Chapter 220: The Children Who Waited

By midnight, thirty-seven children had died inside Saint Aurelia Preparatory Academy.

The Imperial Guard had taken control of the school, arrested most of the perpetrators, and opened every known route into the underground facilities.

Medical teams from across the capital had been summoned, bringing enough supplies to establish an emergency hospital beneath the building.

Yet the number of casualties continued rising.

Captain Reinhardt had stopped counting how many times his soldiers had carried a child to the healers, only to bring the same child back for treatment minutes later. Some improved briefly. Others never regained consciousness.

The restrictions imposed by the cult remained active, and the captured researchers had provided little information that could help remove them.

The senior medic approached Reinhardt after another unsuccessful treatment.

"Captain, we’re running out of options. The healing spells are slowing the damage, but they aren’t stopping it."

"How many can you keep stable?"

"Sixteen in this hall, assuming we continue treating them without interruption. The others need more than we can provide."

Reinhardt considered the answer before issuing new instructions.

He ordered the combat wizards to assist the healers wherever possible and assigned additional soldiers to carry supplies from the treatment stations. Those who couldn’t contribute medically were instructed to search the surrounding rooms for anything that might help.

There was no point allowing able-bodied men to stand around watching children die.

The captain also requested another update from the rescue commander.

The search for the missing senior researcher was still underway, but the Imperial investigators had discovered something unexpected among the confiscated records.

Several children had apparently been selected for additional examinations because they possessed unusually strong magical potential.

The cult had separated those students from their classmates before the final stage began.

The authorities immediately suspected that another group remained undiscovered somewhere beneath the school.

Reinhardt ordered his soldiers to assist the search.

Meanwhile, the northern team continued treating the children under its supervision.

Lucile Chastellain remained unconscious.

Her condition had worsened throughout the evening, and the healers had already exhausted several methods of stabilizing her. Despite that, the attending physician refused to abandon treatment.

Lucile was eleven years old.

She had been brought into the school to receive an education, and the people responsible for protecting her had turned the building into a place where children were being deliberately harmed.

The physician had no intention of allowing the perpetrators to determine whether she lived.

Unfortunately, determination alone couldn’t reverse the damage.

Shortly after midnight, Lucile’s breathing weakened again.

The healer immediately administered another treatment while her assistants prepared additional supplies. The girl’s condition improved enough for her breathing to stabilize, but the recovery lasted only a few minutes.

Then the symptoms returned.

The physician requested assistance from a senior healer who had recently arrived from the Imperial Medical Institute.

The man examined Lucile and recommended combining their efforts to sustain her condition while the investigators continued searching for a way to remove the restrictions.

It wasn’t a cure.

However, it might keep her alive long enough for the authorities to find one.

At SkyRune, Professor Antoine received the update.

"She’s still alive?"

"Yes, Professor. The physicians are maintaining her condition."

"Then tell them to continue. Whatever they need, I’ll pay for it."

"The Imperial government is covering the emergency treatment. Please don’t concern yourself with the cost."

Antoine had little interest in who paid the bills.

He wanted his daughter brought home.

Ilya remained beside him, reviewing the latest information from the rescue command.

The cult’s surviving documents had produced several leads, although most ended in disappointment. Its researchers had developed numerous theories concerning extraordinary magical development, but the records contained remarkably few successful experiments.

In fact, Ilya had begun to suspect that the entire organization survived by convincing its members that failure was merely another step toward eventual success.

An admirable philosophy when learning swordsmanship.

A horrifying one when the failures were human beings.

Unfortunately, even the captured researchers couldn’t agree on what the final examination was supposed to accomplish.

Some believed it would awaken dormant magical abilities. Others expected an entirely new form of human evolution.

The absence of any consistent explanation made their confidence particularly disturbing.

Ilya eventually abandoned the documents and contacted the Imperial investigator supervising the recovered evidence.

"Have you found anything written by someone who actually completed the examination?"

The investigator explained that several earlier subjects had survived preliminary stages, but there were no confirmed survivors of the final procedure.

"Then the people who prepared this have never successfully finished it?"

"That’s what the records indicate."

Ilya understood the implication.

The cult had been promising the children freedom after an examination nobody had ever survived.

He relayed the information to Antoine.

The professor listened without speaking.

For several days, the Imperial authorities had been searching for a way to interrupt the procedure. Now the recovered records suggested that the people responsible might never have developed a safe method of ending it.

That made the situation considerably worse.

Nevertheless, the Imperial Guard refused to stop searching.

Shortly afterward, the investigators discovered another concealed passage beneath the northern building.

