The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 382: Chapter 377 — Jump

”ASHRAEL!!!!”

A violent gust slammed against Zephyrion, whipping his hair and clothes. He narrowed his eyes, now staring into the chasm with caution. That scream... it hadn’t come from a beast. It was unmistakably human.

The town head turned to Zephyrion, his expression uneasy.

”That scream... I-it must be the soldiers! They’re still alive! What do we do, my lord? We have to save them!”

That was most likely the case. Which meant rescuing them from the Gravemaws would actually earn them more merit for the mission. Still, Zephyrion made no move to enter, remaining rooted to the spot as though contemplating his next course of action.

The town head glanced nervously at the chasm before turning back to him. ”M-my lord Lightning Prince, on second thought, if this really is their lair, shouldn’t we return and request reinforcements first? I mean, if we go in now, we’ll be horribly outnumbered!”

The man was growing increasingly anxious, his gaze darting between Zephyrion and the chasm as though torn between following the soldiers and fleeing to safety. Before he could make up his mind, however, the fool took the bait.

”Enough wasting time! There are people down there who need saving!”

Possum delivered the words with such righteous indignation that Zephyrion could barely suppress an inward scoff. Then, without another word, the fool leaped into the chasm and disappeared into the darkness.

Zephyrion waited a moment before giving the town head what he hoped was a suitably grim nod, then jumped in after him.

Not long after, he heard a startled curse from above, followed by the rush of air as the town head came tumbling down after him. Zephyrion paid him little attention, focusing instead on sending periodic gusts of air beneath him to gauge the distance to the bottom.

’Two hundred... three hundred... Just how deep is this thing?’

Deeper than he’d expected. Just as he was beginning to wonder how much farther it went, the latest gust finally rebounded from below.

’Magnetic Field.’

An invisible force spread around him, arresting his fall almost instantly. Then, slowly, he lowered himself the remaining distance until his feet touched the soft ground.

It was pitch-black, but through his senses, he could make out the contours of the tunnel around him and the patches of soft grass beneath his feet. There was no sign of Possum anywhere. The fool had clearly gone ahead without waiting.

’Well, would you look at that, protégé! Seems fortune might actually be smiling on you today. At this rate, that idiot might get himself killed before you even have to lift a finger.’

’Maybe.’

’Oh, you’d love that, wouldn’t you? All that trouble with the innocent man, gone just like that. No need to get your hands dirty.’

’...Are you ever going to let this go?’

’Of course! Just admit you’re not nearly as cold-blooded as you keep pretending to be, and I’ll never mention it again.’

’...’

Zephyrion ignored him and expanded his magnetic field, catching the town head midfall before the man could crash into the ground and cause a ruckus.

Unlike Zephyrion and Possum, although the town head was a Herald, he was still a commoner, which meant he likely had no access to powerful rune arts, especially one that would allow him to sense the ground and soften his landing.

”Wh-what’s going on!? An attack!? Who’s there!? Show yourself, you bastard, or I’ll bring this whole place down!”

A sharp metallic hum followed, accompanied by the sound of a weapon being drawn and a sudden increase in the man’s weight. Zephyrion could only assume he’d hastily encased himself in armor and drawn his weapon, ready to fight whatever had caught him.

”You damned beasts! Come out and face me! They don’t call me the Terror of Capetown for nothing! I’ll tear you all to pieces!”

’...Terror?’

Zephyrion couldn’t help but wonder who exactly had given him that title. Shaking his head, he finally spoke.

”It’s me.”

”M-my lord Li-Lightning Prince!?” The town head gasped. ”Ah! Forgive me, my lord! I had no idea it was y—”

”Lower your voice.”

The man immediately fell silent, and Zephyrion sensed him hurriedly covering his mouth. For several moments, he remained quiet, seemingly looking around for any threats before finally whispering,

”M-my apologies, my lord. Where’s the other lord?”

”He was gone by the time I arrived.” Zephyrion replied, turning towards the tunnel ahead. ”Come on, we need to catch up to him.”

He’d given Possum more than enough time to get himself into trouble. Now, he just had to deal with whatever he encountered along the way.

However, he’d barely taken a step when the town head suddenly called out,

”Wait!”

Zephyrion frowned and glanced back. Through the faint disturbances in the air, he could sense the man crouching down and frantically feeling around the ground, apparently searching for something.

”What are yo—”

”Found it!”

The town head let out an audible sigh of relief as he straightened, apparently having recovered whatever he’d been looking for. Zephyrion continued staring at him through the darkness, wondering what could possibly be so important that the man would stop to retrieve it in a place like this.

As though sensing his stare, the town head gave an awkward chuckle.

”It’s a bracelet my little girls made for me, my lord,” he explained. ”They’re only five, but those two can be quite the little tyrants, I tell you. If I lost this thing, I’d never hear the end of it.”

”...I see.”

After an awkward moment of silence, Zephyrion turned and continued down the tunnel, with the town head hesitantly trailing behind.

The passage was wide enough to accommodate six people standing shoulder to shoulder, with a ceiling nearly twice a man’s height. The air was damp and carried a musty smell, and even as they ventured deeper, there was still no trace of light.

Instead, Zephyrion relied on the faint vibrations thrumming through the tunnel to guide his steps. They all seemed to be coming from the same direction anyway.