"I'm not playing."
Steve's voice was hard, as hard as the vibranium shield in his hand.
Though bruised and battered, and having just been flicked away like a marble, the World War II veteran still stood tall, his gaze fixed on Frieza floating in the air.
"We are the Avengers, not your toys." Tony spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his eyes defiant beneath his faceplate.
"You want Earth? Over my dead body. And by the way, your taste is terrible. That purple orb looks like a cheap disco light show."
"Oh?"
The destructive purple orb on Frieza's fingertip pulsed slightly.
He wasn't angry. Instead, he wore a helpless smile, like someone looking at a mischievous pet.
"What a pity."
"I thought giving you a gift called hope would make this acquisition more interesting."
Frieza shook his head regretfully, looking like a benevolent figure who had been wronged.
Just as Frieza was about to casually drop the orb and turn Manhattan into a giant artificial lake—
"Wait!"
A deep, authoritative, yet urgent voice came from the rooftop entrance.
A black trench coat flapped in the strong wind, a bald head reflected stubborn light in the sun, and the single remaining eye was locked onto Frieza in the sky.
Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., King of Agents, had finally arrived.
He had just been on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier, watching Frieza's arrogant declaration of "Earth belongs to Frieza" on the big screen, and his blood pressure almost burst his only optic nerve.
Where did this guy come from?
Not only did he destroy the Chitauri fleet, but he also wanted to take over Earth?
This was ten thousand times more troublesome than Loki.
"Mr. Frieza..."
Nick Fury forcibly suppressed the storm in his heart, adopting the posture of a negotiation expert, and strode to the center of the ruins.
"I know you're strong, even ridiculously strong. But this world is not as simple as you think. Earth is not something your current appetite can swallow."
Fury spoke at the fastest speed of his life, trying to establish a defense with words.
"In this universe, there are many forces that maintain peace. Some beings, once angered, have consequences that even you cannot bear."
As he spoke, Fury's hand subtly touched the old-fashioned pager in his pocket. That was his trump card, his last resort in desperate times.
He was hinting, or rather, explicitly stating—Earth had backup.
Hearing this, Frieza, floating in mid-air, raised an eyebrow slightly.
He slowly descended until his eyes were level with Fury's, a hint of playfulness flashing in his crimson eyes.
"Oh ho ho ho..."
"Let me guess, you're talking about..."
Frieza put a finger to his chin, feigning thought. "...that woman who runs around the universe, likes to make herself look like a photon bulb, right?"
"Captain Marvel? Carol Danvers?"
Fury's face instantly grew darker, his pupils contracting violently.
How did this guy know?
This was top secret. No one but him knew who that trump card was.
"Tsk tsk, it seems I guessed right." Frieza looked at Fury's expression, smiling even more happily.
"What? Is that your reliance? Is that your bargaining chip with me?"
"I admit, she is a bit strong."
Frieza held up his pinky finger, indicating a minuscule distance.
"But only 'a bit'."
"If she were in Binary form, she might make me warm up a little. As for now? Calling her back would only add a slightly more advanced collectible to my collection."
Arrogant!
Fury's heart sank to rock bottom. Since negotiations had broken down, and deterrence was ineffective, there was only Plan B.
"Attack!"
Fury suddenly roared.
At his command, Barton and Natasha, who had seemed to be out of commission, suddenly sprang into action. They had already received Fury's secret signal and had been playing dead, waiting for the right moment.
Even in this desperate situation, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents maintained extremely high tactical proficiency. If physical attacks were ineffective, they would try chemical and biological attacks.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several specially made tranquilizer darts and high-voltage taser arrows shot towards Frieza's blind spots in a triangular formation.
This was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s super-effective tranquilizer developed specifically for the Hulk. It could put an elephant to sleep in one second.
Facing this sudden sneak attack, Frieza didn't even turn his head. He merely raised his right hand casually, his index finger and thumb gently clamping in the air, as if catching a few slow-moving mosquitoes.
Clack.
All the arrows and darts were caught between his fingers.
"Too slow. Do you really think these childish toys can harm the Emperor of the Universe?"
Frieza shook his head, his eyes full of disappointment. "Not even my Ginyu Force... no, not even my little team leader Loki would use such primitive methods."
Loki, who was playing dead on the ground, was inexplicably cued and couldn't help but shiver.
"Any new tricks, Director Fury?" Frieza casually crushed the darts into powder and clapped his hands.
From the helicopter in the distance, Christine was passionately commentating, "Ladies and gentlemen! Negotiations have broken down! S.H.I.E.L.D. has launched an attack, but it seems completely ineffective! This blond devil is incredibly, despairingly powerful! Is Earth really doomed?!"
Just then—
Fury suddenly pulled out a strangely shaped silver pistol from his pocket.
It was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s prototype high-frequency neural paralysis ray gun, developed based on Destroyer debris and Tesseract energy.
"Go to sleep, monster!"
Zzzzz—!
A faint blue ripple, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, instantly struck Frieza's chest.
This time, Frieza didn't dodge. Or rather, it looked like he didn't react in time.
The moment he was hit, Frieza stiffened abruptly, his elegant posture instantly collapsing, his eyes rolling back, and his limbs beginning to twitch violently.
"Uh... ah..."
Frieza let out a painful groan, his body swaying as if he had lost control, about to fall.
"It hit!"
Barton excitedly punched the air.
