Rivers of the Night-Chapter 249: Flash

The shadow hardly had time to be shocked that Theron actually dared to attack him when the first blade appeared before his eyes.

There wasn't enough room to maneuver in the cave. They hadn't had much time to form the tunnels in the first place, so the width was only about three meters or so. As for the lengths, there were many twists and turns in order to form the formation that filtered and controlled the sound.

Due to that, there wasn't even remotely enough room for the shadow to take advantage of his speed. By comparison, Theron's ability to accelerate, decelerate, and change directions was actually far superior.

His body was truly akin to fluid water. He crossed the handful of meters that separated them in the blink of an eye, slashing down with strong might.

The flash of blue forced the shadow to dodge. There was simply no way he would dare to take that blade head on again, not without a weapon that could match it.

Unfortunately for him, he had no idea that Theron had drained half of his Mana for that earlier attack. He had to make certain that he destroyed the shadow's weapon, so he had made his blade exceptionally heavy.

The reason his expression had been so savage was because he was swinging down a weight far beyond his ability to control with ease.

But now, that feeling was imprinted into the shadow's mind. No matter what he did, the fear of what this blade could do would lurk in the back of his mind. Even when he could take it head on, he wouldn't dare to…

That would provide opportunities for Theron's follow-up attacks.

And follow-up they did.

The shadow dodged right into a swift thrust of Theron's dagger. It swung in a vicious uppercut, aiming for the bottom of his jaw.

Cut off, and having nowhere to go, the shadow could only face it, slamming out a palm toward Theron's inner elbow to knock the dagger off course.

A furious exchange suddenly exploded between the two in close quarters. It was clear in an instant that one party had far superior strength, but as though Theron was holding a bomb that would wipe out a mountain in his hand, the avoidance of the short sword was continuously the shadow's downfall.

Whenever it seemed Theron would lose any momentum he had, the flash of blue came, beautiful and sparkling in the depths of the darkness, and yet nothing but a nightmare to the shadow.

At some point, the shadow even began to question if he had been lied to. Was Theron really an Elemental Mancer?

Because Theron wasn't taking a breath to cast any spells, the shadow didn't have a chance to cast anything either.

'He's doing it on purpose.'

The realization overwhelmed the shadow. This young man was walking him down with a vicious intent pointed to only one direction.

Kill.

Suddenly, Theron exhaled, a heated breath coming from him as though his body was overheating.

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A flash of blue came from his eyes, and he cast [Shedding Water Skin]. With another flash, the temperature of the water plummeted. All of a sudden, his body's ability to keep itself cool hit another level.

He took a step to the side, dodging a fist and thrusting his short sword at the shadow's liver.

The shadow twisted out of the way, his eyes widened in shock. Wasn't Theron supposed to not be able to have time to cast just like him? How was this happening?

Taking advantage of his spinning momentum, the shadow shot out a backhanded fist toward Theron's head, only to hit nothing but air.

Theron had leaned back, his pupils darting across as he watched the shadow's knuckles graze against his nose.

Time slowed for him considerably, his Third Eye feeling as though it could grasp onto every little thing.

Theron had realized that while his Water Resonance had reached Manaborn, his ability to apply it to other aspects of his style of combat tended to peel away some of its effectiveness.

The further from pure Water Mancy he got, the weaker his Resonance seemed to become.

But when he settled into a comprehension, when he could feel that part extending from himself as clearly as always… when his movement, his blades, his understanding of other Mancy Paths began to catch up…

The true strength of his Manaborn Water Resonance would begin to rear its head, akin to a dragon awakening from a long slumber.

Theron's dodge seamlessly transitioned into an arch of his torso and a smooth backflip.

He had hardly landed on his feet when a sweeping leg wreathed in shadows came for his head, but his eyes were cold and indifferent to a shocking extent.

There.

Theron landed right in the middle of a peak node of sound. The water that coated his body vibrated all at once; however, the density of his [Shedding Water Skin] trapped it all within.

The blaring sounds made it look as though miniature waves and tsunamis were growing out of his skin, pooling in arcs of blue and rippling Mana.

The shadow was already committed to his attack, and even if he wasn't, he wouldn't understand what was happening.

He, too, was a member of the Sangun Clan. He thought that he had baited Theron into a mistake right now. He would be just fine in that sound node because he knew how to deal with it, but would Theron?

Unfortunately for him, he had no idea that the answer was actually yes.

BOOM!

The leg of the shadow landed against Theron's body, but all at once, the power of the sound waves and Theron's defensive [Shedding Water Skin] pooled together. Just before they reached their peak, [Pressurized Burst] added boiling oil to the fire.

A scream of horror and pain came from the shadow as his leg shattered into a rain of blood.

Theron took a step forward, streaks of blue coming from him as water sparkled down into a wild rain around him.

Chi.

His body accelerated, his father's blade flashing.

He landed behind the shadow, sheathing his blade as the Sangun Clan heir protector fell into a crimson puddle of his own blood.