When Lizette and the others arrived, Goku was already at death's door.
The Great Ape held him in both hands, crushing him in its grip.
Even someone as tough as Goku couldn't withstand that for long.
Judging by how rapidly his energy was fading, his bones had likely been shattered throughout his entire body.
"This is bad! Goku's energy is almost gone! He's on the verge of death!"
"Dad...!"
Krillin and Gohan accelerated in their desperation, but Lizette stopped them with a raised hand.
Unfortunately, the difference in power was all too clear. Sending these two charging in would only add to the body count.
Lizette analyzed the situation: right now, she was the only one here capable of standing against the Great Ape.
"I'll handle the Great Ape. Everyone else, look for an opening to cut off his tail."
Vegeta's power as a Great Ape exceeded even Lizette's current level.
However, it wasn't a hopeless gap by any means.
She probably wouldn't need to release her spirit seal or shed her heavy equipment for an opponent like this.
Still, this battle had piled unexpected developments on top of unexpected developments—she couldn't afford to be careless.
Therefore, to ensure absolute certainty, she activated Burst Limit and doubled her combat power.
"—God Hand: Divine Retribution."
Through energy solidification, she created a straightforward fist in midair.
Though the shape was simple—just a fist—the size was anything but ordinary.
A giant's arm, one hundred meters tall, capable of striking down even a Great Ape. The fist of a god.
Lizette clenched her own fist and threw a punch at empty space.
Naturally, it couldn't possibly reach—the distance was too great, the size difference too vast.
But in response to Lizette's movement, the energy fist shot forward as well, slamming into the Great Ape from the side with tremendous force.
A punch.
That single attack alone made the air explode, crumbled the surrounding rock formations, and sent even her allies—who had just caught up—flying from the shockwave.
Naturally, the one who actually took the hit had it far worse.
Vegeta released Goku and went hurtling into the distance, carving through rock as he flew.
Lizette followed up with an uppercut motion.
Instantly, another giant arm emerged from beneath the fallen Vegeta, striking him under the chin and forcing him upright.
Then Lizette made a stomping motion.
The next moment, a massive foot—ten times larger than the Great Ape itself—descended from the void and crushed the Great Ape like an insect.
Incidentally, she was attacking with her foot despite calling the technique "God Hand." Talk about false advertising.
"...H-Holy crap..."
"Yeah, that's our deity for you."
"...Tch."
Lizette's overwhelming assault drew genuine shock and praise from Krillin and Tien.
Piccolo, on the other hand, was in a foul mood.
Realizing that the obstacle to his world conquest plans was far more formidable than expected, he couldn't suppress a click of his tongue.
"You bastard! You dare stomp on me—a prince of the Saiyans!"
The Great Ape roared in fury, leaping at Lizette with agility impossible to imagine from such a massive body.
But Lizette simply thrust out her small, slender arm—and caught the Great Ape's fist, dozens of times larger than herself, with one hand.
The impact shattered everything around them, sent her platinum hair billowing, and made her skirt flutter.
But that was all. The crucial point was that the fist never reached Lizette herself.
The giant ape's strike had been stopped by the girl's seemingly fragile arm.
"What... the hell...!?"
"Did you think my actual body would be weak? ...You're soft."
Hiding the fact that her arm had gone numb from that single blow, she used the size difference to her advantage and dove into the Great Ape's guard.
Then a palm strike.
As if the difference in size meant nothing, she struck the Great Ape's chin and forced him into the air.
Then once again, through energy solidification, she manifested a giant fist.
White energy arms large enough to grasp even the Great Ape seized him in their grip.
A recreation of what had been done to Goku just moments ago.
"Damn it...!"
Lizette flew up to the desperately struggling Vegeta's face and looked down at him.
Her expression held no smile, no emotion whatsoever. Only the cold, merciless face of ice she showed to invaders.
"Now, Krillin."
"R-Right!"
In response to Lizette's signal, Krillin released his Destructo Disc.
The giant-killer technique—deployed here for the first time—sliced through the air toward Vegeta, easily severing the tail of the immobilized ape.
Vegeta groaned as his body began to shrink.
The Great Ape transformation couldn't be maintained without a tail.
In other words, cutting the tail would cancel the transformation.
All that remained was for everyone to defeat the reverted Vegeta together.
However, here Vegeta made a move Lizette hadn't anticipated.
In the brief instant his shrinking body escaped the giant arm's restraint—
An interval lasting less than a single second—
He aimed for that gap and fired a beam from his mouth toward the ground.
"—!"
