Chapter 748: Busy Busy

"...No."

Bard only left for a moment—at least that is what it felt like for him. He just escorted the people from Riley's universe back to their own; it was just a simple act of goodwill and cooperation toward a variant.

After all, he needed to tread carefully with them compared to most worlds he had been; they were different, after all; they carried an existence called Riley Ross, a being that even a primordial fears.

He needed to be polite, to be welcoming, and to be kind—these were the least he could do after all the sins he carries in his back. And once these variants were gone, and he completely locks the access to their world, he would once again continue his obligation to the multiverse and ensure that they do not destroy themselves.

That is his order, and he must oblige.

He was only gone for a moment, and yet now here he stands; his eyes reflecting the cries of his people.

The intricate secret network that Bard built under New York is called the Nexus, and it has many entry points all around the city. The main reason he built it in such a busy city is because he owns all of the establishments in it, and thus could also set up an even more intricate security system above ground.

It was also easier to disguise his employees and staff when they just look like your average citizen going about their day; that is until they go to a secret entrance to Nexus and start going to different universes to scout and analyze.

And right now, Bard was stepping out of the toilet of a barbershop... only to find that it was completely empty and silent, which should be impossible as this particular barbershop was extremely famous for their fade. But now, the only sound that Bard could hear was the TV that was left open.

The TV that was showing an aerial view of a destruction that Bard never imagined would happen to his own universe, to his own Earth.

"No..." Bard breathed out; his eyes trembling as he continued to look at the screen. Soon, however, as he heard a scream coming from outside, he quickly left the barbershop...

...only to see another scene of destruction.

Buildings, ruined. Roads, caved down. Bridges, broken. People, dead.

Bard had seen planets shatter, stars devour entire systems, and even universes collapse—destruction of a completely different level. And yet right now, Bard could feel himself drowning from the screams even more so than any other destruction he had witnessed.

What they say is true. You won't know how apathetic you really are to other's plights until it happens to you, and you realize what it really feels to lose.

"Help... help me, please!"

Bard's white armor quickly emerged from his pores and wrapped his entire body; not even hesitating to rush toward the call for help. It was a woman, hugging who Bard could only assume to be her partner.

"Whiteking...?" The woman quickly noticed Bard as he approached, "Please... my husband, my husband tried protecting me and... and he's not waking up."

"..." Bard could not really say anything and just stared at the woman and her husband... because that is all he could really do. The woman already uttered her last breath with her words; her stomach, impaled by a street pole that went through her and her husband.

"This is Ross, does anyone copy?"

Bard then started looking around, trying to call for any of his people, "Hannah? Hannah, can you hear me?"

"..."

"..."

[...Dad?]

"Hannah!" Bard quickly flew into the air; momentarily glancing at the destruction before focusing his attention on the HUD inside his helmet to try and track his daughter's position, "What... what happened here!? Did the Chihiro variant do this!?"

[Darkday.]

"What!? I can't hear you!"

[Chihiro Prime is already helping us. Darkday is doing this.]

"Who...?" Bard tried accessing his satellites to get a better view of everything, but the Earth seemed so... dark. The name Darkday seemed somewhat familiar to him, he just couldn't remember where he had heard it before.

[It's... Riley Ross.]

"..." Even from his bulky armor and helmet, Bard's dropping shoulders were enough to know how he felt. He was just gone for a brief moment, and yet everything went south.

"What... happened?" Bard's breaths turned heavier by the second, "I thought Riley—Riley Ross did not have any signs of going wild. He was calm and didn't have any reason to... he even said he didn't plan on hurting anyone. Everything...

...was under control."

[Silvie...]

"What?"

[...] Nannah's voice seemed to hesitate; her breaths also heavy as she paused with whatever it was she was going to say. Bard could also hear other voices speaking near her, but before he could increase the volume, Nannah finally spoke up,

[Silvie said Megawoman and Riley started to argue about... something.]

"Megawoman... and Riley," Bard just ends up repeating each of Nannah's words.

