Mage Manual
Chapter 479 - 395: I am the Accessory

Chapter 479: Chapter 395: I am the Accessory

Squeak—

From the Rain Curtain ahead came the excruciating sound of steel bones grinding and bending, as if twisting the spines of those who listened.

The sports car had already retreated to the maximum distance, with the ceaseless Flowing Gold River just ten meters behind them. Just one more thin layer of Rain Curtain and the heavy burden of time would instantly crush their souls.

The most terrifying monster was time, omnipresent, relentless, chewing up all beings, devouring civilization.

In the Void Realm Map, only three colors remained: the green safety zone where Ash was, the "Dead End" red zone smeared by the Heroic Soul Army, and the golden zone of the Flowing Gold River.

Although they were promised time to love, the Empress’ Soul didn’t grant them enough space. With the Heroic Soul Army pressing in, Ash no longer had any room to maneuver.

Ten meters behind the Rain Curtain, the fierce and horrifying Heroic Soul Army, preparing for their supper, was poised to strike.

Yet, they remained outside the Rain Curtain, their figures completely obscured by the reverse Golden Rain. Ash and the others could only hear their rustling, teeth-grinding, claw-scraping movements, which was more distressing than a direct assault—imagination launched a Gorgeous Rebellion in their minds, eagerly overthrowing the dictatorship of reason, welcoming the tyrannical reign of terror.

Apart from the rebellious imagination, the court of survival instinct was also engaged in a cutthroat struggle. This thin layer of Rain Curtain caused the survival instinct rebels’ endless expansion; they triumphantly sang down the corridor of honor guards, hammered the prime minister of courage, and pulled reason down from the throne, forcing it to kneel and surrender in disgrace.

There is great terror between life and death.

This wasn’t a playful matter; the Empress’ Soul would definitely order the troops to swarm, taking bite after bite until they were wiped clean, perhaps leaving only a thin soul skin to escape back to the body—but just as 100 milliliters of blood couldn’t drive a body, a few soul fragments couldn’t reboot the operating system of consciousness.

Even for those mages like them who offended the locals, deaths in the Void Realm were not unusual. The Void Realm was no charity organization, nor was it an easy negotiator; it was merely an indifferent filter, selecting melodies that adapted to the environment, erasing noise that didn’t belong to the era—whether you were an outdated chant or a too-advanced rock.

The Secret Avatar was certainly not a power that someone of their caliber could touch, and such loud noise naturally drew widespread condemnation—although he didn’t know if there were a thousand, there were certainly at least a hundred armed units surrounding them.

It really made sense that the Academic School mages thrived; after all, the adventure faction could die without a grave at any moment, while the Academic School could exchange time for safety, orderly improving their Realm Faction status, step by step climbing the upper echelons of the Void Realm... Ash couldn’t help but imagine wildly.

Snap!

A puddle of unconditional evil landed outside the Refraction Curtain shield, its dark green rotting stench almost melting their souls through the respiratory tract. The mages stiffened in terror, but the Empress’ Soul giggled and said, "Sorry, my spider’s throat was itching a bit, accidentally spat some phlegm, did I disturb you guys?"

Ash shouted in anger, "You did disturb us! We were just getting into the groove, and now the atmosphere’s gone. What are you thinking!?"

"Hmm~ What if I compensate myself to you?"

"Sure, why not! We’re one short right now. You’re just in time!"

"Sorry, I prefer to take initiative, so how about I send someone over to bring you back?"

A thought crossed Ash’s mind, but the Sword Maiden responded before he could, "We only accept multiplayer games, no solo extracurricular activities allowed."

"Ah~ times have changed. Today’s mages are indeed much more liberal than in my day," Denzel’s voice teased with a playful tone: "It’s a shame, so vibrant, so beautiful, so delectably sweet..."

"Hearing one’s own eulogy while alive truly is an interesting experience." Sonia huffed coldly, turned to Ash, and whispered, "Don’t even think about taking the Empress hostage yourself! You don’t have enough lives to cover the deaths!"

