Chapter 213: The Cult of the Second Dawn

The Imperial Guard had finally uncovered something useful about the people occupying Saint Aurelia Preparatory Academy.

Eleven years earlier, an illegal research facility had been discovered on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital.

Its researchers had been conducting experiments involving prolonged magical exposure and psychological stress, claiming that ordinary humans possessed dormant abilities that could only be awakened under extraordinary circumstances.

The investigation ended with several arrests, but the principal researchers escaped before the authorities could apprehend them.

Among the confiscated documents was a manuscript titled The Second Dawn of Humanity.

Ilya had never heard of it before his conversation with Vera. However, the Imperial investigators had now confirmed that the manuscript was associated with the Cult of the Second Dawn, an organization whose members had repeatedly attracted attention for conducting dangerous experiments.

More importantly, the confiscated materials contained several examination papers almost identical to those recovered from Saint Aurelia.

The discovery was sufficient for the authorities to establish a probable connection.

"These are the questions from the school," Antoine said after comparing the documents. "They even kept the same order."

Ilya examined the two papers. Both began with ordinary academic exercises before introducing questions about fear, betrayal, and personal relationships. The similarities extended to the instructions concerning students who failed to meet an unspecified standard.

Apparently, the people responsible had been recycling the same examination for over a decade.

That was an impressive commitment to academic tradition, considering that their previous research had ended in criminal investigations.

"Did the old experiments produce anything?" Ilya asked.

"Several injuries, a few deaths, and enough evidence to warrant closing the laboratory. If they discovered anything extraordinary, they neglected to record it."

"Then their definition of success seems rather generous."

Antoine didn’t disagree.

The original researchers had believed that exposing individuals to extreme conditions might stimulate extraordinary changes in their magical abilities. They had also theorized that fear and desperation could influence those changes.

However, the surviving records offered no convincing evidence supporting their claims.

For Antoine, that was especially infuriating. He had devoted much of his life to studying ancient magical technology, and he understood that unconventional theories sometimes led to remarkable discoveries. Nevertheless, there was a substantial difference between pursuing an uncertain hypothesis and forcing unwilling subjects to endure dangerous experiments.

The fact that the current victims were children made the situation even worse.

The Imperial investigators had already begun comparing the old research materials with the identities of the six prisoners demanded by the hostage-takers. One prisoner had previously been questioned in connection with the same research circle, although the authorities had never obtained sufficient evidence to convict him.

That was enough to justify reopening the investigation.

Unfortunately, identifying the organization’s possible involvement didn’t immediately reveal who was commanding the occupation.

Most of the old researchers had disappeared years earlier, and the surviving documents contained few reliable names.

Antoine eventually set the records aside.

"Do they know where the children have been taken?"

"The western wing is still their strongest possibility," Ilya answered. "The latest report says the classrooms are being emptied, but the Guard hasn’t confirmed where everyone is being gathered."

The professor requested another update.

According to the Imperial authorities, the hostage-takers had begun moving the students toward the center of the school. Several entrances had been sealed, and the captors were refusing all requests to verify the children’s condition.

The timing was particularly troubling.

The recovered manuscript described a final stage in which participants were required to remain together until an examination concluded.

Nobody knew what that examination involved.

However, the Imperial Guard had already received enough information to understand that waiting indefinitely was dangerous.

The rescue command consequently began reviewing its preparations for an emergency intervention.

Antoine was invited to attend a briefing concerning the equipment installed beneath the school, while Ilya remained at SkyRune to assist the other researchers.

Their assignment was straightforward. The Imperial authorities needed the safest available method of interrupting the equipment responsible for altering conditions inside Saint Aurelia.

Most of the theoretical work had already been completed during the previous several days.

Ilya was grateful for that. He had reached the point where another afternoon spent discussing obscure mechanisms sounded almost as unpleasant as attending an examination prepared by the cult itself.

Instead, he concentrated on organizing the useful findings into a short document for the rescue command.

The researchers had identified several methods worth attempting, although none was guaranteed to work against the modified equipment. Their report therefore included the potential risks, the circumstances under which each method should be attempted, and the warning signs that would require immediate withdrawal.

By early afternoon, the document was complete.

The Imperial Technical Bureau accepted it and informed SkyRune that the rescue command would determine which procedures were suitable for deployment.

With his immediate responsibilities finished, Ilya intended to return to the academy.

However, Antoine arrived before he could leave.

The professor had brought another document from the Imperial investigators.

It concerned a discovery made while reviewing the old cult records.

One of the confiscated manuscripts contained a handwritten account from a former participant in an early experiment. The individual had described being confined with several others while researchers deliberately subjected them to frightening situations.

Those who remained calm were praised.

Those who broke down were separated and subjected to additional procedures.

The account ended before explaining what happened afterward.

