The Beam of Evil

Too Fast for the Devil

Shaken by the kick Goku just landed, Spike the Devil Man tries again and again to put hands on the small fighter, only to watch every charge dissolve into empty air. A follow-up kick also whiffs, and a hard punch from Goku nearly blasts Akkuman out of the ring entirely. The winged devil manages to flap his way back into position, chest heaving, while Goku's party cheers from the gallery in open disbelief. Fortuneteller Baba barks at her champion to stop embarrassing her. Up in the air, Akkuman simply smiles, because he has been saving his real weapon for this moment.

The Devilmite Beam

Roshi shouts a warning the instant he recognizes the posture, and even Baba snaps at Akkuman not to take things too far. A shimmering beam of dark light erupts from the devil's hands and floods over Goku at point-blank range. It is a technique designed to seek out wickedness in the heart of whoever it touches and blast that wickedness apart from the inside, which is almost always fatal. For a long beat, nobody in the room breathes.

A Pure Heart

When the light fades, Goku is standing exactly where he was, unmarked and only mildly confused about what the glow was supposed to do. The Devilmite Beam has found nothing inside him to latch onto, no malice, no cruelty, no resentment, so the attack simply passes through and dissipates. Goku's friends let out a collective sigh of relief, Baba gapes at the purity she has just glimpsed, and Akkuman boils over with frustration.

Out of the Ring

With his best attack useless, the devil conjures a wicked-looking fork and hurls himself at Goku with clear intent to kill. Goku calls foul on the obvious cheat and answers with a counterstrike that sends Akkuman sailing cleanly out of the arena, where the devil slams down in a twitching heap. Goku scratches his head and wonders aloud if he hit a little too hard, while Roshi and Baba can only stare at the small boy standing on the stone tongue. Four of Baba's champions have fallen, and only her hidden final fighter remains.