Villain Retirement

"It's been a long time, Ms. Croft…

…Is Diley around?"

"..."

3 seconds. It took 3 seconds for Ellie's eyes to start to widen as she looked at the masked young man in front of her. She initially just thought it was some sort of weird hero that wanted to ask them something about the area… but she knew her name. But most importantly…

…she knew Diley's old name.

And that was all Ellie needed to know that whoever this person was in front of her, he was dangerous. Because those who knew Diley's name were all related to Darkday. One of the guests? It was possible.

The last time Diley tried to visit the Guesthouse, it was already empty. And since they couldn't find even a single corpse, that would mean all of them were able to escape. If this man really was a guest, then he was only here for one thing– revenge.

Maybe he's not, but it didn't matter… she needed to protect her home.

And so, with her thoughts finally centering, the veins on Ellie's hand started to billow; the doorknob she was holding, almost instantly turning into some sort of stone that quickly stretched out to the rest of the door– and without even a second later, spikes were already on their way to gouge out Riley's eyes,

But before they could reach them… the stone-like spikes disintegrated; their pointy tips, almost as if turning into glass an inch away from hitting Riley's eyes as they shattered.

This didn't seem to faze Ellie, however, as she once again summoned more and more spikes to turn Riley into a porcupine. But alas, every attempt to poke a hole in him was a failure as everything just shattered before they could reach him.

"S… sis!? What's happening!?"

"Elliot! Hide!" Ellie's eyes were completely glued on Riley as she screamed; gesturing to his brother to hide, "C… call John!"

"But–"

"Go!" Ellie then clapped her hands, creating a wall of metal stone to quickly surround the entire house; completely putting a shield and leaving whoever the visitor was outside. She, however, did not join her brother to hide; her eyes, just staring at the reinforced door she bolted shut.

She could hear a muffled voice seeping from the cracks of the barrier she made. But other than that… the visitor didn't seem to be showing any signs of trying to break through.

But before Ellie could even let out a breath of relief, a white light suddenly seeped through the edges of the door. No… it didn't just seep through, it completely penetrated through it– and very soon, the light trailed across the edges of the door perfectly, not even damaging it with a scratch.

A loud crackle then muffled from the outside, followed by a loud thud that caused a tiny quake around the house.

"S… shit," Ellie then stomped her foot on the floor, causing over a thousand needles to emerge from it, "J… just try to enter, you fuck! I'm legally allowed to kill you! Just try it!"

Ellie could hear a small rustle, prompting her to add even more needles as she anticipated the visitor barging in at any time.

Except it didn't happen; instead, he just…

…politely knocked.

"Ms. Croft," she then heard,

"I think there's been a misunderstanding, I am not here to hurt you. It's me…

…Riley Ross."

And as soon as Ellie heard that, the stones that were covering the entire house like a dome soon withered away; her breaths, oddly calming down even though the most dangerous person that could ever knock on their door knocked.

After all, there really was no use in trying to struggle. If Riley wanted to kill her, she would have already been dead without her knowing… or he would be torturing him right now. But none of those were happening– and so, Ellie just let out another breath and opened the door.

"You… you really are alive."

Ellie could doubt more, but with the way he addresses her partnered with his oddly calm demeanor… this masked man in front of her could really be no one else but Riley.

"I suppose I am, Ms. Croft," Riley nodded, "May… I come in?"

"..." Ellie squinted her eyes at Riley for a few seconds, before once again letting out a sigh and stepping to the side, "Yeah, sure. Why the fuck not."

"Thank you, Ms. Croft," Riley nodded as he stepped inside, "You have a very lively home. Elliot has also grown the last time I threatened you with his torture."

"...And I see that besides your appearance, you haven't changed much."

"On the contrary…

…I think I might have."

***

"Ellie!? Elliot!?"

A few minutes after the unexpected visitor entered their house, a man sporting short blonde hair barged into the house; his clothes, riddled with all sorts of dirt and strands of straw. His steps were hurried as he rushed inside; his eyes, almost searching every corner of the house for a sign of anything amiss.

And finally, as he reached the dining area, he saw Ellie, Elliot… and a stranger casually having a cold glass of milk at the table.

"What… is going on? Who–" And before the blonde man could finish his words, his eyes landed on the stranger's face. Although his hair and the colors of his eyes were completely different, the blonde man wouldn't mistake the stranger for anyone else but…

"B… Boss?"

"Long time no see, D– John. I have to say, it's quite an unoriginal name."

"Ellie… chose it," John then slowly approached the table; his feet, seemingly hesitant to go near Riley, "Is… is that really you, boss? You… you're alive?"

"I suppose. But I am not your boss anymore, John," Riley muttered as he took a sip of the milk, "Your cows seem very healthy."

"Y… yes?"

It took a couple more minutes for John to be able to wrap everything in his head. He couldn't even sense Riley, and he can't sense him now even though he was right in front of him. But after drinking several glasses of water, he finally sat down at the table and joined them.

"You look quite different, John," Riley then said as he looked at John's face.

"Y… yes?" John then said as he let out a small smile– his lips, far away from his ears as he did so, "I… I had my mouth done. There's… a surgery to make them smaller."

"I could see that," Riley nodded, "If you want, I think Aerith still has a serum that could change the color of your hair and eyes permanently."

"Megawoman is also back!?" This time, it was Ellie who responded as she lightly slammed her palms on the table in shock.

"Yes, we went on a little adventure in space. We visited another planet."

"What?" The smile on John's face grew as he heard Riley's words, "You… you finally did it boss."

"Hm," Riley nodded, "I became an astronaut."

"..." Ellie could only squint her eyes as John and Riley started nodding to themselves, but after a few seconds, she looked at Riley and asked about the serum.

"I'll try and give you some, John," Riley responded, "But that's not why I am here. I wanted to ask you something."

"W… what is it? Anything, bo–"

"I'm not your boss," Riley let out a loud sigh before John could finish his words, "I wanted to ask you…

…what exactly does it mean for someone to be able to understand me?"

"..."

"..."

"...What?"