Chapter 527: Champion

"I am a citizen of Hel?"

Riley's head tilted to the side, to the point that his cheek was almost sticking to his shoulder. He then turned to look at Princess Esme almost as if to ask her if she was the one who did that; Princess Esme, however, also had her head tilted to the side like a confused and curious puppy.

"You... don't know that you're a fellow citizen?"

Seeing Riley and Princess Esme's look of confusion, the guards also started looking at each other. The only one that wasn't really showing any signs of emotion, surprisingly, was Katherine; she was just staring at Riley, hoping that he wouldn't ask too many questions and just pass through.

But alas, for someone like Riley, that is out of the question.

"It has been 6,666 years since I last went home," Riley then let out a small sigh,

"My memory can get a little fuzzy," he then said in a different accent that closely resembled Aerith's whenever she spoke themarian.

"..." One of the guards then subtly blocked Riley's path, while the other guards all quickly huddled up to examine Riley's profile. They were looking at some sort of orb, and judging by the way their eyes moved, the orb was emitting a hologram—no, perhaps an augmented reality that only they could see.

"Ah! It makes sense that you have not been home for a very long time." Without even a few seconds later, however, all the guards nodded their heads in unison as they chuckled, "It says here you're from the Grand Militia. A lot of veterans usually forget their homes after being gone."

"Codename, Paragon, Rank... Champion Sergeant."

"..."

And all of a sudden, the faces of the guards all turned stiff as they looked back and forth between the orb and Riley; they all then sucked in their breaths at the same time, before placing their hands on their back and facing Riley with their heads turned high.

"Lord Paragon."

The other guards that were also there patrolling the border, even from afar, all stopped walking and stood to greet Riley. In fact, even those that were on Varoif's side, as confused as they were since nothing of any sort came up on their side, also stopped to salute.

The Grand Militia has 12 ranks, and although they were a completely separate and independent unit from Varoif's and Hel's soldiers, both kingdoms' men still respected their ranks.

And Riley's rank, Champion Sergeant, almost stood at the top with only two ranks sitting above it—The Sergeant Monarch, and the Overlord of the Order of the Grand Militia.

Suffice it to say, Riley's rank just made him the highest-ranked official at the border; something the guards truly did not expect. After all, at a certain rank, officers of the Grand Militia could freely cross borders with just a slight heads-up.

The old themarian he met, Darmuid, also held the rank of Champion Sergeant. And for someone like Darmuid, he didn't really have to declare anything.

"..." And now, as the center of attention, Riley could really only just blink a couple of times as he surveyed his surroundings. His and Katherine's plan was to lay low as much as possible and just stay behind the Princess, but alas.

Riley then just let out a small sigh, before also placing his hands on his back and standing up straight. He then turned to look at the guards in front of him, causing them to slightly flinch.

"Can you review my file, Hel border patrol guards?"

"We..." The one that seemed to be the leader of the guards immediately gulped as he heard Riley's words, "I am afraid we don't have the clearance to view the rest of your file, Lord Riley. They're all confidential information."

"Give it to me."

And without even a slight hesitation, the guards quickly dispersed and handed the orb to Riley. And as soon as he grabbed it, several... holograms popped up in front of him. and judging by everyone's lack of reaction, only he could see the hologram.

"..." Riley already had an idea who made all of this possible, but now, it was fully confirmed with Diana's photo, posing with a peace sign and a casual smile on her face. Bernard was also behind her, still completely unconscious with his mouth wide open.

Diana always had a weird way of doing things, even before she was revealed to be a themarian. Riley, albeit he did not show much, was actually slightly afraid of Diana. After all, for a woman that was surrounded by super-powered people, she just seemed too... relaxed. And most importantly, she was the only one who could close Hannah's mouth shut. Truly, an amazing feat.

"Hm," Riley then waved his hand, pushing the window away to focus on his profile; and there, several pieces of information about him have been... doctored. His date of birth, his age, all fake. There is one piece of information, however, that Riley was curious about—the home address. It might just also be a fake one, but it was worth looking into.

"Can I keep this?" Riley then said as he pointed at the orb, "Princess Esme will pay for it."

"That—"

And before the border officer could even finish his words, a quiet but sharp beeping noise rang from his pocket. He quickly grabbed his orb, only for him to almost drop it after seeing what the notification was.

"This... is too much, Your Highness!" The border officer faced Princess Esme before kneeling.

"That is just my daily allowance, commoner. No need to exaggerate."

And with that, the three were finally free to move about Hel. Katherine and Riley landed on this side of the planet initially, but they were just starting to notice how different the two nations were.

In terms of technology and culture, both were basically the same. The only stark difference between the two was its people, and how strictly they enforce their laws on their people.

Varoif was more lenient and laid back, and Hel... Hel would even execute their own Princess to prove a point.

"I did not know you were a high-ranking official, Professor Riley."

"I suppose I am now, Princess Esme."

"...Was it Megawoman?"

"It's mother's doing, Katherine. And I believe she left us an address to visit."

"That is very interesting, Professor Riley. Should we visit it first?"

"No. Aerith comes first. We need to—"

"Welcome to Hel, Princess Esme, and escorts."

And while the three were casually making their way out of the border, a man suddenly appeared in front of them—already bowing his head to Princess Esme.

A familiar man.

"Zac."

It was the Star Sergeant who tricked Riley into meeting Princess Esme.

"Your Highness... Lord Riley," Zac then also bowed to Riley; a small but obvious mischievous smile, planted on his face, "I was unaware you were my superior. I will not question how that suddenly happened."

"I was superior to you the moment I first died, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley just shrugged.

"Of course, Lord Riley," Zac forced a chuckle, "Let me make it up to you by delivering you to the right Princess this—Kh!"

Zac then felt something blocking his throat, preventing him from finishing his words.

"You really should not have shown yourself to me, Star Sergeant Zac." And all of a sudden, Riley's eyes turned red as he very slowly made his way to Zac,

"My emotions are becoming a bit uncontrollable ever since I left Earth—and I do not really like being tricked," Riley then stood in front of Zac, their faces almost touching as he whispered, "The only one that is allowed to trick me is sister."

"..."

"And since I am your superior..." Riley then placed his hand on Zac's face as the red light in his eyes started to become violent to the point they started to produce steam,

"...would it count as murder if I kill you for insubordination in front of all these people, Star Sergeant Zac?"

"You..." And as is the case with most of the themarians that Riley has fought with, Zac was able to break free from Riley's telekinetic hold; Zac struggled, but still literally shook it off as he moved his head back,

"...You and I both know you're not really part of the Grand Militia. Our... system detected you as soon as the border patrol scanned you... why do you think I'm here in the first place?"

"I believe you're here to die, Star Sergeant Zac."