*creak*
With a subtle creak, the door opens as Ethan leads his grandpa back to his room for rest.
Ethan had his breakfast with mashed potatoes, vegetable soup, and bread. Once he was done, he washed the cutlery since Elina had already gone back after doing all the chores.
"Newspaper...huh?" Ethan muttered in a low tone as he picked up today's Newspaper to see what was going around the city.
•Serial murder case in the eastern borough is getting out of hand. Police believe in the involvement of the terrorist organization Aurora Order•
•A man was found dead in the Caspian River in a dockyard area. Any links with the serial murder cases are under investigation•
...
...
...
Ethan found the newspaper boring for the past two weeks, all it covered was the serial murder case happening in the eastern borough of the city.
"It's already been two weeks and they still haven't caught the culprit? How ineffective and disappointing," Ethan stated as he put the newspaper down.
*cough*cough*cough*
Suddenly, ether heard his grandpa coughing loudly as he hurried to his room only to see a stranger grabbing his throat. Clad in a black hooded long coat and face covered in a wooden mask with a black cross hanging upside down drawn crudely on its surface.
Ethan's instincts kicked on as he hurriedly picked up the flower vase nearby and launched it at the attacker.
To save himself from the vase, he attacked and backed off as he left the old man's throat.
"How dared you lay your hand on my family" Ethan stated in anger as he hurriedly jumped at the stranger and threw a punch at his face. Ethan finally had a caring family after a long time so he cherished them a lot. He truly felt devastated and helpless when he lost his parents in a terrorist attack. Now, when he saw his grandpa being attacked by someone, he felt extreme anger erupting inside him. He only had one thing in mind, kill the man who dared to lay his hand on his loved ones.
Just as the punch was about to land on the stranger, the attacker took out a strange bone and broke it apart. Instantly, an illusory couple aura covered the attacker as his punch ended up being landed on the purple aura.
"What the fuck..." Ethan felt extremely confused at this sudden turn of things, but he didn't lose his composure and picked up the chair nearby and launched it at the attacker's legs with full force since purple didn't reach there.
*BAM*
The impact was too rough for the attacker as he failed to react in time.
"Arrhhhh!!!!"
His left knee broke, and he fell on his back, and the purple smoke around the man disappeared.
"Die you fucker!" Ethan screamed as he threw another punch at the man, but suddenly, the attacker raised his hand, and an intense invisible force enveloped Ethan as he went flying and crashed into the wardrobe.
"Cough...Cough...the hell...Cough..." Ethan suddenly felt a sense of horror as the more he fought, the more this attacker pulled up some strange and horrifying shenanigans.
"Damnit..." Ethan muttered in frustration as he couldn't stand on time, but the attacker was already trying to run away through the open window where he came from.
Ethan picked up the broken piece of wood and threw it at the attacker with whatever force he could muster in his hands while lying in a pile of clothes.
*BANG* the wood struck the man on his left leg, making him fall on the spot as the attacker got stuck half inside the room and half outside.
It was at this moment when Ethan saw a middle-aged man entering the room. He is none other than Sheriff Varian Senad, whom he once met in church on Sundays. Behind him was a young man the same age as him, clad in a police uniform.
"Huh? You did well, Mr. Holmes," Varian stated as he looked at the unconscious attacker stuck in the window and then helped Ethan to stand. Meanwhile, the young man handcuffed the attacker and threw him near the table inside the room.
"Sheriff..." Ethan nodded at Varian and then hurried to check his grandpa's condition.
"..." Ethan saw that his grandpa was not moving, so he hurriedly checked his breathing and then his heartbeat, but no matter what he did...results were the same.
William was dead...
Ethan stayed silent for a minute as he looked at his dead grandpa. Sheriff and the young officer also stayed there silent, giving him some space, but suddenly they sensed an intense killing intent from Ethan.
"Mr. Holmes, can you please come with me for some questing? I know it's a difficult time for you, but..." Varian advised as he found it natural for Ethan to feel that way after seeing his grandpa dying right before his eyes.
"Sure..." Ethan took a deep breath and then said as he headed outside. He didn't want to stay in the same room as the attacker because it was just forcing him to commit a murder.
"Raizel, make sure to check the scene carefully" Varian ordered the young man.
"Sure, captain!" A young man waived his hand.
Varian left the room as he followed Ethan to the living room.
***
"Mr. Holmes, can you explain what happened exactly? Try to remember every little detail that you can" Varian stated.
"Hmm..." Ethan nodded as he explained the entire incident from the start to the end until Varian arrived on the scene.
"Don't worry, Mr. Holmes. I promise that I will do my best to help you get justice. You must be tired, so I give you some space," Varian said and turned to go back to the crime scene.
"Mr. Senad, don't treat me like a fool from the eastern borough...I know what I saw. I want the truth," Ethan stated in an annoyed tone.
"Don't think too much about it, Mr. Holmes. People do think some weird stuff because of the adrenaline rush. You need some rest," Varian said and entered the room.
"..." Ethan went to the kitchen and drank some water to calm himself down. He saw his shaking hands as he once again remembered the moment when his hand struck the purple smoke.
'That was no mere illusion...I fought my e tire life in a life-death situation, and you think I can't distinguish between reality and delusions...'
*BOOM*
Just as he was wondering about some things, a loud blast attracted his gaze as he saw both, Varian and the young man fly out of the room as they both blast through the wall. They went several feet away as they crashed into the living room.
"..." Ethan was shocked to see such an outcome as he saw both of them stand up on their feet as if nothing had happened at all.
"What a monstrous bastard!" The young man muttered in a frustrated tone as he pressed his finger on a minor scratch on his cheek.
Ethan ignored both of them as he hurriedly entered the room only to see that his grandpa's body and the attacker were nowhere to be seen.
"Raizel, inform the others and increase the security in the city. Tell Valerian to contact the headquarters that Aurora Orders' involvement has been confirmed. I will stay here to protect him for the time being" Varian ordered.
"Yes, Captain." Raizel nodded and hurriedly left the house.
Varian muttered in a low voice as he placed his hand on Ethan's head and immediately, Etha fell asleep without putting any resistance.