The rooftop fell quiet. Afternoon sunlight filtered through cracks in the thick cloud cover, casting long shadows across the concrete. A low breeze swept between rusted AC units and tangled wires, ruffling torn flags from forgotten signage.
Below, the hum of the city was distant, muffled—as if the world knew something was about to break. Ronan stood near the edge, arms crossed, eyes cold. Observing. Processing.
Elion and Jordan stood a few meters ahead, bodies still tense, eyes locked on Theo.
And Theo?
He was back to calm.
No anger. No ego. His breathing even, shoulders loose. As if the hits hadn't rattled him. As if none of this was personal.
"I didn't expect you guys to unlock Third Mana Gate, too," Theo said.
He adjusted his stance slightly, the circuitry on his suit humming back to a soft, rhythmic pulse. Controlled. Efficient.
Elion narrowed his eyes, his voice low and even. "Who are you really?"
Theo tilted his head slightly. "Why should I tell you?"
"Yeah. You've no reason to," Elion said. "But I need to know something. The reason. The suit. The Gates and... why are you chasing us?"
Theo paused. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
He glanced between them.
"I'm Theo Ramirez," he said finally. "From Aegis."
Jordan muttered, "Great. Aegis. What are you guys, MIB?"
Theo ignored him. His eyes stayed on Elion.
"There aren't many in the younger generation who can keep up with me," he said. "And you two—"
He gestured between them, not even trying to hide his intrigue.
"—just became interesting."
Elion tilted his head, voice dropping just enough to sound casual—almost curious.
"I'm guessing you're just as curious... how we managed to keep up with you."
Behind them, Ronan let his arms fall to his sides. He didn't say a word—but that was Ronan for you. His version of applause was silence and a barely-there nod.
Inwardly, though? He was impressed. Elion had just flipped the table without making a sound. Playing to Theo's ego, dangling just enough bait to make the guy bite.
Smart move.
Ronan liked smart moves.
The rooftop felt colder. Theo's smile widened—just a fraction. A sharper edge now. He rolled his shoulders and sank into a stance. One boot sliding back, weight balanced, hands loose.
"You want answers?" he said softly. "Then beat me."
"We both want answers," Elion said, flashing a smirk that probably looked way more confident than he actually felt.
Where the sudden bravado came from? He had no idea. Maybe it was because Jordan was grinning like a lunatic beside him. Maybe it was because Ronan was still watching like a silent war god in the back. Or maybe—just maybe—it was the fact that he'd actually landed a kick on Theo.
Whatever the reason, Elion wasn't backing down now.
Jordan exhaled through his nose and cracked his neck, stepping forward beside Elion. A grin tugged at his lips.
"You sound confident, Elion," he said, eyes glinting.
"And you..." He then turned to Theo. "Get ready to talk."
"Keep on dreaming." Theo surged forward, a blur of precision and purpose.
Mana pulsed through his suit, syncing seamlessly with his intent. This was supposed to be quick—overwhelming. Close the gap, disable, dominate. It was a move that had ended fights before they even began.
But Elion was gone.
Theo's eyes snapped to the empty space ahead. His momentum faltered.
"What?!"
He twisted mid-step, scanning the rooftop with sharp, trained eyes. But Elion was gone—vanished without a trace. Theo gritted his teeth. That movement… it wasn't raw speed alone. It was technique. Precision.
Elion had used the Four Fundamentals of the Beast Slaying Arts—and this time, he'd layered it with Veil, masking his presence entirely.
'He's not trained in the Beast Slaying Arts,' Elion noted inwardly, observing the slight delay in Theo's reaction.
Just as Theo began to pivot, recalculating his next move, he felt it—a burst of force cutting through the air. The pressure came fast and sharp.
Jordan.
The punch wasn't just fast—it was loud. Not in sound, but in feel. The energy around it cracked with intent, wild and explosive. It was amplified by Jordan's mastery of Fang. Theo's body responded too late, his reflexes dulled by the sudden density of Jordan's aura. It slowed him—not physically, but instinctively. Like trying to move through fire.
And the fist was already there.
BAM!
Theo's body crashed and tumbled across the rooftop, rolling several meters before skidding to a stop. The impact might've shattered the concrete beneath him, but his suit absorbed most of the damage, sparing the rooftop from total collapse.
He barely had time to register the blow when Elion reappeared behind him. Without warning, a brutal kick landed squarely against Theo's back—Elion's leg now sheathed in the Black Panther's armor.
The force sent Theo flying again, his body bouncing once before he caught himself mid-roll and forced his heels into the ground. He slid backward, gravel and dust trailing behind him, until he finally ground to a stop.
Breathing hard, Theo's eyes snapped to Elion and Jordan, both still advancing, steady, and relentless. Then he glanced toward Ronan—still leaning against the far wall, arms crossed, not even bothering to step in.
Theo's gut twisted. If Ronan was on their level, and he joined the fight... Theo knew how it would end.
'Damn it. I'm supposed to have the upper hand here.'
Frustration boiled over. With a roar, Theo slammed his fist into the floor, cracking the surface wide open and leaving a crater in its wake. The truth began to settle in. Jordan had already surprised him earlier—met his blow and held firm, raw strength cutting through technique. Now Elion had done the same with speed.
It wasn't supposed to go this way. He was a Captain in Aegis, chosen young, tested through fire, and trained in the Path of Aegis with a discipline most never reached.
"This is wrong... this is wrong."
Theo's breath came in ragged bursts, disbelief clawing its way up his spine. He had been told—had proven—time and again that no one in his cohort could touch him. He was the standard. The prodigy. The future.
But now? These two weren't just keeping up.
They were dismantling him.
