Chapter 218: Children of Despair

By the time the Imperial Guard reached the northern examination hall, seven children had already died.

The soldiers discovered more than forty students inside, most of them lying on the floor or leaning against their classmates. Several were still conscious, but the crimson markings spreading across their wrists had begun appearing on their necks and arms.

Among the children was Lucile Chastellain.

She was seated near the back of the hall, supporting a younger girl who had become too weak to sit upright. Although Lucile was pale and visibly exhausted, she remained conscious when the Imperial soldiers entered.

The officer commanding the team immediately reported her condition.

At SkyRune, Antoine nearly interrupted him before he finished.

"She’s alive?"

"Yes, Professor. We’ve confirmed her identity. She’s conscious and receiving medical attention."

"Can I speak with her?"

The officer explained that the soldiers were preparing to move the children and couldn’t arrange a conversation immediately. However, he promised that Lucile would receive priority treatment alongside the others.

Antoine thanked him repeatedly.

Ilya was relieved to hear the news, although the reports from the other examination hall remained deeply concerning.

Several children had died despite the Imperial Guard’s attempts to treat them, and the restrictions were proving far more difficult to remove than anyone anticipated.

Fortunately, the northern team had entered through a separate passage, giving the authorities another opportunity to investigate the cult’s methods.

The rescue commander ordered the soldiers to identify whether the same restrictions affected both groups. If the procedures differed, the specialists might discover a weakness that could be exploited.

Unfortunately, the answer was disappointing.

The crimson markings were identical.

And shortly after the soldiers arrived, another child collapsed.

The northern team’s medic immediately began treatment, while the remaining soldiers organized the students according to their condition.

Lucile was among those still capable of answering questions.

When asked whether she knew what the examination involved, she explained that the supervising adults had promised everyone would be allowed home once it ended.

Several children had been taken away for additional assessments during the previous days.

None had returned.

The officer asked whether she had seen anything unusual before the final examination began.

Lucile mentioned that the students had been required to wear small identification bracelets during their earlier examinations.

The soldiers examined the remaining bracelets and discovered that several still bore the same crimson symbols appearing on the children’s skin.

That information was immediately forwarded to the Imperial specialists.

At SkyRune, Ilya recognized its significance.

The authorities had previously confirmed that the restrictions had been imposed during the earlier examinations. The bracelets might provide a way to identify how the marks were applied.

"Professor, ask whether the children are still wearing them," he suggested.

Antoine immediately relayed the question.

The response confirmed that many students had already removed their bracelets, but the restrictions remained active.

That eliminated the possibility of simply removing the devices.

However, the Imperial Guard requested several samples for examination, hoping they might reveal a safe method of reversing the procedure.

The northern team continued treating the children while the specialists investigated.

Unfortunately, the situation was deteriorating faster than the authorities could respond.

Within the next ten minutes, another five children died.

The soldiers had begun carrying medical supplies directly into both examination halls, and several experienced healers had joined the rescue operation. Their efforts provided temporary relief to some students, but the crimson markings continued spreading.

Captain Reinhardt reported that the children in his hall were becoming increasingly difficult to stabilize.

"Command, we’re losing them. The healers are doing everything they can, but whatever these restrictions are doing, ordinary treatment isn’t stopping it."

The rescue commander immediately ordered additional specialists to assist.

He also instructed the investigators to intensify their questioning of the captured cult members.

The leader, Albrecht Voss, remained uncooperative.

Even after being informed that children were dying, he insisted that the final examination had to continue.

The commander eventually ended the interrogation and assigned experienced investigators to extract whatever useful information remained in the recovered documents.

Arguing with a fanatic was accomplishing nothing.

Meanwhile, several of Voss’s assistants had begun cooperating.

One admitted that the earlier examinations had been intended to identify students who displayed unusual responses to fear and prolonged magical exposure.

The researchers believed that certain individuals might develop extraordinary abilities when pushed beyond their ordinary limits.

However, the assistant couldn’t provide a single confirmed example of their theory succeeding.

When asked why the experiments continued despite previous fatalities, she claimed that Voss believed the failures were necessary to identify suitable subjects.

The investigators immediately recognized the implications.

The cult had never possessed reliable evidence that its methods worked.

Yet its members were willing to sacrifice hundreds of children to test an unproven theory.

At SkyRune, Antoine received the information with growing disbelief.

"They’re killing children because they think something extraordinary might happen?"

The Imperial officer couldn’t offer a more comforting explanation.

