crashed into a pillar, the impact sending a spiderweb of cracks through his helmet. He rolled to his feet just in time to see Cumber charging toward him on all fours, the ground shaking with each impact of the massive hands and feet.
This was unlike any fight Toji had experienced before. Even Freeza and Cooler, for all their power, had been roughly his size. Fighting an opponent this massive who was also significantly stronger than him required entirely different tactics.
As Cumber reached him, jaws open wide to engulf him, Toji dropped flat and thrust his lightsaber upward.
The black blade pierced the underside of Cumber's jaw, making the beast rear back in pain. Using this moment, Toji telekinetically launched himself upward, aiming for Cumber's eyes.
The Golden Oozaru was faster than expected. A massive hand swatted Toji from the air, the blow itself missing him but the shockwave sending him tumbling across the floor. He felt something crack in his armor as he rolled to a stop, pain lancing through his side.
"His Ki is corruption," Satan called out, now perched atop a broken statue. "You need to counter it with your destruction energy, or you'll become a slave to his influence."
Toji nodded grimly, channeling more of his destructive Ki into his lightsaber. The blade darkened further, almost seeming to absorb the light around it.
When Cumber charged again, Toji met him head-on, diving between the beast's legs and slashing upward with all his strength.
The wound was deeper this time, black energy countering the corrupting influence of Cumber's Ki. The Golden Oozaru howled in genuine pain, stumbling forward before whirling with unexpected agility.
A massive fist caught Toji in its backswing - not directly, but close enough that the air pressure alone sent him crashing through a wall.
He felt more cracks form in his armor, and a distinct crack appeared in his helmet, revealing a glimpse of his eye beneath.
"You need to be more careful," Satan commented, appearing beside him as Toji struggled to his feet. "One direct hit from that creature would kill you instantly."
"Thanks for the advice," Toji growled, his breathing more labored now. "Any other helpful tips while you stand there doing nothing?"
Satan's features arranged themselves into a thoughtful expression. "I could help you, actually. I could give you the same boost I gave the Three Kings. It would increase your power substantially."
Toji eyed him suspiciously through the crack in his helmet. "And the catch?"
"You would need to open yourself to my magic," Satan replied with a smile that was both beautiful and unsettling. "Just a little."
Cumber's roar interrupted them, the Golden Oozaru having spotted them through the hole in the wall.
Satan raised a hand, and to Toji's surprise, a barrier of golden chains similar to his own materialized between them and the beast.
Cumber slammed against it, making the chains strain but hold.
"That won't last long," Satan warned. "What's your answer?"
Toji straightened, his mechanical breathing steadying as he regained his composure. "No offense," he said, his tone making it clear he absolutely meant offense, "but I'm not big on letting a guy called the literal Adversary of all Creation cast dark magic on me."
Satan's laughter was like music, even as cracks began to appear in his barrier. "Suit yourself, Duskborn. But my offer remains open."
The barrier shattered, and Cumber burst through with another deafening roar. Satan vanished, reappearing at a safe distance as Toji was left to face the Golden Oozaru alone once more.
As Toji dodged another massive fist, his mind raced for solutions. His lightsaber was effective, but not enough to bring down something this powerful quickly.
His telekinesis helped him avoid direct hits, but each near miss still damaged him from the shockwaves alone.
'If only I could use the Kaioken,' he thought bitterly. 'This guy wouldn't be this big of a problem.'
His eyes widened behind his cracked helmet as realization struck him.
The Kaioken.
His Ki control had improved dramatically since his time in Hell. He should be able to use it now, despite his Ki being so destructive.
He glanced down at the golden links wrapped around his wrists, ankles, and neck. The chains of Heaven. That was what was holding him back, limiting his access to pushing the Ki in the manner necessary for the Kaioken.
His Ki connection to his body so much more limited because of it.
Cumber charged again, forcing Toji to leap high into the air to avoid being trampled. As he hung suspended for a moment, a plan began to form in his mind.
"Satan!" he called out as he landed. "Question - could Cumber break these chains if he had them on?"
Satan's brow furrowed in confusion at the seemingly random question. "Yes, his raw power would shatter them easily. But I fail to see how that's relevant to your current predicament."
A slow smile spread across Toji's face behind his damaged helmet. "It's completely relevant."
He deactivated his lightsaber and stood his ground as Cumber approached, the Golden Oozaru's steps shaking the very foundations of the palace.
The massive beast reared up to its full height, beating its chest and roaring toward the crimson sky of Hell.
Toji raised his arm, pointing directly at the towering figure before him. Then he clenched his hand into a fist and raised it high.
"I'm going to use this filthy monkey to free me from Heaven's restriction," he declared, his voice filled with newfound determination. "I will leave it all behind!"
The Golden Oozaru roared in response, unaware that it was intended be used as an instrument of liberation.
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the chapter!
I know, I know. Shorter than my others. But, well, I was in the mood to write, but not so much as to make it longer.
So, yeah, you guys got this.
Also, we have absolutely ZERO, nada, nopes, of Cumber's backstory. But I'm going to take the title the Saiyan of Evil, completely literal, so he's capable of a lot of evil shit.
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)