Chapter 208: The Missing Records

The missing specifications of the Aegis Array arrived at SkyRune shortly before noon.

Professor Antoine had been expecting them since the previous evening, but the accompanying report contained something that immediately caught his attention.

Thirty-two years ago, the Imperial government had terminated the Aegis Array project following an accident at an experimental facility. The system had originally been developed to isolate unstable magical phenomena, allowing researchers to conduct dangerous experiments without exposing the surrounding environment.

Its containment field prevented external interference, while a secondary circuit regulated mana density within the enclosed area.

During the project’s final experiment, that circuit malfunctioned.

Mana accumulated inside the chamber until the emergency systems activated, but several researchers were injured and the facility sustained extensive damage.

The government subsequently prohibited further development.

And now someone had installed a modified version inside Saint Aurelia Preparatory Academy.

"Whoever designed this should have been imprisoned for the original accident," Antoine remarked after reading the report.

An Imperial specialist corrected him. The investigation had attributed the accident to several failures in the facility’s safety procedures, and no individual researcher had been found solely responsible.

"Wonderful. Then whoever reconstructed it deserves the distinction."

Ilya examined the diagrams while the professor continued reviewing the documents.

The original design included several reservoirs positioned outside the containment chamber. Their purpose was to remove excess mana whenever the environmental circuit approached dangerous operating conditions.

The school barrier possessed no identifiable equivalent.

That presented two possibilities.

Either the perpetrators had developed another method of regulating the accumulated energy, or they had deliberately removed one of the system’s most important safeguards.

Neither explanation was reassuring.

"Professor, can we determine whether the environmental circuit is active?"

"We already have reason to suspect it. These documents should help us establish how much energy it’s consuming."

Antoine instructed the researchers to compare the recovered specifications with the fluctuations recorded around Saint Aurelia.

The results were disturbing.

The environmental circuit had been operating since the first day of the occupation, and its activity had steadily increased.

More importantly, the energy consumed within the school exceeded what the original Aegis Array would have required under normal conditions.

The Imperial specialist requested an immediate assessment of the possible consequences.

Antoine provided one.

"If they’re increasing the mana density inside, prolonged exposure could affect the children. The symptoms would depend on the concentration and duration."

Several students had already complained of headaches, nausea, and exhaustion during their limited conversations with their families.

Until now, the authorities had attributed those complaints primarily to the conditions of confinement.

The recovered documents introduced another explanation.

Within the hour, the Imperial Guard issued a new demand.

Independent medical personnel had to be allowed to examine the hostages.

The negotiators also informed the perpetrators that the government had obtained information concerning the containment system’s original purpose.

There was no reason to conceal that discovery. Making the captors aware of it might pressure them into cooperating.

Unfortunately, the response was immediate.

The hostage-takers denied conducting any experiments and accused the authorities of fabricating allegations to justify an assault.

They refused medical access.

When Antoine received the message, he slammed the document against the table.

"Then let them explain why the children are getting sick!"

Nobody attempted to calm him with empty reassurances.

The Imperial official instead explained that the rescue command had already begun preparing for an intervention. Specialized combat wizards were assessing potential entry points, while technical personnel examined whether the environmental circuit could be shut down independently of the outer barrier.

Antoine listened before asking the question that mattered most.

"Can you get them out?"

"We’re preparing several options, Professor. But I won’t promise you something we haven’t established we can accomplish."

It was a difficult answer, but an appropriate one.

Antoine eventually accepted it.

Ilya understood the professor’s frustration. If Lucile were his daughter, he doubted he would have remained nearly as composed.

Still, the Imperial Guard’s caution was justified.

The recovered documents made it clear that damaging the containment system without understanding its internal mechanisms could expose the children to an uncontrolled magical discharge.

Even defeating the perpetrators wouldn’t necessarily disable the equipment.

For that reason, the rescue command needed another way to reach the hostages.

The Imperial Technical Bureau requested SkyRune’s assistance in identifying the original Aegis Array’s emergency discharge mechanism.

According to the recovered specifications, the system could release accumulated mana through a series of external channels during an emergency. Unfortunately, the modified barrier surrounding Saint Aurelia appeared to have removed or relocated those channels.

The researchers examined the available measurements, searching for anything resembling the original design’s emergency structure.

Ilya quickly encountered a problem.

The diagrams showed that the discharge mechanism required access to the central control apparatus.

If the perpetrators had retained that arrangement, the authorities would need to enter the school before they could activate it.

A rather inconvenient safety feature for anyone currently standing outside.

"Professor, what happens if the emergency discharge is activated while the containment field remains intact?"

Antoine considered the question.

"The original system would redirect the excess mana outside the chamber. If those channels have been removed, we’d need to know where the energy would go."

