Villain Retirement

Fiction.

That was not really a word that was used often in a world filled with people with magical powers and abilities. And as one's world grows wider and larger, it will be used even less.

So, in a world where everything is possible, what is fiction?

Dragons? Theran has them living under the planet in fear of themarians.

Gods? They existed, and those who created the universe now roam free but tethered somewhere.

Beast-like humans? Not very nice to say.

In a world like this, there was really nothing one could be surprised about. There were, however, many things that most people wished to be fiction, and one of them was an existence called Darkday.

A being of absolute power that actively seeks to destroy anyone and anything — and even as the world grew, he still remained to be the greatest threat to the world, now worlds.

Fear, perhaps, is the greatest power Darkday holds — but when one cannot do anything with fear, it slowly becomes acceptance. Acceptance that Darkday is just a part of their lives, and they would have to live with it.

But when another one comes, another threat. This rationale once again turns anew now that there are two.

"It is a pity, I bet we could have been friends, Riley Ross. It is such a—"

"Get… your foot off of me!"

"...One moment."

It was a surreal sight.

Themarians are beings of incredible strength, a single one of them going on a rampage would destroy several star systems — and yet twice now they grovel on the floor. And perhaps because they are the strongest, they are also the most vulnerable.

Other people will find ways to kill them. They have been known to the universe for a million years, and in those million years, other people have researched and learned how to kill them… and yet none were really successful, all except for two.

Riley Ross manipulated events that led to the themarians' death. And in the next universe, he massacred them using a tool that enhanced his abilities.

As for King—

"Do you know how I was able to defeat the themarians of my world, Riley Ross?" King stomped on Aerith's head without even pausing his breath. And as he finally removed his foot, he just stared at Aerith's raging eyes, which were also staring at her. King did not seem to care, however, as he just grabbed her by the hair and lifted her up,

"Trial and error, practice and repetition, weakness and affinities."

"Kh!"

King then gently placed his palm on Aerith's stomach, and without really even pushing it forcefully, his hand just went through her belly as if it wasn't there at all.

"Do you know what I find weird, Riley Ross?" King then glanced at Riley as he once again opened up a question without fully answering his last one, "Megawoman existed in my world, but when I needed her the most, she was not there. When the beasts suddenly came from the heavens, the angel was not there to stop them — but then I found out in most of the universes I have travelled to…

…You were there to protect them."

King pulled out his arm from Aerith's stomach, ripping off some of her intestines before just violently throwing her to the side; his face that was slightly smiling, now showing a hint of… disgust.

"But she wasn't," King let out a sigh, before flicking his head to fix his silver hair that was slightly messed up before focusing on Riley again, "And so I had to — I had to protect the humans, my humans."

King then snapped his fingers, summoning holographic images around him.

"I had to protect those who could not protect themselves," King then started walking around the hologram which showed him on an alien's ship, "And so I did. I fought back, and I fought hard. It was a world completely unknown to me, and yet very much familiar. Their technology opened up things for me, and as a gift to our invaders…

…I killed their people painlessly."

"Hm."

"I hope I am not boring you or any of you with my story," King started looking at everyone, even at the people at the deck, "I want you to know me, after all. I want all of you to know why I am doing this before I do it to you."

"Not at all, King," Riley shook his head.

"You are most kind," King chuckled as he glanced at Aerith, who was being helped up by Hannah, "Even though I hurt your lover, you are still courteous."

"You did not hurt her, King."

"Themarians, am I right?" King's chuckles became a fit of laughter, "Really hard to kill — anyway, I was getting to that part of my story."

King snapped his fingers again, changing the holograms to that of a human city.

"I learned a lot during my first escapade out in outer space. I have learned there are others out there, and that Earth was at a risk of being attacked again. So, I shared my findings with the people of Earth," King smiled as he looked at the images of his people,

"They agreed with me that we had to protect ourselves… but not that we should attack first. When the government disagreed with me, I asked the heroes — a mistake. Do you know what they said to me?"

"No."

"That we are protectors, not invaders," King once again chuckled, "But where were they when my best friend got mutilated and killed by these aliens? The truth is, I learned a lot — about the others that were out there, the things they could do… and I was mortified, terrified, and paranoid."

The images once again changed, the light of the city disappeared — replaced by nothing but darkness and a small room. And there was King, standing beside a small bed with someone strapped on it.

"And since these heroes were not going to attack," King stared at the person on the bed, "Then I needed to find a way they could be useful. They had all these abilities, and yet did not have the resolve to use them. So once again, it had to be me…

…I tried to find a way to reverse engineer the Super virus at first, and I did. I gave myself the virus, but I was not susceptible to it and gained nothing from it. I grew desperate, and I started experimenting on live subjects until I learned that a part of their brain was different — their DNA made them susceptible to the virus, but the virus itself did not latch on to their genome…

…but to a part of their brain right here."

King tapped at the back of his upper neck before glancing at Hannah.

"All that makes you special, what makes you super is just sitting right there. Almost invisible, they won't show in the scans, but they are there. It took me more than a thousand to find it — a speck, a nanometer. A difference of a nanometer is what makes you special, and I learned how to take that from—"

"You harvested people!"

"Hannah, stop!"

"Yes!" And as King was once again interrupted by Hannah, he just pointed at him and shouted, "I harvested the supers because they are useless! And when I implanted and learned enough, I went out there to make sure Earth, my people, were safe! What use are your powers if you never use it the right way!? Please, stop interrupting me!"

"..."

"I apologize, I lost my composure," King cleared his throat and brushed his hair again.

"It is fine, continue," Riley gestured to King to go ahead.

"Thank you," King nodded, "I was merciful, of course. I gave the other aliens the chance they did not afford to give me and Earth — I gave them a choice…

…Peace."

King snapped his fingers, once again changing the hologram. This time, it showed him standing in front of an alien people, all of them kneeling.

"Serve under Earth, and they will have peace. Do not, then…"

The hologram then showed a planet exploding, with King just calmly standing there with a melancholic expression on his face.

"None of them had to die," King sighed, "But most of them always seem to make the wrong choice. Why can't they just understand the right path?"

"Hm."

"And as I swept all of the civilizations near Earth, I returned to my people with a satisfied smile on my face," King snapped his fingers while stretching his arms to the side, "But what welcomed me was ingratitude."

The hologram once again changed into that of a city. This time, however, none of the people were smiling — most were even throwing things at him.

"They discovered the fact that I experimented on other supers, you see — and that was fine, that was a crime I accepted wholeheartedly, I was guilty of that. It's…"

King then suddenly covered his eyes; tears, trailing down his cheeks as he faced his palm at Riley for a few seconds,

"It's… the fact that they were getting angry at me for erasing the threats looming outside our homes that I could not accept," King breathed out as he brushed his eyes off of the tears,

"How could they…? How could they when I did all of that for them? And do you know what happened after?"

"No."

"I was forced to run away," King closed his eyes as another chuckle escaped his lips, "I was forced to run away from my own home…

…by her."

King then pointed at Aerith.

"Now that the hard part was done, the golden girl came back. And suddenly…

…I was the villain."