At this moment.
Thor's headless corpse still lay in a pool of blood.
Like a collapsed monument, it brutally shattered the last hope in everyone's hearts.
"This... this is impossible..."
Tony nearly fell to his knees, his faceplate open, his usually proud face now filled only with stunned blankness.
Jarvis's data furiously reported errors before his eyes, but he no longer cared.
Technology? Armor?
In front of that monster who casually wiped out an entire nation, these things were as ridiculous as a three-year-old's water gun.
"Is this absolute power?"
Reed, the man known as the smartest on Earth, now had his hands off the anti-matter cannon. His brain trembled, his logic crumbling.
He felt a despair that made him unable to even conceive the notion of resistance.
At the rear of the Avengers' formation, the Ancient One, who always appeared calm and composed in her yellow monk's robe, now showed a rare bead of cold sweat on her usually serene face.
She saw it.
Through the Eye of Agamotto, she saw countless timelines. But in those myriad possibilities, no matter which one, the outcome was always Earth being 'blessed'.
"Are there no choices left?"
The Ancient One took a deep breath, a flicker of resolve in her wise eyes.
If it couldn't be defeated on a physical level, then only power on a rule-based level could be used.
Buzz!
She formed hand signs, and the Eye of Agamotto on her chest slowly opened. Blinding green light instantly bloomed—that was the power of the Time Stone.
If only she could rewind time to before that demon's arrival... if only she could trap him in a time loop...
However, just as the green magic circle was about to form—
"Oh my, Lady Sorcerer."
A soft, elegant voice, yet imbued with infinite chill, abruptly sounded in the Ancient One's ear.
It was even faster than the wind.
Frieza, suspended in mid-air, had turned his head at some unknown point. His crimson eyes were staring, half-smiling, at the green glow on the Ancient One's chest.
He raised a slender finger and gently made a "shush" gesture to his lips.
"I advise you not to entertain that thought. I'm quite interested in that glowing little stone."
"But..."
Frieza pointed to the Avengers below, a cruel smile appearing on his lips.
"One-thousandth of a second before you activate that thing, I can blast all of you into cosmic dust."
"What do you think?"
"Is your magic faster, or is my finger faster?"
Boom!
A terrifying aura that caused even dimensions to distort instantly locked onto the Ancient One.
The Ancient One's hand froze in mid-air.
As the Sorcerer Supreme, her intuition told her that this demon was not lying. In the face of absolute speed and power, time magic's casting time was simply too long.
Moreover, even if he were trapped, the Avengers would be annihilated in that instant. And this demon might even grow stronger through repeated loops.
In that case, what would be the point of rewinding?
Sizzle...
The green light slowly extinguished in the Ancient One's hand.
The Eye of Agamotto closed once more.
The Sorcerer Supreme, who had protected Earth for centuries, for the first time bowed her noble head under the gaze of those crimson eyes.
She had lost.
"Oh ho ho ho..."
Seeing the Ancient One give up resistance, Frieza let out a joyful laugh.
"That's more like it."
"We have to respect the rules of the game, don't we? Cheating isn't what good children do."
Frieza nodded with satisfaction, looking like a teacher who had just disciplined a disobedient student.
"Since everyone is so sensible, I shouldn't be too stingy."
"To commend your good judgment..."
Frieza turned around and casually waved his hand towards Apocalypse, who was by the large pit created by him in the distance.
Whoosh!
A purple energy surge swept through.
A burly blue-skinned figure was sucked over like a rag doll, hovering beside Frieza.
It was Apocalypse, who had been instantly defeated by Thor's axe earlier.
At this moment, Apocalypse's chest was caved in and blue blood flowed everywhere, looking utterly miserable, with only his last breath clinging on.
"Wake up, my captain."
Frieza extended a finger and touched Apocalypse's forehead.
Buzz!
A massive surge of life energy was injected.
To everyone's horror, Apocalypse's terrifying injuries healed at a visible rate.
In just two seconds, the mutant progenitor, who had been on the verge of death, suddenly opened his eyes, his aura even stronger than before.
"Thank... thank you, Master, for this rebirth."
Apocalypse flipped over in the air and knelt, his eyes filled with fanaticism and terror.
The shadow of death he had just experienced brought his reverence for this man to its peak.
"Rise."
Frieza waved his hand casually.
He turned his gaze back to the desperate Avengers below.
"Everyone."
"The Frieza games continues."
"However..."
Frieza pointed to the row of Ginyu Force members behind him, clad in tight suits and striking bizarre poses.
Apocalypse, Erik, Sebastian, Juggernaut...
"I am very busy and don't have time to play house with you weaklings whose power level is only 5."
"Want to challenge me?"
Frieza's lips curved into a playful smirk.
"Then defeat my adorable subordinates first."
"Whether it's a one-on-one or a group fight, it's up to you."
"As long as you can defeat them, I might consider moving a finger to play with you."
After speaking, Frieza's body slowly ascended, flying higher into the sky. He crossed his arms, like a god looking down on the mortal world, coldly observing the arena below.
"Go, my warriors."
"Don't disgrace me again."
"Roar!!!"
Receiving his master's command, Apocalypse turned around, his blue face filled with savagery and a thirst for revenge.
The humiliation of being instantly defeated by Thor had to be washed away with blood.
"Avengers! X-Men!"
Apocalypse, along with Erik and the others, slowly descended, their terrifying aura cracking the ground.
"Are you ready to embrace death?!"
Looking at the pack of wolf-like villains before them, Steve gripped his shield, his palms sweating profusely.
He turned to look at his comrades behind him.
Despair was etched on every face.
Even Thor was instantly killed, and even the Ancient One dared not act.
Did they truly still have hope?
His gaze involuntarily fell upon the man in the corner, his head bowed, his face obscured by long hair.
Robert Reynolds.
Sentry.
"Must it really come to that?" Steve muttered to himself.
Ten thousand meters above.
Frieza watched the impending melee below, observing the wonderfully desperate expressions on the humans' faces.
[Ding! Detected complete collapse of faith among all Avengers! Fear Points +5000!]
[Ding! Detected a massive drop in sanity among global viewers! Fear Points +10000!]
...
Listening to the delightful system notifications, Frieza's smile grew even more twisted.
"Yes, just like that."
"Struggle, wail."
"Let this fear come even more intensely."
"Once I've harvested this wave of Fear Points, taken over Earth, and then obliterated Asgard..."
Frieza clenched his fist, feeling the continuously expanding power within him.
"By then, even if Thanos comes, I will crush his head with one hand."
"Oh ho ho ho ho..."