Rivers of the Night

Chapter 817: Predictable

ROAR.

It felt as though a beast’s maw had opened before Jun’s face. Every hair on his body stood on end, his hair blowing back and his finger twitching as he almost reached for his sword.

However, at the last moment, he managed to quell the bubbling sense of fear and reaction in his body, his pupils constricting into pinholes as he looked down at Theron.

BANG.

Theron’s fist drove into his gut.

In one moment, Jun was right in front of him. In the next, it was like he had vanished, teleporting to the complete other side of the room. His back smashed against a wall, the sturdy marble—even capable of staying strong beneath the heatof the lava—was left with cracks and the imprint of his humanoid form.

Jun coughed. It wasn’t enough to bring up any blood, but it felt like all the air in his body and lungs had been purged out all at once, almost like a chained rope had yanked it out from him.

He had been sure. He had been so sure that Theron wasn’t going to attack just now. And yet, the fist came—so hard, so sudden, and without the slightest hint of Mana backing it.

Theron didn’t look like he had cultivated a Body Realm technique in his life. How had he generated so much power just now?

The table that had been in front of Ayame and Theron once upon a time crumbled to ash, shattering into splinters so numerous and fine that none of it remained. The only thing that was left was a bowl of grapes Theron casually caught with a palm of his hand.

He tipped the bowl over, sprinkling it into a passing current of lava and then turning it back. With a thought, it was filled once more with his own grapes, ones far superior to any that had been served here.

Then, he handed it to Ayame without a word before strolling forward.

SHIIIIING.

Theron walked by Gione without so much as a glance, unsheathing a single dagger from a place unknown. It almost looked like his hand had phased right through his robes like it wasn’t even there at all, bringing out a dagger as black as night.

It spun in his palm and the air was sliced apart so finely it looked as though lines of space were being severed in two.

Theron took a third step beyond Gione and suddenly vanished.

Jun reacted quickly this time. In a single motion, he separated himself from the wall, unsheathing his own weapon and cutting down.

Theron appeared in wisps of darkness, one of his eyes having turned into a trailing steam of black fog as though it was still stuck in an abyss somewhere.

He exhaled, matching Jun’s blade with a backhanded grip of his own.

BOOM.

The clash shook the space and tables scattered. At some unknown point, Alpha had appeared right behind Ayame, a bristling crimson aura forming a sphere around them that protected her from the currents.

Theron and Jun both took a step back, but between the two, it was the latter who was the most shocked.

"Just who are you?" Jun asked coldly.

Theron didn’t reply. His smile had long vanished, and the words he wanted to speak had long been said.

He held his dagger forward, his wrist relaxed and his other hand hovering above and across his chest as though it wasn’t sure what to do with itself. And yet, Jun somehow felt a great deal of threat from it.

Seeing that Theron wasn’t replying, Jun’s eyes seemed to dim into a focused state. Any shock, any careless disregard he had was gone.

His story was very true. He had made it incredibly far without ever asking a single thing from his father. The only part of the DiBarr Clan that he benefitted from was the Bloodline and the Resonance, and he planned to take it further than anyone before him ever had.

Not just Jung. But also his father.

A concentrated violet glow formed on his blade and he suddenly pierced forward.

Theron’s forward grip suddenly flipped into a backhanded grip once again in the blink of an eye, parrying the blade upward.

His free hand shot forward and he lightly tapped on Jun’s chest.

Chi.

Jun felt a world of danger and vanished, suddenly taking a hurried several steps back. But the feeling of Theron’s finger touching his chest reverberated through his soul.

"That’s one," Theron said calmly, taking another step forward and vanishing once more.

Jun’s aura flared and a special Profound Truth flooded into the air.

It felt like all Profound Truths Theron ran into nowadays were similar to Resonances of the past. They allowed Mana to flow with greater ease and sharpness, they enhanced control and power, but they didn’t seem to have any real, physical, or tangible strengths to them.

