Frieza sat on the priceless, gigantic bed, casually juggling the two Infinity Stones like they were a pair of walnuts.
On the floor, the three women—Hill, Natasha, and Sharon Carter—stared at him with eyes filled with a do-or-die defiance.
"A Soul Contract?"
Hill gritted her teeth, clutching her snapped wrist as she asked, "What is that?"
She didn't know what those two words meant, but judging by the lewd grin on the face of the guy named Loki, it couldn't be anything good.
"Oh, that."
Loki held up a piece of parchment glowing with a sinister green light—a treasured artifact from his collection of dark magic.
He puffed out his chest and swaggered up to the three beautiful agents, an offensive sense of villainous superiority plastered on his face.
"It's the oldest form of Asgardian magic. Once signed, your souls will eternally belong to the great Lord Frieza."
"Not only will you be unable to betray him, you won't even be able to harbor a thought of disobedience."
Loki lowered his voice, his eyes sweeping over the curves of Natasha's spandex-clad body before chuckling wickedly.
"In other words, sign it, and you become the Master's private property."
"If he tells you to go East, you can't go West. If he tells you to take off your clothes, you'd better start peeling off your skin!"
Hearing this, the women's faces instantly drained of color.
As S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, they didn't fear death.
They wouldn't flinch at sacrificing their lives or suffering physical annihilation for a mission.
But this—this absolute loss of self, this fate of becoming an eternal plaything for a demon—was ten thousand times worse than death!
"In your dreams!"
Natasha's eyes became instantly resolute.
In a split second, all three highly trained agents made the same move.
They bit down hard on their back molars!
Concealed there was a S.H.I.E.L.D.-issued nerve toxin. A quick bite would result in cardiac arrest within $0.1$ seconds, making recovery impossible.
If resistance was futile, they would die, maintaining their final shred of dignity!
However.
In a room full of powerhouses like this, even the luxury of death was denied.
"Oh dear, dear..."
Frieza, sitting on the bed, didn't even move a finger. A faint yellow glow simply flashed in his crimson eyes.
The power of the Mind Stone!
Buzz!
Time seemed to pause at that very moment.
Natasha, Hill, and Sharon's movements froze mid-action.
Their teeth had already touched the poison capsule, and they could even feel the thin outer membrane.
But they couldn't bite down!
The feeling was as if control of their bodies had been violently stripped away; the command from their brains simply sank into a bottomless abyss.
"Is this what you call fortitude?"
Frieza sighed, his tone filled with the kind of pity a supreme being reserves for the futile struggles of the weak.
"In the presence of this great Emperor, life and death are not yours to decide."
"Spit them out!"
At Frieza's command, the three women involuntarily opened their mouths and spat out the hidden toxin capsules onto the floor.
Despair.
True despair enveloped them.
They couldn't even die! This man's strength and methods were utterly terrifying!
"Loki, make them sign," Frieza impatiently waved his hand. "My patience is limited."
"Yes, Master!"
Loki approached with the parchment, but there was a catch to this particular magic.
"Master... this Soul Contract requires their willing sacrifice of their 'soul-fire' to take effect. It can't be forced with the Mind Stone..." Loki cautiously explained.
"Oh? How troublesome."
Frieza raised an eyebrow, then lifted the Mind Stone's control.
The three women instantly regained control of their bodies, but they collapsed to the floor, panting heavily from the sheer terror of their brush with death.
"We... will never... sign!" Hill stared fiercely at Frieza. Despite her body trembling, her voice was hard and defiant.
"Unbreakable spirit? How interesting."
Frieza rose from the bed and walked gracefully to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the star-filled sky.
"You aren't afraid of dying. That's fine."
"But are you afraid of... everyone dying?"
Frieza's voice was soft, almost gentle.
But the meaning of his words sent chills down everyone's spine.
He extended a finger and pointed at the distant city outside the window.
"If you refuse to sign."
"Then in the next second, I will kill every member of the Avengers."
"Including Tony Stark, Captain America, and whoever else—Hawkeye, the Hulk..."
"And then, I will destroy this city."
"Then the next city, the next country..."
Frieza turned back, wearing his signature, spine-chillingly evil Frieza grin.
"Until only a few of us are left on this planet."
"Do you think I can do it?"
Could he do it?
Of course, he could!
This was the man who had just carved a giant trench down the North American continent and could crush the Hulk with a single finger!
Wiping out all of humanity would likely be nothing more than a wave of his hand!
If it were only for themselves, they would die without hesitation.
But for all of humanity?
For their still-fighting comrades?
This burden was too heavy; it instantly crushed their final psychological barrier.
Hill's body shook violently, tears streaming down her face.
Natasha closed her eyes, her fingernails digging deep into her palms.
Sharon Carter outright collapsed into sobs.
"I'll count to three."
Frieza held up three fingers.
"Three."
"Two."
"I'LL SIGN!!!"
Hill let out a mournful scream, slumping to the floor as if her backbone had been removed.
"I'll sign... please... don't kill them..."
Where one broke, the others followed.
Tearfully, Natasha and Sharon pressed their handprints onto the malevolent parchment, offering up a wisp of their pale blue "soul-fire."
The parchment instantly burned away, turning into three streaks of light that vanished into Frieza's forehead.
