Above the White House, the purple sun slowly began its descent.
There was no deafening shriek, no earth-shattering roar—it fell like a feather, drifting gently toward the white building that symbolized power.
But every living thing locked onto by this terrifying aura had only one thought: Run!
"Get higher! Go higher! God, what the hell is that thing?!"
The pilots of the media helicopters circling nearby desperately wrenched on their controls. The rotors screamed under the strain as the choppers frantically clawed their way toward the sky, terrified of being even slightly touched by that destructive presence.
On the ground, the National Guard soldiers and the belatedly arriving support troops, who had been standing ready and fully armed, saw their psychological defenses completely collapse the moment they laid eyes on the purple orb.
Military orders, patriotism, and defending the homeland were meaningless jokes in the face of absolute death!
They abandoned their gear and scattered, running for their lives.
However.
"Too slow, truly too slow."
Frieza, suspended high in the air, watched the scrambling ant-like crowds below, a cruel and elegant smirk curling on his lips.
"While I admire your will to survive, I regret to inform you that this is a demolition operation targeting the entire city."
Vwooong—!
The destruction bomb made contact with the White House's white dome.
In that instant, time seemed to freeze.
Then, there was no violent explosion or blinding flash, and no debris flying everywhere.
There was only pure, silent—annihilation!
BOOM!!!
The moment the purple energy hit the ground, it didn't indiscriminately spread outwards like a conventional bomb. Instead, it was as if an invisible hand pressed down on it, compressing it into a terrifying, floor-hugging purple wave that expanded rapidly!
Frieza precisely controlled the wave's height to 500 meters (about 1,640 feet).
But its width was unbounded!
The white center of power, along with the bodies and classified documents inside, disintegrated into fundamental particles within a fraction of a second of the light wave passing over it.
The light wave then pushed outward at a terrifying speed, faster than sound!
The Washington Monument, that towering stone obelisk, vanished the instant the purple light swept over it, dissolving like a sandcastle meeting a tide.
The Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Building, the Pentagon...
The structures that carried the history and pride of the United States were, in this moment, like children's building blocks, wiped away by a hand named Despair.
The people running in the streets were swallowed by the purple light before they could even let out a final scream.
Looking back, it was no longer a sphere of light, but a purple ocean! A sea of death that devoured all creation!
---
Meanwhile, 500 meters above the carnage, the stunned helicopter pilots and photographers watched what was happening below, their eyes bulging in horror.
They were positioned just above the energy tide, the only safe zone.
Their cameras recorded the single most horrifying event in human history.
The once-bustling Washington D.C. was vanishing at a visible rate!
It was literally gone!
The purple light rolled forward, leaving nothing behind but a scorched earth, smooth as glass.
One mile... five miles... ten miles...
Until the end of the horizon!
Until the purple light merged with the distant skyline!
The entire city, including its surrounding suburbs, was completely wiped off the map in a matter of a dozen seconds.
Silence.
The entire world fell into a deathly silence at this sight.
Then came a blanket of suffocating terror.
"Oh ho ho ho..."
Frieza's signature, high-pitched, evil laugh echoed over the gigantic ruin, piercing the ears of billions of people across the globe via satellite feeds.
"Truly a magnificent view."
Frieza hovered mid-air, a newly created super crater dozens of miles in diameter directly beneath him.
He gently clapped his hands, as if he had just performed a trivial task, like swatting a mosquito or stepping on an anthill.
"While it was perhaps a little crude, I believe no one can question my power now, can they?"
[Ding! Destruction-level panic detected worldwide!]
[Ding! Fear Value +100!]
[Ding! Fear Value +100!]
...
The numbers on the system panel weren't just ticking up—they were warping!
1 billion... 2 billion... 10 billion!
This demonstration of city-erasing power generated fear exponentially greater than a nuclear bomb, because it was controlled, deliberate, and the result of a casual wave of the golden-haired demon's hand!
Behind Frieza, Agent Hill and Loki had completely lost the ability to think.
Hill stared blankly at the void beneath them.
This was once the capital of the United States, home to millions of people.
Now?
There was nothing left.
Not even rubble, just a patch of still-steaming scorched earth.
"Devil... You are a devil..." Hill's voice was barely a whisper, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
This level of power instilled a profound sense of powerlessness. Resistance? What was the point of resisting this god-like might?
And Loki, the self-proclaimed Prince of Asgard, was gripping the edge of his tunic tightly.
He stared at the scorched earth that stretched to the horizon, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.
"Is this... the power of the Universe Emperor?"
Even the mighty Rainbow Bridge, at full power, would need sustained bombardment to destroy a city.
Yet this was just an energy ball casually tossed by Frieza!
And judging by his relaxed demeanor, he didn't even break a sweat!
"It's... mesmerizing..."
The fear in Loki's eyes gradually morphed into a kind of pathological fanaticism. This was the power he had always craved! This was the true demeanor of a ruler!
