Chapter 161: Chapter 161: No One Can See Us Here
"Dad! Uncle!"
Hannah and the Baby Crew had already completely subdued the members of the Dark Millennium, with them tied up with metal pipes, and even locked inside Tomoe’s crystal cage with just enough room to wiggle their toes.
Even now, they still had no idea what their enemies’ abilities were, and Hannah didn’t really want to find out.
That was the reason she neutralized the situation as fast as she did. If she didn’t know she could win, then she just needed to win instantly—a statement that wouldn’t make sense for most people, but it does to her.
Perhaps in a simpler quote, end the fight before it even begins.
Hannah immediately called for her father, and he also immediately came along with Prophet.
"You didn’t tell Mom, did you?"
"Of course, not." Bernard squinted at the crystal cage, subtly glancing at Tomoe before turning his focus back to his daughter. "But that doesn’t matter, are you... hurt?!"
Bernard started circling Hannah, holding her by the shoulders and checking if she was hurt anywhere before covering her in a blanket.
"Ack, I’m fine!" Hannah gently pushed him away and then turned to look at Prophet. "You didn’t foresee this? You’re getting rusty, old man."
"Me?" Prophet blinked, pointing at himself while chuckling. "I told you, I don’t have the ability to see the future. My talents are purely the power of the brain and—"
"Psh!" Hannah brushed him off. "Anyway, we’re all okay, Dad. You should’ve seen how fast we neutralized these fucking posers."
"Huh..." Bernard lightly scoffed, a smile creeping onto his face as he scanned the rest of the Baby Crew. "...I guess the training in Mega Academy’s paying off, huh? You did good, my dudes."
"Please, training?" Hannah rolled her eyes. "The school hasn’t taught us shit and just let us fight each other."
"Well, experience is the best teacher, as they say." Bernard shrugged. "And in any way..."
He once again looked at the rest of the Baby Crew, and although none of them looked hurt or harmed in any way, they looked extremely exhausted.
"...You should go and take your friends back. Just a little warning, it’s a little wild in there."
"Go back...?" Hannah raised an eyebrow, and she glanced at the Baby Crew, who all nodded and seemingly urged her to say something. "We want to stay and see how you’ll handle this, Dad. As you said, experience is the best teacher."
"Why... would you dudes stay and watch me handle this?" Bernard squinted, and in a few moments, his eyes widened. He gasped, taking several steps back while shaking his head. "Don’t tell me you told them I’m Whiteking?!"
"Dad!" Hannah screamed so loud in hopes of drowning Bernard’s words, but it was already too late. "Fuck! Why the fuck would you suddenly blurt that out?! Of course, I didn’t fucking tell any of them! Fuck!"
"Oh..." Bernard placed his palm on his forehead, while Prophet sighed behind him while shaking his head in disbelief. "I... uh... I was kidding. Ha... Haha!"
So, he said. But the looks of shock on the Baby Crew’s faces told him that he wasn’t fooling anyone.
"Ah!" Gracey was the first to wake up from her stupor. She pointed at Bernard, her mouth wide open and her voice incredibly high-pitched.
"I knew it! Even with the evidence that you and Whiteking were in different places at the same time, I knew you were the same person!"
"W-wow... ain’t... ain’t no way..." Bella’s entire body trembled. She slowly raised her hand, subconsciously walking toward Bernard, and wanting to touch his arm. "Is... is you? You... Whiteking? In... in the flesh?"
Pauline pulled her back, but she, too, was holding her breath. She didn’t truly think much of Bernard, which was weird since he was one of the most influential and powerful icons on the entire planet.
He just... seemed so simple, and even funny at times. Extremely friendly—not what she expected from a billionaire. But now she knew why...
...he was hiding under a facade, a facade with so many layers that Pauline doubted she could even read his mind right if she tried to.
But, of course, she wouldn’t.
Tomoe didn’t have a reaction at all; she already knew. But, of course, she made sure to also appear slightly shocked to keep up appearances.
