Villain Retirement

"Get the fuck out of my way!"

"Girl, stop!"

"Get out of my fucking way! I knew it! I fucking knew it! All of you told me it's impossible but I fucking knew it!"

"We can't let you out there."

"Why the fuck not!?"

"You know why!"

"..."

Hannah's screams echoed throughout the entirety of the Academy — even those that were underground could hear her. Well, probably not, but it certainly sounded like that from the Baby Crew's ears. But finally, she stopped…

…not before Silvie pushed her to the ground, however.

They were in front of the Academy gates, with Bella practically covering and reinforcing the doorway, as well as the entire gate with a slab of metal. Even Golden Fox was there, seemingly confused as to what was happening.

"We can't let you out there, girl," Bella sighed.

"You know what happened last time," Gary whispered just enough that Golden Fox wouldn't hear him, "We got wiped — he might really kill us this time."

"W… well, I don't think he would kill us," Katrina took in a small gulp, "Maybe just… hospitalize us?"

"This is the last time I am asking nicely," the ground beneath Hannah started to melt, "Get out of my fucking way if you don't want to get hurt," she then said as she stood up.

Silvie, however, stood firm as she shook her head, "No."

"What is it to you guys anyway!?" I am going alone! None of you even have to look at him!"

"This isn't about us getting hurt, this is about you hurting yourself again! Listen to yourself!" Silvie stomped her foot, causing the ground to shake, "We were the ones who had to prevent you from drowning. You don't understand that!"

"..." Hannah did not really say anything as her eyebrows and lips just trembled. Not only Silvie, but all of the Baby Crew blocked her path; their eyes, seemingly unrelenting.

"..."

"..."

"I'm… confused." And finally, Golden Fox, who had just been watching the situation, could no longer help herself as she joined in.

"You… don't have to worry about this," Bella sighed as she looked at Golden Fox, "It's just… some personal matters."

"You guys… really didn't know that Paragon is Riley?"

"...What?" And as soon as Golden Fox uttered those words, even Hannah looked at her.

"What… do you mean by that? You knew Paragon was Riley?"

"Hm," Golden Fox nodded, "I saw his name the very first time we met… since I already knew Riley before that. I could see his name if we looked into each other's eyes."

"Right…" Gary slightly breathed out, "...just one of your many abilities."

"...What does that mean?" Golden Fox could not help but raise an eyebrow as she heard Gary's slightly twisted tone.

"Y—"

"!!!"

And before Gary could say anything else, Hannah suddenly let out a deafening shriek.

"Why is this happening!?" She then started lashing out where she stood, "Why didn't he just fucking stay dead!?"

And very soon, tears started trailing on her face.

"Fuck!" And once again, her screams echoed through the entire Academy grounds which spanned kilometers. The Baby Crew could really only close their eyes and look away. They…

…never wanted to see Hannah like this again.

When she killed Riley, it was… really hard on her.

If it wasn't for Charlotte arriving the moment she did back then… then Hannah wouldn't be here anymore.

They thought they could give Hannah some time to grieve, mourn, and think for herself as they waited for her to come out of her room. But when they finally barged inside, they found her sitting in a pool of her own blood. She…

…slit her throat.

Just a minute more, and she would have died.

Yes, they were afraid of Riley — extremely frightened, in fact. But they were more afraid for Hannah; afraid that something like that might happen again.

They were shocked to find out Riley was alive, but that only lasted for a second as all their concerns shifted to Hannah… they truly didn't want to see her like that again.

"If you wanna go out there, I will help you."

And as they showered themselves in silence, a voice approached them. They all turned to look as to who it could be, only to see a somewhat familiar face.

It took a few seconds… but it finally registered in their minds as to who this woman could be.

"...V?"

A previous member of the Hope Guild… and one of the unfortunate victims of Riley's guile.

They almost could not recognize her as she was just… too thin. Her hair was greying, her lips dark… and her eyes sunken.

"I'll help," V breathed out; her voice, slightly hoarse, "I'll help you kill that fucking bast—"

And before she could even finish what she was going to say, the sound of her retching and vomiting to the ground hissed in the air; once again causing the Baby Crew to look away.

"Let's just… all returned to the base for now."

