Chapter 200: The Hostage Incident [1]

By the following morning, the hostage situation had become the most discussed incident in the Imperial Capital.

The authorities had confirmed that an unidentified armed group had occupied Saint Aurelia Preparatory Academy, a prestigious institution attended by the children of nobles, wealthy merchants, and high-ranking government officials. The school had been placed under lockdown, and approximately two hundred students and faculty members were believed to remain inside.

Among them was Lucile Chastellain.

Ilya learned the details from an official notice circulated through Holy Trinity Academy. The report contained little beyond the school’s name, the approximate number of hostages, and confirmation that the Imperial Guard had established a security perimeter.

There was no information concerning the perpetrators.

More troubling was the fact that the authorities had yet to establish reliable communication with anyone inside.

Ordinary communication devices had stopped functioning shortly after the incident began, and attempts to contact the school through its administrative network had failed.

Naturally, rumors spread faster than the official information.

Some students claimed that the perpetrators were foreign agents attempting to embarrass the Empire. Others suggested that a criminal organization was demanding ransom from the families of wealthy children.

Neither explanation could be dismissed outright.

A school attended by influential families would certainly make an attractive target for anyone seeking political or financial leverage.

However, the absence of communication made the situation difficult to assess.

For the moment, Ilya could only hope that the Imperial Guard had the matter under control.

He had no intention of inserting himself into a hostage crisis simply because he happened to know one of the victims’ parents. The authorities possessed specialists trained for precisely these circumstances, and an inexperienced first-year wizard would accomplish little by appearing at the perimeter uninvited.

Nevertheless, he remained concerned about Antoine.

The professor had devoted much of his life to research, but anyone who had spent time around him understood that his daughter occupied a place in his life no scientific accomplishment could replace.

Ilya remembered how pleased Antoine had been after attending Lucile’s school presentation.

Now she was trapped inside that same school.

The contrast was difficult to ignore.

During the afternoon, Holy Trinity received another notice.

All students had been instructed to avoid the eastern district until further notice, and several practical examinations requiring travel outside the academy grounds were temporarily postponed.

The announcement also confirmed that specialized Imperial personnel had been deployed to investigate an unidentified magical obstruction surrounding the school.

That attracted Ilya’s attention.

A magical obstruction was rather different from ordinary criminals barricading themselves inside a building.

If the perpetrators possessed equipment capable of interfering with communications and restricting access, the incident might be more complicated than the authorities had initially anticipated.

Still, sophisticated Rune Tech wasn’t exclusive to military organizations.

Certain industrial systems could produce similar effects when modified, although acquiring and operating them required considerable resources.

Ilya recalled the recent inspections involving restricted magical components.

The possibility of a connection was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

However, he still lacked sufficient information to draw any useful conclusions.

For now, the sensible course was to continue his studies while remaining available if SkyRune required assistance.

That decision became relevant sooner than expected.

Shortly after his final lecture, Ilya received a message from the Magic Department requesting his presence at SkyRune’s workshop.

Several senior researchers had gathered there, along with two unfamiliar men wearing the insignia of the Imperial Technical Bureau.

The workshop’s experimental equipment had been moved aside to make room for a collection of diagrams and documents.

Professor Antoine was also present.

Ilya immediately noticed how different he looked.

The professor’s usual composure had deteriorated, and the exhaustion around his eyes suggested that he hadn’t slept since the incident began. Nevertheless, he was examining the documents with the same concentration he ordinarily devoted to his research.

The moment Ilya entered, Antoine acknowledged him before returning to the discussion.

One of the Imperial researchers explained the situation.

The school had been surrounded by an artificial containment field whose construction did not correspond to any standard defensive formation currently registered with the Imperial authorities.

Attempts to disrupt the field through conventional means had failed.

More importantly, the system appeared to interfere with magical communication devices operating within its boundaries.

The Imperial Technical Bureau had requested SkyRune’s assistance because the containment mechanism exhibited similarities to certain ancient Rune Tech systems.

Ilya listened as the researchers described their preliminary findings.

The field extended beyond the school’s outer walls, covering much of the surrounding grounds. Its visible boundary was faint enough that an ordinary observer might overlook it, although specialized instruments could detect a consistent distortion in the ambient mana.

According to the measurements, the containment system was maintaining itself through several interconnected formations.

That was unusual.

