The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 340: Chapter 335 — Eryndor Rune Art

Zephyrion opened his eyes to find Cassian’s face barely an inch from his own. He instinctively tried to pull back, only to realize that his entire body was locked in place by an overwhelming force.

”You...” Cassian stared directly into his eyes, his expression filled with a strange mixture of confusion and fascination. ”Just what the hell are you?”

”...You know I can’t move, right?”

”I’ve been thinking about it ever since that fight, and it makes no fucking sense.” Cassian continued as though he hadn’t heard him. ”How the hell is your physique stronger than my Arcturus? How do you move like that? And that last art, what the hell even was that? None of it should be possible for someone your age, but you just keep...” His eyes narrowed as he studied Zephyrion’s face.

”Seriously, what the hell are you?”

The fact that neither Kastor nor Garrick had interfered was most likely because they believed Cassian bore no ill will towards him. Which meant...

’So I’m safe.’

Zephyrion calmly met Cassian’s eyes and answered, ”Human.”

”I know you’re human!” Cassian snapped, then suddenly paused. ”Wait...” His expression changed as he stared at Zephyrion more closely. ”...are you? Did those Calderalth bastards somehow get their hands on Ferravry’s sperm too?”

Before Zephyrion could even respond, Cassian shook his head. ”No, no, impossible. You can’t use Calamity Metal.” His brows furrowed even deeper as he continued staring at him. ”Then what the hell is it? How are you like this?”

Zephyrion had already run out of patience. He simply settled for staring at the king with a deadpan expression until, eventually, Cassian scowled and released a deep sigh.

”Alright, alright. Stop looking at me like that. I’m done.”

The force holding Zephyrion in place finally disappeared, allowing him to move again.

”But you know you’re not normal, right?” Cassian asked, still unwilling to let the matter go. Then his eyes narrowed suspiciously, and he leaned closer before lowering his voice to a whisper. ”Just between us... you’re from another planet, aren’t you?”

Zephyrion’s expression remained completely unmoved.

”The rune art.”

Cassian’s scowl deepened, and after staring at him for another moment, he finally sighed in defeat. ”Fine. Be mysterious. See if I care.”

He vanished from Zephyrion’s side and reappeared some distance away, standing in the middle of the vast grassland. At more than six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a powerful frame, the king looked almost like a giant beneath the night sky.

”I still don’t understand this bet, though. What exactly are you supposed to gain from standing there and watching me perform a rune art? Whatever. Not my problem.”

Shrugging, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

”Keep those eyes wide open, Lightning Prince. You’re getting one look, and that’s it.”

Suddenly, Zephyrion felt the air for kilometers around them grow still. The grass stopped swaying, the wind disappeared, and for a moment, it felt as though everything within the entire radius had simply come to a halt.

Then Cassian opened his eyes.

The blackness of his pupils had completely vanished, leaving his eyes entirely white.

”Metal Dance: Momentum.”

A thin blade formed from Cassian’s arm, and he casually swung it through the air. The first swing was fast, the second even faster, and with each one that followed, both the speed and force behind the blade continued to build.

Before long, sharp gales were tearing through the grass around him, the sheer force threatening to send Zephyrion hurtling backwards.

Zephyrion remained rooted in place, his gaze completely fixed on Cassian, unwilling to miss even the slightest movement.

”Metal Dance: Living Arsenal.”

The thin blade suddenly morphed into a spear, then a hammer, a chain, and several other weapons in quick succession, each one flowing seamlessly into the next before eventually returning to a blade. By then, the momentum behind Cassian’s movements had grown so fierce that a massive tornado had formed around him, spiraling high into the sky.

Then, amidst the howling winds, Cassian spoke again.

”Metal Dance: Domain.”

For a single moment, everything stilled.

Then it erupted.

A violent blast of air slammed into Zephyrion, whipping his clothes wildly around him, but he didn’t so much as blink. His attention was completely fixed on the world transforming before his eyes.

The grassland was gone.

In its place, a vast sheet of silver metal stretched across the ground as far as he could see, smooth and gleaming beneath the night sky like an enormous dance floor.

It was incomparable to what Arcturus had done.

And it wasn’t simply the scale. Zephyrion instinctively understood that within this place, the metal itself belonged to Cassian. Even if he tried with everything he had, he doubted he could summon so much as a flicker of Metal aura.

”And there you have it.” Cassian’s voice carried through the Domain, loud and powerful, almost as though some divine being were speaking down to him. His completely white eyes only made the image more convincing.

”The Eryndor Dynasty’s Metal Dance. So?” A faint, proud smile appeared on his face. ”Did you actually gain anything from that?”

Cassian’s smile slowly widened when he saw Zephyrion standing there without moving.

”Oh? What happened? Finally found something that fried that ridiculous brain of yours?”

It was, in fact, too much, though not for the reasons Cassian thought.

Truth was, the Eryndor rune art was unlike anything Zephyrion had ever come across before. With other rune arts, all he had to do was memorize the runes used to form the expression, understand their arrangement, and reproduce it. But this was different. The Eryndor rune art wasn’t simply a collection of runes arranged into a passage. It was more than that.

It was a... song.

And as Zephyrion listened to that song, he felt an almost instinctive urge to dance along with it.

The blackness of his pupils slowly faded, until his eyes turned completely white and his mind slipped into the same trance.

Then, his body moved.

”Metal Dance: Momentum.”

Cassian’s smug smile froze. His eyes widened so violently they looked ready to pop from their sockets.

”WHAT THE FUCK!?”