Villain Retirement

"Should… we not be evacuating these people!?"

"I don't think it's going to lead to that."

"Isn't Esme capable of destroying entire star systems with a snap of her fingers!? W…

…Where else is it going to fucking lead!?"

"...Esme?"

And while Hannah was slightly panicking from the fact that the literal strongest themarian was going to fight on the same planet as them, Chihiro Prime was just staring at the hologram in front of her,

"...She's alive in this universe?"

"...What do you mean?" And although her voice was quiet, Hannah and the other themarians were still able to hear her. Although they weren't in the hall anymore, the crowd was still quite tight since everyone was trying to talk to everyone,

"Is she like a unique existence or something?" Hannah said as she approached Chihiro Prime. The Chihiro from Gracy's universe also seemed curious, but she was afraid of approaching Chihiro Prime—even with Nannah and Bard beside her.

"No, not at all," Chihiro Prime shook her head, "Esme usually exists, but she's also always dead. Out of all the lives I have lived, I could count the times she was alive in one hand."

"I suppose that would make sense." Surprisingly, Queen Adel joined the conversation, "When Esme was born sometime a century ago, the entire Theran felt it. The energy she emitted when she was born was enough to increase the planet's overall energy by 10%."

"10%?" Diana also joined in on the conversation; her eyes as wide as they could be, "That's… 10%?"

"...Is that a big deal?" Gracy crossed her arms as she looked at Diana and Adel, "I bet if I was born there, the energy would have increased by a thousand percent."

"If you were born in my universe as a half-breed, I would snap your head myself," Queen Adel quickly said.

"...I could see why nobody likes you, Grandma," Gracy almost gasped as she looked at Adel from head to toe, "Wait, is everyone in this universe evil AF? Is that Riley's influence or something?"

"No," Diana shook her head, "Her Highness is just a bigot."

"What's the big deal with 10% anyway?" Gracy scoffed, "Is she 10 times stronger than Queen Ass over here?"

"You fucking idiot," Nannah also joined in on the conversation, "That means Esme's energy alone is equal to or more than 10% of the energy of all the themarians combined. She is… abnormally strong."

"Can all of you stop fucking speculating and just listen to Chihiro?" Hannah could really only roll her eyes as she gestured to Chihiro to continue, "It's like everyone has their opinions when the fact is standing right here. What are you saying about Esme?"

"...That's all," Chihiro Prime, on the other hand, just shook her shoulders, "Machina didn't really have an avatar when Esme was born, and she's mostly dead during Chihiro's lifetime. I just found it slightly impressive that Esme is alive in a universe that has Riley Ross. I mean, what are the chances of that?"

"Judging from how many universes there are, close to nothing," Diana placed her hand on her chin, "But there is actually one thing I am truly worried about — something that Riley said."

"We should always be worried about him, Mom," Hannah sighed.

"Out with it, Doctor," Queen Vania, who had been quietly but intensely listening on the side, could not help but raise her voice as she saw the slightly disturbed expression on Diana's face, "I think all of us here should make a covenant that we will not hide anything we know regarding Riley Ross—this is the only way we can actually have a chance of winning against this demon."

"It's merely a guess, but my husband feels the same way," Diana glanced at Bernard, who just nodded in response, "The primordials possibly showing themselves, and then Riley saying that one of the primordials called him one of them… it's just wrong."

"You don't believe your son?" Queen Adel squinted her eyes.

"I'm afraid I do," Diana took in a subtle gulp before looking at the norinlads, "Judging from everything we know, the primordials are gods of unlimited power; gods that were born at the same time as the multiverse."

"What are you getting at, Mom?"

"Primordials were born at the Beginning of everything," Diana looked at Riley and Esme's hologram, "Riley Ross has just recently been born, and we are all still here—Everything still exists."

"...And?"

"Something is wrong," Diana repeated one of the first words she uttered, "Either Riley shouldn't really exist—"

"Or it is us that should not be here,"

Bernard finally spoke up as he stood beside Diana; his eyes, scanning everyone and everything they could lay upon before ultimately landing at his variant, "There is a chance that Riley is not the anomaly, we are…

…And he is just trying to clean his canvas."

"..."

"But of course, this could also be very unlikely," Bernard then let out a small chuckle as he saw everyone looking at him with eyes that seemed to wish to drown him,

"It's just a guess."

A guess—but coming from one of the most incredible minds in the entire multiverse, it sounded more like a warning.

***

"They seem to be saying a lot of interesting stuff about you, Professor."

Back in the battlefield, which was now a completely smooth crater because of Hannah, Esme and Riley still had not moved from their position even after minutes of Ahor Zai announcing the start of the fight.

"As expected of you, Professor."

"You are able to hear them clearly, Princess Esme?" Riley turned to look at where Esme was looking, "Are your ears not on the verge of exploding?"

"My body is still recovering, Professor," the tone of Esme's voice was completely monotonous, almost showing everyone who knew Riley just how much he had changed since the days of the Academy — he looked and sounded incredibly normal when compared to Esme,

"And since I am weakened, controlling my racial and inherited abilities has become astronomically easier."

"Should you not be resting then?" Riley looked at the tall Esme from head to toe.

"No," Esme shook her head, "Even if the prize was not included, I would still not let the chance of fighting the professor slip by, Professor."

"Okay," Riley stretched his arms to the side. And as he did so, a layer of something incredibly translucent started to wrap around his silhouette—a telekinetic barrier so incredibly thick and compressed that it could somewhat already be visible, something that no one had actually already seen before.

"Then please, do what you can without sending yourself to eternal death, Your Highness."

"I have intended to do so from the start, Professor," Esme took a step forward… causing the entire surface of the flat planet to crack.

"..." And as soon as Esme saw that, her feet very slowly left the shattered ground, "Will I lose if I step outside the battlefield, Professor?"

"The entire universe is the battlefield, Your Highness."

And with those words, the two suddenly disappeared from their position…

…and what followed next was a series of quakes that could be heard by the neighboring galaxies.