Several Grand Magicians cast their spells together.
The intensity was overwhelming in an instant—Vina couldn’t possibly withstand that level of firepower.
Capture them alive.
It’s easier to kill a few first.
Ella opened her mouth, then closed it, wanting to speak yet hesitating.
She wanted to say, if it’s just about getting information, I could rush in, kill them, and extract their souls for interrogation back in the Royal City.
Quick and efficient.
But, first, a soul can only be preserved for three days.
Second, Grand Magicians are valuable—if possible, the Magic Court still prefers them alive.
Vina is one of the Magic Court’s own.
If she makes such a decision, they’ll believe it was out of necessity.
But as an outsider, if I just slaughter everyone and return, it’s not easy to explain.
“Little Ai, stop spacing out, help me block for a bit.”
The Little Witch called out.
“I need to charge up.”
“Okay.”
Ella didn’t hold back.
She reached out and summoned the Necromantic Sword, slicing the incoming Fire Wave in half.
Necromancy isn’t an element, but after being strengthened by the Evil God, the sword’s attributes surpassed those of ordinary elements—handling magic attacks was no problem.
Vina hid behind her, chanting under her breath:
“Fear it, coldness is the end.”
She charged for a full minute.
Ella felt the air around them compress sharply, then solidify in the Little Witch’s hand into an Ice Crystal Spear.
It looked unremarkable, yet the chill was enough to make her shiver uncontrollably.
The extreme heat contraction even whipped up a gust in that small space.
“Shoot him!”
With the Order, the ice spear burst forth.
Ella only caught a flash of white in the darkness before it pierced the target, vaporizing instantly in the air.
The continuous fire assault ceased.
Several deranged Magicians turned to the one who’d been hit—his chest had a gaping hole, blood gushing from the wound.
But they showed no sadness, no fear.
They simply watched for a moment, as if evaluating something.
Ella watched as well—but suddenly, a small hand grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
“Something’s wrong, get back!”
Why was it wrong?
Because when the ice spear pierced the body, it should have frozen everything around the wound, with the cold spreading rapidly through the body—there shouldn’t be any blood flowing out.
Unless the body was heating up even faster.
Which raised the question: Why would the body’s temperature keep rising?
Boom!!
A Grand Magician self-destructed.
All the magic power in his body turned to flame, erupting in all directions.
Ella and Vina hid behind the Ice Shield.
Despite multiple reinforcements, the Ice Shield barely held, trembling under the force.
The guards had already fled.
Except for a few unlucky souls burned to death at the start, everyone else was alright.
But behind this street, some Residents were still working.
The Deathly Flame Shockwave’s range was larger than expected.
The scorching heat blasted through walls, striking them—several were even thrown into the air by the wave.
Fortunately, they were far enough away that only the aftermath of the magic hit them.
They were injured, but their lives weren’t in danger.
“This is the first time I’ve seen a Magician use self-destruction after suffering a fatal wound.”
Vina gritted her teeth.
Ella nodded, equally shocked.
For a Berserker or similar physical class, triggering an Adrenaline surge after being mortally wounded and unleashing more energy is entirely possible.
But Magicians don’t rely on their bodies.
Compared to Adrenaline, they usually depend more on Serotonin to stay calm and focused for spellcasting.
These people are just too abnormal!
“Let’s end this quickly.”
Vina repeated her tactic.
Under Ella’s cover, she condensed a second Extreme Ice Spear, piercing another Magician’s chest before hiding behind the Ice Shield to brace for the self-destruction.
Boom!
Ella placed her hand on the Ice Shield, feeling the second shockwave—it was weaker this time.
The third time, the same strategy.
They burst the third “balloon,” and this time the self-destruction was even weaker—almost symbolic.
Now, only two deranged Magicians remained.
Vina stopped using ice spears and summoned a Blizzard, suppressing them continuously.
At this point, she felt little resistance, and the two were quickly frozen.
Was it because their numbers and magic power had decreased?
Or something else?
She didn’t know and didn’t have time to care.
“All done.”
Vina clapped her hands.
“Let’s handle cleanup, then we can take them back.”
She continued summoning Blizzard, extinguishing the flames on nearby buildings and erasing any remaining traces of Fire Element.
In this battle of ice and fire beneath the night sky, five deranged Magicians—three died, two were captured after being frozen.
Of the guards, five unlucky ones were burned to death, but the rest were unharmed.
As for the Residents caught in the first self-destruction, four had minor burns, six had localized burns—all their wounds were already bandaged, and none were in critical condition.
The Count of Herli arrived at the scene.
He was a formidable Magician himself, so he wasn’t concerned for his own safety.
When he heard that ten Residents had been burned by fire magic, his face was grim, but seeing that everyone was mostly unharmed, his frown eased.
“Alright, take half a day off.
Start work again at noon tomorrow.
Let’s see—many tasks don’t require both hands or feet.
If you have one hand or foot, or even none, you can still help.
I’ll have the Manager assign suitable jobs based on your conditions until you recover.”
How considerate!
The ten Residents didn’t say anything, just nodded silently, as if they were used to it.
Vina tied up the two frozen Magicians with rope, then turned to Ella.
“When we’re flying, we’ll have the Dragon Hawk grab the rope and carry them back—should be fine, right?”
“It should be, though it might get a bit cold.”
“That’s fine.
There’s still plenty of Fire Element left on them—they’ll need to stay frozen even longer when we return.
A little wind on the way won’t hurt.”
The ice layers on the two people were melting quickly, water dripping to the ground.
The Little Witch had to keep talking while reinforcing the ice.
Ella nodded.
“Alright, let’s go.”
The abnormalities in these Magicians had exceeded her understanding—best to get them back to the experts quickly.
Soon, two Dragon Hawks soared into the sky, carrying their spoils toward the Royal City.
“Take care, ladies!
Come visit again~”
The Count of Herli shouted up at them, then looked back at the charred street.
“Sigh, look.
More work tomorrow.
That’s why I say, how could anyone think rest is possible?
As long as you can work, there’s always more to do.”
He yawned, then returned to the Castle to sleep.
The guard soldiers did a headcount, then each returned to their quarters to rest—it was too dark to do anything else.
They’d deal with it tomorrow.
Only the ten burned Residents pretended to go home.
A few minutes later, they emerged from their houses and gathered again.
In fact, there was never supposed to be work tonight—especially not here.
They’d been called out by a relative of a maid from the Castle, supposedly for a purpose.
She’d said something that could grant their Wish might appear tonight.
“Did you hear them?”
One person spoke.
“Their voices.”
The others nodded.
The ten of them simultaneously grabbed the cloth wrapping their wounds, yanking it off to reveal magma-like burns.
During the first self-destruction, certain “things” had fled the Grand Magicians’ bodies and entered theirs, hiding within them.
It was a kind of power—a power that could grant Wishes.
Power had a price, but for them, the cost wasn’t unbearable.
They all turned together.
In the darkness, ten pairs of eyes glowed red like fire, staring toward the Castle.