"Daniel?" Ravi gasped, looking at Daniel standing at the door, his eyes locked sharply on Raymond.

Ravi took a step forward, a mix of disappointment and joy welling up inside him as he saw Daniel, who now appeared to be okay. Ravi approached and made a sound to draw Daniel's attention, who seemed to have forgotten about Ravi standing there.

"Daniel? Where have you been?" Ravi asked, even though he already knew half of the truth about Daniel. Still, Ravi hoped for honesty.

Daniel's eyes shifted to meet Ravi's iris, and an expression of surprise crossed his face as if he'd just realized Ravi was there too. Daniel opened his mouth, only to close it again, appearing confused in response to Ravi's question.

"Daniel?" Ravi called again.

"I was staying at a friend's house." It was true, and Ravi had suspected Daniel would lie. Daniel avoided Ravi's gaze, instead staring intently at Raymond. Ravi almost scoffed; he didn't like it when someone lied when the facts were so clear.

"I know you're lying, but I'll try to believe what you're saying is the truth," he said flatly. Ravi walked to his desk, ignoring everything and picking up a book from there. "Don't forget to close the door if you guys go out."

"Ravi?" Daniel called out and walked over to him. "What are you talking about?"

Ravi usually didn't hide anything from Daniel, but he couldn't accept how suddenly Daniel, who was now close to him, felt like a stranger. Ravi chose to remain silent and not say anything, staring at the book in front of him, feeling annoyed.

"Ravi-,"

"Daniel, please. I just want to be alone," Ravi cut in quickly, turning to look at Daniel. His brother stared at him with an expression he couldn't read, but Ravi knew it would be better for him to leave the increasingly suffocating room for a while. So, Ravi stood up and walked past Daniel and Raymond without saying a word. He ignored how Daniel called him from behind, and he didn't allow Raymond to follow him.

Ravi stopped in a dim and damp alley near his house. He leaned against the wall to find some peace, but he knew he wouldn't find it now.

"It's nice to be alone."

The voice of the last person Ravi wanted to meet was back by his side. He was surprised by the sudden appearance without any sound to make him more cautious now. Ravi stood tall, keeping his heart rate normal. He looked at him without showing any expression. "Who are you?"

The man didn't immediately respond to Ravi's question. Instead, the tall man took a step forward, moving closer to Ravi. Ravi refused to show any sign of intimidation and continued to stand tall, challenging the man.

The man was wearing the same conspicuous attire as the last time Ravi saw him. He smirked, and Ravi suddenly received a warning flashing through his mind. From the first time Ravi saw him, he knew this man wasn't a good person and just wanted to destroy someone's life, as he had seen before with Raymond. "Why hasn't your slave told you something?"

Ravi clenched his fists tightly at his sides, feeling frustrated as this man was alluding to Raymond in front of Ravi now. "What do you want to say? What is your true purpose?"

Ravi was startled by the sudden grasp of a strong hand on his neck, feeling pain spreading to his back as the man pushed him against the wall forcefully and suddenly. Anger began to overwhelm Ravi as the man growled with grinding teeth, and Ravi struggled to breathe. "How dare you, a mere human, raise your voice at me?"

Ravi's brown eyes sharpened, piercing into the eyes of the man who still had a tight grip on his neck. There was no fear in Ravi's gaze, and his eyebrows only furrowed deeper. With a reflexive movement, Ravi immediately swung his fist right at the man's throat with force, causing him to groan and loosen his grip, allowing Ravi to break free.

Ravi distanced himself, panting as he took a breath but didn't divert his gaze from the man who still seemed angry from their previous encounter when Ravi had managed to break free from his grip. "Do you realize that I'm human, and everyone here is human? And yet, you act as if you have the right to insult everyone around. After witnessing what you're capable of, do you think I'm afraid of you? Even if I wanted to scream, I'd do it right in your face right now, and who are you to stop me?"

A snort came from his opponent, making Ravi remain on guard in case he encountered another potential threat. "A pathetic human like you spewing nonsense in front of me?"

Ravi restrained himself from rolling his eyes at this point. He knew that this person was the same as Raymond but thought himself superior to other humans, which irritated Ravi. "It seems like you should focus on your own life rather than wandering in a place where the creatures you look down upon pass by and live."

Ravi didn't find the same anger in this man's eyes, but rather a smirk that made Ravi suddenly want to deliver a punch to that face immediately.

"You should be at home, watching the impending death of your family."

Hearing that, he tensed in surprise, but once again, he didn't show it to this man, whose true intentions for disrupting Ravi's life remained unclear. When the man mentioned the impending death of his family, there was no doubt that anxiety, fear, anger, and a range of other emotions began to creep in.

"Your death is what will come first if you even touch my family."

Ravi couldn't ignore how a pair of white wings suddenly emerged from behind the man's back, spreading wide and filling the narrow alley, causing Ravi to feel a suffocating sensation once again. Moreover, a strong and sharp scent began to assail his senses, making Ravi's legs feel weak, and causing him to slump to the ground, unable to resist. One of the man's sharp-toed shoes pressed against Ravi's shoulder to keep him in place.

The man's voice began to creep back into the air. "Ending you now would be so easy, but where's the fun in that?"