Theron didn't look back a single time. He couldn't afford to. His focus was on putting everything he had into a forward motion.
The confusion of those around him played to his favor, but the focused breath of the Silver Mancer drilling into his ears nearly disoriented him.
His feet stumbled over themselves and he tumbled forward. The ground accelerated into his vision, every moment feeling like it took an eternity as Veinsong played in his mind.
'Focus!'
Maybe the most agitated thought he had had since this culling began rang through his skull. He pulled on the fluid in his ears, shaking his inner ear and dispelling the odd effects.
He rolled forward, not quite understanding what he had just done, but not having the time to consider it.
His shoulder dug into the dirt before him, his feet flipping over his head and landing on the ground with a hard thump. His quads flexed once more and he popped up to his feet, shifting hard and to the right out of the way of a soldier who tried to grab him and rushing out and ahead.
With the density of the forest, there was no real organization out here either, and Theron quickly realized that the trees would be his best chance.
He slammed a palm into a trunk, dodging out the way of another grab, his body practically moving on its own.
In what felt like an eternity to his mind, his foot finally landed on an opposing tree. His toes flexed through his shoes and he gripped at whatever he could, shooting himself upward.
He landed on a branch with deft dexterity, leaping to the next tree.
His blades flashed, slashing at the branches he used. Not enough to cut them clean, but enough that anyone who came after him wouldn't be able to trust their footing.
Every motion he made seemed to be three steps ahead, rumbling thoughts pooling through his mind faster and faster. It almost felt as though the more tired he became, the sharper his brain was.
However, that looming aura was still there. Every hair on his body stood at attention, goosebumps erupting across his skin.
The adrenaline rushed through him; the dance of life and death had never felt clearer to him than in this moment right here.
…
"This is not part of the plan."
On a distant mountain, a pair watched Theron's struggle. Their auras were entirely undetectable, but the cloaks they wore seemed to reveal their identities.
"You want to save him?"
"You want a talent like that to die?"
"There is no such thing as a talent beneath Gold Mancy in my eyes."
"With that mindset, the entire branch will be wiped out under your control."
"So be it."
Silence fell between the two men.
"What's the real reason you're not acting?" the first voice finally broke the silence.
"… Merchant Greycoat."
"Oh? He was the one."
"Yes."
"Mm… I see. And if he survives?"
"He won't."
"I said if he does."
"Raiden will most certainly take this opportunity. The death of his younger brother was odd, and you know he has always been interested in the Merchant Greycoat mission. He is dissatisfied that someone's been allowed to pretend as though he accomplished something no other Bronze Assassin could."
"For someone who says there are no talents beneath Gold Mancy, you sure have a lot of words to say for a Silver Assassin."
The second voice didn't reply as though accepting that he had been caught. However, the same way he didn't say much about Raiden's brother's death… there were exceptions to all rules.
The Guild had their laws, but they could all be bent and twisted. Just the same way they wouldn't see a thing if Raiden really did choose to act this time.
"You didn't answer my question. And if he survives?"
"He won't."
"I said if he does."
"… Then maybe we would have a second Raiden."
The first voice burst into laughter. For an assassin, he truly had no qualms about revealing his position.
"What is so funny?"
The first voice made no attempt to reply, his laughter growing only more boisterous.
…
Huffing and puffing, Theron leapt from tree to tree. The sound of his heartbeat in his ears was no longer nearly as calm. It was erratic, fleeting almost, sometimes firing out rapidly, and then falling into a lull as though it had grown tired.
He knew he had pushed himself too hard. Without Mana to actively circulate and replenish his bodily state, he had stamina not much different from a mortal.
In that state, a short burst of fighting of barely half a minute would be enough to take everything out of him, let alone now that he had been going for over a third of an hour.
The senses of the Silver Mancer were still firmly locked onto him, but for whatever reason, whoever they were hadn't closed in the distance. In Theron's estimation, this was because they were a commanding officer and had no choice but to hold down the fort.
It wasn't as though the Guild didn't have Silver Assassins; they were certainly somewhere.
From what Theron could tell, the Guild was far more prepared for this operation than these attackers were. It was odd to think this when it was their secret base being raided, but Theron trusted his intuition and his deductive reasoning skills.
If they were more prepared, it likely meant that the attackers had no idea that the Silver and above Assassins had most likely already vanished.
In which case…
'This is indeed a culling, but it's also a trap. They're using us as nothing more than a distraction to deal a blow to their enemies at the opportune time.'
Theron's ears twitched.
'Water!'
He knew it was close, but there was something about finally hearing it that filled his body with spirit.
He could make it.
He could definitely make it.
A screeching wind whistled through the sound of Theron's heartbeat.
Theron's heart hit rock bottom.
Metal Mancer.
How had he gotten here?
Theron looked beneath his feet and the answer came to him.
He had just picked the direction he sensed the most Water Mana in, but he didn't consider how the land above ground mapped to the tunnels beneath it.
Now he knew why the Metal Mancer was sent forward as part of the vanguard. Using an Earth Variant Mancer to open up more passageways into the core of the Guild's hideout only made sense.