Theron landed on the ground lightly, his blue eyes frighteningly cold in the depths of the night.
He looked down at his hand, a searing pain creeping up his spine. The sword he was holding now wasn't his at all. It was Thessa's.
The strength he would need to employ to cut off the head of a Ninth Resonance Bronze Mancer would definitely expose the fact it was a Water Mancer that acted here, and he couldn't afford that.
Luckily for him, Thessa had poured a large amount of Fire Mana into her blade to deal with the grey rhino.
Unluckily for him, he was suffering severe burns to his hand now. Hiding this until it healed would be a problem.
Theron quickly moved to the stream and began to use Water Mancy to pull the heat out of his hand. Dealing with Ninth Resonance Fire Mana, even with a type advantage, was extraordinarily difficult. But he had also come prepared for this.
Once he was finished, he began to clean up the battlefield. It was only after he was satisfied that he turned to leave.
Tonight seemed simple, but it was all a matter of preparation. As for where it stemmed from, it was a result of a simple slip-up on Little Sadie's part.
When Theron first met Thessa and the others, Sadie had tried to introduce Thessa, only to be cut off by the young woman. But Theron had heard more than enough.
Back then, Little Sadie had tried to introduce Thessa as her brother's… something. Theron never learned exactly what that was, but it wasn't hard to guess.
What was more interesting was why Thessa wouldn't want others to know. Obviously, her relationship with the family wasn't bad; otherwise, she wouldn't be hanging out with her little sister-in-law-to-be in her free time. She had no obligation to do so, and if she wasn't a fan of the coming marriage, spending time with her family-to-be would be at the bottom of her priority list.
Then there was the next oddity.
Thessa was a half-step into Silver Mancy already. Theron had already sensed this before tonight, and her actions tonight only further proved that.
So, why was she in a team with two weaklings like Soren and Teagan?
Theron prided himself on knowing information about practically everyone he interacted with. But he knew absolutely nothing about Sadie's family.
If he could figure out so much about so many people, and yet be stonewalled by this quite frankly naive little girl with loose lips, it only meant one of two things.
Either her family was supremely powerful or supremely secretive. Such a family had to be at the Marquisette level at the worst, or involved in an organization like Daggers of the Night.
Though Theron didn't outright dismiss the latter, often the simplest answer was the correct one.
In which case, if there was a power struggle ongoing, and suddenly a high-priority target hiding their identity and true abilities appeared, what would the result be?
Theron made a guess, and he was correct. Taking out Thessa was indeed one of the goals of the Thistles, and today they had failed.
Of course, there was a lot of reconnaissance involved in this. These last few days, Theron had done what he did best and gathered a lot of information on his own. Though, he had to admit that with an ally like Little Sadie, it was all too easy.
This was more than just a blessing in disguise for Theron. In fact, he had no plans on handing in this mission to Daggers of the Night.
The looming danger that was the secrets intertwining Merchant Greycoat were still hanging over his head. How could he so easily get himself involved again?
The good news was that since Yonowai died, he shouldn't suffer a penalty from the organization for failure. Now, he could sit back and watch what sort of clashes happened between two powerhouse Clans.
'The Dean is Yonowai's father… let's see how he reacts.'
…
Theron slipped back into the theater as though nothing at all had happened. The gloves he was wearing earlier had slipped back onto his hands seamlessly, covering his burns.
He came back to find that Malaya was half asleep. He had purposely chosen a long-running play. Usually, it was a two-day one, but it was cheaper on the weekdays and crammed into a single sitting as a result.
In Theron's opinion, it should probably be more expensive because of that and the pressure it put on the performers. But fairness wasn't something the world was known for.
In the end, he had to shake Malaya awake when the play ended.
The poor girl was a bit embarrassed as she wiped her drool away, blushing profusely and apologizing even more so for wasting Theron's money.
Theron only smiled lightly and said that it was fine. It was his fault for picking such a late show anyway.
"Theron, I…"
Malaya fidgeted, not knowing what to do with herself. She had resolved herself to say the words this time, but after falling asleep, she felt bad doing so.
"It's okay." Theron said with a smile. "I know you don't like me very much. I'm just happy you gave me these two dates. I'll remember them. I hope you can find your happiness elsewhere."
Malaya froze.
"Ah, we're here." Theron said softly. "You have a nice night, Malaya. I won't bother you anymore."
With that, Theron walked off, vanishing around the corner in a few steps after leaving Malaya to the girls' dorms.
Malaya didn't know why, but she felt herself trembling as Theron disappeared. She wanted to say a million times that that wasn't what she meant, but it was already much too late now.
Tears fell from her eyes, gliding down her cheeks.
…
Theron rounded the corner, the calmness in his eyes belying the letdown he had just experienced.
'I need to break into the Fifth Resonance as quickly as possible. My cultivation… is too slow.'
As he vanished into the night, a storm was brewing.
Soon, news that the son of the newly appointed Dean was dead would spread far and wide.