CHAPTER 299: FINALE (1)

The ride took only half an hour.

They emerged at an old industrial station just outside Oban Reach, all metal beams and rusted cranes, half-buried under ivy. The coordinates from the letter led them to a single warehouse, lights faintly glowing through cracked glass panes.

Elara’s grip tightened on her spear. "You’re sure this is it?"

Merlin nodded. "Positive."

They approached slowly, mana senses stretched thin. The air smelled of oil and static, the scent of recent experiments.

Inside, the warehouse was massive. Old machinery lined the walls, but the center was cleared for something new.

Rows of metallic crates sat in neat lines, stamped with Invoke’s emblem. The floor pulsed faintly with dormant mana circuits.

And at the far end, a single pedestal.

Resting on it was a weapon.

A sleek, silver gauntlet, identical to the one from the exam.

Elara’s breath caught. "Merlin—"

He raised a hand, stepping closer. The gauntlet pulsed faintly, like it recognized him.

Then a voice came from the shadows.

"I was wondering when you’d show up."

Merlin turned sharply.

From the far walkway above, a man stepped forward, tall, dressed in a tailored coat, the faint insignia of Invoke gleaming on his lapel.

He smiled faintly. "It’s been a while, Mr. Everhart."

Merlin’s eyes narrowed. "...Adrian Kael."

Elara’s gaze snapped to him. "You know him?"

Merlin’s jaw tightened. "Chairman of Invoke."

Kael’s smirk widened. "Or, as of this week, former chairman. You see, things move quickly in our world. And you, boy, have been moving faster than anyone expected."

Elara shifted her stance. "You sent the letter."

Kael’s eyes gleamed. "Of course. I wanted to see the man who managed to disrupt my project twice. Consider this... a professional courtesy."

Merlin’s voice was calm. "You mean the prototype attack on the academy."

"Ah, you’ve heard. Good." Kael’s tone was almost amused. "That was never meant to destroy anything, you understand. It was a test, to see how far the Veil could integrate my tech. But then you showed up."

Elara’s eyes flashed. "You’re working with them?"

Kael gave a theatrical sigh. "’Working with’ is such a crude term. Let’s say we share interests. They get their weapons. I get results."

"And the students caught in the crossfire?" Merlin asked coldly.

Kael’s smile thinned. "Collateral."

The mana in the room shifted. Elara’s spear shimmered with earthen energy; Merlin’s aura flickered with faint arcs of lightning crawling up his arm.

Kael raised an eyebrow. "Careful, boy. You don’t want to start a fight you can’t win."

Merlin’s voice dropped to a whisper. "I wasn’t planning to start one."

The lights flickered, and the air exploded with power.

The lights flickered again.

The air inside the warehouse was thick, not just with mana, but with something older, heavier. The kind of tension that built right before a storm ripped the world open.

Merlin’s hair shifted faintly from the pressure, his eyes catching the electric hum that began to pulse through the floor. Every crate, every scrap of metal seemed to vibrate with contained energy.

Across from him, Adrian Kael stood calm, composed, as if he wasn’t facing two of the academy’s strongest students but rather two mildly interesting puzzles.

"I’ll be honest, Mr. Everhart," Kael said smoothly, "I didn’t expect you to come personally. Most people in your position would’ve sent a proxy. But then, you’re not ’most people,’ are you?"

Merlin didn’t reply.

His gaze flicked briefly to the silver gauntlet on the pedestal, still humming faintly.

Kael noticed. "Ah, yes. Beautiful, isn’t it? The culmination of years of research, and still... incomplete."

Elara’s voice was quiet, dangerous. "Incomplete? You used that thing to attack students."

Kael gave a dismissive wave. "They survived. Consider it... educational. Besides, power means nothing if it isn’t tested."

Merlin’s voice cut through the air. "That’s not power. That’s vanity dressed as progress."

Kael’s smirk faltered slightly. "Careful, boy. You speak like someone who’s seen both."

Merlin stepped forward, his hand glowing faintly, lightning, wind, and water swirling in a barely contained spiral of energy. "You think you’re untouchable because you have money and connections. But the thing about power..." he let the air vibrate with his words, "...is that it bends to will. Not wealth."

Kael chuckled, slow and low. "You think willpower is enough to stand against me?"

Elara shifted her stance beside Merlin, spear lowering slightly. "You’re awfully confident for a man standing alone."

"Oh, I’m not alone," Kael said lightly.

He raised his hand, and with a single snap, the crates around the warehouse shuddered.

The metal lids burst open one by one, releasing mechanical shapes that glowed with runic circuitry. Artificial constructs, humanoid, sleek, faceless, prototypes of Invoke’s next generation of combat drones. Each one emitted a low, thrumming noise as their visors flared red.

There were dozens.

Elara’s voice was a hiss. "You’ve got to be kidding me."

Merlin didn’t move. His expression didn’t even twitch.

Instead, he reached into his coat, removing the folded letter Kael had sent. He flicked it once, and it caught fire in his hand, the ashes scattering to the ground.

Kael’s smile grew colder. "A shame. I rather liked that signature."

The first drone lunged forward.

The floor cracked beneath its step, its arm splitting open to reveal a built-in blade charged with compressed mana. The strike came fast, faster than a normal human could react.

But Merlin wasn’t normal.

He moved.

Wind surged at his feet, propelling him sideways in a blur. The drone’s blade sliced through air where he’d been a moment earlier. Lightning flashed from Merlin’s fingertips, wrapping around the machine’s torso, and with a flick, it exploded in a burst of smoke and sparks.

Two more rushed him immediately.

Elara’s spear spun in a blur of motion, her earth affinity flaring as stone erupted from the ground, impaling one and sending shards into another’s chestplate. She twisted, fluid and precise, moving with trained grace.

Merlin’s movements were sharper, quicker, every strike deliberate. Lightning coiled around his arm, then burst outward in a controlled detonation, knocking three drones back. He followed it with a sweep of wind that crushed another into a nearby wall.

Kael watched it all from above, his hands behind his back. "Impressive," he called out. "You really do live up to the rumors."

Merlin didn’t look up. "You talk too much."