And with everyone defeated, they all returned to the Korean Shaved Ice store; their sighs almost brought the entire shop down.

"So… the kid's alive."

Katrina and Golden Fox were not there, as they didn't want to tell Riley's true identity to anyone else for now. Instead, to replace Katrina… Charlotte was currently sitting with the Baby Crew plus V.

"What… are you guys planning to do about this situation?" Charlotte muttered.

"We… we plan to fucking kill him, that's what," V was the first to say something; her fingers, tapping endlessly on the table as her entire face was covered in sweat.

"Are you… okay?" Gary could not help but squint as he looked at V.

"..." V didn't really say anything as she just grabbed a flask from her pocket. She was about to open it, but Charlotte swatted it away before she could do so.

"Why did you do that!?"

"Don't do this to yourself," Charlotte sighed, "You've already suffered enough. Your rehabilitation has also been going along—"

"Fuck you!" V stood up as she pointed at Charlotte, "This is your fault for giving birth to psychos! I am so fucking tired of this! Why do we even need to hide from the world that Riley is Satan!? He… he hurt so many people and he—"

"Sleep."

Charlotte touched V's forehead, and as she did so, the whites of V's eyes quickly showed themselves. Charlotte quickly caught her head, gently placing it on the table as she let out a sigh.

"Rehab…" Bella gulped, "Is she…?"

"Alcohol and drug addiction," Charlotte shook her head, "No one was really there to help her cope."

"My brother…" Hannah whispered, "Riley… really did destroy so many lives, didn't he?"

"Well— if you think about it, it's nothing compared to the body count of the House of Sup—" Gary did not continue his words as he noticed Silvie and Bella staring at him.

"If you plan to… confront him, I'll join," Charlotte slightly raised her voice, "I'm… tired of pretending this has nothing to do with me. But first… do any of you even have a plan?"

"..."

"..."

"Why… why does it feel like he really doesn't regret anything?"

No one really answered Charlotte; instead, Hannah just continued to talk as she just looked at the table in front of her.

"Did Empress know that Paragon is Riley? Why… why would she do that if she knew?" Hannah whispered to herself, "What the fuck is this? Just… why would—"

And then, for some weird reason, Hannah remembered her touching Paragon's chest.

"Fuck!" She screamed... and then suddenly started slapping herself from the disgusting thoughts that suddenly surfaced in her mind.

"Stop… stop!"

Silvie quickly got up and grabbed Hannah's hands.

"Please… Hannah, stop…"

"Why!?"

"Please… just stop," Silvie then carefully embraced Hannah from behind, "Please… don't lose your head… not you."

"I knew…" Hannah seemed to not be hearing anyone else but herself, "I knew it was him the very first time I laid my eyes on him… I knew. There was just something about him that just… felt so familiar… it felt warm… it was because he's Riley… fuck!"

Tears once again started to trail on Hannah's face as she held Silvie's arms and slightly rested her head on her,

"What… do we even do?" She whispered, "What do I even do? I…"

Hannah then looked at the rest of the group one by one, "The truth is, I don't…

…I don't want to kill him again."

"..."

"I know… I know he's a fucking mass murdered," Hannah shook her head, "But he… he's my fucking brother. It's so selfish but whenever… I remember his face that day…"

"..."

"I never told this to anyone before… but he cried," Hannah forced a chuckle as her breaths became erratic, "It was… it was just a single drop. But right at that moment… all I could see was my brother… I felt like I finally met him…

…and then he was just gone."

"..."

"I know… I know it's unfair, I know it's wrong… but I want to save him. I don't know how, I don't know what from…

…but I want to save my baby brother."

***

"...This man is beyond saving."

"..."

Back in the Paige and Paragon agency, the Crimson Paladin has stopped streaming; as no one seemed to be coming and Riley had also asked her to rest for a while.

And so, the two of them were just casually sitting in the lobby; as if there weren't hundreds of bodies hanging just outside the building.

In fact, she could still see some of them squirming and trying to break free — but whenever they did so, some part of them would shatter.

"..." Riley seemed to be doing this consciously, as each time someone moved… he would laugh.

This man… is beyond saving.

  Is it some lesser evil thing? Is that it? Is that why the Pope ordered her to assist him?

Just what… just what could the Pope be thinking?