Villain Retirement

"…Please, give me pointers, Senior."

"Hm… should be fun."

No one was noticing it, but the open field of the Hero Academy had actually been changing size according to who was using it — it was the size of a football field initially, but it was suddenly smaller now, perhaps to accommodate a more combat condition between two people who were obviously brawlers on their own rights.

Of course, it could also be because Miss Pepondosovich was 3 and a half feet tall not counting her bunny ears. Be that as it may, however, perhaps out of all the people present there, Ambrucx could feel how gigantic Miss Pepondosovich's presence truly was. Ambrucx almost found it hard to move as she felt like Miss Pepondosovich was filling the entire field; trapping her there and tightening her grasp on her even with just a breath.

"I don't really know if I could be considered your ancestor, though…" Miss Pepondosovich then started hopping lightly before crouching on the ground and stretching her legs, "...Your ears and my ears are different."

"Be that as it may, I do believe that your age beckons respect." As for Ambrucx, she only kneeled on the ground and started whispering to herself; not bothering to warm up or stretch her limbs.

"Oh, you're not going to loosen your muscles?" Miss Pepondosovich's ears bent to the side as she was curious as to what Ambrucx was saying to herself, "...You're praying?"

"Yes," Ambrucx carefully stood up; her head still lowered and going even lower as she bowed her head at Miss Pepondosovich, "I already know that I will lose against you, Miss Pepondosovich — I am only praying that I would not lose without putting as much as a fight."

"Hm…" Miss Pepondosovich placed her hand on her chin and nodded. And after a few seconds, she turned to look at Riley, who just had a smile on his face as he looked back and forth between her and Ambrucx.

"You may start anytime now," Riley then said. And without even a millisecond of saying so, Ambrucx disappeared from her spot; rushing toward Miss Pepondosovich on all fours and destroying the field beneath her.

Ambrucx did not say anything at all; her focus at its maximum as she moved to the side away from Miss Pepondosovich's vision and lunged toward her defenseless back.

"Woah…" Miss Pepondosovich, however, just calmly crouched and stepped forward, even grabbing and tucking her bunny ears down to avoid Ambrucx's leg sweep — and almost at the same time, she hopped as Ambrucx swung her claws at a speed that created thunders to erupt across the entire field,

"That's it…?" Miss Pepondosovich then turned around to look at Ambrucx while still dodging another set of her claws, "You don't have to worry about using your full strength."

Miss Pepondosovich then nonchalantly pointed at Riley while Ambrucx continued to be relentless with her strikes, "That guy has this entire field protected to the point that even if your claws can cut through an entire planet like butter, it wouldn't matter — wait, can you do that?"

"..." Ambrucx did not really answer, only stopping her barrage in response before leaping back.

"Oh…?" Miss Pepondosovich's ears stood up as she watched as Ambrucx's fur suddenly start to glow in a golden light, with gold particles even dancing around her as all of her fur stood up on their ends. Ambrucx's claws also started to dig through the ground as they grew in length and size.

And without even as much as a word again, Ambrucx disappeared from her spot; appearing almost instantly beside Miss Pepondosovich with her sharp claws already just an inch away from Miss Pepondosovich's face.

"That's more like it," Miss Pepondosovich, however, still had the leisure to just talk while Ambrucx probably swung her claws at her a hundred times in less than a second, "You are really strong, no wonder that Argy guy something ran away from you."

"You told me to use all of my strength," Ambrucx then finally opened her mouth while growling, "Please, I expect you to do the same. It's only—!!!"

And before Ambrucx could even finish her words, Miss Pepondosovich suddenly stopped dodging and let Ambrucx's claws hit her… which caused a loud crack to erupt in the air as Ambrucx's claws shattered instantly—no.

It wasn't only her claws that shattered, her paw was also torn apart and her arm was completely bent in 4 places. Ambrucx did not even have a single millisecond to appreciate the pain, however…

…as Miss Pepondosovich started to lift her foot up.

—And not even a millimeter of doing so, the very space itself started to crack.

And once again, Ambrucx realized that the giant she was seeing behind Miss Pepondosovich wasn't even awake — and now that she was opening her eyes, Ambrucx felt herself almost drowning as she felt as if just a single eye of her covered the entire sky—no, it covered the entire expanse of space above them.

It wasn't only Ambrucx who was feeling it, the other applicants also found it hard to breathe; even Silvie was gripping her fists as she subtly glanced at Riley.

She truly thought that she could have at least shrunk the distance between her and Riley after 600 years, but now that she realized how truly monstrous the people surrounding him were, the only thing Silvie could really do… was to try and strive even more from now on.

[Pass.]

Riley then suddenly disappeared from the side of the field, only to emerge crouched between Ambrucx and Miss Pepondosovich while holding Miss Pepondosovich's knee to prevent it from going up any further,

[Congratulations, Ambrucx.]

"Heh…" Miss Pepondosovich lowered her foot as she smiled at Ambrucx, "...I really like you, child. As someone who has also lost her children, I am sure the two of us can bond even more after this."

"You also—" Ambrucx looked Miss Pepondosovich in the eyes before just once again bowing her head, "Thank you for showing me what beastmen are capable of, Miss Pepondosovich."

"Well…" Miss Pepondosovich then approached Ambrucx and started pushing and dragging her away, "...I shouldn't really be your basis for strength, I have attained Godhood, and what that means is that I broke through the limits and…"

And as Miss Pepondosovich had probably found her favorite student, Riley continued the application as he called the names of those who were left — and as is the case, more applicants failed than they passed.

And finally, after almost an entire day of just watching people fight, the entrance examination ended — with one applicant missing.

"Gary's variant did not come," Silvie said as she approached Riley as soon as he was done announcing the end of the exam, "I suppose that's for the better, Gary's male variants always have the tendency of becoming a little—"

"Wait! Please, wait!"

And before everyone could leave the field and pack up, Gary suddenly emerged from the distance; frantically waving his hands while leaving a trail of dust behind him.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Gary then wheezed as he stood in front of Riley; his breaths, enough to cause the grass beneath his feet to ripple away, "I know I'm late, but please… please let me take the exam."

"You're already late, Gary," Silvie was the one to answer Gary; her sigh, causing him to lower his head further, "Perhaps try applying to be a cop instead, being late is one of their defining traits — and you could help people as well, truly help them at an intimate level that superheroes can't."

"I… I want to be a real hero," Gary shook his head.

"Cops can be real heroes if they want to," Silvie shook her head.

"Please… please," Gary pleaded. He would have probably kneeled down if it wasn't for Silvie stopping her, "Let me have this chance, I can—"

[Very well.]

And as Gary was pleading, Riley once again turned on his microphone before pointing his palm at Esme.

[But since you were late, only Miss Esme has not left her spot, so she is the only opponent you can choose from.]

"O…opponent?" Gary squinted his eyes as he looked at the field and all the other people there, "The second test is combat? I… I can do that."

"Gary, you don't have to become a superhero," Silvie insisted.

"...It's the only thing I can become," Gary shook his head before walking to the center of the field.

[Very well, Miss Esme — please,] Riley gestured to Esme to follow Gary on the field, [You do not have to hold back, but do not kill him.]

"As you wish, Master," Esme nodded before walking to the field and facing Gary.

[The two of you may start anytime now.]

"My name is Gary Gray," Gary introduced himself, "I'll become the best superhero the entire universe has ever—!!!"

And before Gary could even finish his words, he found his entire vision covered by Esme. He was about to leap back to gain some distance…

…but suddenly found his stomach pierced by Esme's unusually long arm.