After returning to the Royal City, Ella and Vina headed straight to the Magic Court, handed over the two captured people to the Grand Sage, and then went to sleep.
Because of the intense battle after exchanging secrets last night, tonight’s real fight felt like exhausting work.
So after completing the task, both felt the problem was solved and they could finally relax and get a good night’s sleep.
Zzzz
A Dragon Hawk soared through the night sky, returning to the Royal City.
It wasn’t until the next evening that Celes, Leah, and Zero heard about what happened from outside.
“You’re saying they’re still asleep? What on earth did they do last night to sleep this late?”
When the three girls arrived at the Magic Court, met the Grand Sage, and heard from him that the other two still hadn’t woken up, they voiced this doubt.
Leah and Zero were both surprised, because the person who said this wasn’t either of them, but the always calm Celes.
“Um, don’t be so anxious. They said it was a work trip before. They must’ve finished the mission overnight and flew back in the middle of the night, so they probably didn’t get any rest.”
Leah never expected that she’d one day be the one telling others to calm down.
“They fought a battle last night.”
The Grand Sage yawned.
The two girls had run back in the middle of the night and handed over two frozen people to him, forcing him to get up, assess the situation, assign personnel, and all that.
He barely got a wink of sleep before dawn.
He was exhausted too.
But out of respect for the Hero Squad, he forced himself to explain the details.
“The battle was intense. To bring back two people, they had to kill the others and barely managed to bring back two alive.”
After saying this, the Grand Sage couldn’t hold out any longer and went back to sleep.
The girls of the Hero Squad were received by a free magician.
In this highest magical hall of the kingdom, a magician was only considered an apprentice.
“Um, hello, honored guests. Please sit, and wait a moment.”
He rarely came to such a ‘high-class’ reception room and spent quite a while picking out tea leaves.
Right now, only magicians like him were available in the Magic Court.
All the Grand Magicians were either resting or busy, and those resting were only doing so because they’d been working all night.
“I’m very sorry. The sudden events last night turned the place upside down. Everyone was swamped… Found it, Royal Tea. Please have a taste. Where was I? Oh right, everyone was swamped.”
After pouring the tea, the magician finally relaxed a little and began recounting the incident that left the entire Magic Court in chaos.
The cause of the event was still unclear.
All that was known was that a few nights ago, several Grand Magicians gathered late at night to research a certain Fire Element magic.
But it spiraled out of control, and they ran all the way north, destination unknown.
On the way, it even led to the mysterious Burning Incident in the Royal City.
Vina and Ella’s mission was to find these runaway Grand Magicians and bring them back.
“Last night, the two ladies returned with two people. Their condition was terrible—their bodies were frozen, but Fire Element kept generating endlessly within them.”
“This was extremely abnormal, because they’d lost consciousness and shouldn’t have been able to use magic… Anyway, to save their lives, everyone’s doing their best.”
If the frozen state ended, they’d return to a rampaging, exploding fire state.
But if frozen too severely, they might just die.
So the Grand Magicians of the Magic Court had no choice but to stay by their side, maintaining a steady low-temperature freeze to counteract the constantly generating Fire Element.
“My mentor said that maybe if their magic power is completely depleted, this bizarre magic will stop. Of course, there might be other accidents. Who knows? After all, we’re just magicians, not professional rescuers…”
Hearing this, Leah couldn’t help herself.
“If that’s the case, why not ask a priest for help?”
The magician froze too.
“Can a priest handle it?”
Honestly, no one really knew.
The situation was so new that everyone could only rely on what they did best.
A few minutes later, he led the girls to the outside of the “emergency room.”
Originally, this was just an ordinary open room.
Two Grand Magicians were inside, providing cold air.
Another Grand Magician leaned against the door, taking a break.
“Why are you here?”
“It’s like this. The ladies suggested that maybe a priest’s healing could help. And it just so happens we have one of the world’s greatest priests here.”
Hearing this, the Saintess unconsciously puffed out her chest.
Well, the words weren’t wrong.
The Grand Magician was also stunned for a moment, clearly thinking of the same solution.
But he quickly shook his head.
“It’s a magical accident. We need to prioritize dealing with the magical anomalies on their bodies. Besides, the Grand Sage and Miss Vina aren’t here, so no one can make the decision…”
He peeked inside, then came back out.
“Let’s wait a bit longer. Their magic is almost depleted. Even if their minds aren’t clear, they won’t have the strength to use magic.”
After some time, when Ella opened her eyes again, she felt thoroughly rested.
Just as she was about to get up, a holy light flared from the room next door.
She quickly shook the little witch awake on the next bed.
“Vina, wake up! They’re here!”
“Who’s here?”
“Them! Miss Leah and the others! They must be here too!”
Ella was in a panic, spinning in circles.
Vina, lacking any panic at all, just lazily rolled over.
“If they’re here, let them catch us. I’m sleeping.”
Not even being caught in the act could interrupt the little witch’s beauty sleep, especially after pulling an all-nighter.
But after a moment, she also sat up, blinking her eyes.
“What’s going on? Such unstable elements… Is this really the Magic Court?”
The two girls exchanged glances, realizing something might have happened.
They threw on their clothes and ran to the site of the incident.
Soon, they arrived outside the “emergency room,” and Ella pushed the door open, bumping right into the group of girls.
Leah, who had just performed a Blessing, waved in greeting.
“You’re awake?”
Next to her were Celes and Zero, both on guard, but their focus was elsewhere.
On the floor sat two Grand Magicians, bald and exhausted, looking oddly familiar.
Ella squinted.
“They are…”
“They’re the two we brought back last night.”
Vina said.
As someone from inside the Magic Court, she recognized the faces of several Grand Magicians.
Ella looked again.
They really were.
“But… what happened to their hair?”
Not only was it gone, but the tops of their heads weren’t even smooth—just a patch of black, charred skin.