[What do we do ne—]

And before Nannah could finish her words, Bard completely cut her off as he started accessing all of his satellites and all of the cameras around the world to pinpoint Riley and Aerith's exact location. And as soon as he got a glimpse of them, his eyes glowed orange and he disappeared...

...leaving only the roar of thunder to growl in the air.

***

"You don't deserve to live!"

"And yet here I am, eternal."

"We'll see about that!"

"You do know that the Earth of this universe is still here because I allow it to be here. Right, Megawoman? I could snap my fingers, and it will just shatter."

"I know that you won't do it—because you already said you want to see them suffer."

"No, not them. You. They just need to die."

"You've become completely insane, Riley."

"I always have been."

"No, not like this."

"Then perhaps it truly did affect me when you decided to abandon me—I even lost my mind, remember? In fact, I don't even know if what I am doing right now is real. If you are the trigger to my delusions, then perhaps I am having a delusion as we speak?"

"This is real, Riley! All those deaths are real!"

"I wish I could say the same with mine."

"Stop with the self-pity!"

And with a roar that completely caused the very air itself to explode, Aerith slammed Riley's head on the unusually smooth ground. Smooth, because they were now fighting on the ground that Riley completely erased from the map.

Aerith had been trying her best to take the fight outside the planet, but as soon as she did so, Riley threatened to just destroy it. It was a weird dilemma; vicious, but weird all the same. People are going to die no matter what choice Aerith makes, the only difference was time.

Sooner or later, if Aerith does not find a way to stop him, then Earth would still be destroyed.

"I do not need to read your mind to know what you are thinking, Megawoman."

And even with his helmet pinned to the ground, Riley's shoulder still moved as he let out a soft chuckle, "And you are right, they are going to die no matter what—I am just taking my time to enjoy it."

"You're mad!" Aerith then started punching Riley in the face—just enough to destroy his head, but not enough to damage the terrain. But alas, once again... a clone.

"Well, it must be frustrating..."

"Tch," Aerith quickly flew away as she felt a hand slithering across her neck. She turned around, only to see Darkday just casually standing there and looking at his clone wither away.

"...Not knowing whether who you are doing is real or not. Oh, perhaps I phrased that wrong."

"Shut up."

"But my point comes across," Darkday laughed, "And perhaps that is what my death will be, figurative. I will die, because I myself would think that I do not exist. Poetic, no? But then again, even with Paige's abilities, I can't unalive myself. You do know that, correct? I have Paige's abilities. I don't like using it, it's...

...amplifying my illness, I think."

"God, don't you ever shut up?"

"Only when my lips are on yours."

"Real smooth," Aerith's eyes started to glow. And with a scoff, she once again disappeared from her spot, only to appear right in front of Riley with a weapon in hand, "You have unlimited lives...

...I have unlimited stamina."

And with those words, Aerith swung her large weapon again; this time, however, the weapon released a red beam that destroyed everything in its path as it flew straight into the sky.

"That is going to kill someone on another planet, Megawoman."

"Shut u—"

"Enough!"

And as Aerith once again rushed toward Riley, Bard suddenly dived down from the sky; landing between Riley and Aerith.

"Whiteking!?" Aerith tried her best to stop the momentum, but it was already too late.

"Oh, I knew I like you, Chubby Bernard," as for Riley, he just tilted his head and waited for what Bard was going to do when he had less than a single second to do whatever it is he was going to do before Aerith hits him.

As for Bard, well... he was still kneeling on the ground. But then, all of a sudden, he stretched his arms to the side.

"!!!"

And as he did so, everything around them changed. From the smooth terrain they were just previously fighting on, they were now in the middle of some sort of ruined city—and Bard was nowhere to be seen.

Aerith just analyzed the location for a brief moment. And now, without anyone blocking her path, she just continued to make her way toward Riley, dropping the weapon and just punching him straight on the head without any reservation...

...at full force.

It was obvious to Aerith what Bard did—he placed them in a universe where Earth was already destroyed. And of course, it was obvious for Riley too.

"Oh, come on..." Riley chuckled as his helmet disappeared; revealing his long white hair that shone amongst all the dust flying around them,

"...Do you really think I won't find life to kill here? If you are watching, father from another universe...

...you are about to be very busy."