Villain Retirement

Chapter 1145: Finally

Chapter 1145: Finally

"Did he just lose!?"

"What do you think?"

No one expected it—no one at all.

Odun, just casually sitting back on his throne with Riley's head upon his spear. Even Monkeh, who was aware of just how strong Odun is, thought it would at least be a close match with Odun losing—so why… was Riley's head the one on the spike, literally?

But while everyone else had their eyes wide open, Miss Pepondosovich and V were just shaking their heads and sighing. And of course, Monkeh noticed this and immediately placed her attention on them. As for Aurora, although initially shocked, she was also slowly starting to learn that things are seldom the way they were with Riley, or perhaps it was even more often.

And so, almost at the same time, she and Monkeh sat back at the table and just waited for Miss Pepondosovich to follow her words.

…But she did not follow them with anything at all.

"...What do you mean what do we think?" Aurora squinted her star-shaped eyes as she looked at Miss Pepondosovich, who was just casually still eating while prolonging the suspense she created, "...I thought he would win."

"It's not about winning or losing when it comes to Riley." It wasn't Miss Pepondosovich who answered, but V, "It would seem the two of you still do not know what sort of person he really is."

"Oh… I think I might have an idea," Monkeh's eyes slightly widened as she remembered the way Riley had just started torturing all of his clones, and Garboza the Pig, "He's… intense."

"No," V shook her head as she focused on Riley's head, "The two of you still have no idea just what sort of person he really is—he is not someone you could ever apply logic to."

"F…Father!" And while Riley's table was having a little discussion of their own, Heli rushed toward her father's throne and kneeled in front of him, "What… what have you done!? That… that man you are disrespecting, he… he is not so simple, Father!"

"It is simple enough," Odun just let out a small scoff as he glanced up at Riley's head, "You say that this boy has been touched by Death herself, and now I am only bringing him back to her!"

"No, Father…" Heli's eyes widened; her breath, incredibly heavy as her eyes now just stared at Riley's head and nowhere else, "...You truly do not understand, but I do now. I truly do."

"Hm…?" Odun's long and lush eyebrows lowered as he saw the look of… enlightenment in his daughter's eyes—something he had never really seen before. Throughout her thousands and thousands of years of existence, Heli had never truly once looked like that—the closest she ever got was when she fell in love with the monkey, but that was completely different too.

This time, it felt like she was trapped in some sort of void, and yet she was still right in front of him.

"You have been telling me that I do not understand for a while now, my daughter," Odun breathed out, a trickle of spark and smoke seeping out from his nose as he did so, "But I do understand—it would seem that it has been so long since I last claimed to be so…

…but I still am the God of Wisdom and Prophecy, Heli—do not mistake it. I have seen how this fight would unfold, I have seen this creature's adventures—he is, in no way, even our equal. Might I say that even your monkey would prove to be an even better challenge than this child of nothing."

"That is what you do not understand, Father…" Heli's eyes started to glisten and turn blank at the same time—how that was even possible, well, who knows. "...And I understand, I understand now what Death meant. And you are right, Father—he is the Child of Nothing, and Nothing at all—he does not exist in this plane the same as us…

…he is a cancer, a tumor that happened to be."

"You say too much and too little at the same time, my daughter," Odun scoffed, "I would have no more of this, my only wish now is to claim my prize."

Odun then sat up from his throne, not caring at all about Heli anymore even as she kneeled on the floor. Instead, Odun made his way to Riley's table—specifically, he made his way to V.

"How is it, Lightning Bearer?" Odun then tapped the shaft of his spear on the floor, causing Riley's white hair to bounce, "Does my display of strength impress you enough to bear my children? To give birth to the Odunson?"

"...What are you even going on about, Old Man?" V just glanced at Odun before gesturing to him to stay away, "I know we're your guests and you're feeding us, but it's just weird that you're expecting something in return when I specifically remember not agreeing to anything at all—and the one you made a deal with also said that he doesn't own me, so…"

"And so it would seem that that was not enough to catch your eye," Odun let out a small hum, "Tell me, what else can I do to impress you? What, in my hall of treasures, can appease you?"

"Nothing," V answered without any hesitation, "And before you try to appease or impress me, you need to deal with your Riley situation."

"That situation has long been done even before it started." Odun scoffed.

"You might want to look again," V just let out a small but very deep sigh as she glanced at Riley's head.

"Hm?" Odun did the same, only to see Riley's head with his eyes wide open and staring at him; the smile on his decapitated head, almost reaching from ear to ear, "It's… still alive? How is that even—!!!"

And before Odun could even finish his words, Riley's body just started regenerating… not even minding that his regenerating flesh was wrapping around Odun's spear at all—in fact, it seemed to welcome it, almost merging with it in a way.

"You!" Odun quickly pulled his spear away with a force that caused the hall—no, the entirety of Aegard to tremble. Riley's regenerating flesh, just once again scattering and being blown away into several pieces; his head, also being sliced open due to the force.

But it did not matter at all, however, as Riley's mangled corpse just remained floating in the air—he no longer healed, his flesh just sticking out like he was some sort of tree of flesh—it did not help at all that his spinal cord also stopped recovering.

…But very soon, his mangled corpse started to move, plopping to the floor as his ribs grew out… and he started crawling like a scorpion

"!!!"

Aurora wanted to look away. How could she not, when no normal person like her should actually witness such a horrifying thing?

Riley did not even look human at all.

"Bwahahaha!" Miss Pepondosovich, however, seemed to find all of this amusing as she quickly pulled out her phone from her bag and just started recording what Riley was doing, "I'll send this to your children, Riri—Ack, right. I need to wait until there's a signal."

"What sort of mockery is this!?" Odun, however, was not as amused as he just quickly stomped his spear on the floor again—but this time, a violent lash of electricity slashed its way toward… whatever form Riley was doing now.

And it seemed effective, as Riley's scorpion-like mangled body started fidgeting… or so he thought as he just suddenly lunged at him without any warning at all. It wasn't even particularly fast, relatively speaking to people of their strength—but it was just downright unexpected.

"What is…"

Riley's ribs then started latching onto Odun—no. His ribs just started latching onto him as Riley's neck seemed to stretch in a way that should not be possible at all. And soon, his spinal cord that has extended beyond what it should be capable of also started wrapping around Odun's body.

Odun tried forcing his way out, but for some reason… he could not even budge Riley's skeleton at all. He tried to slam his spear on the floor again… only for his hand to be caught by Riley as his arm instantly regenerated.

"This was not in the future I have foretold—just what sort of sorcery are you using!? Is this an illusion!?" Odun raised his voice, but no one seemed to be hearing him anymore at all as Riley trapped them in a telekinetic bubble.

"I should really thank you, Odun." And soon, Riley's head just stretched closer to his and he whispered into his ear, "It has been a while since I died—and it has even been longer since I last met Nothing…

…and I met him. And do you want to find out what he said to me?"

"What nonsense are you even speaking of!?"

"The Grand Triangle. This entire place," Riley smiled,

"It is where the Supervirus originated from."