The rooftop did not feel like part of the same battlefield anymore, because while the sounds of distant gunfire and the dying howls of wolves still echoed faintly through the night, the space before them had fallen into a silence so unnatural that it pressed against the skin like an invisible weight, making even the act of breathing feel deliberate.
The five figures did not move.
They stood exactly where they had been, their backs turned, their cloaked forms unmoving as if they had already known this moment would come, as if the arrival of Roan, Han, and the Moon faction leader was not an interruption but an expectation fulfilled.
And then, slowly, one of them tilted his head.
A small movement it is almost insignificant.
but it was enough.
Enough for the faint curve of an smile to appear beneath the shadow of his hood. And then he said "So…"
His voice was calm, almost amused, carrying none of the urgency or tension that filled the battlefield below.
"You found us from that far away."
There was no surprise in his tone.
No concern.
Only a quiet acknowledgment, as though Roan had simply arrived at the correct page of a story that had already been written.
A pause followed.
Then he said "So tell me… why did you come here?"
The words lingered, stretching into the silence as the figure slowly turned, just enough for the darkness beneath his hood to shift, revealing nothing of his face but everything of his intent.
"Are you not going to save them?"
His gaze, though unseen, seemed to pass through Roan, through all of them, and toward the battlefield they had left behind.
"Or are you going to abandon them…"
A slight tilt of his head.
"…like you abandoned us?"
The air tightened.
For a fraction of a second no one moved.
And then the Moon faction leader disappeared from where she stood.
Her body surged forward in an instant, the rooftop cracking beneath her feet as she closed the distance between them in a single, explosive motion, her blade cutting through the air with lethal precision aimed directly at his throat but it didn't land.
It never even came close.
Because he wasn't there.
The strike passed through empty space, her momentum carrying her forward as the figure stepped aside with effortless ease, his movement so minimal that it felt less like evasion and more like inevitability, as if her attack had never been meant to touch him in the first place.
"You haven't changed."
His voice came from beside her now.
Soft and disappointed.
"Still rushing forward… still believing you can protect something."
Her eyes widened and then she turned it was too late.
"Still failing."
His foot moved with an simple motion.
But when it connected, it carried a force that shattered the air itself, sending her body flipping backward before crashing hard against the rooftop, the impact cracking the surface beneath her as dust rose around her fallen form.
"You can't kill me," he continued, his tone unchanged, almost conversational, as if he were stating something obvious.
"Not before,and certainly not now… when you're even weaker then before."
Something snapped.
A flicker of raw anger surged through her as she forced herself up, ignoring the pain, ignoring the warning her body screamed at her, and charged again, faster this time, more aggressive, her attacks no longer measured but relentless, each strike sharper than the last but every single one of them missed.
Not because she lacked skill.
But because he was always… just out of reach.
Like a shadow that refused to be caught.
As if he already knew where her blade would be before she even moved.
Behind him, the other four figures shifted.
And then—"Go." an single word came an quiet command.
And suddenly the rooftop was no longer still.
—
Roan didn't hesitate.
The moment the two figures moved toward him and Han, his body reacted instinctively, his mind already racing ahead, analyzing, calculating, trying to understand.
but something felt wrong.it was not the unfamiliar or not the unknown.But… the unreadable situation.
The first one stepped forward, pulling two curved sickles from beneath his cloak, their edges gleaming faintly even in the dim light, while the second figure followed behind him, larger, heavier, his presence alone carrying a weight that pressed against the air itself, his gloved hands tightening as he brought his fists together and for a brief moment light flickered across their surface.
And then he moved and takes an single step. and threw an single punch.
Roan's instincts screamed to him to avoid this attack. and he jumped and then the attack missed him.
But the rooftop didn't.
The moment that fist struck the ground, the impact exploded outward, the surface shattering beneath it as cracks spread violently across the rooftop, the sheer force of it sending debris flying in every direction.
If that had landed—
Roan didn't finish the thought.
Because he didn't have time.
The second figure was already there.
The sickles cut through the air with deadly precision, aimed not where Roan was—
But where he would land.
They predicted it.
A sharp force surged around him as he twisted mid-air, using his telekinesis to push himself sideways, the blades barely missing him as he redirected his fall but not completely.
A shallow cut traced across his side.
Small and almost insignificant.
But his body reacted instantly.
A burning sensation spread from the wound, sharp and unnatural.
Poison.