In the face of this strength, the Avengers, and even Thanos, suddenly seemed almost quaint.
"Alright, the sightseeing tour is over."
Frieza turned around, not sparing a glance for the hellscape beneath his feet, as if it had always been an empty field.
He stretched languidly, his tone light and cheerful:
"It's too dusty here. The air quality is terrible."
"Let's go, back to New York."
"Since the old government is gone, my Frieza Tower will now be the new administrative center for this planet."
Speaking of which, Frieza seemed to recall something and turned to look at the terrified Hill and the ecstatic Loki.
"Oh, right. Before that."
Frieza raised his hand, blue light shimmering at his fingertip.
"We need to make a quick trip home first."
"After all, we are establishing a new galactic force, and the personnel need to be present."
"Also, we need to get them into their formal work attire before reporting to headquarters."
Vwoom!
A deep blue spatial vortex slowly unfolded before them, leading directly to the luxurious private estate on Long Island.
Frieza stepped into it first, his stride elegant, leaving the world with a devastatingly powerful yet impossibly chic silhouette.
Only the vanished city remained, serving as a permanent scar on Earth—the red carpet for his coronation.
At the same time.
Long Island, the master bedroom of the private estate.
Black Widow Natasha Romanoff and Sharon Carter were huddled together in a corner of the bed, their eyes glued to the gigantic screen of the wall-mounted TV.
The screen was looping footage of Washington D.C. being instantly flattened.
That huge purple stain expanded across the map, consuming everything.
"Natasha..."
Sharon's voice was tearful, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"It's hopeless... the world is doomed..."
"Even Washington... who can we rely on? Who can defeat this monster?"
Natasha gripped her fists tightly, her nails digging deeply into her palms, drawing blood, though she didn't notice.
That man... that devil...
He actually did it.
When he said he would kill everyone, he wasn't kidding.
A chill unlike anything she had ever felt before enveloped her entire body—a despair more suffocating than death itself.
Just then.
Vwoom!
The space in the center of the bedroom suddenly twisted, and a blue portal opened out of thin air.
That voice, the one that haunted their nightmares, both evil and elegant, drifted slowly from behind the gate.
"Oh ho ho ho..."
"My dear maids, did you miss your Lord Frieza?"
Frieza stepped out of the portal, his hands behind his back. His scarlet eyes, filled with playful mockery, swept over the two beautiful, trembling secret agents.
Immediately afterward, Loki, Hill in a humiliating tight suit, and the red-clad girl with the vacant stare, filed in.
"It looks like you've already seen the news?"
Frieza gestured toward the TV screen, a look of satisfaction on his face.
"Well? Did you find my fireworks display entertaining?"
Natasha and Sharon were pale and utterly speechless.
"Alright, enough reminiscing."
Frieza clapped his hands, his gaze turning critical as he scrutinized the scant maid outfits and sleepwear the two women were wearing.
"While I do enjoy your current attire, these are merely for at-home use."
"Since we are heading to the new headquarters—the former Frieza Tower—to officially announce the formation of the Frieza Force, you, as my personal attendants, must naturally dress formally."
"Loki!"
Frieza snapped his fingers.
"Yes, Master!" Loki immediately pulled two folded outfits from behind his back and respectfully handed them over.
They were two brand-new, white and purple combat suits.
They featured the same exaggerated yellow shoulder pads and the same painfully embarrassing, suffocating feel.
"Put these on."
Frieza pointed at the combat suits on the floor.
"This is our Force uniform. It symbolizes glory and power."
"You have three minutes."
Natasha and Sharon looked at the clothes on the floor, then at the already-changed and expressionless Hill standing nearby.
"Yes... Master..."
With tears of humiliation, the two women's hands trembled as they changed into the ridiculous combat suits right in front of Frieza.
The others turned their backs.
A moment later.
The two once-sexy and alluring female agents were transformed into two oddly dressed alien warriors in strange tight suits.
"Perfect!"
Frieza looked at the five people lined up before him—Loki, Hill, Natasha, Sharon, and Wanda Maximoff.
All in crisp white and purple combat suits, all strikingly attractive.
Though their expressions were as gloomy as a funeral, this very contrast seemed to please Frieza even more.
"Now, that's more like it."
"Oh, right. Let me introduce your new colleague."
Frieza pulled the vacant-eyed Wanda closer.
"This is the Scarlet Witch, a future powerhouse. For now, of course, she has to start from the bottom ranks."
"Loki, find her a uniform, too. Since we're family, we must be complete."
"Also, prepare a Soul Contract. She'll sign it when we return tonight."
"Understood!"
Once everyone was changed, Frieza adjusted his own suit and tie to his satisfaction.
He raised his hand, and the Space Stone glowed once more.
Vwoom!
The portal reopened. This time, its destination was the Frieza Tower in the heart of Manhattan.