The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 356: Chapter 351 — Finally

’...talking about women’s panties is priceless wisdom?’

’Of course! You already know everything else! You’re talented, handsome, annoyingly clever, and painfully boring. If I don’t teach you how to enjoy life, who will?’ Demorian’s voice grew increasingly aggrieved. ’And this is how you repay me? Sealing me away in the middle of a lesson? I deserve better, protege! Keep this up and I’ll find someone who appreciates me!’

’We’re bound together. You physically can’t leave.’ Zephyrion paused. ’Now answer my question before I seal you again.’

Demorian immediately began muttering about the injustice of his existence, only stopping when Zephyrion gently began restricting his connection to the rod.

’Alright, alright! Tyrant! Yes, you can advance now!’

For the first time in what felt like forever, Zephyrion’s lips curled into a wide smile.

...

Lumi returned not long after with news of the current situation. After the brief and usual exchange about whether he was alright, Zephyrion began asking his questions.

First, he’d apparently spent more than a day undergoing the reforging process. The others had come looking for him several times, but Lumi had turned them all away.

More importantly, during his absence, all sorts of speculations had begun spreading about Horus’ disappearance. Some claimed he’d fled because he couldn’t handle the pressure and didn’t want to be branded a failure. Others spoke endlessly about conspiracies and cover-ups, each theory seemingly more imaginative than the last.

All in all, Zephyrion was glad to see everyone royally wrong and his plan working exactly as intended.

Still, he’d been cooped up in his room for far too long, and remaining hidden would only draw unnecessary attention. So, Zephyrion decided to show his face.

The moment he appeared in the mess hall for lunch, he was bombarded by cadets wanting to know what he thought had happened.

Through their conversations, Zephyrion was able to confirm that no one truly knew anything. A few speculations landed dangerously close to the truth, particularly those claiming Horus might have been some sort of spy, but he made sure to keep a straight face as he told them how utterly ridiculous that sounded.

Instead, Zephyrion firmly maintained that Horus was one of their own, and until concrete evidence proved otherwise, they shouldn’t disrespect his name by throwing around baseless accusations.

The words quickly silenced the mess hall, with several cadets suddenly looking somewhat guilty about their more imaginative theories.

Satisfied, Zephyrion quietly excused himself and returned to his room.

As he settled on his bed, the first thing he did was bring out the ring he’d taken from Horus and examined it more closely. Now that he knew what to look for, he could clearly sense that it was indeed infused with an entirely different element.

’Void.’

Even thinking the name sent a slight chill through him. An entirely new element that the world wasn’t even aware existed, yet somehow, an entire organization had managed to keep it hidden all this while.

’How the hell do you hide an entire element?’

He was having trouble understanding how that was even possible.

’What do you think?’ Zephyrion asked, staring at the relic.

Demorian remained silent for a moment. When his response finally came, his voice was unusually grim.

’Hard to say. Finished relics usually don’t maintain any connection to whoever created them unless that connection was deliberately built into the source. But with this Void bastard...’

’Confirm it.’

Zephyrion nodded, gripping the rod and forming a connection with it. The world shifted before his eyes as countless runes appeared all around him. He focused his attention on the ring, narrowing his perception onto its source.

Usually, there wasn’t much point in studying the runes of someone with a higher comprehension than his, given that he wouldn’t understand most of what he was looking at.

With Maegorian, he had simply ignored most of the incomprehensible jargon and added his own clause. This time, however, he needed to understand exactly what the runes did. That way, he could ensure there was no hidden connection between the ring and Void.

Fortunately, he had the perfect person to help with that.

’Hmm...’ Demorian frowned as he studied the runes for several moments. ’You’re clear, protege. I don’t see anything strange. Just concealment runes.’

’...good.’

At the very least, that meant he’d gained a valuable relic from the entire ordeal. Zephyrion slipped the ring onto his finger and focused, slowly dipping into the WorldPulse.

A cloak of darkness immediately spread across his body and completely encased him.

Zephyrion looked down at himself. Strangely, he couldn’t see or feel any obvious difference, but there was an instinctive sense that the cloak was working. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wonder for long.

The door opened moments later, and Lumi stepped into the room.

Her eyes swept across the empty bed, then the rest of the room. Her brows immediately furrowed. After another confused glance around, she approached the bed, lifted the sheets and actually looked underneath.

Zephyrion almost laughed.

He released his connection to the ring, and Lumi jolted backward the instant he reappeared. Her eyes widened as she stared at him, then narrowed suspiciously.

She cautiously stepped closer and poked him a few times, seemingly making sure he was actually there. Only after confirming it did she sigh in relief, before immediately fixing him with a furious glare and rapidly signing to demand why he’d done that.

Zephyrion smiled, and after promising not to do it again, Lumi eventually let the matter go and busied herself with something else.

’So that’s it. I can turn the cloak on and off, but I can’t actually control it.’

It made sense. Void was an entirely foreign element to him, so even with the relic in his possession, there was no reason he should suddenly be capable of influencing it himself.

Done with his examination, Zephyrion removed the ring and kept it away, finally turning his attention to what mattered most.

’Finally.’

It was time to become a Herald.