Villain Retirement

Chapter 1191: An Irredeemable Broken Record

"Hmm?"

Somewhere in the miniature expanse of the simulated dimension Riley and Hannah were in, the interdimensional traveler, Evans, was inside his ship. The sound of gears and steam moving around him danced around his ears from all directions, but he was completely unbothered by it since he was wearing a pair of large headphones.

Soon, however, a loud clang caught his attention.

He disappeared from where he stood, only to appear right in front of where the sound came from.

It was a crude but highly sophisticated brass model of Earth, seemingly made of thousands of small pins clicked together into a sphere. And one of those pins was currently lifting up and vibrating.

Evans pulled he pin out, and it suddenly bloomed in his hand, which showed a three-dimensional map, complete with terrain and even roads.

"Well…" Evans leaned closer to the model, a sigh slowly escaping his lips, "...There you are."

***

"Oh… Fuck!"

Back inside Riley's shed, Hank immediately drew the gun from his waist and turned around, only for the muzzle to find its target to be empty air. Riley was no longer there. He turned his sight around, his feet now treading the shed carefully as he moved across the aisle of shelves.

He scoured the entire shed, but there was no sign of Riley at all. He then moved to the wall, walking to the corner and placing his back there so that no one could sneak up on him.

Hank then grabbed something from his waist again, making sure he wasn't lowering his gun at all as he did so. His eyes, however, soon turned even wider as he patted around his waist but couldn't find what he was looking for.

He looked down, only to confirm that his radio wasn't there at all.

"What the—" And it was less than a second when he wasn't looking in front of him, but as he raised his head again, Riley was already right in front of him. Hank pulled the trigger on him without any hesitation, only for him to feel something warm between his fingers.

"H-huh?" He blinked a couple of times as he saw the red dripping and crumbling from his hands, he panicked at first, but when he opened up his palm, pieces of a large tomato fell from it.

"You can taste it if you want, Detective."

Riley sighed as he backed away from the scared and obviously confused Hank.

"My tomatoes are the best on the planet," he said as he sat on the chair that was suddenly waiting behind him, "If you have ever eaten in a fine dining restaurant, then you have more than likely already eaten them—I supply to the best restaurants in the state, after all."

"You…" Hank immediately realized what he was dealing with. He then looked back at the freezer where the body was, and then noticed that there were actually probably more than a dozen freezers inside the shed.

"Oh," Riley waved his hand, "If you are wondering if the other freezers have people in them, they do not—I bury them everywhere in the farm every week."

"W-what?" Hank's entire body shivered when he heard that.

"I do not use them as fertilizer, if that is what that expression is about," Riley sighed while shaking his head, "I bury them as a form of gratitude, Hank. In fact, the idea might seem upsetting or reprehensible to you, but you should also be grateful for them."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Hank said as he started looking for a way out.

"Because of these 104 travellers, more did not die from me." Riley covered his mouth and closed his eyes.

"But of course, I should be the one most grateful, because of them, I get to live this life of lies with Hannah. I truly wanted it not to be a lie, for it not to be pretend—but I am… inevitable."

"I asked you what you were talking about! Do you think you can do this and still—"

"You are not the first detective to come here, Hank. You are the third," Riley looked Hank in the eyes, "If you are wondering why they have not been reported missing, well, that is because they are not. They are both retired now, I am sure you know who they are."

"What…?"

"And now I am offering you the same thing I offered them—infinite wealth," Riley snapped his fingers, and a mound of gold appeared right between him and Hank, "I suggest you take it and leave."

"And… and if I don't?"

"Then my life of lies is done," Riley shrugged. "You will be free to go and come back with the military if you want, but I will be gone before that… along with the wealth I am offering you now."

"Are you… the devil?"

"No, I am real," Riley stood up, seemingly exhausted as he looked Hank in the eyes, "Unfortunately for everyone. I tried, you know? I tried to live a normal life with Hannah. Here. But it did not even last a week, and I am back to doing what I do—hurt and kill all of you. I… do not think I will ever truly change. I have accepted that from the start…

…and I am accepting it again."

Hank's breath began to fill the entire shed. His eyes, not knowing whether to look at the gold or at the killer in front of him. His mind was in complete disarray, and right when it did find a little bit of order, he couldn't even say his decision, as it was made for him.

Not by Riley.

But by the person that suddenly walked through the walls right beside him, melting it like it was made of bubble. Hank wasn't the most shocked, however, as Riley took several steps back and even slightly gasped at the sight.

"Oh… Hannah," he whispered. He looked at her eyes for a moment before looking away and lowering his head, saying the only words that were in his mind,

"I… am sorry."