The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 351: Chapter 346 — Anchor

Zephyrion halted before the imposing walls of the academy. Though the metal aura from Demorian’s rod concealed everything down to his very presence, making him undetectable even to the academy’s Heralds, he still carefully scanned the area to ensure he hadn’t been followed.

Something felt... off. He couldn’t quite place his finger on what it was, but after another sweep of his surroundings revealed nothing unusual, he pushed the feeling aside and focused on what currently mattered.

Demorian, too, seemed to have the same idea. His half-naked figure had emerged from the rod and now floated beside him, his expression unusually serious.

”So... how are we handling this, Protege?”

All traces of Demorian’s usual carefreeness and playfulness had vanished, replaced by a grim look.

It was understandable. After all, First Prime or not, Calderalth’s heir or not, never-seen-before genius or not, Zephyrion had just killed a cadet of the Ferran Empire Military Academy, on academy grounds no less.

If even a single word of it got out, the entire empire would turn against him, and he had no doubt his enemies would seize the opportunity to use it against him.

”We make it look like an unexplainable disappearance. Potentially an escape.” Zephyrion finally said, turning towards the metal dome containing Horus’ corpse. ”Without a body, they can’t form any definite conclusions.”

Trying to force a specific narrative would only make the evidence look arranged. It was better to leave enough ambiguity for the academy to reach its own conclusions. After all, Zephyrion didn’t need them to believe Horus had escaped. He only needed to make sure they couldn’t conclude Horus had been murdered.

”And the rune tab?” Demorian’s gaze shifted towards the dome. ”I can feel that damn thing from here. You’re not destroying it.”

Zephyrion expected no less from something made by the academy. Even peak Heralds would have trouble simply denting it, and while Demorian’s metal was definitely stronger, the power the ancestor could currently exert through the rod wasn’t enough to cause any lasting damage.

Worse still, if he couldn’t destroy the rune tab, then the moment the barrier fell, the academy would be alerted.

”I have a way around that,” was all Zephyrion said.

Demorian raised an eyebrow, his concern giving way to curiosity as he watched Zephyrion approach the dome.

Placing a hand against its surface, Zephyrion shut his eyes and focused. A faint vibration thrummed through the air as his consciousness dipped into the worldpulse, and a moment later, the entire metal dome began trembling violently beneath his palm before abruptly falling still.

Removing his hand, the dome unfurled, revealing the rune tab hovering in the air, still attached to a severed arm.

The rest of Horus’ body had been reduced to nothingness. Exhaling, Zephyrion turned towards the rod’s metal aura surrounding them and began signing rapidly through the air.

Countless runic symbols blazed into existence, bathing the surroundings in bright light. Zephyrion could feel Demorian’s gaze fixed on him, but he ignored it and focused entirely on his work.

”Wait... wait...” Demorian’s eyes slowly widened as realization dawned. ”Protege, you’re not actually thinking of—” He stopped, stared at the runes, then snapped his gaze back to Zephyrion. ”Can you even handle that?”

”...Probably.”

The moment Zephyrion finished, the final rune blazed brightly before shooting towards the metal aura around them. It fused into its surface, and the other runes followed, spreading across the barrier until they resembled ancient letters carved into the walls of a circular cavern.

Almost immediately, a crushing pressure descended on Zephyrion’s mind. He gritted his teeth against it, then silently stepped outside the barrier.

Seeing that it remained stable, Zephyrion immediately began moving away. Fifty meters, seventy, then over a hundred. Only when he reached the farthest distance Demorian’s rod should have been able to influence the world did he finally stop and release a relieved breath.

”It worked...”

”Protege...” Demorian stared at him in disbelief. ”Has anyone ever told you there’s something deeply wrong with you?”

Zephyrion frowned. ”What nonsense are you talking about?”

”Nonsense? Nonsense!?” Demorian’s face twisted in disbelief. ”You anchored a Dominion-rank construct to your own consciousness! Do you have any idea what that means?”

Zephyrion shrugged. ”Obviously.”

The rod’s metal aura was of Dominion rank, which explained why it had been able to block the rune tab’s signal in the first place. Ordinarily, however, the aura could only exist within the rod’s range. Once Zephyrion moved far enough away, Demorian would lose his influence over it and the entire construct would collapse.

Zephyrion’s enchantment had changed that.

The rod was still supplying the power. Zephyrion couldn’t produce Dominion-rank power himself, nor could his body withstand having that sort of power directly channeled through it.

Instead, he had used the runes to anchor the already-formed aura to his consciousness, allowing his mind to preserve its structure even after leaving the rod’s effective range.

The problem was that preserving the structure of something formed from Dominion-rank power required an absurd degree of control. Every shift within the aura, every fluctuation in its structure, every attempt it made to return to its natural state had to be suppressed and corrected through Zephyrion’s consciousness.

For a Vessel, the mental burden should have been unbearable.

Then again, it wasn’t exactly a cakewalk for Zephyrion either.

Thick veins now throbbed across his skin, while his eyes had become so bloodshot they looked as though they might burst at any moment.

Demorian stared at him with growing concern. ”Uh... Protege? I don’t mean to alarm you, but you look about three seconds away from exploding.”

”I’m fine.” Zephyrion swallowed against the pressure. ”We need to move. Now.”

Without hesitation, he shot back the way they’d come. Without the protection of the rod’s metal aura, Zephyrion had to be careful not to be discovered. He suppressed his presence completely, leaving not even the slightest trace of himself as he moved through the terrain.

Eventually, he stopped at the exact same spot where he’d met Horus, leaning against a tree as he fought to endure the mounting pressure.

Demorian emerged then. He glanced around, seemingly trying to understand why they had stopped, before slowly fixing Zephyrion with an incredulous look.

”Protege... help this ancestor understand something. Why in all the worlds did we stop... here?”