"Then forcing the system to discharge could be just as dangerous as destroying it."

"Exactly."

That effectively eliminated another possible shortcut.

Rather than wasting the afternoon attempting to reproduce a mechanism whose essential components were missing, Antoine directed the researchers to focus on identifying where the additional energy was being sent.

The Imperial Bureau had recently obtained improved instruments capable of measuring magical pressure through the containment field.

Those instruments produced an unexpected discovery.

The environmental circuit wasn’t distributing mana uniformly throughout the school.

Most of the additional energy appeared to be concentrated somewhere beneath the western wing.

Ilya immediately recalled the architectural plans they had examined the previous day.

Several underground maintenance chambers were located beneath that section of the building, including storage facilities installed during a renovation.

The authorities had already requested the contractors’ records.

Fortunately, those documents had now arrived.

According to the revised plans, an old utility chamber beneath the western wing had been sealed during construction because the school no longer required it.

However, its original access corridor remained connected to the maintenance network.

That gave the investigators a specific location to examine.

The Imperial Guard dispatched personnel to study the building’s exterior and determine whether the underground chamber could be approached without crossing the main containment boundary.

The initial assessment was disappointing.

The barrier extended beneath the school, preventing access through the surrounding ground.

Nevertheless, the discovery narrowed the search considerably.

By late afternoon, the Imperial Technical Bureau had confirmed that the strongest fluctuations originated near the sealed chamber.

The remaining uncertainty concerned what the perpetrators had installed there.

Antoine examined the revised plans before speaking.

"If this is where they’re operating the environmental circuit, there should be enough space for several large apparatuses."

"And potentially an independent power source," Ilya added.

"Yes. Which raises the question of why they need both."

The original Aegis Array had been designed to contain hazardous experiments.

Its environmental circuit regulated the conditions within the chamber, allowing researchers to observe how unstable phenomena responded to different mana densities.

If the modified system followed the same principle, the machinery beneath Saint Aurelia might be supporting an experiment of its own.

That possibility had become increasingly difficult to dismiss.

The Imperial authorities reached a similar conclusion.

Their investigation into the six prisoners named in the hostage-takers’ demands had uncovered connections to an illegal network distributing restricted magical research. Several documents recovered during the inquiry concerned experiments involving abnormal mana exposure.

Although the investigators had yet to establish a direct connection to the occupation, the similarities were troubling.

The rescue command consequently elevated the incident’s threat classification.

Negotiations would continue, but preparations for an emergency intervention received greater priority.

The government also demanded that the perpetrators immediately cease operating any equipment capable of altering the school’s internal environment.

No response arrived.

Instead, the instruments surrounding Saint Aurelia detected another increase in magical activity beneath the western wing.

This time, the fluctuations persisted for nearly twenty minutes.

Antoine received the report while preparing to leave the workshop.

He read through the measurements before handing them to Ilya.

"Look at the pressure readings."

Ilya examined the figures.

The energy concentration had risen sharply, yet the containment field’s outer circulation remained stable.

The machinery beneath the school was consuming substantial amounts of mana without visibly affecting the barrier.

Whatever it was doing, it possessed a considerable degree of independence.

"Could they be storing the energy?" Ilya asked.

"Possibly. Or using it as quickly as they receive it."

The second possibility was particularly concerning.

A system capable of consuming that much mana could be operating equipment far beyond what the original Aegis Array had been designed to support.

Antoine contacted the Imperial Bureau and requested an updated assessment of the possible effects on the hostages.

The response arrived shortly afterward.

Based on the latest measurements, the mana density within parts of Saint Aurelia had likely exceeded the recommended limits for prolonged civilian exposure.

The precise conditions remained uncertain, but the authorities could no longer assume that the children were safe simply because the captors continued claiming otherwise.

An emergency meeting of the rescue command was scheduled for that evening.

Antoine was requested to attend.

Before departing, he instructed Ilya to forward any significant findings to the bureau’s specialists and leave the remaining calculations to the senior researchers.

Ilya agreed.

There was little sense keeping everyone at the workshop when the next decisions belonged to the Imperial authorities.

However, as Antoine prepared to leave, another communication arrived.

The hostage-takers had finally responded to the demand that they cease operating the machinery.

Their message contained only a brief statement.

They would continue negotiations concerning the prisoners, but the Imperial government was to stop interfering with the school’s internal systems.

No explanation was offered.

Antoine read the message before handing it back to the official.

"Tell the rescue commander I’ll be there."

Ilya returned to the diagrams while the professor departed.

The machinery beneath the western wing had continued operating throughout the afternoon, and the latest measurements showed no indication that its activity was decreasing.