Frieza's eyes lingered on the empty space where a body had been moments ago. With deliberate slowness, he wiped a faint smear of red from his cheek. His eyes narrowed as he studied the droplet—his own blood.
For a long, tense moment, he was in disbelief. Then, his lips pressed into a thin, hard line, and the atmosphere around him became frigid.
His jaws tightened, teeth grinding together as his expression twisted through a torrent of emotions, each uglier than the last. His eyes flashed with a dangerous light before he spat through clenched teeth, "The sheer audacity! To think he didn't even bother to show up in person!"
Frieza's aura grew darker, and then, without warning, sharp, maniacal laughter burst from him.
"Ohohoho!" But his voice suddenly rose sharply, filled with bitter venom. "I have never been so humiliated in my LIFE! Me! The Emperor of the Universe! Not even worthy of a personal appearance!"
But the laughter suddenly cut off as abruptly as it had begun, and Frieza's face went completely still, hardening into something beyond rage, beyond fury—emotionless and unnervingly empty. His eyes were no longer like those of a living being; they were something more eerie, something... inhuman.
Frieza's icy gaze swept over the remaining Z Fighters, who stood stiff and tense under the cold, empty void that Frieza's eyes had become. Though they no longer trembled in fear as they had at the start of the battle, Frieza's immense wrath remained suffocating.
After what seemed like an eternity, Frieza spoke again, utterly emotionless.
"Is he coming back?"
Despite the distance, his words were heard with perfect clarity.
And even though Frieza's words were heard, those who caught the question certainly didn't take it that way. They flinched, and no one responded—whether out of reluctance or the uncertainty of what to say.
But Frieza was not someone to be ignored.
In the blink of an eye, he was in their midst, having arrived before they could register the movement. His hand lashed out, seizing the nearest target—Gohan. The young Saiyan kicked his feet helplessly in the air as Frieza's fingers tightened around his throat.
"I believe I asked you all a question," Frieza hissed. Soon, the stench of burning flesh emanated as smoke curled up from the hand still clenched around Gohan's neck.
Gohan's terror quickly transformed into agony.
"He'll be back!/Ajax will be back!" Goku and Nappa shouted simultaneously. The two exchanged startled glances at their unintentional synchronicity before their focus snapped back to Frieza.
Frieza's eyes flitted between them, searching. Whatever he saw must have pleased him, because a cruel smile slowly slid back into place.
Oddly enough, the return of Frieza's mockery was a welcomed relief.
"Ah, marvelous! So, his name is Ajax," Frieza mused darkly, chuckling. "Hohoho, Ajax, Ajax, Ajax." He repeated the name menacingly, letting it off his tongue like fine wine. "I suppose the third time will indeed be the charm. You see, I've developed a rather... irresistible urge to tie up this loose end once and for all. It's quite rare, really—feeling the craving to kill someone with such persistence."
His voice was calm and smooth as silk as he stared down at Gohan.
Frieza flung Gohan aside like a discarded toy with a lazy flick of his wrist. The boy's body soared through the air, but before it could smash into the ground, Ginyu's body lunged forward, catching him at the last second.
Frieza sneered at the sight.
"Well," he sighed, shaking his head. "You lot are all disappointingly dull by comparison, so it seems I'll have to entertain myself for a while. Now tell me—what would be a more appropriate welcome for dear Ajax, hmm? Should I scatter pieces of your corpses across the battlefield? A little here, a little there? Or maybe I should savor the sound of your tortured screams as I drive each of you into madness? Ah, decisions, decisions. Feel free to weigh in—I'm open to suggestions."
His smile deepened as his gaze drifted over the group, daring each Z Fighter to speak, but as expected, no one did.
Frieza shrugged.
"Oh well~, looks like I'll have to mix things up. A bit of death here, a touch of torture there—why limit myself? And just so we're clear, I won't be as lenient as I have been. If you manage to survive, you'll get front-row seats to the slaughter I'll unleash on those foolish enough to come for you. If you don't, well, your saviors will be greeted by the sight of your cold, lifeless corpses. A win-win, wouldn't you agree?"
