.
"You did this to yourself."
There was a brief silence, and then Vitav began to laugh maniacally, swaying on the spot.
"I hate you... I hate you all!" He pointed at them, turning serious once more. "And I will drag you all down with me!!"
He began chanting in an undertone, so Taze readied himself.
Vitav looked completely drained, but there was no knowing what dark tricks were up his sleeves.
"Father. Arch Grand Mage Soren. Please stand back." He warned, holding out a hand, and thick vines tore through the platform's cracks, heading straight for Vitav. "Allow Grand Mage Pariel and I handle this."
"No!" King Vien said firmly. "We all fight."
Arch Grand Mage Soren scoffed at Taze. "I don't think I'm so old that a young seedling can tell me what to do!"
"You can afford to be nicer, old man!" King Vien snapped.
"You're not so young yourself!" Arch Grand Mage Soren retorted.
Grand Mage Pariel simply shook his head, and then appeared closer to Vitav.
Taze's vines had already formed an impervious cage around Vitav, and Grand Mage Pariel cast a series of spells on Vitav, which all hit, sending him crumbling to the floor.
The chamber was now quiet, and as the dust cleared, Vitav lay lifeless within the ivy cage.
The ivy cage retracted, as Taze and Grand Mage Pariel moved towards the still figure...
But something felt off... something felt a little too easy, and as they reached Vitav, Taze's instincts screamed at him, making him swivel, just in time to evade a ray of dark aura which had shot out from Vitav.
Grand Mage Pariel was not so lucky, and though he managed to block most of it, his skin took on a purplish shade, as he keeled forward to his knees, unconscious.
Arch Grand Mage Soren quickly cast a powerful dome around Vitav's lifeless form, while Taze's vine wrapped itself around Grand Mage Pariel, pulling him away from there.
Arch Grand Mage Soren appeared beside them and helped lower Grand Mage Pariel. He quickly studied Grand Mage Pariel's pulse.
"Curing him would have been easy for me, but I've used too much magic tonight." He cast a furtive look at King Vien, and then switched to telepathy.
~"Something is wrong."~ He informed Taze. ~"Vitav self-destructed, but beneath his body is a transportation circle- one powerful enough to bypass the magic of this place, and I don't know what came in just now, but it surpasses Arch Grand Mage level!
~"If anything happens to His Majesty, there'll be widespread panic, and there's no telling what Vitav might do. So you should get His Majesty and Grand Mage Patiel out of here. Regroup in the hall and find a solution, while I buy time!"~ He finished.
Taze considered his words... He really did.
He had almost no confidence against what was coming, so leaving to fight another day was tempting. He would get to see Celia again, and between them, there might even be a solution!
There was just one problem.
If whatever appeared left this place, too many innocents might die before they could stop it, and...
Taze glanced at his father, then back at Arch Grand Mage Soren.
Both men stood strong and proud, but Taze knew otherwise.
Creating the sceptre had required more power than they realized, and then maintaining it all through the banquet, up until Vitav touched it, would have severely drained them.
Taze wasn't as powerful as Arch Grand Mage Soren, but leaving Arch Grand Mage Soren here would be pointless.
And so he shook his head.
"You and father have done enough." In a blink, a vine shot towards King Vien, pulling him to join them, and a circle appeared beneath, holding them all in place.
"Taze! You-!" King Vien began, but Taze bowed.
"Father, forgive my disrespect!"
Disbelief was etched on Arch Grand Mage Soren's face, but he suddenly smiled, shaking his head. "You're almost Arch Grand Mage level?!"
"Yes." Taze's reply was simple and resolute, as he gave a final bow. "I'm sorry, but I'm the only one here fit enough to buy time!"
And with that, a blinding light enveloped them, and they vanished, leaving Taze alone in the large space.
"How touching." Vitav's voice broke the sudden silence, and Taze glanced up in surprise.
"It's you?!"
Behind Vitav was Novia, and in her hand was the Book of Dark Magic.
Taze took a cautious step back.
They had assumed Vitav killed himself to summon something powerful, but no.
Vitav was the powerful being, and his aura indeed surpassed Arch Grand Mage level!
"Surprised?" Vitav mocked his brother's surprised look. "You didn't think the Sceptre was my only goal tonight, did you?" He took the book from Novia. "Just in case, I had Novia steal the book, and before I came here, I also created an emergency portal that could take me away, leaving behind a cursed faux body."
"What have you done?!" Taze demanded. "You had no magic power left... No spell can make you so powerful this quickly, unless -!"
"That's right." Vitav nodded. "I used a spell from the book to become a Saint Mage. It would claim my life in less than an hour, but I will kill you and destroy this kingdom before then!!"
Saint Mage was the level above Arch Grand Mage. It hadn't been attained by any known mage for nearly a thousand years...
Vitav looked serious, and the hate in his eyes was terrifying. With saint mage powers, he would indeed be able to flatten most of Luxia in mere minutes!
Realizing the danger, Taze shot a swift spell at Vitav, but with a mere wave of his hand, Vitav deflected it, sending it into a far wall.
Vitav sent a series of his own spells at Taze, each one designed to kill him, and they were so powerful that Taze could only evade, leaving the platform behind, and ducking between the pillars.
Vitav chased after him, sending the most severe spells his way. "You think you can 'buy time' like this?!" He taunted, as Taze slammed into an unseen barrier.
"There's no escape for you!" Vitav shot a wave of dark aura at Taze, and he crumpled lifelessly to the floor.
Vitav's eyes gleamed in triumph, but it was short-lived, as Taze's body disintegrated into a mass of green vines.
"A clone?!"
"Yes. A clone." A chorus of voices replied, and looking around, Vitav could see a myriad of clones almost everywhere in the dungeon, peeking between the pillars.
Meanwhile, Novia was at the center of the platform, right where the false body had lain, and as she cast a few spells, a red magic circle spread outwards, creeping to the platform's edges...
Around the chamber, Taze's clones were riding his vines or teleporting short distances to attack Vitav, but Vitav easily kept up with them, deflecting their spells and sending more powerful spells at the clones.
Still they kept coming, almost endlessly, and it was clear that Taze would willingly burn his magic to delay him.
"I've had enough of this!!!" Vitav roared, and he unleashed a supreme wave of evil aura, which killed all the clones, leaving Taze facing Vitav.
Taze took a step back, mentally drawing out another strategy, but Vitav's eyes gleamed wickedly as his gaze darted to his left.
'Hmph! You brought yourself to me!' He thought with relish, and he turned back to Taze, deliberately distracting him.
"What now brother?! Out of ideas?" He cast a swift spell, sending another ray of dark aura at Taze.
Taze quickly evaded and retaliated, but Vitav suddenly vanished, only to reappear right behind him.
It was as if time slowed down, as Taze swivelled to face him...
With blinding speed, Vitav had already flicked his wrist, sending an even deadlier arc of dark magic flying toward Taze.
Taze felt the brush of pure corruptive magic nearly hit him, and it SHOULD have hit him, except...
"Taze!" Celia screamed, her magic surging instinctively, and she moved faster than thought itself, throwing herself in front of the attack.
The spell hit her with brutal force, sending her crashing into Taze, who caught her, and his heart lurched as she crumpled in his arms, lifeless...
"CELIA!"
.