Mage Manual
Chapter 455 - 376 Armored Saint

Chapter 455: Chapter 376 Armored Saint

"Witch." Ash said seriously, "We are not joking with you, your infection with the Secret Poison is not only harmful to you, but will also intensify our symptoms, so please don’t get infected if you can help it."

"Okay, let’s end this topic here, but to keep the Witch from dwelling on this, Sword Maiden, tickle her armpits."

"Understood."

"No, please no, I’m super ticklish haha stop it, ah ha ha! Right, right, I have something to say too, I have something I want to say!"

Diya was flushed and collapsed in Sonia’s arms, her shoulders trembling, sniffling through her nose, and it took a while for her to catch her breath, "It’s about my relationship with the Gospel Avatar..."

Ash and the other paid close attention.

Looking back at the adventure of the amnesia cabin, the biggest mystery was not the true use of the Secret Avatar or the Star Cluster Avatar but the shared genetic appearance between the Witch Operator, the Empress’ Soul—why did the Empress’ Soul’s beloved Gospel Avatar, the Witch, the Witch’s grandmother, and the Basement Girl all share the same appearance template?

Even though the Witch’s appearance was indeed quite beautiful, it was unlikely that everyone would choose it; and what about genetic diversity? Was meiosis beaten to death by mitosis?

Rather than a simple "love for beauty," Ash and the other were more inclined to believe in an alternative theory—that the Witch’s appearance was not a natural selection miracle of life, but a deliberate man-made choice by a Mage, which is why it had remained unchanged for generations and even centuries.

"First of all, I shouldn’t have any blood relation with the Gospel Avatar," Diya said. "Aside from the fact that the Gospel Avatar was active at least a thousand years ago, more importantly... not to mention whether the Gospel Avatar had the ability to procreate, but she probably never had the opportunity to do so."

Indeed.

Ash and the others still remembered the embarrassing history of the Empress’ Soul in the amnesia cabin—although, in her eyes, it might be considered a glorious achievement:

"Her believers have been slaughtered by you, her glory tainted and corrupted."

"You twisted her teachings, destroyed her laws, until there was no one left on earth to hear her Gospel."

"You became her only believer, and she became a God who belonged only to you."

This meant that the Gospel Avatar had always been under the control of the Empress’ Soul, trapped by the Empress’ Soul’s infertile love. Even if the Gospel Avatar had the capacity to procreate, there would never have been a chance to use it.

As for whether the Empress’ Soul would use a Miracle of the Mage to forcibly procreate with the Gospel Avatar... Ash and the others dismissed this conjecture.

Considering what they had seen from actual contact and the dark history provided by the cabin, the Empress’ Soul was not the type who liked children. Moreover, children would definitely take away the parents’ attention, which for the Empress’ Soul was an unbearable rival in love—the Empress’ Soul even wiped out all the Gospel Avatar’s fanatical believers clean, how could she possibly allow a child to divert the Gospel Avatar’s love?

"As to why I look exactly like the Gospel Avatar, it actually relates to a ritual Miracle," Diya said. "Its name is, ’Armored Saint.’"

"Armored Saint!?" Sonia exclaimed in surprise. "Does someone actually perform such a ritual?"

Ash blinked, "You knew about it?’

"I’ve read about it before in my studies, an obsolete ancient ritual that some past Mage predecessors learned of from the Void Realm," Sonia said. "Simply put, to usurp the divine power of a God, a mortal disguises themselves as a God, follows God’s principles, retraces God’s path, replicates God’s deeds... until people cannot distinguish the mortal from the God, and with ’armoring’ they become sanctified, seated alongside God. The ’armoring’ serves both to emulate God’s appearance and to conceal the mortal nature within."

Ash asked, "That sounds like an impressive ritual, why was it abandoned?"

Sonia countered, "Have you ever seen a God? To perform ’Armored Saint,’ you need to understand the God you are imitating very well. The Mage who recorded ’Armored Saint’ in their tome remarked that perhaps there once were many creatures known as ’Gods’ walking the earth, thus Mages attempted to usurp Their powers..."

