Chapter 414: The Riot (2)
“There’s a... a giant!”
The guard stationed at the university’s main gate shouted.
As expected of a guard from the magical institution, he was a mage, albeit not up to the university’s average level. Still, whether due to inexperience or sheer shock, he failed to react immediately and instead slowly backed away.
Well, considering a giant had appeared, his reaction was somewhat understandable.
Thud!
A 15 to 20-meter-tall giant emerged from the gray smoke and stepped forward.
Its movements were relatively slow, but its massive size compensated for that.
With just two steps, it crossed over the ornate fence of Roculi University and crushed the fleeing guard underfoot.
The guard hastily deployed a magical shield to resist, but the overwhelming weight crushed both the shield and the guard like a tomato.
“Good grief.”
Oliver, who had been observing the scene through binoculars, muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, the giant continued to advance into the university grounds, showing no signs of stopping.
Just as it seemed like the intruder would be allowed to breach the premises, the nearby mages responded, gathering their magic together and instantly deploying a spell.
Ping—
The collective magic, woven like threads by the wills of many, moved in front of the giant’s face, emitting a blue glow.
Even within the short span of time, Oliver could discern how complex the formula of those magical threads was.
As if to prove his observation, the dense magical threads spread out like a spiderweb, drawing a complicated magic circle in midair. Using this as a base, a powerful magical beam shot out, striking the giant’s face.
Boom━━━!!
It was a pure magic attack—simple in execution but impressive in speed and power.
It took only one or two seconds from deployment to the actual strike.
However, just as astonishing as the attack was the giant’s resilience.
Given the power of the magic used, it was undoubtedly a military-grade bombardment spell. Yet, despite suffering burns and injuries, the giant retained its facial structure and withstood the blow.
And this was despite having no apparent defense, taking the attack head-on.
The fact that its physical capabilities matched its massive size was undeniable.
As if to flaunt its strength, the giant raised both arms, intending to slam them down onto the ground, concentrating its life force into its limbs.
But at that moment...
The mages of Roculi University, living up to their reputation, gathered their magic once more and fired a second bombardment spell, this time aimed directly at the giant’s head.
Although the attack was similar to the previous one, they narrowed the area of effect to concentrate their power, maximizing the destructive force. Their efforts were rewarded as the giant’s head was blown off, and its body collapsed to the ground.
The enormous corpse caused a deafening crash and kicked up a cloud of dust as it fell. The body then began to disintegrate and collapsed like mud.
This was a characteristic seen only in the minions of the Flesh Chef.
The moment the giant was defeated, scattered cheers erupted throughout the university.
However, it was too soon to relax.
After all, the chaos was still ongoing outside.
Explosions continued to occur across the city, and strange creatures, unlike anything seen before, started rampaging.
It seemed the university was aware of this, as numerous personnel, as if acting on orders, moved in unison to deploy large-scale barriers throughout the campus.
Using the campus structures as mediums, the blue magic gathered, forming domes that enveloped various buildings.
Watching the entire sequence unfold, Oliver spoke up.
“Are giants real?”
“At least not in this world.”
...
Ring. Ring. Ring.
As Oliver and Yareli entered the university's main building, where Kevin and Terrence were located, they were greeted by the constant ringing of communication devices.
The building served as the information processing center for the centrally governed university established under royal patronage. Countless staff hired by the school were busy answering the communication devices and transcribing the information using typewriters.
Given the chaos visible through the windows, they could roughly guess the nature of the calls.
“Oh, you’re here.”
Terrence greeted Oliver and Yareli cheerfully when he spotted them in the busy hallway.
Although he tried to appear calm on the outside, he couldn’t completely hide his unease about the current situation.
It was understandable, given that the city had suddenly turned into a war zone.
For Oliver, who could perceive emotions as a black mage, the atmosphere was especially palpable.
It felt like all the negative emotions—confusion, fear, anger—were being thrown into a giant cauldron and left to simmer.
It was still manageable for now, but who knew how long that would last...
Yareli spoke to Terrence.
“It’s a relief we found you quickly. Where is Professor Kevin?”
“I’m right here.”
Kevin appeared from one side of the crowded hallway, adjusting his wrinkled suit.
Although he maintained a composed exterior, his inner self betrayed signs of fatigue and anxiety, likely from recent discussions.
Given the circumstances, Yareli went straight to the point.
“Did you see what happened just now?”
“The giant?”
Kevin responded, hitting the mark immediately.
“Yes... It didn’t seem like a chimera created by magic or a creature made through black magic.”
Oliver nodded in agreement.
Although this was his first time seeing a giant, it was neither a chimera nor a creature. It was indeed a real giant. The problem was that real giants did not exist in this world.
“I discussed it with some other professors... It seems like it was summoned through spatial magic.”
Summoning magic, a branch of spatial magic, belonged to the same school as portal magic.
It was akin to lightning, fire, ice, earth, and air magic under the elemental school.
Naturally, spatial magic was of a high level and relatively new, with more yet to be discovered than what was already known.
“Does that make sense? Summoning magic isn’t that easy, is it?”
Terrence asked, his voice tinged with skepticism. And he was right.
Summoning magic was indeed one of the most challenging forms of magic.