Ilya remembered the examination papers recovered from Saint Aurelia.

The questions concerning fear and family relationships now seemed particularly unpleasant.

"They’re trying to frighten the children deliberately," he said.

"That’s what the investigators suspect. According to the manuscript, the researchers believed emotional distress could provoke unusual magical reactions."

"Has anyone actually demonstrated that?"

"No. And even if someone had, it wouldn’t justify what they’re doing."

Antoine was becoming increasingly impatient with the investigation, although his frustration had a clear target.

His daughter remained trapped inside the school.

Lucile had recently turned eleven, and the professor had spent the previous week speaking proudly about her academic presentation. Now he was reading documents describing how researchers might deliberately frighten children in pursuit of some supposed breakthrough.

Ilya could hardly blame him for wanting the occupation ended immediately.

Nevertheless, Antoine understood that the Imperial Guard couldn’t simply charge into the building without considering the hostages.

After discussing the latest findings, the professor returned to the rescue preparations.

Ilya remained behind to examine the manuscript.

One passage attracted his attention.

The former participant had described how the researchers rewarded cooperation during the initial examinations. Subjects were promised better food, additional rest, and opportunities to contact their families if they performed well.

Those promises gradually became less frequent.

Eventually, the participants were told that the only way to leave was to complete the final examination.

Ilya recognized the pattern.

The hostage-takers had repeatedly offered concessions during negotiations, only to withdraw them whenever the Imperial authorities approached an agreement.

Their treatment of the children might follow a similar principle.

By offering small rewards and then threatening to remove them, the perpetrators could increase the hostages’ anxiety while maintaining the appearance that cooperation would eventually lead to freedom.

It was a cruel method.

And judging by the previous experiments, it had accomplished little beyond making people suffer.

Ilya brought the passage to Antoine.

The professor immediately forwarded it to the Imperial investigators, who added it to their assessment of the hostage-takers’ methods.

The information wouldn’t open the school’s doors, but it might help the negotiators understand why the perpetrators continued changing their demands.

More importantly, it suggested that promises of eventual release might have been part of the examination itself.

That possibility troubled Antoine more than anything else he had read that afternoon.

"They’ve been telling the children they’ll go home if they cooperate," he said.

Ilya understood.

If Lucile had received the same promise, she might genuinely believe that completing the examination would allow her to return to her father.

The thought was difficult to endure.

For several minutes, Antoine remained silent before asking whether Ilya had any further information from his senior.

"Only what I told you yesterday, Professor. She recognized the organization from old accounts. She didn’t claim to know who’s responsible."

"I see. Then thank her for me. Her information has been helpful."

Ilya agreed.

He had little doubt that Vera knew more obscure information than most scholars twice her age, although she had always been selective about what she shared.

Fortunately, the name she provided had already helped the Imperial investigators identify the probable nature of the operation.

The rescue command now possessed evidence that the occupation involved human experimentation, and its officers were no longer treating the perpetrators’ demands as ordinary bargaining positions.

That evening, another communication arrived from Saint Aurelia.

The hostage-takers announced that the final examination would begin shortly.

They demanded that Imperial personnel withdraw from the western perimeter and warned that any interference would be treated as an attack against the school.

The rescue commander refused.

Instead, the Imperial Guard demanded the immediate release of the children and informed the perpetrators that their activities had been linked to prohibited human experimentation.

The response was unexpected.

Rather than denying the accusation, the hostage-takers transmitted a brief message claiming that the Imperial authorities were obstructing an important advancement in human development.

They also insisted that the participants had been selected for a great opportunity.

When Antoine read the statement, he gave a bitter laugh.

"An opportunity? They kidnapped children and killed one of them."

Ilya found it difficult to imagine how the perpetrators expected anyone to accept such reasoning.

Still, the message confirmed something important.

The hostage-takers appeared to believe in the purpose of their experiment.

That made negotiations considerably more difficult.

Criminals seeking money or political concessions could sometimes be persuaded to compromise. People convinced that they were accomplishing something extraordinary might continue even when their position became hopeless.

The Imperial Guard evidently recognized that danger.

Shortly afterward, the rescue command authorized additional preparations for intervention, and specialized personnel began moving toward the school’s western perimeter.

At SkyRune, Antoine received instructions to remain available in case the technical team required assistance.

Ilya offered to continue helping.

The professor accepted, although he insisted that Ilya return to Holy Trinity once their immediate work was finished.

There was no reason for an academy student to remain awake through another night unless his presence served a practical purpose.

Ilya agreed, provided the professor followed his own advice eventually.

Antoine promised to consider it.

Neither believed that would happen before Lucile was safe.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Guard continued positioning its personnel around Saint Aurelia.

The hostage-takers had stopped responding to further requests for communication, and the children were still being gathered inside the school.

Whatever the final examination involved, the perpetrators were determined to carry it out.