"Ugh... that smell..." Merlin leaned over and glanced down through the broken hole. A wave of stench surged up from the sewer and straight into his nose, nearly making him lose his breath.
"Looks like he slipped away through the sewers." Once he confirmed that the other party had escaped, he relaxed and looked at Gwen, who was hanging upside down from the ceiling.
"Are you going after him?"
Gwen looked into the sewer, then shot him a speechless glance.
"If you're willing to chase him, I'll follow."
"Forget it. I'm not a superhero. I thought a little smell like this wouldn't be a problem for people like you." Merlin spread his hands, then decided to tease her.
"Oh, right. You called my name earlier. Do you know me?"
Gwen's body immediately stiffened. In her worry, she had inadvertently called out his name.
Fortunately, she had a mask on, so he couldn't see her expression.
"Your friend called you that." She quickly came up with an excuse and spoke as if nothing had happened. Not wanting to dwell on the subject any longer—the more she said, the more holes she would reveal—she changed the topic.
"I admire your courage, but you're just an ordinary person. You only get one life, so don't take such risks in the future." Her warning was earnest.
"Leave this kind of thing to me."
"Can't be helped. Who knows why he kept targeting me?" Merlin sounded helpless as well.
Gwen fell silent at that. She didn't understand it either. Could someone have specifically sent him to assassinate Merlin?
She knew a little about Merlin and his father. After gaining her powers, she had even gone looking into it herself, but by the time she got there, those gangs had already been wiped out.
"Oh, right. Help me find my friend. Her name is Gwen. She has short blonde hair, and I don't know where she ran off to in all the chaos."
"No problem!" Hearing that Merlin hadn't forgotten about her, Gwen felt deeply comforted.
Gwen swung away on her webbing and disappeared into the restroom. Merlin also prepared to head home.
"Hannah!" The moment he rounded the corner, he saw Hannah carefully making her way along the wall.
"Oh my God, are you okay?" Hannah seemed startled by his shout, but when she saw Merlin emerge safely, she immediately relaxed.
"I'm fine, but that monster got away. Let's wait here for Gwen." Merlin reassured her.
"Gwen... right, when did Gwen disappear? Is she okay?" Only after his reminder did Hannah remember Gwen.
"Don't worry. She'll be back soon." Carrying the rifle, Merlin led Hannah back to the hall, picked up the Atomic Gun he had tossed aside, and put the rifle back into its case.
Incendiary Rounds, like armor-piercing, high-explosive, metal, hollow-point, and other rounds, were all Special Bullets. They required an MK2 firearm to equip.
Hannah, who had followed him over, was still confused. Before long, Gwen, her blonde hair in view, came over with a delighted expression.
"Merlin! Hannah! It's great that you're both okay."
Hannah glanced at Merlin in confusion, not knowing how he had been so certain Gwen was fine and would come back.
"That's really heartbreaking. You abandoned us at the critical moment." Carrying the weapon case, Merlin put on a wounded expression.
"Ah... well..." Gwen, who had been beaming moments ago, immediately became awkward, but she soon found an excuse.
"No, it was like this. I ran with the crowd. I thought you two had followed."
"When I realized you two hadn't, I rushed back right away."
"I'm the one who should be heartbroken. I came back despite the danger because I was worried about you, and now you're even suspicious of me." Gwen turned the tables and put on an aggrieved expression.
"Is that so?" Merlin gave her a strange look. It was the first time he had realized her acting was so good.
Before long, police cars rapidly arrived at the school and sealed off the entire venue.
Some bold teachers and students had not gone far. They stood outside the venue, watching curiously, and only carefully followed the police inside after they arrived.
"Gwen, Merlin!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Merlin and Gwen stopped bickering and looked toward the entrance.
Wearing a bulletproof vest and holding a pistol, George looked at them both in delight.
Honestly, after hearing from the people who had fled that neither Gwen nor Merlin had come out, he had thought something terrible had happened to them.
With every step closer, his heart had tightened. Fortunately, the two of them finally appeared before him unharmed.
"Dad!" Gwen ran over happily.
After confirming that neither of them was injured, George finally relaxed and began asking about what had happened.
Since Gwen had not been at the scene, aside from Spider-Man, Merlin was the only witness who had seen the person who drove the monster back.
Therefore, Gwen and Hannah could leave first, while Merlin was taken away by George.
Before leaving, however, Merlin tossed the car keys back to the two of them.
"The plan's still on. Go back and wait for me." He winked at them, then opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat beside George.
"Something this serious happened, and he's still in the mood for barbecue." Gwen caught the keys and couldn't help complaining before asking Hannah beside her.
"Do you want to go?"
"Of course. Let's go. I've already told my family I'm safe."
"Fine. Come to think of it, I've never ridden that guy's big baby before. He's being unusually generous this time." Gwen waved the car keys in her hand and headed excitedly toward the school gates.
Normally, Merlin never allowed anyone else to touch his Ducati.
Manhattan Police Headquarters, interrogation room.
George held the Electromagnetic Pulse Emitter in his hands and looked uncertainly at Merlin, who sat across from him.
"This... was developed by you?"
"Yes. This was my exhibit today, and its main customers were supposed to be people like you." Merlin was not particularly nervous. He nodded and answered casually.
"Then this rifle is yours too? Kangaroo's FAMAS?"
"Yes, I modified it a little." Merlin did not dwell on the name. After modification, the gun did resemble a FAMAS from Kangaroo Country, though its prototype before becoming an MK2 firearm had been a QBZ95 rifle.
"You modified a gun yourself! Merlin, what exactly have you been doing lately?" After Merlin confirmed it, George's brows furrowed. For the first time, he felt a sense of unfamiliarity toward the child he had always treated as his own.
He had clearly been such a well-behaved child before, but ever since his friend died, he seemed to have changed.
"Maybe you should focus on the Electromagnetic Pulse Emitter." Merlin did not answer. Instead, he gestured toward the exhibit case on George's right, sounding somewhat helpless.
"Besides, I was the hero who drove back the monster this time. You've asked everything you needed to ask, so how much longer are you going to keep me here? Gwen and the others are waiting for me at home."
Before you continue