The entrance had been blocked by several reinforced doors, but the soldiers forced their way through after confirming that no hostages were immediately behind them.

Beyond the passage lay a smaller examination chamber.

Inside were twenty-one children.

Most were unconscious.

Several had already died.

The soldiers immediately summoned medical personnel and began treating the survivors.

The discovery confirmed that the cult had separated certain students from the larger groups.

However, it also raised an urgent question.

How many more children had been taken elsewhere?

The rescue commander ordered another inspection of the entire underground complex, including abandoned storage rooms and passages that appeared to have been sealed during renovations.

He also instructed the investigators to compare the recovered attendance records with the school’s complete enrollment list.

Every child had to be accounted for.

The operation continued while medical personnel worked to save those already discovered.

Unfortunately, the remaining hostages were growing weaker.

Inside Reinhardt’s examination hall, another boy lost consciousness after asking whether his mother had arrived.

The captain had promised that the families were waiting outside.

The boy had smiled at the answer.

Now the medic was desperately trying to keep him breathing.

Reinhardt remained nearby until the physician confirmed that the child’s condition had stabilized.

Then he returned to supervising the others.

He had neither the time nor the luxury to dwell on every tragedy unfolding around him.

His soldiers were exhausted, but none requested permission to withdraw.

Several had been assigned to ordinary security duties before the incident began. They hadn’t expected to spend the night carrying unconscious children through underground corridors.

Nevertheless, they continued working.

Outside Saint Aurelia, the atmosphere was equally grim.

Hundreds of parents had gathered behind the Imperial perimeter, waiting for news about their children. Some had remained there since the occupation began, while others arrived after learning that the rescue operation was underway.

The authorities had established a temporary information center, but the growing casualty figures were becoming increasingly difficult to conceal.

Families demanded answers.

Unfortunately, many of those answers were still unavailable.

The Imperial Guard began arranging private notifications for the families of children whose deaths had been confirmed. Officials also requested additional counselors and physicians to assist those receiving the news.

It was a necessary responsibility.

The rescue commander hated having to assign personnel to it while children remained alive inside.

Nevertheless, the families deserved to know.

At SkyRune, Antoine eventually learned that the authorities had discovered another group of hostages.

He immediately asked whether Lucile had been moved.

The Imperial officer confirmed that she remained in the northern examination hall under medical supervision.

Antoine requested permission to visit again.

This time, the officer explained that the rescue commander was considering allowing parents into a protected area near the school once the situation became stable enough.

Unfortunately, the underground facilities remained dangerous.

Antoine accepted the explanation, although his patience was nearly exhausted.

Ilya suggested that they travel to the Imperial perimeter instead.

They wouldn’t be permitted inside, but remaining closer to the rescue command might make it easier for Antoine to receive information about his daughter.

The professor agreed.

After informing SkyRune’s remaining researchers, the two departed for Saint Aurelia.

The journey through the capital was unusually quiet.

Several streets near the school had been closed, forcing their carriage to take a longer route. Imperial soldiers guarded the surrounding intersections, while medical vehicles continued arriving from other districts.

By the time they reached the perimeter, Antoine had received another report.

Lucile’s condition remained critical.

The physicians were still treating her.

However, the Imperial officer warned that the healers could no longer guarantee how long they could maintain her condition.

Antoine asked to speak with the rescue commander.

The request was granted.

The commander explained that every available resource had been committed to the operation. His soldiers had reached the children, secured the building, and captured the people responsible.

Unfortunately, the restrictions continued harming the hostages despite their efforts.

"We’re doing everything we can, Professor."

"I know," Antoine answered. "I’m asking you to keep doing it."

The commander promised that he would.

Ilya remained beside the professor as the meeting concluded.

Neither had anything useful to add.

The Imperial Guard had already made every reasonable preparation, and its personnel were continuing their work under increasingly difficult circumstances.

Yet the tragedy was unfolding regardless.

Shortly afterward, another message arrived from the underground medical teams.

The remaining children were deteriorating more rapidly than before.

Several healers had reported that their treatments were becoming less effective, and the crimson markings were spreading even among students who had previously appeared stable.

The rescue commander immediately ordered all available physicians to the examination halls.

He also instructed the investigators to continue searching for any means of interrupting the procedure.

Meanwhile, the casualty count rose again.

Forty-six children had now been confirmed dead.

Lucile remained among the living, although her condition was worsening.

At the Imperial perimeter, Antoine waited for another report while Ilya remained beside him.

Inside Saint Aurelia, the healers continued fighting for every child.

And as the night dragged on, the number of students who could still be saved grew smaller.