Villain Retirement
chapter-302

"You haven't seen anything yet… boy."

Silence. Perhaps that was not so hard since Megawoman and Riley were currently not in the Earth's atmosphere anymore. The only sound that actually reverberated in the air was Megawoman's voice– how she was able to do that, Riley doesn't know.

Riley wanted to tell Megawoman that he, in fact, had seen everything– from Megawoman's toes and to her scalp. But alas, the only sound that was coming from him were muffles that only he could probably hear.

The only thing that Riley could really do was stare at the dozen red orbs circling around Megawoman. He had, never once, seen Megawoman do this move before.

…Is it perhaps they were outside Earth now? Was she actually holding back when they were fighting down there?

Also…

"..."

Riley can't breathe.

And looking at Megawoman just floating there and even talking– it seemed she had no trouble breathing. Riley stared at Megawoman for a few seconds more, before finally, after a few more seconds…

Riley clapped his hands, causing the red orbs circling around Megawoman to suddenly compress together with her still in the center.

"Tch," Megawoman crossed her limbs to cover herself; the orbs did not get the chance to even burn her, however, as the light in her eyes faded, so did the red orbs trying to devour her. She then turned her focus back to Riley, only to see him with his arms stretched.

She wondered a little what he was trying to do– but if there's something you shouldn't allow Riley to do, it was to prepare. And so, with a speed that almost cracked the space itself, Megawoman plunged herself like an arrow straight towards Riley.

And as she was only a meter away from her… she found herself unable to get closer. Not because her momentum had stopped, but because Riley, almost at the very same time, suddenly carried the same momentum as her– almost as if she was suddenly pushing a grocery cart.

She once again looked Riley straight in the eyes, only to see him just staring at her with a smile on his face.

"You're really starting to piss me off even more," Megawoman then retracted her hand, creating a fist that suddenly lit up almost in fire even though they were in space; and with a breath, a light rippled from her fist as she smashed it towards Riley.

If the Earth wasn't close to them, Riley certainly wouldn't have any idea how fast they were actually going– it was quite an experience, fighting in space. One does not know where one truly was.

"..." Riley then turned his eyes towards his chest, only to see it bruised and almost red. He had multiple layers of invisible armor protecting him… and yet one punch from Megawoman was able to penetrate through it.

This… was definitely different than last time.

"You see the difference, boy?"

"..." Riley turned around; his arms suspiciously still stretched to the side as he looked at Megawoman. He once again looked her in the eye…

…and nodded.

"...You didn't have to agree," Megawoman almost rolled her eyes, "Man, you're really just a kid."

And as soon as Megawoman finished her words, she quickly turned her eyes toward the Earth. Her irises, once again expanded as she looked at the very tiny movement from afar.

And as soon as she saw what it was, she quickly flew away… only for the gigantic object to stop beneath Riley's feet.

"...Ice?"

It was ice-- an entire glacier, but unlike normal, it held a sort of glowing blue hue to it– and very soon, they started to vibrate. And as soon as they did so, Megawoman could see a sliver of… air moving and flowing through Riley's nose.

"Liquid oxygen, really?" Megawoman slightly raised an eyebrow as she saw the ice slowly forming into some sort of flat platform almost as wide as a basketball court beneath Riley's feet, "Couldn't you have just lifted up an oxygen tank, boy?"

"That would be stealing, M– woman. I don't steal, that's bad."

"..." And to Megawoman's slight surprise, Riley was finally able to reply to her, "You really are creative, aren't you?"

"Villains are more creative, based on the statistics," Riley smiled.

"Last I checked, you're no longer classified as a villain, Riley Ross," Megawoman then calmly floated and landed on the blue platform that Riley created.

"They call you a calamity," Megawoman then turned her head up, her eyes, reflecting the Earth as they floated hundreds of kilometers from it, "They do not even see you as human anymore."

"And that is the only thing I and they have in common, Aerith," Riley also looked towards the Earth,

"I also do not see myself as a human anymore."

