Chapter 83

"ALRIGHT, I WILL TELL THEM. But I will come back as soon as I do."

Magnolia nodded at Daniel before giving her full attention to Titus. They both stared at each other for a moment.

'The man who killed my parents and Daniel's parents is standing before me.'

Her jaw clenched.

She was going to bring him to justice, though. A public execution decided by his old allies would be an even more humiliating ending for this murderer.

"That is exactly why no Gottanlich should have stayed alive," Titus said, motioning toward the two mages still stuck to the wall. "Your powers are too strong and dangerous."

"It's amusing that you are alright with people's powers if they are serving you, but once they oppose you, they are too strong and dangerous." Magnolia shrugged. "Do you really think that your decisions that led us here were the right ones?"

The king was silent for a moment. "I don't regret any of my decisions," he finally confessed.

His words did not surprise Magnolia. Someone who could order a whole family to be killed would not feel any remorse or regret.

"My family did not deserve to die because of your lack of responsibility." Magnolia's tone was cold. "If you had made the right decision back then, we would not be standing here today, dethroning you."

Titus trembled with rage at her words. He was not going to let them take him down. He could not bear what the history books would say about him. Probably a paragraph, or one page at most, just like the Mad King. He could not allow his whole reign to be reduced to being dethroned.

'I will not go down like this.'

"Let's just end this," Magnolia said. "I will let the parliament decide what to do with you."

"Do you know what my power is, child?" The king asked, dismissing her comment. Magnolia narrowed her eyes at him. "You might say that in the past, the Gottanlichs and Albrechts' powers…completed each other."

"Don't try anything futile, Titus. You have seen what I am capable of." Magnolia's body tensed. She was ready to counterattack anything he sent her way.

"Then, it's only fair for me to show you what I am capable of." Titus grinned.

In a blink of an eye, the king turned toward the two mages trapped in the wall and threw something at them.

Magnolia expected him to attack her, so she was a bit surprised. She recovered quickly when she saw the powder he threw come in contact with the fire circles around the two men's necks.

There was a bright spark, then a loud explosion.

Magnolia fell to the floor. Her body hurt and there was a loud ringing in both her ears. She did not have enough time to put up any protection.

She looked up, searching for Titus. But the fire was raging and there was too much smoke.

Suddenly, a dark shadow approached her. She tried to push to her feet, but she was still disoriented from the explosion.

The king had a dagger in his hand, and he was determined to kill Magnolia.

"Damn it," she mumbled before grabbing Titus's hand.

She was on her knees but in an instant, the king was on top of her, pushing his dagger down. Magnolia struggled against him. He was not overpowering her, but he still had the upper hand, being on top.

She thought of using magic, but after the explosion Titus had caused, she was not sure if it was a good idea.

"Just die," the king said through gritted teeth.

"Even if you kill me, it's over for you anyway," she told him.

For a split second, Titus faltered. Magnolia quickly hit his hand, making him drop the dagger. She tried to push him off, but he grabbed her neck and slammed her back down against the marble floor. She winced at the impact.

"Then I shall take you down with me."

Magnolia felt something rub against her neck, like small grains of sand.

"I would not recommend using your magic either, unless you want to make us both blow up into pieces." A wicked grin split his face in two.

'What should I do?'

It was becoming hard for her to breathe. She dug her nails in Titus' hands, but it did not faze him at all.

'If I put up a protection shield before I attack him, I might survive the explosion.' Her eyes traveled to the dismembered mages in the corner. 'But even putting up a shield uses fire as the base magic.'

'Damn it all.'

Suddenly, an idea came to her. If she could use her magic from within, without it coming in contact with Titus' powder, there should be no ignition.

'Fire Magic can melt things, but it can also harden things.'

Magnolia remembered reading in one of the books Killian gave her.

'If I harden my body from within, the explosion should not affect me.' She looked up at Titus.

'Here it goes.'

"What are you–" the king mumbled as he felt Magnolia's neck harden under his hands, it was as hard as a wooden log.

"You're leaving me no choice, Titus," Magnolia uttered with a hoarse voice. "This is for my family."

"Wait–" he pleaded, but the words died in the air as they were drowned by an explosion even bigger than the one from earlier.

The king's upper body was obliterated, the bottom half fell next to Magnolia, charred. The flames were everywhere, but they made her feel safer.

Magnolia slowly pushed to her feet. She looked around to find an exit, but as soon as she took one step, the floor crumbled under her feet and she fell as the whole house sank with her.