Villain Retirement

Automaton.

The City of Androids — or as the rest of the world knows it, the city of sin. With no one hiring them, with no one even wanting to be with them, the androids have resorted to different eccentric jobs; cage fighting, servantry, prostitution, and even a life of crime.

But that wasn't the reason why it was known as the city of sin, no. It was known that way not because of what the androids have done to survive, it was named like so because of what the rest of the world had done to them; as soon as the moment came that they were no longer needed, the world abandoned them almost instantly.

They are the New World's greatest sin.

They were made to replicate life itself — one needed to go on an extensive background check and evaluation just to be able to purchase one, because one was not buying an android as an adult, they were buying them as newborns.

To abandon something—no, to abandon someone who you had spent several lifetimes with just because you can already create life on your own… what is that if not the greatest sin?

Something was wrong with the New World, and ironically, Riley knew that. He knew that the very first time he was introduced to the Reserve system of the New World, where only one variant could live in the outside world and the other variants had to be hidden away to live in a secret community.

And ironically, Riley, the singular greatest villain the entire multiverse had ever witnessed, was the main person who was there for the androids when they started losing their homes and families.

It was weird, after all. The androids are literally not living beings, and for some reason, Riley… truly empathized with them. Perhaps it was more akin to him being more protective of things; his cutlery collection, his cages, his clothes and other things.

Things that were made with passion should be treated with passion, and the androids were just that.

And now that he was seeing how they were wasting away, the only thing that Riley could really do was finally give them the gift of nothingness, give them their end.

"Please, listen to me first!"

But now, after 16 years of not showing herself, Ahor Zai emerged from the nothingness in the form of Aerith.

"Interesting… why would you choose that form, Ahor Zai?"

"So that you would listen to me."

Just a second; it would have only taken just another second to eradicate all the androids if Ahor Zai had not leaped out the moment she did.

"Aerith, the Evaniels, Queen Adel… and the others," Ahor Zai raised both her hands, "If you're trying to wait for them to find you, they won't and they never will. There's a law that states that they can't go near the New World…

…and that includes your sister, Riley."

"Okay," Riley tilted his head to the side before looking at Ahor Zai from head to toe; her figure and everything else, exactly the same as Aerith when Riley last saw her. Right now, Silvie truly looked like Aerith from head to toe, but there was still something different about the way Aerith looked, and Ahor Zai completely replicated that.

"Okay…?" Ahor Zai let out a small sigh while shaking her head, "I just told you that your sister or Aerith might have wanted to see you, but they can't because there was some sort of treaty they made with the gods."

"So, you are saying that throughout the time we have been here — Aerith and Hannah might have wanted to make contact with me?"

"Yes," Ahor Zai nodded, "That is exactly what I wanted to say. You have made yourself known throughout the New World to the point that anyone who knew you would have already made contact with you, Riley. It's just—"

"And what does that have to do with what I am about to do right now, Ahor Zai?" Riley looked away from Ahor Zai, once again meeting the lifeless eyes of the android very slowly gathering around them.

"...Nothing," Ahor Zai blinked a couple of times as she stared at the poor androids, "I… but please don't kill them. As someone who was made the same, I don't want to see—"

"Okay."

"...Okay?" Ahor Zai raised an eyebrow.

"Okay," Riley then just shrugged as he started making his way through the dilapidated streets of Automaton — and as he did so, several trees and plants started to emerge from the ground; their houses which were made with recycled metals and wood, turning into full-fledged houses and buildings in the time it would take one to let out a breath. The androids who were seeing this could really only gasp as they looked at Riley, some of them kneeling on the dirty ground as soon as he walked past them—no. The ground they were kneeling on was not dirty for long as Riley paved it and almost turned it into marble.

"Why… are you helping them?" Ahor Zai flew beside Riley as he started improving the homes of the androids.

"You told me not to kill them," Riley once again shrugged, "And as the person who was responsible for bringing them to this place, that makes me liable for them — and I do not want things that I own to be in this sorry condition."

"W… wow," Ahor Zai then started looking at herself, "So, being in Aerith's form really does wonders. I should stay like this from now on."

Riley continued to walk across the city of Androids, turning what was once a slum into a city worthy of being inhabited by Androids.

