CHAPTER 303: NO PROTECTION

Adrian appeared next, blond hair glinting in the morning light, his usual warmth already cutting through the tension. He carried his battle axe slung casually over his shoulder, though there was no reason to. It was just... who he was.

Liliana followed close, her hair tied back, bright eyes darting between them with easy amusement. "You two still arguing about that? It’s been a year."

"Because he’s still wrong," Nathan muttered.

Merlin’s lips twitched faintly. It wasn’t quite a smile, but close.

The group gathered one by one, familiar presences filling the quiet courtyard. Seraphina with her calm, collected grace; Ethan with his eternal air of boredom; Dorian with his silent, unreadable stare; and finally, Elara.

Her silver hair caught the dawn light like liquid metal. She didn’t say anything when she arrived, just walked past the others and stopped beside Merlin. The faint scent of earth and rain trailed her steps, grounding, constant.

Merlin’s pulse steadied without his permission.

"Headmistress wants all second-years in the main hall by nine," Seraphina said, breaking the moment. "New regulations after the attack. She’ll probably explain them herself."

"Again?" Ethan groaned. "Didn’t we just have one yesterday?"

Dorian’s red eyes flicked toward him. "That was for dorm protocols. This will be about defense measures."

"Joy," Ethan muttered.

Merlin didn’t respond. He was only half-listening. His eyes lingered on the academy’s tall spires in the distance, glinting gold against the morning sun. They looked... normal. Peaceful, even. But peace, he’d learned, was only ever borrowed time.

’This feels too quiet,’ he thought. ’Too still.’

[The System remains dormant.]

[No active directives.]

[Observing...]

He blinked once, brushing the translucent text from his vision before anyone could notice. The others laughed, talking easily about nonsense, sparring matches, meals, the coming exams. The world felt alive again, almost normal.

Almost.

Elara’s voice was quiet beside him. "You’re thinking too much again."

He glanced at her. "You noticed?"

"I always do." Her eyes met his, steady and unblinking. "It’s written all over your face."

Merlin exhaled softly through his nose. "Old habit."

"Bad one," she replied. Then, after a pause: "Still... I understand."

Their eyes held for a heartbeat too long. Nathan noticed. His grin faltered, just slightly. Then he forced it back.

"Alright," Nathan said, clapping his hands once. "Before Morgana drags us into another three-hour lecture, breakfast?"

Adrian nodded immediately. "Finally, someone with sense."

They drifted toward the dining hall as a group, sunlight cutting through the high windows and painting the floors gold. For a moment, it was easy to forget the blood, the ruins, the screams that had echoed through these same halls not long ago.

But Merlin didn’t forget. He couldn’t.

Later that morning, the main hall filled with second-years. Rows of seats stretched in neat lines beneath the arched ceiling, banners fluttering softly from above. Morgana stood at the front, her presence alone silencing the crowd.

Her silver hair shimmered faintly in the enchanted light, and her eyes, cold and knowing, swept across the room.

"Two weeks ago," she began, voice calm but carrying easily, "our academy was infiltrated. The individuals responsible have been apprehended, but the danger has not passed. From this point forward, all practical training will be conducted under reinforced supervision. You will not leave campus without authorization."

Murmurs rippled through the hall.

Morgana’s gaze didn’t waver. "You are all here to become the future’s defenders. That future is fragile. Remember that."

Her words sank into the silence that followed.

Then, her eyes flicked briefly toward Merlin. Just for a moment.

And though her expression didn’t change, he felt the weight of that look like a touch of frost along his spine.

’She knows something,’ Merlin thought. ’She always does.’

The meeting ended soon after. Students filed out in clusters, voices rising again with the hum of youth pretending at normalcy. But the core group stayed behind. Nathan lingered near the stage, arms crossed. "You felt that too, right?"

Merlin nodded. "Morgana never speaks without reason."

"She’s worried," Elara said quietly.

Adrian tilted his head. "About us?"

"No." Merlin’s voice was low. "About what’s coming."

The others fell silent.

Outside, thunder rumbled faintly in the distance, though the sky above the academy was perfectly clear.

That night, Merlin stood alone on the balcony outside his dorm. The wind whispered through the trees below, cool and restless. The stars stretched endlessly overhead, far too calm for the thoughts that burned behind his eyes.

’This isn’t over,’ he thought. ’It never was.’

He looked toward the north wing of the academy, where light still glowed faintly from Morgana’s office. Her silhouette moved once past the window, sharp, deliberate.

Somewhere deep inside him, something stirred. Not the system. Not the gods.

Something older.

[Observation level increasing.]

[Unknown interference detected.]

[Source: concealed.]

Merlin closed his eyes. The wind shifted, tugging faintly at his coat.

’Whatever’s coming,’ he thought, ’I’ll be ready this time.’

Behind him, the door opened softly.

"Elara?"

Her voice was calm. "You’re not sleeping."

He turned, and for the first time in a while, smiled, faintly. "Neither are you."

The world was quiet again.

But the quiet never lasted.

Morning sunlight slanted through the glass roof of the training hall, breaking into ribbons of gold across the polished floor. The academy had changed again, not in structure, but in rhythm. The laughter had grown quieter. The chatter shorter.

For once, no one was late.

Every second-year student stood in tight formation before the instructors. The low murmur of conversation died instantly when Morgana stepped into view.

She didn’t need to say anything. Her presence filled the space, colder than winter air.

"From today," she said, voice calm but carrying with effortless command, "each of you will belong to a new division under the revised curriculum. Your abilities will be evaluated in both combat and investigation. You will act as small, autonomous teams."

A soft sound of confusion rippled through the group.

Morgana’s gaze cut across them, sharp and deliberate. "The incident that occurred two weeks ago has forced our hand. There are threats beyond the walls, human threats, and you will learn to face them. The gods do not protect fools."

The last line made the hall fall dead silent.