CHAPTER 310: STABILIZE

He closed his fist.

Wind and lightning coiled together in his palm, compressing until the air itself distorted, a miniature storm held barely in check. Sparks crawled up his arm as his system flickered faintly before his eyes.

[Wind Compression: Tier IV]

[Current Capacity: 74%]

[Stabilize? Y/N]

He didn’t answer. He simply moved.

With a flicker of motion, Merlin disappeared, the world bending around him as space warped, dragging him across the battlefield in a blur. He appeared above the wraith, golden eyes burning.

"Move!" he shouted, and the others scattered instantly.

He threw the sphere downward.

The explosion wasn’t light, it was sound.

A sharp, implosive crack that ripped through the courtyard as the compressed air ruptured, followed by a thunderclap of lightning and displaced mana that flattened the grass for fifty meters in every direction.

When the dust cleared, the wraith was gone.

The ground where it had stood was now a crater, glowing faintly from residual mana burn.

Merlin landed lightly on the far side, breathing even but slow. His fingers twitched once, a faint tremor he ignored.

Nathan jogged over, half-grinning, half-stunned. "Show-off."

Merlin smirked faintly. "Worked, didn’t it?"

Elara landed beside them, spear dissolving into motes of light as she dismissed it. Her expression softened just slightly. "Reckless. But effective."

"That’s a compliment," Merlin said. "I’ll take it."

The others gathered slowly, Liliana wiping sweat from her brow, Ethan grumbling under his breath, Seraphina scanning the ruins with an ice-hardened gaze.

Adrian ran a hand through his golden hair, looking around. "That thing... it was feeding on the barrier’s residual energy. If it had spread, the academy’s wards might’ve failed."

Seraphina nodded grimly. "Which means someone planted it."

The words hung heavy.

Nathan frowned. "You think it was that same organization from the first-year incident?"

Ethan scoffed, kicking a chunk of debris. "Who else? No one else stupid enough to mess with the academy’s wards."

Elara’s voice cut through their murmuring, cool and sharp. "Speculation won’t help. We need proof."

Merlin was quiet, staring into the crater.

His eyes weren’t looking at the damage, but beyond it, at the faint mana residue only he could see, glimmering threads of corruption seeping into the ground before fading.

’This wasn’t the organization from before,’ he thought. ’Different structure. Different signature. Similar tools.’

[Analysis complete.]

[Anomaly confirmed: Origin Type — "Arcless Core."]

[Trace signature: Null-order interference.]

[Warning: data does not match known human creation parameters.]

Merlin’s brow furrowed.

’Null-order interference? That’s... impossible.’

"Merlin?" Nathan called. "You alright?"

He blinked, the interface fading. "...Yeah. Just thinking."

Elara studied him carefully. "You saw something."

He didn’t answer right away. Then: "...Maybe. But I’ll need to be sure first."

Her gaze lingered, but she didn’t press.

A moment later, the academy’s emergency wards shimmered back online. From the distant halls, instructors and staff sprinted toward the courtyard, their robes fluttering in the wind.

At their head was Reinhardt Vale, the Swordmaster, his black hair streaked with gray, eyes sharp enough to cut through steel. He stopped at the sight of the crater, scanning the damage.

"What happened here?"

Silence hung for a beat before Merlin stepped forward. "Attack. Residual corruption beneath the courtyard. Manifested as a wraith."

Reinhardt’s expression darkened. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No casualties," Elara said, voice steady. "Containment complete."

He looked at her, then at Merlin, his gaze lingering a fraction longer than usual. Then, quietly: "Report to the Headmistress. Now."

They walked the long corridor toward Morgana’s office in silence, the scent of ash still clinging to their uniforms. The sun had begun to set, staining the academy windows in orange and gold.

Nathan broke the silence first. "You think she already knows?"

Merlin gave a soft laugh. "When does she not?"

The heavy doors to Morgana’s office opened before they even reached them, the runes along the frame glowing faintly. Inside, the room was dark save for the pale blue light of runic sigils floating over her desk.

The Headmistress stood by the window, her long black coat swaying slightly in the breeze. Silver eyes glanced over her shoulder as they entered.

"Second-year class. Late to your report," she said softly, though her tone carried more authority than a shout ever could.

Reinhardt followed behind them, giving a short bow. "Apologies, Headmistress. The courtyard incident was resolved before greater escalation."

"I can see that." Her gaze fell on Merlin. "You again."

Merlin straightened. "...Yes, ma’am."

A faint smile touched her lips. "Good."

She turned fully, arms crossing. "Your control has improved. But so has your recklessness."

Nathan coughed lightly, muttering, "He calls that control?"

Morgana’s sharp gaze flicked to him, and he immediately went quiet.

Her attention returned to Merlin. "Tell me what you sensed."

He hesitated a moment, not because he wanted to lie, but because he needed to measure what truth to tell.

"There was a construct buried beneath the stone," he said. "Old. Designed to feed on the academy’s barrier field and form a wraith using residual energy. But its core wasn’t standard... It felt, off. Not human-made."

Her expression shifted slightly. "Not human?"

Merlin nodded. "More... fragmented. Like it didn’t belong here."

Morgana was silent for a long moment.

Then, softly: "I see."

She turned back toward the window. "You’ve done well. All of you. But this confirms what I feared."

Elara frowned. "That someone is targeting the academy."

Morgana nodded. "Yes. But not just any someone."

She looked over her shoulder, silver eyes narrowing faintly. "This reeks of interference from beyond our realm."

A chill swept through the room.

Merlin didn’t move, but his thoughts churned.

’Beyond our realm,’ she’d said. That wasn’t in the novel. That wasn’t anywhere.

Something new was happening, something that shouldn’t.

And that, more than anything, set his pulse racing.

The wind outside Morgana’s office whistled faintly through the glass panes.

It was almost peaceful, in sharp contrast to the tension hanging inside the room.

The seven second-years stood in quiet formation, their uniforms tattered and streaked with dust.

Morgana’s silver eyes moved between them, sharp, deliberate.

Reinhardt Vale remained behind her, arms crossed, the faint lines of concern visible in his otherwise stoic face.

Finally, the Headmistress broke the silence.

"You all handled yourselves better than most third-years would have."

Her tone was even, unreadable. "However..." Her gaze flicked toward Merlin. "The nature of this incident isn’t something that can be ignored."

Merlin said nothing. He could still feel faint mana lingering on his skin, the residue of that corrupted energy. It didn’t feel like anything human.