Rivers of the Night

Chapter 752: Bloody Path

"What is so amusing?" she asked with a frown.

Theron didn’t reply, looking toward Chen. "Well, I’ll bid you goodbye. I’m sure there’s a bit of a mess here you’ll have a part in cleaning up. I apologize for that. If they want to come after me, they’re free to. But I have a feeling that no one of consequence that’s willing to help them is anywhere nearby."

Chen wanted to refute that, but he really couldn’t.

As he had said, their families were located elsewhere. The only few that would be capable of helping them and not ending up in the same exact state would be other Resistance Army members that happened to be in attendance.

But those few people weren’t exactly world-beaters. The real powerhouses hadn’t come at all, and if they heard about this, it would take them days to arrive.

Theron turned to leave with Ayame.

"Wait!" the young miss called out again.

"Yes?" Theron looked over his shoulder.

"What are you doing here?"

Theron raised an eyebrow, but internally, his aura sharpened just the slightest bit. This woman was very perceptive, and clearly good at putting up a façade.

It was quite possible that the reason she was getting close to Chen was because of the Primordial Earth they had lost. But with the power of the Chron Clan, they should also know that the Shonagh Clan had lost this valuable item.

Though it was possible that she was just using Chen for information, Theron couldn’t help but feel that there was a deeper play here beyond just the most obvious.

"You mean other than visiting this beautiful city?"

"Umbra City is many things, but beautiful isn’t one of them."

"You don’t think so? Maybe it takes the eyes of a Dark Mancer to see it."

"Maybe. But I think you’re here for another reason. What is it?"

Theron chuckled. "Let’s say for a moment that I was here for a very specific reason—why would I tell you?"

"Because you don’t seem to understand how much power the Chron Clan has."

"Seemingly not enough to have a young miss so publicly clinging to the young master of a Sect who hasn’t promised you anything yet."

The young miss’ eye flashed with a dangerous light, and Chen felt himself getting another headache. Theron seemed really intent on ruining his day today.

"The matters of my private life aren’t your concern. If anything, it should prove our status. I could strip down naked in these streets and bed every man I see for the next ten years of my life, and there would still be young men of exceptional status lining up to marry me. Do you know why?"

This time, Theron didn’t respond with a quippy retort. He could tell that she meant it. And the fact she had let her mask slip so easily only proved it all the more.

"It’s because the Chron Clan has more power than you can imagine. Whatever you understand about the rarity of Space Mancy isn’t nearly enough, clearly."

Theron felt that was a fair assessment. He had only met two Space Mancers before, and both were random mutations. None had been born into a family, and neither had a Resonance Bloodline.

In order to even begin to form a lineage passed down through generations, you would need at least two Mancers of the same affinity to start building said family together.

Finding just one Space Mancer was near impossible, let alone two. It was even more impossible in the world Theron was familiar with, because the only two Space Mancers he had ever met had both been women. And ironically enough, so was this young miss.

"So, I’ll ask you one more time. What are you doing here? If you plan on poking and prodding in the Chron Clan’s dealings, it would be better for me to call someone to stop you right here and now, wouldn’t it?"

If Theron wasn’t going to join her family’s legion, then there was no need for her to be so polite. As much as she spoke about the prestige of the Resistance Army, at the end of the day, every organization was fundamentally selfish.

Just as Theron had speculated, only a rare few were truly joining the Resistance Army for the sake of a valiant duty to kill the members of the Demon Corps.

Very rare few.

Theron didn’t speak again for a long while, and the young miss began to believe that he was getting a picture of just what sort of wall he was facing...

But then he spoke.

"Ah, I get it. You’re mad about them." Theron looked over to the two Resistance Army members still bleeding out on the ground, their groans of pain prickling at the souls of everyone in the surroundings.

The young miss was taken aback for a moment, but what happened next left her eyes wide.

"Would you just prefer if I killed them outright?"

Theron opened his free palm and his spear box concentrated into a polearm once again, and he pointed the blade forward.

Chi.

He swiped it down, and Seriq’s head rolled from his body.

He raised his blade again, ready to repeat the action, a simple [Shadow Extend] already loaded and prepped to be used once more.

"Stop!" the young miss roared, silvery light sparkling along the tips of her hair.

"Oh?" Theron blinked innocently. "I thought this was what you wanted? Is it still too messy? I could wipe out everything, if you want."

The young miss’ chest heaved, and Theron grinned. But this time, his grin carried a sinister edge to it, flickering lines of darkness emitting from the corners of his eyes.

"You want me to fight your brothers? Sure. No problem. But if I lose control of my temper and their heads roll, don’t blame me."

Theron tossed his spear into the air, and it morphed back into a box that attached to his back.

"I heard there’s a wedding going on today," Theron continued to speak as he walked away with Ayame. "Weddings always need entertainment. I’ll gladly cut a bloody path for the bride to walk."