Villain Retirement

Violent, reckless abandon, wild… familiar.

Riley still clearly remembers the very fight that he was able to finally fight Megawoman head-to-head, and this was the very same feeling.

Darmuid was physically stronger than James since each of his strikes causes total obliteration of anything unfortunate enough to stand in its way. James, however, no matter how finesse his movements, had this wild consistency in him that was similar to Aerith.

Clearly untrained professionally, but each strike showed experience that was crafted in true battle where losing means death.

"Show more of your tricks, alien!"

"When you've earned it, Lord James."

One would think their battle would have already decimated the land, but no. The terrain underground Theran was even more durable and sturdy than on the surface—there was also the fact that Riley and James, even after fighting for an entire minute now, still have not left the cliff they started fighting on.

Their feet have not even left the ground at the same time. It was almost like a dance, an endless dance that serenaded the endless horizon that never turns dark.

This was no longer a hunt, but an understanding that when and if this dance ends, one of them will have to take the last step.

The two were almost like complete opposites of each other; one filled with hair, and one absolutely without—and yet both reflected the harsh light that wrapped everything around them.

Riley's pair of swords were beyond sharp—no. Perhaps sharpness was no longer a value that one could describe the pair; it just contained heat, a concentrated heat that melted everything it touches.

It was able to cut James's flesh, but it almost seemed as if the pair of swords were truly just light as it passed through James's silhouette—no flesh open, no cut. James's flesh would heal even before Riley's blades could come out the other end.

For an untrained eye to be watching this dance, the only thing they would really see were the ashes of smoke bursting from the ground, the blurred silhouette that snapped in the air, and the light that felt like it was almost solid.

But for Riley and James, it was just a sight of blood—blood that just vaporizes as soon as they appear. The other showed his teeth with his smile, while the other showed his fangs with his snarl.

Soon, however, the lights seem to run out from Riley's hand as he grabs both of James's ears; pulling on them as they stretch almost a foot from the temples. James quickly pushed Riley away to the end of the cliff with a palm, causing the air around them to explode into a ripple—the ashes of what remained of the fallen trees, now completely erased from existence.

As for Riley, he continued to slide on the darkness of the dirt beneath him, creating a crevice as the soles of his feet left the cliff, leaving him standing on his toes.

"Well then…" Riley then stretched both his hands to the side, before snapping his fingers and revealing the pair of ears he was holding,

"...Now your head is perfectly oval, Lord James."

"You think you're funny, alien?" A burst of fiery red emerged from James's eyes, before crawling across his arms and forming into some sort of gauntlet. And with a small breath escaping from his lips, James violently waved his glowing arms at the ground in front of him—releasing a crescent blade that completely pierced through the entire cliff.

And before Riley could tilt his head wondering what James did, James suddenly slammed his foot on the ground.

"..."

And very slowly, a crack formed on the ground.

And soon, the side of the cliff Riley was standing on started to slide down; Riley did not seem to care, however, as he just threw James's ears back to him as his silhouette very slowly faded down from the horizon.

"You know, I can do the same."

"!!!"

James then quickly leaped back as a crescent blade of light emerged beneath his feet. Before he could land, however, another one emerged from the ground—completely slicing the cliff as it threatened to do the same to James.

And finally, after what seemed like an eternity of fighting each other… James floated into the air as he avoided the barrage of strikes that came from below, a barrage that seemed almost endless.

And the farther James flew into the air, the larger the crescent blades became. He was able to avoid all of them—but he was given no time to rest as the view beneath him almost no longer exists, it was now just filled with light that seemed to scratch existence itself.

"Tch, enough!" And with a click of his tongue and a roar, James curled his body as the fiery red wrapping his arms scattered throughout his entire body. And with another feral roar, the energy around him burst forth into a sphere; the rain of light that seemed to fall upon him endlessly, fading away completely.

"But we're only just getting started, Lord James."

"..."

James's eyes then slightly widened as he looked down—not for long, however, as his eyes followed Riley up. Riley didn't fly up, however, no… no, he did not.

Instead, he grew. He grew bigger until his eyes which were now the size of a car were at the same level as James's bald head.

"Size manipulation," Riley then said; his voice echoing across the air.

"Wrong choice of trick," James's shock also did not last long as he disappeared, leaving a skirt of wind behind him as he flew straight toward Riley's eyes, entering his brain and violently releasing energy from his body, bursting into a ball as it completely opened up Riley's head like a watermelon.

"Tricks, Lord James—I have many."

And before the bits and pieces of Riley's head could be affected by gravity, James heard a voice beside him. He quickly turned to look, only to see no one there.

"..." James's eyebrows furrowed as his eyes quickly looked everywhere—and with just a slight adjustment of his hearing, he quickly stabbed his own ear with his finger as he realized Riley was inside.

It was too late, however, as Riley was already inside his skull.

"Shi—!!!"

"Pavoom."

"..."

And before a word could escape James's throat, the red light wrapping him like armor instantly disappeared; his eyes, losing their color as blood started to drip from his head's orifices.

James did not fall from the air, however; his head, just shaking and trembling as Riley casually stepped out of his ear.

Riley still did not let James fall to the ground, however, as he grabbed his now regenerated ear as he leaped from it.

"You're lucky, Lord James," Riley then sighed as his silhouette slowly became bigger and bigger, "When Mr. Sizeman killed me, he entered through my posterior and grew bigger."

"..."

"..."

Riley looked at his reflection on James's bald head, still waiting for a response and wondering if he was sent to his Eternal Death.

"..."

"..."

But after a few more seconds of him not moving, Riley just let out a long and very deep sigh as he descended back to whatever remained of the cliff.

"Well then…

…Now I need to get you to the rest of your family, Lord James, for that…

…I need to cut you up."