Villain Retirement

There was a certain joke that circled throughout the culture of the evaniels for thousands of years; a joke that most probably every men, women, child, and even old people that could barely run anymore still know.

The joke goes like this,

'There once was a farmer named Valasmir who circled an entire planet to search for his shovel. But it turns out, he was holding it all along.'

That was it. That was the joke.

Most of the other races couldn't really understand how that was a joke, or how it could even be funny in the first place. But for evaniels, it held a meaning that only they could understand even if it was the first time they heard it.

The evaniels tell it all the time to the other races; but each time, they have to explain what it meant. The weirdest part of this was— that the joke was intended to be told to foreigners.

It was a way for the evaniels to explain how different their way of life is compared to others. If a non-evaniel farmer were to lose a shovel, the most they would search in would be their tool shed, the vicinity of their farm; or in frustration, will try their luck in the bathroom— maybe they left it there.

It was normal to search those places, it wasn't a big deal at all.

Now, if an evaniel farmer were to lose a shovel, there was absolutely no limit to where they would search, it wasn't a big deal at all. Because by the time a non-evaniel farmer has searched his entire farm, an evaniel farmer would have probably also circled their entire planet.

Whenever the evaniels try to explain the joke, however, the other races also saw something else that they held— impulsiveness.

One could say that time moves differently for them; making them quick to act compared to most, making it the number 1 cause of their deaths.

There was still one race, however, that they have not told the joke to— the humans. They did not need to, however, as one of these evaniels already turned into a paste in front of them; splattered like a bug on a windshield going a hundred miles an hour.

"Do you know what the greatest enemy of a sprinter is, Prince Val?"

"...What?"

"A very hard wall."

"..."

The other people inside the confinement bay could really only look at each other as a wide smile very slowly crawled on Riley's face. Like the prince, most of the evaniels saw what happened in detail. But at the very same time, they couldn't really explain what happened.

And before they could even think of anything else, a small giggle suddenly whispered in the air.

"T… that was very funny, master Riley."

Tomoe's shoulders almost bobbed up and down as she tried to suppress the burning laughter that wanted to escape her lips. As for Paige who was standing beside her, she could really only raise an eyebrow.

"It wasn't that funny," Paige muttered.

"Then I guess you don't understand Riley as much as I do?"

"..." Paige very much wanted to argue with Tomoe right now but chose not to do so as she instead just moved towards the prince, covering him from the rest of his kind. The prince didn't even need to ask why, as it was clear what just happened.

If it wasn't for Riley creating an invisible barrier between them, then he would have been stabbed by the guard. And what's more, the guard was holding a knife made of ice— it shouldn't be a coincidence that one of Riley's companions, one of the only few who had shown her abilities to the evaniels, had the power to conjure ice to her will.

They were going to assassinate Prince Val and frame the humans for his murder.

"What… do we do now, Riley?" Paige then whispered as she looked at the remaining evaniels circling them. They seemed to be wary now and were not attacking, but that could change any minute, "You know, for a people that are claiming to be the most peaceful race in the universe… you evaniels sure do like your assassinations."

"May I suggest we just kill them all, master Riley?" Tomoe also carefully moved to Riley's side as her entire body was suddenly covered in a dark armor of ice; with almost a million spikes that protrude outward.

"They've already seen us," Paige was the one to answer as her eyes did not leave the guards, "I… think it's better to just stay here and see what happens."

"Master Riley can just kill them all," Tomoe shook her head in disappointment, "In that way, it would be like no one really ever saw us— including the prince, of course."

"W… what?" Prince Val could really only move behind Paige as he heard Tomoe's cold words. A few moments later, however, he looked at the person that would probably decide his entire fate from now on, Riley Ross.

But alas, he was, as always, drowned in mystery. The workings of his mind, completely unknown to the young prince— and perhaps it was for the best. Because if he could read his mind, then he would probably soon wish he hadn't.

But finally, after a few more breaths, Riley opened his mouth.

"We wait."

"Hm."

"..." Tomoe could not help but glare at Paige as she heard Riley's words. The next words that escaped from Riley's lips, however, returned the confidence on Tomoe's face.

"But while we wait…" Riley breathed out, "...we kill all the evaniels within this hall, and any that will enter."

"Don't let them do anything!"

And with Riley raising his hand, the evaniels that were surrounding them finally started to move; their hair, glowing even brighter as they all disappeared from their spot. There was, however, a loud squeak that whistled in the air as one of them seemed to have slipped on the floor— his skull, now decorated with a giant spike of ice through it.

And if one were to look at the man's feet, one would notice the dark layer of ice beneath him. The other evaniels were quick to notice this, however, as none of them followed the fate of their comrade.

"Tch."

And before Tomoe could notice it, one of the assassins was already in front of her; his hand, already only inches away from stabbing her chest. The evaniel's attack didn't go through, however, as he just moved away and disappeared— not because he felt an invisible wall blocking his path… but because the spikes surrounding Tomoe's body were actually vibrating and rotating at insane speeds, almost acting like a drill.

If the evaniel's reflex were not as fast as it was, he might have found his hand shredded. Still, the bodies of the evaniels were actually tougher than any of the Lower Races, and could even compete with some of those that belong to the Higher Races. He didn't want to take any chances, however, as the people in front of them right now were definitely different from the rest of the Lower Races they have met.

Their dead comrade shouldn't have even turned into paste, even if he slammed himself onto a wall--- something was definitely wrong here.

At the same time, wings that span almost 10 meters instantly emerged from Paige's back; causing some of the evaniels that were going to her to stop in their tracks. And with them slightly perplexed, she used this chance to grab the prince and fly up— before instantly disappearing into thin air.

And before any of the evaniels could react, the scenery around them changed into that of a lush forest; filled with a sea of trees that obstructed any path they would take. For the evaniels, this hasn't happened before.

Instant.

There were many things that claimed to be so— calculations by a super AI? There was still a very slight lag that only the evaniels could notice. But this? The forest just appeared out of nowhere. One could not even define it as having speed.

"..."

The evaniels could really stay still on their tracks; their eyes, very carefully examining the new environment they were in.

"Wait…"

However, it did not take long for them to notice that something was amiss— just a single step, and they realized the weirdness of the situation. The dried and dead leaves that were beneath their feet weren't making any noise as they step on them; no, upon looking, they also started to notice that some of the leaves… were just passing through their feet.

"It's illusion magic! It's not real!"

And as soon as they heard their comrade's words, the other evaniels started touching the thick trees that blocked their path, only for their hands to go through it without a single hindrance.

"They're trying to escape! Chase after them!"

The evaniel that seemed to be the leader of the assassins roared; his hair, once again glowing even brighter than before as he disappeared from his spot— turning into a white streak as he moved through the tree in front of him… only for the white streak to turn into a mist of blue as his entire body shattered into a billion pieces as it smashed on the tree.

And as soon as the other evaniels saw this, they once again found themselves stopped in their tracks.

Illusion? Who the fuck was it that said it was an illusion!?--- They all thought in unison. But then, as they tried to once again touch the trees near them, their hands just went through.

Just… what exactly is going on here?

"Hm,"

And as their thoughts started to become erratic and panicked, a quiet whisper started to chuckle in the air— the breath that came with it, almost visceral.

"I did warn all of you about hard walls, assassins," Riley's voice then echoed in the air; causing some of the evaniels to hold their breaths, "You didn't listen…

…and now we're back to where we were before."

"..."

"Welcome, Evaniels… to my newest prison."