Roan landed hard, his breath hitching slightly as the sensation tried to spread further but stopped.
The golden glow flickered within his eyes.
The effect dulled and it was now Resistible and it negated.but not ignored.
His gaze lifted again.focused and sharp and this time he looked at their weapons.
Properly and closely and then his breath stilled.
That design…and that curve…and that material…
His thoughts slowed not from hesitation but from the realization.
These… shouldn't exist yet. an cold weight settled in his chest.Those weapons… appear much later…In the novel.
And then he takes an pause and an crack forming in his certainty.
Then how the have them now and then the answer came.not spoken but he understood.
They've read further in the novel to have that knowledge .
For the first time roan felt it ,not the fear of death.But something far worse.The loss of advantage.
—
The large figure moved again.
Roan reacted instantly, his telekinesis surging forward, wrapping around the man's body and pushing him hard.
The rooftop beneath him trembled as the force collided, the air distorting slightly as the man's body halted mid-motion, resisting.
Not stopping but resisting.He was pushing back.
Roan's eyes widened slightly as he increased the pressure, forcing more power into the hold, his veins tightening, his breath shortening as the invisible force strained against something equally unyielding.
"Interesting." The man spoke for the first time.
he was calm and like as he was almost impressed.
And then roan pushed harder.he used his everything he had and then the pressure snapped.
The man's body lifted and was thrown off the rooftop.
For a brief second an Victory.
And then the pain.
Roan dropped to one knee instantly, his body rejecting the strain, blood rising violently in his throat as he coughed, crimson spilling onto the rooftop, his vision blurring as a sharp pressure built behind his eyes and then it broke.
Blood streamed down from the corners of his eyes, from his nose, his breathing uneven as his body trembled under the backlash of over use of the skill.
If even that… barely worked…Then what exactly… are we fighting…?
A shadow moved.
The sickle wielder closed the distance in an instant, blades cutting toward him but then the ice rose between them.
A wall appears it was sharp enough and it's appears in an instant.
The impact echoed as the blades struck, deflected just enough for Roan to force himself back to his feet, his breathing still unstable but his gaze unwavering.
And then the wall shattered and an fist broke through it and this time roan didn't dodge fast enough.and the impact hit him and it was hard enough.
His body lifted off the ground, thrown across the rooftop before crashing onto the next one, the force of it stealing the air from his lungs as he rolled, barely managing to stop himself before the edge.
He looked up and the man he had thrown was back and was standing still and unharmed.
—
Across the rooftop the Moon faction leader struggled to rise.
Her body refused to respond properly, pain radiating through every movement, but she forced herself up anyway, her gaze locking onto the figure who stood before her, untouched, unbothered.
"You're still the same." his voice reached her again.and he comes closer now.
"Running forward… pretending you can save everyone."
Her grip tightened.and she said "Shut up." and she moved again but this her attacks were more faster ,sharper and more desperate.
But he didn't move not until the last second.
And even then he moved only slightly just to let her attack passed him again.
And then he leaned closer just enough for his voice to drop.
"You couldn't even save him."
And after hearing this her body froze for a fraction of a second and her movement broke.
And that was enough time for his kick landed an clean hit.
Her body lifted and then slammed into the ground once more and dust rose and silence followed it and then.
"Tell me…" his voice softened not with the kindness but with something colder.
"How many are you going to abandon this time?"
And he then takes an pause.the weight of his words sinking deeper than any wound.
"Because of your failure…" his gaze shifted slightly. toward the battlefield below. "They're all going to die." And then he takes an another step forward.
And then he said "Just like he did."
—
Across the rooftop, Roan forced himself up again, his body screaming in protest, his vision still blurred at the edges as he faced the two figures standing before him once more and this time he understood something.
They weren't fighting to win and also they weren't even fighting seriously.they were like playing with them.
A voice broke the silence and it was not from the ones before him but from the behind.
"You finally noticed, didn't you?"
Roan turned slowly and then he saw the smiling figure stood there, his head tilted slightly as if observing something fascinating.
"That this isn't a fight you can read."
And then he takes an pause and the smile deepened more and then he says "Good."
and then he takes an another step forward.
"Because now…" his gaze locked onto Roan.
"…we can begin properly but before that."
And then he raised his hand slightly and it was not for to do an attack or not to defend.
But as if he was turning a page.
— "Let's see…" his voice dropped to a whisper. "…how far you've read the Novel ."