The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 329: Chapter 324 — Domain

Arcturus’ eyes had turned completely white again, his consciousness seemingly sinking deeper into another trance.

His weapons shifted without pause, a blade one moment, chains the next, then something entirely different before Zephyrion could settle into a rhythm.

Each transformation made the battle increasingly unpredictable. Even Zephyrion couldn’t tell what weapon Arcturus would use next until the transformation had already begun, severely limiting his ability to predict his movements.

’Another variation.’ Zephyrion’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’Living Arsenal... so he dances through weapons.’

Even more troublesome was the fact that the effect of the previous variation, Momentum, still remained. Every clash continued stacking upon the last, making Arcturus’ attacks stronger and fiercer with each exchange.

They were nothing but streaks of light tearing across the terrain. They had long since left the kilometer-wide plains, spilling first into the scorched forest and then into the northern fortress.

Several clashes of steel tore through the massive structures, reducing walls and buildings into chunks of debris. Dust billowed into the air with every collision, caught by the violent gales until a massive choking haze spread across the sky.

From far in the distance, the cadets, who had wisely put as much space as possible between themselves and the battle, watched the cataclysmic scene with wide, disbelieving eyes.

All this devastation... caused by fellow cadets.

"He’s fucking crazy..."

Standing atop a distant hill, Kaiden clenched his fists, struggling to believe what he was seeing. Just last night, he’d promised Zephyrion that he was going to kick his ass, and now he was watching the same damn boy cause destruction on a scale that surpassed anything a Vessel rank should be capable of.

’Fuck me...’

He had literally promised to beat up a total monster.

The realization made Kaiden’s face twitch with embarrassment. With this kind of power, how had his declaration even looked in Zephyrion’s eyes? Like some whining little kitten threatening to scratch him?

’...I really told that bastard I’d kick his ass.’

Beside the others, Kaelith Korrath had gone completely still, his eyes fixed on the devastation unfolding in the distance.

’See? What did I tell you? Never underestimate that boy,’ Maegorian said, sounding entirely too pleased with himself.

Without the slightest hesitation, Kaelith nodded, burning the scene before him into his memory.

The others weren’t much different. Nedra, Draven, and Lucien all wore utterly shocked expressions, while even Tobias and Fiona stared at the battlefield in disbelief. Only Lumi remained different, a confident smile resting on her face as though she were proud of what she was seeing.

The truth was, none of them had ever seen Zephyrion’s full power before. Until now, all they’d witnessed were short battles that ended with him using minimal strength, or brief bursts of power that disappeared almost as quickly as they came.

This was the first time they had seen him truly unleash it.

To think they’d been living alongside this weapon of mass destruction for months...

Several of them shuddered at the thought.

Especially Nedra, whose expression had gradually stiffened. Somehow, all those times she’d challenged Zephyrion or outright threatened him didn’t seem quite as funny anymore.

Like the others, Malach had been forced farther back to escape the shockwaves, but unlike them, his eyes weren’t fixed on the battle in awe. They were wide with disbelief.

With this much power... taking the northern fortress should have been a damn cakewalk. Yet Zephyrion had chosen to use schemes and tactics to defeat him instead.

Malach’s fists clenched until his nails dug into his palms, blood slowly trickling between his fingers.

Zephyrion had been at such a disadvantage and still chose to beat him with his mind. Somehow, that made the defeat even more humiliating. It was basically Zephyrion shitting in his face, telling him that he wasn’t even worthy of facing this level of strength.

"That fucking bastard..." Malach growled through gritted teeth.

Regardless, the gloomy mood surrounding the cadets was a stark contrast to the battlefield.

"Oh shit! This is fucking amazing! I was wrong! I was so fucking wrong about you! This—this is exactly what I wanted! You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for someone like you!"

Still deep within his metal trance, Arcturus wore a grin so wide it looked like he was having the time of his life.

Zephyrion, though, remained cold.

The instant Arcturus changed his weapon, Zephyrion’s was already shifting in response. Chains met chains, swords collided with swords, and spears crashed against spears as they tore through the terrain.

Arcturus’ Momentum continued to build with every exchange. However, the Titan Armor absorbed the force that traveled into Zephyrion’s body, offsetting the accumulated shock before sending it right back toward Arcturus.

Amid their clashes, Zephyrion suddenly felt a faint thrum from the rod.

It had remained silent for so long that he caught the slightest change immediately.

’It’s reacting...’

To the Calamity Metal.

He could feel it clearly now. With every clash between their weapons, the reaction grew slightly stronger, as though the rod was being drawn closer and closer to awakening.

Still, with identical weapons constantly meeting and Arcturus’ accumulated momentum being absorbed and returned, neither of them could gain a decisive advantage. They had fallen into some sort of stalemate.

"Man, I’m having so much fucking fun, but..." Arcturus suddenly shot backward, putting some distance between them.

"This is dragging on a little too long. My father’s watching, you see, and I sort of promised him I’d make this look easy. So... yeah. I should probably end this now."

Arcturus swept his blade aside, the simple motion kicking up a wave of dust and sending tremors rippling across the plains.

For a moment, there was nothing but stillness as Zephyrion calmly met his gaze.

Then, Arcturus’ voice echoed across the battlefield like judgment.

"Metal Dance: Domain."

Zephyrion immediately felt every trace of metal within kilometers... still.

Every strand, every fragment, every broken piece scattered from their countless clashes suddenly surged towards Arcturus, swirling around him like a vast silver storm. Then, all at once, the metal plunged into the ground and spread outward like silver ink bleeding across paper.

Zephyrion narrowed his eyes as the earth disappeared beneath a gleaming metallic sheet that stretched for kilometers in every direction.

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