"I think I'm spending them to the fullest," Elfric instantly replied as he turned the page of his biology book. "I don't think I would get another free time to study. I'm a senior this year; I doubt you know what that is anyway."
Orathan was unexpectedly quiet that, for a moment, Elfric thought that he might have actually understood what he meant—not that he was complaining or anything. He was thankful for the peace, even if it wasn't going to last.
But that wish was torn to shreds soon after. He almost jumped out of his seat at the sound of his door bursting open. He sighed in relief at the sight of his sister, who had barged into his room.
"Where are your manners, little lady?" he asked as he faked a serious frown. I almost set you on fire, he continued in his head. He needed to get a hang of this; he shouldn't just be carelessly wielding his powers like that. If it's something that could be done humanly, then it will be done just like that.
"Who cares about that!" she exclaimed, a little too excited. There was that sparkle in her eyes that made it clear she had come across something that made the adrenaline rush through her. "You must come and see this!"
"Don't tell me that your favorite actor is on TV?" Elfric mocked. For a second there, her face flushed, but it was soon back to normal.
"Rick, come on!" she said, half-dragging her brother out of the room. "You'll see it once we're out there."
"Alright, alright," he breathed out and did as he was told.
What he saw was indeed something worth leaving the comfort of his room for (even though there wasn't much in his room). The flashing headline on the screen was the first thing that his eyes fell on.
'A HOTEL IN LAUXDALE HIJACKED BY TERRORISTS,' it read.
Elfric's lips curled up into a sly smile. Fortunately, his sister's attention was so immersed in the screen that she didn't see that moment when her brother brought out his inner demon—not Orathan, no, but the actual demon in him.
They have finally made their move, Rick thought as he watched the reporters surround the hotel, with members of both the White and Black Cross restricting their approach.
"Hotel Casablanca was hijacked this morning by terrorists during one of the charity events held by multiple families," said a female reporter. "They are still to make their demands. As for the current moment, it's still silent, and we've heard nothing from either party. The authorities are trying to open a gate of communication with those inside to reach a peaceful ending for both parties, if the terrorists were to follow the orders given."
"You see that?!" Joanna said with a little too much enthusiasm than needed. Rick still couldn't understand why she had that sparkle in her eyes. "Wow, they are so cool to do that!"
Elfric frowned and turned to look at his sister. "You like this, Joanna?"
"Well, don't you?" she snorted at him as she glanced over. "Where is the I-hate-nobles-to-death brother that I wake up to every morning?"
The sarcasm was too much for Elfric to handle, even if it was his sister. "I never said that I liked them, but untargeted disaster will cause nothing but hardships," he said. "You've seen what they do here whenever something goes wrong there."
His bi-colored eyes were fixed on the screen as he tried to knock some sense into his sister. Not because he hated the Nobles meant that he approved of what those Rebels were doing.
That was why he wanted them. They had the strength, and they were by far not small in number. They had enough numbers to cause an impact—the impact that Elfric needed.
Right now, they were known as nothing but terrorists that disturbed the peaceful lives in Lauxdale. That needed to change. Fighting for freedom. Fighting for justice... it could never be called terrorism.
Rebels. Elfric was going to make sure that that's what the headlines stated from now on.
"You have a point," Joanna breathed out.
By the time she turned to look at her brother, she saw it again—that look. The one she saw once when they were on the way to school. That moment when her brother changed personalities, almost as if he was someone else completely.
Someone cold and dark. Someone… no… something evil.
His once beautifully vibrant violet-lily eye that she adored was now venom-violet, filled with darkness that came from within. The way his lips curled up into a smirk made chills run down her spine. The hair on her arms stood on end.
She followed his line of gaze—it was fixed on the screen. He told her not to enjoy the suffering of others, but right now… right now she didn't know if he had the right to say those words. If someone was enjoying this, then it was him.
That was the way she viewed her brother for the next blink of an eye before everything returned back to normal. But she had no idea what was actually going on in that evil mind…
He wasn't like that. Elfric wasn't like that, and he thought that he had no potential of being like this. But with the darkness crawling all over him, it was bound to change him—but his goals, his goal never changed.
He still wanted to achieve what he always wanted: a better life.
He just changed the way to do it. To make a better world, this world must fall.
"I think I'll be out for a while, Joanna," Elfric said. "Tell Mom not to wait for me."
"Where are you going?!" she barely managed to say as he put on his sneakers.
"I've got something to take care of."
With one final glance at the TV, he was gone.