Chapter 486: Bounty

VR 483

It was weird. Space did not really have that much color unlike what they show on TV—but perhaps because of that, whatever color pops out becomes a million times more radiant.

Light is even more beautiful in the darkness because it barely exists.

And right now, Riley was watching them come and go; their streaks, blending with the darkness as Nana's ship continued its journey in hyperdrive. As the Taladier was only a scavenger ship, its windows were not really made with the best of materials; needing to be covered and guarded by a metal that rolled down whenever the ship was on hyperdrive.

But right now, the room that Riley was in had all of its windows exposed to the harsh elements of space. He… pried them all open and just kept them from breaking using a telekinetic barrier. He had been trying to center his thoughts for quite a while now—something that he rarely ever did in the past, if he had even done so at all.

He just sat on the floor, staring at the ever-changing lights.

He still could not get Hera's words out of his head. No—the words were already gone, he had moved on from them. More so than the words, it was something else in her rant that was making him… uncomfortable. Something he still couldn't explain.

Everyone had tried talking to him before, with most trying to change him. He had been scolded, patronized, and lashed at; but none really had an immediate effect on him.

His sister, Aerith, Katherine—they have all tried to change him but failed… so what made Hera different?

Was it just because she didn't even let him talk?

"...Can't be."

Did it have something to do with her abilities? Her power was to adapt—No. It's some sort of instantaneous reactive evolution so powerful that even her own thoughts are being adjusted.

Was that it? Did Hera know the exact words and tone of voice to use on him? Or perhaps… Hera's abilities could also change the people around her to better suit her needs.

"..." Or maybe because she just didn't let him talk? Maybe because she's a part of Italian Mafia Reborn? The character Hera is voicing is one of the main characters that Riley liked, after all—did he perhaps feel like that character was disappointed in him?

"...Hm."

Whatever the case was, a singular thought remained tight in his mind—He must not die by Hera's hands.

He is practically immortal, reviving even stronger each time he dies.

And when he got a part of Aerith's abilities, it became even harder to kill him—and even if he does manage to die, he would just revive once again even stronger.

But if he gets Hera's abilities? Death might truly no longer exist for him.

And almost as if in cue to Riley's trail of thoughts coming to an end, the shifting scenery in front of him finally stopped. The streak of lights, now replaced by the view of a planet that seemed to be completely composed of water.

[We have arrived in Blusi 1. Number of ships in line: 163.]

"..."

[A…ahem, Riley Ross? This is Captain—this is Nana. It will take a while for us to swap the orbs. Hera and I will take one of the pods to go out and buy some… food. Do you want anything? Or maybe you want to come with—]

[Don't ask him that!]

[I—Do you want anything? This planet is famous for their… seafood.]

"..." Riley looked around the room to try and see if there were any cameras installed in the room, but as far as he could see, there were none,

"Then, please get me some local ingredients, I wish to eat food that I prepared myself, Captain Nana," Riley said as he stood up from the floor and approached the window to get a better look at the water planet.

[Is… there something specific you want?]

"I prefer to be surprised, Captain Nana."

[Copy that. We'll be back before our turn to fuel up.]

"Thank you, Captain Nana."

[No… no problem. Shit, he seems so polite. Are you sure he's really evil? He actually reminds me of one of the Higher Races, they evolved from machines and—]

[Your mic is still on!]

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[What!? Turn it—]

"..." Riley could really only look at the exposed speaker in the room, before just letting out a small breath and turning his focus back to the planet. It… was beautiful— much like Earth, a giant gem.

It seemed to be the same size as Earth, and judging by the number of ships coming and going out of the planet, the population should also be in the higher bracket.

If he killed all of the planet's inhabitants, will it be possible to turn this blue gem into red? No, of course not.

"Oh…"

The thought, however, caused something in Riley's mind to slightly flutter.

If he killed all sentient and intelligent lifeforms in the Known Universe, will he be able to build a planet of blood and guts? If so, then how large would it be?

"Pft," Riley covered his face as a small chuckle escaped from his mouth. It might take a long time, but it was a goal worth traversing. After he visits Theran and formally buries Alice, he might as well start it—if Aerith gives him the permission, then he could try and start with Themarians.

"Hm," Riley then nodded to himself several times as the thought of creating a planet created with the corpses of his victims circled in his mind. Riley had not felt a childish excitement like this ever since he first started killing people—it was enough to make him momentarily forget the minuscule frustration that also rested inside of him.

Momentarily—because as soon as the thought of Hera's rant once again entered his ears, a small but very deep breath escaped his nose.

"..."

"..."

This sudden and abrupt changes in his mood—it almost made him feel like he was crazy, which is definitely not. He used to treasure the silence of his solitude, but now a part of him was slightly annoying him.

And so, after staring at the blue planet for a few more seconds,

"I'm going out."

He decided to go out.

***

"...Hm."

Riley had noticed this before, but it was quite easy to enter another planet. Even back on Earth, one needed to go through a rigorous amount of interviews just to travel from one country to another—of course, he was exempted from this for obvious reasons.

But in the Known Universe, one could just sneak into a planet—especially if you're just individually flying into it without any ships. Even when flying above the waters, no one seemed to even be bothering him. Of course, it could just be because their cities were completely underwater.

"..." And without any more thoughts, Riley just dived feet straight into the water…only to be welcomed by a colorful city; their lights, almost an aurora fleeting and flowing in the water.

He initially wondered how the non-natives would be able to explore the planet since most of it was underwater, but seeing as some of the people propelling through the waters all wore the same type of armor suit, it would seem visitors are given some sort of diving gear as they enter the planet.

For once, Riley could finally say that he was on a completely different planet. Hotis 4J, Febuvanir—these planets still had a semblance of Earth. But this?

An underwater city plagued with lights and activity? This… this was truly alien. It was almost as if he was inside some sort of gaming PC built inside an aquarium, but all the parts were just floating still.

He could see what seemed to be shops floating in some sort of giant plant. There also seemed to be homes built inside colossal corals.

And on this planet… he was finally once again the odd one— and the looks he was getting as he continued to descend from above the surface proved it. He was clearly not one of the natives; as the natives on this planet seemed to be the cephaloids and they had tentacles for limbs.

He also wasn't like the visitors, as he was not wearing a diving suit and was just instead casually floating in the water as he looked around the underwater city. Some of the people, however, be they natives or foreigners, started swimming away as soon as they saw Riley.

After all, Riley wasn't wearing a disguise at all; his long white hair, just reflecting all the lights that were being produced by the underwater city as well as the hint of sunlight that still seeped from above.

Riley did not go outside to sightsee, no…

…he came out to test if anyone would recognize him. After all, after his stunt back in Febuvanir, his bounty should have gone up significantly.

Hera told her not to kill anyone—but if they attack him first, then…

…he would have no choice but to reciprocate.

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