"Speaking of which," Ash suddenly said, "do you guys know that when a Technique Spirit ascends to a Five-winged form, their very essence of life elevates to become a Divine Being?"

Diya nodded, and Sonia was taken aback.

"Divine Being... A Technique Spirit upon condensing five wings will transform into a Divine Being..." Sonia fell into thought, "Then the essence of the ’Armament Ceremony’ could it be—"

"Summoning a Divine Being."

Diya said, "Just like the ritual we perform to summon Technique Spirits, the Armament Ceremony is actually a ritual for Mages to summon Divine Beings."

"However, while Mages can fully control ordinary Technique Spirits, the souls of mortals simply cannot contain the vastness of a Divine Being, let alone wield their divine powers. Therefore, the ’Armament Ceremony’ is not only a summoning ritual but also an activation ritual—when a mortal and a Divine Being become one, they can naturally call upon 100% of the Divine Being’s powers."

"That’s also why I couldn’t possibly be a descendant of the Gospel’s incarnation," Diya said, "The Empress’ Soul that was infatuated with the Gospel’s incarnation was actually a Divine Being walking the earth."

Ash and Sonia were a bit overwhelmed by this significant information. It took a while for Sonia to snap out of it, and she hugged Diya affectionately, asking, "So, Witch, are you actually undergoing the ’Armament Ceremony,’ attempting to summon the Gospel’s incarnation?"

Sonia’s eyes shone as though she wanted to devour the Witch. Although the Village Girl did not know how powerful a five-winged Divine Being could be, surely it must be stronger than a four-winged Legendary Mage, right?

If the Witch were successful in her Armament Ceremony, then the average Combat Power of their team would rise to that of a Three-winged: (2+2+5)/3=3!

The actual effect would only be more fierce; forget the Time Continent, even if they later ventured into the third layer of the Void Realm, the Distant Realm, they could still fearlessly cling to the Witch’s coattails!

Skewing two levels above in high-end combat power was like a college student solving elementary school math problems!

Then she could ride the Observer and charge ahead, embracing the Witch’s protection—life would be more comfortable than in reality!

"No, I am rebelling against the Armament Ceremony, consequently accepting the trials of the Bronze Dragon and escaping my grandmother’s control."

There really was no such thing as a free lunch in this world... Sonia sighed.

Ash asked, "Is it because the Armament Ceremony would affect your personality?"

"’Affecting personality’ is putting it rather naively," Diya said with a wry smile, "The truth is, I have no idea what would really happen... Have you ever read a fairy tale called ’The Wolf and the Sheep’?"

"We’ve had our share of similar fairy tales, just get to the point," Ash said.

"Alright," Diya seemed to relish telling fairy tales, and appeared somewhat unfulfilled when blocked by Ash, "To put it simply, my grandmother is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing; although she appears human on the outside, internally she is nothing like a person anymore, but rather a coalescence of divinity and human nature—a sentient mass of rules."

Sonia exclaimed in surprise, "Wait, so you’re saying your grandmother succeeded in becoming Armored, transforming into... the God of Mankind?"

"You may also call her," Diya said, "the incarnation of the Gospel."

Sonia said, "I remember it was mentioned in the Amnesia Cabin that your grandmother wants you to become the God of Mankind, yet you’ve refused the Armament Ceremony, so... your current enemy is your grandmother, the previous generation’s God of Mankind?"

"Exactly," Diya said confidently, hands on her hips, "Luckily, I have the blessing of the Bronze Dragon; even my grandmother can’t be sure of my whereabouts. But I have no intention of living in hiding; I’ve already won first place in two Weaving Festivals. Once I obtain the wish of the All-knowing Weaver, I can completely break free from the chains of destiny."

"Weaving Festival?" Sonia was hearing this term for the first time.

As the two operators discussed the Weaving Festival and future rankings, Ash, who was driving, was plunged into deep confusion and shock.

The Witch,

In the Weaving Festival,

Had won two first places?