Frieza stepped back to give himself some room. With a look of complete indifference, he raised his hand and curled his finger in the universal gesture of "bring it on."
"Shall we put an end to this little charade?" he asked with a wicked smile. "But please," he added moments later, "let's not forget to enjoy ourselves."
The way he said "enjoy" left no doubt about his twisted definition of the word.
In an instant, the tension snapped as the Z Fighters all sprang into action. All except for Piccolo, who was still groaning in agony as he lay crumpled in the distance, and Goku-Ginyu, who, despite being able to move, was no longer capable of a high-level battle.
"VOLCANIC ERUPTION!"
Nappa raised two fingers skyward, and a moment later, the ground around Frieza exploded in a violent eruption of fire. Almost instantly, Frieza's figure was swallowed by the thick cloud of scorching ash. Nappa wasted no time summoning a spinning, orange-hued energy disk above his palm.
From nearby, Krillin's jaw dropped, gawking, as the crimson aura of the Kaioken flared angrily around him. "Hey! That's my move!" he shouted indignantly at Nappa as he formed his own Destructo Disk. "You totally stole it! And it's called Destructo Disk™!"
"I didn't steal a damn thing! I recreated it with my 53,000 IQ!"
"Recreated it? You just made it a different COLOR!"
"Shut your trap, you peewee-sized runt!" Nappa barked back. "Like hell, I'm calling it something as retarded as 'Destructo Disk!'"
Ignoring Krillin's continued outrage, Nappa let out a fierce roar and hurled his glowing energy sawblade, using his Ki sense to guide it through the swirling ash cloud. The disk tore into the ash with a sharp hiss.
Just as the attack vanished into the ash cloud, raw energy exploded from within, blasting the ash away to reveal Frieza, completely unscathed. His eyes lazily followed the sawblade before he casually caught it between his thumb and forefinger, stopping it dead in its tracks.
"Pathetic. At least his could actually cut me," Frieza scoffed as his tail flicked idly. Without so much as a second glance, he tossed the disk back toward Nappa, forcing the hulking Saiyan to duck out of its path as it buzzed past him.
Not willing to be outdone, Krillin launched his own Destructo Disk with a heroic shout. "DES-TRUC-TOOO DISK!"
Unfortunately, the shouting did little to enhance the attack's strength or effectiveness.
The Destructo Disk had barely left Krillin's hand before a thin beam of purple energy shot from Frieza's fingertip and through the sawblade, shattering the disk into harmless particles. Krillin could only stand there, slack-jawed, as the remains of his attack drifted down like dust around him.
Eyeing Vegeta, Frieza suddenly vanished like a ghost, effortlessly avoiding the Prince's strike, only to reappear silently behind Nappa.
Nappa's eyes widened in alarm as he sensed Frieza's presence behind him. Stormforged Mantle's electricity was already crackling across his body as he instinctively whipped around to deliver a lightning-fast karate chop.
But as Nappa's powerful strike barreled toward Frieza, the tyrant only spared it a glance. With a single hand, he caught Nappa's attack mid-swing, absorbing its force without so much as a tremor.
Frieza smiled cruelly.
He yanked Nappa's arm and twisted it sharply. The sickening crack of bone breaking filled the air as the Saiyan's General's shoulder was nearly torn from its socket. Nappa snarled in agony, teeth bared, but unfortunately, his torment was far from over.
With horrifying ease, Frieza tightened his grip on Nappa's wrist and crushed the bones to powder. The gruesome sound of grinding bones was drowned out by Nappa's pained roar as he stumbled back, freed from Frieza's grasp. Instinctively, Nappa reached to clutch his mangled arm with his other hand.
But Frieza had no intention of allowing even that small relief. In a blur of movement, his hand struck and shattered Nappa's right arm in multiple places.
Frieza laughed as he watched both of Nappa's arms hanging limp and useless by his side.
