"Apocalypse, Loki."
Frieza stood beside the rapidly cooling corpse of Rhomann, not even sparing a glance at the terrified Nova soldiers.
He pulled a pristine white handkerchief from his coat and delicately wiped fingers that had never been stained by a speck of dust.
"The buzzing of these flies gives me a headache. As my elite force, you don't need me to teach you how to take out the trash, do you?"
At their master's order, Apocalypse, who had been itching for action, blazed with white light in his eyes.
Being one-shot on Earth by that axe-swinging brute was the greatest humiliation of his life.
He needed a massacre to wash away the shame and prove his worth to Lord Frieza.
"As you command, Lord Frieza."
Apocalypse grinned, the muscles on his blue face twitching. His white-and-purple battle suit groaned as his frame swelled.
He stepped forward, spread his arms toward the dozens of charged energy rifles, as though embracing death itself.
"Fire now! Kill these trespassers!"
The Nova squad leader gave the order.
Zzzzzt—
Dozens of yellow energy beams wove an inescapable net of death.
"How laughable."
Apocalypse snorted in contempt, not even bothering to raise a shield. He simply lifted his right hand and clenched it in the air.
Voom—
An invisible, tyrannical telekinetic field erupted.
The energy beams froze three meters from him. They slammed into an unseen wall and hung motionless.
Then, before every eye, they twisted, disintegrated, and scattered into motes of light.
"W-what tech is that?!" The Nova troopers gaped.
Their weapons were the galaxy's finest small-arms.
"Tech? That's a crutch for the weak." Apocalypse gave a cruel smile and clenched his fist.
"This is divine power."
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The sickening crunch of bone and metal filled the air.
The front-rank soldiers—armor, weapons and all—were crushed together by an unseen force.
It was as if a giant hand had squeezed them into bloody pulp.
Blood spurted through armor seams, dyeing Xandar's white plaza tiles red.
"Aaaargh—"
Screams began and ended in the same moment.
A dozen lumpy crimson masses slapped the ground, no longer recognizably human.
"Hmph, fragile ants." Apocalypse flicked his hand in disgust.
On the other side.
Loki refused to be outdone.
As the self-declared Captain of the Frieza Force, how could he let that blue giant steal the spotlight?
"Watch closely! THIS is art!"
Loki's twin daggers spun, his figure flickering.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Dozens of Lokis filled the plaza. Each wore the ridiculous battle suit and a vicious grin.
"Which one is real? Take a guess."
The chorus of identical voices blurred into dizzying surround-sound.
The remaining Nova soldiers panicked and fired wildly at the illusions.
It was useless.
Beams passed through phantoms and struck only empty ground.
The real Loki was already behind one trooper like a ghost.
Thud!
Steel flashed.
A dagger slid between armor joints at the neck—instant death.
A second, a third…
Loki waltzed through a deadly dance, elegant and lethal.
Every step ended with another soldier clutching their throat and falling.
"Hahaha! This is what happens to anyone who opposes Lord Frieza!"
High on the slaughter, Loki struck the classic Ginyu Force pose—blood still dripping from his hands.
Seeing this, Azazel, Bullseye and the others joined the carnage.
Azazel teleported soldiers sky-high and let them drop as pulpy heaps.
Bullseye snatched up pebbles and popped an eyeball with each perfect shot.
Barely a minute passed and the once-arrogant Nova patrol was annihilated.
Bodies littered the plaza and rivers of blood pooled between the tiles.
"Aaaah! Murder!"
"Monsters! Demons!"
"Terrans … how can Terrans be so terrifying?!"
Alien civilians who'd been live-streaming the spectacle finally bolted.
The pink-skinned gossip who'd called Terrans backward primitives now sat limp on the ground, a yellow puddle spreading beneath him.
[Ding! Extreme panic detected among Xandarian civilians! Fear Points +500!]
[Ding! Fear Points +500!]
[Ding! Fear Points +500!]
…
Standing atop the mound of corpses, Frieza listened to the endless chimes in his head and frowned slightly.
"Tch, only half a million?"
He glanced at the system panel, plainly dissatisfied.
"As expected, a small massacre is just a snack for someone of my caliber."
After all, unlocking that glittering Golden Frieza form required a full ten trillion fear points.
This chicken-feed was a drop in the ocean.
Still…
Frieza lifted his gaze to the distant sky.
Countless black dots swelled rapidly, engines rumbling like an approaching storm.
Nova Corps' main force had arrived.
Endless octagonal star-fighters blotted out the sky, hundreds of gunships sealing the airspace.
On the ground, thousands of heavily armored Nova Guards surged like a tide, surrounding the plaza.
"This is Nova Corps High Command!"
An authoritative voice boomed across the city.
"Invaders! You are surrounded! Drop your weapons or face indiscriminate bombardment!"
Faced with this overwhelming might, Frieza merely smiled in excitement.
He licked his lips. "Now that's more like it. Only despair on this scale can squeeze out the sweetest fear."
Frieza turned to his subordinates, still flushed from the slaughter.
"Apocalypse, Loki, everyone…"
He straightened his tie.
"Seems our welcome party's a bit grand."
"Since our hosts are so courteous…"
Frieza pointed a finger at the dense swarm of fighters overhead.
"Let's not be rude."
"Make it flashy, make it loud."
"I want every creature on this planet to wet their bed tonight."
His gaze turned glacial, killing intent locking onto them all.
"Remember, don't disgrace my name."
"If anyone plays the coward…"
He drew a thumb across his throat.
"I'll stuff them into a fighter engine for fuel."
"Yes, Lord Frieza!!!"
Apocalypse and Loki roared in unison, eyes blazing with battle-lust.
After all the frustration on Earth, the cosmic stage was finally theirs.
And in a one-sided slaughter like this, who wouldn't want to shine before their master?
"Men—CHARGE!!!"
Apocalypse took the lead, his blue frame enlarging into a living mountain that smashed straight into the army's line.
Frieza stood with hands in his pockets, watching the charging Apocalypse, a slight smile on his lips.
"Then let the feast of fear… officially begin."
"Oh-ho-ho-ho…"
***
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