Villain Retirement

"...That's one down."

A small clanging whispered in the air as Crimson Paladin quickly moved away, trying to get Riley in view of the camera as he stepped down the stage. She then quickly zoomed in as Riley slightly raised his hand; nothing really happened, not yet.

But soon, the floor beside Riley cracked — and with a flick of his finger, the woman that disappeared into the floor and never came back finally re-emerged. She emerged completely different, however.

Her face was barely recognizable as bits of her skull were already poking out of her head — her eyes popped out.

Crimson Paladin quickly approached Riley, walking around him as she panned over the mangled corpse.

"..." And as this was happening, the two remaining members of the supremacist group could really only look at each other before watching the scene unfold helplessly.

Every member of the House of Super has ranks because all of them considered themselves soldiers — soldiers of the evolution of the human race.

The highest one of them, of course, is their supreme leader and the commander of the realms — the one they call The Caesar.

The Caesar was followed by the Field Marshall, then so on until the lowest of the ranks, Lieutenant. None of them were just mere foot soldiers, as every Super has noble blood flowing through their veins according to The Caesar.

Thousandblade was considered to be a Colonel-General, just below the Field Marshall. As for the three, they were Colonels and were somewhat in the middle of the hierarchy.

And as colonels, they were specifically sent to the Paige and Paragon agency to confirm whether or not Paragon truly was Riley Ross. And if not, they were ordered to dispose of him so they could finally get rid of one of the biggest thorns to their movement.

Well, at least that is how it was supposed to be. To think not even after a minute of them entering the building, one of them would already be dead.

"..."

They then watched as the corpse of their comrade started floating towards them — passing by them as it continued to float out of the door and disappear; they could hear a slight thud whispering from the outside, and whatever that sound is… it couldn't be good for them.

"You… are you really Riley Ross?"

The color of the hair was completely different, even the eyebrows and eyes were different — but that kind of face truly did belong to just a singular person.

"Well, I suppose I might be the only one with that name now… granted if those who shared by name didn't survive with the bombs," and very slowly, Riley smiled.

And finally, they saw the very thing that proved his existence to be true — his smile that reached from ear to ear.

"It… It truly is you!" One of the men bellowed.

"Wait… please wait!" He then took off his mask — and if Crimson Paladin were to be believed, this is the one that's called Robert.

"What are you doing!?" His comrade, Taylor, could not help but once again scream as he saw Robert suddenly kneeling on the ground.

"Shut up! You're in the presence of Riley Ross!"

The members of the House of Super all have their corresponding ranks — and there was one rank, however, reserved for their most special member… their Martyr, Riley Ross.

"We… we did all of this for you, Riley Ross!" Robert stated, "You… you showed us the way and opened our eyes that we are meant to be greater. When… when I saw you rescue Megawoman from the clutches of the mud people, you woke me up from the truth… you…

…you saved me, Riley Ross!"

"..." Riley could only blink several times as he looked at Robert. He then turned towards Crimson Paladin, almost as if asking her what was happening.

Crimson Paladin really only shrugged her shoulders. With her line of work, she has seen all sorts of men that are devoted to their cause — and most of them, already beyond reasonable.

It didn't really matter to her as she just continued to film what was happening. But as soon as she looked back at Robert, however…

…she screamed.

She screamed as she found her sword suddenly lodged through Robert, practically almost splitting him in half.

"...You didn't get it on camera," Riley sighed.

"T… that's a sword blessed by his Holiness himself!" Crimson Paladin roared, "I'm the only one allowed to use it!"

"I'm just borrowing it," Riley shook his head, "Besides, you weren't using it."

"That doesn't mean you can use it! I didn't give you permission!"

"Humans tend to not ask for permission, Crimson Paladin," Riley said with a content smile on his face.

"Y—"

"S… shit!"

And now, as the only one left alive, Taylor took the chance to run away as Riley and the Crimson Paladin were talking.

His body burst into flames, covering his silhouette entirely.

"Oh, you have a power similar to Hannah."

Sadly for him, Riley was already in front of him as soon as he turned around — and without even any warning, Riley suddenly tightly wrapped his arms around him,

"Oh, it's different. Of course, it's different… Hannah is special, after all."

"W— Die!" Taylor screamed as he felt Riley's hold getting tighter; the flames surrounding his body, exploding and bursting even stronger.

And as soon as the entire room turned bright, the Crimson Paladin immediately adjusted the ISO of the phone's camera — no longer minding about her sword as she just continued to do the task that was asked of her.

After all, the Crimson Paladin always puts a hundred percent of her dedication, no matter the job.

"..." And as the bursting flames continued to burn hotter, a sigh escaped from Riley's mouth.

"The foundation of your group is power, right?" Riley then casually said even as the flames slowly started to crawl towards him.

Taylor didn't really say anything as he just continued to roar; his flames, now moving erratically as he felt Riley's grip growing tighter and tighter.

"Screaming won't suddenly make you stronger, Taylor. This isn't anime," Riley once again sighed, "Is this it? Is this the extent of what you can do? It's…

…disappointing."

And as soon as he said that, the air around them started to distort,

"Watch, this is real power."

"!!!"

The flames surrounding Taylor started to turn purple as the heat surrounding them started to multiply to the point that the floor beneath them instantly melted away — this heat, however, surprisingly did not reach Crimson Paladin as it seemed to just stop in a circle around them.

And soon, Taylor screamed as… parts of him started to melt.

And soon, the flames around him just faded away, revealing his flesh that was slowly starting to slide off his bones.

"..." Riley once again let out a small sigh as the air returned to normal. Taylor's body then collapsed almost like a wet noodle as he let him go.

"..."

"..."

And then, once again, a sigh escaped from his mouth as he stared at the two corpses — his breaths, clearly showing his disappointment. He raised his hand, floating the two corpses in the air before also throwing them out of the building.

"..." Crimson Paladin also started to float — she didn't seem to mind, however, as she just followed the two corpses with the camera. She even gestured to Riley to take her higher so she could get a better angle.

And there, those that were watching the stream finally saw what happened to the corpse of the woman from the House of Super.

It was pinned outside the building, decorating the walls just above the Paige and Paragon signage. Her corpse wouldn't be alone for long, however, as she was reunited with Taylor and Robert as they too… were pinned beside her.

Riley then very slowly came into view — a smile, already plastered on his face as he stared directly at the phone's lenses.

"This is for the House of Super," he then said as he slightly glanced at the corpses hanging behind him, "I have already announced your death. And so…"

Riley raised his hands to the side, and as he did so, another body suddenly shot out from outside the camera's view, before also pinning itself on the building alongside the three.

And then… it was followed by another.

And then another, again and again — bodies started appearing from every direction, almost like flies caught in a trap. In fact, some of them seemed to still be alive; their blood, endlessly trailing on the wall.

"Wherever you are, wherever my subordinates kill you — your corpses will find their way here."

"..." Crimson Paladin started floating away, revealing almost a hundred bodies that were now almost covering the side of an entire floor.

Was… she really just supposed to watch and film Riley while he does this? Just what is the Pope trying to accomplish by doing this? Her presence here was basically telling the entire world that he was supporting Riley's actions.

He knows Riley is Darkday, so why is he doing something like this? Even before during the incident of Megawoman's clones in Los Angeles, the Pope asked her to offer Riley assistance.

…Why?

"Run, hide. It doesn't matter what you do," Riley then repeated the words he said from his last livestream, "As long as you are a member of the House of Super…

…this will be your grave."

***AUTHOR NOTES***

Read 'Wait, My Juice Can Save The World?' Now!

It's been rewritten for the contest! It's about a man who went back to the past and was given quite... a juicy system.