Riley Ross-Chapter 43: A Request

I should have worn a mask. I was too impulsive. I wanted her to know it was me. But it doesn’t matter, I made a mistake... and that mistake is now right in front of me.

It had only happened minutes ago, yet Riley already found himself reminiscing as he heard the echo of Steph and Mark screaming—begging for it to stop. But, of course, he didn’t truly have the luxury of nostalgia right now.

He glanced at the girl in front of him and placed his hand against the crystal barrier between them. A whisper of telekinesis pressed from his palm, and a sharp crack formed like a spiderweb beneath his touch.

Her abilities are... strong. Interesting.

And while Riley admired Tomoe’s powers, she did not appreciate what he did at all.

She didn’t speak. She simply closed the video and showed him that she could also tap her finger and upload it to social media instantly.

People would probably think it was fake at first, and if I remove Steph and Mark’s body—no. That will only allow me to have more time. Sooner or later, they are going to find out they are missing, and the detectives will be interrogating me again.

Several thoughts started to race inside Riley’s mind, but they all just as quickly faded away when he realized he couldn’t escape from this.

I got caught already. This will make Hannah very, very sad.

"I suppose this is it," Riley glanced at Tomoe and sighed. He then took a step back from the crystal wall and once again admired the new ceiling he created for the ruined hospital, "Do you see this, Stephanie? This is blackmail, it is very different from the note I left for you."

Riley became quiet after that, only opening up his arms as if once again imitating the way Mark’s flayed corpse was hugging Steph’s stretched body.

If I knew this was it, I would have enjoyed listening to both of you scream a lot longer. But...

"Oh well," Riley closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath before he approached the thick crystal wall again. Tomoe was still not saying anything, she just replayed the video over and over again.

Wait a minute...

Riley tilted his head as a new thought popped up in his mind.

If this is it, and I am going to be caught regardless, then perhaps I should enjoy one last kill?

Riley then finally looked at Tomoe’s face directly, staring at her narrow, almond-shaped eyes. And soon, the smile on his face started creeping back in.

I am going to hurt you, Tomoe. But I’m not going to kill you here, I do not want to disturb Mark and Steph—no. I am going to display you right in front of... Oh? What’s this?

Riley’s head once again tilted to the side as Tomoe started tapping on the phone again, and without even a slight change on her face, Riley watched as she deleted the video. She even removed the scheduled upload.

He blinked a couple of times, confused as to why Tomoe would do that. She insisted on keeping her silence, only staring at Riley as she hid her phone in her pocket.

But finally, after what seemed like an entire minute, she spoke.

"You can kill me now if that’s what you want to do, I don’t care. I don’t care if you hurt me," she said without batting an eye, "I deleted the video to show you that you can trust me."

"Oh?" Riley placed his hand on the crystal wall again, "But this is not about trust at all, Tomoe."

"I don’t care," Tomoe shook her head. And then, without any sign at all, tears started falling from her expressionless eyes, "I don’t care if you kill me, I just want you to listen to my questions, and maybe my request."

This time, it was Riley’s turn to be quiet. Like a puppy, he once again tilted his head to the side—he wasn’t really thinking of anything, and was just curious about the girl in front of him. The two of them stared at each other, the crystal wall almost a mirror from how similar their empty expressions were.

Riley was the first to look away, once again glancing up the ’Steph Roof’ before finally responding to Tomoe.

"Do you truly not care if I kill you, Tomoe?" He said, "You have seen what I did to the two of them, it will not be a fast death—it will be painful, poetic... beautiful."

"No," Tomoe quickly replied. And there and then, even someone like Riley knew that there was no trace of fear in her eyes at all.

Slowly, the thick crystal wall between them started to crumble, and with it, Tomoe also began to lift up her sleeves—and like the crystal wall between them, her skin was filled with cracks.

There were bruises, burnt marks obviously from cigarettes, and other wounds that Riley couldn’t identify. She then slightly lifted up her shirt, and the sight mirrored the wounds in her arms—worse.

There was not a single patch of skin that was devoid of a scar. She was about to unbutton her pants, but Riley raised his hand to stop her.

