Villain Retirement

"Did you explain to the native who and what we are?"

"I did, Elder Zora."

"And it still said something like that?"

"...He did, Elder Zora.'

"...Interesting."

"Interesting? I think the proper term for it is disrespectful."

Inside a vast and dark room, Princess Vera was currently surrounded by 7 holograms; holograms that were blurry and unclear; their movements also lagging. One could barely make out their faded and darkened silhouette, but it wasn't difficult to determine that most of them were humanoids… in a way.

"Do we have an available Guardian to send to this… Earth?" One of the mysterious figures that seemed to be seated on a floating throne leaned forward.

"I believe most are occupied because of the tournament," the one that seemed to have an elongated head, Elder Zora, waved his hands in the air as if he was checking something.

"Ah, speaking of which— we should probably end this discussion now. I'm actually fighting next," a silhouette that seemed to be sporting spiky hair moved away from the circle, his hologram, completely disappearing.

"Did you not already lose, Elder S'adar? I was sure I received my monetary rewards from the bet I made."

Elder S'adar once again appeared in the circle; his hologram, facing the tall silhouette with a somewhat feminine voice,

"For a race that lacks a sense of humor, you seem to make a lot of jokes, Elder Tedi."

"For a race that is just a cheaper version of the Themarians, you are a disappointment to the universe and should not exist."

"...I was only making conversation, you didn't have to go that far."

"I was under the impression that I was too, Elder S'adar."

"Can the two of you attend the meeting and not fight for once? I believe there has…"

"..." Princess Vera could really only just twitch her eyes as three of the Elders started arguing and bickering with each other. The number of times that Vera had met with the Elders of the Council could be counted on one hand, including this meeting. And yet each time, these three seemed to always derail the topic at hand.

The other 3 Elders always seemed disinterested, and only speak once or twice— as for the Grand Elder, the one seated on the floating throne, he just seemed to let the others play it out until he gets tired of them.

Vera didn't know whether or not they are just disinterested in the cases she presents them, or they just think too little of the other races. As a matter of fact, the only reason they are even discussing about Riley right now was because of his connection with the Rebel Princess of the Themarians.

And so, the only thing Vera could really do was wait until—

"That's enough!"

And then, finally, the Grand Elder roared, causing his hologram to become static and even more faded. And as his roars also reached the other Elders, they really only just shook their heads; their bickering, slowly dying down.

"Princess Vera," the Gran Elder's fingers started tapping on his throne.

"Yes, Grand Elder?"

"While the others were busy being the imbeciles they are, I have ordered the Guardian Corps to send one of their own to your location. Someone should be arriving there soon."

"Thank you, Grand Elder. I will notify all of you again if anything of note happens."

"Good," the Grand Elder nodded, "If this Riley Ross proves difficult even for a Guardian…

…then I will do it myself."

"...There he is again. He always says that but never really commits to it."

"He needs to keep appearance, he is the Grand Elder, after all."

"Princess Vera, please send my utmost regards to your mother, the Queen."

"...I will, Elder Zora."

And with that, all the holograms flickered away; the room she was in, slowly brightening up as she released a very long and deep breath. The room she was in was spherical in shape, and like most of the evaniels' chambers, it was large.

She was standing on some sort of circular veranda, suspended in the air right in the very middle of the room and connected to a long bridge that lit up the way to a door.

Princess Vera, however, did not immediately leave this spherical room, and instead just took in a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down.

Dealing with the Elders… is very stressful to one's health.

Although they may act like a couple of normal individuals and sometimes even foolish, each of the Elders held the authority to wipe out entire civilizations if they need to— and they know this.

Their friendliness is all but a facade, because if they did not come off as merciful or kind; the universe would be unnecessarily be terrified of them.

"So, those are the Elders?"

"!!!"

Vera's silhouette quickly blurred as her body instantly turned to face behind her. Her eyes, also instantly turning wide as she saw Riley just casually standing on the bridge.

"What… are you doing here?" The light surrounding Vera's body faded away as she let out another breath to calm herself down.

"Your kind does not lock your door," Riley shrugged as he slowly made his way to the circular platform, "You should really change that."

"Because we respect each other's privacy! You…" Vera once again took in a very long and deep breath as her attempt to calm herself down was slowly starting to fail, "Just…

…how did you even get here?"

"Oh, this body is a clone," Riley said as he slightly opened his arms, "It's been following you around the ship since earlier."

"...Isn't your clone with Silvie Savelievna?"

"This is another one."

"...How many clones do you have in this ship?" Vera's mind was slowly starting to give up.

"Twelve, there's one in your control room. As I stated, your security needs improvement."

"..." Vera could really only close her eyes as she heard Riley's words, "So, you've been standing there from the start?"

"Yes," Riley nodded, "I wanted to see if I can get information regarding this so-called Guardian you keep mentioning that is on the way."

"You could just ask me instead of sneaking around," Vera shook her head.

"I believe it is more human to eavesdrop than ask," Riley nodded.

"...You're so weird."

Vera gets it now— she couldn't shake the feeling that Riley reminded her of something, but now she gets it.

The Elders. It was as if she was dealing with one of the Elders whenever she talks with Riley. The eccentricity they share is almost uncanny.

Their blatant disregard for anything else that doesn't interest them is just… too similar.

"Is there even any use in us placing you in a cell?" Vera once again let out a sigh as she looked at Riley, who seemed to be scanning each and every corner of the room.

"It makes all of you feel safe and comfortable," Riley shrugged.

"Wait… is the one in the cell even your original body?"

"It is."

"Oh, good…"

Vera found herself sighing again and again with each word that comes out of Riley's mouth; the sense of relief and dread, all mixing together. Although they still don't have the full scope of Riley's powers, they knew he was strong— being acknowledged by a themarian was already proof of that.

…As well as destroying an entire planet— they still lack information about this one, however. How did he destroy it exactly? She could also just ask, but she was afraid of what he was going to answer.

She had already done her duty and reported it to the Council, the rest is up to them and the Guardian.

"So.. what exactly did you want to know?"

And so, with hopefully her last sigh for at least a minute, Vera just decided to entertain Riley's questions.

"What is the Guardian Corps, Princess Vera?"

"Hm… They keep the law and order of the universe," Vera slightly hummed as she placed her hand on her chin, "I suppose the closest I can compare it to is… the police? Wait, no. That is exactly what they are— a universal police."

"Are they strong?"

"That… It's sort of complicated," Vera squinted.

"..."

"...You want me to explain?"

"Of course," Riley nodded, "That is why I asked."

"...Very well," Vera nodded as she once again stood in the very center of the circle; she then waved her hand, causing a hologram of a burning star to emerge above them.

"The members of the Guardian Corps are not necessarily innately strong… because most of them are from the Lower Races; civilizations much like yours or even of a lower tier."

"Interesting."

"...Right," Vera nodded, "They are trained, and once proven worthy, they are gifted with the Guardian Force. It's…

…a sort of weapon that harnesses the power of a star," she then said as she looked at the hologram of the sun hovering above them.

"…A weapon?"

"Well… more like a pill they swallow once and… it stays inside them until… You know what, I don't want to elaborate further," Vera then waved her hand, removing the hologram, "Just know that their powers aren't really theirs."

"It's okay," Riley just shrugged as the room once again brightened up, "This pill, am I able to pull it out from their intestines? If they have intestines, that is."

"Don't underestimate a Guardian, Riley Ross," Vera shook her head, "A group of them are able to restrain themarians that are using their full strength."

"Okay."

"..."

"..."

"...I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this."