Villain Retirement

"D… dad!?"

"I think that's enough."

In the expanse of space where darkness was all there is, a sense of hope was finally felt by the four youths. They thought they would forever be in the grasp of this white-haired torturing maniac, but finally, hope arrived.

It arrived in the form of a big, muscular man with a thick, fine mustache.

"Dad!" Con bellowed.

"Dad?"

"It's our papa!" And true enough, Riley's assumption was right that Con and Leena were siblings as both of them turned to look at the muscular man with nothing but smiles.

Like the red violent beam that shoots out from their bodies, the four youths rushed towards this muscular man and hid behind him; their eyes, however, still remained locked on Riley-his long white hair that was still confidently vibrating in excitement even with the entrance of the older and obviously much stronger themarian.

The man with a mustache only glanced at the four young themarian, before stretching his hand to the left. It was just a simple gesture, but it almost seemed as if the four felt protected from everything the universe has to throw at them.

And almost like a response to Riley's smile, the man's mustache started to move as a smirk crawled on her face.

"Darmuid, Champion Sergeant of the Arkloom Brigade," the muscular mustached man, who revealed himself to be Darmuid, placed his hands behind him before calmly floating closer to Riley; his pecs, now even more pronounced due to the tight leather-like brown suit he was wearing.

"My name is Riley Ross, Hannah's brother, and Aerith's lover," the smile on Riley's face slightly lessened as he bowed to introduce himself to Darmuid, "May I ask what brings you here?"

"..." Darmuid did not answer, and instead, the four young themarians just watched quietly as he calmly hovered closer and closer toward Riley, his hands still placed behind him. His gaze was as calm as his pace, and yet there was this obvious boiling rage just wanting to escape his breaths.

"Are all of you alright?" And like an obvious provocation, Champion Sergeant Darmuid turned his head back toward his children and the two other themarians as soon as he was within the reach of Riley's arm.

Leena and the others, however, could really only turn their heads down. How could they even answer something like that, when it was already obvious just from their expressions of terror?

"It doesn't matter," Darmuid calmly breathed out as he shook his head,

"I am here to take you back home," he then took out a triangular translucent object from his pocket and threw it toward his daughter.

Leena did not really hesitate to catch it, and without even waiting for anything else to happen, she quickly twisted the small pyramid. Minjun, Asha, and Con also rushed to place their hands on her shoulder—and in a blink, the four of them were gone, leaving only their tears as a reminder of the horrific things that have transpired in this cold, desolate, and empty space.

Riley did not do anything to stop this, and even curiously looked back and forth between Darmuid and the empty space where the young themarians disappeared into.

"..." And with them gone, Darmuid calmly turned his attention back to Riley. He looked at him from head to toe, before letting out a small sigh and shaking his head,

"I know who you are," he then breathed out, "What I do not know is what you are doing with the Blood Spirit."

"...Blood Spirit? You mean the Inihaw na Dugo?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he tilted his head. He thought Darmuid was going to say a one-liner since Aerith used to like those, but to think he would just be commenting on the recipe,

"Do you cook too, Champion Sergeant Darmuid?"

"Xra, the Blood Spirit."

"Oh," Riley turned to look in the direction where the Bloodcruiser should be, "Pirate Queen Xra and I have a lot in common. He joined me on my journey, so I suppose that makes her my Third Subordinate."

"The Blood Spirit having someone above her? I doubt it," Darmuid looked straight down at Riley; his chiseled chest, almost hitting Riley's face,

"But I suppose it matters not. Even if you are the acquaintance or the lover of the princess, you have committed grave actions against my children and my people—the price for that is death."

"And it is a price I would gladly pay," Riley looked up, "But the question is, will you finally be the one to earn it?"

"Hm," Darmuid grunted, "Arrogant—as expected of the princess' friend. You are a creature that does not know how large the universe is."

