Villain Retirement

The lines of red, etching through the dark silhouette that floated in the air. Even with the sun almost at its highest, the Red Flare was enough to wash out everything within the vicinity in an ocean of red– but even still, the man that stood in the air was completely unaffected.

It was as if he was a single dent in the light– a void that needed to be filled, but could not. A single dent…

…A single dent that signaled the end. A tiny dent compared to the size of the world.

Minuscule compared to the area the sun reaches, maybe even almost non-existent. He was a grain, a sand, a speck of dust to the light– and yet he signaled the end of everything.

Soon, the Red Flare behind him dissipated in silence, letting the sun once again have the monopoly in greeting the world with its brilliance. But soon, even the beautiful rays hid with the coming of the dark day.

The clouds above all started to shift, blanketing the world once again in the darkness that brought with it only death.

"...Miss me?"

"D… Darkday?"

"Tell me this is another copycat."

The members of the Hope Guild could only look up at this descending darkness, their eyes wanting to leave, but could not as Darkday ever so slowly landed near to them.

They wanted to fight, but their mind remembers clearly what would happen if they did.

They wanted to run, but then the people around them would have to pay the price for that.

They were heroes– the only thing they could do was stand their ground.

"Tempo…" Empress then whispered, "Evacuate as many students as you can."

"...Aren't they safer inside the Academy?"

"Heh," and for the first time in a long time, Empress could not help but let out a chuckle; ever so subtle and tiny, "The only safe place is where the light still shines."

"Then–"

"There is no need for any of that, members of the Hope Guild."

And before Tempo could say another word, Darkday started to walk towards them; his voice, different from how they remember it to be. Could it be… he got the idea from Dark Millenium's helmet?

"I came here not for you, but for her."

And with those words, the Hope Guild finally turned their eyes away from Darkday, turning towards the individual his finger was pointing to– Dark Millenium.

"Megawoman."

"...What a– !!!"

A rumble. Loud enough to drown any words or noise that the world might produce reverberated through the air– or at least that was what it sounded and felt like for the members of the Hope Guild as the very ground they stood on started to tremble.

And with a light snap of a finger, a minute sound that shouldn't have been heard by them… With that snap, they felt themselves being thrown away by a force that made one almost helpless. It was not only them, but even the ground agreed as it completely tore away.

It was almost as if they were just standing on styrofoam; being ripped and mawed away by an angry– no, an excited child.

There was supposed to be chaos as the roads, the trees, and the ground all cracked and floated in the air– but amidst everything, amidst the rumble, amidst the debris, amidst the chaos… there was order.

And at the center of it, completely unmoved and unshaken, was the prison that held Dark Millenium, who even amidst everything, remained stagnant and in a stupor; muttering something within her silent breaths.

The members of the Hope Guild found themselves in that so-called order. Floating helplessly as an invisible hand seemed to have attached strings on them– as if they were dolls and had no wills of their own.

But of course, they wanted to move. They wanted to do at least something, anything… but it almost felt like even their breaths were no longer their own.

The roads, the trees, and the ground then slowly rebuild themselves, not in the way they were before… but in the way that made a path for Darkday; slowly floating in the air and making a path above the crater he made as he ever so slowly made his way to Dark Millenium.

As for the members of the Hope Guild… They were like knights, making way for their King as he greeted his Queen.

"Megawoman," Darkday then said as he casually pulled one of the White Pillars, causing the slightly invisible green barrier to flicker and very soon fade away,

"What have they done to you?"

Darkday then kneeled on the ground, gently touching Dark Millenium's chin as he turned her face towards him,

"You… look younger," Darkday's breaths started to slightly have weight on them, "Silvie almost looks like you. But these scars… I know they're not from me."

Darkday then carefully checked on the horrendous and almost countless tiny scars on Dark Millenium's face. Her eyes were of a sort of green-blue hue, her hair, a mix of brown and gold– a trait that Silvie also had.

