Villain Retirement

Chapter 1175: Chapter 1175: Fate Brings Confusion, and Speed Brings the Head

"Is it just me, or has this apartment seen the craziest things happen?"

"Shh. I’m listening to their conversation. Be quiet."

"What conversation? No one’s even talking!"

The very personification of death, the being who birthed the elements, and the one who had written fate itself now stood around a kitchen counter.

The residents of Riley’s penthouse often joked that their home housed the strongest beings in the universe.

Now, it was also home to the strongest beings outside the universe.

Riley’s children sat in the living area, their knees propped up on the couch as they stared, wide-eyed, at the figures in the kitchen. Diana had already warned them not to eavesdrop—but of course, no one could blame them.

Fate had shared her circumstances, revealing that she hailed from an entirely different dimension—one separate from their universe—and that Riley Ross was creating trouble. Death and Elementia, however, had remained silent.

In fact, the entire kitchen had been eerily quiet for several minutes now.

—Until Esme finally broke the silence.

"This is mango graham dessert," she said calmly, setting plates in front of the primordials. "Katrina and Liza prepared it. I believe this is the perfect time to serve it."

"A... Aunt Esme! What are you doing!?"

"Shh! Let her do what she wants!"

Esme seemed entirely unfazed by the fact that she was serving dessert to the very creators of existence itself.

And, surprisingly, the primordials didn’t seem to mind.

Fate hesitated at first, but when she saw Death and Elementia take a bite, she followed suit.

The moment the dessert touched her tongue, her pale, vacant eyes widened.

"Delicious, isn’t it?" Elementia finally broke his silence, glancing at her as he turned his spoon in his fingers. "I assume this is your first time tasting anything?"

"...It is," Fate admitted.

"Strange, isn’t it?" Elementia murmured, staring at his reflection in the spoon. "All of this—the ingredients, the flavors—exist because of us. And yet, we have never truly experienced them."

Fate took another bite, chewing slowly. "This is... an odd, but very satisfying experience." Her brows furrowed. "But I do not see how this will help solve my world’s problem—Riley Ross."

Death, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

"And yet, we are only experiencing this because of Riley Ross," she said. "Tell me, Fate—would you have ever left your domain if not for him?"

"No," Fate shook her head. "Our fate—yours and mine—is to observe for eternity. We do not exist."

Death let out a quiet chuckle, shrugging. "And yet, here we are."

"We shouldn’t be," Fate murmured, shaking her head. But then, her gaze began to wander around the penthouse, sweeping over everything with an intensity that made even those who weren’t primordials hold their breath. And then, she looked beyond the apartment—far beyond.

"Now that I am here, in your world," she continued, "I see that Riley Ross has completely altered the fate of everything. I understand now what his role is—or rather, what it would be and what it is not."

"You do?" Both Elementia and Death leaned forward, "And is it our fate to know what that is?"

"Perhaps," Fate tilted her head, her expression shifting between confusion and realization. "Or perhaps you already know—but it is not for you to hear."

Without another word, she rose to her feet and began walking. There was something almost eerie about the way she moved, as if the penthouse had transformed into an endless expanse, a vast desert she was navigating.

Then, she stopped—right in front of Lucy and Renna, staring at them.

"W...what do we do?" Lucy’s eyes widened as he grabbed his sister’s arm. "Do... do we attack her?"

"Are you stupid?" Renna shot him a look, as if he was the dumbest person in the universe. Then, turning back to Fate, she swallowed hard before bowing her head.

"Is... there something you need, Fate?"

"Not from you. Not anymore." Fate shook her head and moved on, this time stopping in front of Aerith’Ross.

"...This is getting weird," Aerith’Ross muttered, visibly uncomfortable as she leaned back slightly.

Fate stared at her for a long moment before whispering, "You are not of this universe." She looked around again. "But you exist, and that is wrong. Everything in this universe is wrong."

Aerith’Ross arched an eyebrow. "Lady, I don’t care if you’re a primordial, but my existence is not wrong."

Fate tilted her head. "If everything is wrong, then is it truly?"

Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked toward Enel’s door, placing a hand against it. "The bridge inside this room is wrong too. Or perhaps not? Is it correcting itself? Or is it being allowed to exist? There is someone—Paige Pearson."

"You know about Paige Pearson?"

"I do now," she turned to Death. "Paige Pearson. Who is she to you? To this universe?"

Death sighed. "I do not know the answer to that. Even Navi does not."

Fate was silent for a moment before whispering, "Because she is not here. Not at the moment."

Her gaze drifted back to Enel’s door.

"Everything is fractured. Bring me to... the Outerverse?"

"And what of Riley Ross?" Death asked.

Fate looked down at her hands. "My fate right now is to speak with Paige Pearson. That is why I am here—why Riley found my world."

She lifted her head, her voice soft. "I am not here to ask you to fix my world, cousin. I am here to help fix yours...

...I need to tell Paige Pearson who she is. The fate of this universe—and others like it—depends on it... And it would seem I am not your only visitor."

She suddenly turned toward the balcony. The others followed her gaze—

And there, hovering just outside the building, was a massive spaceship that no one recognized.

Riley’s ship.

And almost as if to break the tension, Miss Pepondosovich casually stepped out. Her legs wobbled slightly before she jumped onto the balcony.

"Ugh..." She covered her mouth, then turned to look at everyone inside the penthouse. For some reason, she seemed even more confused than they were.

"Aunt Miss Pepondosovich!?" Renna was the first to react, rushing toward her—but Miss Pepondosovich raised a hand, stopping her in her tracks.

One by one, Aurora, Monkeh, Heli, and V followed, stepping onto the balcony.

Hannah and Katrina, who had been quietly observing everything from the sidelines, couldn’t help but widen their eyes when they saw V.

But they didn’t move.

The atmosphere was... strange.

How—and why—were they suddenly here?

Was Riley back, too? If so, why wasn’t he with them?

And who were the other three?

But before they could voice their questions, the answer to at least one of them arrived.

From behind the ship, the Queen of the Evaniels emerged.

Vania floated toward the penthouse, her sharp eyes locking onto the two primordials before settling on Fate.

She stared for a moment, and before anyone could react—

She was suddenly standing in front of Renna.

Renna instinctively narrowed her eyes but quickly glanced down at what Vania was holding—how could she not, when it was a severed head?

And then, finally, Vania spoke.

"One."

Without further explanation, she vanished.

The only thing left in her wake was the white streak of light trailing back into space.

And the severed head at Renna’s feet.

"One?" Renna blinked. Her voice barely rose above a whisper. "Wasn’t... that the name of the Higher God that marked me?"

She looked from the severed head to Miss Pepondosovich. Then to Fate. Then back again, confusion tightening her brow.

"What is... going on right now?"

***

Several weeks later, back in Fate’s dimension, Riley hovered above the clouds, standing atop his floating ship.

The only difference now was that beneath him...

...millions upon millions of people knelt.

He exhaled slowly, almost thoughtfully.

"Well then..." he murmured, eyes gleaming as he looked down at the clouds beneath.

"...I believe it is about time for a villain to rise amongst you."