"Here's some friendly advice, Nappa," the tyrant said as he leaned forward, "that shiny bald head of yours is far too easy of a target. Perhaps it's time you considered growing out some hair."
Nappa's eyes widened as Frieza's slender fingers clamped down on his bare scalp. Without a moment's pause, Frieza yanked him forward and drove a vicious knee into his chest. The sharp, unmistakable sound of ribs snapping filled the air, not unlike dry twigs breaking underfoot, and Nappa's body was launched through the sky, a trail of crimson blood marking his trajectory.
He crashed into the ground, skidding to a halt, barely hanging on to life as his chest heaved with ragged, uneven breaths. It was a miracle Nappa was alive at all, considering that his ribcage had been shattered beyond recovery.
Meanwhile, Frieza casually dusted off his hands and gave Nappa's broken form no further thought. His attention drifted toward Vegeta and the short, bald one, both frozen in shock at the brutal fate that had befallen their ally.
From the corner of his eye, Frieza noticed Ginyu slowly trying to push himself to his feet. Using his speed, Frieza disappeared and reappeared in front of his former subordinate, a powerful energy blast already aimed at his chest.
Mutilating his former subordinate's body seemed somewhat inappropriate—an insult to the loyal service Ginyu had performed. Reducing it to ash seemed comparatively more dignified, more fitting for a soldier who had served faithfully.
But just as Frieza was ready to cremate Ginyu, the Elite Captain's body suddenly slumped and dropped to all fours. Ginyu's limbs trembled as though barely able to bear his own weight, and then, in a display so ridiculous it stopped Frieza mid-motion, Ginyu began to croak and awkwardly hop away like some wounded animal.
Frieza stared blankly, utterly baffled and bamboozled. His head slowly turned as he watched Ginyu stumble clumsily over the rocky terrain.
He blinked. Then he blinks again.
Frieza turned to the Z fighters, then back to Ginyu—continuously back and forth—as if he needed to double-check if this was actually happening.
For the first time since Cooler tricked him into taking that hallucinogen a century ago, Frieza found himself seriously questioning his own reality.
With an irritated sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose, massaging it in frustration as he tried to make sense of all... this. For a brief moment, an unusual thought crossed his mind—had he actually gone mad? But, on second thought, that was unlikely.
He muttered under his breath, "I didn't accidentally eat one of Cui's spiked cookies, did I? Surely, he wouldn't have the audacity. Though he did nearly overdose Dodoria a few years back, and he even got Zarbon that one time... Oh, wait—he's dead."
Without bothering to lift his head, Frieza flicked his wrist and sent the blast meant for Ginyu veering off to his side. It streaked through the air and collided with Vegeta's attack. Frieza's energy swallowed the Saiyan's Ki without effort, pushing it back as if it hadn't even existed.
Vegeta barely dodged in time to avoid the counterattack.
But Frieza paid Vegeta's attempt no mind. His attention remained fixed on Ginyu—or rather, the pitiful creature his former elite had seemed to become.
With a faint sigh, Frieza extended his hand. The air seemed to freeze as Ginyu's body stiffened, trapped by an invisible force. There was no grand gesture, no dramatic display. With just a thought, Frieza snapped Ginyu's neck with his telekinesis.
The purple body gave one final, futile twitch before hitting the ground, lifeless.
Frieza turned, already shifting his focus elsewhere. Eventually, his predatory gaze zeroed in on Krillin, who had raised both hands to his forehead in the stance for the Solar Flare. Frieza's lips curled into a smirk.
Before Krillin could so much as blink, Frieza was already standing right in front of him.
Normally, Krillin's sharp instincts served him well, but Frieza's sudden arrival had stopped his heart cold, leaving him frozen in place. He remained stuck in the Solar Flare pose, trembling. Every survival instinct screamed at him to run, but his body refused to obey his commands to move. His mind just…went blank.
For what seemed like an eternity but was actually a few seconds, Krillin stood paralyzed as he stared into the eyes of the galaxy's most ruthless tyrant. The earthling's pupils shrank, and his breath caught in his throat, but somehow he managed a shaky smile.
