Rivers of the Night - Chapter 669

Chapter 669: Too Much

BANG!

Theron felt the fractures in his arms before he even heard the sound of the collision.

Strong.

Melani Hall was no Flux Mancer, and her ability to use Mana was highly restricted right now. On top of that, Theron’s body was orders of magnitude more powerful than any Mancer of his level.

And yet it felt as though a moon had crashed onto him from the skies above, his defenses being sliced through like butter.

Despite the pain, though, Theron’s gaze only sharpened, his grip on his blades tightening.

He flipped through the air, landing on his toes and shifting his head to the side.

The whipping speed of Melani’s palm cut across his cheek despite missing.

He swiftly followed up with a knee toward her gut, feeling he didn’t have an angle to use his blades, but she countered with a knee of her own, slapping down his leg with a palm so heavy it felt like his thigh would snap in two.

BOOM.

Theron’s leg was heavily driven back into the ground, almost hyper extending the complete wrong direction as Matriarch Hall sent a swift kick at his leg.

He barely managed to duck out of the way, feeling as though every exchange was akin to dancing on a blade of life and death.

Her reactions were so quick, her power so explosive. Theron was sure she was no close combat specialist, and yet the gap in senses and speed was so great it didn’t matter.

Theron suffered a blow to his gut that ripped all the air out of his lungs. It felt as though the Devil himself had torn into his throat, squeezing down on his lung.

Melani’s hand flipped, revealing an almost delicate sword with a blade of white steel. It snapped toward the opening in Theron’s defenses.

Keeled over, his mouth shuddering with expelled air, it felt like there was no opportunity to counter at all. And there wasn’t.

Not physically.

PUCHI.

An octopus arm formed for roaring Dark Mana appeared. Matriach Hall sliced almost all the way through it, but it slowed her blade just enough for Theron to strike out a blade at her wrist.

She pulled back swiftly, not daring to take the risk. Theron had taken out so many powerful treasures, who knew how many more he had and if he could rely on them to cut her?

Theron peeled back his attack without following through. With a deft step back, he expanded a distance of over ten meters between them, already casting [Shadow Step] before he even landed.

Melani accelerated after him, her timing just a bit off because of Theron’s feint.

She missed him and Theron appeared to her back, striking out with a short sword that practically hummed with Dark Water Mana.

Matriarch Hall was ready, and even if she wasn’t, her speed wasn’t somethign even a well-timed sneak attack could easily overcome. She didn’t even turn around, the Mana in her Core churning and forming a sheet of Ice over her back as she continued to punch forward.

Chi.

A solid vibration shook Theron’s very core as Melani’s blade ran through the Mana he had left behind before his [Shadow Step].

Theron’s gaze turned frosty and he didn’t hesitate to cut off his connection with that section of Mana.

As expected, it iced over instantly, becoming streams of solid ice over the flowing waters it had just been. Had he let it continue, he would have lost everything.

In a single move, Melani had cut his reserves of atmospheric Dark Water Mana by a third. Worst yet, it had stopped raining the moment she stepped in his vicinity.

The air around the two shuddered, parties that wanted to join the battle finding themselves blown away. As much as Macie wanted to participate, she couldn’t. As for Kempe, he never even tried, knowing his limits.

What no one would understand was how Theron was managing to keep up. Even factoring in the Dagger Call Platform, the gap between the Realms was far too great.

Theron huffed for breath as Melani slowly turned.

“I do not know how a Gold Mancer like you managed to grow so powerful. Four Echoes… Four Mandates… Dual Resonances… Twin Voidwrought Cores… Normally, I wouldn’t want to offend a genius like you, who knows what sort of backing you have.

“But I have a duty. And unfortunately you’re standing in the way of that.”

Theron didn’t reply. What a waste of breath. What was she expecting him to say, exactly?

Instead, he was already spending time regaining his breath.

His Mana reserves were fine, his body was good too, the reason he felt like he was straining so hard with every action was because his soul itself was running on empty.

“I know what your issue is. Your soul won’t be able to keep this up much longer. Without the strength of a Dome of Heaven expert, your soul can only replenish with time and sleep. If you think you can use my talking to recover, you’re sorely mistaken. I’m only trying to give you one last opportunity to give this up.

“You know what I want. But now the price is higher. I want your platform too. Give me those things and I will let you leave here.”

“NO!”

Melani’s eyes flickered, a flash of frustration in her eyes as she heard Macie’s objections from afar, but she didn’t say anythign directly about it, still staring at Theron.

Theron continued to take deep breaths.

“Without the strength of a Dome of Heaven expert…” he mumbled.

His eyes dimmed for a moment and then slowly began to brighten again.

Is that so?

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The churning Dark Water Mana surged, slamming into Theron’s back. Pools of Mana stretched into his pours, being sucked into his Void Cores at astonishing speeds.

This was the problem with talking too much.

A genius on Theron’s level could use even the smallest bit of information against you.

Melani had just given him a clue she never should have.

Theron roared, his hair dancing wildly.