Elsewhere, far beyond the city, a figure crashed onto a rooftop with a thud.
The concrete beneath him trembled, followed by cracks that spread in every direction. For several seconds Roman remained motionless, and then the winds surrounding him began to fade.
The violent currents dispersed into the night sky. His height gradually shrank, the broad fra capable of overpowering most awakened returned to normal proportions, and his long blue hair erupted from his scalp before cascading down his back.
The berserk state had ended and its effects had vanished.
Only Roman remained, just as he was when he t Lucien.
Though this ti, his breathing was ragged, along with several wounds that remained visible across his body.
They could heal, but his pride would not.
"That damned creature..." The words escaped through his clenched teeth. "It shouldn’t have been there."
For the second ti since the apocalypse had begun, fear flickered across his face. The first ti was obviously when he was recruited into the Order.
The crimson bird resurfaced in his mind. Its golden eyes, crimson feathers, and the overwhelming certainty that if it had truly wished to kill him with all its might, he would never have escaped.
Roman’s fists tightened. The rooftop trembled.
"RAAAAGHHH!"
His roar exploded across the night, shattering windows and making nearby sea-mutated creatures flee. The wind itself seed to recoil from the pressure in his voice.
Three figures appeared almost instantly. Two n and one woman, all three landing upon the rooftop before dropping to one knee.
Their appearance was almost identical to each other. And these were his most trusted subordinates.
"Sire." Concern flashed across the woman’s face. "What happened?"
One of the n glanced at Roman’s injuries. "Was it caused by that man nad Lucien we had gathered information about?"
The third frowned. "Who managed to injure you to this extent?"
Roman’s expression darkened.
Attacked? No. He had been forced to retreat and the distinction in those two things mattered the most to him.
After several monts, he finally spoke. "Prepare everyone."
The triplets exchanged confused glances. The woman hesitated. "Sire?"
Roman turned toward them. "We’re going to need n."
The second male blinked. "But what about the Order? We still haven’t finished—"
A violent gust erupted across the rooftop, and the next mont, Roman stood directly in front of him. The one who spoke froze.
Roman had already grabbed his neck. "Did I tell you to focus on that?" His voice was low, dangerously low. The winds surrounding them began screaming. "Do as I say. And shut your damn mouth."
The man imdiately lowered his head and the other two followed.
All three knelt fully as they understood there was no going back from this. If their lord had decided on it, that was the case that should take the utmost priority.
"Your words are our command." They spoke in perfect unison before returning.
Roman let his gaze drift toward the distant city, toward the place where everything had gone wrong, and toward the white-haired young man who knew things nobody should.
Dual talents. The possibility surfaced once again. There existed a person possessing two talents naturally, without any artificial or strange thods unlike the Order. The heavens themselves wouldn’t allow such a thing, that was what he had been told, at least not in a world like theirs.
Yet too many things refused to make sense. The impossible combat ability of his and the appearance of the birds from the sky roc tribe.
Coincidences only remained coincidences for so long, he would figure them out soon.
Roman narrowed his eyes. "What exactly are you?"
---
anwhile, Lucien sat beside the window in his new room.
Evelyn sat nearby him, in case he needed sothing. The damage when he had been hurled downwards from the massive monstrosity had been so great that even moving felt like tiny bullet ants stinging his back.
Eventually, she broke the silence. "Did you hear what Roman said during the fight?"
Lucien looked toward her. "What part?"
"The Order." Her expression turned thoughtful. "He ntioned it more than once."
Lucien frowned, and now that she ntioned it, he did rember hearing the word once. At the ti he had been too busy trying not to die, and the fight itself had occupied most of his attention as he was busy thinking about Roman’s intentions.
"Yeah, I also heard it." He leaned back slightly. "Do you think it’s so kind of organization?"
Evelyn stared at him before shaking her head. "How would I know?"
Lucien opened his mouth, then closed it. For neither of them possessed enough information to draw any conclusions, causing the conversation to die there.
Yet the word remained stuck inside his mind. The Order.
Whatever it was, Roman clearly considered it important, and that alone made it worth rembering.
---
Two days passed. The city grew quieter but the sa was not the case for the survivors.
If anything, the tension only increased. Every conversation eventually circled back to the sa topic. The so-called King of the wind was beaten badly by a divine bird.
So of them had been lucky enough to witness battle in the sky from their windows.
Lucien heard their chatter every ti he walked downstairs with his powerful senses.
"Did you see the flas?"
"I’m telling you, that bird was larger than a truck."
"No, no, the Wind King actually ran away."
"That’s impossible."
"Then explain what I saw. Obviously, what I am saying is the truth."
The discussions never stopped and Andrew had already lost count of how many tis he had intervened, telling them not to discuss things about it.
Worried that Lucien might snap after he was not able to defeat either of the two.
"Stop talking about it."
The survivors turned toward him with a straight face, as if they weren’t the ones discussing it.
Thus forcing Andrew to rub his forehead. "Seriously, you’re scaring yourselves. We’re alive, that’s what matters."
One of the older n sighed. "We’re already scared. At least allow us to chat among ourselves."
Andrew opened his mouth, but was unable to retort. Unfortunately, he couldn’t argue with that as the apocalypse had beco terrifying long before Roman appeared.
Now everyone knew there were things capable of frightening Roman, the one who had almost bested their leader, and that realization helped nobody sleep more easily the following nights.
Fortunately, not everything had been bad news because one more person managed to awaken during those two days.
The entire building gathered around to watch, excitent filling the room, hope lingering in the air.
And then the result appeared from Ethan’s mouth.
[E-Grade Talent: Farr.]
The room fell silent.
The newly awakened young woman stared at the notification. "Th—That’s wrong. Can you please check again."
Yet no one listened to her.
Nobody knew how to comfort her.
A farr. During the apocalypse, the survivors genuinely didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but it wasn’t until Andrew patted the woman’s shoulder that she rubbed her wet eyes. "Hey, food is important too. I am sure we will be able to find so use for it."
The young woman looked unconvinced, and to be fair, so did everyone else.
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