CHAPTER 289: CHAPTER 289- REAL TRAP

They were marched through the sterile corridors of the central citadel and into a stark, circular chamber. At the far end, seated behind a simple desk, was Heikal. His stark white hair and piercing red eyes regarded them with an air of detached amusement, like a scientist observing interesting specimens. Rei stood rigidly at his side, her blue eyes burning with cold fire.

"Welcome," Heikal said, his voice smooth and pleasant. "I’ve been expecting you. Though, I must say, I’m disappointed. I expected to put up more of a fight." His gaze settled on Julian. "First, a simple question. Where is Beatrix? Is my wayward alchemist well?"

Julian, his hands still bound by the white nullifier cuffs, met Heikal’s gaze without flinching. "She’s free," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Something she could never be under your... enlightened leadership. Tell me, does it make you feel powerful? Controlling these people with your little brand? Turning them into puppets?"

Rei took a sharp step forward. "You will show respect!"

One of the guards, the wiry beast-man, didn’t wait for an order. He drove his fist hard into Julian’s side. Julian grunted, buckling slightly from the impact but staying on his feet.

"Consider that your only warning," the beast-man snarled.

Celestia, seeing Julian struck, stiffened, a flash of pure fury in her icy eyes.

The metallic woman chuckled, looking at Celestia. "Ooh, she’s even prettier when she’s angry. Lord Heikal, once they’re processed, I’d like permission to tame that one."

"Patience," Heikal chided softly, though a smirk played on his lips. He stood and slowly walked around his desk, stopping in front of Julian. "Now, let’s stop this unpleasantness. Surrender. Join the New Order. Your strength is wasted on petty survival. Together, we can truly bring order to this broken world. We will conquer it, and reshape it in our image."

Julian actually laughed, a short, derisive sound. "Conquer the world? You have the dream of a pubescent child with too much power. This world has shattered gods and swallowed civilizations. You think your little fortress and your branded army can tame it? Stop dreaming."

The chamber erupted in shouts of outrage from Heikal’s subordinates. Rei’s hand went to the hilt of her sword. The beast-man looked ready to tear Julian apart.

But Heikal simply raised a hand, silencing them all. His pleasant smile never wavered, but his red eyes grew colder.

"A pity," Heikal sighed, sounding genuinely disappointed. "It seems we must do this the old-fashioned way." He took a final step, now standing directly in front of Julian, well within arm’s reach, utterly confident in his Karma’s Retribution and Julian’s powerless state.

That was his fatal mistake.

A sharp, predatory smile spread across Julian’s face.

"Checkmate," Julian said.

In a movement faster than anyone could process, Julian’s hands still bound by the nullifier cuffs—shot forward. But he wasn’t throwing a punch. He was moving with a purpose that defied all logic. With a sharp click, he fastened one of the white nullifier cuffs from his own wrists directly onto Heikal’s outstretched arm.

The effect was instantaneous. The immense, passive aura of Karma’s Retribution that surrounded Heikal vanished. His eyes widened in utter, profound shock, the condescending smile freezing and then shattering on his face. He was vulnerable.

In the same motion, Julian spun, wrapping his now-free arm around Heikal’s neck in a brutal chokehold, using the leader’s own body as a shield.

"The real trap wasn’t the one you set for us," Julian hissed into Heikal’s ear, his voice cold and lethal. "It was the one you walked into yourself."

The chamber descended into chaos. Rei screamed, "HEIKAL!" The other skill users stood frozen, weapons half-drawn, terrified of hitting their now-powerless leader.

The chamber was frozen in a tableau of shock. Julian held a vulnerable Heikal in a chokehold, the nullifier cuff gleaming on the leader’s wrist.

"Don’t move," Julian commanded, his voice ice-cold and projecting to every corner of the room. "Or I reduce his head to paste."

The wiry beast-man stared, dumbfounded, at Julian’s free hands. "Impossible! I cuffed you myself! How are your hands free?!"

As if in answer to his question, the air shimmered behind Julian. Dori appeared, dropping her Concealment skill, her face a mixture of terror and exhilaration. In her hands were the two other sets of nullifier cuffs, now unlocked.

"D-Did I do well, Julian?" she asked, her voice trembling but proud.

"Perfectly, Dori," Julian said, not taking his eyes off Heikal’s stunned subordinates. "You were essential."

On cue, there was a sharp ping as the cuffs on Celestia’s wrists fell away, followed by a similar sound from Zoe’s. They were free, their skills once again at their disposal. Celestia’s silver threads materialized around her fingers, and Zoe dropped into a low, feral crouch, a deadly growl rumbling in her chest.

"You’re all probably wondering how this happened," Julian stated, his tone shifting to that of a lecturer explaining a simple puzzle. "The moment Beatrix revealed the nature of your ’Mark of Scales,’ I calculated its secondary function. A monitoring device. It made sense you’d be able to listen in on those you branded."

He tightened his arm slightly, making Heikal gasp. "So, when I used my Domination on Beatrix back in Meltdown, I didn’t just suppress the mark. I took partial control of its ’transmission.’ I let you hear exactly what I wanted you to hear. A plan for a straightforward infiltration. I knew you’d be waiting. I counted on it."

A wave of dawning horror swept through Rei and the others. They had been played from the very beginning.

"The only variable I didn’t anticipate was these," Julian admitted, glancing at the white cuffs. "The nullifier. A genuine surprise. But it only made my final move easier. I didn’t need to fight your Karma’s Retribution. I just needed to slap a piece of its countermeasure directly onto you."

He looked directly at Rei, whose face was a mask of fury and shattered confidence.

"You used our surveillance against us..." she whispered, the realization a physical blow.

Julian gave a final, cold smirk. "Unlucky indeed."

The chessboard was overturned. The hunter was now the captive, and the prey held all the pieces. The fate of the New Order now hung in the balance, held in the crushing grip of Julian’s arm.