Villain Retirement

"You think…

…Aerith is worthless?"

"Of course, she is a failure! She left her kingdom and betrayed her people, and for what!? To go on an adventure outside the Territory? To mingle with… to mingle with mortals!?"

"Hm."

And while the tension in the air was completely obvious for anyone and everyone to see, and the themarians that surrounded Riley were ready to pounce on him all at the same time at any moment, Riley… was just grunting and looking at the ground.

"Hm…" Riley once again breathed out; his eyes, clearly lost in thought.

The themarians were also looking at the ground, but not for the same reason. It was already clear that Riley had some sort of telekinetic ability, but telekinesis was not something they haven't seen before—after all, they have an old device that does just that, move matter with your mind. No one uses it, however, as Themarians are not really fond of technology even though they have one of the most advanced techs in the Known Universe.

They could barely detect any energy from Riley, and initially thought he was using that device to compensate for his lack of strength. But this? To stop every blade of grass individually… the device was not capable of that.

"What are you still all idling for!?" The leader of the goons then snapped his fingers, "Attack him while he is lost in—"

And before he could finish his words, the blades of grass once again started moving. Well, not all of it—as the one beneath the goons' leader's feet was still completely frozen and unmoving.

"I disagree with your statement, random themarian."

"...What?" The man then turned to look at Riley, only to find him already standing just a foot away from him; his eyes which were almost devoid of any color, as if staring straight into his soul.

"You're wrong," Riley then raised his hand, before snapping his fingers. And as soon as he did so, the other themarians that were standing in a circle all dropped to the ground; the one who was regenerating from his head could really only watch the entire scenario with his eyes wide open.

"What… did you do?" The leader of the goons breathed out as he looked at his comrades.

"One thing I learned from fighting Aerith to the death is that there is a very simple way to stop a themarian momentarily."

As Riley started talking, the themarians started groaning and waking up. But once again, with another snap of Riley's fingers, they all dropped to the ground like puppets. Riley then very slowly stretched his hand toward the goon leader's face, before placing a finger behind his neck.

"Just cut off the nerve right here," Riley then tapped the man's neck, "The spinal nerve. It is hard to access otherwise, as a themarian's skin can't be penetrated by normal means—your flesh can even withstand the impact of a nuclear bomb head-on without any scratch."

"..." The man's head started to tremble as the tone of Riley's voice became lower and deeper.

"But you see, I can bypass that. I can have access to any of your internal organs, and nerves as if I am holding it right in my hand," Riley then backed away; his hand, almost as if holding something,

"Of course, this can only stop you momentarily—not even a second. But that is really all I need, and I can also do it over and over again, but…" Riley then let out a small sigh  he closed his hand into a fist,

"...I don't like doing it. Because once I do, you no longer feel pain and it is no longer fun."

"..."

"Oh, you can move and say something. I did not cut off your spinal nerve," Riley tilted his head to the side as he noticed the man being quiet, "Do you want to know something about Aerith?"

"..." The man still remained still; his eyes, just looking at his friends that have been trying to stand up for a while now; soon, however, he suddenly felt himself nodding completely, but out of his control.

"Of course. Of course, you do," Riley also nodded as he smiled, "Aerith, even with her spinal nerve cut off… still manages to move and fight me. But look at your friends, they might as well be dead."

"Who…" The man then looked Riley in the eyes, "...who are you?"

"I am…" Riley then placed his hand on the man's face," 

"R—"

"Professor Riley."

And before Riley could finish his words, Princess Esme suddenly appeared behind him, causing the man to turn his head up just to look at her face.

"Aren't you… the Rocket Princess?"

"Rocket Princess? I have never been called that before," Esme squinted her eyes, before turning her head down to look at Riley, who also had his head turned all the way up to look at her since she was directly behind him,

"Please let them go, Professor Riley. I do not want to cause trouble for my father."

"Okay," Riley did not really debate, and just shrugged his shoulders before letting out a small sigh. And as soon as he did so, the other themarians that were desperately trying to get up only to fall, were finally able to lift themselves up. The decapitated themarian was also finally able to continue his body's regeneration as Riley stopped cutting off his healed flesh bit by bit.

"I believe it is time for you and your friends to go, mister," Princess Esme then said as she slightly looked at the leader of the goons, "And I do not advise you to fight back, Professor Riley… does not really do casual fights."

"You…" The man then started to take a step back, before turning his attention to his friends, who were already carrying their decapitated friend's head and running away,

"...You think I will let it go with just this!?"

"You should," the tone of Princess Esme's voice slightly became deep, "And do not tell anyone about what happened here, if you do—then I will personally challenge you to a sanctioned duel."

"You… you can't do that," the man took in a small gulp as his steps became longer.

"I can, I could. And I would make sure…

…that you are sent to your Eternal Death in front of your family."