Ruu didn't reply, still on full alert. She had already lost to Theron when he was a mere Bronze Mancer. Right now, she had even less confidence—especially after seeing his battles today.
She had only recently touched the boundary of Second Silver Resonance. But even if she had just touched the Fourth, she wasn't as foolish as Rowan. She knew a man who wasn't even remotely trying his best when she saw him.
Somehow, Theron had been able to track her all the way here without her even noticing. She didn't even understand how this alone was possible. But what she did know was what it meant.
To say that she had been cautious in sneaking out to make it here was an understatement. Staying in character for so long was a heavy drain on the mind. If she didn't decompress and relax, she would end up slipping up at the worst time.
Theron took advantage of this.
She took a breath and exhaled.
"What do you want to talk about?" she finally broke after Theron just stood there, still looking at her as though he could stay still till the end of time itself.
The last time Theron helped her complete her mission, she had already felt that something was off. Would someone as smart as Theron really make the mistake of thinking that the guild would come after him for someone as insignificant as her?
But she chose to accept it because just because someone was smart didn't mean that they had a perfect understanding of all topics.
This follow-up, though… it broke all her previous suspicions free.
"I'm curious about what it is."
"I'm not at liberty to disclose that. I will die. At that point, I will be of no use to you."
"It's fine. I have my own guesses. You only have to either confirm or deny."
Ruu didn't even know how to react to these words. How could he guess something like that?
"You were by the side of the Bordeaux. I doubt that's for the sake of killing him, or else you wouldn't appear so publicly. Once he died, you would be the obvious choice.
"That means that your target is either someone higher up on the food chain that he happens to be a ladder to, or you need to access something through him.
"The issue is that you're too weak. You can guarantee the death of a First Silver Resonance existence, probably a Second as well depending on how much setup you use, but a Third Silver Resonance Mancer like Bordeaux is beyond you—so you certainly can't be targeting someone even higher up the food chain than him.
"Obviously, then, you're on a reconnaissance mission. On the rarer side, but not impossible either. Your disguise methods are good enough to pull it off for sure. So then the question becomes: what purpose do you have?
"At that point, the answer is pretty clear. This is no doubt related to your previous mission. I've been to the Luminescent Moon Sect already. In fact, I've become one of their Chosen, so I understand more about these things than you think. That leaves the final conclusion as…"
Theron's lip curled into a gentle smile.
"… You're here to find out how much the Obsidian Eclipse Sect knows about the Luminescent Sect's methods and how much Beifong might have already handed over to them."
Ruu's pupils trembled.
Was this the full story? No.
Was it damned close? So close she felt all her hairs standing up. Had she really revealed so much from a simple action alone?
"… What do you want from me?"
"I think that we can work together."
"The Luminescent Moon Sect is in a bit of a bind right now. I only just became a Chosen, but I realized that this isn't nearly as prestigious a position as I thought it would be. There are too many powers at play, I feel suffocated. So I want to do something about it."
"… Why don't you just join the Obsidian Eclipse Sect, then?"
"And die in my sleep without knowing how? The easiest path to rising up as a commoner is the academic stream, and I'm already on it. The Obsidian Eclipse Sect chews people up and spits them out without any remorse."
Ruu remained silent, not having a response to this. Theron wasn't lying.
"But your mission provides a unique opportunity. If the people targeting the Luminescent Moon Sect think that the Obsidian Eclipse Sect has more than they do, then their target will change and I'll have more breathing room."
"… You want me to lie? You're just asking me to die again. You might as well kill me now. It'll probably be less painful than whatever the guild comes up with."
"Am I asking you to lie? I guess you could look at it like that. But I could also be giving you an opportunity."
The thought of the old woman made Ruu's skin crawl. She couldn't wait until she was strong enough to pluck that old hag's head off her shoulders. But until then, she had to be patient.
"I'll give you a method of the Luminescent Moon Sect. One of the very methods that got you in this position to begin with. How about it?"
Ruu stared at Theron for a long while.
"… You are playing a very dangerous game."
The smile on Theron's face faded, replaced by a cold, striking indifference. The chilling orbs that hovered in his eyes seemed to pierce right through her.
"You can either choose to play this game, or you can die right now. Which will it be?"
"I choose to play," Ruu said equally calmly.
It was the response that Theron had always expected. There was no real loyalty in the guild. Every assassin was out for themselves. Who cared if she had to lie if she could get away with it?
But… she also knew that there was a deep abyss staring at her from below.