Chapter 216: The Last Chance

The crimson lights illuminating the underground hall sent the children into a panic.

Captain Reinhardt immediately ordered his soldiers to keep the students away from the walls while the accompanying medic attended to those who had already collapsed.

The entrance remained sealed, and the voice that had announced the final examination offered no further instructions.

Sixty-eight children were trapped inside with seven Imperial Guardsmen.

Most had been weakened by days of confinement. Some could barely stand, while others had become so frightened of disobeying their captors that they resisted the soldiers’ attempts to help them.

Reinhardt understood that he couldn’t afford to waste time reassuring everyone individually.

"Listen carefully! We’re getting you out of here. Those men have no authority over you anymore, and nobody is going to punish you for following our instructions. Anyone who can walk, help someone who can’t."

His voice carried across the hall.

The students gradually began cooperating. A few older children helped their younger classmates, while the soldiers organized them near the entrance. The medic had already identified several who required urgent treatment, and Reinhardt instructed his men to prepare to carry them.

Unfortunately, the doors remained locked.

"Captain, we can break through," one soldier reported. "The question is whether it’ll hurt the children."

Reinhardt understood his concern.

The cult had repeatedly threatened to punish the hostages if anyone interfered with the examination. Given what had happened to Adrian Keller, dismissing those threats would be irresponsible.

Nevertheless, remaining inside was becoming equally dangerous.

"Get the engineers here. Tell command we’re preparing to force an exit if they can’t open it safely."

The response arrived within moments.

The Imperial Guard had already breached the concealed control room.

Several cult members had been captured, although the man believed to be directing the experiment had escaped through another passage. The soldiers were searching for him while the technical personnel attempted to release the trapped hostages.

Reinhardt ordered his men to prepare for evacuation.

There was still a chance.

Meanwhile, at SkyRune, Professor Antoine Chastellain had received the same report.

"They captured the researchers?"

"Four of them, Professor. The remaining personnel are being pursued."

"Then make them stop the examination!"

"The investigators are questioning them now. Unfortunately, the prisoners claim they cannot interrupt the procedure once it begins."

Antoine found that difficult to accept.

Someone had constructed the underground facility. Someone had gathered the children inside it and issued the instructions that now threatened their lives.

Surely those people knew how to stop what they had started.

Ilya understood the professor’s frustration, although the prisoners’ claims weren’t necessarily false.

The cult had spent months preparing the occupation. It was entirely possible that its members had deliberately designed the final examination to continue even if the authorities captured them.

That would explain their confidence throughout the negotiations.

"Professor, what matters now is getting the children out," Ilya said. "The soldiers don’t need to understand every part of the examination if they can reach the exit."

Antoine agreed and immediately requested an update on the evacuation.

The Imperial officer confirmed that engineers were approaching the underground hall from the western passage. Another unit had secured the surrounding corridors, and the rescue commander was preparing medical personnel to receive the children once the entrance was opened.

The operation was still progressing.

Unfortunately, the cult’s preparations were proving more dangerous than anticipated.

Inside the hall, several children suddenly began complaining of severe headaches.

The medic examined them and discovered that their conditions were deteriorating rapidly. The youngest students appeared particularly vulnerable, and two had already lost consciousness.

Reinhardt contacted the rescue command again.

"Sir, we need that door open now. I have children collapsing, and the medic says their condition is getting worse."

"Engineers are outside your position. They’ll begin immediately."

"Understood."

The captain then instructed his soldiers to move the children toward the center of the room, away from the equipment installed along the walls.

His decision helped several students who had been standing nearby, but it didn’t stop the others from becoming ill.

Whatever the cult had prepared was affecting the entire hall.

Reinhardt had little choice but to accelerate the evacuation.

The engineers began working on the entrance while the soldiers inside prepared the children for immediate movement.

After several minutes, the Imperial specialist reported that the door’s locking mechanism had been disabled.

However, the entrance still wouldn’t open.

Something on the other side was holding it shut.

"Can you force it?" Reinhardt demanded.

"We can, Captain. But there are protective formations attached to the frame. We need to make sure they won’t activate."

"Then do it quickly. I have sixty-eight children in here."

The engineers requested additional assistance from the combat wizards.

Together, they began removing the remaining obstacles while maintaining the protective spells surrounding the corridor.

Their work was interrupted by a violent tremor.

The underground hall shook, and several lamps shattered overhead.

The children screamed.

Reinhardt immediately ordered his soldiers to protect the students from falling debris. Fortunately, the ceiling remained intact, although the tremor caused another wave of panic.

The Imperial Guard’s medical personnel began treating those who had fallen.

At SkyRune, Antoine received reports of the disturbance almost immediately.

"What’s happening down there?"

"The remaining apparatus has become unstable, Professor. The engineers are attempting to open the hall before the situation worsens."

"Can they do it?"

"They’re making progress."

The answer offered little comfort.

Ilya asked whether the cult leader had been located.

