[Big thanks to RolaySaltT20]
Thessa wouldn’t even know how to describe what happened. It was like from the start she never stood a chance.
The judge’s call fell and her sword was already at the ready, blazing with flames. But Theron only took a single step before he vanished behind a wide wall of water.
She didn’t know if it was on purpose or not, but the reflections and refractions in the water screen made it look like he had split into four people. Without Third Eye, it was impossible for her to tell which was the real one, so she launched a powerful attack to shatter it.
In the instant she made the decision, she regretted it. Three [Water Bullets] had curved around her blind spots, and she had been so focused on figuring which was the real Theron that she almost hadn’t noticed.
Having poured out a large amount of Mana to ensure she could shatter the screen before Theron got close, she was forced to use her blade alone to parry the bullets. But because of that, she didn’t feel that the diversions they took while gliding along her blade were off.
They all landed in the same puddle behind her.
And it was then that maybe the most shocking thing happened.
Thessa had never considered that [Bursting Water Shield] wasn’t an illusion method, but rather a defensive technique. Changing the reflections in the water like that required a level of control she couldn’t fathom. It wasn’t something that the Consummate Barrier alone could explain.
It was something that would only work on Bronze Cores, but that was precisely why it was so shocking. He had casually manipulated the technique to suit the battle he was in currently, uncaring for anything else.
And he had done it as easily as breathing.
This alone was already shocking enough.
But taking control of spent Mana, reaffirming one’s connection with it after it had splashed away, and then using that very same Mana to form a new spell to cast?
That was something that she could only do because she was a Spirit Mancer. It was because she had Spirit Mana that she could control even the spent embers of her flames as though they were extensions of her body. And technically, it was because the flames went out, not her Spirit Mana itself, that she could do that.
That wasn’t something Theron should be able to do.
Something like taking the Mana from three [Water Bullets] and pooling them together to form [Water Wrap] right in the middle of battle was impossible.
She wasn’t a fool, nor had she lost her head. How could she ignore the [Water Bullets] that fell behind her so easily if she thought it was possible they could be a threat? At the very least, she would rush forward to avoid them.
The thought simply never crossed her mind.
In the very same instant her blade of fire was swallowed up by [Bursting Water Shield] and split into countless streams of flames like meteors falling from the skies, she felt it wrap around her ankle.
Theron burst through her attack, unblemished, and appeared before her as she was flipped through the air, her body flailing.
From start to finish, she didn’t even get the chance to gather Mana for a second attack, too obsessed with trying to use the Mana Theron had dispersed with [Bursting Water Shield] to attack him from the back and catch him off guard like she had with Thralix.
It was useless.
The scent of death filled her head and she felt a blade slice across her neck. Those chilling eyes were the last thing she saw…
Until a fist appeared and smashed against her fair little nose. Her beauty collapsed and distorted, a feeling of humiliation and pain causing her eyes to water as her skull practically deformed beneath the blow.
As poor as the bodies of Elemental Mancers were, the bodies of Spirit Mancers weren’t that much better, if at all. Only those that followed specific unique paths would be able to shore up that weakness…
And Thessa certainly wasn’t one of them.
She was sent flying off the stage.
Three moves were all it took. Even if you counted the [Water Bullet] morphing into [Water Wrap] as two, it was still just four.
It was a complete dismantling.
Blood trickled down Thessa’s neck and collarbone, not coming from her nose or broken row of teeth, but rather from the blade that had almost run across her neck. ᚱаΝ𝘖𝐁Ê𝙎
Theron stood on the stage for a few short breaths before he exhaled and turned to leave.
He had almost killed her. He had really thought about it. And unlike with her pitiful attempt against Thralix, he could have succeeded.
He truly didn’t care about what others said about him. But mentioning his parents…
The chilliness in the depths of his eyes deepened. A frosty cold was drawn into his necklace silently before the crowd erupted once again.
But by then, Theron had already long vanished.
…
A shadow flashed by and picked the princess consort up, quickly vanishing into the distance. It looked down at the wound on Thessa’s neck, a tremor erupting in its heart.
Just a moment of carelessness was enough to decide far too much…
**
Sadie stood on a viewing platform high above the arena, her head covered in a cloak as she exhaled a breath. She had really thought that Theron would kill Thessa. But…
Her eyes dimmed. She wasn’t sure what to think these days anymore.
“He is dangerous, princess.”
“He is useful,” Sadie said calmly. “Daggers of the Night hasn’t been under our full control in too long. He can change things.”
“He can never be trusted. You will just replace one problem with another.”
Sadie didn’t reply for a long while.
“What have you found out about what happened to his family?”
“… You know that for your father to suppress such a thing, it is beyond our means.”
“Is it beyond our means? Or is the time just too sensitive for him to stick his neck out?”
“This servant is not at liberty to speculate. I only think that if we should rely on anyone to corral Daggers of the Night, it should be princess.”
“I will,” she said as though it was only a matter of fact. “But the Gale Lineage is my ultimate goal.”
After some thought, she pulled the necklace she wore off of her neck and handed it to the servant.
“Princess?”
“It has nothing to do with Wind Mancy. I must keep looking.”