Nightblade (Darkest night)

Chapter 229: Black Meridian

Merlin threw a furtive glance at the unconscious girl in his arms then looked straight ahead. The grey-haired man moving in front of him exuded an aura of power and confidence but from the subtle tension in his body, Merlin could tell he was a bit disgruntled.

"Perhaps I went too far this time..."

They were currently headed to the Headmaster’s office and if his intuition served him right, they’d soon be joined by a few unforeseen guests.

Not that any of them posed a significant threat to him.

"What a pain..."

Letting out a sigh, Merlin straightened taking measured steps forward.

Staring at the ancient portraits adorning the walls, his lips curled into a small smile.

"Look at all these old fossils, they must be turning in their faces right about now."

Gregory suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"Look who’s talking..."

Walking through the ancient hall, Merlin couldn’t help but reflect on the wars that the Talented had fought with the assassins—all the bloodshed, all the lives that had been lost.

Looking at the result, things could have gone considerably worse.

Just then around them, he felt the change in the space.

After all, one of his innate abilities dealt solely with space and time. It was quite difficult to surprise him with such petty tricks.

A moment t later, Gregory felt it too, coming to a stop.

In front of them, the space shuddered, vibrating erratically then cracked.

A ĺong jagged rift slowly forced its way in the middle of the long corridor, blooming akin to a flower of calamity.

Waves of raw unfamiliar power poured out of the rift washing over the corridor in tyrannical fashion. The flood abruptly halted, seeping back into the crack in an eerie fashion as though sucked into a vortex.

A moment later an elegant black cane with an owl headpiece emerged from the rift, followed by the man who wielded it.

His steely gray eyes coldly scrutinized the two men with a chilling clarity that was in stark contrast to the easy-going smile that was playing on his lips.

"Lord Snow."

The smile on Marcus’s lips widened slightly.

"Headmaster Whizen. "

His eyes turned to Merlin, dipping briefly to the unconscious girl in his arms.

The mask he wore cracked for a split second before slipping back almost immediately into place.

" And you must be Merlin Halecrest. Your reputation precedes you, Black Meridian."

Gregory’s poker face remained in place but inwardly his mind churned.

"Well, that was certainly fast."

From the time Merlin had appeared, only a few minutes had passed the information about his arrival had already reached the upper echelons of the Council.

And they had, then a representative from the Videntis was most probably en route as well.

Merlin laughed at the mention of his alias.

The name certainly stirred several memories to mind, both good and bad.

"Please, those days are far behind me. After all, the world has changed considerably, there’s no need for such children’s tales to come back to life. At least for the time being."

Merlin smiled.

" That said, I must apologize for my dramatic entrance but I deemed I needed to accomplish my goal."

The easy-going smile on Marcus’s face never faltered for even a moment.

’And pray tell, what would this goal be?"

Merlin stared at him for a few moments in silence.

"I plan to take on this girl as an apprentice of mine. It’s almost reminiscent of what you assassins do. But yes, I intend to take her in as my apprentice."

Marcus remained silent for a few moments then quietly nodded.

"Well, if the Headmaster is with you on this, I cannot raise any objections.

The group of three proceeded to the headmaster’s office.

The amount of power gathered in that one place was mind-boggling not to mention the number of incredibly powerful individuals that had once roamed the ancient corridors before them.

In fact, Merlin could vaguely feel the lingering traces of dormant power residing in the air.

Assassins whose names the world once shuddered at.

Some of them had quietly slipped away into the shadows and others were dead.

It was both frightening and strangely humbling to see that even such old monsters could be bested.

On the other hand, it was also a lesson to both the young and the old.

One couldn’t grow too confident or arrogant for that matter simply because of the power that they wielded.

Just then the shadows stirred, the bright daylight outside the massive building abruptly dimming.

The shadows became longer, darker, and stretched out with a life-like eeriness.

A cold frigid wind swept over the world

A fierce tenebrous figure emerged from the shadows pooled on the ground rising from the darkness with an uncanny yet unsettling grace.

Cocking his head, the intricately curved dark mask that adorned his face shifted slightly, and the darkness pooled where his eyes should have been seething beneath the mask.

His dark gaze swept over the building with chilling intensity as though he could peer through the layers of security that had been concealed within it.

Moving with unnatural fluidity, he moved forward, his feet seemingly gliding a few centimetres above the ground

He calmly made his way into the building, stopping briefly to introduce himself.

Of course, the dark mask he wore and the signature attire of the Videntis spoke for themselves, and a few moments later, the receptionist calmly led him to the headmaster’s office.

A few moments after that, a redhead with striking violet eyes elegantly descended from the sky, her luscious crimson hair fluttering slightly in the wind. Her alluring eyes swept over the academy from above, noting the intact buildings and structures.

"Well at least, there isn’t any visible aftermath."

Her decision to keep Merlin’s arrival to herself had allowed him much more flexibility than she’d originally anticipated.

Not that there was much they could have done considering who the man was.

But looking at the result, things could have transpired considerably worse so this outcome was acceptable.

Letting out a sigh, Victoria shook her head.

" How troublesome."

****

Merlin felt them before he saw them.

Two of the Videntis had arrived.

First, he felt the unnatural shift in the darkness within the room. Despite appearances, the young assassin, Marcus, could tell as well, which was also quite an impressive feat.

"Thrain is here. Normally he’d just barge in here but instead, he’s decided to do this the old-fashioned way.

And then a few moments after, a single pulse of psionic energy washed over the building, the painstaking effort lingering for a few seconds before sputtering and vanishing completely.

Merlin’s lips curled into a small devilish smile.

" That must be Victoria. The little brat has grown significantly more powerful since I last saw her."

"As suspected, there’s interference that tampers with the way Talented powers work in this place. It must have been a safety measure put in place in the latter days."

Across the room, Emily lay on one of the luxurious beds, breathing gently but still unconscious. The girl had no visible injuries or blood marring her skin.

Glancing at her, Merlin frowned slightly.

"I can only surmise that she’s still in shock.

Looking back at the battle just before the young lady had lost consciousness she’d seemed to tap into a reserve of energy of a different source.

Merlin smiled in quiet amusement, remembering the small display of raw power she’d exhibited. It has in fact made him more keen to take her under his wing.

After all, it wasn’t every day that one met such a unique talent.

He’d pushed the young Talented to her limits and then beyond.

And just when it seemed like she’d reached her limit, something had changed.

****

Merlin had felt it in the way she wielded her powers and the clarity in her eyes.

The energy emanating around her had shifted instantly.

Her gaze had become strangely distant and empty, almost as though she’d become entirely hollow but her eyes were fixed almost entirely.

The very air around her shimmered turning several degrees colder.

Merlin stared at that cold gaze with mild amusement in the silver flames dancing in the eyes.

"How interesting, let’s try this again..."

Strangely enough, her power completely ignored the charged air around her, producing ice on its own.

The layer of forest slowly spread through the undergrowth creeping up the remaining stumps.

Merlin’s eyes widened slightly, his lips curling slightly in amusement.

" That’s certainly unexpected..."

The air around her froze entirely the chilling layer of air spreading towards him at an alarming pace.

"This is quite impressive but unfortunately it won’t be enough if you truly want to win."

His eyes narrowed.

"How is she doing?"

No matter how much he analyzed, he couldn’t understand it.

Her power simply ignored the rising temperature of the air, the ice maintaining its integrity despite the absurd amount of heat radiating through the air.

A split second later, an indomitable wave of ice surged towards him ripping through the air with alarming speed.