The cold intent to kill almost froze Empress Sofia's blood.
Almost instinctively, she reached for the black feather brooch at her chest.
In the next instant, lightning illuminated the entire palace, followed by thunderous roars. The maid named Hanna was struck by a bolt of lightning as thick as a wrist, sending her flying several meters away with a charred hole in her chest.
Yet, she was still smiling.
"Mission... complete... Sofia Petrovna... eliminated..."
A silver dagger fell to the ground with a clang. The blackness that had lingered on it still formed the shadow of a dagger, which burrowed into the Empress's back through a shallow wound.
"Murphy..." Sofia managed to call out before her body slumped down.
Murphy caught her in his arms, pressing his hand against the wound on her back. Strangely, despite the sizeable wound, very little blood flowed out.
"Your Majesty!" Grand Shaman Maxim and Murphy appeared simultaneously but only reacted at that moment. Maxim rushed forward, shouting to the guards, "Assassin! Protect the Empress!"
The guards were in total disarray. In their eyes, the Empress had just summoned a maid, and suddenly, this situation unfolded.
Some force had prevented them from seeing more, and they hadn't even noticed the maid's assassination attempt on Sofia until Murphy and Grand Shaman Maxim arrived via the black feather's lightning transport, awakened by the thunderous shock.
The assailant's power level was far beyond theirs, capable of achieving effects similar to wizards using Repelling Charms to blind Muggles.
"Murphy," the Empress's blue eyes were losing focus. She tried to see Murphy's face clearly, reaching out a hand to touch his cheek, "Protect... them for me... will you?"
Murphy grasped her hand, "Don't be silly, I won't let you die."
The Empress smiled weakly, "If..."
She couldn't finish her sentence before falling unconscious.
Murphy frowned, lifted her hand, and kissed it lightly.
Instantly, petrification venom turned the Empress to stone.
"This will delay the deterioration of her body," Murphy said, looking at Grand Shaman Maxim, "You open the Holy Wall, find Lady Yaga, and figure out what happened. I'll see how to save her."
Only the Empress herself and a few Grand Shamans could control the Holy Wall. Now, only Grand Shaman Maxim could do it. The city's safety could only be ensured by opening the Holy Wall.
Maxim was still shocked, "The Empress... she..."
"I won't let her die," Murphy said, his tone calm but determined.
"Alright. I'm counting on you, Grand Shaman."
Murphy didn't put the Empress down. At this time, he didn't trust anyone, "Bring that woman here."
The maid's corpse was brought to Murphy. He used magical vision and, unsurprisingly, saw ultraviolet magical residues on her and the dagger.
He had a room prepared, laid the Empress on the bed, and immediately saw the wound on her back after uncovering it.
The wound was shallow, only about two centimeters deep, likely because he had reacted the moment he appeared, interrupting the assassination. Such a wound wouldn't reach the heart and would be merely superficial for a wizard with dittany.
But the black essence that had penetrated her wound was highly unusual.
In Murphy's magical vision, the wound also appeared in ultraviolet color, indicating the dagger was poisoned with a potent magical toxin.
He drew a wand, "Spell Arrest!" "All Spells Cease!"
He used several counter-curses, but the magical residue in the wound remained unchanged.
There's a simple rule for dispelling magic: if there's a specific counter-spell, even if the dispeller's magic level is lower than the caster's, the spell might still be removed. Without a specific counter-spell, unless the dispeller's magic is far superior, the attempt will fail.
Fortunately, petrification had slowed the spread of the magical toxin.
Murphy thought for a moment and then used the mental network to summon several Aurors and Watchers to the palace, even forcibly bringing Snape.
He handed the dagger to Snape, "This dagger has a magical poison of a very high power level, which I can't dispel with ordinary means. I hope you can study it."
If anyone could find how to dispel this magical toxin, it would be Snape, the most skilled in potions Murphy knew.
Snape was confused, having been whisked away from his room by a thunderbolt crow to this situation.
"The situation is urgent. Someone will explain the details to you, but for now, please start your research immediately."
Snape, still somewhat bewildered, took the dagger and went to the prepared potion brewing room with some guards.
After treating the Empress's wound, Murphy stationed Aurors and Watchers in her room, left several thunderbolt crows, and then left.
Maxim was waiting for him.
"Grand Shaman, the Holy Wall has been reactivated. But Lady Yaga has gone deep into the Ancestral Mausoleum. The attack hasn't stopped; their target is the innermost ancestral coffins. I must go assist."
"The attack hasn't stopped?"
So, assassinating the Empress wasn't their final goal?
"What are the ancestral coffins?" Murphy asked.
"That's where the original ancestors who founded Arkaim are laid to rest."
Murphy frowned. Arkaim's history spanned centuries, possibly over a thousand years; the founders' remains would likely be mere bones by now. Why would the Holy Mother dig up someone's ancient tomb?
As they spoke, Snape emerged from the lab, "Murphy, the poison is incurable."
Murphy tensed, "What do you mean?"
"It's not a poison but pure magic, a highly potent magical force. It's not toxic by itself but corrupts lower-level magic, causing mutations, making it toxic to ordinary wizards. It can even spread through magical channels to the soul, destroying it."
"You mean it attacks more than just the body?" Murphy paused, "Petrification can't stop it?"
"Magic resides in a wizard's body and soul. Petrifying the body can slow the corruption, but not stop it entirely because the channels between magic and the soul remain."
"Is there really no way?" Murphy was persistent.
"Its power level is very high, but its structure is simple," Snape said. "If there's another magical force of the same level to counteract it, I might concoct a neutralizer to make them neutralize each other... but such a level of magic, I've never seen before..."
Murphy fell silent.
The Holy Mother's magic level was extremely high, surpassing the current upper limit of wizards' power.
Meaning, there likely wasn't a wizard of the same power level in today's world.
Was he really going to watch the Empress die?
"Grand Shaman," Maxim suddenly said, "perhaps the ancestral coffins can help the Empress."
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