Villain Retirement
chapter-301

The beacon of light.

A beacon of hope.

Not always necessarily right, but strives to be no matter what. Megawoman has always shown the world where she stood, and where she does not.

There have been rumors of her return days ago, but most people did not believe it as the only evidence they have was her rescue– but even that was drowned by the sudden appearance of the aliens that were now wreaking havoc all over the world.

There were also rumors that she saw her defeating aliens and a giant robot, but there were too few survivors to corroborate the story and no visual evidence.

But now, the cities surrounding the Black Sea saw their skies turning red– and from its roots, a tree of red.

It could be many things, but most were sure that it was the flare that signals the return of Megawoman. And very soon, the light faded and all that remained was silence as everyone held their breaths– waiting for a boom.

The boom, however, did not appear even after a minute and some already let go of their breaths– returning inside homes and to their basements and bunkers. The threat of the aliens is still upon them, and if that light was not Megawoman, then there was a chance that it could be one of their invaders.

Very soon, however…

…There was a boom.

Those who have not yet hidden quickly leaned their heads out of their windows or stepped out of their houses. And there, they see their skies clear– clear to the point that there were no clouds covering them from the sun.

It was almost a ripple, originating from where the red tower once stood.

And once again, the people's hope started to awaken.

And very soon, in one of the cities, a whistle started to whisper in the air…

…followed by another boom much louder than before.

They all turned their heads to the sky, and there, they finally see the silhouette they have not seen for a year. A silhouette that signified that everything was going to be okay now.

That silhouette, however… seemed to have no plan of stopping as it was almost only a hundred meters away from falling right in the center of the town.

"It… it's going to fall!"

The people that witnessed it in awe were now trying their fastest to once again hide– they did not need to, however, as a loud snap reverberated in the air; blowing away all the specks of dust and causing their hair to violently flow with the sudden gale.

The people all covered their eyes; letting out tiny screams as all sorts of leaves, trash, and anything light enough to be blown away were blown away. It did not last, however, as the people were finally able to open their eyes– and as soon as they did, they saw hope.

Megawoman, standing right in front of them. It was her, it could be no one but her. Her gold and white ensemble; her brown hair that lit up in gold whenever the sun hits… right to the very way she stood.

"M… Megawoman!"

"Megawoman!"

And just like that, everyone cheered– their voices, almost reaching to the skies.

…But almost as if the skies responded, the clouds which paved way for the sun once again returned– and perhaps returning with a vengeance as their entire town was slowly bathed in darkness.

"Hide."

Megawoman then whispered; her voice, almost echoing through the minds of the people. And before the people could even ask, another boom echoed in the air.

This boom, however, was lifeless; one akin to the siren that one hears before a coming disaster.

And then, like a flash in the sky– a lightning without thunder, another silhouette stood near Megawoman.

And perhaps that was the only way they could describe him– a silhouette covered in darkness. Almost like a tear or a hole in the air; with not even a fracture of light reflecting from him.

And before they could even utter the silhouette's name– the two towering entities suddenly disappeared. Leaving the citizens completely and utterly dazed.

Aliens? What was that? What is the threat of an alien invasion when the gods have finally decided to show themselves?

Seconds passed, and the town was once again bathed in light– the dark clouds that once covered them, almost a creature in the sky that started to swim away from them. And of course, even from afar…

…the war that was happening beneath those clouds was something they could sense even through their bones.

After all, the very air itself was trembling.

"We. Are. Not. Doing. This. In. The. City!"

…And they were right.

Every word that came out from Megawoman's mouth left some sort of shock; almost cracking the air as she held Darkday by his helmet; dragging him through the sky.

But before they could pass the dark clouds above them, Darkday suddenly wrapped his legs around Megawoman's waist. He then suddenly somersaulted in the air, only letting Megawoman go when he was on top of her– and without even saying a word, he slammed both his fists on her chest.

The air once again cracked as Megawoman plunged from the sky; a skirt of wind, flowing behind her as she fell towards the sea. But before she could hit the surface of the sea, she curled her body and started to spin– instantly stopping as she stretched her limbs out; her back, almost laying flat on the surface of the ocean.

This triggered another boom; the sea beneath Megawoman, suddenly rippling open as soon as it realized the sheer force of the wind from the whiplash that descended upon it.

"..." Megawoman quickly looked to the side; the irises of her eyes becoming wider as they looked towards the shore kilometers away from her. And as soon as she saw the water of the level rising, a beam of red light instantly speared towards the shore– then abruptly stopped before it could go any further.

Steam then started to fill the air as the waves of water that were supposed to wreak havoc through the lands evaporated almost instantly.

"You really are different, Megawoman."

Megawoman then quickly turned her head back towards the sky; her heat vision, almost as if splitting space itself as it moved with her; but as soon as it reached the direction of the sky, it disappeared– or perhaps it was better to say that it was blocked.

Blocked by Darkday's helmet as he floated horizontally right in front of Megawoman's face. The beam, stopping just an inch away from making contact with Darkday's helmet.

"Oh no," a small smile slowly appeared on Megawoman's face, "I…

…am actually quite pissed."

The beam coming from her eyes suddenly became even brighter– its solid form, starting to trickle on the sides as the pressure that was being emitted by the heat vision started to boil the sea beneath her.

"You have some boundary issues, Riley Ross," and with those words, the entire Black Sea and the skies above it were covered in red; the people surrounding the body of water, once again seeing another tower of light emerge– no, this time, it was a twin tower.

"You shouldn't have touched my body without permission."

The colossal beam was split in half, almost like a violent river with Darkday's head serving as the stone that separated it.

And almost like a sizzle that was heard everywhere in the world, the light faded away.

"I… can't change, Aerith."

And following the sizzle, was a voice hoarse enough to scratch the air.

"..." Megawoman could only squint her eyes as she saw Riley's face, parts of his face– completely burnt as whites started to show. Most of his skull, already exposed. And yet, even like this… as his flesh started to regenerate.

Almost like hundreds of worms squirming on his face, connecting each other– and as they hastily built themselves, the very first thing that Megawoman saw was Riley's lips… already turning into a smile.

"But I do apologize for killing your husband, Aerith," Riley then said as the smile on his face now reached from ear to ear, "I heard from your son that he died in Toronto while we were fighting."

"..." Megawoman's eyebrows began to lower as Riley's words reached her ears, "I was wrong about you, Riley Ross."

"Hm?"

The two continued to talk as they floated horizontally just above the sea's surface,

"I told you before that someday, this world might need someone like you. But I was wrong…

…you are a being that should not exist in this world."

"..." The smile on Riley's face slightly faded away as he looked Megawoman in the eyes. But after a few moments, he let out a short but deep sigh as the smile on his face once again reached from ear to ear, "Well…

…I did tell you."

"...Yeah."

"You should have learned how to destroy me when you were still powerful enough to do so, Aerith."

"What makes you think I can't now?"

"Because I am you, but stronge–"

And before Riley could finish his words, he felt his vision shift– and instantly, he found himself surrounded by darkness. He was still floating, this time, however, it was not by his own will; his neck was turned in a way that it should not– but this, he was able to easily return to normal.

His neck cracked as he did so– the sound, however, seemed drowned. He tried to talk, but every word was muffled and silent– almost as if his ears were covered with some sort of water, but solid.

"Did you really think you copied all of my abilities?" There was, however, something that he could hear clearly for some reason– Megawoman; floating in front of him as the strands of her hair moved in all directions.

Her eyes were red; but no beams torching out of them. Instead, she was surrounded by a dozen red orbs; almost as if she had miniature suns circling around her.

"You haven't seen anything yet...

...boy."