Villain Retirement

Paragon vs Riley Ross.

Themarian vs. a new and previously unknown Ranker.

Even with the Known Universe being as large as it is, this topic not only echoed but thundered throughout the almost endless expanse. Some watched and received the news late, but still—everyone was talking about it.

How could they not, when even a glimpse of a sighting of a Themarian only happens once in a lifetime? Even more so a Themarian in combat.

This was no surprise even for an earthling like Hera. She practically saw Megawoman almost every day back on Earth, but she still finds herself in awe whenever she dawns her suit.

Still, she sees her every day—she wasn't exactly a rare sight for Earth. But for the Known Universe, it seemed they were treated almost like myth. She could not help but feel… special for some reason. How could she not? There's not just one themarian on Earth, but two.

Of course, there was a part of her that felt slightly bad for the aliens. The themarian they were fawning over was fake, after all. 

The universe was being played by Riley, much like he did on Earth. And perhaps the worst, or perhaps the best part of it all was that technically, he was momentarily the most talked about individual in the entire universe.

Some were nervous about this new, monstrous Ranker. Everyone on the Top 100 Outlaw is dangerous, but the majority of them tend to just lie low and hide, not really committing any crimes that would risk their capture.

But Riley Ross? He was practically a bloodthirsty demon that killed everything within its path—a being that thrived on chaos. How could they not be nervous?

And it wasn't only the common people, some of the Elders of the Common Council were also currently in a fit of panic as they were receiving backlash from Riley's rampage. Some of the Universe-leading planets were blaming them for their inaction.

"I believe we are all at fault here for underestimating the chaos that a neonatal threat would bring. What is important now is our action going forward."

In a bright and empty spherical room, a female humanoid floated at the very center. Her silhouette and her anatomy were akin to that of a normal human; a little petite, but seemingly tall at the same time. The only difference is that her skin was that of flat silver, and each individual strand of her hair is too. No, every corner of her body was silver.

As for whether or not she was bare naked, it was hard to determine. There were lines in her body that were similar to that of creases that one would find in clothing, but it was subtle—minute, and almost merging with her skin.

The only thing that could really be said to be an article on her was her glasses, their golden frame, the only contrast in her otherwise monotonous physique. Her look was not the only thing that was monotonous, however, as the tone of her voice offered something competition with how straight and robotic it was.

And if Riley was to hear her speak, he would quickly recognize her as the only female Elder of the Common Council, Tedi.

And similar to the spherical room in Princess Vera's ship, Tedi was also surrounded by the blacked-out and blurred holograms of the Elders.

"We have tried to disregard him even after he brutally killed Elder Zora to show the people that we are not fazed, it is time to accept that it was the wrong decision." Although Elder Tedi's words seemed to hold a certain sincerity in them, the tone of her voice remained monotonous, "I believe it is time for us to deal with this in a lethal manner."

"For once, I agree with the robot."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I am not a robot, Elder S'adar?" Tedi's eyebrows began to lower as she turned around, only to see a hologram floating awfully close to her,

"And why are you even present in this meeting? Should you not be fighting in the tournament?"

"Well…" Although it was hard to see as the hologram was still clouded, it was obvious that Elder S'adar was scratching his head, seemingly causing his spiky hair to wriggle, "...I already lost. I'm just resting now."

"Oh," Elder Tedi forcefully made the effort to let out a condescending hum, "So that is why some credit entered my account."

"Wait… you really bet against me!? You soulless creature!" Elder S'adar's hologram suddenly rushed toward Elder Tedi. Tedi, however, did not even flinch as his hologram passed through her.

"W—"

"Enough!"

And before the two could start their whole routine again, the Grand Elder's voice resounded throughout the spherical room, causing the 5 other holograms to flicker.

"We need to focus our efforts on trying to make contact with the Evaniel princess!" The Grand Elder stated as he tapped the arm of his throne,

"The last time we talked to her, she said she would be siding with Riley Ross—Did we find out what that means yet!?"

"It is just an act of self-preservation, Grand Elder," Elder Tedi raised her hand, "She realized his threat early on, perhaps we should have done the same. Am I the only one here that sees that Riley Ross is a bigger threat than we could have ever entailed?"

