The answer is: It's a whole human world chap! Rejoice! Ray and Norman and Rat man #2 make an appearance!

(I'm filling in the gaps from the last chap. 😼😼)

Cover is a super sexy wip by urs truly😛✋‼️

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"Sir! Two of the escapee children request an audience with you." Mike Ratri's secretary spoke, stepping into his office, an urgent expression on his face.

Mike Ratri's eyes narrowed slightly. "Let them in."

He waited at his desk a few minutes before the door opened once again, his bodyguards letting 2 tall young boys into the room.

What were their names again? The Ratri couldn't be bothered to remember. "If you're here to ask about the girl, there's still been no sign of her." He sighed, pulling open his cabinet and placing a few files inside it.

"We're not here to ask about that this time." The light-haired boy spoke, his shocking blue eyes sparkling in a way that made the elder white-haired man nervous. "Rather, we'd like to inquire about what you're hiding from the general public."

"The promise." The other boy spoke, blowing a bang of black hair out of his face. The way his dark green eyes shone made Mike wish his office was a little better lighted. "-And the whole situation of the demon world. I can't help but notice that none of the people living here know what the foundation of their life in this world has been built on."

Mike Ratri swallowed dryly. "What are you trying to imply?" He spoke coldly, pressing his fingertips together. The two boys now had his full attention. For good or bad reason, he would take good care to remember their names after this interaction.

"Mike Ratri, we didn't come here to imply anything." The pale-haired boy spoke simply, shrugging. He then placed a hand on the man's desk, and leaned forward ominously- though his facial expressions were still very pleasant- dare he say, kind, even. "We came to threaten you."

"Threaten-" Mike Ratri sputtered momentarily before regaining his businesslike composure. The man was irked at the demeanour of these children and stood from his desk, standing a little above the height of the two boys. "You'd dare to threaten me, who has provided aid in your search and helped you find a place to live? Preposterous."

"We're preposterous people, I suppose." The albino boy shrugged, his kind smile twisting into a slightly more pressing one.

This time, the other boy took the lead, stepping up towards the man's desk. "I know you have another gate between worlds hidden away somewhere- a gate not even X knows about."

The man paled, looking up to the sky. Because now that it's existence was spoken out loud, the pesky god undoubtably would find out of the secret entrance, that had been build and kept secret for the good part of a thousand years. "I'm not sure what you're talking about." Mike Ratri spoke coldly, his fingers twitching as he considered calling in his bodyguards to forcefully escort the boys out.

"If you tell me the location yourself and allow us passage, we will refrain from spilling any details of the atrocities that took place under your family's supervision to the public." The black-haired boy spoke, placing his hands on Mike Ratri's desk and leaning forward. "If you don't, then..." He rescinded his hands from the desk and placed them in his pockets, blowing slightly on the bangs that partially obscured his left eye.  "Well... Let's not go until details yet."

"We'll leave you with this." The white-haired boy cut in, placing a slip of paper detailing a phone number on it. "Call me with your decision before tomorrow, else we decide for you."

The two boys glided to the doorway, the ravenhead exiting first. Before he left, the albino boy spun to the Ratri-Clan head, the very same humorous smile ever-present on his face."I do look forward to hearing your favourable response... for your sake- and the sake of your family, should your reputation affect them deeply." Although at this time, the smile didn't reach the boy's ice blue eyes as he shut the door behind him.

Long after the two boys had left, Mike Ratri sat behind his desk. The man chewed his thumbnail anxiously, an angry grimace on his face. He shuffled more papers around on his desk's surface, trying to read through them, but he found himself too distracted to retain a single word.

"Stupid brats." He muttered, pausing his pointless paper-scanning at last and pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to relieve his stress.

"Agents, leave the room." The Ratri sighed suddenly, placing his hands on his desk and standing up from his chair. The bodyguards standing on either side of his doorway perked up, staring at the man for a moment before exiting.

"I need to make a phone call."

He dialed the number on the paper and placed his phone to his ear, pausing his thumbnail-chewing once the ringtone clicked. "Hello?" The young voice from earlier spoke quickly.

"It's me." Mike Ratri nearly growled, his voice instead coming out in a twist of rage and attempted-coolness.

"Oh, the Ratri!" The voice on the other end spoke cheerfully, and it occurred to Mike that the boy probably had a much more pleasant-looking face when he wasn't trying to threaten you. "Have you decided on your response?" The voice continued, cutting right to the chase.

"I've decided your threats are of no concern to me." Mike Ratri spoke darkly, pacing around his office. "The media is unlikely to believe the words of a few brats alone, anyway. That is all I'm calling to say. Goodbye"

"I see." Although the voice was dark and cold as ice, Mike suspected there was still a smile present on the face of the beholder. "That sounds quite alright, sir. Then, I'm sure we'll talk some other time, Mike Ratri. Bye now."

