Rivers of the Night-Chapter 845: Contingency

Capítulo 845: Contingency

Theron landed softly on the ground as Jun’s head rolled to a slow stop. The latter’s eyes were opened wide. Until the blade cut into his flesh, he hadn’t even noticed that there was any danger at all.

The fact he could open his eyes, though, showed that Theron was still far too weak. It meant that Jun had had the time to sense the pain in his neck and open his eyes in an attempt to react. He had still been too slow in the end, but the fact he died with his eyes open even though he had been in meditation when Theron arrived said everything that needed to be said.

His reaction time was much faster than the swing of Theron’s blade. Had Theron made even the slightest mistake, he would have woken up.

This didn’t sound like a big deal since Theron had already defeated Jun once before, but it was.

There was someone else who was well aware that Theron had defeated Jun before, and that was none other than the latter’s Demon Prince father. Yet Demon Prince DiBarr had still sent Jun here.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out why.

Demon Prince DiBarr must have given Jun something quite substantial to rely on.

Now, given Jun’s pride and his hatred for his father, it was a toss-up as to whether or not he would actually use it. However, once again, no one knew this better than his father.

It was likely an item that Jun didn’t even have to consciously activate, which was why Theron had to be so silent and fast. And by the time the object registered that Jun was dead…

It would already be too late.

Silence washed over the forest, but the item Theron was waiting for didn’t appear. He thought that it might activate immediately, but he wasn’t surprised that it didn’t.

Theron’s understanding of the world was exceptional by now—in theory.

He didn’t know all the names of Mana Herbs, and he couldn’t name every single Mana Method there was. However, what he could do was deduce what was possible and understand how things functioned.

It was why he knew he could destroy the Blood Sampling Stone despite the fact he had only learned of its existence that day.

And it was also why he knew that the item Jun had on hand—if it didn’t appear by now—likely relied on a living soul to function. And unfortunately for Jun…

His soul was no longer among the living.

Theron turned toward Jun’s corpse and pulled the spatial ring off his finger. As expected, it was protected by both Bloodline and other formation methods.

It took Theron six minutes to crack it, his eyes flickering with a gold light.

As expected, the formation was left behind by Demon Prince DiBarr. On the surface, it was drawn by Jun, but the Demon Prince had secretly added a deeper layer of protection.

It was clever. Just not clever enough.

Theron had spent the last near two years using the Karma Needle and Thread to decipher the formations of natural treasures in the world, deducing the use of Mana Herbs and other such things through the runes and Karma that formed them alone.

It could be said that compared to Mother Nature, the formations of man were… very much lacking.

‘There it is. I didn’t expect there to be so many of them.’

Seven. That was the number of Demon Body Method tablets there were in Jun’s ring.

This was the real reason Theron had killed Jun. But what Theron didn’t expect was…

‘Is that… a Demon King tablet? How did Jun get his hands on something like that?’

Theron’s gaze flickered.

The gap between every level of Demon Noble was enormous. Jun didn’t even have a full assortment of Demon Prince abilities because of his falling out with his father; how would he have the item of a Demon King?

Theron’s nose wrinkled.

‘This tablet… the Demon inside of it has a very similar aura to the poison of the DiBarr Clan? They’re related…’

Theron’s frown deepened.

Was the DiBarr Clan actually a Demon King Clan?

No, that didn’t make sense. Jun was quite arrogant. If this was directly related to the DiBarr Clan, unless Jun was forced to take it, he wouldn’t have it.

But Demon Prince DiBarr wasn’t exactly the sacrificial sort of father. A Demon King Tablet would be invaluable to him as well if he wanted to become a Demon King. Why would he give it to the son who would kill him if he had the chance?

Theron took the tablet out. It felt heavy in his hand, a wafting, dense scent of…

‘Death. It’s death.’

Theron grinned from ear to ear.

He slotted this peculiarity in the back of his mind. Right now, the details didn’t matter.

Demon Prince DiBarr probably had other contingency plans outside of Jun. He would have to be ready to deal with those.

But if he could successfully form a Clone like Alpha…

His strength would instantly reach an unfathomable level.

‘Time to return.’

Theron was about to leave when he paused. His thoughts of Alpha made him drift back to Jun’s body again.

Alpha should have been so much more powerful, but his Resonance was holding him back. [Entangling Clone] was the only reason he could keep up.

Theron had killed plenty of Demon Corps members with Alpha, but none at Jun’s level.

The path to improving Alpha could be within the Heaven’s Gate, but would Alpha even be able to enter with him? Or would he constantly be burning blood?

‘Let’s see.’

Theron took Jun’s corpse and head with him, then began to rush back to the encampment.

…

Theron was lost in thought as he returned, the memories of Alpha’s sorry state just moments ago making his blood boil. He really needed to figure out a way.

That was when the scream entered his ears.

Theron’s eyes opened wide. ‘Ayame.’