Chapter 58: Meeting (2)
"And I do quite agree with you, Ms. Friday…
...this world would be better off without me."
"You…"
It was a good thing that Ms. Friday's head was covered by a jet-black helmet, if not, then all of the people here would have definitely seen the smile that had desperately crawled on her face slowly fade; replaced by the crippling fear that seemed to be at a haste in bringing her down.
No, even if she didn't have her helmet on, none of the Numbers would be able to see her face as they were too focused on their own opponents. Even April was busy trying to support the others; his helmet removed as his eyes shot out laser beams from afar.
But perhaps that was also a good thing; if not, their morale would surely take a hit if they were seeing the same thing she was. She was supposed to be one of the Weekdays, serving directly beneath Darkday. She was supposed to be one of the strongest in the whole organization, and yet with just a single exchange…
...she had been made aware of the difference between their powers.
Her attack was sure to kill even Grade-A Strength oriented Supers, and yet right now, the one who she thought was telekinetic, was ripping off the twisted confines she made like it was some sort of sand castle.
"I will repeat my words, Ms. Friday..."
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With those words whispering in the air, a smile slowly crawled on Riley's face as the odd element that wrapped and threatened to crumple his body opened up-- almost like a white lotus with him as the bud; add to that the brightness of his silhouette… he almost looked quite angelic.
"...You truly have quite an interesting power."
Riley then stepped out of the lotus, effortlessly pushing whatever material it was that Ms. Friday manipulated, "At first I thought you were able to petrify things in your surroundings, but you could steer it as well…
...what is this, exactly?"
"That's…"
Ms. Friday could not help but take in a huge gulp as Riley just casually pinched off a piece of the so-called material with his finger like it was nothing. Riley was sort of right with his guess, her powers were similar to petrification.
But instead of turning things into something as brittle as stones, she turns them into a type of tungsten. But she wouldn't be one of the Weekdays if it was just that. She could also control metal, making her dangerous and formidable even in the most disadvantageous environments.
But that was not important right now... Tungsten-- one of the hardest materials in the world… shaved off like it was nothing.
"I have decided, Ms. Friday..."
"!!!"
Ms. Friday then took a few steps back as the smile on Riley's face almost reached from ear to ear.
"...You belong with the others."
"What are you--"
And before Ms. Friday could even finish her words, a thunder erupted in the air; blowing out all the stubborn dust and debris as a skirt of wind seemed to flash before her eyes. And before she knew it, her vision was filled with Riley's palm planted on the visor of her helmet.
"You won't be needing this, Ms. Friday."
And with those words, Ms. Friday's helmet erupted… no, it split into shards, calmly floating around her head as Riley's hand remained a few inches away from her face, holding the still-intact visor on it.
"Ms. Friday!"
April, who was previously busy shooting laser beams out of his eyes and supporting the Numbers from afar, swiftly rushed towards Ms. Friday as soon as he saw her struggling with her opponent.
His eyes lit up even brighter than before as they glared ominously towards the back of Riley's head.
Ms. Friday, however, let out a scream.
"No. April, don't!" She roared, her voice completely different from what it was before.
Ms. Friday knew. Ms. Friday knew from the trembling smile on Riley's face that he was aware of April's oncoming attack.
April's eyes continued to grow even brighter, but as the beams were about to shoot out from his eyes, Riley suddenly flicked his arm and threw the visor straight towards April's face; and with perhaps only a millisecond difference, the shards of the helmet that were calmly floating around Ms. Friday's face followed.
They flew towards April's head at an unimaginable speed-- once again making themselves whole like a puzzle. This all perhaps happened in less than a second, and less than a second is all it took for the helmet to crack, a red glow crawling like a web before it once again erupted into pieces. But this time…
...along with the insides of April's head.
"!!!"
Ms. Friday's jaws started to shiver as one of April's eyes landed beside her foot-- still whispering a sizzle to her ears as its red glow still kindled.
"You… you killed him."
"That is debatable, Ms. Friday."
"W--"
And once again, before she could even say a word, she felt her insides almost being left by her body as her vision quickly shifted.
"Kh," Ms. Friday then winced in pain as Riley's hand was now planted on her face, pushing her head onto a wall she now finds herself on.
"You don't have to worry, Ms. Friday," Riley then once again let out a smile, "Riley 2 will take good care of you."