Naturally, such a beam wouldn't hurt or bother Lizette in the slightest.
With the power difference between them, and the attack fired in completely the wrong direction, its aftershock wouldn't damage her at all.
But Goku was on the ground! Everyone was there!
In a split second, Lizette increased her Burst Limit multiplier, scooped up Goku in an instant, moved in front of the warriors, and deployed a barrier—protecting them all from Vegeta's attack.
Explosive smoke raged.
Sand and dust blocked their vision.
A wind created by Lizette blew it all away, clearing their sight.
And they realized the true purpose of Vegeta's action.
"He's... gone...? Vegeta's not here!"
Everyone reacted with shock to Piccolo's words.
Vegeta had—fled.
Using the explosion as a diversion, he'd successfully escaped the moment Lizette's attention was drawn to protecting the others.
It was a strategy unthinkable given his pride.
It must have been humiliating for him as well.
In other words, he had acknowledged Lizette as his superior.
And realizing he couldn't possibly win after reverting to normal, he'd retreated while still in Great Ape form.
Remarkable quick thinking and adaptability.
This was the true essence of the combat genius, Vegeta.
Despite being outmatched in power, he'd brilliantly outmaneuvered Lizette.
That said, Lizette could still catch up to Vegeta from here and finish him off easily enough.
She could even teleport ahead to his spaceship and destroy it.
However, Lizette chose to deliberately let Vegeta escape.
Though he was an enemy now, the role Vegeta would play in the future was significant and couldn't be ignored.
Considering Trunks's birth, she especially couldn't kill Vegeta here.
Besides, from the very beginning, Lizette had intended to defeat Vegeta, but never to kill him.
Her plan had been to stuff him back in his spaceship after defeating him and send him home.
In that case, this was actually convenient. Now she could explain it to everyone as having let him slip away, saving herself the trouble.
Still, she should at least make a show of pursuing him.
With that thought, Lizette deliberately slowed her speed and gave chase.
★
"Damn it... I can't believe I'm retreating from opponents on such a low-level planet."
Vegeta clenched his teeth, desperately suppressing his humiliation as he headed toward his spaceship.
He was a man of great pride.
But he wasn't fool enough to misjudge combat power.
He mobilized all his self-control to seal away his rising anger.
In any case, he had to withdraw for now. Whatever else happened, he had to acknowledge he couldn't defeat that white woman.
A deity, or so they called her... That woman was probably this planet's god.
Honestly, she was on another level entirely. He'd never imagined there'd be anyone besides Frieza he couldn't beat even as a Great Ape.
"Son of a... This pisses me off...!"
When Vegeta frequently claimed "I'm the strongest in the universe," those words included his Great Ape transformation in the calculation.
As a Great Ape, ugly though it made him, he surpassed even Ginyu.
He'd thought Frieza was the only one he couldn't defeat.
But now another unbeatable opponent had appeared. ...What unimaginable humiliation.
"I'll make you regret this. I'll prove that I, Vegeta, am the strongest in the universe."
For now, he had to retreat.
Retreat, and then head to Planet Namek.
On Planet Namek, there were supposedly mystical orbs that could grant any wish.
He'd thought it was just a worthless legend, which was why neither Frieza nor Vegeta had shown interest until now.
He'd dismissed it as fairy tales and myths that existed on every planet.
But they actually existed on Earth, and Kakarot, who should have been dead, had indeed been brought back to life.
And the one who created them was probably a Namekian.
Then on their home planet—Planet Namek—the same things must surely exist.
So first, he'd obtain those.
Then he'd become immortal, return to Earth, and this time kill that woman for sure.
For that purpose, he had no choice but to retreat now.
The spaceship had been crashed by some incomprehensible force upon entering Earth's atmosphere, but it wasn't destroyed, so it should still fly.
...Looking back now, that crash was clearly also that planet's deity's doing.
She was truly an infuriating woman.
"...V-Vegeta... H-help... me..."
When he reached the Paprika Wasteland, he found Nappa—stubbornly still alive, apparently—crawling and begging for help.
What emotion did the sight stir in Vegeta? Sympathy? Pity?
No, Vegeta possessed no such feelings.
What he felt looking at the pathetic Nappa was only disgust.
Nothing but contempt—questioning whether this creature could even be called a Saiyan.
"I-I can't... move on my own... P-please... get me... to the pod..."
"...Trash."
"...Huh?"
"I said you're pathetic. Normally I'd kill you with my own hands, but I don't have time for that. Just die there on your own."