"Uh, go easy on me… please? First time fighting an emperor and all…"
Frieza's smirk deepened, and he let out a soft, almost amused laugh.
"Ha! No."
The brief glimmer of amusement in Frieza's eyes vanished and was replaced by cruelty. Using only a fraction of his full strength, Frieza flexed his arm and sent his fist shooting forward in a blur.
The impact was... horrific.
Frieza's fist didn't just strike Krillin—it tore through him. First came the shockwave, then the fading resistance of Krillin's flesh as Frieza's hand punched clean through the earthling's gut, piercing through flesh and bone with ease.
Krillin's eyes went wide as his breath escaped him in a ragged gasp. His mouth opened but no sound came, and he looked down, dazed, at the sight of Frieza's arm impaling him. Already, his blood was staining the Frieza Force armor he wore.
"Ohoho! You are tight! Is this your first time being penetrated?" Frieza's voice oozed mockery. He chuckled at his own little joke but suddenly paused, realizing his innuendo had come out far more suggestive than he had intended.
"Oh goodness, it seems Zarbon has rubbed off on me," he added, shaking his head.
Krillin, however, didn't appreciate the joke nearly as much as Frieza did. He was a bit more preoccupied with the arm currently skewering him.
"T-that w-wasn't gentle... not—not at all!"
Frieza leaned in, his face just inches from Krillin's. "Well, I did say no, didn't I?"
Frieza stared into Krillin's eyes. With a shake of his arm, Frieza let Krillin slide off, leaving Krillin to collapse to the ground with a wet thud, blood pooling beneath him.
The tyrant glanced down at Krillin with mild amusement as he straightened up. Just then, the sound of Vegeta's charge caught his ear. Just as the Saiyan launched a powerful punch aimed directly at him, Frieza casually tilted his head and let the fist sail past him with ease.
In one smooth motion, Frieza extended his hand and caught the Saiyan's follow-up kick mid-air, gripping the foot tightly. He smiled.
"My, my, Vegeta, you don't seem too upset over the imminent demise of your allies! How cold! Have you really not made any friends during your time away from me?"
Vegeta's response was immediate and fueled by rage. He slammed down a double-handed hammer strike containing all of his immense physical power down on Frieza's head, but the tyrant effortlessly caught the blow with his other hand.
The small shockwave from the impact was felt across the battlefield.
"Who? The comedic relief?" Vegeta snarled as he strained against Frieza's unparalleled strength. "He's been useless this entire fight!"
"F—fuck you, V—Vegeta!" Krillin's weak but offended voice reached them.
Frieza turned his head slightly, casting only a fleeting glance at Krillin. The tyrant smirked as he returned his focus to Vegeta.
"To be fair to the weakling, Vegeta, you haven't exactly been of much use in this fight yourself. The only one who's made any effective contribution is that boy, Ajax."
But suddenly, Frieza's expression shifted. His eyes sharpened as he snapped his head around, catching sight of Gohan charging toward him like a missile. A crimson aura flared around the young Saiyan, and a glowing Ki blade shimmered menacingly around his hand.
Frieza remembered this one had some bite.
Reacting instinctively, Frieza gauged Gohan's speed and positioned his tail to intercept the attack. Gohan was significantly faster thanks to the Kaioken, but still not fast enough to catch him off guard.
Or so Frieza thought.
Across from Frieza, Gohan gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with unbreakable resolve.
Up until now, he had relied on the skills Piccolo had imparted to him. However, it was sometimes all too easy to forget that this time around, he had two mentors.
Electricity suddenly sparked around Gohan's figure as he stacked Nappa's signature Stormforged Mantle on top of the Kaioken. With both techniques active simultaneously, Gohan's speed increased immensely, far exceeding Frieza's expectations.
Gohan darted past Frieza's tail just before it could constrict, and with his aura crackling like a raging storm, Gohan plunged his Ki blade directly at Frieza's left eye.