The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 198: Chapter 194 — Return

”Frost...”

The word froze Zephyrion to the bone.

A single attack had wiped out a Calamity, a creature of incredible power. This level of destruction... it made sense.

The haze was thick, streaming into his nostrils and turning his stomach. His heart twisted.

Frost...

If this was Frost, then he was... close by?

Zephyrion went rigid.

Such a being... a mere Herald wouldn’t even be able to put up a fight. Should he run? Was there even any point? He was Frost. Even if Zephyrion pushed every element to its absolute limit, he wouldn’t take a single step.

Zephyrion heard Demorian’s frantic rambling. He ignored it. Selis was already boring holes into him with her gaze, urging him to leave. He ignored her too.

His mind raced. What could he do? Running wasn’t an option. There had to be something else. Frost... why had he attacked Ferravyr? Had he finally come for him? To finish what he started?

If so, where was he?

Was he watching from a distance? Waiting to see how he would react? It was all a game to him. He was weak. Pathetically weak. He hated this. Hated it so much. Zephyrion felt his pulse hammering in his ears.

A soft hand slipped into his, and he turned to find Lumi staring up at him with concern. It was as though the destruction didn’t exist. Was it because she didn’t understand its implications, or because she simply didn’t care?

It didn’t matter. The touch had brought him from his thoughts. They needed to move.

”Return. Now.”

Zephyrion snapped his gaze upward.

The Head of House Calderalth hovered in the sky, his figure almost blinding beneath the blazing sun. His cold eyes were fixed on the horizon.

Zephyrion felt his pulse spike.

”No...”

He couldn’t. Frost had just erased an entire Calamity with a single attack. Kastor was no match for him. He couldn’t face Frost.

Kastor turned and fixed Selis with a look.

”Take him.”

”Yes, Lord Calderalth.”

Something soft wrapped around Zephyrion’s waist, and the world became a blur. Yet his eyes never left Kastor’s receding figure.

He wanted to shout. To tell him not to fight. To turn back. But his mouth refused to move, his body locked in place.

Kastor vanished from sight, and Zephyrion clenched his fists until blood dripped from his palms.

...

Zephyrion paced across the mansion compound.

Lumi and Tobias stood several meters away. Tobias still looked shaken, his arms trembling even now, while Lumi’s worried gaze followed Zephyrion’s restless pacing.

Selis was gone.

An hour had passed since the incident at Mount Ferravyr, yet nothing had happened. He could still see the towering plumes of devastation in the distance. He’d expected the sounds of battle to reach this place.

No. To shake the entire South. A clash between two of the strongest beings on the continent should have spanned empires.

Yet there was nothing.

Maybe they hadn’t fought. Or...

The battle had ended as quickly as Ferravyr. Demorian hovered silently beside him, grief and rage warring across his face. The Metal Calamity had been his friend. Now he was gone.

Had Kastor died too? His father...

Zephyrion violently shook the thought away and quickened his pace. Stupid thoughts. Distracting thoughts.

He should be thinking about what came next, not this. What happened now? Would Frost come after him? He’d thought he had more time. Clearly, he’d been wrong.

Kastor’s icy face surfaced in his mind again, and Zephyrion’s jaw tightened as he turned toward the mansion gates.

If answers wouldn’t come to him, then he would find them himself. He took a step, then stopped. Someone was approaching. Garrick.

Finally.

Garrick’s face was cold, his eyes intense. A murderous aura seemed to cling to him, as though he’d just stepped off a battlefield.

Still, he flashed Zephyrion a toothy grin.

”I heard what happened. You holding up?”

Zephyrion silently nodded.

Then, after a brief pause, he quietly asked,

”Lord Calderalth?”

He felt his pulse quicken, but kept it from his face.

”Hm? That old bastard?” Garrick snorted. ”He’s fine. Went charging after the idiot responsible and came back empty-handed. And they call him one of the strongest men on the continent. Tch. What a scam.”

”I see...”

Zephyrion felt a tension he hadn’t realized he was carrying ease from his shoulders. He felt relief? Why? He buried the thought the moment it surfaced.

Unfortunately, Garrick dragged it right back out.

”Don’t tell me...” He narrowed his eyes. ”You were actually worried about him?”

Zephyrion simply stared at him.

”Gods above, that look.” Garrick barked out a laugh. ”Relax. I’m joking. Mostly.”

”Anyways, this is serious. Someone, or something, hit a sacred Calderalth site. The entire South is locked down, and Whitesteel’s crawling over every rock and bush in the region. Whoever that bastard is, we’ll find him.”

Zephyrion wasn’t certain whether it was public knowledge that the sacred site had actually been the slumbering Metal Calamity. Regardless, he had no intention of revealing it. Not that he believed it would matter. They would search, but none of them would find Frost.

If someone of that caliber wished to remain hidden, who could possibly stop him?

”Also, we’re not ruling out the possibility that this was aimed at you. So until this blows over, or you leave for the military academy, you’ve got protection.”

Garrick lifted a hand, and Zephyrion immediately felt a familiar gaze settle on him. Selis. Except she was hidden.

An unseen eye would be following his every move from now on.

Garrick stared at him in silence, his eyes searching. Then, as though arriving at a decision, he stepped closer. Zephyrion felt a barrier settle around them.

”Nephew.” Garrick’s voice was unusually serious. He’d never called him that before. His guard rose.

”Listen. Whatever you’ve got buried behind those cold eyes of yours, I don’t care. They’re your secrets, not mine.”

Garrick reached out and gripped his shoulder firmly, holding his gaze.

”But understand this, if things ever get too heavy, you come find me. That’s what uncles are for.”

Zephyrion silently nodded.

”Good.”

Garrick released his shoulder and stepped away.

”Now go get some sleep.”

Zephyrion watched him leave in silence, his expression unreadable.