The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation-Chapter 55 - 53 — Ball

The air was knocked out of Kaiden’s lungs as a brutal punch crashed into his midsection.

’H-how?’

He was thrown back, skidding roughly across the arena grounds before coming to a stop at the edge.

"That’s a rune art!"

"He’s Mark Three!?"

Loud gasps rippled through the watching crowd. However, Kaiden didn’t appear to hear any of it.

"Urk!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, then pushed himself up with gritted teeth, staring at Zephyrion with a burning glare.

"Y-you... you’ve been hiding your power this whole time?"

"..."

Kaiden gnashed his teeth at Zephyrion’s silence. It was only now that he noticed the eye Zephyrion was using to look at him; emotionless, as though he were staring at nothing at all.

His grip tightened around his sword as he became aware of the weight of the entire coliseum’s gaze on him.

’Focus.’

This was his moment. His chance. Before the whole house. Before the head of house.

He couldn’t lose here.

Not to him.

’He’s still a waste.’

Zephyrion might have hidden his power, but he had been working hard all this while. There was no way someone like Zephyrion, who would rather slack off than train, could ever defeat him.

Kaiden’s eyes grew cold as he raised his arm, a sharp hum echoing through the arena.

"Revolving Blade."

Multiple metal blades materialized behind him, each spinning with such force that gales rippled outward from them.

"He only just became Mark Three... how is he this stable already?"

"And the young lord... he’s been hiding it this whole time?"

"I thought this would end in one move..."

"This just got interesting..."

As whispers spread across the coliseum, Kaiden fixed his eyes on Zephyrion and ground his teeth. Despite the display, he still stood unfazed, not making even a single effort to form a weapon.

"I’ll show you what real hard work looks like."

Kaiden gripped his blade and blasted toward Zephyrion.

Behind him, the spinning blades shot out in different directions, leaving concentric ripples in their wake from their sheer speed.

As they curved and converged on Zephyrion from multiple angles, Kaiden’s eyes flashed.

Just like last time, Zephyrion would use his barrier art to defend. But his Revolving Blade had been made precisely to tear through it.

Kaiden brought his sword down violently in a cleaving arc. Once Zephyrion moved to evade the blades, he would end it.

’It’s over.’

"Counter rotate. Barrier."

Suddenly, the spin of each blade halted, their forms locking in place as though seized by an unseen force.

"What—!?"

Kaiden’s eyes widened. To use two rune arts in such quick succession...

His blade was about to strike Zephyrion when he blurred. A violent impact struck his leg, knocking him off balance and sending him pitching forward.

"You...!"

Before he could recover, a sweeping kick slammed into the side of his face. He felt bone crack as blood splattered, and his body was hurled violently, crashing near the edge of the arena.

"Ghk—!"

Kaiden spat a mixture of blood and broken teeth, forcing himself up only to stagger. Still, he shook his head and fixed Zephyrion with a burning glare.

"Y-you! This... this isn’t over yet!"

He broke into a desperate, maddening run toward Zephyrion and swung wildly... only to strike empty air.

Zephyrion erased the distance in a blur. Metal coated his fists as they shot forward.

Kaiden wasn’t able to react before a torrent of explosive punches slammed into him in relentless booms.

Head. Chest. Stomach. Arms. Each blow detonated against his body, snapping him back again and again as blood sprayed across the arena. The force lifted him off the ground entirely, driving him backward, inch by inch.

Above, Ingrid and the other great lines had furrowed their brows deeply.

From the silence that had fallen over the entire coliseum, it was clear that every single one of them shared the same thought.

Of all the battles they had watched today... none had been this overwhelmingly one sided. Even Kaelion’s opponent had managed to land a hit.

But this... a battle between two people of the same mark wasn’t supposed to unfold like this.

"Haha..." Garrick let out another amused chuckle, shaking his head. "I’ve really missed this boy."

Eventually, as Kaiden was driven to the very edge of the arena, Zephyrion’s relentless barrage came to a halt.

By then, Kaiden’s body was battered and drenched in blood, barely clinging to consciousness.

Yet through the haze clouding his vision, he could still make out Zephyrion’s cold, purple, emotionless gaze fixed on him.

Kaiden slowly raised his arms, his fist trembling as it clenched.

"I-It’s n-not o-over yet—"

Bam.

A punch connected squarely with his face, sending him crashing out of the arena.

"W-winner, Lord Zephyrion!"

The coliseum was plunged into a deafening silence as every soul stared at the young heir in shock.

It was broken a moment later by a sudden, excited clap. Zephyrion turned and found Lumi clapping eagerly from the trainee stand.

The edge of Zephyrion’s lips began to curl, but he caught himself quickly, forcing the emotion that had begun to rise back down.

Then, he approached the head of house and paid his respect before stepping down from the arena.

A full minute went by in silence, then the overseer swallowed and stepped forward.

"N-next!"

...

Ingrid’s teeth were gritted as she pushed into her office.

"Where is it?"

"...Right here, my lady."

As she took her seat, Lina hastily placed a round ball in her hand.

Ingrid’s gaze was sharp as her fingers tightened around it. The air around her trembled faintly from the force of her grip, yet she did not loosen it.

Only after several seconds did the raging heat in her chest begin to settle.

She exhaled slowly, forcing her breathing to steady. Yet the coldness in her eyes remained.

Not only had her father, the same man who had not attended any of her events for the past seven years, come to watch her brother fight...

...but she had also misjudged him.

"...my lady, have you calmed down?"

At Lina’s careful tone, Ingrid let out a quiet breath and gave a small nod.

"...I’m fine."

The ward nodded, then hesitated for a moment.

"My lady... do you think the relic was inaccurate? It’s only been two weeks and—"

"No, that’s not it."