Rivers of the Night

Chapter 808: Heir

Theron sat cross-legged on Alpha’s back, his expression quite calm.

Compared to most powerful beasts, Alpha was still on the smaller side, being only about two and a half to three meters tall on all fours. While that was tall enough to tower over the likes of Theron, when it came to even other humans—at least the ones that had mutated—it was still well within the bounds of reason.

That said, the DiBarr Clan Heir wasn’t as tall as Urong had been. The Demon Duke had been several meters tall, but the DiBarr were clearly much more reserved in that aspect.

Their skin was also grey, but they had these beautiful veins of amethyst etching across them almost like the veins of the real gemstone. They shimmered and pulsed, forming two lines that ran up their cheeks and formed shadows around their eyes. These lines ended in their hovering horns, a pair of glowing violet gems that radiated hints of darkness.

But Theron only gave him a glance before looking toward Ayame.

"And here I thought it would be another year before I saw you again. It seems you’ve quite quickly moved up in the world; this heir seems to have taken a fancy to you."

Theron spoke first, seemingly entirely ignoring the DiBarr heir.

"He is not an heir," Ayame replied simply.

Jung hadn’t been wearing a smile to match Theron’s own. In reality, when he saw the gentle expression on the latter’s face, he had been certain that he had come to try and smooth things over.

Their lineup today wasn’t for the faint of heart. They were all young, as though to prove the point that Theron wasn’t the only talent in existence. The DiBarr Clan could pluck talents as good as him out from their personal slaves with ease.

Ayame wasn’t here to be among that number; she was here to prove a different point. The point that those that Theron had once known would choose to side with power over him regardless of circumstances.

But not only did Theron seem unmoved by Jung and his lineup, Ayame replied to him as though there was none of Jung’s face to consider.

"Oh? Really?" Theron laughed, and then he pulled out a familiar letter. "I could have sworn that this was signed in a very specific way."

Jung’s irises flashed with murder.

Had he embellished in his signature a bit? Maybe. But this was a letter that no one was supposed to see. In fact, after its attack, the letter was supposed to have crumbled and vanished. He didn’t know how Theron still had it.

"I’m guessing that if I gave this to someone who did own the title it was signed with, they would be quite angry with you, hm?" Theron beamed a smile at Jung, but the latter had already moved. "Oh my, eager, are we?"

Amethyst claws extended from Jung’s hand as he slashed by, splitting Theron’s head into four pieces.

Or so it seemed before they snapped back together with weaving lines of Dark Mana.

Jung landed behind Theron, having hit nothing but air.

’... He’s grown more powerful again...’ Ayame thought to herself. It wasn’t just that Theron had grown to Middle King, but also that his Resonance was now of the Elder Titan level.

It could be said that his strength was at least a magnitude stronger than when he had fought the Demon Duke.

"Oop." Theron clicked his tongue. "I think this means I can kill him, right?"

Theron looked toward the three young men Jung had brought with him. Every one of them had a sharp and stoic face, and they looked similar enough that they could have been triplets. But probably due to the variances and differences in how they controlled their Demon Body Refinement technique, they had slight differences in their appearance as well.

None of the three of them said a single word, but Theron’s smile didn’t fade.

"Alpha, have fun." Theron patted Alpha’s side and then leapt off, spinning through the air and landing in front of Jung.

By now, Jung’s veneer of calm had faded into a rage, but there was also a hidden anxiety. His elder brother really would kill him if he knew that he had used the heirship title so lightly.

While his elder brother was also a Quasi Transcendent, unsurprisingly there were large gaps in power between them nonetheless.

Jung had a Peak Titan Resonance that was only a small step from becoming an Elder Titan Resonance, but his brother had a true Lower Elder Titan Resonance. In addition, his brother’s Profound Truth was already as powerful as many Transcendents.

If his elder brother progressed to Transcendent now, he would easily reach the standard of a Demon Prince, but the true DiBarr Heir was aiming for the Profound Truth of a Demon King... and maybe even beyond.

Whether it was Resonance, Mana Control, or Profound Truth Comprehension—arguably the three most important pillars of cultivation at this stage—Jung was inferior in them all.

It should have been an easy win. Theron should have seen the title of heir, frozen in fear, and then died from the poison. Even if Theron didn’t fear it enough to not react, the letter was designed to act so fast that there would be no chance even for a Transcendent to react fast enough.

It was the perfect, double-layered plan with fail-safes put into place. Jung was cautious and usually acted as such. When he took risks, he always made sure to add layers of protection, including a fail-safe in case all of this failed.

That letter should have been destroyed.

But he had only just stepped foot into Theron’s territory, with a plan ready-made and set, only to realize that he had already lost a battle... and a crucial one at that.

There was only one way to ensure he didn’t lose the war.

Jung roared and violet Mana pulsed out from him. He would kill the entire city and even his escort if he had to.