"Now! Hulk! Thor! Pin him down!" Fury was overjoyed, never expecting this thing to actually work.
Even Loki, who had been playing dead on the ground, had a flicker in his eyes now.
Was this terrifying monster finally going down?
Did that mean... his chance had come?
If so, he might even be able to retaliate, reclaim the scepter, and rule again.
Loki's hand secretly reached for a dagger hidden behind him, preparing to stab this so-called master who had humiliated him.
Christine in the helicopter was so excited she almost ate the microphone. "Incredible! Director Nick Fury has turned the tide! He subdued the demon! Humanity is saved!"
However—
Just as the Avengers were about to swarm Frieza and shackle him, Frieza, who had been "violently twitching," suddenly stopped.
As if a pause button had been pressed.
He slowly straightened up, adjusting his tie, which had become a little messy from the "twitching."
The painful expression on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an even more playful, more mocking smile.
"Oops, did I overact a little?"
Frieza patted the spot on his chest where the ray had hit, a look of enjoyment on his face.
"I have to say, this thing feels tingly and quite comfortable when it hits you."
"It's a bit like getting a full-body electric spa. Is this how you Earthlings treat your guests? If so, I might consider giving a five-star review."
Silence.
Dead silence.
Fury's gun-wielding hand froze in mid-air, the light in his single eye instantly extinguished, replaced by endless despair.
He was faking it?
This guy was toying with them?
Even nerve toxins and high-frequency vibrations were useless? What kind of creature was this?
Loki's newly drawn dagger clattered to the ground, and he smoothly flopped back down, burying his head even lower.
Don't see me, don't see me...
"Alright, playtime's over."
Frieza's smile abruptly vanished, his eyes instantly turning cold and piercing.
"I gave you a chance, even mercy."
"But you repaid the great Emperor of the Universe with sneak attacks and schemes."
Boom!
A terrifying wave of energy erupted from Frieza.
Steve, Thor, and even the massive Hulk, who had just rushed forward, were instantly sent flying like leaves in a typhoon, slamming against the surrounding walls, their fates unknown.
Frieza walked with an elegant stride, step by step, towards the completely stunned Fury.
"Especially you, this one-eyed egg."
Frieza's voice was like a judgment from the netherworld.
"Originally, I intended to recruit cunning individuals like you as butlers. After all, managing a planet requires such dirty hands."
"But..."
Frieza extended a finger, and that despair-inducing purple light condensed at its tip.
"I hate it when people shoot at me."
"And I hate business partners who don't follow the rules."
The shadow of death enveloped Fury.
The King of Agents was panicking now, he knew he had truly messed up this time.
His trembling hand suddenly reached into his pocket and pressed the pager he had been reluctant to use until the very last moment.
Beep... Beep...
Signal sent!
"It seems you still called that photon bulb."
Frieza glanced at the flashing pager but didn't stop it.
"Very good, let her come and collect your body then."
Whoosh!
A purple beam of death instantly pierced Fury's chest.
Fast.
Too fast.
No wasted words, no hesitation.
Fury didn't even have time to utter a last word before his body fell straight down, still clutching the pager that was sending the signal.
The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the founder of the Avengers, died like a mere foot soldier on the rooftop of Stark Tower.
"Fury!!!"
Steve and Natasha, who had just gotten up, roared in anguish at the sight.
That was their comrade, their leader!
Fear, anger, despair, all emotions intertwined.
The global audience in front of their live screens was now plunged into a deathly silence.
They had witnessed the death of the highest official.
This meant that order had collapsed.
"What? Does it hurt so much?"
Frieza blew at the nonexistent smoke on his fingertips, then turned to look at the Avengers whose eyes were filled with murderous intent.
"This is the sorrow of the weak. Since you are so principled, since you think I am still not strong enough, not enough to make you feel fear..."
Frieza slowly floated up, rising to a position even higher than Stark Tower.
He raised his right hand, and the energy ball at his fingertip, which was originally the size of a marble, began to swell wildly.
Basketball-sized... millstone-sized...
Finally, it became a giant purple energy bomb several meters in diameter, like a purple sun, suspended above Manhattan.
Terrifying energy fluctuations caused the surrounding space to distort, and even the clouds in the sky were forcibly torn apart by this power.
"Then let me show you what true power is."
"What is... the wrath of the Emperor of the Universe."
Frieza's lips curled into a cruel arc, and he waved his hand.
"Go! Earth Splitter!"
He didn't throw this energy bomb at the city, because that was his asset.
He pointed his finger to the west, towards the vast heartland of the American continent.
Boom!!!
A thick purple beam of light, like the whip of destruction wielded by God, shot out from above Manhattan. It didn't explode, but rather plowed through the earth like a hot knife cutting through butter.
At this moment, Earth trembled.
The perspective instantly zoomed up to tens of thousands of kilometers into space.
Inside the International Space Station, several astronauts on duty were looking down at Earth through the porthole.
Suddenly, one of the astronauts' eyes widened, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg, and his coffee pouch floated away.
"My God... what is that..."
On the surface of the blue planet.
Starting from New York on the East Coast of the United States, extending all the way to California on the West Coast.
A massive fissure emitting a faint purple glow, like an ugly and terrifying scar, traversed the entire North American continent.
Mountains were leveled, rivers were cut off, forests were vaporized.
It was truly... giving Earth a middle parting.