Villain Retirement

"I… We won't forget this!"

Those were the words that roared and soon whispered in the air as the group of men finally left the courtyard; their eyes, glancing back repeatedly and their steps somewhat heavy as they did so.

The one that caused them to run frantically, however, could not seem to care less about them as she just stood with a blank expression on her face. She, however, seemed to be enjoying standing directly behind Riley. And with the difference in their height, Riley almost looked like a neglected child; the blood scattered on his face and long white hair did not help.

"..." Riley then once again looked up at Esme, who already had a growing smile on her face.

"How did I do, Professor Riley?" Esme then said as she looked down, "Did you think my threat was effective? I tried to involve their family as you taught us in class."

"That was a warning, Princess Esme," Riley just blinked before looking away.

"..." Princess Esme, on the other hand, could not help but sigh as the smile on her face faded away, "I will do better next time, Professor Riley. But—who is that?"

"That is Gary Gray, Princess Esme," Riley quickly answered as he saw who Esme was pointing at, "He is Aerith's son."

"So, he is your son as well?" Esme blinked a couple of times as she slowly approached Gary, who was still completely frozen with his butt on the ground; his face, showing his confusion as to what was happening, 

"The two of you do not look alike."

"He is not my son, Princess Esme. I did accidentally kill his father while fighting with his mother, however," Riley then sighed as he too, started approaching Gary,

"I was also supposed to kill him to make Aerith angry, but I realized Aerith would probably just try her best to stay as calm as possible and not give in to the rage."

"Does Aerith really have that much self-control?"

"When it counts," Riley nodded as he looked at Gary.

"Hm," Esme did the same, "I detect a hint of themarian energy from him, so I assume he is not entirely Themarian?"

"No, he is half human and half themarian."

"A half-breed with this much themarian energy. That is impressive," Esme's eyes slightly widened as she heard Riley's words, "No wonder he is being taunted by his cousins. He has a legitimate claim to the throne—most half-breeds do not."

"Stop calling me a half-breed!" Gary then finally stood up; he, however, very slowly turned his head up due to how tall Esme was, "I… I'm the son of Aerith'Hel!"

"But you are also the son of a species from the Unknown, no?" Esme tilted her head to the side.

"That—"

"Do not mind him too much, Princess Esme," Riley sighed and shook his head, "He used to be very funny, but I suppose every one of us had to grow up at one point. I wonder when my turn is."

"Why… how are you even here, Riley?" Gary's eyebrows started to furrow, "I thought… I thought you were lost in space."

"I had a very useful companion called Hera, Gary."

"Hera… You were with Hera?" Gary's eye started to twitch before turning to look at Esme again, "And now… you're with another woman?"

"She is a princess, Gary. Please show her respect."

"I do not mind people addressing me how they want, Professor Riley," Esme quickly responded, "I am, after all, not the princess of this nation."

"That wouldn't be—"

"How?" And before Riley could start casually talking with Esme, the sound of Gary's teeth chattering whispered in the air,

"How is it that you're still surrounded by people, Riley? You shouldn't… It's not right," Gary forced a chuckle, "That… that should be me."

"Perhaps because I am more aesthetically pleasing, Gary?"

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" Gary started pointing at Riley, causing him to avoid his finger, "Once… Once I become the ruler of Hel, I will make sure you pay for all the things you've done!"

"You wish to be the ruler of Hel, Gary?" Riley's eyebrows started to furrow, "Is that why you are just here moping around while your mother is about to be executed?"

"She… she's not going to be executed!" Gary snarled, "Her trial is still coming up! They won't do anything to her!"

"That is just a formality, Prince Gary," Esme was the one to respond to Gary's words, "They are doing it for publicity so that everyone would see that even the Princess of Hel can not escape the repercussions of breaking the law."

"That—"

"Where is Aerith, Gary?"

"I… she… I don't know where she is."

"How can you be a ruler of a nation if you can't even save your mother, Gary?" Riley then let out a small sigh, 

"You could not even save your lover."

"You… You're the one who killed her!" Gary let out a roar as his eyes started to glow red, "You fucking killed her!"

"Hm," Riley only looked at Gary for a few more seconds, before turning around and shaking his head, "Shall we go, Princess Esme? We still need to find someone who can lead us to Aerith."

"Wait, where are you going!? We're not done!" Gary rushed toward Riley, passing by Princess Esme as he did so, but found his path blocked by an invisible wall. Gary tried punching the wall several times, causing a blast of wind to form around his arms as he did so—but alas, he couldn't move forward even by an inch.

"It is alright to be weak, Prince Gary," Esme then let out a small sigh as she placed her hand on the invisible wall, patting it several times before just casually pushing her hand forward. The whites of her palm started to show themselves, but only for a moment.

As with a single, normal breath, Esme was able to pierce through Riley's telekinetic barrier without even any of her veins showing.

"Having too much strength is… quite boring."

"..." And with that, Gary was left alone to stand in the courtyard by himself; almost as if atrocious acts of violence were not committed around him just moments ago.

This was his first meeting with Riley after their fateful battle on Earth…

…and he just left like that?

"Why… 

…why am I always being treated like a minor character!?"

"Do you want to be treated better, then?"

And before Gary's whispers could seep into the hallways of the castle, a voice whispered in Gary's ears. Gary started looking around, only to see no one there with him.

"I can help you," the words, however, continued as if it was just right beside his ears, "I can help you become stronger."

"..." Gary's breaths started to become heavier with each of the words slithering through his ears; and after a few more breaths,

"Fuck no," he said, 

"You think I don't know this trope!? Go fuck yourself! I ain't trusting this shit, your voice sounds 'background evil character' as fuck! I've read this a hundred times! Go fuck yours—ah fuck, my wound opened up."

And with that, Gary also left the courtyard.

"..."