Rivers of the Night

Ironvale’s sword didn’t move at first. He stood there, in complete silence. The geysers faded away, as did the heat. In the world, there was only him and his sword.

And then a resonant hum filled the skies.

He outstretched his blade, foggy remnants of steam colored with white gold Luminescent Mana pooled.

His Luminescent Rain might have only been at Adept, but [Luminescent Blade]… he had long since risen both the Bronze and Silver portions to Consummate. He breathed with his sword. It wasn’t just an extension of his arm, it was his life.

And when it killed…

It filled him with warmth.

He took a step forward.

From the start of the rain of Luminescent Mana to this instant, it seemed as though several seconds had passed, and yet it was all in an instant.

He appeared before Dorian, his sword slashing down.

No, even now, he could smell it lingering in the air, holding onto him as though it might take control and refuse to let go.

If not for his fiancée stepping to his side, he would have lost himself to that scent.

Soul Mancer.

Ironvale wasn’t a Metal Mancer at all. He was a Soul Mancer.

An incredibly powerful one that had grasped Sword Resonance.

How had he managed to hide this for all this time? Even in the tower, he had never used it a single time.

"I’ve got you!" Vaeilina called out, a violet Mana blooming from her.

Dorian reacted in kind, his sickly green Mana instead.

Striking a balance with one another, the Manas pooled into one. When they brandished their heavy blades, it was as though they too had gained a Blade Resonance of some sort.

They slashed down together.

Before they even clashed, Ironvale could sense the difference. Their poison… it was like a cancerous stream, seeping into Manas and corrupting it into their control.

When this poison path was matched with the Luminescent Sect’s methods, it was akin to giving tiger wings. What was [Luminescent Rain] if not a similar method?

Suddenly, Ironvale felt as though his control was being restricted somewhat.

’They came prepared.’

Deng. Deng.

The heavy blow Ironvale had been preparing slowed and became light strokes, deflecting both blades at once.

"Keep attacking from a distance!" Dorian called out to the young Firewing. He didn’t know what her name was, but it was clear that she was the only other one on this battlefield that could stand with them against Ironvale.

The woman didn’t reply, but she began to throw out daggers toward Ironvale’s back.

…

ROAR!

The Lava Beast, seemingly forgotten, smashed its head into the ground, rolling around and causing streams of red gold, molten rock to seep out like waves of a lake.

The Imbued Beast shouldn’t have lost its mind to this extent. But the truth of the matter was that it was in great pain. The Fire Soul within it was rampaging about.

It had given it too much Mana out of instinct, and now it was suffering because of it. The ember had grown out of control, but the beast didn’t have the Fire Soul Core needed to take hold of it, causing it to flail about in its body as though it might swallow it whole.

Off to the side, Thessa was on the fringe of the battlefield, surrounded by protectors from all sides. But her eyes hadn’t left the Imbued Beast from the moment it appeared.

She could feel it. Her Fire Soul fragment was in its body.

Had it swallowed one of her people? That would explain it… but it wouldn’t explain why the Fire Soul fragment had grown so powerful.

Unfortunately, this didn’t seem to be the birth of a Fire Soul like she was hoping. But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t benefit.

If she fused this amplified Fire Soul fragment back with the main body, she would still skip several tiers of cultivation at the very least.

But how? Should she wait for it to kill itself? Or should she try to take control of the flame from a distance and kill it from the inside out?

The risk was high. If she acted, the beast would almost certainly sense her.

Imbued Beasts were incredibly instinctual when it came to Mana. Right now, Thessa didn’t even want to use her Fire Soul in case the beast sensed the core in her and came after her. At that point, she would just end up screwing things over for her faction.

She had to be patient, to wait and bide her time. Given how much damage the beast was taking, and how severely it had lost its mind, the odds that it could continue for very long were low.

Once it died, she’d be the only one that could control the fragment. At that point, victory would be certain.

Her gaze shifted to Selena in the distance, clenching her fists. Her retainer was fighting on a knife’s edge. Ironvale was simply too powerful.

However, they had known that when they came in. They were just waiting for their own opportunities to use their own trump cards.

’Hm?’

Thessa felt that something was wrong.

The ground was still rumbling, but…

Her eyes widened, her head snapping back toward the beast. The roars, they had stopped. No, worse than that, her connection to the Fire Soul had been severed. That could only happen if…

Standing on its four feet, it glowered ahead, its head scanning each one of them one by one as though wondering why the hell there were so many people in its territory.

Deep in its eyes, flickering flames danced, and the aura of the Lava Beast suddenly climbed to an unprecedented height.

Quasi Gold. Continue your journey on

Thessa’s pupils trembled.

A new Fire Soul had successfully been formed.