Villain Retirement

"This is the strength of a Themarian? This…

…is pathetic."

Hera is officially and utterly confused. She had initially thought that the scenario that Riley prepared for the Known Universe was perfect.

A Themarian ending the reign of terror of Riley Ross.

Every problem they will ever face going forward would have been completely eliminated after that. They wouldn't have to sneak around and be careful, and she would finally be able to enjoy the vacation she knew she deserved.

But now… she didn't even know who the real Riley Ross is.

"This is the master race?"

"!!!"

They didn't even see what happened, but Riley Ross was grabbing Paragon's face; his cloak, fluttering at an insane speed like the rattle of a snake as they stretched.

"This is what the universe is so scared of?" Riley Ross hummed as he very slowly turned his head toward one of the surveillance cameras that he detected as soon as he was placed inside the large cell, and with a small and sinister chuckle, the hovering stretcher that bound him earlier shredded into a million pieces.

"You talk too much."

And even with his face covered, a calm breath still escaped Paragon's lips and seeped from the edges of Riley Ross's palm. And at a speed that Sheriff Fablu could once again not follow, Paragon suddenly had his hands tightly gripping around Riley Ross's wrist. The only thing that Fablu could really see was what happened after—how could he not, when half of his cell that was supposed to hold city-level threats was now open for the entire world to see? And not only that, but he could also see the celestial bodies as the clouds that covered their skies also split in half.

"Just… what?"

For just the shockwave of a simple action to cause this much damage, Sheriff Fablu finally realized why he and everyone thought of Themarians as gods— they live in a completely different world.

And then, there's Riley Ross; who, despite being in front of a Themarian, still had this creepy and wide smile on his face.

"This ends now, outlaw."

And with those words whispering in the air, Paragon's eyes once again lit up—the red violent light, almost like a blade as it infinitely carved the silhouette of Riley's palm.

"I do not think so, Mr. Paragon."

And as the beam of death unleashed itself, Riley Ross forcefully turned Paragon's head up—the scorching sword that was meant to be for him, now pointing straight to the sky… hitting one of the planet's moons.

"Hera!?"

Nana could really only grab Hera's leg, pulling on it as she looked her straight in the eyes, "Do something!"

"...Are you for real?" Hera, however, only looked at Nana as if she was crazy. This was Riley's performance, if Hera was to take the stage, she knew a quick death would follow—no, worse. Her body would surely try to find a way to keep her alive, and the last time that happened, it felt as if a billion sandpaper was shredding each centimeter of her body apart all at the same time.

The only thing anyone could really do in this situation was to watch and hope for the best. Earth had suffered at the hands of Riley, and now it's everyone's turn.

"A classic themarian," Riley Ross let out a small chuckle as he watched as the moon very slowly crumbled in space, "Always leaving destruction in their wake and not caring about the innocent people they leave in collateral. Your cousin on Earth was the same, I think her name was Aer—"

And before Riley Ross could finish his words, Paragon suddenly pushed his hand away to finally free his face, and without even any warning or even a breath, he pulled Riley Ross near him with one hand…

…and then punched through Riley Ross's chest with the other.

"You think evil has a place in the universe? Not today, outlaw."

And with that, Riley Ross's chest started to crack. And very slowly, his face also started to crumble; his body, turning into dust that shared the same color as the planet's crystal terrain.

"..." Hera's eyes were completely blank. She knew her eyes didn't fail her. If Riley didn't become a world-ending psychopath, then he would have definitely been a very famous actor.

Still… isn't this overdoing it?

"...It's only a clone," Paragon let out a small breath as he opened his fist, scattering the last of the clone's ashes into the air.

"That… was only a clone?" Sheriff Fablu could not help but hold his breath from what Paragon's words indicated.

A mere clone… was able to restrain a Themarian for a couple of seconds? That was a feat that required more than a dozen of Guardians… and a clone was able to do that on its own?

If so, then how strong is the original Riley Ross?

"H…ho…" Sheriff Fablu could not stop the stuttered breath that forcefully escaped his mouth. The thought of imagining what the true Riley Ross is capable of caused his entire body to almost shut down.

"Sheriff Fablu."

"Y…yes?" Fablu quickly rushed to Paragon's side as soon as he heard him calling.

"What is the current bounty of Riley Ross?" Riley muttered as he watched as his clone's ashes continued to drift with the wind.

"...What?"

"Riley Ross's bounty, how much is it?"

"I… I believe it's at 1.5F," Sheriff Fablu quickly checked on his device, "Y…yes, he's Rank 89 at 1.5F."

"Hm," Riley let out a short but deep breath, "I think they should start raising it."

"They… they definitely will after this, Mr. Paragon," Sheriff Fablu's breaths continued to stutter as his entire body shivered, "I… I don't really have a scope of how strong the other Rankers are… but I believe Riley Ross is definitely different from all of them."

"I believe so too. Perhaps he is even stronger than the one they call Pirate Queen."

"Well—"

"What was her name again? Shakira?"

"!!!" Sheriff Fablu quickly turned his head toward one of the surveillance cameras, gesturing to whoever was on the other side to quickly cut the feed. She could really only hope that the stream was stopped before Paragon was able to finish his words.

Pirate Queen Xra was known for her quick temper… and that usually was not really a good combination with a creature known to rival a themarian in power.

"It… It's Pirate Queen Xra, Mr. Par—"

"I do not really care for her name, Sheriff Fablu," Riley flicked his cloak as he started to walk away, "I will leave now—such mundane acts are beneath me."

"...Mr. Paragon?"

"Be careful, darker days are ahead."

"..." Hera's eyes slightly twitched as Riley's words reached her ears. Did… he just copy Megawoman's line? Wait… was she acting like Megawoman? Is this how he sees her?

"Miss Hera, Captain Nana…

…let us go!"

And with his cloak fluttering and flowing with the air, Riley and his crew left… not fully knowing the scale of chaos he had just dawned upon the Known Universe.

***

"This fucker…"

Thousands and thousands of lightyears away, a spaceship similar to the shape of a common naval warship on Earth orbited around a dwarf sun. This would have just been a normal sight in the Known Universe… if it wasn't for the fact that a violent tornado of flames was currently being sucked in by the warship.

This was definitely a sight that would make one quiver in their boots. 

The captain of this warship was also shaking on her throne, but not because of the horrifying and drowning sight… but because of what she had just witnessed on the large screen in front of her.

"Is this fucker pretending not to know my name!? Shakira!? Who the fuck is Shakira!?"

A skin, even paler than that of Riley's; her eyes, the color of blood—the Pirate Queen Xra.

"C…captain Xra, please calm down!"

"The fuck I would! Find him!" Xra's jet-black hair flowed as she slammed her fist on the stone table in front of her, "Set a course for Febuvan, now!"

"But we're still not done harvesting the—"

"If I have to repeat myself again, I will space you out myself!"

Xra threw the stone table in front of her as she stood up. Her crew that was on the path of the spiraling table, just casually stepping to the side to avoid it as if they have done so a million of times, "Find this Themarian shit right now…

…find him now!"