The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 362: Chapter 357 — Spar

”Here I fucking come!”

The earth exploded beneath Arcturus’ feet as he vanished. To the watching cadets, he might as well have become a blur. However, to Zephyrion, it was as though he were watching a turtle desperately making its way towards him.

He could perceive every minute detail of the prince’s movement, down to the individual fibers of his muscles contracting and relaxing, and even the droplets of spittle being carried from his open mouth by the wind.

’So this is what it feels like...’

He hadn’t even activated Slip State or used any rune art, for that matter.

Initially, he decided to remain where he was and wait for Arcturus to reach him. However, after what felt like several long moments of watching the prince inch closer, he grew impatient and decided to get it over with.

Moving through the seemingly slowed world, Zephyrion approached Arcturus, whose mouth was still wide open as though he were on the verge of shouting something.

Carefully avoiding the droplets of spittle suspended in the air, he pierced through the prince’s metal aura, placed a finger against his forehead... and flicked.

Time resumed.

Arcturus’ eyes barely had time to widen at the sight of Zephyrion suddenly standing before him before his head snapped back from the booming impact, sending his body hurtling across the terrain.

”W-what the hell just happened...?”

Every eye had gone wide with disbelief. None of the cadets had managed to follow what had just happened.

They’d barely caught Arcturus’ movement, seeing little more than a blur, but Zephyrion’s speed had transcended even that. One moment, he’d been standing where he was, and the next, he’d somehow appeared in the middle of the field, with Arcturus flying away from him. They couldn’t even begin to comprehend the sort of cataclysmic blow Zephyrion must have unleashed.

If only they knew the cause of all this had been a mere flick of a finger, many would have probably lost their minds.

”Haha! Fucking amazing! I didn’t even see you move!”

The dust blasted apart, revealing Arcturus. A massive swelling had formed on his forehead, with crimson blood streaming down his face. Despite his rather miserable appearance, the prince was still grinning.

”Holy shit, you’ve gotten so fucking strong! How the fuck are we even the same age!? Haha, this is good! This is fucking great! You’re everything I hoped you’d be!”

Arcturus ran a palm over his face, smearing the blood across his features as he laughed.

”Guess there’s no point holding back anymore, huh? Come on, bestie! Let’s have some fucking fun!”

Sweeping his arm aside, he formed a thin blade that glinted beneath the sun.

”Metal Dance: Momentum.”

As Arcturus launched himself forward, Zephyrion heightened his perception, reducing the prince’s blurring movements to a snail’s pace once more. This time, however, he closed his eyes and focused his attention inward.

’Alright... let’s try this.’

Increased physical power was merely one of the advantages of Herald rank. Aside from that, there was also the aspect that dealt with rune arts.

Visualize the rune, connect with WorldPulse, and unleash the art. That was how it worked at Vessel rank. But now that he’d advanced to Herald, his body had essentially become the rune itself, meaning he no longer needed to go through the process of visualization.

All he had to do was connect to the WorldPulse.

And as he did, he felt a faint vibration thrum through his body.

”Magnetic Field.”

A formless wave spread out, enveloping Arcturus and gradually lifting him into the air.

Zephyrion was thrilled at the sight. He hadn’t needed to waste any time visualizing the rune and had simply activated the art directly. It was as though the visualization had already been ingrained into his body, and all he had to do was channel WorldPulse through it to unleash the art. The entire process felt far more natural, faster, and almost instinctive.

’Then... what if I try this?’

Zephyrion channeled the remaining WorldPulse through his body once more, activating another art.

”Slip State.”

He could feel the air around Arcturus part. Zephyrion stretched out his arm.

”Absolute Pull.”

Time resumed, and Arcturus suddenly came shooting towards Zephyrion like a torpedo.

”Wait... what!? What the fuck!?”

Arcturus’ eyes widened as he found himself moments away from slamming into Zephyrion, but the latter merely said,

”Absolute Push.”

The prince was blasted back, tearing through the terrain.

”Pull.”

He came shooting back.

”Bestie! What the fuck are you doing!?”

”Push.”

”Hahhhhhh!”

Arcturus struggled against the force, desperately trying to regain control of his body. After a moment, he even realized Zephyrion was using magnetism and hastily dispersed his metal aura, but to his bewilderment, he was still getting pulled.

’So the arts themselves have gotten stronger too.’

Zephyrion nodded in satisfaction. Aside from the streamlined process, the scale and intensity of his rune arts had also increased considerably.

Even more impressive was the fact that, without the need for visualization, he could now activate multiple arts in tandem with barely any strain.

’Absolute Metal. Vibration. Compression. Metal Aura.’

His metal aura erupted like a cataclysmic bomb, surging skyward before rapidly compressing back around his body. A silver sheen spread across his skin as he activated the Hartvein’s art, while wisps of steam curled from his body as it began vibrating at an insane rate.

It was just like his Titan Form: Convergence, but on a smaller scale, and without the need for his Titan Armor.

He fixed his gaze on Arcturus, who was still hurtling away in the distance, struggling against the pressure. Then, he vanished, flashing before the prince.

”Gotcha!”

Arcturus’ eyes immediately locked onto Zephyrion, and he swung his blade towards him, but Zephyrion’s fist was already buried in his stomach, folding him at the waist before sending him flying back.

Before he could even get far, Zephyrion flashed before him once more.

Arcturus’ teeth were chattering uncontrollably as his entire body trembled. The vibration Zephyrion had sent into him with that punch was still wreaking havoc within his body.