Mage Manual
Chapter 428 - 357: The Fallen Knight

Chapter 428: Chapter 357: The Fallen Knight

Whooosh—

Beside her ears, the night wind howled. Her body felt free without any restraints, just like the freest of birds. Gazing down at Vatican Mura below her, which resembled building blocks, Diya’s heart was unexpectedly devoid of fear; instead, a faint joy surfaced.

When the Observer and the others shared the Secret Poison, what Diya envied the most was not that they formed a team in the Sea of Knowledge, but that they had once embraced flight to unlock the secrets of the golden fish.

To Diya, flying was her greatest wish. Every time she looked out of the high Tower windows at the distant horizon, she longed to grow a pair of wings.

After becoming a Mage, Diya’s greatest hope was to quickly conjure her Golden Wings. Even if it was only in the Void Realm, even if she might encounter danger, Diya still wanted to experience what flying felt like, just like she was doing now.

But the problem was, she didn’t have wings that could carry her in flight alone.

Last time, it was the Bronze Dragon that helped her.

This time, she was truly about to fall.

"When the Princess falls from the Tower, will there be a Knight below to catch her?..."

Diya suddenly recalled the fairy tale she had told her sisters countless times before, and then she thought of the people she knew.

If Hanna were to fall, Banjee would certainly catch her, right?

If the Sword Maiden were to fall, the Observer would definitely spread his arms, wouldn’t he?

Then, when I fall, will someone...

"...It’s always me who has to save you."

In the howling wind, a sigh of resignation followed, and the girl was tightly embraced in a pair of arms.

Diya tilted her head up, and in the tumbling Inverted World of descent, she saw the Fate that fell with her.

"Why would you—" her childish voice was quickly swallowed by the wind.

"At a time like this, just saying ’Thank you, big brother Ash’ would suffice," she felt Ash’s body trembling: "I... actually have a bit of a fear of heights..."

Diya couldn’t understand, and she yelled out loud, "Ash, why would you... You haven’t conjured Golden Wings either, we’re both going to die from this height... Why would you do something so foolish?!"

"Great, now you’re not even calling me dad anymore." Ash looked down at the ground below that was rapidly coming into clear view: "Have you forgotten? I have a Contract with you, I must save you."

Diya froze slightly, tears welling up in her swollen eyes, burying her head deeply in Ash’s embrace: "I’m sorry... I’m really sorry..."

"There’s also no need for apologies," Ash said: "The moment I saw you falling, my body just moved on its own to chase after you with great strides on the walls... I don’t know if it’s the restraint of the Contract, but I hope it is."

"Besides, don’t make it sound as if I’m about to die alongside you."

Diya lifted her little flowery face and saw Ash wink at her: "I’ve been designated by the Weaving Festival as the harbinger of chaos for the future, how could I possibly fall and splatter into an indistinguishable puree of parent and child along with you?... Hmm, Igula might frown at this metaphor, but Harvey would probably like it."

As Ash spoke, buildings flew past them, with the ground rushing up to smash into their faces!

"Hold tight to me."

Diya clung tightly around Ash’s neck, her little flowery face pressed against his chest, the sound of the wind in her ears vanished, leaving only their heartbeats, throbbing at the same frequency.

"And then, become a miracle with me."

Ash raised the Heart Sword high, plunging it into the ground like a meteor!

In the moment the Heart Sword penetrated the urban tarmac, two warm yellow beams of light burst forth.

One pillar of light rose from the tarmac, enveloping Ash and Diya, while the other shrouded Igula, who had planted the Substitute Sword into the intact corridor floor of the 56th level in the Senheiser building!

Speaking of which, there is a significant difference in the architecture of the second tier of buildings in Vatican Mura and Azura, which can be seen from the numbering of the floors—the second tier of Azura’s buildings consists of inverted skyscrapers. The topmost ground floor has all negative levels below it. Hanna lived on level minus 51, at the very bottom, which did not adjoin the first tier of the city.

In contrast, Vatican Mura directly built hundred-floor towers connecting the first and second tiers, therefore the levels are numbered from the ground floor up to the second tier. For instance, the highest floor in Senheiser building is 112, which is also the ground level of the second tier of the city.

All this introduction is just to explain one thing—

The ground of the first tier of the city and the internal corridor of the Senheiser building have a continuous and navigable relation.

This means...

Starting coordinate, the Heart Sword.

Target coordinate, the Substitute Sword!

With "Heart Sword" as the guide, "Earth Sword" being the path, "Circulation" transforms the laws!

Miracle·Rushing Forth.

Ash and his companion transformed into a faint yellow afterimage, flying all the way back up to the 56th-floor corridor.

Igula blinked, and before him appeared Ash, holding his daughter.

The Swindler exhaled a breath laden with impurities gently, propping himself with a bloodied and dirtied hand against his forehead. Ash was ready for a sneer or scolding from him, but Igula simply leaned against the wall and slowly sat down, looking utterly spent and haggard.

"It actually worked."

Ash sought to make conversation, "I had heard that a mage’s miracles could defy all laws of reality as long as the conditions are met, but I used to think at most miracles were like outlaws beyond the law. Now it seems that miracles are not mere outlaws; they are tyrants, not just ignoring reality’s laws, but trampling them outright."

Ash had always used Rushing Forth as a short-distance instant teleportation miracle. Precisely due to its instant teleportation characteristic, Ash immediately threw the Substitute Sword to Igula as soon as he leaped out.

Fortunately, Igula was well aware of the details of Ash’s miracle and immediately caught on, helping to plant the Substitute Sword on safe ground.

Theoretically, as long as there is an unbroken terrestrial route between the Heart Sword and the Substitute Sword, "Earth Sword" can form an instantaneous path, transferring Ash, who held the Heart Sword, directly to the Substitute Sword’s coordinates. But this time, Ash was falling from hundreds of meters in the air, and even if the miracle’s activation was delayed by 0.1 seconds, both of them would instantly be flattened to a two-dimensional shape.

But so-called miracles exist precisely to reverse fate.

Inertia, kinetic energy, physical laws—all these tedious terms bowed at the command of the mage’s will in the instant the miracle took effect.

Ash savored the moment and couldn’t help but give himself a thumbs up. He considered this Rushing Forth one of his life’s best-used miracles, with no contender for the time being.

However, no one echoed his words, rendering Ash unable to continue his self-praise. Igula sat on the ground, seemingly still recovering; "Liss" was still clinging to him like an octopus.

"You guys have made quite a commotion; Qinna is definitely going to be furious."

They looked over to see a Floating Car flying toward them from outside the corridor, with Hanna, Banjee, and Harvey inside.

The young lady waved at them, "Get in and let’s get out of here. I can’t afford to compensate for several floors."