Chapter 588 588 Age And Wisdom
Chapter 588 588 Age And Wisdom
The sudden activation of the new spells caught everyone off guard, and they were scrambling to get their affairs in order, even as Reiko grabbed one of the PR people from a delegation and ordered them to make a live broadcast on the emergency channel, under her authority.
They could only hope that would be enough, but Reiko knew that at least one or two of the families would be scrambling for a healer.
Curses of all sorts were frowned upon in the Covens, but that didn’t stop everyone, and it was an open secret that some families designated members to do all the casting in exchange for benefits to their descendants or branch of the family.
That meant that they would certainly have fatal levels of corruption right now, and keeping them alive through the cleansing process would be incredibly difficult without a Rank Two or higher witch.
Then the gathered witches began to notice the mana in the air becoming more dense, and looked around in confusion.
They hadn’t been informed of anything like this, and they had never heard of it either. There were some arrays that gathered mana to cast a spell, relics from the years before the Great War, but one that increased the mana density in a whole region? That was the stuff of myths and legends.
But the reports were clear. No matter who asked their people, or what part of the city they were in, the mana density was increasing. Even the Coven Security force agreed.
“Can anyone tell us what is going on?” One of the Crime Family Elders shouted, as he was unable to tell what had the witches in such a panic, and they were all too busy freaking out to talk to him.
Ella hopped back up into the alcove to address the crowd.
“What they are feeling is the density of the mana in the air increasing, as a side effect of the new defensive spell arrays. In addition, the curse damage is being cleansed from everyone’s bodies, and the curses that they had active are all beginning to collapse.
Because of that, security at their villas is being scrambled with physical staff, and they are all feeling a bit giddy. The sudden increase in mana density is a bit like an alcoholic buzz, but they will be used to it in a matter of hours.” She informed the crowd.
That led to the Crime Families sending a wave of messages, as most of them employed curses to help guard at least one spot within their compounds.
The fact that the Noxus Family only used defensive charms and wards was an unusual situation, but they had never felt comfortable with the spells, and preferred the old-fashioned use of bullets to stop intruders instead of magic.
Most Families did not have that level of trust in their subordinates, and worried that the guards could be bribed.
“Are there any more large surprises waiting for us?” One of the Elders, a Crime Boss who was easily into his eighties, but still had the hardened features of a much younger man, asked with sarcasm dripping from every word.
“Oh, there are a couple of wonderful ones still to come. But we can call it a day with just the arrays, and you’ll find out the rest in due time.” Ella replied.
The old man gave a wry smile. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have a lot of due time left. How about we get it out of the way today? My heart can take a few more surprises of the nonlethal variety.”
Ella laughed. “I like this guy. Alright, one of the spells in the defensive array is [Kind Intentions]. It will prevent the enemy from entering with hostile intent until the barrier is broken, but it will also stop people from attacking each other with intent to cause serious harm or death. So, as much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I regret to inform you that your debt collectors and goons are going to have to find some alternative methods to do their jobs.”
Most of the people present, no matter what faction they were from, looked horrified as the implications of that spell really began to dawn on them. They had understood before that it would stop outside attacks, but if they couldn’t beat people, and everyone knew they were unable to do it, it was going to cause a huge change in the culture of the city.
Only a few seemed to see opportunity in the situation. Uncle Ivan was one, the old man who had asked the question was another, and Reiko’s assistant was a third.
They were constantly on guard against assassination attempts, but this would eliminate a lot of them, and the inability to cast curses in the city would render even more of them ineffective. So, poison testing the food and drink, as well as sweeping rooms for traps, would become much less risky.
“What are your plans after this?” One of the Elders asked, and Ella contemplated how much she should say out here in the open.
“I am going home to Forest Grove soon, but I want to take a specially selected group of male guards with me for special forces training. I know that the Noxus Family has reached out to some of their friends and allies, but I will consider others, as long as they meet the qualifications.”
Ella hoped that was good enough that they would understand that she was sincere, and that the Noxus Family wasn’t trying to trick them into outing the magic using men in their families. She was going to take a number of the Noxus Family men with her as well, since it didn’t make sense to stay here in the Fortress City and have only her Guardian train them.
One would certainly be enough, as they were supposedly all identically trained, but they worked best in a group, and Ella had the feeling that they were going to need the skills of as many Magi as they could get, and they were going to need them very soon.