Sadie shuddered, her body snapping out of its odd, foggy state. The bullets of water slapped against her, shredding through clothing and skin alike.
Theron was already upon her.
He had a very good guess that Sadie was above the Bronze Core level. If that was the case, the quality of her body—even if she wasn’t a defensive specialist—wasn’t something that the likes of [Water Bullet] could damage to the point of death.
“Theron!” Sadie tried to speak again, but Theron’s blade was faster, his eyes only growing colder.
She hurried to block, but Theron’s short sword followed up, slashing at her side.
A cry of pain came from Sadie, Theron’s relentless barrage hitting paydirt.
She seemed to realize at that moment that Theron wasn’t going to let her go easily. But for whatever reason, her Dark Mana also wasn’t coming forth in the way Theron thought it would. Instead, the necklace on her neck pulsed, a light of wind wrapping around her.
The moment she made this decision, Sadie’s expression changed completely. There was a sharpness to her that completely suppressed the innocent little girl. It didn’t feel like Theron was standing before a peer a year or two younger than himself. Instead, it felt like he was standing against an equal who could take his life at any time.
She held a single blade across her body, her figure becoming skinny as she held it out with one hand. The slim, needle-like blade danced, countering Theron’s third strike despite coming later.
Seeing that Sadie had recovered so quickly, Theron didn’t allow her to extend the distance. A [Bursting Water Shield] appeared at her back, fusing together from what remained of the two spheres of water he had sent forward.
As she tried to agilely increase the distance, it burst against her, the Wind Mana she was controlling so deftly going out of control as the Water Mana suffocated it.
Usually, this wouldn’t be possible. But Theron had already seen through the fact that the activation of the necklace was a lot like a technique.
It could be interrupted.
PUCHI!
Theron’s blade tore through the quad of Sadie’s injured leg. Her eyes flashed with pain and another emotion.
Shock.
Maybe she hadn’t expected to be outmaneuvered when she chose to go all out.
The pain made her legs buckle. As strong and sudden as Theron’s attack was, it wasn’t able to cut all the way through her muscle—her body was far too sturdy. But it was enough to make her limp even more pronounced.
She had done well in hiding her injury before, but this time she couldn’t, even if she wanted to.
Her lead leg became a liability, and her one-handed sword style suffered because of it as Theron only grew more fluid, more vicious.
With a thought, his Mana reached out toward the water bursting in the surroundings. Every action led to another, so swift and seamless that Sadie was completely unable to react.
One wrong step led to another, and then another.
[Touch of Mirage].
Sadie’s eyes blurred, with Theron becoming several figures before her eyes. She couldn’t see through which was which.
In that moment, she dug deep, touching something inside of her to activate Third Eye.
But how could Theron not be ready for this? He had been aware from the start that she wasn’t at Bronze Core. If she was at Silver Core, then it was only natural that she had already formed Third Eye.
He was ready for it.
He wouldn’t be so foolish as to use a technique that was worthless against Silver Mancers without reason.
It was nothing more than a distraction.
There was no way that [Bursting Water Shield] could disrupt a real Third Eye. He didn’t even try. Instead, the last sphere of water behind him warped and changed, becoming a concentrated bullet of Water Mana.
A violent, whirlpool-like circulation churned through Theron’s body as he pushed [Water Bullet] to the limit.
The technique was simple, as simple as it got. Its purpose was singular: increasing the density and piercing power of water.
And at that moment, when Theron raised his short sword high into the air, masking himself in a heavy mist that Sadie was quickly seeing through, he coated his blade with it.
All of his intent was focused on a single word.
Sharpness.
More.
More.
More.
He pushed his Mana to the absolute limit, sinking into Veinsong. His body hummed and thrummed. At that moment, the water seemed to obey, with whatever resistance it had against him vanishing in a wisp of smoke.
He unleashed a roar, his focused intention swinging down the instant Sadie managed to pick him out of the crowd of illusions.
She was powerful, but her mistake was obvious. Continuing to suppress herself after the battle began was a mistake.
For the second time that day, Sadie felt her life flash before her eyes. This time, Theron had the time to coat his blade in Mana, using a technique she had simply never seen or heard of before. She had never even heard whispers of Water Mana carrying such momentum before.
But more importantly than that, it was impossible for her to use the same trick to escape again… not when his Mana would disrupt any attempt.
Her eyes flashed with a heavy sadness.
‘Theron… why…’
She didn’t even have time to voice the words before the blade descended.
BOOM!
Theron didn’t see what happened, but he felt it. The blow to his chest overturned his entire world. He was completely turned inside out, his ribs shattering, his inner organs ignited with a spark that nearly torched them all black.
He landed heavily on the ground meters away, his body twitching as sparks of lightning arced across his blackening skin.
A young man landed in front of Sadie with a flash of dancing gold.
“Are you alright, princess?” he asked lightly.
“Raiden…” Sadie spoke, a hint of shock in her voice.