Spitting those words, Vegeta boarded his spaceship without sparing Nappa another glance.
After quickly setting his destination, he blasted off into space.
Not a shred of mercy for his fellow Saiyan.
Nappa trembled with rage at the sight, pounding the ground.
But this was exactly what he himself had done to others.
He'd mocked Raditz as a weakling, abandoned him, and insulted him even after death.
Now it was simply his turn. Nothing more.
Then, ten-odd seconds later, Lizette arrived at the Paprika Wasteland ahead of the other warriors.
Vegeta had apparently already departed—not a trace of him remained.
One spaceship was missing too, so he'd likely already left for space.
All that remained was... Nappa, stubbornly still alive, and his spaceship.
"So he abandoned you... How pitiful."
Lizette walked up to Nappa and raised her palm toward him.
There was no hesitation.
He was an enemy, and a ruthless Saiyan.
Reconciliation couldn't be expected from someone with his personality—he was a vile man who thoroughly enjoyed killing and destruction.
There was no room for mercy.
So she felt no hesitation about eliminating him. Lizette emptied herself of all emotion, solidified her energy, and created a guillotine.
Target: his neck. At least she'd spare him prolonged suffering and end it with a single strike.
But then a voice interrupted.
'W-Wait, deity!'
"—!"
The guillotine blade stopped just before severing the criminal's neck. The execution halted.
Lizette responded telepathically to the voice's owner with a dissatisfied expression.
She had to understand his intentions before she could lower this blade—what exactly was he thinking?
'...What exactly do you think you're doing, Goku?'
'S-Sorry, deity. I know it's wrong, but... could you spare him?'
'Are you serious? He's one of those who tried to destroy this planet. Even if you spare him now, he'll surely repeat the same thing later. Surely you're not thinking something naive like "maybe he'll have a change of heart if we spare him"?'
Lizette recognized this selfish request of Goku's.
That's right—there had indeed been a similar scene in the manga.
But the target had been Vegeta, not Nappa.
However, regardless of the target, this was simply who Son Goku was.
During battle was one thing, but once it ended, his fundamentally kind nature inevitably came to the forefront.
That's why he'd given Piccolo a Senzu Bean and saved Vegeta too.
He'd shown mercy to the Ginyu Force, and tried to spare even Frieza once.
And what troubled her most was that Lizette found Goku admirable for exactly this quality—or rather, because of it.
This probably wasn't just her either—Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, and the others surely felt the same.
Goku was foolish, clumsy, battle-crazy, and had countless troublesome qualities, yet somehow he was impossible to hate.
Before anyone realized it, they'd all been drawn to him.
If this had been Nappa himself begging for his life, she could have eliminated him without a moment's hesitation, thinking something like "Suppose you once rescued a shivering abandoned puppy. But die anyway." But with Goku pleading for him, she found herself hesitating.
'I-I know, but... I just feel too sorry for the guy... Please, give him a chance... He was a terrible person, but to be discarded and die like this... Even though he's an enemy, I can't accept it.'
'...I'll spare him this once. But if he commits evil again, I'll eliminate him for sure next time. Is that acceptable?'
'Yeah, sorry about this, deity...'
Lizette sighed softly, dispelled the guillotine, and instead gave energy to Nappa.
Only the bare minimum, of course—just enough to move—but at least this would prevent him from dying.
Wondering why he wasn't being finished off, Nappa stared in confusion as Lizette gave him a smile devoid of genuine feeling and delivered her first and final warning.
"I'll give you one chance to live. Use that salvaged life to live peacefully, and that will be good. If you stubbornly repeat your mistakes, then I truly will take that head of yours."
"Y-You're... helping me? Me...? Me, who came to invade this planet...?"
"Yes. I expect you to make the right choice."
She smiled and spoke in a gentle tone.
None of it was genuine, of course.
She smiled only because she feared her disgust would show on her face otherwise.
The unnecessarily gentle tone served the same purpose.
Nappa's response to this was far beyond Lizette's expectations—and shot off in the worst possible direction.
"I-I can't believe it... My parents called me 'a disgrace to our noble house,' after I became the prince's attendant people whispered behind my back that I was his lapdog, Frieza, Zarbon, and Dodoria called me a bootlicking monkey and baldy—and Raditz, that bastard with barely any hair himself also called me baldy behind my back, and then Vegeta abandoned me... I never thought anyone would actually help me..."
"Huh?"
"You—you're my goddess!"
—How did it come to this?
Faced with Nappa sobbing manly tears, Lizette had no idea what she'd done wrong and could only maintain a frozen smile.