The air didn't just stand still. It solidified.
That wasn't a metaphor. It was a physical reality.
As Frieza's third form—hideous, twisted, and resembling a xenomorph—descended, the very space of Asgard felt as if it had been injected with high-density mercury.
Heavy. Oppressive. Suffocating.
"Haa... Haa..."
The monster, nearly three meters tall with bone spikes protruding from his back and an elongated skull, hunched slightly, emitting a spine-chilling wheeze from the depths of his throat.
"My, my..."
"What a truly detestable sensation."
Frieza raised his massive, claw-like hands, examining the chitinous shell covering them. The look in his crimson eyes wasn't intoxication with his own power, but deep, utter disgust.
"This appearance... it lacks all elegance."
"It's practically a savage, unevolved beast."
"Odin..."
Frieza's head snapped around, his mouth splitting open to his ears to reveal ghastly white fangs.
"For the crime of forcing me into this hideous state... I will tear that tin suit of yours apart, piece by piece!"
BOOM!
Before the last word even echoed, Frieza vanished.
It wasn't teleportation. It was raw speed—so fast that light itself couldn't track him.
"What?!"
Inside the Destroyer armor, Odin's single eye widened in shock. Before he could even lift his greatsword—
BANG!!!
A massive foot slammed violently into the Destroyer's chest.
The Uru metal armor, built to withstand the impact of an exploding star, actually caved in under the kick!
"Guh-ack!"
Odin spat out a mouthful of golden divine blood. The massive frame of the Destroyer was launched like a cannonball, smashing through several floating mountains before crashing brutally into the end of the Bifrost.
"Is that it?"
"Too weak! You are far too weak!"
Frieza was on him instantly, a shadow adhering to its caster. He grabbed the Destroyer's helmet, his long fingers digging into the gaps of the faceplate.
"Up... you go!"
The muscles in Frieza's arms bulged as he lifted the incredibly heavy armor and swung it like a sledgehammer.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Left! Right!
The ground cracked and shattered, debris flying everywhere. The All-Father, Ruler of the Nine Realms, was being thrashed around like a ragdoll by a petulant child, completely unable to fight back.
"This is a god?"
Frieza stomped the Destroyer into the ground, purple Death Beams gathering at his fingertips.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
The beams shot down like nails, ruthlessly piercing the Destroyer's limbs and pinning him firmly to the earth.
"ARGHHHH—!!!"
Odin's pained roar echoed from within the armor. In the distance, Thanos and Hela watched, their scalps tingling with dread.
"No... it is not over..."
Pinned beneath Frieza's foot, Odin's voice was weak, but it carried a tone of resolute madness.
"Asgard... shall never fall!"
"Hela! Give me your power!!!"
Odin suddenly reached out, clawing at the void.
Hum—!
Hela, watching from afar, suddenly went pale.
"Old fool! You dare?!"
She felt the divine power within her draining away uncontrollably. It was the primordial force bound to Asgard itself. As the All-Father and the bestower of Asgard's might, Odin was forcibly extracting the power of every god on this land.
"No! That's mine! That is my power!"
Hela fell to her knees in agony, her body withering rapidly, her radiant skin turning gray and decayed.
It wasn't just her. The entire continent of Asgard was trembling, withering. The golden palaces dimmed, the waters dried up, and the leaves of Yggdrasil began to fall.
Odin was sacrificing all of Asgard!
Rumble—!!!
Infused with this colossal power, the extinguished divine fire on the Destroyer armor roared back to life, turning a grotesque black-gold.
"GET OFF!!!"
Odin let out a furious roar, and a massive shockwave of energy blasted Frieza off him.
He stood up slowly.
The weapon in his hand, the [Core of Asgard · World-Destroying Great Sword], had turned pitch black. It was wreathed in the wails of countless souls and the heavy weight of a collapsing civilization.
"Frieza..."
Odin raised the greatsword, pointing its tip at the sky. His aura had transcended the limits of the Nine Realms.
"This is the final wrath of the Nine Realms. And this... is the funeral I, Odin, have prepared for you!"
Frieza stabilized himself in mid-air, dusting off his shoulders as he looked down at Odin, whose momentum was climbing as if he intended to split the galaxy in two.
"Phew..."
"Finally, you're starting to look the part."
Frieza's voice dropped, becoming low and raspy.
"I must admit, that sword of yours... it actually makes me feel a tiny hint of a threat."
"However..."
Frieza looked at his own spiked, monstrous hands with undisguised loathing.
"Claiming victory in this hideous form... it goes against my aesthetic principles entirely."
"Since you've played all your trump cards... and since you've made your peace with death..."
Frieza slowly spread his arms, his body beginning to vibrate violently.
"Then I suppose I don't mind giving you a little more despair."
"Watch closely, Odin."
"This... is the true Emperor of the Universe!"
BOOM——————!!!
An aura thousands of times more terrifying than before—one that caused cracks to form in the fabric of reality itself—erupted from Frieza.
Crack! Crack!
The hard purple shell on his body began to fracture and peel away. Like a butterfly breaking from a cocoon, blinding white light shot from the cracks, illuminating the dark universe.
Meanwhile, on the dark side of the moon.
Uatu the Watcher, the bald, big-headed observer, dropped his recording device in shock. Clatter.
His eyes, which had witnessed the rise and fall of countless parallel universes, were now filled with terror.
"What... what energy level is this?!"
"This pure destructive energy... it has surpassed the Skyfather threshold!"
Deep in the cosmos, the Celestial Arishem's massive electronic eyes flashed red.
"Abnormal energy fluctuation detected."
"Threat Level: Extinction Class."
"Re-evaluating Milky Way coordinates..."
Even in dimensions far more distant, the five abstract entities representing the rules of the universe—Eternity, Infinity, Death... all seemed to feel an unknown insect gnawing at the foundations of the cosmos.
Back in Asgard.
The white light faded.
The hideous, xenomorph-like monster was gone.
In its place stood a small, sleek, pure white figure with purple crystal-like sections only on his head and chest. He looked unassuming. Almost cute, even.
But the aura radiating from him caused the surrounding space to naturally twist and collapse, as if the universe rejected his existence yet had no choice but to submit at his feet.
Frieza—Fourth Form!
Final Form!
Power Level—120,000,000!!!
"Haa..."
Frieza took a deep breath, his crimson eyes now clear and profound. He clenched his fist, feeling the infinite power surging within him like a boundless ocean.
"This is... perfection."
He looked down at Odin in the Destroyer armor, who stood ready with his giant sword as if facing a great enemy.
The corners of Frieza's mouth curled into a smile that was elegant in the extreme, and cruel in the extreme.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Since you're going to die anyway..."
"Allow me to let you die in the presence of a true God."
"ROAR!!!!"
Odin's sanity had been completely consumed by the demonic sword. He didn't care how strong this pretty boy looked. All he knew was that he had to swing this sword!
"RAGNAROK!!!"
Odin gripped the hilt with both hands and raised it high. The World-Destroying Great Sword—which had absorbed Asgard, Hela, and the source of the Nine Realms—came crashing down, trailing a black blade of light capable of slicing the galaxy in half.
With this strike, even time seemed to be severed!
And yet.
Facing this world-ending blow, Frieza simply floated there quietly, hands in his pockets. He didn't even attempt to dodge.
"Too slow."
He whispered softly.
Then, he slowly extended a hand.
Not a fist. Not a chop.
Just...
A single index finger.
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