The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 20: Chapter 19 — Consequences

”Urgh! That stupid wrench!”

The Herald spat the words in fury.

”I’ll make her pay!”

Zephyrion heard the grinding of teeth, followed by a sudden silence.

”Who’s there?”

Zephyrion’s eyes constricted.

’He found us.’

The next moment, he felt control over his metal being ripped from his grasp. As it dissolved into the air, Zephyrion’s grim eyes met the Herald’s.

A faint flicker of recognition passed through the man’s gaze.

’He recognized me.’

”What? How are you still alive?”

The Herald’s eyes widened slightly.

”Those idiots... they couldn’t even do one thing right.”

He clicked his tongue and pointed his arm toward Zephyrion. Zephyrion felt Lumi hastily latch onto him as an overwhelming force yanked him downward.

’It’s... too strong.’

Zephyrion clenched his fists, struggling against the force, but it was absolute. His mind burst into motion, calculations unfolding one after another. Scenario after scenario. Test after test.

Yet no matter how many possibilities he ran through, he couldn’t think of anything that could win against a Herald.

’Shit.’

Exhaling slowly, he glanced toward Lumi, whose tiny frame was desperately clinging to him as though her life depended on it.

”Let go.”

Lumi shook her head fervently, tightening her grip instead.

Zephyrion frowned. The force was only acting on him. If she released him now, she could still escape.

Would she truly rather die than let him go?

’She’s crazy.’

As the same strange feeling stirred faintly in his chest again, Zephyrion clenched his fists so tightly that blood began to seep from his palms.

This couldn’t be the end.

There was still too much left undone. Too much he still had to accomplish.

His fingers uncurled slowly as his gaze shifted toward the Herald below.

There was still one thing he could try.

But there would only be a single chance.

’Focus.’

Zephyrion stilled his thoughts, crushing every trace of emotion. His eyes turned cold as he was dragged within reach of the Herald.

”Rotten brat.” The Herald scoffed. ”Gone for seven years and you think you can just walk back in—”

The Herald was about to grab him when the entire mountain suddenly trembled, throwing the man off balance.

Zephyrion felt the invisible hold on him vanish instantly.

His eyes narrowed as he twisted midair, landing in a rough roll across the ground with Lumi beside him.

’What...?’

Before he could gather his thoughts, he felt an urgent tug.

He turned toward Lumi, who was pointing frantically at the ground with wide, panicked eyes.

Zephyrion followed her gesture.

His eyes widened as he saw his body slowly sinking into the ground.

’The mountain...!’

All around him, the mountain began to liquefy as though it were melting. The trembling intensified, echoing through the cavern like the slow rumble of something stirring awake.

Zephyrion felt his heart seize in his chest.

’It couldn’t be...’

He felt an intense glare and looked ahead to see the Herald staring at him fiercely.

”We have to move.”

Zephyrion was about to react when the frantic trembling of the mountain abruptly stopped.

For a brief moment, there was nothing but deafening silence.

Then the mountain erupted in a geyser of liquid metal, launching everything into the sky.

Zephyrion twisted midair, his eyes sweeping across the surroundings as he tried to assess the situation.

Everywhere he looked, the once-solid metal had turned into streams of dripping liquid, leaving nothing stable enough for him to use as a foothold.

Ahead of him, Lumi was signing rapidly, panic on her face.

Zephyrion curled his fists.

His mastery over the air element had only just reached the Seventh Mark of the Touched Rank, the very first stage of power. It was enough to sharpen his perception of the air around him and slightly enhance his speed.

But nowhere near enough to allow him to fly.

The wind slammed against him as he plummeted from the sky. Vessel rank or not, falling from this height would break several bones and cripple his movement.

’That’s not the real problem.’

Zephyrion clenched his fists as a far grimmer thought settled in his mind.

Though a Herald had destroyed the mountain by tearing through it, that was completely different from controlling the metal itself.

There were only two beings powerful enough to move metal created by a Calamity.

A member of the Ten Thrones...

Or the Calamity itself.

”Who dares disturb my slumber?”

An absolute voice rumbled from the depths of the mountain. Zephyrion’s eyes widened as he felt something seize his body.

He halted midair, suspended by an unseen force.

Around him, Lumi, Tobias, and even Selis and the other Herald were frozen in place as well, unable to move even the slightest inch.

All around them, the liquid metal that had surged into the sky began cascading downward, gathering and converging into the shape of a gargantuan serpent whose sheer size eclipsed even the mountain.

’Ferravyr.’

Zephyrion’s throat tightened. It had been so long since anyone had seen Ferravyr that his existence had faded into little more than stories told by Ferran parents to frighten their children into behaving.

As far as Zephyrion knew, no one had ever discovered where the Calamity had vanished to.

To think he had been beneath their feet all this time.

The enormous serpent surged into the sky, gliding through the air like flowing mercury. It tore through the clouds before descending toward them once more.

Just as it seemed about to collide with them, it shifted direction and slowly began circling around them instead.

Ferravyr’s forked tongue flicked through the air as he regarded them.

”Do you realize the consequences of what you’ve done?”

Zephyrion’s gaze sharpened as he finally saw the serpent up close.

Ferravyr possessed the form of a colossal serpent. His large slit-like eyes glowed a faint green. His body was composed entirely of polished metal scales, each one reflecting the world around it like a mirror.

Long white whiskers hung from his jaw like the beard of some ancient being, swaying gently in the air. Two curved metallic horns extended from his head like jagged crowns.

One of the thirteen elemental calamities.

A being that stood equal to the Ten Thrones of the continent.

Ferravyr.

The Metal Calamity.