A strange connection was established.
Frieza could distinctly feel that their lives and deaths were his to command with a single thought.
He could even sense the raw fear and despair in their hearts.
"Now that's better."
Frieza nodded in satisfaction, his mood significantly improved.
"Now that you're part of the team, you need to look the part."
He sat back on the sofa, crossing his legs, and waved at Loki.
"Loki, bring me those outfits from the closet."
"Yes, Master!"
Loki scurried off and returned with a collection of garments.
These were certainly not professional clothes.
They included backless secretary dresses, ultra-short miniskirts, and those infamous Balenciaga fishnet stockings.
These were the "employee benefits" Frieza had prepared earlier.
"Change into them."
Frieza took a sip of red wine, his eyes brazenly looking them over.
"Right here."
Shame!
Extreme shame!
Changing into those clothes in front of two men?
But the Soul Contract's binding force made it impossible to refuse.
Tearfully, they had no choice but to peel off their tactical combat gear one piece at a time and put on the ridiculously skimpy outfits.
Loki, to his credit, turned his back.
A moment later, three distinct and stunning women stood in the room.
Hill's cool, dominant demeanor, paired with the secretary outfit, was the pinnacle of the "uniform temptation" trope.
Natasha's fiery allure was perfectly emphasized by the fishnets, making her look like a fully ripened peach.
Sharon's fresh, sweet look, ironically, carried a contrast of innocence and temptation in her outfit.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Frieza put down his wine glass and circled the three women, admiring them like newly acquired pieces of art.
He was a major villain and a cosmic emperor.
But he wasn't some loser who had never been around women.
As a real estate tycoon in his past life—and even in this one—he'd had all kinds of women.
What he enjoyed wasn't the physical pleasure but the pure thrill of conquest—the feeling of complete control, of bringing highly placed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents down to earth as his personal playthings!
This was art!
"Spin around, let me see."
The three women complied obediently.
Frieza stroked his chin and offered a critique to each:
"Natasha, your eyes are a bit too worldly. I heard you were S.H.I.E.L.D.'s 'Black Widow'? Hmm, you certainly have that vibe. But your professional skills should be good. You'll be in charge of organizing my documents and running errands."
Natasha bit her lip, unable to object.
"Hill, I like your cold, unapproachable look. You will be the commander of the Frieza Force, responsible for managing the foot soldiers."
Hill was startled—a commander?
"As for you..."
Frieza walked up to Sharon Carter and lifted her chin with his hand.
Looking at the young, fresh face, Frieza smiled in satisfaction.
"You are the real prize."
"You will be my personal secretary and part-time bed-warmer."
With that, Frieza waved his hand.
"Alright, now that I've seen them, change into your work uniforms."
"Work uniforms?" The three women looked confused.
"Exactly."
Frieza pointed to the humiliating spandex uniform Loki was wearing.
"The white-and-purple bodysuit! The kind with the shoulder pads! That is our company's corporate culture!"
"All of you, put them on!"
Gasp!
Natasha nearly spat up blood.
Those outfits? She'd rather wear the secretary dresses!
But under Frieza's terrifying power, they had no choice but to obey.
Soon, the three once-formidable female agents had been transformed into the female version of the Ginyu Force from the Dragon Ball universe.
They looked...
Well, they had a bizarrely cute appeal.
"Perfect!"
Frieza nodded approvingly.
"Hill, Natasha, you may withdraw now. Find a room and rest. You start work tomorrow."
"Yes... Master." The two women, feeling reprieved, fled the hellish room.
Loki also took the chance to slip away.
Only Frieza and Sharon, in her skin-tight battle uniform, remained.
"As for you..."
Frieza looked at the trembling Sharon and pointed to the large bed.
"Take off the battle uniform and warm up the covers for me."
"This Emperor needs to use the little boy's room."
Tears welling up, Sharon silently crawled under the covers.
Frieza walked toward the bathroom, his mind already turning to serious matters.
Although he had announced globally today that the Earth was his, he had just checked his phone.
He discovered that the damn governments were being deceitful.
They had issued statements claiming the live broadcast was a hijacked signal and a mere prank?
As for the massive trench carved across the North American continent, they were blaming it on the Chitauri invasion.
They had even organized bots to flood the internet with claims that Frieza was just a computer-generated fake.
"These Earthlings really won't believe it until they see the coffin."
Frieza turned on the shower, letting the hot water wash over him.
If the people were being deliberately deceived and were no longer afraid, how could he collect Fear Points?
Without Fear Points, how could he unlock his Third Form? How could he transform into Golden Frieza, or even Black Frieza?
This was a major obstacle to his progress!
"It seems killing a few chickens to scare the monkeys isn't enough."
Frieza leisurely relieved himself, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"Since you refuse to acknowledge my ownership."
"Then tomorrow, I will personally pay a visit to the White House."
"I'll take the President's seat for a spin, and while I'm at it, I'll clean out all those politicians who only know how to run their mouths."
"I will ensure that every single cell on this planet knows and carries the name of Frieza!"
"Ohohoho..."
The villain's signature laugh echoed from the bathroom, causing the bundled-up Sharon in the bed to shrink into an even tighter ball.