"...Hm," Megawoman nodded. But before her hair could follow, she suddenly disappeared– almost instantly appearing below the ice directly where Riley was, her feet bent. And with a small breath, a ripple once again erupted in space as Riley was once again thrown away opposite the direction of Earth.

This time, however, almost like a jellyfish as the shards of blue ice followed him like a hundred tentacles. But very soon, one of these tentacles disappeared as Megawoman's heat blast instantly vaporized them away.

"...You're really trying to kill me, Aerith."

Megawoman quickly retracted her heat blast as she heard a whisper near her– but Riley was still kilometers away from her. Soon, however, she realized that she was breathing normally as she would on Earth.

She lightly placed her hand in front of her mouth, only for her to feel air as she exhaled. Did… Riley filled the entire space they were in with oxygen? No… perhaps only around her head, with a sort of invisible tube connecting directly to where he is.

"You could have been the best warrior that has ever graced this planet, Riley," Megawoman then let out a small sigh, before once again appearing behind Riley with her fist already only an inch away from his face,

"But I fear it's already too late for you to stay on Earth," Megawoman then calmly said as her fist made contact with Riley… causing him to explode into pieces.

"..." Megawoman blinked her eyes a couple of times, before turning around to see almost a dozen Riley floating there.

"One of your students said the same thing, Megawoman," the clones, however, quickly turned into some sort of dust as the real Riley floated closer to Megawoman; the blue ice, floating behind him almost like wings.

"I was meant to be the best of the heroes."

"If you weren't a psychopath," Megawoman smirked.

"No," Riley shook his head, "If only I was adopted by her instead."

"..." Megawoman furrowed her eyebrows.

"At least that was what she was insinuating," Riley chuckled as the wings of ice behind his back once again turned into a platform beneath his feet– almost like stairs as he walked towards Megawoman,

"What do you think? Would that really have made a difference?"

"...I don't know the answer to that," Megawoman breathed out.

"...Why didn't you adopt me, instead?" Riley also breathed out, "You adopted Empress, why not me?"

"I… had Gary and–"

"Pft," Riley let out a small chuckle before Megawoman could answer, "I was only trying to make you let your guard down."

"Well, you did," Megawoman also let out a small chuckle, "You also got too close."

"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times as Megawoman's hair was suddenly floating in front of his eyes. He then looked down, only to see half her arm already deep through his stomach.

"Hm," Riley then worded out as bubbles of blood started to float from his mouth,

"Why didn't you just go straight to the heart, Aerith?" He then said as he slowly pulled himself away; creating a floating puddle of blood to dance in the air as he removed Megawoman's hand.

"Because then you would have died," Megawoman whispered before once again plowing her hand through Riley's stomach, "Themarians grow stronger with each defeat, very much like your ability."

"Hm," Riley once again hummed; this time, floating himself away. The holes in his stomach, already closing as he did so.

"That is the right decision, Aerith," Riley nodded, "Managing to kill me again would make me even stronger."

"Not quite," Megawoman shrugged, "As far as I could see, the powers you absorbed from me, Riley. They are abilities that… I received upon entering your planet."

"...What?" Riley binked a couple of times as he heard Megawoman's voice.

"The abilities you copied from me– I didn't have them before I entered and spent some time on your planet," Megawoman said as she looked at her hands, "And some of my innate abilities were just upgraded."

"So our abilities came from the planet?" Riley also looked at his hands as the ice once again became a flat platform for him and Megawoman to walk on.

"Themarians, with each defeat, either grow stronger or get obliterated," Megawoman did not answer Riley's question, "And the longer we remain undefeated, the stronger we become once we face our eventual defeat."

"..." Riley only tilted his head to the side.

"I was defeated once before you, a very long time ago," Megawoman let out another sigh.

"A very long time ago? Does that mean you've grown extremely stronger since last time?" Riley smiled; and as he did so, an asteroid that was casually orbiting Earth almost suddenly flew behind Riley; probably almost the same size as a skyscraper.

"Probably two-fold," Megawoman only smiled back as she shook her head, "But that's not the point of why I am telling you this."

"Hm?"

"The one that defeated me…" Megawoman then once again turned to look at Earth,

"...I followed her to your planet."