Villain Retirement

"Riley Ross… and Pirate Queen Xra are traveling together?"

"Elder Tedi! You said you ran into him, why didn't you stop him!?"

"The Cherbi was my priority at that moment."

"And now Riley Ross and Xra have joined forces! Do you know what that—"

With the wave of a silver hand, the holograms that were talking without end disappeared; leaving only Elder Tedi's silhouette floating right at the very center, slowly being revealed as the brightening lights inside her communication spherical room started to drown her silver skin.

The hologram of the Grand Elder, however, popped up again a few breaths later.

"Did you just—"

"Find someone else to fill my position, I quit."

"Wha—"

"I hope all of you die an early death."

Elder Tedi—or just Tedi now, once again waved her hand to disconnect the Grand Elder's call. She did not know when, but the prospect of being an Elder had become a complete chore for her.

The Elders of the Common Council had the job to keep the peace inside the Known Universe. They were responsible for the public relations of a million planets, trade, law, exploration, and a lot more other things… and there were only 7 of them.

6, since Elder Zora was brutally killed—and now 5, as Tedi quit. Suffice it to say, everything was falling apart and it is all because of a single entity they chose to ignore.

"If the others are truly as smart as they claim to be, they will also quit," Tedi whispered to herself.

"..."

"..."

And all of a sudden, Tedi just remained floating inside the communication sphere; without any expression or even a slight twitch on her face. A second, a minute, an hour—she remained unmoving.

Tedi belonged to the Norinlad, a silver-skinned humanoid species belonging to the Higher Races. They were known to have no notion of humor, but have existed long enough to learn, or at least to mimic such ideas. They were a powerful race, but like the Evaniels, have learned to become peaceful.

Unlike the Evaniels, however, who became peaceful after waging war against the Themarians, the Norinlad are peaceful by nature—with the notion of violence completely foreign and alien to them.

Perhaps this was a good thing for the entire universe, as the Norinlad held a very scary innate ability to make themselves and anything they touch practically intangible. And not only that, they could rearrange matter itself with their hands.

Some say that if they were a warring race, then perhaps they could even replace the Themarians as the Master Race.

And currently, there were two deviants in the race.

One was the silver-skinned individual that Riley just fought, Bounty Hunter Kerrigan. He had nothing in his mind but battle—almost as if he accumulated all the violence the race should have had.

And of course, Tedi. It was obvious that there was something wrong with her just from her size alone, which almost rivaled that of a Messenger.

"Riley Ross, Riley Ross."

Tedi then finally moved as her thoughts escaped her mind, "Judging by the trajectory the Bloodcruiser is moving, they should be on their way to Theran."

"..."

"..."

Any traces of expression on Tedi's face once again disappeared as she became quiet. But once again, after an entire hour, she let out a small sigh as she wore her glasses that were the same size as a small country.

"If I recall, the Cherbi's trajectory also leads to Theran," Tedi adjusted her glasses as she slowly floated to the edge of the spherical room; a hole, quickly opening for her to fly out to,

"Surely…

…this can't be a coincidence."

***

  "I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

"I'm… pretty sure I will be seeing you guys in the news."

Back in the hangar of the Bloodcruiser, Nana was in front of the new ship that Xra promised to her. And unlike the chaotic scenery she found herself in when she was previously in the hangar, the only presence there was her and Hera.

"I'm… really sorry you got dragged into this whole mess," Hera couldn't help but let out a loud sigh as she stretched her hand down toward Nana, 

"Although this might sound slightly condescending, at least you survived an interaction with Riley Ross—and for an extended amount of time."

"Well… I only cried like once or twice every now and then," Nana chuckled as she reached for Hera's hand. Although she was unaware of what exactly this gesture meant, she knew enough that it was a friendly action. After shaking her hand, however, Nana let out a sigh and smiled,

"Besides, I sort of gained something from this crazy and terrifying adventure," she then raised her hand, which immediately turned into a cannon.

"You… certainly got used to that fast."

"Not like I have a choice. And also," Nana then pointed at the ship behind her, "This beautiful thing is enough payment for all the anxiety and fear I felt the entire trip. One of Pirate Queen Xra's crew even hacked into the database and registered the ship to my name."

"Be careful, Nana. You're going to get used to the lawless life."