"That is not necessary, Tomoe," he said, "I do not know what you are trying to achieve by showing me your wounds."

"I want you to kill my mother and her husband."

Riley once again tilted his head to the side as soon as he heard that.

"Oh?" He muttered, and Tomoe nodded in response.

"I want you to make them hurt more than them," she said, pointing at Steph and Mark, "Please."

Riley once again became silent, his eyes only darting back and forth between her finger and the ruined hospital’s new roof.

"I don’t care if you kill me af—"

Tomoe prepared to bargain, but Riley raised his hand to stop her and just casually said,

"Okay. Let us kill your parents, Tomoe." He shrugged before looking down at the shattered crystals on the ground, "We need to remove these to get rid of any evidence that you were here."

Riley flicked his finger, and as he did, the entire ground beneath the shattered crystals cracked apart and began to rise into the air. Then, with another flick, the large patch of dirt—crystals and all—shot off into the distance, breaking apart before finally scattering into the water with a distant splash.

"I do hope your crystals do not float, Tomoe," he said casually, before turning away. "I suppose I will see you at school to discuss your request? It is way past my bedtime."

"Wait," Tomoe called out. "You shouldn’t leave it like this."

"Hm?" Riley paused and glanced back, only to see her pointing at the small crater he’d left behind where the ground had been torn open.

"News spreads fast in Mega Academy," Tomoe said, her eyes fixed on the uneven ground. "Everyone already knows what you did during the demonstration when you fought Ms. Hera. If you leave it like this, someone could trace it back to you."

Riley blinked at her a few times before flicking his hand again. The dirt and grass shifted, smoothing itself out until the area looked untouched, like nothing had happened at all.

"Thank you, Tomoe," Riley nodded and turned to leave once more.

Tomoe stood silently for a few seconds, then turned to go as well. But after a few steps, she looked back over her shoulder.

"I’m very good with computers," she declared. "I’ll erase any surveillance footage—anything that might have caught us on our way in or out."

"Oh?" Riley’s steps halted again. "Father can do the same. Sadly, it is a skill neither Sister nor I ever learned."

He started walking off again, but Tomoe’s voice stopped him one last time.

"Are you a serial killer?" She asked.

Riley glanced at the contorted remains of Mark and Stephanie, then looked back at her. "I suppose I am now, Tomoe."

"Are you a supervillain?"

"By definition... not yet, Tomoe."

"How do you choose who to kill?"

"I do not know the answer to that yet, Tomoe. But... perhaps when I feel like it?"

"Are you going to kill someone younger than us?"

"I don’t know the answer to that either," Riley shrugged. "But... I do not see why not?"

"They’re children."

"So are we. What difference does it make what age I kill, Tomoe?"

Tomoe didn’t respond to his words.

"See you tomorrow in class," Riley said, giving her a polite nod. "Good night."

She watched as he casually walked away from the carnage he had created. Then, finally, she turned her gaze to the grotesque display above—Steph’s body stretched and mangled beyond recognition. Her eyes trembled slightly as she took it all in.

"This is... terrible," she whispered to herself.

But then, almost involuntarily, a quiet, trembling chuckle escaped her lips.

"But... it’s exciting too," she murmured, her smile crooked, fractured.

"Mother, I can’t wait for you to experience the same."

***

Half an hour later, Riley climbed back into his room through the window.

And just like that, like nothing had happened, he strolled into his closet, folded the tight black clothes, and returned them neatly to the box. Then, without pause, he slipped into a bath, his porcelain skin blending almost seamlessly with the tub.

He sat there, motionless, eyes unfocused as they stared at nothing in front of him with a single thought in mind.

I should wear a mask next time.

Eventually, his eyelids began to close, heavy from the exhaustion he hadn’t realized was weighing on him.

And then, he heard it. A voice. A memory. A whisper against his ear.

"You can do it, Riley... walk to mommy. Come on, walk to mommy."

Oh? Am I dreaming... about you, Alice? It’s... been a while. Are you here... to tell me that I am a monster again?

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