Chapter 501: The Lover Arrives

"Stop him!"

It all happened slowly. They should have, could have, and would have stopped it if they could. But all of them could really just watch as Riley floated in the air, hovering right on top of Xra's throne as the entire ship moved on its own toward somewhere it shouldn't.

"Stop him how!? We couldn't even stop his pet!"

Xra's crew were all on the edges of their toes as they looked up. They all had their own weapons and stance ready as they stared at the white-haired menace above them. They also looked at each other, trying to see and gauge who will be the first one to do something—wondering if they should actually attack him.

But attack him how, exactly?---is the question that was being passed through them.

Lechamp had all 4 of his blasters pointed at Riley but didn't dare to fire them. After all, back when they first fought, Girgo literally brought out the blasters of the ship to shoot him, but the only thing it did was make Riley's white hair even brighter.

All of them knew that their captain was the only one that could really stop Riley...but alas, she was currently holed up in her quarters and ordered not to be disturbed no matter what.

So, what exactly should they do? Aella had been attempting to take control of the ship as soon as she recovered from the horrible images that entered her mind when she touched Lunox. She fired their engines in the other direction, but all it was really doing was stressing the integrity of the Bloodcruiser. She could try and take them into hyperdrive...

...but she didn't want to end up a pancake.

Moira summoned two blades in her hands as she also waited for the others to make a move. Just a few breaths after she did so, however, Little Riley patted her on the neck. She turned to look at him, only to see him shaking his head and gesturing to her to hide the blades.

"I am telling you this now..." Little Riley then let out a small but very deep sigh as he looked at Riley, "...If you don't want to die, then never ever bare your fangs against the Boss. You're scared that you will be offending a themarian? At least the themarians will be giving you a quick death. But the boss? The Boss will be making an orchestra with your screams."

"..." Moira didn't even have to think. As soon as she heard Little Riley's words, the blades in her hands quickly disappeared. The blades were not really an innate ability of her species, but rather, a power she received from being infected by the supervirus.

Moira was not the only one that decided not to try anything anymore, but also Hera. In fact, Hera even found herself relaxed. Her entire body was just telling her that it was dangerous for the ship to proceed any further—but as soon as it was Riley that pushed them forward, the red signs that she was seeing in the empty expanse of space instantly disappeared.

But why?

Granted, since Riley was moving the entire ship, it also meant that it was being protected by him. But even then, none of them should feel safe. Every time Riley fights with Megawoman, every time he fights with a themarian, there will always be an aftermath that leads to astronomical destruction.

And right now, they were looking very much like collateral.

And while everyone below was losing their minds, the smile on Riley's face was just growing. For years, he had imagined what it would be like to be faced with the screams and anguish of more people like Aerith—and now, the intro of one of his deepest fantasies was finally right in front of him, quite literally.

And like a child faced with a meal he can't resist, Riley could no longer wait for anything else... and just like his wish, he didn't even need to wait.

Because as soon as they passed the threshold, a red dot immediately flashed over the horizon of their view. And this flash very slowly grew larger and larger—no. Perhaps with the distance it covered, one couldn't really say that it was slow; it's just that it came from far away. Very far away.

And soon, the red dot that just looked like a laser pointer filled the view of their entire window.

"Riley!" Hera then screamed as she saw Riley just smiling with his eyes closed, "If you're going to do something, I think now is the best time!"

And with the red beam now just meters away from hitting the ship's shield, Riley finally opened his eyes. And like a rock splitting the flow of a river, the red beam split in half before it could even touch the ship's barrier.

"This will be fun," Riley then breathed out as the red light touching his white skin faded away,

"Don't you agree, everyone?"

Everyone wanted to say no, but most of them were just too stunned to speak. They all knew what that red beam was. It was one of the abilities of the themarians—energy projection.

It was widespread that Theran was not fond of visitors, and they have been taught by schools that the territory of the themarians is not to be disturbed at any costs. Most of them were even told stories by their parents during bedtime that if they do something bad, then they would be sent to the T Zone, which sounds like a move from a sports cartoon show, but is actually more menacing considering its meaning.

So no, none of them agreed that it would be fun.

As part of Xra's crew, they were not strangers to danger. In fact, they even welcome it—they were the strongest crew, and their captain was and is one of the strongest beings in the Known Universe.

But as it stands, everyone considered themarian territory to be a separate universe of its own. And in this Universe, Xra might not even be in the top 5. Of course, all of this was merely speculation.

"They welcomed us so warmly," Riley then breathed out like he had just experienced some sort of bliss, "We should give a gift of our own."

Riley once again stretched his arms to the side as he started to float toward the colossal window of the bridge; and seemingly without any care, he just moved straight through it and let it break right on his face.

"The ship heals itself, so I do not need to pay for anything, right?"

Aella could really only let out an awkward smile as Riley glanced at him before completely plowing through the window. She also couldn't care less about the window, as Riley raised one of his hands above his head... before summoning an orb that shared the color of the beam that almost hit their ship.

"I think this is how Aerith did it? But it seems too weak. What if I do this? Hm... that's not right either. How about this?"

And while Riley was whispering to himself, the orb hovering above his head grew larger and larger in size. And very soon, it was the same size as the Bloodcruiser itself.

"...I suppose this is fine," and with those words, Riley tapped the red orb with his index finger... causing it to disappear—no. From Hera and the others' view, it didn't quite disappear but rather became smaller as it suddenly flew a great distance away from them.

And soon, it also became a red dot. This red dot, however, suddenly changed direction before it could completely disappear; and almost like a boomerang, it once again became larger and larger as it made its way to its new target—Riley Ross.

"Hm..." Riley stretched his palm toward the oncoming projectile he himself fired, and with a breath, the red orb was torn asunder into a million pieces. And like fireflies dying all at the same time, their light soon faded away.

Riley, however, still had his palm stretched forward. After all, a fist was already resting on it.

"And who might you be, sir?" Riley casually tilted his head to the side to look at who it was, only to see a red-haired... boy.

"I could ask you the same, boy," the red-haired boy scoffed as he pulled his hand away from Riley. His eyes, looking at Riley from head to toe before turning his attention to the Bloodcruiser,

"You are not allowed here, retreat immediately or I will be forced to take lethal action."

"And what if I do not, sir?"

"You— Kh!"

And before the red-haired themarian boy could even say anything, his face met with Riley's left foot. The boy's neck completely folded before being thrown hundreds and hundreds of miles away in a single breath.

"Fighting in space truly is wonderful," Riley closed his eyes before embracing himself, "I could do this all day."

And with those words, Riley also disappeared from his spot—chasing down the young themarian that was still violently free-floating in space.

"Are you still awake?"

And after a few breaths, Riley caught the back of the boy's head; completely jolting him awake.

"Who... who are you?" The red-haired themarian quickly grabbed Riley's wrist and started wriggling to get away from his grip, "Let... let go of me, boy!"

"I do not know why you keep calling me 'boy'," Riley sighed as he shook his head, "Only mother and Aerith are allowed to do that."

"...Aerith?" The boy quickly stopped struggling as soon as he heard Aerith's name, "What... how do you know that name!?"

"Because I am his lover."