Villain Retirement

Chapter 1172: Chapter 1172: Just The Same

The screams of anguish covered everything.

And the cries of regret and sorrow ended it with every note.

Everywhere you go in the city of Zimmer, you would hear a cry.

And everywhere you go in the city of Zimmer, your feet would be drenched by the red.

There was blood everywhere.

And one would think they came from the people who were really tied up on stakes, the people who were screaming in anguish and crying for forgiveness, displayed right at the very center of the city for everyone to see—thousands of them.

But no, the blood didn’t come from them, have already stopped bleeding an hour ago.

The blood was coming from above, dripping profusely, endlessly.

The blood that was flowing from Riley Ross.

He had only been there for three hours, floating above their city, and yet the streets of Zimmer had already become a pool of his blood.

All of the citizens of the humble city could see it.

He was crying.

They weren’t only stepping on his blood, they were stepping on his tears too.

Based on all the stories and mythos they have read, Heroes are supposed to be gallant and brave figures—they show no weakness, not even in the sight of hopelessness.

They never cry, they never back down.

And yet right now, this Hero they have never even known before, a Hero they never met and didn’t even know existed, was crying...

...for them?

These were all the thoughts and whispers of the people of Zimmer as they looked up at Riley.

Hours ago, they were afraid. Angry. Seething.

How could they not be, when they watched their loved ones be violently plucked away into the sky?

They all wanted to curse Riley, throw stones at him.

And yet, right now—why does it feel like he was the one hurting the most?

Why was he doing all of this if he knew he was going to be hurt?

Why was he following Fate’s orders even at the risk of eternal pain?

...For them?

Was he doing all of this for them?

Very slowly, the people’s eyes that were filled with so much pain turned soft. Reverence.

So many thoughts ran through their mind.

Unbeknownst to them, Riley was actually just enjoying the screams.

Fate was truly trying to kill him.

He was torturing innocent people, and that was against the role that was placed upon him.

But it didn’t matter, his body regenerated before whatever divine law that was working in this world could kill him.

He was getting damaged over and over again, only to heal just as fast—hence the exaggerated amount of blood flowing from him.

But of course, none of the people knew that.

The only thing they knew was that the Hero was sacrificing himself.

They didn’t even know for what—but if he was the hero, then that meant it was for the greater good, for the people.

The Hero was sacrificing himself for them all.

And to that, they could only clasp their hands together and pray for him.

Hours passed once more, and Riley still had not moved from his spot.

People were starting to die due to their injuries—but only those who did not believe, those who still had the light in the shape of the sword hovering above their heads.

But those who had nothing but a pure ball of light on their heads?

They were healed.

From once being mangled, with their bones even protruding through their flesh, they were now whole.

No.

They looked even better—refreshed.

Those who believed were reborn and made anew by Fate, in the hands of Riley Ross.

And soon, night came, and yet Riley refused to leave.

And when the sun rose again, he was still there.

It was only when there was a single non-believer left did he descended from the sky.

But he did not leave, not yet.

He walked toward the last non-believer, standing in front of her and gently raising her chin.

And then, he gently cleaned her face and whispered,

"It’s okay. Even if you don’t believe in Fate, I believe in you—it is not fair that you die here," Riley closed his eyes, "I only hope you are reborn to a much merciful god in your next life."

He whispered, but everyone in the city heard it.

And everyone watched as he stayed with the woman until he took her last breath.

Riley once again sighed. As he turned away from the woman, he found hundreds kneeling in front of him.

Some prayed to Fate, but most were to him.

"Bishop," Riley whispered, "We are done here—leave some of your disciples here to let them help the city rebuild."

"Of course, Hero," the bishop’s tone was even more respectful to Riley now, his head looking at his feet as he said, "What of the city’s lord? He is faithful to the Church and Her—but he had been vocal in his resistance to our cause."

"Hmm," a small smile crawled on Riley’s face, "Let him be—there are those who will defy us but still follow the word of Fate, let them grow. They are needed."

"Of course, Hero. Your will will be done without question."

Without question.

How could he even question Riley now?

He had converted thousands of people in just a single day—and that was only because there were only thousands to convert.

From now on, word would travel, and people would know that the Hero existed, and he is spreading the word of Fate.

Soon, millions would follow them.

"Come, bishop." Riley once again floated into the sky, "We have work to do—onto the next city."

And just like that, Riley left the city of Zimmer—leaving everyone as a believer.

Well, there was one, however, who did not believe anything at all—Louis.

The two were once again standing on the deck of the ship, staring at the endless blue sky and the white beneath them.

"Why are you doing all of this, Riley?" Louis muttered, "You could just kill all of us, stop playing with our lives."

"I am not playing with your lives, Louis," Riley sighed, "I am merely following Fate’s orders."

"No. No, you’re not..." Louis scoffed in frustration, shaking his head as he walked in circles, "I have met Fate myself when I was brought to this world, Riley—she is not someone who would order something like this. She wouldn’t let something like this pass."

"Then where is she now?" Riley glanced at him, "Why is she not stopping all of this, Louis?"

"What are you even doing here?" Louis closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "You told me that you were on an adventure to get as far away from Hannah and the others, far away from your family since you are afraid of hurting them—and that you’re just on a temporary quest to kill some people who threatened your daughter, this One person. So, why are you wasting your time here? Why? Is it because of me? Are you trying to torture me again? Do you get off of that? Riley...

...You are a god. Why are you doing all of this? What for?"

"Because I want to experience this world of yours, Louis." The tone of Rliey’s voice remained completely unchanged even after Louis’s long rant. He didn’t even look at him.

"I was told that this is a new dimension completely, separate from our multiverse—separate from the primordials," Riley sighed before shaking his head, "I wanted to know how it differed from our universe—and since it is not different at all, then it means that my goal in his dimension is the same."

"Goal...?"

"To turn everything into nothing," Riley finally turned around to look at Louis and said,

"I am sorry, Gary—but I am ending this dimension first."