If her face didn't feel like it was being crushed to death, then she might have even thought that Riley's smile contained a bit of warmth. This warmth, however, was momentary as she felt a cold breeze suddenly and violently waft through her entire body. There was also a ringing in both her ears, causing her to slightly struggle to move her head to the side… and as she did so, she finally realized what just happened.
There was now a huge hole behind her, with the premium and luxurious view of the night clouds.
"W… wait, wait!" Ms. Friday let out a muffled scream as her mouth was slightly covered by Riley's palm, "What about the information!? I thought you needed information!?"
"I do, Ms. Friday," Riley nodded, "But I can get that from No. 7. He seems to be more knowledgeable than I initially thought he was."
It was weird, Ms. Friday could barely hear the sound of her own voice from all the turbulence; Riley's words, however, were as clear as day to her.
"Number… No. 7!? No. 7 is currently tied up somewhere, he is of no use to you!"
"That is incorrect, Ms. Friday," Riley then let out a sigh as the grip on his hand slowly lightened, "No. 7 is killing the students of the Academy that was escorted to safety earlier, and he is about to be done."
"...What?"
"See you soon, Ms. Friday."
And with those words, Riley let go of Ms. Friday's face, allowing her body to be sucked like a vacuum as she was blown out of the floating base almost instantly. But before her screams could reach back inside the base; her body, instead of falling down, looked like it was plucked into the horizon before completely disappearing into the ocean of clouds.
Riley waved his hand a couple of times before the hole made on the cargo hold swiftly closed. He then let out a small sigh before turning around, only to see Katherine and Tomoe already standing there in front of him.
"Oh?" Riley muttered as his eyes scanned the surrounding, only to see more than a hundred men groaning and breathing in pain.
"You are done? I expected it with Silver Moon since she is my First Subordinate. But I have to say, you exceeded my expectations, Tomoe…
...excellent work in not killing anyone."
"!!!" A tiny yelp escaped from Tomoe's mouth, only hindered by the fact that she was now bowing repeatedly towards Riley, "Such… I do not deserve such high praise, my lord!"
"Riley… What… what did you say earlier?"
Katherine, on the other hand, could only stutter with her words as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "You… said something about the students?"
"They're dead, Silver Moon," Riley casually said as he walked past between the two, "Now let's continue our meeting. No. 7 and Little Riley is currently waiting for us somewhere in the ship."
"What? I thought they were taken to--"
"It is best for you to see for yourself, Silver Moon."
***
"No… no… no."
Katherine had her eyes closed. Her mind, currently in disarray as she was forcing it to hear something that was not there. There were more than a hundred people in this vast hall they now find themselves in, but the beating of the hearts that drummed in her ear was not even enough to build a choir.
Even Tomoe, who had no doubts of her loyalty to Riley, could not help but run to the side as her body betrayed her; her retching, almost echoing throughout the entire room.
"It seems you overdid it, No. 7," Riley looked towards his two Subordinates, before turning his head towards No. 7, who was kneeling on the floor; his body completely loosened as his breaths were enough to quake the floor.
No. 7 was currently surrounded by more than a hundred bodies, each mangled in different degrees. Some had their limbs torn, their bones piercing their own flesh and the flesh of others… connected-- almost like a centipede.
"What… what did you make me do?" No. 7 then breathed out, his words almost whimpering.
"I didn't tell you to do this, No. 7," Riley then said as he let out a sigh, "This is quite disgusting."
"I had no choice! This was the easiest way I could… I could…"
"You don't have to explain, No. 7. I saw," Riley then said as he pointed towards the silhouette standing on No. 7's shoulders, Little Riley. And then, with a snap of Riley's fingers, Little Riley quickly saluted, before melting away like mud.
"We still need to clean this place up, but we will do that later when all of you have calmed down, everyone. For now, I have a few questions, No. 7."
"...What?"
"Is the one leading this ship the man called April?"
"...No, it was Ms. Friday."
"That is a strange hierarchy," Riley muttered as he placed his hand on his chin.
"Each… each of the bases is captained by different Weekdays; Ms. Friday is one of them. They are then allotted 12 adjutants, the Months, and their grunt workers, 365 Numbers."
"Truly strange," Riley repeated, "But I suppose it doesn't matter. From now on, you are Mr. Friday, No. 7."
"W… What?" No. 7 almost took off his helmet from hearing Riley's words.
"This ship…
...it's mine now. Secretly, of course."