Space was wailing.
The tremor didn't travel through air, the very fabric of the dimension groaned under unbearable strain.
As Hargen's head drifted into the cosmic void, the dark, lifeless star-field suddenly lit up with rows of star-bright points.
Bzzt... Bzzt...
Accompanied by the sound of space being torn colossal figures vast enough to blot out galaxies slowly emerged from hyperspace ripples.
One, two, five… a full ten!
Ten giants in heavy armor of differing colors and designs.
They abruptly filled the orbital space around Xandar.
Each stood over two thousand feet tall, their bodies radiating ancient, weathered cosmic energy. It was the battle formation of the Celestials.
Exitar the Exterminator, Eson the Seracher, Nezarr the Calculator, Jemiah the Analyzer…
Cosmic Gods who existed only in myth, beings even Odin treated with caution. Now, all had assembled for the sake of a single mortal.
"Warning."
The foremost, a dark-gold-armored Celestial gripping a war-hammer large enough to shatter planets, boomed in a vast electronic voice.
"Anomaly code: Frieza."
"Threat level: elevated again."
"Verdict: uncontainable, unjudgeable."
Its cold electronic eyes locked on Frieza hovering in mid-air. No emotion, only absolute execution intent.
"Initiate final directive: Format."
"Erase the target's star system and all life within thirty thousand light-years to prevent viral spread."
BOOM!!!
This death sentence echoed across Planet Frieza 002 in an instant.
Billions of faces contorted into sheer terror.
Erase the star system?
Thirty thousand light-years around?
Not just murder, they intended to scatter their ashes to the cosmic wind.
[Ding! Extreme despair detected! Fear points +100 billion!]
[Ding! Fear points +100 billion!]
…
Listening to the system's frantic alerts, Frieza wasn't angry in the least. Instead, he calmly straightened his slightly rumpled collar.
"My, my…"
He lifted his head, crimson eyes sweeping across the sky-blotting steel titans.
A smile of utter disdain, even pity, appeared on his lips.
"Erase my assets?"
"And scatter my back-garden to the wind?"
Frieza slowly raised a finger and wagged it gently. "You tin cans think size gives your words weight?"
"If so…"
Frieza tilted his head, a cruel grin blooming.
"I will have to teach you some manners."
"Execute!" Exitar ignored the taunt.
All ten Celestials raised their arms.
BZZT—
Ten beams of cosmic energy, different hues, equally apocalyptic, gathered madly in their palms. The power made surrounding space buckle, birthing miniature black holes.
"Boring."
Facing a combined strike capable of vaporizing galaxies, Frieza merely murmured a single word.
He leaned slightly forward, those scarlet eyes blazing with boundless arrogance.
"I'm not targeting anyone. I'm saying everyone present is trash."
BOOM!!!
Before the echo faded, Frieza vanished.
So fast even the Time Stone couldn't track him.
The next instant, he appeared before a Celestial called Eson.
"You're first!"
With a cold shout, Frieza's white fist, carrying 120 million power level, smashed into Eson's faceplate.
DONG!!!
A planet-shaking thud.
Eson's massive head snapped back and the titan staggered like it had been rammed by a light-speed train.
"Hm?" Frieza frowned.
Not broken?
A punch that would have beheaded Hargen had only dented the green can's mask?
"Armor upgraded?"
"So warriors get thicker plating than bureaucrats, huh?"
Before he finished griping—
WHOOSH!
A gigantic metal palm, tearing space, swatted at him like a fly.
It was Exitar!
"Scram!"
Frieza fired a Ki blast in return.
BOOM!
The purple orb exploded against the huge hand, stalling it for an instant.
Then a crimson cosmic ray lanced in from the side.
Celestial's strike!
"Tch."
Frieza flickered aside, barely dodging. Where the beam grazed, space was seared into a permanent black hole.
"Annoying…"
Hovering in vacuum, he eyed the ten Celestials ringing him.
His face finally darkened.
These things were not only tough, they coordinated flawlessly—energy blasts, physical strikes, spatial locks… no chance to breathe.
Bang!
He kicked one Celestial away and two more instantly filled the gap.
"Damn it!"
"Why are these tin cans as sticky as taffy?"
Dodging a war-hammer, Frieza looked rattled.
Though they couldn't truly harm him, fighting only to chip paint was an insult to the emperor of the universe's pride.
"Huff…"
Minutes of high-speed evasion and counter-attack later, Frieza perched on an asteroid shard, panting slightly.
A speck of dust marred his once-pristine white skin and crimson eyes burned with mounting fury.
"Unforgivable."
"Absolutely unforgivable!"
He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms.
"I am destined to rule the multiverse! How could I be tangled by scrap iron running on scripts?!"
"Since base form can't crack your turtle shells…"
He lifted his head.
A cruel, manic grin split his cold, perfect face.
"Then let me show you true despair!"
BZZT——
A terror that made the entire star system quake brewed within him.
Golden light burst from every pore, every eye, every cell.
"I'd saved this form for someone higher on the food chain, but since you're eager for the scrapyard, I'll oblige."