Chapter 204: The Khalfani Grand Hotel

Chapter 204: Chapter 204: The Khalfani Grand Hotel

Their vehicle passed through the first checkpoint. Lucian handed over three Academy IDs. The soldier scanned them, his eyes widening slightly at the European All-Star Academy emblem.

"European All-Star students?" The soldier looked up. "What’s your business in Cairo?"

"Transit," Lucian said calmly. "Passing through for a dungeon expedition in the Eastern Desert."

The soldier nodded. Academy IDs were the easiest documentation to use for young travelers — universally recognized and rarely questioned. Beep. The barrier lifted. They drove through.

Cairo’s wealth was staggering. Towering skyscrapers loomed over ancient mosques with crumbling minarets. Mana-shielded markets bustled even at night — merchants selling beast cores, mana crystals, enchanted weapons, and rare herbs. Underground fighting arenas, their bass-heavy music vibrating through the streets. Thump. Thump. Thump. The city was felt alive.

Mickey drove through the wide avenues, weaving through traffic. Clara sat in the back, her tablet glowing in her lap. She leaned forward between the front seats.

"I found it," she said, turning the tablet around.

On the screen was a massive luxury hotel in the city center — the Khalfani Grand Hotel.

"Ramses Khalfani, right?" Clara said.

Lucian studied the tablet, his crimson eyes scanning the building layout.

"Park two blocks away," Lucian said. "We go in on foot."

Mickey pulled the vehicle into a narrow alley between two mana-shielded markets. Vrrrrm. Click. The engine shut off.

Lucian stared at the hotel’s glowing silhouette on the horizon. His fingers tapped slowly against his knee.

The Khalfani Grand Hotel gleamed like a monument to greed in the heart of Cairo. Twenty floors of marble, gold, and mana-reinforced glass. From a rooftop two blocks away, Lucian crouched at the edge of the building, his crimson eyes fixed on the hotel’s upper floors.

Primordial Sight activated.

His vision pierced through the building’s exterior — walls, floors, and ceilings becoming translucent layers in his mind. He scanned upward.

His eyes encountered a barrier. A dense, opaque wall of mana sat between the nineteenth and twentieth floors, obscuring everything above. Someone had installed a high-grade concealment formation.

Lucian frowned. He focused his Mental Power, channeling it through his Primordial Sight. The barrier resisted for a moment, then cracked under the pressure. Crack. His vision punched through.

The top floor opened up before him like a dollhouse. A massive penthouse — marble floors, golden statues, a desk the size of a small car. Six Peak Core bodyguards stood in formation around the room. Two Early Grand Core lieutenants flanked the door. One Mid Grand Core lieutenant stood near the window.

And behind the desk, sitting with the relaxed confidence of a man who owned the world, was Ramses Khalfani. Late Grand Core Realm.

Sitting opposite Ramses were three individuals in dark suits. World Government officials. Their mana signatures were unremarkable — Mid Grand Core at best — but the briefcases beside them pulsed with high-grade mana locks.

"That’s him," Lucian murmured, stepping back from the edge. "Ramses Khalfani. And three government reps still in a meeting with him."

Clara crouched beside him, her silver hair catching the city lights. "Government reps? At midnight?"

"Farouk mentioned a secret meeting," Lucian said. "We wait until they leave. No need to complicate things with World Government involvement."

Clara nodded. Mickey leaned against a ventilation unit, arms crossed.

They descended from the rooftop and rented a room at a modest hotel three blocks away. The room was small — two beds, a bathroom, a window overlooking the Khalfani Grand Hotel. Lucian sat by the window, watching.

Hours passed.

Clara lay on one bed, dozing lightly. Mickey sat against the wall, meditating — circulating his mana through his meridians.

At midnight, three figures emerged from the hotel’s VIP exit. The vehicle pulled away and disappeared into Cairo’s traffic.

Lucian stood. "It’s time."

He turned to Mickey. "Copy my Light Manipulation."

Mickey stepped forward and placed his hand on Lucian’s forearm. Bzzzt. Perfect Copy activated. Light mana flowed from Lucian into Mickey, the ability imprinting itself into Mickey’s Star Palace. Mickey’s crimson eyes flickered with golden light for a moment before settling.

"Got it," Mickey said, flexing his fingers. Light flickered at his fingertips.

They pulled on black featureless masks, covering everything below the eyes. Lucian moved to the window.

Lucian activated Light Prism. Mickey mirrored him. Light bent around their bodies, warping the visual spectrum until they became indistinguishable from the air itself. Clara stood between them, covered by their combined field.

They moved.

They reached the hotel’s ground floor service entrance. Lucian pressed his hand against the door. It was locked with a mana seal.

Sizzle.

A thin Light Blade cut through the seal like butter. The door clicked open. They slipped inside.

The service corridor was empty. They moved through the corridor toward the main lobby. Invisibility still active as a security guard walked past them, his eyes passing over their position without reaction.

They reached the lobby. A reception desk staffed by two attendants. Everything was quiet.

Then —

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

An alarm shrieked through the building. Red lights flashed along the ceiling. Wailing sound. The invisible field around them flickered — a mana-detection grid embedded in the lobby floor had registered the distortion caused by their Light Prism.

Lucian sighed. "Should have expected they have tech capable of detecting invisible intruders."

Clara shrugged, her invisibility dropping as she let out a small laugh. "We would have still fought eventually."

Guards poured out from side corridors. Six Neophyte Realm soldiers in tactical gear raised mana-powered firearms. Click. Click. Click. Safety off. Muzzles leveled.

"FIRE!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bullets screamed toward them — enchanted rounds, each one carrying enough kinetic force to punch through steel. Clara raised her hand. Her silver eyes blazed.

The bullets stopped dead in the air. Ping. Ping. Ping. They hung motionless before her outstretched palm, frozen by her Gravity Manipulation. She clenched her fist. The bullets crumpled into balls of compressed metal and dropped to the floor. Clink. Clink. Clink.

More guards came. They poured from elevators and stairwells, firing mana blasts and firearms simultaneously. Zap. Bang. Crack. The lobby erupted into chaos.

Clara’s eyes blazed brighter. Her voice resonated with power as she chanted.

"Lunar Haze."

FWOOOOOSH.