Villain Retirement

"I do not want to leave, but I suppose all things must come to an end, Professor."

"I suppose so, Princess Esme."

"I shall take my leave then, Professor. I hope to see you again in Varoif, or any other place that is not Hel."

"Hm."

"I will truly miss being in your presence, Professor Riley. It has been a learning experience."

"Hm."

1 month.

Princess Esme and Riley have been in Hel for an entire month—and yet aside from the trial, Riley has not even seen a glimpse of Aerith. Esme was really only given a single month to stay in Hel. And since she is from Varoif, that is already considered long. She was given special admission as she is considered to be an important representative of Varoif, being a part of the royal family and all.

Riley, on the other hand, was given a permit to stay in Hel indefinitely by Princess Tifa. Esme also wanted to say when she became aware of this—but alas, a lot of paperwork is involved for someone as high profile as her to stay more than a month in a foreign nation.

And so, right now, the only thing that Esme could really do was watch as Riley's figure very slowly became smaller and smaller as she flew away; escorted by members of the Grand Militia to ensure her safety.

"...I suppose Professor still has a clone in Varoif."

"..."

And her escort could really only fly at least 3 meters beside her; backing away even farther as they heard her whisper to herself. This might just look like a simple escort mission, but in truth, they might as well be escorting a stellar bomb.

"Well, there goes our little giant princess. I am so going to miss her."

"You're still here, Star Sergeant Zac? You should also leave."

"We've been through this, Lord Riley. I can't leave until you are still registered as a Champion Sergeant of the Grand Militia."

"Then as you as my witness, I, Riley Ross from Planet Earth, hereby retire and hand over my title as a Champion Sergeant of the Order of the Grand Militia, to one Star Sergeant Zac."

"Wait, really? You're… you're promoting me to Champion Sergeant!? That is an hono—No!"

"Wow, congratulations, si—"

"No! Stop clapping!"

Zac's frustrated screams almost echoed straight through Varoif; which was not really hard to do, as he and Riley were currently right in front of the border of Hel. And with them being surrounded by members of the Grand Militia, some of the border guards started to clap their hands upon hearing Zac's faux promotion.

"You should grasp a blessing when it is in front of you, Star Sergeant Zac."

"P… please don't use your authority as a Champion Sergeant," Zac then started pushing Riley away from the border patrol before he says something else ridiculous,

"That is the very reason I am here, Lord Riley. To ensure you won't abuse authority that is not yours in the first place."

"Hm," Riley just shrugged his shoulders, "Then can I order a platoon of soldiers to search Aerith?"

"...Please don't," Zac could really only let out a long and deep sigh as he once again started following Riley, "The Princess will turn up in her next trial, she has no choice but to do so—she can't remove the collar."

"Hm…" Riley just placed his hand on his chin, before glancing at the border behind him and at the horizon in front of him.

"Don't we have to return to the castle? Your deal with Princess Tifa is still in effect."

"No," Riley shook his head, "My clone can do that."

"...How many clones do you have?"

"Interesting," Riley turned to look Zac in the eyes, "People always ask me that. If you truly wish to know, then I have 3 currently on Theran—Well, I had 5, one was attached to Katherine and it would seem she left the planet. I can't detect it anymore."

"You… can do that? You didn't attach anything to your sister? What was her name again?"

"Hannah Ross," Riley nodded, before closing his eyes and shaking his head vehemently, "And no, that is a breach of her privacy, Star Sergeant Zac. You do not want to know what would happen if she finds out I am spying on her—she will end the universe."

"If you have 3 on Theran… then how many do you have outside?" Zac raised an eyebrow as a certain thought started to emerge from his mind.

"I left one on Hotis 4J," Riley let out a small hum as he once again placed his hand on his chin, "But he already destroyed that and went on to destroy other planets before he got captured by the Common Council."

"I think I may have heard of that."

"But I believe he created other clones," Riley then nodded again, "So I will not really be able to give you a certain number, Star Sergeant Zac. There is also Little Riley who is with Pirate Queen Xra's crew—I can't detect him, so he is either dead or left my range."

"Wait… your clones can create clones?" A small bead of sweat started to perforate from Zac's face—something Themarians rarely do.

"They could," Riley shrugged as he started walking again; passing by the other people that were crossing the border, "And their clones could produce clones."

"...To what extent?" Zac no longer knows whether to let out a chuckle or take in a gulp, "Are they all as strong as you?"

"No, they lack my creativity, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley sighed, "They will die once they are killed."

"These clones… what exactly do they do?"

"Whatever my last order was, and they will not stop."

"...And what was your last order?"

"To kill everyone, Star Sergeant Zac."

"W… what?" Zac finally chose an expression—and that was to just force a chuckle, "How… how many do you think there are?"

"There could be none, Star Sergeant Zac. You do not have to worry—I have learned my clones can develop their own personalities when untethered to me," Riley let out a small hum, "Do you know that I had a clone that had his own family? His own life? It truly is a shame that it did not last because of me."

"...But what are the chances there could also be thousands of them?"

"Probably a lot more than the chances of there being only one, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley then turned around to look Zac straight in the eyes. The themarians that were entering and exiting the border, passing by them in the number of hundreds—and as always is the case for most themarians, they were completely empathetic about the things around them.

"Why… do you want to destroy the universe?"

"Pft…" Riley then unexpectedly let out a small chuckle, "That is another question I have heard a lot of times, Star Sergeant Zac. And my answer will always be the same—because I want to."

"..."

"It is just very unfortunate for everyone else that I could kill everyone," Riley nodded again, "But fortunately for everyone else, there is a certain breed of species that could stop me…

…You."