The rusted door of the abandoned building creaked open, casting a sliver of light into the dimly lit interior. Dadua, his attention still fixed on the terrified girl, didn't notice the intrusion at first. He was too consumed by his own sadistic pleasure, relishing the fear he instilled in his captives. But Ian saw it.

A figure emerged from the shadows, not tall but undeniably imposing, his face hidden in the darkness. Ian recognized the silhouette instantly. It was Levi, his friend—his only friend.

"Levi?" Ian whispered, his voice barely audible, a flicker of hope igniting in his eyes.

Dadua and his partner, Chota, alerted by Ian's whisper, turned sharply.

Dadua's cruel smile faltered as he saw the intruder.

"Who the hell are you?" Dadua growled, his hand instinctively reaching for the knife at his belt.

His mind raced with one thought—who would be foolish enough to walk to his hideout in these slums?

Levi stepped fully into the light, his face a mask of cold fury. His eyes, burning with an intensity that sent shivers down Dadua's spine, locked onto the man's.

"You don't recognize me, Dadua?" Levi's voice was low and menacing, dripping with venom. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Recognition dawned on Dadua's face, his eyes widening in shock.

The kid from the slums? The one who had disappeared for nearly two months? Dadua had assumed Levi had died or been taken by one of the gangs. Yet, here he was. But why?

That unsettling question gripped Dadua's heart with a gnawing fear. Something was off. Something was very, very wrong.

"You... you're that little runt," he stammered, his bravado faltering. "What are you doing here?"

Levi's lips curled into a cruel smile. "I'm here to collect some debts, Dadua. And trust me, you owe me a lot."

Dadua's momentary fear dissolved, replaced by a wave of anger. He was the king of the slums, the one who instilled fear in others, not the other way around. This slum rat had forgotten his place.

"You think you can just waltz in here and threaten me?" Dadua sneered, drawing his knife. His voice was thick with contempt. "You're still the same weakling you always were."

Levi didn't respond. He took a slow step forward, movements smooth and deliberate.

Dadua lunged, his knife flashing in the dim light. But Levi was faster, much faster. He sidestepped with a precision that sent a chill down Dadua's spine.

Before Dadua could process the miss, Levi's hand shot out, gripping his wrist with iron force.

Snap!

With a sharp twist, the knife was wrenched from Dadua's grasp, the sound of his bones popping loud in the room.

The knife clattered to the floor, echoing in the tense silence. In a blur of motion, Levi's fist drove into Dadua's jaw with a sickening crunch. The power behind the blow sent Dadua stumbling backward, blood spewing from his split lips.

Dadua blinked, disoriented, glaring at Levi with equal parts shock and rage.

"You little..." he snarled, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

But Levi didn't hesitate.

He moved with predatory speed, closing the gap between them. His fists flew—brutal, calculated, relentless. Each punch was delivered with surgical precision, targeting vital points, and breaking down Dadua's defenses.

Dadua tried to block, but Levi's attacks were too fast, too overwhelming.

He barely managed to raise his arms before another blow cracked into his ribs, the sickening thud of bone against flesh filling the room. A powerful kick to the chest sent Dadua crashing into the wall, breath knocked out of him.

Blood dripped from Dadua's mouth, his vision swimming. He had always been strong, the one feared by everyone in these slums. But this...this was something else.

Levi wasn't just fighting - he was destroying him.

Levi grabbed him by the collar, lifting him with terrifying ease. "This is for every time you hurt me," Levi growled, his voice low and venomous as he delivered a punch.

"For every time you stole me. For every time you made me feel worthless."

Dadua gasped, his strength fading as he collapsed to the ground, beaten, broken, and defenseless. Blood smeared his face, his eyes wide with disbelief.

And then, in the silence, there was a cry of plea.

"Please let me live, I didn't do anything…"

It was Chota, Dadua's partner, watching the carnage unfold. He had thought Dadua was invincible—yet here he was, reduced to a bloody mess on the floor. But Chota wasn't stupid. He knew when the tide had turned.

As Levi turned his gaze toward him, Chota's expression hardened, replaced by a mask of fear.

"Exactly, why didn't you do anything? You could have stopped him, right?" Levi's voice dripped with lethal promise.

Chota froze, the instinct to flee overpowering any thoughts of revenge. He took a step back, panic overtaking him.

Levi narrowed his eyes. "Run, and I'll make sure you don't get far."

But Chota, too scared to heed the warning, turned on his heel and bolted toward the door.

He never made it.

From the shadows behind Levi, a dark form materialized—Noir, rose from his shadow, its eyes gleaming with predatory hunger.

The Black Raven moved without sound, blending into the darkness. Then, with one swift, deadly leap, Noir struck, slicing through the air like razors.

Chota barely had time to scream as the raven pierced through his back, shredding through flesh and bone with ease.

Noir dug a hole through his chest as it pierced out from his front.

The force of the attack lifted him off the ground, his body convulsing as blood poured from the gaping hole in his chest. His eyes bulged in disbelief as he looked down at the wound, life rapidly draining from his body.

With a sickening thud, he fell down like a rag doll, he was dead before he could even hit the floor.

Levi, unaffected by the carnage, turned back to Dadua, who lay at his feet, whimpering and pleading for mercy.

Ian, paralyzed with shock, watched in silence as his friend unleashed a fury he had never seen before. Levi wasn't the same boy he had known. This Levi was dangerous—cold and strangely…he felt distant.

Anyway, as Dadua lay broken and defeated, Levi raised his foot, ready to deliver the final blow.

But then, from the corner of his eye, Levi saw the girl.

She was still tied to the chair, but now her eyes were wide with terror, witnessing the brutal scene unfolding before her.

Levi hesitated, his foot hovering inches from Dadua's skull. His eyes flickered between the girl, that he had treated as his own sister and the man who had once tormented him.

And in that moment, Levi made his decision, and his foot descended on Dadau's head!

---***---