Rivers of the Night
Chapter 439: Divine Realm

Chapter 439: Divine Realm

“You came.”

It was a simple two words—words that, quite frankly, Theron wasn’t expecting to hear from Malaya of all people. There was no tone of blame, no hatred, no unwilling anger. There was just surprise, as though she well and truly didn’t expect him to.

“Your brother gave me a precious technique,” Theron replied.

Malaya, too weak to stand on her own feet, nodded slowly. The confusion in her gaze that Theron could see cleared up. That made sense.

But she knew Theron—probably better than he had any idea she did. A technique alone wouldn’t have been enough for him to come here, not if he thought he was going to be in any real danger. For him to risk his life on something that wasn’t directly related to his revenge, the technique itself would have to be the nail in his enemy’s coffin.

Somehow… Malaya doubted that.

Slowly, she tried to stand to her feet, but her legs gave way, and she plummeted back down to her knees. The pain of having her legs atrophied away was only more obvious now that she had been set free.

It was then Theron realized that there was actually poison flowing through her veins. No Silver Mancer would atrophy away like this with such ease. The only explanation was that she had been put into this situation by a toxin running through her blood.

Maybe it was already to the point that she would die whether Theron took her out of here or not.

Malaya seemed to know that as well, but she was still trying to stand. When she realized that her legs wouldn’t work, she grabbed at the soil instead, pulling herself forward with her arms. But… they were no less atrophied.

However, together, her palms and knees drove into the ground, her toes curling into it as well as she pushed.

It was slow—agonizingly so—and all the while, Theron stood on the outside, watching this scene.

He didn’t really know what he was feeling, because all there was was that chill, a cool liquid running through his veins and pouring into his heart.

It took her over a half hour to make it to the edge of the formation. In that time, she didn’t stop or slow—it was just one agonizing push after another. Steady, but relentless.

She shuddered as she touched the barrier, feeling that it was blocked by something. But the resistance was relatively weak.

Though Theron had seemed to have just been standing there the entire time, he had been slowly weakening the formation itself—subtly, but truly.

As powerful as Theron was now, his caution toward his own life remained. If he had said it aloud once, then he had said it a million times more in his own head…

He wasn’t living for himself.

His thoughts, his actions, his life itself—weren’t his own. How could he be reckless with it?

Her arm slipped through, her body tumbling forward.

Theron caught it, his fingers feeling as though they were wrapping right around her bone.

“Thank… you…” she said softly.

“Don’t thank me,” Theron replied.

He removed his robes, revealing the flexible inner armor beneath, shimmering with silvery blue lights. Judging by its look, it seemed a lot more like the undergarments of a noble who wasted his money like pissing water than it did something that could actually protect him. It even felt soft to the touch.

He helped Malaya onto his back, using his robes to tie her to him. He was well aware that there was no way she would have the strength to hold onto him herself.

Once she was secured, he turned to leave. It was almost as though he hadn’t heard the two pairs of feet landing on the ground behind him.

Ancestor Thistle and Ancestor Nightingale had been there from the very start. And yet, they never once attacked, even though they could have. It was the sort of open scheme that was all too obvious.

It was clear that they had grown cautious of him enough that they wanted to use Malaya as a handicap. Compared to their lifespans, what was waiting an extra half hour worth?

Even if Malaya left, she was already as good as dead. At most, she would live for another three days—less if Theron jostled her around too much.

As for Theron, he had just gained baggage. While Malaya’s weight was nothing to someone as powerful as him, he had suddenly gained a far larger area to defend, while also having to be cautious about touching speeds she couldn’t handle.

He could, of course, lay her down somewhere. But then he would have to worry about the residual impact of the battle, the ambient volatile Mana—not to mention their more direct attempts at sneak attacking her.

Ultimately, keeping her close was the far better option… especially since their cultivation should be beyond what he could even fathom. All things considered, none of this should be necessary for them to deal with him. However… their years of experience taught them that it was better to be more cautious with this boy than less.

Now, it was time to close in the net.

Theron stood there, still not looking back toward them. His breathing was even, his hands lightly gracing his sheathed swords by their hilts. And then he closed his eyes.

There was something about these Divine Realm experts that transcended Gold Mancy by not just a small measure, even though it didn’t feel like a new realm at all.

It was also like they were to the Gold Mancy Realm what Theron was to the Silver Mancy Realm.

Yet, the boost they got from being a half step away from whatever realm they were going toward was far beyond anything Theron experienced as a Quasi Gold Mancer.

It almost felt like… they were tapping into a realm of Mana that made their previous poor foundations meaningless—like they had transcended the need for Laws or their original Mancy Paths…

Like they were controlling the world itself.

SHIIIIIING.

Theron suddenly moved.