Rivers of the Night

Elder Kelyne Black's eyes opened wide as she watched Theron's body replenish itself in real time. In what felt like a few blinks of her eyes, his wounds had all healed, his swaying had stopped, and his sturdiness had returned.

After leaving the Luminescent Moon Sect, Theron had taken a few Bloomstones with him. But there was a limit, unfortunately.

He didn't have any powerful spatial devices on him, and even if the heirlooms of the Secret Realm had come with something like that, he couldn't afford to take it out with him either.

Not only would that have potentially exposed him, the Patriarch was still a huge problem. If he took out something Patriarch Gian could sense, he wouldn't even make it out of the Sect.

He had even left Ironvale's sword behind; he wasn't a person who would take unnecessary risks. If not for the fact that it was his father's sword, and that no one could quite seem to see through it, Theron wouldn't carry it around either.

This was all to say that for treasures like the Bloomstones, there was a limited number Theron could take with him to begin with. He had been in too many dangerous situations, but the worst part was that in order to escape from the three powerhouses he was forced to battle, he had used up a large number of them in a single go.

His original plan was to alternate between the Eruption Bloomstones and Vital Bloomstones so that he could benefit from the increased Mana output and not suffer too much from the backlash at the same time.

Ironically enough, he ended up returning to the Nightingale Empire anyway, but that stint had caused him to burn through almost all the Bloomstones he had. And now, he only had two left… well, now one…

The last Vital Bloomstone had been used, leaving just one Eruption Bloomstone he had no intention of using right here.

Well, not accounting for the Tribulation Bloomstones he still had. If not for the fact he needed so many of them, he wouldn't have run into his limit with the others nearly so quickly.

But right now, that didn't matter at all—not to Theron.

This Vital Bloomstone might not be able to replenish his mind and focus, but it would bring his body right back to its peak. And against a Water Mancer, no matter how powerful…

That gave him odds he was more than confident in.

Theron took a step.

"Theron, this isn't—"

There was a sudden acceleration. Theron was like a blur in the night, closing the distance so fast that the explosion of colors that bloomed in his hair didn't register to Elder Black until his blade was already in front of her.

'A second Echo?!'

Kelyne's heart skipped a beat, but her reactions were as sharp as one might expect. She flicked out a finger, a light flicker of Water Mana about to coat it.

Her expression changed.

Chi.

Elder Black's finger was severed, blood spurting as she accelerated back. The distance between her and Theron opened up instantly, the speed gap between the two far too great.

However, as she was retreating, her back crashed into a [Water Prison]. She didn't even sense the Water Mana move in the first place, her body shifting with the rotating currents right back into his path.

The shock in her eyes was unconcealable now.

She… couldn't use Water Mana? What nonsense was this?

No, she could. It was just that the moment she tried to use Water Mana in the air, it was suppressed and ruthlessly crushed.

She changed tactics, sticking out a palm into the rotating waters and flooding it with her Law comprehensions, only for her eyes to widen further.

'No!'

Elder Black found Theron's blade flashing in front of her again, about to tear into her. She had failed to pull on the Water Mana like she expected she would, and now she was facing off against a blade that seemed capable of tearing into her Gold Mancy body as though it were made of clay putty.

She grit her teeth, leaning her head as far back as the churning waters would allow.

BANG!

A spike of pain ripped through her body as a kick rocked her knee. It wasn't strong enough to shatter it or rip her ligaments, but it was so very heavy—so heavy that the joint hyperextended in the wrong direction and she buckled.

She grit her teeth, realizing that this wasn't a battle she could take lightly. Whoever this child was, he was a monster.

Her palm flipped, and a small shield appeared. It was barely six inches in diameter, and she couldn't help but curse her choices.

The shield was meant to expand and contract with her Water Mana, and it was also capable of sending out some ranged attacks and storing up instant Spell casts as well.

But now…

CLANG.

She pulled it up, deflecting Theron's blade and trying to find space to retreat. When she realized the currents wouldn't allow it, she unleashed a roar and the Mana within her charged.

Theron could stop her from using atmospheric Mana, but not the Mana inside her body. And at the end of the day, a Gold Mancer was still a Gold Mancer.

Especially a high-tier one.

BANG!

The [Water Prison] shattered as Elder Black blasted a path out, coughing out large streams of water that had entered her lungs involuntarily.

She landed on the ground, but her knee buckled, the weakened ligaments causing her to be a step slow to react to another swinging sweep of Theron's blade.

BANG!

Her arm flailed.

'So heavy.'

In that moment, she caught a glimpse of the chilling cold in Theron's eyes. So focused, so frigid. His eyes almost seemed to reflect the moon to her, one relentless stream of attacks after another assaulting her.

Chi.

Elder Black continuously retreated, her close combat skills heavily lacking. She didn't even realize she had fallen for the same trick twice as her body was trapped in yet another [Water Prison].

This time, the waters were even heavier.

She deflected Theron's blade once more, but a fist drove into her gut, followed by yet another erupting kick against her knee.

She buckled again, but this time, there was a fury bubbling up in her chest. This boy was truly trying to kill her, and after all the help she had tried to give him.

"ENOUGH!"

BOOM!

An Echo appeared to Elder Black's back, a black tortoise shell covered in reflective gold markings rising into the skies.

Suddenly, the absolute control Theron had over the region's Water Mana was half crippled.