Chapter 414: Riot

“It-It’s a giant!”

The guard at the main gate of the university shouted.

Despite being a mage with a decent amount of magical power, he didn’t immediately respond. Maybe he was too panicked, or just inexperienced, but he began to slowly retreat.

Well, considering a giant had appeared, it was somewhat understandable.

Thud!

A giant, about 15 to 20 meters tall, stepped through the gray smoke.

His movements were relatively slow, but his massive size compensated for the lack of speed.

In just two steps, he crossed over the ornate fence of Loculi University and trampled the fleeing guard underfoot.

The guard quickly deployed a magical shield to resist, but the overwhelming weight crushed both the shield and the guard. Like a tomato.

“Damn.”

Muttering, Oliver observed everything from a distance through his telescope.

Meanwhile, the giant continued onward, trying to enter the university grounds.

Just as it seemed the intruder would be allowed in, nearby mages responded, pooling their magic to cast a spell on the spot.

Ping—

The combined magic, filled with various wills, wove together like a thread. It moved towards the giant’s face, flickering with a blue magical glow.

Although it happened quickly, Oliver could see how intricate the spell weaves were.

As if to demonstrate their complexity, the high-density magic threads spread out like a web, drawing a complicated magic circle in the air. The circle served as a cannon, shooting a powerful beam of magic at the giant’s face.

Boom━━━!!

The magic attack, pure in its power, was simple in form but impressive in speed and strength.

It took only 1 or 2 seconds to execute the spell and land the blow.

However, just as surprising as the magic’s power was the giant’s durability.

Given the power level, it was likely a military-grade bombardment spell, yet the giant, though scorched and injured, managed to endure it, preserving the form of his face.

This, despite taking a direct hit without even attempting to defend.

It was proof that his physical abilities were as outstanding as his massive size.

The giant then raised his arms, about to strike the ground, focusing his vitality into the motion.

That’s when it happened.

The mages of Loculi University, showing their renowned skill, gathered their magic once more. They unleashed a second bombardment spell that obliterated the giant’s head.

Though it was the same type of attack as before, they focused their force into a smaller area, maximizing its destructive power. Their efforts paid off as the giant’s head was blown off, and his body collapsed to the ground.

The tremendous body hitting the ground created a loud crash and kicked up dust. Not only that, but the giant’s body began to collapse like mud.

This was a trait only seen in the minions of the Flesh Cook.

As soon as the giant was defeated, scattered cheers erupted from various places within the university.

However, it was too early to feel relieved.

Because the outside was still in chaos.

Explosions were erupting across the city, and strange beasts were running wild.

It seemed the university had noticed this as well. Soon, a large number of staff, as if receiving orders, swiftly moved to deploy large-scale defense barriers throughout the campus.

Using the structures within the campus as conduits, blue magical energy gathered, forming dome-like shields around certain buildings.

Oliver watched the entire process and then spoke.

“So, giants exist after all?”

“At least not around here.”

***

Beep, beep, beep.

As soon as Oliver and Yareli entered the university’s main building where Kevin and Terence were, numerous communication devices greeted them with their beeping signals.

The place was the central communication hub of the university, funded by the crown. Many university staff were busy answering the communication signals, transcribing the information onto typewriters.

Judging by the chaos visible outside the window, it wasn’t hard to guess what kind of information they were receiving.

“Ah, you’re here.”

Terence greeted them warmly when he spotted Oliver and Yareli in the busy hallway.

Though he tried to appear calm, there was a hint of worry on his face due to the situation.

After all, the city had suddenly turned into a battlefield.

This was especially true for Oliver, who could see emotions with his Warlock’s Eye.

It was like everything—chaos, fear, anger—was brewing in a massive cauldron.

It was manageable for now, but who knew what might happen if time went on…

Yareli approached Terence.

“I’m glad we met quickly. What about Professor Kevin?”

“I’m here.”

From one side of the hallway where people were running back and forth, Kevin appeared, tidying up his wrinkled suit.

Though he appeared composed, his inner turmoil and exhaustion were evident.

Given the situation, Yareli got straight to the point.

“Did you see what happened just now?”

“The giant?”

Kevin immediately understood what she was referring to.

“Yes… It didn’t look like a poorly made chimera created by magic or a creature made by black magic.”

Oliver nodded along.

It was the first time he’d ever seen a giant, but that wasn’t a chimera or a creature. Despite being a bit odd, it was a real giant. The issue was, real giants didn’t exist in this world.

“I talked about it with the other professors here… It seems it was summoned via spatial magic.”

Summoning magic. It belonged to the school of space magic, like portal magic.

Similar to how the elemental school has Lightning, Fire, Ice, Earth, and Air magic.

Naturally, summoning magic is as high-level and relatively new as other space-magic disciplines. There is more to be discovered than already known.

“Is that possible? Summoning magic isn’t exactly easy.”

Terence’s question showed he doubted it, and rightly so.

Summoning magic was indeed not an easy magic.

Casting a summoning spell was difficult, it required immense magic power, and the maintenance cost was also steep.

