Rivers of the Night

Chapter 779: Ameridia

Mana bristled by Theron, and he found himself flying through the air. Though, not very far.

He chuckled and flipped, landing softly on the tip of his toes before sinking to his heels.

The shadowy figure, though, was completely speechless. He looked from Theron to his disciple, and then back again.

“A Cloud Mancer, Ayame? Really?” He seemed more surprised than anything else.

“Oh? Ayame’s your real name?” Theron’s eyes glowed as though he was truly honored.

It wasn’t the first time he had heard the female assassin referred to by a different name. He just assumed that Ayame was another fake name, but it seemed not.

Ayame frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Her voice had a biting chill to it as she stared at her so-called master.

The shadowy figure put his hands up. “Alright, alright. Consider it as though I’ve said nothing at all. Let’s return now. This won’t go as easily as you think, though. I’m sure you know that not everyone is as easygoing as me.”

Theron inwardly agreed with this statement, although he hadn’t met anyone of the Demon Corps aside from these two before. The Demon Corps didn’t exactly seem like the place that would have close-knit familial ties between their members.

This relationship was odd enough, but there was no such thing as an organization that was completely uniform throughout. There were bound to be oddities and inconsistencies between them all.

Theron landed back in the hole Ayame had formed, and the shadowy figure gave him another look as the ground began to rumble.

“I really would advise against joking so much if you like keeping your head on your shoulders. I assume since Ayame is sticking up for you, there’s more to you than meets the eye. I can’t see through you at all, other than a superficial feeling for your cultivation that almost feels hollow and fake.

“But as deep as you think you go, the Demon Corps runs even deeper, even here in the Duke Territory.

“Ayame wouldn’t associate herself with a man who planned on staying at this level, though. So I can also tell you that as difficult as the Duke Territory is to deal with, the Royal Territories aren’t something you can fathom. Keep your head down and don’t cause me trouble.”

Theron’s smile bloomed. “You went from warning me about chasing skirts to existential crises?”

The shadowy figure didn’t seem to be joking this time, though.

“In the Demon Corps, ‘funny’ matters are matters of life and death. And serious matters are daily matters.”

WHOOSH.

A pulse of mana radiated out, and the trio vanished, leaving the forest in complete silence…

Except for the soil that slowly rolled in. Time seemed to reverse in the region they had just stood within until the place looked much the same as it had before any one of them had stepped foot.

A woman struck out with a spear, strong and mighty. Space rippled more than even her breasts, the ground shifting beneath her weight despite the fact she couldn’t have possibly been a pound over 130.

Bandages wrapped her chest, skin-tight tights wrapping around her legs and lower half. There wasn’t a single soul in sight in her private training quarters, so she wore what she wanted. If not for how uncomfortable it was to have her chest bouncing about when she performed violent movements, she wouldn’t be wearing these binds either.

Her hair danced with a silver hue, her eyes a radiant shade of blue. Her features had a beauty to them that was hard to describe, almost like they were touched by twinkling stars and shimmering moonlight.

They said that perfect skin reminded one of glass. So what could one say of skin that reminded one of celestial bodies?

This woman could have only been a single one…

A legend of the Resistance Army.

General Ameridia.

What was truly shocking about the dance of her spear, though… was that space was reacting despite the fact she had suppressed her Mana to an extreme. Not a single drop of it was leaking from her Core, and yet the world bent to her will nonetheless.

Her speed, her sharpness, her dance itself—every hint of it reflected the depths of space.

She was the most fearsome warrior on the battlefield for a reason.

And at that moment, the fearsome warrior came to a sudden stop.

Sweat beaded down her body as she looked down at a bracelet on her wrist.

Her face was stone cold, reflecting not the slightest hint of emotion even as she read through a report.

After a long while, she flipped a palm, her spear vanishing. Her Mana flourished, and her fatigue vanished, as did her sweat. She was cleaned in a single instant of time.

With a step, she was fully clothed from head to toe in heavy armor. With a second step, she had vanished.

When General Ameridia appeared again, she was already standing on a powerful long-distance teleportation platform. Without waiting for the guards, she activated it on her own and took a third step.

Her body came to a stop high above a familiar city. She saw the ruins, the destruction, but she hardly reacted to it even then… even when she saw the corpse of Granny Chu.

Then she saw the corpse of her brother. It seemed that Alfone hadn’t managed to survive. Then there was the crippled state of another one of her brothers.

Even now, she hadn’t reacted at all.

Instead, it was others that rushed toward her. Namely, Malicii and the other members of the Resistance Army.

Every one of them kneeled to her in the air.

“Where have they gone?”

It was the first time she spoke, her voice gentle and reminiscent of a spring breeze. No less beautiful than her face. The picture of elegance and perfection.

Everyone fell into silence. Not a single person knew.

She scanned each one of them and then shook her head. With a turn, she left.