Not with overwhelming power, but with precision. Pacing. Intent. It wasn't a loud defeat—not yet—but it was creeping in. Quiet. Icy. Like a hairline fracture spreading across a flawless pane of glass.
Theo's voice broke through the tension, cracked with rage.
"Come again!" he bellowed. "There's no way you two are better than me!"
Theo shifted his footing slightly, eyes narrowed, posture less commanding now and more calculated. This wasn't a clean extraction anymore. This was something else. A confrontation. A measure. And maybe, just maybe, a lesson he hadn't expected to receive.
"Hey, are you okay?" Elion asked.
It was already too much for him to be a part of this Slayer's thing. The beast-men, Corrupted Rings, Zodiacs, the Lord and now... Aegis. He wondered how his life would be from now on.
That was why he still had this compassion toward Theo, the guy in a high-tech suit in front of him. Jordan chuckled as he listened to Elion's question.
"Dude, he's the enemy. Why are you worried about him?" Jordan asked. He did not really expect Elion to reply or else he would be bursting out with laugh already.
"Hey, are you okay?" Elion asked, his voice steady but quiet.
It was hard to believe how far things had spiraled. Beast-men, corrupted rings, the Zodiacs, the Lord—and now Aegis. One by one, the world kept throwing names at him, each more unbelievable than the last. It was already too much to process, and yet here he was, standing in the middle of it.
Maybe that's why he still felt a flicker of sympathy for Theo—the guy slumped in a high-tech suit, probably just as confused and cornered in his own way.
Jordan let out a snort.
"Dude, he's the enemy," he said, glancing over. "Why are you even worried about him?"
He didn't expect a real answer. Honestly, if Elion did explain himself, Jordan might've laughed harder.
Ronan suddenly cut in, his voice tense. "Hate to say this, but we should wrap this up. Fast. I can feel a lot more people heading this way."
Jordan groaned inwardly. He wasn't ready to leave—not yet. He still had a dozen questions burning in his head about Aegis. And sure, Ronan could sense people coming from a distance, and that, to Jordan, it felt like they had time.
Just a few answers, that's all he needed.
Before he could argue, Elion spoke up, like he'd plucked the thought right out of Jordan's skull. "Let's go with Ronan's call."
"But—"
"We'll meet him again," Elion said, steady as always. "And the rest of Aegis too. Sooner or later."
He glanced around, then added with a small sigh, "Besides, it's only our first day as Slayers. This is already more than enough."
A few minutes later, the rooftop was quiet again—except for Theo, flat on his back, staring up at the sky. Given the beating he'd just taken from Elion and Jordan, one might've expected his expression to be twisted in pain or rage. It wasn't. If anything, his eyes looked... amused.
Then came the reinforcements.
More than twenty Aegis operatives arrived in full battle gear, their suits just a step down from Theo's high-grade armor. Some vaulted across rooftops like acrobats, and others crashed through the rooftop door like they were late to a party.
"Agent Ramirez!"
"Captain!"
The voices rang out sharp and urgent—but no one stepped forward.
Despite the shouting, not a single operative dared to move any closer. At the front of the pack was Paige Carter. She was the only one who dared approach Theo.
Not because he was a jerk—far from it—but because he was a Captain. And more importantly, the son of one of Aegis's Five Admirals. That kind of pedigree had its own gravitational pull—people tended to orbit from a respectful distance.
Paige walked up and stopped beside him, eyebrows raised at the sight.
"How on earth did you end up like this?"
Theo gave her a crooked smirk. No answer. Just the smirk.
Paige folded her arms. "Also, you acted without orders. Again. Unless..."
She trailed off. There was exactly one person who could greenlight something like this without Theo catching heat for it.
Theo tilted his head toward her. "You guessed it."
That caught her off guard. Normally, Theo avoided dragging his father's name into anything. He hated the idea of being that guy—the one who leaned on family power to get his way.
But this time, he wasn't hiding it.
Theo rose slowly, one knee planted on the ground, his breath still uneven. He chuckled—low, dry, more at himself than anyone else.
"It was a mistake," he said. "I underestimated the descendant of that man. Thought I could handle the beasts on my own."
Paige didn't respond. She just stood there, waiting. The other operatives watched from a distance, questions buzzing in their heads. Nobody interrupted. Not when two Captains were speaking—especially not when one of them was Theo, even in his current state.
He let the silence hang a beat longer before adding, "What we're capable of now... doesn't even come close to what his son can do."
That was all Paige needed to hear. Theo was talking about the Cleaner's son. And if Theo—Theo—was saying they needed him, then the situation was worse than she thought. Deep down, something stirred. Curiosity. Maybe a bit of pride. She wanted to see for herself the one who'd knocked Theo down a peg.
"Then we follow Admiral Gary's orders," Paige said firmly.
Theo glanced at her, still half-smiling, his left hand resting lightly against his chest like he was remembering the hit that landed there.
"Yes. Do what he said," he replied. "I want them brought to HQ."
But this time, it wasn't just about orders. Theo had his own plan—revenge, served with an audience. If they came to HQ, he'd get his shot. And everyone would see it.
"Which way did they go?" Paige asked. She figured they could still catch up.
Theo shook his head. "Don't bother."
Paige raised an eyebrow.
"We need more people. Someone with more Mana Gates open—higher rank, stronger presence. Otherwise, they won't listen."
"We're not going to fight them," Paige pointed out.
"I know," Theo said. "But do you really think they'll just believe us and come quietly?"
She didn't answer. Because, honestly, he had a point. She'd been thinking of a calm, diplomatic approach—but if Elion and Jordan didn't trust Aegis, that wouldn't get them far.
Theo exhaled, gaze hardening. "Besides… there's another one. A man. An anomaly."
He paused, voice lowering.
"He's much stronger than the others."