The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 118: Chapter 116 — Slip State

A streak of silver tore through the night. In the next instant, Dune was already before Zephyrion.

”I’ll kill you.”

His blade thrust forward with impossible speed.

Zephyrion tightened his grip on the rod. It unfurled, molding into a dense curved shield as he dipped.

Dune’s blade scraped past it, releasing a burst of sparks that lit up the dark.

Dune’s gaze constricted, the shock in his eyes unmistakable. He had actually reacted?

And it wasn’t just him, atop the tree, Kona’s eyes widened. That speed... it was definitely mark seven speed, no, it was even faster. Yet Zephyrion had reacted!?

Kaiden and Fiona also stared at the unfolding clash with wide eyes.

The next moment, Zephyrion stepped in, erasing the distance. The shield collapsed, morphing into a short scythe as it snapped into his other grip.

His arm blurred, the curved edge slicing toward Dune’s chin with a sharp scream.

Dune’s gaze sharpened. His metal aura churned, and in the next instant, he vanished, leaving the scythe to cut through empty air.

Zephyrion’s gaze narrowed.

’Behind me.’

He cast a glance over his shoulder. There, Dune stood, his blade already driving toward his neck.

’Blood rush.’

Zephyrion’s heart thundered, a surge of blood flooding through his body. Power surged within him, and with a sudden burst of speed, he shifted to the side, the blade tearing past him like lightning.

But before he could retaliate, Dune’s metal aura churned and he vanished again.

’Right.’

Zephyrion darted back, barely evading another flashing thrust. But Dune vanished once more.

’Left.’

He dipped, avoiding another strike. And another. And another. Dune flashed across the clearing in a streak of silver, unleashing lightning-fast thrusts in rapid succession.

To the others, the clash was almost impossible to follow.

Yet Zephyrion moved in tandem, blurring as he evaded each strike by the narrowest margins. They streaked through the clearing in flashes of silver, barely visible.

Every missed strike sent a ripple of shock through Dune, yet the coldness in his eyes only deepened as he pressed harder.

As many gawked at the impossibility of the scene, Zephyrion’s eyes glinted. He had finally caught it.

The speed Dune was displaying had already surpassed what Zephyrion judged to be Mark seven speed.

With his reforged bones, the enhancement from his blood, the passive boosts from all his elements, and the constant adjustment of his metal aura’s weight, his current strength and speed should sit just below that level.

Yet he was barely keeping up.

’It’s a Rune art.’

Zephyrion could see the smoothness in Dune’s metal aura. Its nature was different from theirs. And it also wasn’t like his own method of rapidly shifting weight. Since the battle began, Zephyrion hadn’t seen a single footprint mark the ground.

Regardless, thirty seconds had gone by since the battle began, and Zephyrion had already discerned a pattern.

’That’s it.’

Zephyrion dipped, evading a lightning thrust that sliced past his head.

He suddenly shot back, gripping the metal rod behind him.

However, Dune vanished once more, closing the distance as his blade drove straight toward Zephyrion’s chest.

Zephyrion twisted aside, narrowly avoiding it.

”Hmph!”

Dune’s eyes narrowed. He was about to follow up when something caught his attention. A spear embedded in the earth just behind where Zephyrion had been standing, its tip aligned directly with his path.

”...what?”

His eyes flew wide. He was surging straight toward it!

Dune forcibly twisted his body away, but not before the spear carved through his lower chest, tearing away a chunk of flesh.

”This is...!” From atop the tree, Kona’s eyes widened to their limit.

The village head, Omar, gaze shook with disbelief. Even Fiona, Kaiden, and Jenna stared on with stunned expressions.

What had just happened?

Of them all, only Kona stared at Zephyrion with a trembling gaze.

’What the hell...’

He had seen it. Dune’s rune art was powerful, but it held a flaw. Once he moved, his momentum couldn’t be halted instantly. Even when he stopped, there was always a slight carry that forced him forward slightly.

Of course, as an outside observer, it was easier to notice such a thing. But in the middle of a fight, it was almost impossible.

And yet, not only had Zephyrion identified it within thirty seconds, he had already exploited it.

Kona had seen everything. Zephyrion had formed a spear and left it behind as he evaded, positioning it perfectly for Dune to run straight into it.

If not for Dune’s reflexes, that strike would have been fatal.

Kona stared at Zephyrion in disbelief. What kind of child could be this frightening?

As Garrick’s rumbling laughter echoed out, Kona couldn’t help but swallow. Now, he was beginning to understand why the Head of House and the drunken war hound were acting this way.

Dune steadied himself and shot back, instantly putting distance between them. He pressed a palm against his chest. When he pulled it away, his eyes darkened at the crimson blood coating his hand.

To think this child had injured him...

Dune tightened his grip on his sword, his gaze turning sharp.

”Alright...” He let out a slow breath, locking eyes with Zephyrion. ”...guess I’ll stop playing around.”

A flicker of silver passed through his eyes.

”Slip State.”

His metal aura flared. In the next instant, a surge of silver flowed through it, transforming the once formless wave into a sleek, gleaming suit that clung tightly to his body.

Zephyrion’s brows sharpened. Somehow, it felt as though Dune had slipped past the world itself, as though reality no longer touched him.

This rune art... it was powerful.

Dune’s gaze cut across the distance and fixed onto Zephyrion.

”Let’s end this.”

”!!”

The rod snapped into Zephyrion’s grip, morphing into a dense dome that covered his entire front.

The next moment, a streak of silver tore through the forest.

An overwhelming force crashed into the dome, driving him backward at terrifying speed.

All around him, massive trees in hundreds of meters fell one after another, cleanly severed in a single sweeping motion.

Zephyrion’s gaze sharpened as Dune flashed above him, his sword cleaving downward as though it would split the heavens.

Zephyrion raised the dome over his body just as the attack landed. The impact drove him straight into the ground, the force caving the earth beneath him into a wide, fractured crater.

Yet Dune moved again, like lightning. He struck from all sides, his blows coming with such speed and force that shockwaves burst outward, sending trees crashing down and cracks spidering across the earth.

The dome itself was lifted off the ground under the sheer barrage.

Within it, Zephyrion’s eyes narrowed as he felt the force bleed through, rattling his body.

The rod held firm, but the impact was too much for his body to endure for long. He couldn’t stay like this. His mind immediately began to move.

’It’s the same art.’

The sensation, the smoothness, the speed, it was the same, only pushed to an extreme.

Zephyrion couldn’t help but picture what kind of rune art could produce this. If he could use it, the flow of this battle would shift completely.

But seeing it and replicating it were entirely different things. With its level of complexity, he would need to rely on his mind map and break down every detail.

It wasn’t something that could be grasped in the middle of a fight.

Suddenly, a faint pressure pressed against his mind. Zephyrion frowned as he recognized it.

’Demorian?’

What did the spirit want? Curious, Zephyrion finally lifted his restriction. A voice burst into his mind instantly.

”Ah, fuck—FINALLY! I thought I was going insane! My protégé, how could you do this to your own master!? A whole week? Sealed for a whole week!? Do you have any idea how cruel that is? I had wisdom, knowledge, so much to share! And these women now, ah... they deserve to experience what they once did, don’t you think—”

’...I’m restricting you.’

”NO—wait! WAIT! Don’t do that! Please! That’s torture!”

’What is it...’

”Good! You’re listening! I’ve got something... something important!”

Sensing he had Zephyrion’s attention, he rushed his words.

”There’s a way to copy that rune art.”

Within the dome, Zephyrion’s eyes narrowed.