"Apocalypse. Loki."
Frieza stood beside the rapidly cooling corpse of Rhomann Dey, not bothering to spare another glance at the terrified Nova Corps soldiers.
He pulled a pristine white handkerchief from his breast pocket and gently wiped his fingers, which hadn't even been sullied by dust.
"The buzzing of these flies is giving me a headache."
"As my elite unit, I shouldn't have to hold your hand to teach you how to take out the trash, should I?"
Hearing the Master's command, Apocalypse's pale eyes instantly lit up. He had been holding back a lot of pent-up aggression.
Being one-shot by that axe-wielding brute on Earth was the shame of En Sabah Nur's life!
He desperately needed a massacre to wash away that humiliation and prove his value to King Frieza!
"As you command! My Great Master!"
Apocalypse grinned hideously. The muscles on his blue face twitched, and his white-and-purple skintight combat suit creaked as his muscles bulged.
He stomped forward, facing the dozens of fully charged energy rifles. He spread his arms wide, as if embracing death itself.
"Fire! Open fire! Eliminate these illegal intruders!"
Although the Nova Corps squad leader was terrified, duty compelled him to give the order.
Pew pew pew pew—!
Dozens of yellow energy beams instantly wove a net of death, sealing off any space for Apocalypse to dodge.
"Dodge? Pathetic!"
Apocalypse scoffed with disdain. He didn't even bother to raise a shield.
He simply raised his right hand and clenched his palm against the empty air.
HUM—!
An invisible, tyrannically domineering telekinetic field erupted instantly!
The incoming energy beams came to a dead halt three meters away from Apocalypse.
It was as if they had hit an invisible wall.
Then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the beams began to twist and decompose, finally dissolving into specks of light that vanished into nothingness.
"Wh... what technology is this?!" The Nova soldiers' eyes went wide. Their weapons were top-tier individual armaments in the galaxy!
"Technology? That is a crutch for the weak."
The corner of Apocalypse's mouth curled into a cruel arc, and his hand clenched tighter.
"This is Godhood!"
CRACK! CRUNCH! SNAP!
The tooth-aching sound of bones shattering and metal twisting filled the air.
The dozen soldiers in the front row, along with their armor and weapons, were instantly crushed together by a terrifying force!
It was as if an invisible giant hand had squeezed them into a ball of meat paste!
Blood sprayed from the gaps in their armor, dying the pristine white floor tiles of the Xandarian plaza red.
"AAAAHHH—!"
The screams had just begun before they were abruptly cut off.
A dozen unrecognizable lumps of flesh and metal dropped to the ground with a wet splat. You couldn't tell who was who anymore.
"Hmph. Fragile ants." Apocalypse shook his hand in disgust.
On the other side.
Loki wasn't about to be outdone.
As the Captain of the Frieza Corps' Ginyu Force (self-appointed), how could he let the big blue guy steal the spotlight?
"Watch closely. This is art!"
Loki flipped the daggers in his hands, his body blurring.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Dozens of Lokis instantly appeared in the plaza!
Every single one was wearing that shameful combat suit, and every single one wore a sinister, vicious smile.
"Which one is real? Take a guess?"
Dozens of Lokis spoke at the same time. Their voices overlapped, creating a dizzying surround-sound effect.
The remaining Nova soldiers panicked, firing wildly at the illusions around them.
But it was pointless.
The beams passed through the phantoms and hit the empty ground.
The real Loki, meanwhile, had appeared like a ghost behind a soldier.
SHINK!
A cold glint of steel.
The dagger accurately pierced the gap in the soldier's neck armor. One hit, one kill!
Then came the second, the third...
Loki was dancing a waltz of death—elegant and lethal.
With every step, a Nova soldier fell, clutching their throat.
"Hahahaha! This is the price of opposing King Frieza!"
Loki was killing with such gusto that he didn't forget to strike a classic Ginyu Force pose, even with blood dripping from his hands.
Seeing this, the others—Azazel (the Red Devil), Bullseye, and the rest—joined the slaughter.
Azazel used his teleportation to grab soldiers, drop them from high altitudes, and smash them into meat patties.
Bullseye casually grabbed gravel from the ground, flicking each pebble with precision to pop an enemy eyeball.
In less than a minute.
This aggressive Nova patrol squad was completely wiped out.
Corpses littered the plaza; blood flowed like a river.
"Ahhh! Murder!"
"Monsters! They're demons!"
"Earthlings... how can Earthlings be this terrifying?!"
The alien civilians who had been watching the drama and tweeting photos finally reacted.
The pink-skinned alien who had earlier called Terrans "backward hillbillies" was now sitting on the ground, legs turning to jelly, a stream of yellow liquid spreading from his crotch.
[Ding! Detected extreme panic among Xandar civilians! Fear Points +500!]
[Ding! Fear Points +500!]
[Ding! Fear Points +500!]
...
Standing amidst the pile of corpses, Frieza frowned slightly as he listened to the notifications pinging in his mind.
"Tsk, only 500,000 points total?"
Frieza glanced at his system panel, clearly dissatisfied with this income.
"As expected, a small-scale slaughter like this... for this Emperor who has seen the big picture, it's just a snack to pick out from between my teeth."
After all, unlocking the glittering Golden Frieza form required a full 10 trillion Fear Points!
This was a drop in the bucket.
However...
Frieza raised his head, his scarlet eyes looking toward the distant sky.
There, countless black dots were rapidly enlarging, accompanied by the low roar of engines, sounding like an approaching thunderstorm.
It was the main force of the Nova Corps!
Countless octagonal Starblasters blotted out the sun, and hundreds of armed ships locked down the entire airspace.
On the ground, thousands of Nova Guards in heavy armor surged in like a tide from all directions, completely sealing off the plaza.
"This is the Nova Corps High Command!"
An authoritative voice echoed over the entire city through loudspeakers.
"Illegal intruders! You are surrounded! Drop your weapons and surrender immediately! Otherwise, we will initiate indiscriminate fire coverage!"
Looking at the overwhelming army, Frieza didn't show fear. Instead, a look of excited delight spread across his face.
He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.
"Now this looks like a proper party."
"Only despair on this scale can squeeze out the most delicious juice of fear."
Frieza turned around to look at his subordinates, who were still hyped up on adrenaline from the killing.
"Apocalypse, Loki, and everyone else."
Frieza straightened his tie.
"It seems our welcome ceremony is a bit grand."
"Since the hosts are so enthusiastic, sending so many people to greet us..."
Frieza extended a finger, pointing at the sky dense with fighter jets.
"Then don't be polite."
"Make the scene beautiful, make the noise loud."
"Ideally, make sure every creature on this planet wets the bed in their sleep tonight."
At this point, Frieza's eyes turned abruptly cold, a terrifying killing intent locking onto everyone.
"Remember, don't embarrass this Emperor."
"If anyone acts like a wimp..."
Frieza made a throat-slitting gesture.
"I'll stuff them into a fighter jet's engine to use as fuel."
"YES! MY KING!!!"
Apocalypse, Loki, and the others roared in unison, madness and battle lust burning in their eyes.
Are you kidding?
They had been stifled on Earth for so long. Now that they were finally on the cosmic stage...
And it was a "noob-crushing" match at that! Who wouldn't want to show off in front of the King?
"Minions! KILL!!!"
Apocalypse took the lead, his blue body growing gigantic once again.
Like a moving mountain, he smashed directly into the dense defensive line of the army!
Frieza stood where he was, hands in his pockets, watching the destruction about to unfold. The corners of his mouth tilted up.
"Then, let this feast named Fear officially begin."
"Ohohoho..."