As for V, well, she just winced. She tried her best not to mention Bernard being Whiteking to the rest of the Baby Crew, but the person himself just so casually accidentally revealed it.
"Riley!" Hannah looked at her brother, "Can you fucking believe this dude?! Riley!"
"Hm?" As for Riley, he was completely absent. "Fucking believe what, Sister?"
"Ssh! Don’t actually repeat what I said! Are you telling me you didn’t pay attention at all? Dad just outed himself to the others!"
"I did not know you were homosexual, Father."
"Not that! I mean, he outed himself as Whiteking! And how did you even come to the conclusion? Hello, Earth to Riley? Where the fuck are you, dude?"
Everywhere. The answer was everywhere.
Riley was everywhere at the moment, his clones scattered in a small part of the Pacific. One, in particular, was still chasing December under the water.
Fun. Replica Ricky’s abilities were fun.
It was a web, and all of the clones were connected, with the original Riley Ross as the center. He had always wondered how someone so simple and stupid like Replica Ricky was able to know where he was, or how he was able to push him to that point—but ever since gaining his abilities, Riley’s control with his telekinesis grew almost astronomically.
When Riley mentioned that he had been training and practicing all the time, it was literal.
While the original himself focused on stretching the telekinetic ability to its limit, pushing it through impossible bounds, his clones practiced control.
Hundreds of them, all at the same time, training. Dozens are even pushing a thread into the hole of a needle... while running.
That was how useful Replica Ricky’s abilities were.
If only he weren’t so blinded by whatever he was blinded by, Riley thought he might have been a real threat to the world, or perhaps even a boon if he had become a hero instead.
But then again, the same could be said of Riley now that he had his abilities.
But like Replica Ricky, Riley was also using it to chase someone—the only difference was that while Replica Ricky was chasing for revenge, Riley was... chasing December for fun.
Of course, there was also the fact that she would start telling the Dark Millennium about him, but that was also what made all of this fun.
The thrill of being discovered. But... why?
Why am I thrilled by this? If my identity as a killer is discovered, I would lose everything. I would lose... Sister. Am I thrilled because I deserve this? Do... I want to get caught?
Riley’s thoughts entered the minds of his clones, and the clone chasing December felt what he was feeling too. The clone stopped flying for a moment, turning his focus away from December and looking at the pod of whales swimming from afar.
I want to get caught.
The clone thought.
Should I just... let her go?
He gazed up at December again, only to see her already far away on the surface. If she returned to the Dark Millennium, she would tell everyone there about me—she would also tell the Empress’s sister, who was most likely working undercover for his father.
All of this would be solved. The world would be better off if I were locked somewhere. But...
...then again, I am enjoying this.
And with that single thought, Riley and his clones erased whatever other thoughts he had and focused on the hunt.
It was time to make this more fun.
December, meanwhile, had a simpler and single thought in her mind—get away. She didn’t look back even once; she only propelled forward.
She was practically standing on the surface of the water, her hands on the side as she propelled forward like some sort of statue.
Soon, however, something happened that caused her to finally look back. She still didn’t stop, but she looked back.
And there, behind her, was a large shadow. A body of water.
Literally. A humanoid-shaped body of water the size of an entire building followed her.
And right at the heart of it was Riley Ross.
And this large ,giant body of water soon slammed its hand straight down toward her.
"!!!"
She felt her entire body spin and roll under the heavy, violent thrashing of the water surrounding her. She propelled herself upward, only to realize she was actually moving deeper and deeper into the water instead.
She felt it. The pressure of the ocean slowly, but surely clutching her nigh-invulnerable body. Like a hug of death.
But this hug of death, however, suddenly faded away, and the water that strangled her disappeared the moment her feet landed on the ground.
The ground at the bottom of the ocean.
And there, already waiting for her, was Riley Ross.
Casually sitting on a stone formation that looked eerily similar to a throne.
"Hello," he said. "No one can see us here."