The only thing that differentiated them was whether they were strong or weak.

And as far as Theron was concerned, any Profound Truth that was so bland, uninteresting, and without personal flair or foundation...

Wasn’t truly a Profound Truth at all, now was it?

Jun’s sword thrust forward, carrying with it an extra specialness to it. Theron met it with a thrust of his own, just the slightest bit of his Profound Truth leaking forward.

Chi.

Tip met tip, and blade met blade. A perfect syncing and canceling happened all at once, violet and dark Manas swirling around each other like whips and chains.

The angle of Theron’s blade changed just the slightest bit and a faint cut sliced across Jun’s sleeve. Theron spun and his free hand whipped around.

Jun tried to dodge, but he was still a step slow. No, it almost felt like he was dodging right into the line of Theron’s attack.

Chi.

Theron touched Jun’s chest once again.

"That’s two."

Theron’s body became a mass of shadows as a sword blade cut across where he had just been. It looked as though Jun had successfully cut him in two, but it didn’t feel like it to the heir at all. It was most likely he had swiped at air.

Was he really so predictable?

Theron swung his dagger down again without ever having changed position. The instant Jun’s blade ran through him, he aimed right for it, hitting it down from above and using Jun’s own momentum against him.

His free hand grabbed Jun’s torn sleeve and yanked, tearing it off as he swept a leg at Jun’s ankle.

To Jun’s credit, he flipped right through the air, landing on his feet instead of falling flat to his face. But in return, he got a robe to the face and another pair of fingers right on his chest.

"That’s three."

Jun roared and his violet Mana shredded his robes to pieces. He stood in the middle of the banquet, shirtless. His torso rippled with layers of muscles, but it was clear that because he had never trained the Body Refinement Method of the DiBarr, his body had the aesthetics, but was lacking in the substance.

Theron took another step forward, approaching Jun once more as the latter brandished his sword. But then Jun suddenly abandoned it, punching out.

To Jun’s surprise, Theron’s dagger vanished into his sleeve as though he refused to allow Jun even the slightest disadvantage.

Fists met and the air collapsed. Theron should have been blown back, but it was instead Jun this time that took a heavy two steps backward.

Not long ago, Theron had used the Demon of Urong’s Demon Duke legacy in an attempt to form a clone. Unfortunately...

He failed.

If he had succeeded, his power would have been an order of magnitude better than it was now. However, it wasn’t a complete failure.

For one, Theron had proof of concept. And for two, he had gained an understanding that he didn’t have before. That being how to analyze these Demonic Body Realm Cultivation techniques and feel out their weaknesses.

Theron had tested it against Jung, but ironically enough, it had taken several more exchanges between himself and Jung before he broke the latter down into little tiny pieces.

But Jun... he was far more talented, and yet far easier for Theron to break down. In fact, Jun looked like a toddler right now.

The reason?

Jun had been forced to scrounge for his own Body Refinement Method, and due to that, he had ended up with a Demon Duke’s method. By comparison, Jung had had a Demon Prince’s.

Theron could see which of Jun’s muscles were stronger than the others. He could see which methods of attack he preferred more, and where his weak points lay. It was like he had a map of Jun’s entire body and it was reflecting right in his eyes.

And Jun probably couldn’t believe it.

Unfortunately for him, this was reality.

Soon enough, Theron would get another chance. But for now...

Theron unfurled his fingers, aiming for Jun’s chest again when a sword suddenly appeared in his palm.

Jun’s eyes opened wide as he realized what Theron had been counting...

He had been counting the number of times he could have killed him already.

But then Theron came to a sudden and abrupt stop, a piercing blade having already broken Jun’s skin. Blood trickled down in a waterfall, but Theron wasn’t even looking at Jun anymore.

Instead, he was looking at the person who had appeared on a throne not too far away, a man with an aura so silent that only Theron had noticed his appearance at all.

Demon Prince DiBarr.