Like a banshee that veils the world in eerie darkness, Katherine's screams echoed throughout the entire world– quite literally. Riley ordered her to scream so that the entire world could hear, and so she did.
She amplified her scream to its utmost limit by manipulating the air around her– it might have just been a very faint whisper on the other side of the world, but it thundered through the skies of its neighbors.
The pain contained in her wails was enough to kill a person– whether or not it was fake or she really did feel tormented with having to stab Riley… only she knows for now.
But she screamed. She screamed until her lungs could no longer produce any air or sound, even then, she tried as her cracked gasps whispered in the air.
Her screams, however, were not the only ones that the people felt. Right now, the cameras that were zoomed in on them stuck to them like flies. They've captured the moment Scarlet Mage approached Riley; as if trying to tell her student and rumored lover to stop what he was doing.
And then, when Riley seemed to have no intention of stopping, she did what no one should bear to do– kill the person she loves.
And that was evident from the screams she just let out; even now as it faded, the viewers that were watching from their televisions and screens could still fill every pore in their body opening up.
Their eyes focused on Katherine's now silver hair– like a moon radiating even through the violent rays the sun had brought her.
A Silver Moon that covers the sun with her pain.
"Good job, Katherine."
Contrary to everyone's expectations, however, Riley was still alive and well– the blood coming out of his mouth, trailing from the edges of his lips that reached almost his ears.
"But your performance is not over yet," Riley then said as the both of them slowly descended to the ground, "Heal me and call for help, Katherine."
"..." Katherine could only look at Riley as her feet and Riley's body slowly landed on the ground– they were right in front of the prison's gate; almost as if Riley was setting up some sort of scenery that one could only find in movies.
Katherine then quickly kneeled on the ground as trickles of yellow light appeared on her hands. She then placed her hands on Riley's wounds, causing the sharp shard of metal to slowly emerge from it.
"!!!" Katherine then closed her eyes as a spurt of blood suddenly splashed on her face. She didn't expect this to happen as even though her healing powers were one of her weaker ones, it should still be enough to close the surface of Riley's wounds.
"..." Katherine then turned her eyes towards Riley, who was looking at her with a small smile on his face.
"Cry," Riley then whispered.
"..."
"..." Katherine's eyes started to twitch. Riley seemed to think she was some sort of actress that could just act in command– well, she could. She manipulated the sweat formed around her body and trailed them towards her eyes, making it look as if she was crying.
And soon, the sound of the helicopters entered their ears. They previously weren't allowed to enter within 500-meters of the prison, but with half of the prison destroyed, no one really paid attention to them anymore.
And besides– the one to shoot them down earlier wasn't the prison in the first place, but Diley.
"Riley!" And soon, Silvie's voice could be heard screaming Riley's name; followed by Bulwark as he trailed behind her.
"You–" She was going to say something to Katherine, but as soon as she saw the tears trailing from her eyes, the only thing she could do was shut her mouth.
"...She did what had to be done," Bulwark placed his hand on Silvie's shoulder, "If she didn't… then Riley might accidentally kill the very person he was searching for."
"Is… is he alive?" Silvie then nodded before also falling to the ground beside Katherine.
"He… will," Katherine then said as she wiped the fake tears from her face, "But he needs proper healing… I could only stop the bleeding."
"That–"
"Get out of the way!"
And before Silvie could finish her words, the gate opened. And without even waiting for it to fully slide open, Hannah rushed from the inside and pushed both Katherine and Silvie away.
"R… Riley!" She then quickly tapped the huge gash on his stomach; she wanted to embrace him but was afraid to harm her brother.
"You!" Hannah then turned her glares towards Katherine, "What did you do!? You–"
And this time, it was Hannah's voice that was cut-off as Diana, who was following behind her, slapped her right on the cheek.
"Calm down," Diana said, "Just stay with your brother."
Diana then proceeded to approach Katherine, who quickly prepared herself to meet Diana's palm as well.
