Rivers of the Night

In the darkness of the night, no one saw what Theron had done with his blood. Even with their Third Eye active, it was impossible for them to tell the difference, not when it radiated like Water Mana to their mind’s eye regardless. Experience exclusive tales on

But what they did sense was the death of their friend.

Rage filled their hearts. It was just unfortunate that now that the number of enemies had fallen from four to just three, the pressure on Theron had relaxed considerably.

Facing off against several enemies with such heavy control over the region thanks to their Silver Cores made it especially difficult for him to gather Water Mana from the atmosphere. This was why he had only cast his simplest and easiest to use spells, even being forced to use his own blood when he would rather keep his ability hidden.

But now, with just three such domains active instead of four…

He felt as though a heavy weight had fallen from his shoulders.

[Tidal Convergence].

The glow in Theron’s eyes sharpened as three roars echoed around him. All three lunged, their fury filling their eyes and their white-gold Mana pouring out like liquid flames.

Each one had mastered the Bronze Resonance aspects of [Luminescent Blade] to at least Adept after stepping into Silver Mancy. While they had yet to learn the Silver Resonance forms well enough to use in battle, this was more than enough.

Unfortunately, the death of their friend left a hole in their formation. Theron didn’t hesitate to step out of it, his Water Mana pooling out of him.

Suddenly, it felt like the humidity in the air skyrocketed, a stickiness accumulating onto the skin of the three remaining Silver Mancers.

The blades missed Theron, and a large accumulation of Water Mana began to suffocate their ability to control their own energy. They reached out with their Third Eye, trying to grab more Mana from the air to suppress Theron, but before they could do something about the changes…

Theron’s body shifted into another pose, his tendons aching as they rubbed against the bend in his bones and the pull of his muscles. He forced himself into the second stance and suddenly, there was a strong ripple in the air.

The effectiveness of [Tidal Convergence] skyrocketed as huge waves of Water Mana pooled over, swirling into a cyclone.

But Theron pulled himself out of the second stance before his body internally combusted, his eyes flashing as he cast yet another spell.

[Tidal Wave].

WHOOSH!

It felt as though the skies had opened up, a wave of water solidifying and descending from above.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

It was like a river had suddenly plopped down, crushing its waves against the trees and pinning the three Silver Mancers beneath it.

Theron appeared above the waves, stepping on them lightly, his eyes still flashing with a dense coldness. He wasn’t done, he was far from done.

His blade cut across the air, leaving gashes in the dense humidity that still hung.

The First Resonance officer was pulled out of the water by a writhing [Water Wrap]. He tried to struggle, but it was futile, his neck practically presenting itself to Theron to cut open.

Theron claimed his second kill.

Oile and Tenn pulled themselves out of the water, avoiding the fate of being trapped by sending out large pulses of Mana from their Cores. But at this pace, it was impossible that they could keep such a thing up.

Neither of them could fathom just how a Bronze Mancer could possibly produce enough Mana to form a tidal wave like this.

There was no choice other than for them to go all out, but their skills had only half-formed when Theron cast two [Bursting Water Shields].

It was too late for them to pull back, and their slashes reacted as though falling into the depths of the ocean, only for the shields to burst apart and send their Mana flying in all directions.

Theron’s steps had never slowed, crossing through the curtain of blasting waters. The blue coated his body, soaking him through and drenching him to the bone. And yet he only seemed more chilling, more focused, more deadly.

All the two could seem to focus on were those orbs of ice he called eyes.

[Water Scythe]

The three-meter curved blade manifested from what felt like nothing, slicing at them.

The two Second Resonance Silver Mancers blocked with all their might, but the heaviness of the scythe caught them off guard.

Tenn roared, his Echo manifesting in black shadows as his body’s speed seemed to accelerate. He rushed back to create more distance and limit the impact.

Oile reacted in kind, a pair of illusory wings appearing on his back. While he couldn’t fly, his speed, too, seemed to increase.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.

Theron realized now just how weak Echoes could truly be.

BANG!

The Water Scythe exploded, catching them off guard. They were struggling so much against its sturdiness that they could have never expected for such a thing to happen.

They realized it was a trap immediately, but there was nothing they could do about it.

[Water Wraps] lunged at them from the [Tidal Wave] below, [Water Bullets] naturally forming in the air and pelting at them from above, all before a large [Water Prison] formed out from the [Water Scythe], trying to swallow them.

There was too much to handle at once, and their struggles were devoured by the churning sphere of water…

Only for Theron to jump right through it, the water accelerating him forward until he drove both his blades through their chests.

BANG! BANG!

Their backs landed on the heavily moistened ground, Theron looming above them on the balls of his feet, his dagger and short sword driven through each of their chests respectively.

As the last of [Tidal Wave] rushed away, being soaked up by the soil and lashing out its last bursts against the ancient trees, they felt their lives slipping away.

Somehow, the brightness of Theron’s gaze seemed to overwhelm the moon that hung above his head.