The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 295: Chapter 290 — Casual Challenge

Walking through the hallways, Zephyrion tried to determine his current mood. Strangely, he felt rather light.

The truth was, it was still a mystery to him why he continued helping Tobias. The ward’s talent was mediocre at best, and his fear of blood only worsened the entire matter. Considering Zephyrion’s goals, Tobias seemed like someone who could hardly be of much use to him.

Yet, for some reason, he was still putting this much effort into the ward.

’Have I actually taken a liking to him?’

He sure hoped not. Getting attached to so many people was already enough of a headache; he didn’t need another.

Thinking about it for a moment, Zephyrion eventually arrived at the most likely reason. It probably had something to do with why he had chosen to take in the ward in the first place.

Tobias’ eyes were clear. So clear, in fact, that Zephyrion had only ever seen such eyes in one other person before; Lumi.

In essence, Tobias had the potential to become a fiercely loyal companion. Useless in a sense, yes, but still loyal. And in this world filled with endless manipulation and people carrying their own agendas, having someone so loyal by his side didn’t seem like such a bad thing.

’Why do I even care this much about loyalty?’

It was a question that bothered him. After all, loyalty wasn’t going to help him fulfill his goal.

A moment later, he frowned.

Somehow, the first answer that came to mind frightened him.

’Don’t tell me I actually want... companionship.’

It would mean that somewhere along the way, he had started craving people he could genuinely trust, people he didn’t have to constantly second-guess.

Feeling the sudden heaviness in his head, Zephyrion decided to stop thinking about it.

His steps eventually led him to the top of the wall, where the night winds caught his hair and clothes in a wild dance. Zephyrion closed his eyes, allowing himself to get lost in the vastness of the world before him.

It was intoxicating.

’Soon... all of this will be mine.’

The thought settled deep in his heart, stirring something within him. Like that, he lost himself in the feeling, remaining there for an unknown amount of time.

Nearby, Lumi seemed to have found a way to keep herself occupied. She had formed two small constructs of metal and was now watching them fight, though the absent look in her eyes suggested her mind was somewhere else entirely.

Then, a sharp beep snapped them both out of their thoughts.

Zephyrion opened his eyes to find his rune tab flashing red. Lumi’s remained unaffected, leaving only his.

’Hm? What happened?’

Staring at it, Zephyrion immediately frowned. Written boldly across the tab were the words:

The Eastern Prime, Arcturus Aur Eryndor, has left his fortress.

Tapping his rune tab a few times, the map of the area sprang up, displaying Arcturus’ live location.

’He’s not coming here.’

He wasn’t heading toward the northern fortress either. Though that part of the area was still unclear on the map, Zephyrion quickly realized that his destination was most likely the Western House, led by the Kharadun Prime.

And judging by the speed at which his location was moving, Zephyrion had little doubt that he was traveling alone.

A moment of utter silence passed before the sound of distant booms suddenly reached him.

Zephyrion raised his gaze, peering into the distance. The sounds were coming from the same direction Arcturus had been heading.

There was no doubt about it.

He was facing the Kharadun on his own.

Several moments later, the other head cadets, having heard the distant explosions, also joined him on the wall. After Zephyrion filled them in on what was happening, they all stared into the distance with narrowed eyes as the dull booms continued to shatter the silence of the night.

Far from the southern fortress, Malach and the other northern head cadets had similarly gathered atop their own wall, each silently staring in the direction of the sounds with dark expressions.

Malach, too, had an unreadable look on his face.

The minutes passed in tense silence.

Then, after some time, a feminine voice suddenly echoed through the night, reaching every fortress.

”Prime Rhaena Kharadun has been defeated by Prime Arcturus Aur Eryndor. Henceforth, the western fortress, along with all its cadets, belongs to Prime Arcturus Aur Eryndor.”

Silence engulfed the land.

Malach and the northern head cadets’ expressions immediately darkened. The head cadets in the south were no different, with only Zephyrion appearing utterly unfazed by the announcement.

But they weren’t even given enough time to properly process what had happened before a calm, casual voice cut through the silence.

”Testing, testing... Arcturus here. Everyone can hear me, right?”

Just like the earlier announcement, Arcturus’ voice reached every fortress. All across, cadets stopped whatever they were doing and listened.

”Unfortunately, that crazy bitch ruined my little surprise. I was going to announce it myself.”

The vulgarity coming from a prince caught many of the cadets off guard, but Arcturus clearly didn’t seem to care.

”Well, nothing I can do about it now, I guess. The world’s shitty like that. Anyways, as the bitch so kindly explained, I’ve single-handedly taken over the western fortress. They actually put up a decent fight too. Unfortunately, it still ended up being boring. So, hopefully, you two remaining Primes can entertain me a little better. Hmm... what should I do with you two?”

He went silent for a moment, seemingly thinking.

”I could just come over there, beat both of you, and end this whole thing tonight... but where’s the fun in that? Ah! I’ve decided. Like I did with the western fortress, I’ll give you two days to finish fighting each other. Whoever wins gets to fight me. Yes, that sounds much better. Saves me the trouble of wasting my time on trash too...”

He paused again.

”Alright, it’s settled then. Two days. Any longer than that and I’ll probably get bored and attack anyway, so use them wisely. Ah, right, rank one. Yes, you, Lightning Prince. I’m rooting for you. Make sure you win, alright? I’d rather fight you. You’ll still lose, of course, but at least you’ll have the honor of losing to greatness.”

His voice remained utterly casual, as though he hadn’t just single-handedly defeated an entire fortress and threatened the remaining two.

”Anyways, this has been fun. Ahh... the night sure is cold. Have a good night, folks. Bye-bye.”

The voice vanished.

And only an endless silence followed.