Facing Frieza's openly defiant declaration, Judge Ravonna Renslayer's expression immediately darkened.
In her long career enforcing the laws of the Time Variance Authority (TVA), she had dealt with countless arrogant Variants.
There were the mad Titans who tried to destroy the universe, and the Sorcerer Supremes who mastered magic, but without exception, every single one of them had been forced to comply under the threat of a Time Keeper's baton.
"You have no idea what you're up against."
Ravonna scoffed and snapped the Time Stick in her hand. "Since you refuse to cooperate, we'll prune you directly! Engage!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The squad of fully armored Time Variance Authority (TVA) guards immediately raised their Time Sticks, which glowed with an ominous orange light.
They might not have recognized the purple energy radiating from Frieza's fingertip, but in their minds, no being could withstand a strike from a TVA weapon. Even Thanos, if tagged by one of those sticks, would be stuck in slow-motion replay!
"Charge! For the Sacred Timeline!"
A few guards yelled, activating the thrusters in their boots and lunging toward Frieza like a pack of hungry wolves.
"Oh dear, what a rude set of guests."
Frieza remained seated in his boss chair, without even shifting his weight. He watched the approaching black-suited figures, a cruel and elegant smirk curling on his lips.
"Since you're all in such a hurry to die, this Great Emperor will grant your wish."
"Behold, the color of death\~"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Frieza gently tapped his raised index finger a few times.
Several purple beams of death—like lightning bolts from the deepest pits of hell—instantly tore through the air.
It was too fast!
Faster than thought could register!
The few TVA guards charging in the front didn't even see what happened before a scorched, bloody hole appeared in the center of their foreheads.
Thud! Thud!
Their bodies hit the floor, without even letting out a scream.
The so-called riot armor was as fragile as tissue paper against Frieza's Death Beam.
"What?!"
Judge Renslayer's pupils contracted sharply, and for the first time, a look of genuine shock appeared on her usually haughty face.
How could he be that fast?
"Damn it! Everyone push forward! Don't give him a chance to strike! Prune him!"
Seeing their comrades fall, the remaining dozen or so TVA guards didn't retreat; instead, they swarmed forward even more aggressively. They knew that against a Variant of this caliber, the only chance was a human-wave attack—the battle was over the moment the Time Stick made contact!
"Hmph! You want to touch the Master? You'll have to go through us first!"
Just then, a shrill roar rang out.
Loki, who had been unable to contain himself, wearing that embarrassing Ginyu Force-style uniform, jumped out first.
This was a golden opportunity to show loyalty!
If he could help the Master take care of these scrubs, maybe that damned explosive device in his brain would finally be removed tonight!
"Frieza Force! Attack!"
Loki conjured two daggers and rushed the TVA guards like a phantom.
Following closely, Agent Hill, Natasha, Sharon Carter, and even Wanda, who hadn't fully grasped the situation, charged forward like protective lionesses under the compulsive order of the soul contract.
Despite the ridiculous spandex, they were still some of the Earth's top combatants! Especially Wanda, whose raw Scarlet Chaos Magic was ready to be unleashed.
"Get out of the way, you freaks!"
Loki took the lead, thrusting a dagger straight toward a guard's throat.
However.
In the next second.
The TVA guard, unfazed, held up his Time Stick. It glowed with a blinding orange light and gently tapped Loki's dagger.
Buzz—!
A strange energy fluctuation instantly erupted.
Loki felt an irresistible force of reality-bending rules wash over him. His dagger—and his entire body—began to twist and dissipate the moment it touched the Stick, like a pencil drawing being erased.
"W-what the hell is this?! No! Master, save—"
Loki's panicked scream was cut short as he vanished into thin air.
It wasn't just Loki.
Hill, Natasha, and even Wanda, who was protected by her Chaos Magic, all vanished without a trace the moment that bizarre Time Stick touched them, as if their data had been wiped from reality!
In the blink of an eye.
Frieza was the only one left in the office.
