Villain Retirement

"Stay away… or we will be forced to eliminate you along with the pope."

Soul Conqueror's voice seeped through the Gold Paladin's lips; and almost as if the Golden Paladin was slowly being pushed back into the depths of his own body, a completely different voice now resided in his mouth.

Of course, Riley didn't really know whose voice is who — but judging by Angela and the Pope's expression, any traces of the Gold Paladin have already fallen asleep.

"We don't want to be your enemy, Riley Ross," Soul Conqueror muttered; his voice, as calm as the pool of blood they were standing on,

"We started this organization in your image, don't let us ruin it by having your blood in our hands."

"My image?" Riley looked at the forest of corpses surrounding them, looking at the red scarves and masks that they were carrying, "Red is not my favorite color, Soul Conqueror."

"..." Soul Conqueror did not respond to Riley's words and instead just turned around to look at the Pope… before suddenly ramming his head towards them — only to be stopped by the invisible wall that was encapsulating the two.

"Remove the shield, Riley. I like you, but we need the Pope dead even more," Soul Conqueror muttered as he ripped off Gold Paladin's golden armor as it crumpled when he rammed the invisible wall — revealing a black tight suit that wrapped the Gold Paladin's toned body perfectly.

"You can't penetrate it?" A subtle smile slowly crawled on Riley's face, "Angela told me that Megawoman said you were almost indestructible… but it would seem you're not that strong."

"...Then it would seem we need to try," a smile also appeared on the Gold Paladin's face as he stepped forward — but before he could even take 2 steps, he found himself blocked by an invisible wall.

He tried moving back, but once again, a wall.

"..." The only thing he could really do was look at Riley, whose head was slightly tilted to the side; slightly curious as to what Soul Conqueror would do now.

"Riley!" Angela screamed, "He can teleport!"

And even before her words could reach Riley, Soul Conqueror already appeared behind Riley; his shoulder, already on their way to ram against him. Each of his steps was enough to split the ground, causing the pool of blood to blast away as he rushed toward Riley.

Riley did not even try to dodge, however, only meeting the Gold Paladin's shoulder head-on — and as soon as it made contact…

…nothing really happened. Riley did not move even a single inch.

"Indestructible," he then whispered before suddenly grabbing Gold Paladin's face and slamming his head to the ground.

"!!!" Angela could only crouch and grab the Pope as the ground started to cave in — but found herself hovering in the air; not moving from the invisible box that Riley confined them in. No, it wasn't only them that were unmoved. Even the corpses that were staked on the ground remained still, floating in the air even more ominously now.

Angela then turned her attention back to Riley, only to see him dragging the Gold Paladin through the crater they made. But as Gold Paladin was able to break free from Riley's grip, he quickly disappeared.

"...Oh?" Riley then quickly looked above him, only to see Gold Paladin's fist already pointing at his head.

Riley, however, quickly spun his body; grabbing the Gold Paladin's wrist before slamming him to the ground. And once again, the ground cracked — this time, the entire Vatican City trembled as the crater rippled even more violently.

"Weight manipulation and invulnerability," Riley muttered as Gold Paladin once again disappeared. Riley didn't seem to mind, however, as he just looked at his phone that was still live streaming and muttered,

"Now you're almost as heavy as my sister."

And before a smile could form on his face, the Gold Paladin's limbs suddenly wrapped around him from behind; his arms, trying to choke and almost pull Riley's head off.

"..." Riley once again did not budge. His clothes, not even crumpling and his hair not even swaying as the Gold Paladin tightened his grip. A few seconds after, however, Riley let out a small breath; and as he did so, his hair started to move and his clothes finally showed signs of crumpling.

"Let's see if Megawoman was telling the truth," and with those words whispering from his mouth, the two started to tremble— No. They started to vibrate.

And almost like a drill, they started to dig through the ground beneath them. The crater cracked like a web, once again causing the entire Vatican City to move from the map.

Very slowly, however, the Gold Paladin's arms started to pry open.

"Ra!" The Gold Paladin roared as he tried to tighten his grip, causing Riley to smile as the ground beneath started to be blown away.

And soon, a small and somewhat hissing laughter escaped from Riley's mouth as he was able to free his arms and grab both of the Gold Paladin's wrists. And with a loud breath, Riley leaped into the air along with the Gold Paladin as he pushed away his arms.

The square, now completely bursting away — any of its previous holiness or grandness, no longer recognizable.

And with Riley now free from the Gold Paladin's clutches, he immediately somersaulted in the air; his foot, swinging straight towards the Gold Paladin's head.

"!!!"

The Gold Paladin was not able to teleport as he quickly shot through the ground, causing the crater to once again deepen. And before he could even recover a single breath, Riley dived down and covered his face.

"You can't teleport now, right?" Riley then whispered as he slammed Gold Paladin's head to the ruined ground,

"You need to see to be able to teleport."

And with those words, Riley tightened his grip on the Gold Paladin's face, while his other hand grabbed his thigh,

"Now let's see if you're really indestructible," he then said as he lifted the Gold Paladin from the ground and slowly floated in the air while starting to stretch the Gold Paladin's body.

"Riley..." Angela could finally see the destruction Riley was capable of. The entire Vatican City was now literally and completely wiped away from the face of the Earth.

All that remained really, were fragments of what it once was. But with the thousand corpses still floating in the air, Angela knew-- Angela knew that Riley could have prevented the city from being blown away if he decided to, but no.

But in the end, all she could really do was watch. After all, this incarnation of chaos himself was the one shielding the Pope.

The Golden Paladin was now kicking Riley's face, but aside from creating thunders and slightly nudging Riley's face, nothing really happened — instead, Riley's grip tightened even further as a small crack started to whisper in the air.

"You… you can't—"

"Oh, I think I can," the smile on Riley's face now reached from ear to ear as the cracking whispers slowly became louder and louder — like metal being squeezed.

And then, almost as if the air itself cracked… the Gold Paladin's skin started to stretch.

"Gah!"

Riley's eyes started to twitch as the panicked screams of the Soul Conqueror reached his ears; his grip, tightening even further as his smile started to slightly tremble.

"I missed this," he then whispered.

And soon, a drip of blood fell on his face.

"He… he's actually doing it!" Angela, who was watching the fight unfold, could not help but gasp. But a few moments later, her eyebrows raised, "W… wait, Riley! Don't kill him, he is just being possessed by the Soul Conqueror!"

"..." Riley completely ignored Angela's words as he just listened to the Soul Conqueror's screams. Soon, however, his screams started to distort — his voice, now blending with another once again.

"W… wait!" And soon, his voice completely changed — perhaps a sign that the Soul Conqueror has returned the Golden Paladin his own body. Riley, however… shut his mouth with his telekinesis before he could say anything further.

And with Riley almost gritting his teeth, a loud crack exploded in the air as he was finally able to fully stretch his arms to the side.

The Gold Paladin's guts, falling towards Riley as his body was completely and perfectly split in half.

"Well…

…Megawoman was just being humble."