"Paragon… Paragon!"

And as soon as he was done, the androids once again all bent their knees for him; even those who couldn't even see him were kneeling behind their walls.

"The Great Paragon!" An old android; face covered in wrinkles and beard almost reaching his chest, approached Riley with his head down and palms pointing at their great messiah, "You… you have returned. You have not forsaken us, unlike our creators."

"Hm," Riley just shrugged while scanning the city he just created, "I have always wanted to build a terrarium again, this is much better than the last one I made since they were only stuck inside a small building — you do not have to thank me, Old Android."

"Please, do not be so humble," the android let out a breath as he bowed his head; the audible sound of metal scratching each other, whispering from the old android's spine, "W—!!!"

And before the old android could finish his words, he felt his back become lighter as Riley removed all the impurities and rust that could have possibly formed inside the old android's body.

"Thank you, thank you!"

"Rise, Old Android," Riley shook his head, "I did not fix you so you could just lower your head again. From now on, please prevent yourself from bowing your head."

"That…" The Old Android took in a very long and deep breath as he looked Riley in the eyes, "Message well received, my lord."

"Hm," Riley just shrugged. He was about to turn around and leave just like that, but the old android seemed to want to say something else.

"If… If I may be so rude to ask, my lord — but what…who is that beside you?" The old android turned to look at Ahor Zai.

"The Codex."

"The… Codex?" Not only the old android, but the other androids who were gathered around Riley and Ahor Zai were looking at Ahor Zai.

"Yes," Riley nodded, "To explain, she is practically your god."

"Boss…!?" Ahor Zai's eyes started to widen as she looked back and forth between the old android and Riley, "I'm not—"

"Our god…" The old android's eyes started to glimmer, "...Our god is serving Paragon? Paragon… Paragon!"

"Wait, I think there's been a misunderstanding!" Ahor Zai wanted to rebuke the old android's words, but before she could do so, Riley just started flying away; nonchalantly leaving Automaton as if he didn't just completely changed their lives,

"Wait… Riley, wait for me!"

***

"What the… Mr. Lucifer!? Why are you wearing the women's uniform!?"

"Because I am trying to prove that I am the more beautiful offspring, Instructor."

Back in the Hero Academy, Lucy was once again causing a ruckus as he entered his class wearing a woman's uniform — his sister's uniform, to be specific. But since he was taller than his sister, the skirt was almost only inches away from exposing his butt.

Of course, Lucy's female classmates liked this, they just pretended not to while covering their faces as Lucy walked toward his desk despite their instructor's reprimand.

"Pst, Lucy. I didn't know you were gay," one of his classmates from the back laughed.

"I'm not," Lucy flicked his long, silky white hair as he scoffed.

"You're wearing women's clothes, that makes you gay!"

"If something like this is enough to make you homosexual, my dear friend…" Lucy crossed his legs before turning to look at the student talking to him, "...Then I am afraid you are quite lacking in masculinity in the first place."

"W—"

"Don't you think so too, my beautiful seatmate?" Lucy then reached his hand out toward the girl next to him, placing his finger on her chin and looking her in the eyes, "You are quite lucky, you know — you're still alive."

"W… what?"

"Y—"

"Enough!" The instructor truly wanted to destroy the entire classroom but just prevented himself from doing so as he took in a very deep and long breath. And after a few seconds, he pointed at the door, "Someone enrolled late and our class is the only room that has space left, so…

…go introduce yourself before everyone loses their minds."

A new student entered the classroom and walked in front of the class. Lucy, however, did not seem to care at all as he was still holding the girl's chin.

"What the…" The girl, however, quickly removed her face from Lucy's finger as soon as she saw the boy who was introducing himself in front of the class. She then turned to look at Lucy again before just starting to look back and forth between them.

It wasn't only her, the other students were doing it too.

Lucy tilted his head as he noticed this before finally turning to look at the new student introducing himself,

"Oh…?"

"I like flying around. I've visited several planets before but this is the first time I am probably staying on one. I've never had friends before, so—"

"Interesting."

"Mr. Lucifer! Return to your seat!"

Everyone then watched as Lucy suddenly leaped out from his seat and stood in front of the new student…

…who had the same exact skin and hair color as him.