"Can I help with anything?" Seeing Damian's pale little face, Batman, who had intended to stay hidden, finally stepped out from behind the tree.
"Impossible. This is the most critical step for him. The bloodline allows for no falsification. Transfusing blood to him now would certainly alleviate his symptoms, but as for what the bloodline purification would yield afterward... I couldn't guarantee that."
Thea had sensed his prying eyes when she first fought Ra's al Ghul. This grandfather-father-son trio was quite interesting; outwardly indifferent to one another, but perhaps only they understood the bonds between them.
Batman had no mood for idle chatter, waiting with a face full of anxiety.
"Relax, this magic circle is very safe. Damian is still young; theoretically, the younger the age of bloodline purification, the higher the future achievement. Plus, I'm watching over him. To be honest, this kid's luck is much better than mine was. Who did I have watching over me back then? I had to rely on myself for everything! Your son is already very lucky."
Thea spoke with a mix of comfort and reminder. As expected, hearing that Damian's future achievements would be higher improved Batman's expression considerably. Although he opposed supernatural forces, he neither supported nor opposed his son walking this path.
As for Thea's remark about relying on oneself, he understood. Batman didn't know how much Thea had suffered to gain power, but it must have been difficult and dangerous. Now that Damian had reached this step with almost no effort... his status played a huge role. If he didn't grasp the opportunity right in front of him, he really couldn't blame anyone.
At that moment, Batman stood silently to the side, watching the results with an expression exactly like a parent waiting for their child to finish an exam.
The purification process was quick, ending in less than ten minutes. The light of the magic circle dimmed. Damian looked at Thea with lifeless eyes; he had no strength to speak, but his gaze asked the question directly: Is it done?
Thea scanned with her mental power. Damian's body was weak enough to be blown away by a breeze, but he had taken the most important step of his life—he now possessed a faint wisp of mana.
"Congratulations. The results are good."
"Phew—" Damian let out a breath of turbid air. Unable to hold on any longer, he collapsed to the ground and passed out.
Seeing Batman's urgent expression, Thea knew her part was done. "Take him back to rest well. Have him come find me here in three days to formally begin his studies."
Back at her residence, only then did Thea take out the demon sword. Ignoring the various malicious intents transmitting from the blade, she examined it carefully.
It had to be said, the demons' forging craftsmanship was a notch higher than the gods'. Perhaps the initial forging philosophy was different; this sword was filled with emotions of madness, bloodlust, and brutality.
Those with weak wills truly couldn't use this demon sword. Divine swords, which had lower stats relative to demon swords, didn't restrict their user base as much. From this angle, it was hard to judge which was superior.
Thea didn't care about deep explorations of humanity regarding demon swords versus divine swords right now. In a way, she was very much like Damian—she just wanted power.
She took out the Isis Amulet gifted by the large black woman that day, aimed at the damaged part of the amulet, and stabbed it with the sword.
Massive amounts of pure mana were transmitted into her body through the blade. Thea didn't absorb it directly but transferred the majority of it into the unicorn tattoo.
The two trips through time... the sudden surges and drops in mana had caused great damage to the unicorn. To avoid affecting Thea's combat power, Arthas had borne the backlash of the mana drop alone and hadn't recovered in the two years since.
It wasn't until Thea transferred nearly fifty percent of the mana that Arthas's voice came through intermittently. It was no longer the voice of a youthful beautiful girl, but rather sounded like a cute baby's voice. "That's enough. You absorb the rest."
Only then did Thea begin using the mana to improve herself. After several divine modifications, her body had long surpassed the scope of that day's bloodline purification. Her internal organs had all turned golden yellow, and within her blood was a trickling stream invisible to the naked eye, like a light blue circulatory system running alongside her normal bloodstream.
This light blue liquid was her mana. Now, the mana from the Isis Amulet was pouring into this little river. The color was gradually deepening, the total volume was increasing rapidly, and there seemed to be glimmering light in the river water—symptoms that her mana was about to reach full capacity.
Thea stopped absorbing and pulled out the sword. First, she observed the amulet; its surface appeared even more shattered. Although there would be an estimation error, the amulet could still allow her to absorb from it three or four more times.
"I gained about five or six years' worth of mana," she estimated. Thea casually cast a few spells. She was very experienced with sudden surges in mana. She could adapt to a hundred years of growth before; this was only five or six years, so it wouldn't cause any issues at all.
The amulet's mana was truly abundant. She believed any mortal wearing it could become a peerless mage, but whether that person would still be the original person afterwards... only Heaven knew.
For the first absorption, most of the mana was transmitted by the demon sword to some unknown corner. Thea assumed it was mostly sucked away by those demons, which was within her expectations. She was even happy to see it happen. If that crazy woman Isis wanted to cause trouble, she'd go find Trigon first, right? Just thinking about that scene was truly beautiful!
Of the remaining small portion, Thea shared some with the unicorn, and the rest went to herself. Even this small portion was equivalent to five or six years of her accumulation. It had to be said, the total mana volume of the amulet was truly powerful.
Thea nervously summoned the unicorn. The response was quick; the long-lost unicorn finally appeared at her side again.
The tall steed of the past was gone, and the wings on its ribs were missing. But it wasn't palm-sized like when first summoned; neglecting the horn, the current unicorn was about the size of a two-year-old foal.
"Still cute when you're little!" Thea grinned and played with the unicorn for a while before sending her back to the space to rest. Next time, she wouldn't need to fill Arthas's deficit; all the mana would be used to improve Thea herself. Along with that, the unicorn would grow to adulthood, and Thea's combination skill could be used again.
The Lantern Ring's power was too idealistic. To be honest, Thea didn't like it. When you believed you were strong, you were truly strong; but if your confidence was damaged, you withered immediately. For Thea, who seriously lacked a sense of security, this was a bit unreliable. She needed tangible, reliable power under her own control.
Three days later, after confirming that the unicorn had fully recovered, Thea began the second absorption. With her total capacity increased, the mana she could store per unit of time also increased. This time, she absorbed about ten years' worth, and the color of her mana had transitioned from pale blue to light blue.
Adding it all up, Thea now had a total mana capacity of nearly thirty years. In the glorious age of magic, this level would only count as mid-tier. At the very least, wearing the title of 'Mage So-and-So' would be reasonable and wouldn't attract criticism.