"I have too many mouths to feed to gain a bounty to my name," Nana chuckled.

"Be safe out there. Let's meet again once all of this is over."

"Just call me whenever you want, Teera X120 is capable of intergalactic communication."

"Hm."

And with a nod to each other, Nana finally entered her new ship—not even looking back as she flew away.

"Captain Nana left, Miss Hera?"

"Fuck!"

Hera almost jumped in fright as she felt a breath suddenly crawling through her nape. She quickly looked back, only to see Riley standing awfully close to her.

"I thought you were spending time with Queen Dracula?"

"I am," Riley nodded before pointing to himself, "This is a clone, Miss Hera."

"...Right," Hera squinted her eyes, before letting out another sigh as she collected herself, "What are you doing here? Don't tell me… you wanted to say goodbye to Nana?"

"I was not even aware she was leaving, Miss Hera," Riley sighed, "I thought she was going to come with us to Theran."

"...What made you think that?"

"She seemed excited, Miss Hera."

"She was terrified, Riley."

"...Was she?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "I suppose it doesn't matter. I came here for you, Miss Hera."

"...What is it?"

"Pirate Queen Xra wanted to meet you when she discovered that you voiced one of the characters in Italian Mafia Rebor. She was wondering if you could do one of your lines live."

"We are on our way to a planet filled with Megawomans, and you want me to do some lines?" Hera raised an eyebrow; but after a few more seconds, she let out a sigh and smiled,

"My talent fee is high, you know?"

"What about just keeping your life, Miss Hera?"

"..."

"I am kidding," Riley chuckled, "I modeled this clone of mine to be funny, Miss Hera."

"And you thought threatening me was funny?"

"Yes," Riley's clone nodded, "...It's not?"

"I forgot who I was talking to for a second there," Hera pinched the bridge of her nose, "Let's go, I don't want queen Dracula coming here and also making jokes."

"You go on ahead, Miss Hera. Another clone will be escorting you to Pirate Queen Xra's quarters, I have something else to do here."

"What do you—"

And before Hera could finish her words, another Riley Ross popped up in front of her.

"...Seriously, how many clones do you have on this ship now?"

"As many as I need, Miss Hera."

"...I am going now before I lose my mind."

"Please. If you may follow me, madam Hera," Riley's other clone bowed, before bowing and gesturing to Hera to walk ahead.

"..." Hera's eyes twitched for a bit as she saw this, but only sighed before leaving without another word.

"..."

"..."

"Are you here, Miss Aella?" And as soon as the traces of other people inside the hangar were gone, Riley's clone then sat on the floor as his eyes started to scan the quiet hall and dead spaceships.

And after a few more seconds, a small person emerged from behind one of the ships—Aella, Xra's technician and the one responsible for hacking through the Common Council's database.

Aella's tail was completely tucked in; her eyes, trying their best not to look away as she approached Riley.

"Hello again, Miss Aella," Riley bowed, "The Boss regrets not being here in person."

"That—that's alright," Aella breathed out as she returned Riley's gaze—which was surprisingly not that hard, as Riley was sitting on the floor and making the level of their eyes almost equal to each other,

"I have what you need," and with another breath, Aella handed Riley the tablet she was holding.

"Is this all the information about the Elders, Miss Aella?" Riley said as he started exploring and fidgeting with the device.

"Yes," Aella nodded, "And that is directly connected to their database, sir Riley. If they make any changes, it will update in real time without any lag—no matter where we are in the Known Universe."

"My adoptive father and you will certainly get along, Miss Aella. He once hacked the technology of an invading alien species he had not seen before and practically massacred them inside and outside their ship in the safety of his home."

"That—I would like to meet him to exchange pointers."

"You will once we arrive at Theran. He swallowed a Guardian Force, but he is probably awake now—Oh, here he is."

"Hm?" Aella took a subtle peek at the tablet, only to see the deceased Elder Zora's profile on it.

"I need to borrow one of your ships, Miss Aella—preferably a race ship," Riley then smiled as he returned the tablet to Aella.

"...You're leaving?"

"This is only a clone—one with a singular purpose," a growing smile started to crawl on Riley's face,

"I am going to kill and massacre Elder Zora's friends, family, acquaintances—and since I will be visiting his home planet…

…his whole race."