"You are the ones who have locked themselves in your tiny little space. Tell me, Champion Sergeant Darmuid—how long has it been since you have last left your territory?" Riley's eyebrows started to furrow as the smile on his face completely faded,

"Aerith has traversed the Unknown and ended up being the beacon of hope and salvation to a people that sorely needed it. I may not know how large the universe is, Champion Sergeant Darmuid. But you? You are unworthy to even leave this place."

"It would seem there is some truth in your being the princess' lover—to come into her defense with just measly provocation," Darmuid's mustache once again moved as the smirk returned on his face,

"As expected of short-lived creatures, so eager to prove themselves."

And all of a sudden, silence started to surround the two.

A second.

A minute.

…A minute. It was a minute of silence before the two just suddenly disappeared from where they were just previously floating. And then, from afar, one could see flashes of red burning violently; like a star in turmoil, or perhaps a candle stubborn enough to stay in the middle of a storm.

Darmuid was done talking, and the only language left for the two of them is unrelenting violence sparking between them—literally.

Each of their strikes was releasing sparks that were as bright as the red raging light being emitted by Darmuid's muscular body.

Riley's flesh was being torn open each time Darmuid's fists made contact with his skin. Darmuid's knuckles, however, seemed to remain completely without even as much as a scratch.

"..." Riley blocked another one of Darmuid's punches with both his arms, only for his entire body to fold and be thrown an unknown distance away. But judging by how the view of the stars afar just seemingly blurred and turned into streaks, the same thing that happened to Fionn earlier when Riley was toying with him, was now happening to him.

And almost like a reversal of the situation, Darmuid also grabbed the back of Riley's head, causing him to violently stop like the tail of a whip.

"You're still alive even after all that?" Darmuid broke his silence as the grip on Riley's head grew tighter,

"No wonder my children and their friends could not even lay a finger on you."

"..." Riley just moved his eyes to the left to look at Darmuid from his peripheral vision.

"Now, I return your words to you—you are not worthy to be in this place," Darmuid then said as his teeth started to show; the veins in his arms, now etching out from his skin–tight suit as his grip became tighter and tighter.

"You said you know about me, Champion Sergeant Darmuid?"

"Enough talk," Darmuid grunted; his eyes, no longer even looking at Riley anymore, "I will be delivering your head to the princess and see what she has to say."

"Then you really do know nothing about me, Champion Sergeant Darmuid," Riley sighed as he shook his head. But since his head was completely chained to Darmuid's hand, the rest of his body swiveled instead,

"One—I like talking. I even talk to the corpses of those I killed. And Two…

…I don't primarily fight with my body like you do."

"W—"

And before Darmuid could finish his words, a slit started to crawl across his wrist. This seemingly ordinary slit, however, went through his bone. And of course, as an older themarian with insane healing capabilities that couldn't even be compared to the younger themarians, this was nothing for Darmuid.

The cut in his wrist healed as soon as it was cut, and that was enough for Darmuid to lose control of his hand for a single moment—and a moment was all Riley needed to escape from his grasp.

Yes, he only needed a small moment.

"..."

But Riley did not. Riley did not escape from Darmuid's grasp, and instead just rotated his entire body to face him; his eyes, revealed through the gaps between Darmuid's fingers.

And his eyes were not the only ones being revealed; his smile that stretched to his ears, too, was revealed as he looked the slightly perplexed themarian straight in the eyes.

"And I think I know who you are, Champion Sergeant Darmuid," Riley then breathed out,

"You are weaker than Aerith."

"Hm," Darmuid's shocked expression was replaced by a smirk as soon as he heard Riley's words, "I was holding back."

"So was she. Aerith is stronger than you."

And with those words, Riley stretched his hand toward Darmuid's head—but with the difference between their sizes, the most Riley could really reach was the empty space in front of Darmuid's thick mustache.

"Did you know that there is a single part of a human that can be made to be as strong as a themarian's?" A giggle slightly escaped from Riley's smiling lips, "It's…

…the hair."