The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 391: Chapter 386 — Planned

’Hmm...’

Zephyrion reached up to touch the wound on his forehead, then lowered his hand and examined the blood staining his fingers.

’So we’re about evenly matched in strength. Interesting...’

While his tempered body seemed capable of keeping up with the alpha’s, his overall metal power was still inferior. Without Demorian’s rod, he doubted he’d even be able to cut through the beast’s hide.

’No point wasting time on this thing.’

Zephyrion turned his attention towards the last pillar. Once that was destroyed, he could unleash Cataclysm and bring the entire cavern crashing down.

However, he had barely taken a step when a furious roar tore through the cavern, scattering the dust and debris hanging in the air and revealing the alpha’s figure. Purple blood trickled down its forehead, and the excitement that had previously filled its eyes was now completely gone, replaced by unbridled fury.

Suddenly, several dozen Gravemaws broke away from their assault on Possum and rushed towards the last pillar, surrounding it with their bodies.

”Tch...” Zephyrion clicked his tongue in annoyance. To think the damn beast was intelligent enough to figure out what he was planning.

Roar!

The alpha suddenly lunged at him, its claws enveloped in a dense layer of gravitational force. Zephyrion immediately raised his blade to meet the attack, and a shower of sparks erupted as their weapons collided.

But the next moment, his eyes narrowed.

’Where’d it go?’

The alpha had vanished right before his eyes. Zephyrion hurriedly swept his gaze across the surroundings, only to feel a sudden sense of danger coming from above. He immediately concentrated his metal aura overhead and looked up, just in time to see the alpha plummeting towards him.

Bam!

An overwhelming force slammed into Zephyrion, causing his knees to buckle as he struggled to withstand the impact. He gritted his teeth so hard they threatened to crack, and just as he was about to push back, the alpha suddenly vanished again.

The abrupt disappearance of the weight bearing down on him caused Zephyrion to spring upright, but he had no time to regain his balance before he was frantically searching for the beast once more.

’There!’

He spun to his right and hurriedly braced himself, barely managing to withstand another devastating charge that forced him to stagger backward.

But before he could retaliate, the alpha vanished again.

This time, Zephyrion reacted almost instinctively, twisting his body around and bringing up his blade just in time to intercept another attack. Sparks flew as they clashed, but the alpha disappeared yet again before he could land a counterattack.

Zephyrion narrowed his eyes.

’So that’s how it’s doing it. Slowing me down with gravity while making itself heavier and faster.’

At this rate, he would be completely overwhelmed before he even had a chance to fight back.

He couldn’t let this go on.

’Let’s see how you like this.’

A sudden shiver ran down his spine, and Zephyrion spun around, barely catching sight of the alpha as it came hurtling towards him.

”Magnetic Field.”

An invisible wave spread out from his body, enveloping the alpha and abruptly halting its charge. Zephyrion could feel the beast’s power pushing back against his control, threatening to overwhelm it at any moment, but a moment was all he needed.

”You’re not the only one who can play with gravity.”

He stomped forward, shattering the ground beneath his feet as steam erupted from his pores.

”Overdrive.”

His fist met the alpha’s neck with a deafening boom, sending several concentric shockwaves rippling. The beast let out a pained roar, purple blood spraying from its maw as it was sent hurtling backward.

’Good. Now, the pillar—’

But before he could even finish the thought, the alpha twisted its body in midair and came to an abrupt halt, glaring at him furiously. Blood trickled from its maw, but otherwise, the beast seemed completely fine, its eyes burning with hatred.

’Seriously? Didn’t even buy a second?’

He couldn’t destroy the pillar. Not while the alpha was still standing.

ROAR!

The alpha suddenly unleashed a thunderous roar, causing the entire cavern to tremble as the surrounding gravity went haywire. Chunks of rock and debris were ripped from the ground, flying erratically through the air before swirling around the beast like a violent storm. The pressure bearing down on Zephyrion intensified to an absurd degree, forcing him to exert every ounce of strength he had just to remain standing.

Zephyrion lowered his stance and tightened his grip on his blade, his expression growing increasingly solemn.

’Fine. I’ll deal with you first.’

Suddenly, several Gravemaws were sent flying across the cavern, crashing violently into the surrounding walls.

”You arrogant bastard!”

Possum emerged from a sea of mangled corpses, glaring at the alpha with undisguised fury. The remaining Gravemaws around him hesitated, keeping their distance as they watched him warily.

”You dare ignore me!? Me!? You filthy, overgrown mutt!”

Steam was pouring from Possum’s body in such enormous quantities that it had practically formed a sea around him.

”You think that bastard’s stronger than me, huh!? Is that it!? You stupid beast! I’ll show you what real strength looks like!”

”OVERDRIVE!”

He suddenly blasted forward, leaving a violent trail of steam in his wake as he appeared before the alpha.

”I’LL KILL YOU!”

But the alpha barely spared him a glance before an overwhelming surge of gravity erupted from its body, slamming into Possum and sending him flying backward.

”W-what!?” Possum’s eyes widened in disbelief.

But before he could even recover, the alpha’s claw tore through the air and pierced straight through his midsection, bursting out of his back in a spray of blood.

”H-how... how is this possible...?”

Possum stared down at the claw protruding from his body, his expression gradually shifting from disbelief to horror. He slowly raised his head, only to meet the alpha’s cold, indifferent gaze, sending a chill down his spine.

Bang!

The final pillar shattered beneath Zephyrion’s charge. He hadn’t wasted even a moment, having made his move the instant Possum began shouting at the alpha.

’Finally. That’s the last one.’

He turned around and found his unwitting helper still impaled on the alpha’s claw. Possum was staring at him desperately, his trembling hand reaching out towards him.

”Z-Zephyrion... h-help me... please...”

Zephyrion stared at him for a moment before suddenly shouting in the most desperate voice he could muster.

”POSSUM!”

Then, he bit down hard on his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood before staggering forward.

”LET HIM GO!”

Countless metal spikes materialized around him and shot towards the alpha. However, the beast merely raised its head, and an invisible wave of gravity swept through the air, sending the spikes flying in every direction.

Zephyrion dropped to his knees, staring helplessly at Possum as the alpha slowly brought him closer to its maw.

Only, Possum was no longer paying attention to the beast. His eyes were fixed on Zephyrion, his expression frozen in utter disbelief.

Everything, from the desperate shout to the mouthful of blood and his current display of helplessness, Zephyrion had done it all without the slightest change in his expression. It was as though he were simply going through the motions, putting on a performance that had absolutely nothing to do with him.

And Possum had seen every bit of it. His fear-filled gaze gradually shifted into disbelief, then into unbridled fury.

”Y-you... you fucking bastard! You planned this! I swear, I’ll... I’ll fucking kill you! I’ll—”

The alpha suddenly let out an irritated grunt and flung Possum away like a piece of trash.

”ZEPHYRION, YOU BASTAAARD!”

Possum’s furious scream echoed through the cavern as he tumbled across the ground, sliding towards the edge of the waterfall before plunging into the darkness below.

’Well, that takes care of him.’

Even if he wasn’t dead yet, he certainly wouldn’t survive for much longer.

With Possum out of the picture and his death all but assured, Zephyrion calmly rose to his feet, the helplessness on his face vanishing as he fixed the alpha with a cold gaze.

’Now then...’

For a brief moment, silence seemed to settle over the cavern as the two locked eyes.

’Let’s finish this.’