Most large defensive barriers required a central source of energy or a series of clearly identifiable anchors.

The school barrier appeared to distribute its energy through multiple locations, making it difficult to determine which section controlled the overall construction.

The Imperial researchers had already considered destroying the external formations.

Unfortunately, preliminary calculations suggested that damaging one section could cause the remaining structures to compensate unpredictably.

Given the presence of children inside, attempting such a disruption without understanding its consequences would be reckless.

Ilya found himself agreeing.

A containment system designed around interconnected formations could respond to interference in ways that ordinary barriers would not.

If the perpetrators had deliberately incorporated such a mechanism, they might even have anticipated attempts to disable it through force.

Antoine eventually asked the researchers to display their recorded measurements.

For several minutes, the workshop examined the diagrams in silence.

Then one of the senior researchers identified a pattern in the distribution of mana between the suspected anchor points.

The system appeared to redirect energy whenever one section experienced a significant fluctuation.

That sounded familiar.

Ilya had spent the previous week studying a damaged ancient component that operated through a similar principle.

Of course, the scale was entirely different.

Their laboratory experiments involved a small regulator that could barely manage a few channels, while the school barrier covered an enormous area.

Nevertheless, the underlying method of maintaining equilibrium might be related.

"Professor," Ilya said, "could this be using a distributed feedback mechanism?"

Antoine looked toward him.

Ilya explained the similarities between the recorded fluctuations and the ancient mana distribution component they had recently examined.

If the barrier redistributed energy automatically, disrupting a single section might cause the others to compensate without requiring instructions from a central controller.

That could explain why the Imperial researchers had struggled to identify the system’s primary anchor.

One of the bureau specialists considered the suggestion before examining the measurements again.

"It’s possible. But we’d need to confirm whether the fluctuations correspond to changes in the neighboring formations."

Antoine agreed.

He instructed the researchers to compare the recorded variations across several suspected anchor points.

Ilya helped organize the data, although the actual analysis remained in the hands of the more experienced specialists.

After reviewing the measurements, they identified several instances in which disturbances affecting one portion of the field appeared to produce compensating changes elsewhere.

The results supported Ilya’s suggestion.

However, they also revealed an additional complication.

The barrier’s energy distribution was remarkably efficient.

Whatever equipment maintained the field had been constructed with an understanding of magical engineering far beyond what ordinary criminals could reasonably be expected to possess.

That didn’t establish the perpetrators’ identities.

But it did suggest that the operation had been prepared carefully.

The Imperial researchers immediately requested additional measurements from the perimeter.

Meanwhile, Antoine continued examining the diagrams, searching for a weakness that might allow the containment system to be disabled without endangering the hostages.

Ilya could only imagine what the professor was experiencing.

He was being asked to analyze the mechanism preventing the authorities from reaching his own daughter.

Yet despite his exhaustion, Antoine continued working.

There was little room for personal emotion when a mistake could place Lucile and hundreds of other children in greater danger.

By the time the meeting concluded, the researchers had developed several possible explanations for the barrier’s construction.

None offered an immediate solution.

Nevertheless, they had gained enough information to begin narrowing their investigation.

The Imperial Technical Bureau agreed to provide SkyRune with updated measurements as they became available.

Ilya was instructed to remain at the academy and continue assisting with the theoretical analysis.

That arrangement suited him.

He could contribute without interfering with the professionals responsible for the actual rescue operation.

As the researchers began gathering their documents, Antoine finally stepped away from the table.

For a moment, the professor appeared unsure what to do with himself.

Then he noticed Ilya standing nearby.

"Belozersky."

"Yes, Professor?"

"Thank you for coming."

Ilya shook his head.

"There’s no need to thank me, sir."

Antoine offered a tired smile.

The professor looked as though he wanted to say something else, but the words never came.

Instead, he returned his attention to the documents.

Ilya understood.

There was nothing particularly useful he could say.

Assuring Antoine that everything would be fine would accomplish little when neither of them knew what was happening inside the school.

For now, the only meaningful assistance he could offer was to continue working.

Meanwhile, beyond the academy walls, the Imperial Guard maintained its perimeter around Saint Aurelia Preparatory Academy.

The unidentified perpetrators had yet to establish formal negotiations.

And despite the arrival of specialized personnel, the authorities still had no reliable information about the conditions of the hostages inside.