"Rhys...?"
Guilt—no. Remorse—no.
No one could really tell what Rhys was feeling right now as he just listened to the breaths that were escaping his sister's lips. There was not even a certain tremble in her voice, not even a malicious or ominous tone; all there was was confusion as to why Rhys was there — as if there was not a mutilated and mangled corpse just casually resting at the table near them.
Rhys did not even need to look twice to know that the body and the decapitated corpse belonged to Sylas—no. He had always imagined what Sylas would look like with his stomach and guts exploding, and right now, he was finally seeing it... except it wasn't him that did it.
"Rhys? You... are weirding me out right now." And once again, Emilia was completely acting casually as she once again pushed herself away from Rhys; this time managing to pull away as she looked at his face,
"You're not usually this clingy, brother..." Emilia then let out a small but very deep sigh as she shook her head, "...You just join Sylas until I finish cooking, okay? I know you're hungry, but please, wait."
"We need to go, Chloe," Rhys gently grabbed Emilia by the shoulder. Emilia, however, just once again sighed and pushed his hand away.
"What is it?" Emilia rolled her eyes, "You said you were hungry, and now you want to leave. What is it?"
"What...?" Rhys could really only squint his eyes as he took a step back.
"You..." Emilia then scrunched her nose before touching Rhys's, "...You're getting really spoiled, Rhys. I'm supposed to be the little sister here — just wait, okay? I think the leg will be—"
And before Emilia could finish words, a loud and high-pitched beeping noise dinged across the kitchen.
"Right on time! Rhys, if you're not gonna help, then just sit down, please?" Emilia let out a small groan; pushing Rhys to the side as she made her way to the oven, and with a satisfied smile on her face, she nodded and pulled out the tray inside it,
"Woo... this is exciting, it smells so nice. Rhys, come, smell it!"
"..." Rhys did not really approach Emilia as she set the tray on the table; still smoking, the meat clearly burnt on the surface. Emilia, however, did not seem to mind as she just grabbed a knife from the counter and started slicing the roast.
"Rhys, come. Taste it! Taste it!" Emilia then tore off a piece of the meat with her hand as she gestured to Rhys."
"Chloe..."
"Ugh... can you please stop calling me Chloe? You never call me Chloe," Emilia let out a groan as she once again rolled her eyes, "Fine, if you don't want it, then maybe Sylas wants some."
Emilia then walked toward the seat where Sylas's decapitated head was resting; forcefully putting the roast inside its mouth.
"So, how is it...? How is it?" Emilia nodded to herself, "Nice, right!? Is it better than the liver? The liver was kinda nasty, the texture was weird and it had a bitter aftertaste."
Rhys then watched as Emilia once again made her way to the roast and plucked another piece of it. She was about to put some in her mouth, but Rhys rushed toward her and slapped the piece away.
"Rhys! What the hell is your problem today!? You're never like—"
"Stop, Chloe... just stop," Rhys grabbed Emilia's hand tight before gently placing his hand on her cheek and looking her straight in the eyes, "I'm here now, Chloe... I'm here."
"What are you—" Emilia touched Rhys's hand and was about to pull it away. But then, her eyes quickly turned wide as she seemed to realize something... and very soon, her breaths began to tremble as she returned Rhys's gaze,
"R... Rhys? Is this... is this really you? It's... you?"
They were careful, of course, making sure to clear every room — something was weird, however, as the entire apartment seemed to be soaked; a pool of water pattering beneath their feet as they walked. They did not have to search for long, however, as the only room that had the light turned on was the kitchen.
"Sylas West, if we see you not cooperating with us, we will deal with—what the fuck?"
And the first thing that welcomed the elite force was indeed Sylas, but completely not in the way they expected. The only thing they could really do was stare at Sylas's mangled and decapitated corpse.
"You're late."
"Who's there!?" The men then quickly pointed their weapons at the corner of the kitchen, only to see a person completely soaked in blood.
"Sergeant Rhys Wilder of the Underworld Corps, Sir..." Rhys then weakly stood up from the floor, causing the men to flinch as they saw him picking up a girl and throwing her above his shoulder, "...And Emilia Wolfe, my sister."
"Rhys... Wilder?" The leader of the attack team squinted his eyes, "Don't move!"
"My sister needs an ambulance," Rhys, however, did not care for the men at all and just started walking toward them.
"This is our final warning, Wilder! Don't move!"
"Hurt even a single strand of hair on my sister, and I will do to all of you what I did with him," Rhys whispered as he glanced at Sylas's corpse, "I need to get my sister to the ambulance, you brought one, right?"
"Y—"
Rhys did not really let anyone talk as he just moved past the team. The men were slightly confused as to what to do, but their captain just ordered all of them to stand down and just follow Rhys calmly; even joining him inside the elevator. But of course... all of them were still completely tense. How could they not be?
"The ambulance is there."
The team then guided Rhys toward the ambulance as soon as they were out of the building; locking him inside their formation and not allowing the reporters who had already gathered outside the building to even see or talk to Rhys.
"What the—how did these vultures even get here so fast!?"
"Back up! Back the fuck up!"
"We need a cart here!"
The ambulance staff then quickly rushed to take Emilia from Rhys's shoulder; carefully and gently placing her on the gurney and quickly checking on her.
"Asphyxiation... signs of water in—did she drown!? We need a kit right now!"
"Yes, she was unconscious when I found her," Rhys nodded as he watched as the ambulance staff started checking on Emilia and rolling her inside the ambulance, "I... had to resuscitate her."
"Are you coming with us!? What's your relation with the victim!?"
"No," Rhys shook his head. And before he could even say anything else, the attack force pushed him on the ground and pinned him down, "And...
...she's my sister."
"Rhys Wilder, I don't think we need to read you your rights...
...You're under arrest for the murder of Sylas West."