Norman hung up the phone and set it on the cluttered desk, turning to Ray who stood a few feet away, sipping a cup of coffee- which was probably at least the ravenette's 4th since this morning.

"What did he say?" Ray asked, setting down his mug.

"Just as expected." Norman smiled. "He wasn't willing to compromise."

The black-haired boy tilted his head with a shrug, leaning back against the counter. "Plan B it is, then."

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Mike Ratri's peaceful sleep was disturbed suddenly by the fire alarm, screaming bloody murder.

He sprang up from his bed, face white as a sheet. He'd turned to the window when his door was flung open by his bodyguards. "Sir!" One of them exclaimed. "The east annex is burning!"

The mayonnaise man's face paled even further. "The East annex?" He paused, his stomach churning in dread; he had a suspicion of what exactly what was going on.

And he didn't like it.

"What are you blithering idiots doing here, then?!" He yelled. "Contact the fire department! Put it out right away!" He spat angrily, his bodyguards stumbling out of his doorway and down the hall.

The white-haired man watched them stumble, chewing the inside of his lip before turning to his window, seeing orange flames lick the air and sparks rise, the fire alarm still wailing in his ears.

How the hell did those brats find out about the location of the gate so quickly?

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"The East annex?" Norman asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why d'you expect it's there?"

"Research." Ray responded simply. "A lot of research. The whole building has been renovated 3 times in the past 200 years. But not once was the East annex touched. There was one "public" gate- to the government, at least, that the Ratri's used to transport goods needed for the farms. But that one was deactivated when Y/N made the promise. I suspected already that a clan such as the Ratri's would have a "backup" gate- one kept in secret in case a promise was made or something. The way they've probably managed to keep it from X is by making sure only the Ratri head is aware of it's existence, and that it's not mentioned out loud or used frequently."

"But now that you've mentioned it, won't X find out about it?"

"It doesn't matter. See, I asked Y/N about the exact wording of the promise she made some time back. "I want all cattle children to cross over to the human world. And after that, I want it to be completely impossible for anyone to pass from the demon world." Whether intentional or not, it leaves a loophole."

Norman covered his mouth with his hand. "You're right- it doesn't bar passage- from the human world. But once you're over... you can't cross back again until another promise is made."

Ray shrugged. "Hardly a problem. A new promise needed to be made, anyway. Then, let's go over the plan should Mike Ratri refuse us..."

——-

Mike Ratri stood in front of the East annex- or what was once the East annex, as it was now burned and charred, caved in in several places.

The Ratri Clan head was at a loss for words.

With all the cameras in the building burned up, and even the most obvious of tracks in flames, there would be no guessing how many managed to cross over through- and who. And if any at all. And even then- there would be no proof as to who set the fire. For the arsonists had likely crossed over by now- finding proof would be near-impossible with the Ratri clan's secrecy.

Mike Ratri cursed silently at his luck. He never thought they would already know the location of the gate when they proposed that deal to him.

But if they already knew the location... what was the point in trying to make a deal with him?

Unless... they planned to expose the truth from the beginning?

Mike Ratri paled.

His reputation was in danger.

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Five days would pass before Mike Ratri was arrested.

A news reporter recounted the story on TV, a grave expression on her face.

"Supposedly, five days ago a small group of children had entered a police station early morning begging the on-duty officers to find their siblings. They attested that two of their brothers had gone to a meeting with Mike Ratri and had been found to be missing the next day.

"Their brothers had asked for an apology from the Ratri leader, in return for the suffering they endured while in a separate world- a world called the "demon world," and split from our own. One of the two boys had even suffered severe mental and physical trauma directly incurred by the man's own nephew.

"Even today, 3 days after Mike Ratri's arrest, these two boys- along with 3 other children- have yet to be found. The man attests to have no idea who was behind the children's disappearance, and claims that the two boys came to his office to threaten him rather than ask for an apology. The date for Mike Ratri's trial date has yet to be set, as many officers are still investigating the disappeared children, and the secret files discovered in the man's office, who's contents have yet to be revealed to the public.

The newscaster winced, pulling up another piece of paper from her script. "When prompted, several children attested to their experience in the so-called "demon world", and apparently the random children appearances from a year ago are heavily related to it. While in the demon world these children were—-"

Isabella pushed down on the remote's button, turning the TV off and turning back to the children eating breakfast happily despite their beloved siblings' supposed "disappearance."

Everything was going just according to her children's plan.

Obviously. She raised them, after all.

——-

Group of 5 in the demon world. Who do you think it is?

CONFIRMED in the demon world. Felt like I had to mention that. Hehehe

Short chap I wrote on my phone. Another double-update day ig 😼💅