But that wasn't everything– every millimeter of the structure of their faces was almost the same. If it were not for the scars and her eyes that almost seemed dead, then Dark Millenium would have just been Silvie 2 or 3 years from now.

"..."

And now that Darkday was looking at her, truly looking at her… the Megawoman he knew would probably be 10 years older.

"You're not Megawoman,"

Darkday then let go of Dark Millenium's face as he suddenly stood up. And as if the chaos thrived once more, the path that had made itself for Darkday soon crumbled, dropping back to the crater below them like crackers eaten by a messy toddler.

"If you are not Megawoman, then who are you?" Darkday then muttered, his tone clearly perturbed and annoyed, "Megawoman… you're not Megawoman."

Darkday then started to walk in circles around the White Pillars still surrounding Dark Millenium. His steps, slightly stuttered as he muttered the words 'Megawoman' almost endlessly.

"Mega… woman?"

Until finally, Dark Millenium opened her mouth and spoke; her voice still slightly rasping due to her lungs still healing from being caved in by Hera and Empress. And as soon as her croaking words reached Darkday's ears, his steps halted.

"Do you know where Megawoman is?" He then quickly asked as he once again kneeled in front of Dark Millenium, "Are you also Megawoman's daughter? Do you know Silvie Savelevnia?"

"Silvie… Savelevnia?" Dark Millenium's eyes then turned towards Darkday… almost as if he was seeing through his jet-black helmet,

"Silvie Savelevnia…" She then repeated. And as if for a second, a small light persevered through the darkness… she smiled, "That's…

…my name."

"..." And just like that, it was as if everything froze in time. Darkday remained kneeling on the ground; the fettered breaths that seeped from his helmet, no longer there. And a second later, he let out a single utter–

"...Oh," he breathed out as he once again stood up.

"My purpose…" Dark Millenium then continued to mutter as the light in her eyes slowly rekindled, "Protect… protect the world from foreign species. The government… the government is lying to us all."

"..."

"We're tools… we're just tools and… I must gather heroes to protect this– Ack!"

"..."

And before Dark Millenium could finish her words, a minute whistle echoed in the air; followed by Dark Millenium's screams as she suddenly grabbed her head; groveling on the ground almost into a curl as her shrieks became more intense by the second.

And soon… without sign or warning, a small poof.

And along with it, Dark Millenium's head– exploding into tiny bits and pieces and sticking onto Darkday.

Riley could only blink a couple of times as he watched as a part of Dark Millenium's brain slid down on the visor of his helmet. He turned to look at Dark Millenium's headless corpse for a few moments, before turning around to see Whiteking holding some sort of gun.

"Bernard," Riley then whispered as he tilted his head, "What are you hiding now? First your sexual affair with Empress, and now this? This would surely disappoint–"

And before he could finish his words, the ground beneath him exploded, and emerged from it were a pair of grey hands. In a blink of an eye, Hera wrapped her arms and legs around Darkday, completely locking herself with him.

"V, do it now!"

"What… you'll fucking die!"

"This is our only chance, do it!"

"God fucking damn it!" And with that roar, V flew into the air, meters in front of Riley and Hera. Her mecha suit then opened up, revealing her petite body that was completely covered in green trickles of lightning– her green glowing eyes, almost threatening to blind any that dares look at them.

For some reason, they were able to recover themselves while Darkday was talking to Dark Millenium. They made a lot of noise, but Darkday seemed completely oblivious of them. They were going to find some time to go inside the Academy, but then Whiteking suddenly went rogue and whipped out some sort of gun.

And so, the only thing that Hera could do was improvise as Darkday seemed to still be slightly distracted.

And the best idea she could come up with?

To sacrifice herself for a chance to finally kill Darkday.

"All of you go away!" V then once again roared as her entire body became engulfed by lightning. No… she wasn't engulfed by it. She is the green lightning… only in the shape of a human.

"This…

…better fucking hurt!"