Antoine had spent most of his career studying magical technology. He understood the importance of experimentation, but the idea that someone could justify these deaths as an acceptable part of research was incomprehensible to him.

Ilya shared his disgust.

The cult had apparently convinced itself that an extraordinary objective excused any method used to pursue it.

Unfortunately, the children’s lives were being spent on that belief.

And the worst part was that the perpetrators didn’t even know whether their theory was correct.

The Imperial Guard continued searching for a way to stop the examination.

Several captured documents described the restrictions imposed on the students, but the instructions were incomplete. One assistant claimed that Voss had personally retained the information necessary to interrupt the final stage.

The investigators immediately returned to him.

This time, they confronted him with the recovered evidence and demanded that he surrender the missing instructions.

Voss refused again.

However, when informed that the authorities had recovered several of his research assistants, his confidence weakened.

He demanded to speak with them.

The investigators refused.

Instead, they explained that his associates were already cooperating and that withholding information would only worsen his position.

After several minutes, Voss finally offered a response.

"The examination cannot be stopped once the subjects have entered the final stage. Their transformation must be completed."

The investigator demanded to know whether any subject had ever survived that stage.

Voss answered that previous attempts had failed because the participants lacked sufficient potential.

That was enough.

The investigator ended the discussion and immediately reported that the cult leader had no intention of assisting the rescue.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Guard was approaching another crisis.

Inside the northern hall, Lucile had begun experiencing the same symptoms as the other children.

Her breathing became uneven, and the girl she had been helping earlier was now unconscious.

The attending medic immediately moved her to a safer position and began treatment.

Lucile remained conscious long enough to ask whether the soldiers had contacted her father.

The medic assured her that Antoine knew where she was.

"Did he say anything?"

"He wants you to come home."

Lucile attempted to answer, but another wave of pain interrupted her.

The medic immediately requested additional assistance.

At SkyRune, Antoine received an urgent update concerning his daughter’s condition.

He demanded permission to travel to Saint Aurelia.

The Imperial officer explained that the school remained dangerous and that his presence inside the occupied area would interfere with the rescue operation.

Antoine insisted.

"I’m her father. If she’s dying, I should be there!"

Ilya understood.

Unfortunately, the officer was right.

The Imperial Guard was already struggling to move medical personnel through the underground passages, and allowing an exhausted civilian researcher into the operation would create another person the soldiers had to protect.

"Professor, let the healers work," Ilya said. "If you go down there now, they’ll have to spend time keeping you safe instead of treating Lucile."

Antoine understood the reasoning.

He hated it.

Nevertheless, he remained at SkyRune.

The Imperial officer promised to provide updates whenever reliable information became available.

The next report arrived several minutes later.

Lucile had lost consciousness.

Her condition was critical, but the healers were continuing treatment.

Antoine requested that they do everything possible.

The officer assured him that they already were.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Guard discovered that the examination was affecting several additional rooms beneath the school.

The rescue commander immediately dispatched soldiers to locate any remaining children and ordered the medical teams to prioritize those who could still be stabilized.

Unfortunately, the number of casualties continued rising.

By the end of the hour, twenty-three children had been confirmed dead.

Dozens more remained in critical condition.

Captain Reinhardt’s team had exhausted most of its emergency supplies, and the healers were beginning to show signs of fatigue from continuously treating the same symptoms.

The commander ordered reinforcements to relieve them.

However, even fresh medical personnel couldn’t reverse the damage already inflicted.

At SkyRune, Ilya listened as the casualty figures were updated.

Twenty-three children.

Every number represented a family waiting somewhere beyond the Imperial perimeter.

Among them was Professor Antoine, who remained beside the communication terminal hoping to hear that his daughter had recovered.

Ilya wanted to offer some reassurance.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anything worth saying.

Then the Imperial officer received another message.

The northern examination hall had reported additional fatalities.

Lucile’s name wasn’t among them.

However, the healers had informed the rescue commander that several students were approaching a condition from which recovery might no longer be possible.

The officer conveyed that warning to Antoine.

The professor listened without interrupting.

Afterward, he asked only one question.

"Can she still hear me?"

The officer contacted the northern team.

Several minutes passed before the answer arrived.

Lucile remained unconscious.

The healers couldn’t promise that she would regain consciousness.

Antoine requested that someone stay beside her.

The officer assured him that a medic was already doing so.

And as the Imperial Guard continued fighting to save the remaining hostages, the professor remained at SkyRune, waiting for a daughter who might never speak to him again.