To exaggerate, even Spirit Magic, known for its difficulty, was nothing compared to Summoning Magic.

Though Spirit Magic required the user to have an affinity, at least when it succeeded, the benefits were proportional to the effort. However, Summoning Magic didn’t always provide such assurances.

Even if one succeeded in summoning, there was no guarantee that the result would be satisfactory. Even if a powerful creature was summoned, maintaining control required an equally significant amount of magic power.

Additionally, engraving a contract or imposing control required significant effort.

In short, it was a magic that required more than it offered.

“That’s why summoning magic within the school of space magic is the most under-researched.”

“But it was definitely a giant, Professor.”

“Could it be consumption?”

Oliver wondered as he recalled the giant collapsing like mud.

“Consumption?”

“Yes. The collapsed giant’s body crumbled like the minions of the Flesh Cook… If they summoned it and then killed it to consume, they could save a lot of resources and effort.”

“That’s both shocking and horrifying.”

Terence, who had been listening, spoke up. The notion was that the Flesh Cook summoned a giant, killed it, and then consumed it.

Summoning a giant was already a tremendous feat requiring significant skill and resources, but to kill and consume it? These were not things that could be dismissed lightly.

“It’s hard to believe… But if true, then it explains the existence of extinct werewolves and other monsters. It’s unclear when such an ability was acquired… Not even the Tower of Magic has reached that level of Summoning Magic.”

“More importantly, has the university decided how to respond? If all of this is true, it’s the Flesh Cook who caused this mess, isn’t it?”

Yareli, who had been listening quietly, broached the more urgent topic.

She was right. The more pressing issue was their immediate situation.

If we consider Oliver’s speculation, then it was the Flesh Cook who turned this city into a warzone.

One of the four fingers of the Black Hand, the Flesh Cook.

However, there was something that didn’t make sense.

“What was the purpose of this?”

Kevin, who had just come from a meeting, asked. The question hit the mark.

If the objective were merely to interfere with Loculi University’s increasing pressure, maintaining a state of tension would have sufficed. Why create such chaos?

What was the intent behind their actions?

It didn’t seem like they intended to destroy Loculi University by force. The situation didn’t warrant it. Furthermore, they weren’t focusing their attack solely on the university. It was more like a chaotic uprising with no clear objective.

As if spreading chaos without a purpose.

“Because of this, military forces stationed on the outskirts of the city and nearby police stations are continuously requesting reinforcements. They say it’s hard to make any sudden moves.”

“It’s an unprecedented riot, but to that extent? This is a huge mess. Isn’t there a city defense system?”

A city defense system.

In a world filled with individuals capable of wielding the power of an entire army, it was a kind of failsafe to maintain order.

Magic circles were installed in critical areas of the city to allow for precision bombardment spells to be cast in case of emergency. He’d read about it once in the Tower of Magic’s library.

Such incidents were rare, which meant the system was scarcely used. However, its mere existence was said to serve as a significant deterrent.

“I think they dismantled it.”

Yareli, seemingly having recalled something, spoke up.

“As far as I know, it was used to suppress protesters during the Citizen Revolution, causing massive casualties. After the revolution succeeded, they dismantled it.”

“That’s insane.”

Terence reacted in disbelief. After all, he was a military mage.

“That’s indeed foolish. Dismantling the city’s defense system for such a reason. Now it’s clear why the Flesh Cook chose this place as his lair.”

In that moment, Oliver felt he agreed with Terence’s words.

It didn’t seem like a coincidence. Although it might just be baseless speculation.

Just as he was about to share his thoughts, a signal rang out.

It was different from the previous signals, yet familiar.

It was the personal communication device he’d received from Lucian.

The device was meant to receive information about the Flesh Cook in real-time.

Terence, responsible for managing the communication devices, answered it skillfully. Everyone could already guess why someone was contacting them.

Given the chaos in the center of the city, Millieu wouldn’t be safe… No, they might be in even more danger.

Though it might not apply to others, the Murat Family had cooperated with them and handed over information that had significantly harmed the Flesh Cook.

‘Though it feels a bit meaningless now.’

Oliver thought as he watched the fires spreading outside the window.

As if mocking the damage Loculi University and Oliver had inflicted on him, the Flesh Cook was burning his base down.

What was he thinking?

Regardless, Oliver’s assumption was correct.

Lucian contacted them for one reason: to ask for help.

But there were two things Oliver didn’t expect.

First, the organized assault wasn’t just by rioters, giants, werewolves, or harpies but by creatures too horrible to describe in words. And second, Lucian wasn’t just asking for help for himself.

He wanted them to save Murphy and Jane as well.

“Murphy… and Miss Jane?”

Terence nodded and clarified.

“Yes. When the situation in the city got tense, they were called to Lucian’s castle for protection, but now things have escalated, and they are being pursued by these monsters.”

An unexpected development, but thinking it over, it made sense.

Both Murphy and Jane had come to the city for business and had dealings with Lucian.

Just as Oliver was pondering what to do, Yareli spoke up.

“You should go, Xenon.”