It was difficult to cast, required enormous magical energy, and demanded a significant maintenance cost.
In extreme cases, even spirit magic, known for being exceptionally demanding, was considered easier than summoning magic.
Although spirit magic required the caster’s aptitude, at least its benefits were worth the cost if successful, whereas summoning magic offered no such guarantees.
Even if one succeeded in summoning, there was no assurance that the results would be favorable, and even if a powerful being were summoned, the magical energy needed to maintain it would have to match.
Additionally, binding or compelling the summoned entity to obey required tremendous effort.
In short, it was a magic where the cost outweighed the benefits.
“That’s why summoning magic is the slowest-developing field within spatial magic.”
“But there’s no doubt that it was a giant, Professor.”
“Could it be some form of ingestion?”
Oliver recalled the giant collapsing like mud and raised the question while concentrating on the concept of life force.
“Ingestion?”
“Yes. The giant’s body crumbled similarly to the minions of the Flesh Chef... I thought that by summoning it, then killing and consuming it, one could save resources and effort to the maximum extent possible.”
“What a horrifyingly clever idea.”
Terrence interjected. If that were true, it would mean the Flesh Chef summoned giants only to kill and eat them.
Summoning a giant alone would require extraordinary skill and resources, but to kill and consume it? It wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
“It’s hard to believe such a thing is possible... But if it is true, it would explain the reappearance of extinct creatures like werewolves and various monsters. Although it’s unclear when such abilities were acquired, summoning magic hasn’t even reached this level at the Magic Tower.”
“More importantly, has the university decided how to respond? If everything you just said is true, then it means the Flesh Chef is behind this chaos.”
Yareli, who had been silently listening, brought up a more urgent topic.
She was right. The immediate concern was the situation at hand.
If Oliver’s conjecture was correct, then the one who turned the city into a battlefield was indeed the Flesh Chef.
One of the Black Hand's four fingers—the Flesh Chef.
However, there was something that didn’t make sense.
“What was the purpose behind all this?”
Kevin, who had just attended a meeting, asked, hitting the nail on the head.
If the goal was to hinder the ever-pressuring Roculi University, then maintaining a state of tension would have sufficed. Yet, they had resorted to such drastic measures.
The intent behind it was difficult to grasp.
It didn’t seem like they were trying to crush Roculi University through sheer force, nor was the chaos directed specifically at this place; instead, it seemed like they were spreading aimless confusion.
“Because of that, the military units stationed on the city’s outskirts and nearby police stations are continuously requesting support, making it difficult to move hastily.”
“Unprecedented riots indeed, but is it that serious? Do they really not have a city defense system in place?”
A city defense system...
In a world where individuals with the power of entire armies roamed, it was a sort of safety measure designed to maintain order. Magic circles would be set up in critical areas of the city to perform precision bombardment magic when needed for deterrence. Oliver remembered reading about it in the Magic Tower library.
Although such incidents were rare, the mere presence of the system provided significant deterrence.
“It was likely dismantled,” Yareli interjected, as if recalling something.
“As far as I know, it was used during the suppression of protestors during the Citizen Revolution, causing massive casualties, and after the revolution’s success, it was dismantled.”
“Unbelievable.”
Terrence responded in disbelief, which made sense given his background as a military mage.
“That’s incredibly foolish. Disabling the city defense system for that reason... No wonder the Flesh Chef chose this place as their target.”
At that moment, Oliver found himself agreeing with Terrence’s remark.
It didn’t feel like a mere coincidence. It could have just been Oliver’s speculation, but...
As he was about to share his thoughts, a signal tone came from a communication device.
It wasn’t the usual signal tone that had been ringing earlier; this one had a different quality, yet was familiar to his ears.
It was from a personal communication device given to him by Lucien, used to receive real-time information about the Flesh Chef.
Terrence, who was in charge of handling communication devices, quickly answered the call. The reason for the contact was fairly predictable.
Given the chaos erupting in the city center, Milieu wouldn’t be safe either... In fact, it could be even more dangerous.
Though it was uncertain for others, the Myra family had been cooperating with this side, providing information they had painstakingly gathered to help deal significant damage to the Flesh Chef.
‘Whether it still has any real significance now, though...’
Oliver pondered as he gazed out the window at the fires breaking out in various parts of the city.
It was as if the Flesh Chef was mocking the damage caused to Roculi University and Oliver by setting their own base ablaze.
Whatever the reason...
In any case, Oliver’s guess turned out to be correct.
Lucien had contacted them to request rescue.
However, there were two unexpected elements.
One was that they were being attacked not by rioters, giants, werewolves, or harpies, but by horrifyingly grotesque creatures in an organized assault. The other was that they weren’t only asking for their own rescue.
They also requested the rescue of Murphy and Jane.
“Murphy and... Miss Jane?”
Terrence nodded as he confirmed the information.
“Yes. When the atmosphere in the city started to feel unsettling, they were invited to Lucien’s residence for protection. But now, things have gone awry, and they’re being chased by monsters together.”
An unexpected turn of events. However, in hindsight, it was only natural.
Both Murphy and Jane were here for business and had come to make deals with Lucien.
As Oliver was contemplating what to do, Yareli spoke up.
“Go, Zenon.”