The Imperial officer explained that the search was continuing. Several suspects had been captured near the northern corridors, but none had admitted responsibility for directing the examination.

The man who escaped from the control room remained missing.

That concerned Ilya.

If the leader still possessed some means of influencing the procedure, he might attempt to interfere with the rescue.

The Imperial Guard had undoubtedly considered that possibility, but Ilya nevertheless suggested that the commander keep additional personnel near the western passage until the children were safely evacuated.

The officer confirmed that soldiers had already secured the surrounding area.

At least the authorities weren’t making the mistake of concentrating every available man on the sealed door.

A few minutes later, the engineers finally opened a narrow gap.

Reinhardt immediately ordered his soldiers to prepare the nearest children.

However, before anyone could cross, the voice returned.

"Participants attempting unauthorized departure will be disqualified."

The captain ignored it.

"Move!"

Two soldiers began carrying an unconscious child toward the entrance.

Then the boy nearest the door screamed.

A crimson mark appeared across his wrist, followed by a violent surge of magical energy.

The soldiers immediately withdrew him from the opening.

The mark faded.

Reinhardt understood what had happened.

The cult had placed some kind of restriction on the children themselves.

He requested immediate assistance from the engineers, who confirmed that similar marks were appearing on other students whenever they approached the exit.

The discovery changed the situation.

The entrance could be opened, but the children couldn’t safely cross it.

Reinhardt ordered the soldiers to stop the evacuation until the restrictions could be removed.

Several students began crying again.

One girl begged the captain not to make them leave.

"They told us we’d die if we tried," she explained. "Please, mister. We have to finish the examination."

Reinhardt had no answer that would make her feel better.

He had seen the mark appear himself.

Instead, he assured her that the Imperial Guard was working on another solution.

The engineers began examining the restrictions while the rescue commander requested assistance from every available specialist.

At SkyRune, Ilya learned about the discovery alongside Antoine.

The professor was horrified.

"They put those things on children?"

"That’s what the soldiers reported," the Imperial officer confirmed.

"Then remove them! There must be a way!"

The officer explained that the engineers were already attempting to do so, but the restrictions appeared to respond whenever the children approached the entrance.

Ilya understood the difficulty.

The cult had anticipated that the Imperial Guard might eventually reach the hostages. Rather than relying entirely on locked doors, they had made escape itself dangerous.

The soldiers could defeat the captors and open the exits, yet the children remained trapped.

It was a cruel arrangement.

However, the restrictions still had to be sustained somehow.

Ilya asked whether the same marks appeared when the children moved elsewhere inside the hall.

The Imperial specialist consulted the rescue team.

According to Reinhardt, the marks remained dormant while the students stayed away from the entrance.

That suggested the restrictions were connected to their location rather than ordinary movement.

Ilya considered the information before making another suggestion.

"If the restrictions only react near the door, could the soldiers open another route? Something the cult didn’t prepare?"

The Imperial officer immediately forwarded the question.

Reinhardt confirmed that his men had already examined the walls, but the surrounding construction was reinforced.

Nevertheless, the engineers believed a controlled opening might be possible through an adjoining storage chamber.

The rescue commander authorized the attempt.

For several minutes, the Imperial Guard concentrated on creating an alternative route while the soldiers inside continued protecting the children.

Their efforts finally produced a breakthrough.

A section of the eastern wall collapsed into an abandoned maintenance room, revealing a passage beyond the original examination area.

The engineers confirmed that the route was accessible.

More importantly, the restrictions on the children didn’t react when the soldiers approached the opening.

Reinhardt immediately prepared to begin evacuating them.

At SkyRune, Antoine received the report.

"They found another way out?"

"Yes, Professor. The soldiers are preparing to move the children."

For the first time that evening, the professor seemed capable of believing that the rescue might succeed.

Ilya was relieved as well.

The Imperial Guard had fought its way into the school, located the hostages, and overcome several obstacles that the cult had deliberately prepared.

The operation had been difficult, but the soldiers were finally close to bringing the children home.

Unfortunately, the cult had one final measure waiting.

As Reinhardt carried the first unconscious child toward the newly opened passage, every crimson lamp in the underground hall suddenly went dark.

The voice sounded again.

"Unauthorized escape route detected."

A moment later, the announcement continued.

"Final examination entering compulsory completion."

The child’s wrist began glowing.

Then the same crimson marks appeared on the other students.

Reinhardt immediately ordered his men to withdraw from the opening, but the marks continued spreading.

The restrictions were no longer responding to the exits.

They had activated throughout the hall.

At SkyRune, the Imperial communication terminal filled with urgent reports.

Antoine demanded to know what was happening.

The officer attempted to contact the rescue commander, but the underground team was already reporting casualties.

The Imperial Guard had reached the children.

It had opened a way out.

Yet the cult had prepared its final examination to continue even when escape became possible.

And as the soldiers desperately tried to save the students collapsing around them, Reinhardt realized that the restrictions had never been intended merely to prevent anyone from leaving.