"!!!"
Contrary to her expectations, however, Diana crouched to the ground to hug her.
"T… thank you," Diana then whimpered, "Thank you for stopping and saving my son. We… we saw everything that happened. You… you did what you had to."
"That's…" In the end, the only thing that Katherine could really do was return Diana's embrace. And even though that embrace was of her own will, it still felt like Riley was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
No– everyone here had strings attached to them, all controlled by Riley. She had witnessed it already during the Seven Planes incident… but Riley Ross truly was more dangerous than Darkday.
With Darkday, it was just raw destruction. But if it was Riley Ross, it was a structured destruction. Riley had told them that everything depended on luck in the end during the Seven Planes incident… but he made it possible solely by the fact that he was capable of doing so– because he had the strength to do so.
"..." Katherine and Tomoe's eyes then met, the two nodding to each other as if both were successful in carrying their orders. Gary, who was also with the group, was about to stomp his way towards the helicopters that landed near them.
But before he could ask them to move away, Tomoe stopped him.
"Let the world see what they did," Tomoe said.
"..." Gary was confused at first as to what Tomoe meant, but before he could ask what she meant, Riley's stuttered words started to whisper in the air. And as soon as everyone heard that, everyone quickly circled him and Hannah– even the people from the media.
"S… sister?" Riley's trembling hand tried to reach for Hannah's face– but was too weak to do so. Before his hand could fall, however, Hannah caught it and placed it on her cheek.
"I… I'm here," Hannah stuttered as tears soon fell from her face.
"Are you… are you alright, sister?"
"Yes, I'm… I'm not hurt, I'm not hurt anymore," Hannah whimpered as she rested her cheek on Riley's palm, "Mom is fine as well."
Hannah gestured for her mother to approach. Diana, however, only shook her head– she knew that the only one Riley needed now was her sister.
"That… that's good," Riley whispered as he let out a cough; trickles of blood, scattering around his mouth, "I… I thought they hurt you, sister. I… I think I might have hurt people… Did… Did I hurt people again?"
"..." Hannah trailed her eyes towards the ruined prison, before taking in a small gulp and returning her gaze to Riley, "N… No, of course not."
"I… I thought they hurt you and," Riley took in a small but very deep gasp; his face twisting as his wound seemed to have throbbed.
"Riley!? C… call for ambulance for fuck's sake!" Hannah screamed as she looked at the others.
"I… I'm fine, sister," Riley, however, turned her face towards him, "It… I'm alright."
And as soon as everyone heard that, the only thing they could do was look to the side. Katherine might have stopped the blood, but Riley still needed proper help; if not, then he would surely die in less than an hour.
Even the reporters, who were previously excited by the news of Darkday, could only look at their cameramen.
Darkday? They all thought. Who the fuck scattered those videos? How in the world is someone like this Darkday? He might have caused this much destruction, but it was because they were holding his sister hostage.
Who… exactly was the real villain here?
"O… of course," Hannah then forced a smile, "You… you're the strongest person I know."
And as Riley heard this, his trembling head shook,
"N… no. I… I'm scared, sister."
And as soon as Hannah said that, her lip almost bled from her biting it.
"I'm… I'm scared of meeting my biological mother, sister. Will… Will I meet her if I die?"
The reporters who heard this, could not help but turn their eyes towards Diana. They've already heard the rumors that Riley Ross was adopted… but for him to be afraid of meeting him when he dies– wasn't that implying that his real mother was dead?
If so, why was he afraid of her? And as if to answer their questions, Riley once again opened his trembling mouth.
"What… what will I do if Ms. Phoenix tries to kill me in heaven?"
"!!!"
And almost as if clockwork– stories started to write themselves on the reporters' minds. Even those that were watching from the screens were starting to formulate their own theories.
And soon… another video was scattered throughout the internet.
A video of Julius's– No. A video showing proof of Alistair's sick obsession with Riley Ross's sister.... as well as Whiteking's response.