Rivers of the Night

Even as his scalp fell from his head, Moreno was still screaming until his body slowly gave out, falling to his knees and then flopping to the ground.

His rage was warranted. When he took control of the ring, he had poured his Soul Mana into it. How could he not tell that he was pouring his Spirit Mana into a well of Water Mana instead of the runes of the treasure he was trying to control?

In truth, in that moment, both had embedded into his shoulder. When Theron ejected the ring at him, he cast a mutated version of [Water Scythe] as well, shrouding it in [Touch of Mirage] so that it was completely missed.

The ring in Moreno’s shoulder had been very real. What Soul Mana he was pouring into it was also very real.

But because he wanted to catch Theron off guard, and because he didn’t have much time to work with to begin with, he ejected it swiftly, just throwing it out.

In the hectic situation, all he felt was something leave his shoulder. But he didn’t even realize that what was flying out of his shoulder wasn’t the ring he thought it was, but instead Theron controlling his shrunken [Water Scythe].

That was because when Theron used [Bursting Water Shield] on that very ring earlier, he hadn’t just ejected it at Moreno; he had also destroyed the Soul Mana Tracts on it.

Moreno thought he was controlling it, but in truth, the situation had gone from one climax to the next before he even noticed that the runes on his treasure were broken.

Even if Moreno knew the truth, he still wouldn’t be able to accept it. How could it be so easy to destroy the runes of a treasure?

And if he knew the answer to this, he just might cough up blood and die again. That was because it wasn’t Theron who destroyed the runes personally, it was Moreno who had.

When the four rings clashed after Moreno tried to launch them at Theron to buy some time, Theron used [Touch of Mirage] again to swap them in the air.

He controlled the two rings from his side in that clash, angling them so that they crashed into the very runes he wanted to destroy. Then, while he pretended to launch another ring from behind him, he actually grabbed one of the rebounding rings out of the air instead.

Moreno was so focused on making sure Theron didn’t disappear that he didn’t even notice how many times Theron used [Touch of Mirage] on the objects around them.

Theron watched indifferently as Moreno fell to the ground. Then, his gaze swept over the spectator, and a slow huff of heated breath came out from his lips.

…

’A little monster Sigil thought from the distance.

The procession had never stopped following the duo. They and those hidden in the dark were also the reason that no one above Silver Mancy had acted yet. And yet, every victory Theron took was like another hammer to their hearts.

Unlike the Bronze Resonance masters Theron was facing, every one of them had Third Eye. They could see what Theron was doing in almost excruciating detail. But even then, they couldn’t help but stand in shock.

Was it really possible for a Water Mancer to be so powerful? What kind of mind did he have that it worked like this?

Sigil’s eyes gained a fiery glow to them.

He had truly been hesitating these last few weeks. Taking in Theron as a retainer seemed to be the obvious choice, but he didn’t like that he couldn’t see through him, and Theron was very clearly a danger. But sometimes what decided if a risk was worthy was whether the potential payoff would be.

And Theron might have been boasting, but even if he wasn’t truly the strongest under Silver Mancy in the province…

He was certainly close.

…

Theron met the gazes of the spectators and then turned to leave. But before he could, his steps paused, his eyes narrowing.

The echo of clapping resounded through the air, the rattling of chains following it.

A young man dressed in black appeared at the end of the road, with what people there were in the way splitting to open up the road for him.

To his back, two thin, curved blades were sheathed, their handles peeking above his shoulders. Every time he moved the rattling of chains came with them, and it must have been because a set of black ones extended from their pommels.

He had the haircut of a samurai of legend, the sides of his hair faded down to the skin, a single long ponytail coming from the top of his head and swaying down into the wind.

Theron turned back.

He hadn’t noticed this man’s approach, which was odd. No one could hide from him in the rain.

But then he understood. Unlike the others, this man wasn’t using his Mana to escape from the rain. He was allowing it to drench him all the way through as though he was basking in it as well.

Theron guessed who this person was instantly.

Beifong Lu.

The first reason he had done this was to give the Thistles a way out so that they didn’t do something stupid like killing him for the sake of saving face.

The second reason, however… was to lure this young man.

Theron exhaled a slow breath, the pulsing pain in his chest being unceremoniously suppressed by him one more time.

He looked down at the blades in his hand. It seemed that it was about time to actually use these.

For a while now, Theron had been testing something out. The real reason Dean Thistle believed him over Burne so easily wasn’t just because of the Soul Tie Jade, but rather because it should be impossible for a Water Mancer to transfer something like that into someone’s soul. Something like that should only be possible for a Spirit Mancer.

Theron took a breath, steam emitting from his mouth.

Since his real target was here, it was probably about time he stopped conserving what he had left.

Looking ahead, he saw the wedding venue and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, they were sharp as blades of ice.

The rain around him froze not in temperature, but…

In movement.

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