"Oh?"
A red gleam flashed in Frieza's eyes. Instead of anger, a hint of interest spread across his face.
"So this is the so-called 'Pruning'?"
"Sending someone to the end of time—that technology is quite fascinating."
He thought to himself.
Although his henchmen were all gone, Frieza wasn't bothered in the slightest. They were just disposable cannon fodder he'd picked up, and he could easily grab a new batch anywhere on the planet if he wanted to.
What truly interested him was the place behind these guards—the TVA Headquarters.
As a Transmigrator who knew the Marvel lore, he was well aware that in that organization, the Infinity Stones were tossed carelessly into drawers like common pebbles, sometimes even used as paperweights!
Those were the Infinity Stones!
While they couldn't be used within the TVA, once he took them out...
Gathering all six Stones, plus the Time Stick that could traverse spacetime.
Couldn't this Great Emperor Frieza just start collecting rent in other parallel universes?
At that thought, Frieza's heart skipped a beat or two.
This was a major score!
"Hmph, now it's your turn!"
Judge Renslayer, greatly encouraged after her guards took out the "rabble," surrounded Frieza with the remaining guards.
"Your accomplices have been pruned. You are next!"
"Frieza, cease resistance! This is your last chance!"
Facing the murderous TVA guards.
The killing intent on Frieza's face suddenly receded like a tide.
He slowly dispersed the terrifying energy from his fingertip, and then did something absolutely unexpected.
He raised both hands.
He struck a dramatic pose of surrender.
"Oh dear... this is simply terrifying."
Frieza put on an exaggerated, theatrical expression of "I'm so scared," which looked completely fake.
"I had no idea your weapons were so powerful. You even made my Captain Ginyu-Loki disappear."
"This Great Emperor... I mean, I surrender."
Frieza stood up from his chair and very cooperatively turned around, placing his hands behind his back.
"Don't hurt me. I'm a civilized person. I'll go with you."
This display completely threw Ravonna off.
The same demonic figure who was radiating murderous intent and killing people with a tap of his finger moments ago was... surrendering?
However, as a seasoned Judge, she didn't drop her guard.
"Slap a Reset Collar on him!"
Ravonna commanded sharply. "Set the dial to the max! If he so much as twitches, make him feel the full agony of a time loop!"
Two TVA guards cautiously stepped forward, produced a flashing red metal collar, and click, locked it around Frieza's neck.
Frieza offered no resistance throughout, even lowering his head cooperatively.
Feeling the cold metal ring on his neck, Frieza chuckled internally.
This thing?
Against absolute power, it was just a toy.
But for the sake of those tons of Infinity Stones, for the ticket that would allow him to travel the Multiverse...
He could tolerate this minor inconvenience.
After all, to enter that mysterious agency at the End of Time, he really needed these "tour guides" to find the front door.
"Take him away!"
Seeing that Frieza was truly neutralized, Ravonna finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She pulled out a remote and pressed a button toward the air.
Buzz—!
A rectangular orange portal appeared again out of thin air.
"Let's go, criminal."
A guard pushed Frieza forward.
Frieza didn't get angry; instead, he turned back and flashed the guard who pushed him an extremely innocent smile.
"I hope the catering where you're going is good, or I might get upset, you know."
With that, he took an elegant step and voluntarily walked into the orange portal.
After a moment of disorientation.
The scene before his eyes opened up dramatically.
It was no longer the opulent office he had decorated but the interior of a massive structure with a retro-futuristic style. Towering ceilings, busy clerks, and a suffocating air of bureaucracy.
And, of course, what instantly drew Frieza's gaze.
Were those colorful stones scattered haphazardly across the desks, used by the clerks as paperweights, with one even propping up a table leg.
Red, green, purple...
The shine was more captivating than the most expensive jewelry.
Frieza stood in the center of the TVA's administrative hall, looking at the Infinity Stones strewn about the floor, and his crimson eyes exploded with light—a greedy, ecstatic gleam.