Villain Retirement

It's…

…moving straight to Theran.]

"What? Why?" Aerith's eyebrows started to furrow, "Our sun isn't that strong, and our planet barely even produces any energy, carbons, or nuclear—" Aerith abruptly stopped her words as she looked at Riley.

Aerith's words were true. With the themarian's independence from technology, their planet is completely different from the rest of the advanced civilizations—barely requiring any power for their countries and cities to move.

They don't require ships, as they could just fly and lift entire continents with their hands without even breaking a single sweat.

In fact, Pirate Queen Xra's ship probably owned 95% of the entire planet's carbon and nuclear emissions when it landed there.

But there is one entity, however, that might be capable of calling the Cherbi.

"Sister has not used her abilities on Theran, Aerith," Riley quickly understood what Aerith's look entails, "Well, I have."

"...What?"

"But I believe the Cherbi was already moving to Theran before that."

"...What do you mean?"

"I have told you about Caitlain's hideout, correct?"

"Where you found one of her androids?"

[An android made by Caitlain'Ur? I want to see that.]

"I am afraid it has already left the planet along with Katherine, Tedi."

[Oh, where—]

"Stop!" Aerith stood in front of Riley and grabbed both his shoulders, "What happened?"

"You probably did not know the full detail, but the blast of energy that pierced through the skies of Theran came from her hideout, Aerith. And it was powerful."

"..." Aerith squinted as she looked to the side, "That was Diana's doing? But… why would she even—No."

Aerith's eyes then started to widen as she looked Riley in the eyes, "Does… she plan to destroy Theran once the New Theran is built?"

"Perhaps she wants to completely leave it behind her, Aerith."

"But there will still be people in it, lots of people!" Aerith raised her voice, "We need to divert the Cherbi's path!"

"Uhm…" Elder Olseyir raised her hand, "Won't your plan work better if the old generation is dead? It will eliminate half of your problems."

"How many times do I have to tell people that I do not want a massacre?"

"But are you not also sending your people into a massacre by instigating a war no one really asked for?" Elder Olseyir seemed to tilt her head to the side.

"Oh, trust me. This war has been brewing for eons before my time. My way will produce the least amount of casualties," Aerith sighed and shook her head,

"We need to divert the Cherbi's path."

"I'll distract her for you, Aerith."

And as everyone was deliberating on what to do, Riley was already in front of the ship's hatch, "I also want to test if Hannah's powers are truly enough to bait the Cherbi for research purposes."

"You do realize you just gave me a reason not to send you out there, right?"

[I'll go with him,] Tedi's hologram returned, [He will need to have someone with access to hyperspeed if you want him to reach Theran in time, anyway.]

"..." Aerith seemed to be lost in thought as she just subconsciously looked at Riley; her mind, filled with all sorts of damages that Riley could do if he suddenly gets the urge to cause trouble.

"Why don't you just create a hundred clones and let them use your sister's powers?" Aerith then squinted her eyes as she looked Riley in the eyes.

"They can't," Riley shook his head, "They will wither and die away before they can produce enough power."

"..." Once again, Aerith stared at the floor as she heard Riley's words. But finally, after a few seconds, she let out a short but deep sigh and looked at Tedi's hologram,

"I hope you can handle Riley if something happens—never trust him, no matter what."

[But you trust him, no?]

"I tolerate him, there's a difference. Deal with the Cherbi, and immediately continue to Theran. Don't worry, I would make sure no one shoots you down when you enter themarian territory."

[Hm,] and with that, Tedi's hologram disappeared; the colossal silver silhouette around the ship that is Tedi's body, almost creating a wailing sound as it started to gain weight while moving.

"Riley, you—" Aerith was going to say something to Riley, but he was no longer anywhere to be found on the ship. Aerith could really only close her eyes, before nodding and taking control of the ship.

"We should have more than enough energy to reach themarian territory in full hyperdrive," Aerith then said, "Elder Olseyir, you should probably buckle up."

"Uhm…" Elder Olseyir slightly let out a confused hum as she secured herself in a seat, "...May I ask why we need to separate, Princess Aerith? We can just wait for them to lead the Cherbi away."

"No. It will take a while to lure the Cherbi. It might seem to just move on instinct, but it still has a mind of its own," Aerith breathed out as she triggered the ship's hyperdrive, "It is as smart as you and me, it just doesn't care enough to actually think about anything."

"You seem to know a lot about it."

"Of course. It is one of the things in this Universe that could send a themarian to Eternal Death—and it won't even struggle."

"Then…" Elder Olseyir looked outside the window as she whispered, "...Can't we use it to kill Riley Ross?"

"..." Aerith seemed to truly think about it as she also glanced at the window. But after a few breaths, she shook her head, "Themarians are just insanely difficult to kill that we almost seem immortal. Riley is completely deathless—or in a play of words, Deathful—he dies, but just doesn't stay dead…

…he is like an itch that doesn't disappear and gets even worse the more you scratch it."

"Is he making you itchy? Is that why you are lovers?"

"..." Aerith almost fell on her seat as she heard Elder Olseyir's words, "Just…

…where did they pick you up?" And with those words, the ship finally started to move and accelerate to hyperspeed, leaving Riley and the colossal Tedi alone with the incoming Cherbi.

[I told you,] Tedi's words vibrated in the dark expanse of space, moving directly to Riley's eardrums, causing him to lightly scratch the inside of his ears, [The new elder of the Common Council is weird.]

"She seems normal to me, Tedi. I believe all of the members of the Common Council are weird."

[I'm not weird.]

"Okay, you're just large."

[...Enough about this,] Tedi shook her large head the size of several cities before settling her eyes at the approaching pink fluff, [You said you can produce some sort of solar energy?]

"Nuclear, I believe," Riley nodded as he flew to the side of Tedi's head, "My sister did name herself Nuclear Baby, so I will take her word for it."

[That is practically the same in the grand scheme of things. And why is your sister—No, it doesn't matter,] Tedi blinked a couple of times,

[How much nuclear energy can you produce?]

[That depends, Tedi…] Riley's long white hair started to vibrate, dancing in the air as his silhouette distorted; his face, very slowly cracking as it produced some sort of light,

[...How much do you need?]

**NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT**

Hi, I joined the WSA 2023 with an R18 book, knowing R18 books are not allowed because I'm a degenerate. Do check it out and vote for it! The title is 'The Rise of the Eromancer.'---It will be sort of a parody of Hunter/Necromancer novels that have been going around lately---but with one of the best plots one could think of. Check it out!

Rise of the Eromancer