"Hey… I agreed with you," Elder S'adar voiced out. But alas, he was completely ignored by Elder Tedi.

"Hm," the Grand Elder only looked at Elder Tedi for a few seconds, before his hologram could be seen facing one of the Elders that barely talks, "Skeem."

"Yes?"

It was hard to determine the silhouette of the Elder called Skeem, but from his shape, it almost seemed like his entire body was just… one straight line; with his head almost in the shape of… a worm, for the lack of a better word.

"Have you found Princess Vera's whereabouts?"

"No," Elder Skeem shook his worm-like head.

"...Why not?"

"I can't put my focus elsewhere, Grand Elder," Elder Skeem quickly responded; his voice, obviously altered by some sort of device, "There are priorities that are above that requires my attention more; Pirate Queen Xra continues to harvest stars, bounty hunter Kerrigan continues to antagonize the Guardians and devour their Guardian Force…

…and then there's the Cherbi."

"Report." Not only the Grand Elder, but Tedi and the other Elders all turned their attention to Skeem as soon as they heard his last word.

"The Pink Void is soon to traverse a path with a stellar system inhabiting a civilization of a dozen billion population," Skeem continued, "Lahestia is working to evacuate them now."

"...Tch," the Grand Elder once again tapped the arm of his throne; his breaths, clearly frustrated, "Do I really need to do this myself?"

"Oh, he said the line," Elder S'adar's spiky hair started to bounce as he looked back and forth at the other Elders repeatedly, "Get the gau—"

And before Elder S'adar could even give a comment, another hologram suddenly popped up. And unlike the holograms of the Elders, they could clearly see who it was.

Vera—no. Older.

"Queen… Queen Vania!?" The Grand Elder quickly stood up from his throne, revealing how large, or rather how small he actually was compared to his hovering chair, "What are you—"

"Pathetic."

"W—"

And before the Grand Elder or anyone else could speak, Queen Vania's hologram disappeared as sudden and quickly as it popped up.

"..."

"..."

"M…meeting dismiss," the Grand Elder breathed out, "I'll… try to find out what she wanted."

"..." And with that, the holograms disappeared one by one, leaving Elder Tedi floating alone in the spherical room.

"..."

"..."

"...Elder Keem."

"Yes?"

The silence did not last long, however, as Elder Skeem's hologram once again showed itself as soon as Elder Tedi called.

"Send me the path of the Cherbi, I will try to divert its course," Tedi breathed out as she started to stretch her arms; her movements, extremely minimal.

"...That's dangerous, Elder Tedi," Skeem's silhouette could be seen momentarily freezing as he heard Tedi's words, "Just a single mistake, and the Pink Void would swallow even a being like you whole."

"Hm. I know," Tedi let out a monotonous hum, "In return, if I am successful in diverting the Cherbi, raise Riley Ross's priority on your list."

"..."

"..."

"...Very well, I am sending you the coordinates now. Be safe out there."

"I will."

And with her once again alone, Elder Tedi let out a small but very deep sigh as she started to float toward the edge of the room. And with a slight gesture of her finger, a circular hole opened up, allowing her to leave the sphere…

…and what welcomed her was the view of the vast expanse of space. She stared at this familiar and boring scene for a few seconds, before very gently turning around and revealing a large, brown, spherical rock behind her.

Elder Tedi then once again flicked her finger, and as she did so, the hole she made started to close.

"..."

"..."

And then, with another sigh, she just flew away.

This might just seem like a simple action, but it was anything but.

"Elder Tedi… Elder Tedi is leaving!? How long has it been since we last saw her!?"

"Elder Tedi, please look here!"

"Elder Tedi, we pray to you!"

The spherical rock… wasn't just any rock—it was a giant asteroid with its own ecosystem; its inhabitants, currently watching as Elder Tedi's colossal silhouette faded from their synthetic skies.

Heriopolis— one of the largest habitable asteroids in the entire Known Universe, more than twice the size of Earth. 

And for its people, Elder Tedi is the moon.