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Chapter 85: The Hope Guild (1)

"Good work out there, Riley."

"Thank you, Scarlet Mage."

A trembling hum gently roared through the air as USMA\'s colossal gates once again slowly blocked its view of the outside world.

Riley closed his eyes as soon as he stepped back inside the Academy, allowing Scarlet Mage to gently wipe his face even though there really was no need to-- as no sweat or dirt could even be found resting on his skin.

The other members of the Police Force were also expecting someone to assist them after a long day of hard work. But forget someone wiping their sweat and tears, there wasn\'t even anyone there to give them a towel.

They have been trying to clean up the last remaining clutter from the accident outside the perimeter of the Academy… yet not even a single person waited for them inside to welcome them back in. The only thing they could do was grit their teeth as they watched Riley being pampered by one of the hottest instructors in the Academy.

The events of what happened were still fresh in their mind, of course-- but as they have been seeing dead bodies for almost a week now, they have grown numb to it… the least the Academy could do was give them a Scarlet Mage of their own-- they all thought.

"I\'ll… go ahead, Riley."

"Very well, Katrina."

"..." Katrina was also one of the students watching Riley and Scarlet Mage; but unlike most of them, she wasn\'t really interested in having someone to wipe her face. Instead, she was just looking at Riley; her eyes a bit solemn as she bid him farewell, "Next time, then."

"Next time?" Riley muttered, but Katrina was already gone.

"It would seem you are getting famous, Riley Ross," Katrina let out a small chuckle as she finished wiping Riley\'s face and neck.

"Have I not always been popular, Katherine?" Riley then started to walk towards where Katherine\'s car was parked, "What\'s news on the destruction of the Dark Millenium?"

"Only one base is left," Katherine quickly replied as she followed Riley, "It would seem they\'re really not stopping until they wipe them all out; they even wanted to invite me-- but they decided I was needed more in the Academy instead."

"Have they found the Dark Millenium\'s leader?" Riley muttered, "The one pretending to be Darkday?"

"No… not even a sign."

"Hmm… that is too bad," Riley then stepped inside Katherine\'s car, keeping quiet until Katherine also got inside, "And what about Mega Woman? Have you made any progress in searching for her whereabouts, Katherine?"

"...No," Katherine let out a sigh as soon as she heard Riley\'s question, "And if I may speak honestly-- you should just ask your father."

"No, I have already told you that my family\'s involvement in this should be minimal, Katherine."

"Your father is leading the annihilation of the Dark Millenium. I am pretty sure that is as involved as he could ever get," Katherine said as she started the car.

"Well, he could be in one of the cages," Riley quickly answered, "Then he would truly be involved with me, Katherine."

Katherine has been quite curious as Riley has been mentioning \'Cages\' and the \'Others\' several times but did not really want to ask any further as she was already deep inside Riley\'s world too much already. So instead, she just started to drive away with another question,

"...What about Silvie? You said so yourself that she looks almost identical to Mega Woman, questioning her would have merit."

"She knows nothing, Katherine," Riley shook his head, "...But the person that probably knows something will be arriving in the Academy soon."

"...What do you mean?"

"Silvie\'s father. The students\' families are arriving at the Academy and will be staying indefinitely, correct?" Riley muttered, "Perhaps we could set up a meeting with him. If he is indeed Silvie\'s father, then he would most likely know where Mega Woman is as he is her… lover."

"Did… you also plan for this?"

"No, I\'m not my father, Katherine," Riley\'s sigh almost tickled Katherine\'s ears, "I suppose we could just consider this as luck?"

"...Being lucky is not one of your abilities, is it? Like Lucky Chucky?"

"No, Katherine," Riley squinted his eyes, "There\'s someone out there with the ability to increase his luck?"

"...Yes."

"Interesting," Riley muttered, "Someday I will take you to see what other abilities I have, I am sure they will be delighted to meet you."

"..."

"Speaking of which, Katherine-- I suppose you will be meeting my mother soon."

"...What?"

Riley almost hit the barrier on his head on the dash as Katherine suddenly stepped on the brakes-- it was a good thing he was wearing his seatbelt; as even he, the evilest villain known to man, knows that one should always wear your seatbelt.

"You will be meeting my mother soon, Katherine," Riley then repeated as he fixed his hair, "It would seem my sister has been telling her everything about you and your previous desperate attempts to seduce me."

"...What?"

"She has been wanting to meet you, Katherine. I think the two of you will like each other, you\'re quite similar in some ways."

"What…

...What would we even be talking about?"

***

"Is… this the last of them?"

A small gnawing crunched in the air; a woman\'s whisper accompanied it. The woman had her hair in a ponytail, wearing a tank top that revealed her chiseled stomach. But even with the lines surrounding her body, her skin was the most noticeable of all-- it was grey.

Grey skin, with veins that almost seemed transparent that one could see red flowing through them. And in her hands, was a man; whose neck was twisted in a way that should not be possible.

And then, there was a beat. A beat echoing like a soft drum piercing the air as some sort of blur suddenly appeared in front of the woman; but soon, the blur turned into the form of a man-- his body completely covered in a black suit; his seemingly transparent helmet, almost taking the shape of his head.

His eyes could not be seen through his helmet… the green mustache that was plastered on his face, however, was pretty noticeable.

"Tempo?" The grey-skinned woman then slightly grunted as she saw the man, "What are fuck are you doing here?"

"Whiteking asked me to check up on you, Hera," the man called Tempo quickly replied as he looked at the grey-skinned woman, Hera, straight in the face.

"Why not check up on me himself?" Hera clicked her tongue as she dropped the body he was holding to the ground.

"You know he always avoids you when you\'re in this berserk state," Tempo sighed, "There\'s no using logic on you when you\'re like this."

"...I am learning to control my powers by the minute, thank you very much," Hera scoffed as she patted her hands clean of all the blood and dust around them.

"...Really?" Tempo breathed out as he turned his head towards the surrounding area; several houses within a 500-meter radius, blown to smithereens-- even buildings did not escape as craters formed like honeycombs, "Your...

...target is only 42 people, Hera."

"And only 42 people are dead."

Hera and Tempo-- 2 of the 7 members of the leading superhero group in the world, the Hope Guild.