The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 400: Chapter 395 — Pressure

The figure that stepped through the waterfall couldn’t be considered massive. It was lean, about a meter and a quarter tall, with a wolf-like build, pale silver fur, and long, slender limbs. A feather-like mane ran along its neck, while a pair of icy blue eyes pierced through the cave’s darkness and settled on him.

Of everything, what caught Zephyrion’s attention most was its presence. It was incredibly faint, and despite its size, each step was so light that it might as well have been a feather touching the ground.

’A Galeprowler.’

He’d suspected as much the moment he caught sight of the tail. Galeprowlers might be a common sight around the Aerelith side of the border, but they were dangerous. Usually mark one or two, they were highly intelligent and known to stalk and observe their prey for as long as necessary before making a move. Judging by how faint its presence was, he could already tell that this one was mark two.

The Galeprowler had fully entered the cave and was now slowly circling him, its icy blue eyes never leaving him.

’In that case, its specialty should be...’

Just like metal beasts, air beasts also had particular aspects of their element they specialized in. And Zephyrion distinctly remembered Galeprowlers possessing a particularly troublesome specialty.

The Galeprowler suddenly stopped and stared at him for several seconds. Then Zephyrion heard a faint sound, almost like a bubble being inflated, followed by a sharp pop. Then the beast was gone.

’It’s fast.’

Zephyrion narrowed his eyes, barely catching a glimpse of the beast as it flashed above him. Then came that familiar sound, followed by another pop, and it vanished once more, reappearing to his right.

Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.

Zephyrion’s eyes darted wildly as the beast rapidly vanished and reappeared all around him. It moved like a gust of wind, abruptly changing directions at a terrifying pace. Soon, a gale began swirling around him, whipping through the cave until a faint, continuous prowling sound filled the air.

’It’s trying to ambush me.’

Zephyrion’s eyes sharpened. Rather than engage in direct combat, Galeprowlers were known to favor ambushes. With the swirling winds concealing its presence and the constant prowling sound masking its movements, he might as well have been blind.

But sight and sound weren’t the only ways to perceive one’s surroundings. At least, not for Zephyrion.

’Right.’

He threw himself aside just as several claw-shaped gales tore through the spot where he’d been standing.

’Up. Left. Down. Right.’

Using Thousandpulse, Zephyrion barely managed to evade several more attacks, though a few still grazed him, leaving long tears across his clothes.

’Damn, look at the little bastard go! A few centuries without a proper fight and I’d almost forgotten what a pain in the ass these air bastards can be,’ Demorian muttered, then chuckled. ’All that fancy movement, and one good punch is still enough to turn them into paste. Hah!’

Demorian was right. What air ascendants lacked in durability, they made up for in speed. His Slip State could probably match their speed, but only in a straight line and for short bursts. He simply didn’t possess the same freedom of movement that air ascendants enjoyed.

Though that didn’t necessarily mean they were stronger than Ferrans. A mark one air Herald could potentially defeat a mark two Ferran Herald, but it wasn’t as straightforward as one might think. They were faster, certainly, but their bodies were also considerably weaker. Without the means to actually injure a Ferran, all that speed would amount to nothing.

Of course, over the centuries, air ascendants had developed numerous ways to overcome this disadvantage and exploit the weaknesses of Ferrans. But the Ferrans had also done the same, especially once they identified their opponent’s specialty.

Zephyrion narrowly evaded another attack, his eyes narrowing as he confirmed the specialty.

’Pressure.’

Air pressure, to be exact. The Galeprowler was compressing air and releasing it in violent bursts to propel itself forward and change directions almost instantaneously. Even its claw-shaped attacks worked on the same principle.

’Then let’s see how fast you are now.’

Zephyrion suddenly stopped moving and spread his arms wide. The Galeprowler immediately seized the opening, snarling as it lunged towards him with its claws extended.

But just as it closed in, Zephyrion violently slammed his palms together.

BAM!

The impact sent a powerful blast of wind surging outward in every direction. Caught directly in its path, the Galeprowler’s eyes widened as it was sent hurtling backward.

’Slip State.’

Zephyrion kicked off the ground and shot forward, appearing before the still-reeling beast in an instant. The Galeprowler immediately tried to compress the air beneath its paws to propel itself away, only for its eyes to widen in alarm when the pressure refused to build.

’Not happening.’

The best way to deal with an opponent who specialized in air pressure was to create an area where the surrounding pressure was already extremely high. Without being able to generate a sufficient pressure difference, they wouldn’t be able to propel themselves with explosive bursts of speed.

As Zephyrion’s fist shot towards its head, the beast snarled and, in a desperate attempt to defend itself, lunged at his arm with its hardened fangs.

Unfortunately for it, that was a grave mistake.

If Zephyrion had been an Aerelith, the beast might very well have torn his arm off. But he was Ferran, and biting into his flesh was no different from sinking its teeth into solid steel.

The beast howled in agony as its fangs shattered against his arm. But its suffering didn’t last long, as Zephyrion’s fist smashed through its skull and burst out the other side in a spray of blood and gore.

As its lifeless body struck the ground, the violent winds swirling through the cave gradually died down.

’What a waste of time.’

He wasn’t even sure if two weeks would be enough to complete his investigation, and he certainly couldn’t afford to waste what little time he had on meaningless fights.

’Oh, come on, protégé! Look on the bright side. At least you’ve got yourself a decent meal!’

Zephyrion walked over to the waterfall to wash the blood from his arms. As he did, he caught sight of his reflection in the water. He’d already dyed his hair white using a mixture he’d learned to prepare at the Order, but he still wasn’t quite used to the sight. Without his usual black hair, he looked almost like an entirely different person.

A moment later, he shook his head.

’I’m not wasting any more time cooking.’

’Bu—’

Zephyrion suddenly stopped in his tracks.

’Protégé...’

’I know.’

Slowly, Zephyrion raised his head, his gaze settling on the other side of the crashing waterfall.

”Whoever’s hiding out there, come out.”