.
"Attack!"
At Vitav's command, the four Dark Grands dashed forward, and the air crackled with magic, as they each directed a spell at King Vien.
But King Vien didn't flinch in the slightest, as the Grand Mages jumped into action, blocking the spells and fending the Dark Grands off.
The other dark mages and goblins began attacking as well, and faster than a blink, Celia had raised targeted ice shields around the poisoned mages, and the attacking spells ricocheted off the shields.
Vitav's expression turned to something ugly, as he recognized the power surrounding the ice shields.
'This is - !'
This was the same power which had frozen the entire West Wing that night! The night all his plans had fallen through!
~"It was you!"~ He spat into Celia's thoughts with so much hate that she flinched.
~"As if I didn't hate you enough!"~ He continued with pure malice. ~"Well played! You hid your power well!"~
He swung out a hand and a black flame appeared. ~"Hasn't our enmity traversed time and space?! Now, after several hundred years, I shall crush everything you love!"~
Vitav moved in a blink, but Celia was more than ready, and she quickly created an impenetrable ice dome.
The dome's current level would take quite a while for Vitav to break, even with his power, so he simply smiled at her through the ice.
~"I underestimated you, but this isn't over yet! I'll make sure you live in the personal hell I create!"~
And with that, he swivelled and swept out of the Hall doors...
Celia swirled, turning back to the battle.
The Grand Mages were fending off the Dark Grands, while every one else faced the other enemies.
The goblins were every bit as problematic as they expected, but Taze cast a spell which sent tree vines sprawling around the hall, wrapping themselves around the speedy goblins, while Celia froze as many of them as possible.
Lord scarlett, Dr. Sylvadeen, and the other Mages were casting protective shields around the nobles who couldn't fight, while fending off the dark mages themselves, and in a show of support, a few fairy and Mer mages stepped in to help, including Larya and Rone.
By the time they were done, the hall was in ruins and flooded with sea sludge.
The Grand Mages had defeated the dark mages, but not without some injury.
Grand Mage Patiel was clutching his right arm, which hung limply, and Grand Mage Sidian was missing an eye.
Celia looked at Taze. She had clung to his aura throughout the fight, and she sent him a desperate message. ~"Vitav is far more powerful than before, and I've confirmed it... He does have his memories of the past lives! We've lost an advantage!"~
~"Don't worry!"~ Taze assured her with a determined expression. ~"Things won't go his way!"~
.
.
Meanwhile, the sounds of chaos faded away, as Vitav sped toward the palace's north side.
There, he quickly found the life-sized statue of an elf dressed in elegant robes, its open arms supporting a floating orb.
These statues could be found at the four Cardinal points of the palace, representing the Magic, Power, Wealth, and Knowledge of Elves, and this was the statue representing Magic.
To the many elves that lived and worked in the Palace, these statues were mere decorations. They didn't know these innocent statues were the guardians of a secret treasure chamber beneath the Palace.
Vitav placed his hand to the warm stone of the statue's forehead, and with a few incantations, a golden seal briefly appeared on the forehead, before flickering away.
Next, he went to the west and south Cardinal points, where he repeated the incantations on the Power statue, which was an elf dressed in armour, with a sword held ready, and the Wealth statue, which was an opulently dressed elf cradling gems and other treasures.
Finally, Vitav reached the Knowledge statue of an elf in plain robes, cradling an open book in its outstretched palms.
Again, Vitav repeated the incantations on the warm stone of the statue's forehead, but this time, the ground beneath his feet rumbled as the golden seal briefly appeared and flickered away.
The statue sunk into the ground, and a solid door appeared where it had been.
The door slid open, revealing a dark stairway, and Vitav gave a cold smile.
'The Staff of Alaus must be mine!'
.
.
Back in the banquet hall, Celia and a few other healing mages had gotten to work, helping the poisoned mages and officials.
The poison was indeed powerful, but with her level as a Healing Mage, eliminating it was only a bit draining, and with a few spells, a light appeared on the first victim's forehead, shoulders, elbows, wrists, core, knees, and ankles.
Next, a swirl of golden snowflakes appeared on the victim's hand, and then began encircling his wrist.
The snowflakes slowly turned black, before vanishing, just as the victim's skin returned to normal.
"Ingenious!" Grand Mage Sidian praised, his blackened eye socket being bandaged by Grand Mage Pariel. "You first freeze the poison's flow at all major points, then use the ice to attract them to those points, and then direct it all out to the golden snowflakes! Such precision and control!"
Even Grand Mage Patiel managed an impressed smile, and Taze's heart swelled with pride.
Whether it was in the original life, or in the many lives since, or in this life, knowing Celia was his blessing, and he vowed to cherish her for an eternity!
But despite his earlier assurance to Celia, a small part of him worried...
Vitav WAS more powerful than they had ever known him to be.
Perhaps it was because he remembered the past lives...
But even with past knowledge, it had taken Celia years under Dr. Sylvadeen, to become this skilled.
Which could only mean Vitav had been using some dark means to grow his power.
Taze tore his eyes away from Celia, and turned to his father, who now looked pale and sickly again.
They had to stop Vitav, before it was too late!
Meanwhile, a few mages volunteered to replenish Celia's energy at intervals, while Carla was using her ability to quickly determine how each of the poisoned were progressing.
She passed the information to Dr. Sylvadeen, who used his boundaries to separate them according to severity levels, while other mages kept the guests in check, barring the distraught or panicked family members from compounding the issue.
These made it easy for the poisoned to be brought to Celia in turn, from the weakest to the strongest.
Lord Scarlett was last, and his pride knew no bounds as he handed Celia his arm.
"Cece! You've been hiding your strengths!" Even he hadn't known how powerful she had become! "What was that magnificent ice dome earlier?! And you've surpassed your Mother as a Healing Mage! She would be so proud!"
Celia beamed at him as the blackened snowflakes vanished, and they both sighed in relief.
But then her blood ran cold when she realized she had stopped sensing Taze's aura for a while now...
And as she scanned the slowly emptying banquet hall, she realized that not just him, but King Vien, and Grand Mage Pariel had left.
Only Grand Mage Patiel and Dr. Sylvadeen remained, and they deliberately looked away, refusing to meet her eyes.
"F- Father!" She shot to her feet, noticing the guilty look on Lord Scarlett's own face. "Where is- ?"
"Cece." He took her hand. "You've expended all your energy to heal everyone! You've already done enou-!"
But she tore herself away before he could finish, swiftly sweeping towards the doors.
They had readied themselves to face Vitav for a while now, but there was no telling what he might do if cornered!
She halted when she ran into a barrier.
"I'm sorry. We can't let you leave." Grand Mage Patiel had appeared behind her, and he was flanked by Lord Scarlett and Grand Mage Sidian.
"I insist on leaving." Celia stated in a calm that was swiftly vanishing. "Stand in my way, and you're my enemy!"
Grand Mage Patiel held up his good arm, and a silvery cube appeared above his palm. "It would be embarrassing if I obey a teenager's threats... The Crown Prince and my twin would never let me live it down, so..."
The silvery cube throbbed suddenly, and Celia was instantly surrounded by a thin film, the same silvery colour as the cube.
"You have to fight your way out, if you want to pass."
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