"Eh?" Diya blinked, "Was the Observer hesitating to assassinate the Commander? I thought..."

"What else could it be? Do you see any other possibility?" Ash interrupted the Witch righteously.

He glanced at Diya’s hair, which had begun to grow dirty, and felt a slight sinking in his heart.

"Last time we managed to gain an advantage from the Empress was not because we were particularly formidable, but because the Amnesia Cabin gave us a significant help," Sonia said. "This time the Empress came prepared. Any weak point she shows is just a trap, and we have no opportunities to exploit."

"What should we do then?" Diya’s voice was somewhat elusive, though she hadn’t entered her duet phase yet, her tone had changed drastically from before, and she cynically smirked, "You’re not planning on just waiting here to die, right? You two might be content with that outcome, but there are people waiting for me to return in reality."

"Break out!" Sonia, disregarding Diya’s hostile tone, said decisively, "The Refraction Curtain hasn’t broken, and the sports car has an evil blade leading the way, our combat power is unharmed! The Empress has made preparations here for days, and all our strategies are nothing but bubbles easily burst by her. The only way is to fight our way out with all our might, to carve a bloody path through brute force!"

Toward the end, although the Village Girl’s face remained calm without a hint of anger, she had gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, and the red in her eyes had darkened ominously.

The Witch’s hair had also grown dirtier, but her eyes were brightening. The pure and cute face revealed a vivid madness that was almost dripping, she even raised her hand playfully arm-in-arm with the Sword Maiden, laughing, "Haha, I like this plan! I didn’t expect you to be so cunning usually, but you’re actually quite adorable in crucial times~"

Where was there anything cute in this plan that was simply ’reckless’?

Although Ash inwardly grumbled, the operators’ readiness somewhat relieved him. What he feared most now was that the Sword Maiden and the Witch might lose their rationality and judgment under the mortal fear, after all, just suppressing the rebellious fantasies and survival insurgents in his own mind had already drained him substantially. If they became an additional burden, Ash’s state of mind would collapse.

No matter how beautiful the Sword Maiden or how cute the Witch, if they became emotional monsters holding them back at this time, Ash would internally downgrade their trust level.

Nothing was more exhausting than having unsupportive teammates, especially at the most critical moments of the project. The Void Realm team needed reliable allies, not mascots or mere decorations.

But the Sword Maiden and the Witch were far from being burdens; on the contrary, Ash felt like he was their accessory. Facing the crisis of life and death, they were braver than ever, wishing to slice open the Gate of Life and Death, dividing right from wrong with their own hands. Fear, regret, despair, and timidity were mutating into decisive killing intents in their hearts. Standing with them, Ash felt as though he wielded the force of thousands.

However, Ash pushed them back to their seats, "Wait a moment, let me see if there are other options."

"My love!" Ash called out loudly, "I have a gift I’d like to give you!"

"What gift?" Diya, Sonia, and Denzel asked simultaneously.

Ash tapped the operators’ heads, shouting, "My Soul Summoning Technique Spirit, do you like it?"

"It’s average, not particularly satisfying," Denzel said pickily. "But since you’re offering it, I’ll reluctantly accept it."

"Can you let us go after accepting it?" Ash spread his hands, "There really isn’t much hatred between us. How about we pretend nothing happened, you continue your wars, and we explore our Void Realms?"

"What are you talking about, my cute little lover?" Denzel laughed merrily, as if singing, "How can I get the Soul Summoning Technique Spirit if you don’t die? Haven’t you forgotten that once you give up the Technique Spirit in the Void Realm, it will vanish immediately? Only the Technique Spirit released after a Mage’s death, bearing the aura of the original owner’s soul imprint, can linger a moment to allow other Mages a chance to capture it."

"But the contract doesn’t state that I should voluntarily hand over the ’Soul Summoning’ Technique Spirit if captured by you..." Ash was a bit confused. If he couldn’t hand over the Technique Spirit, why would the Empress include this clause in the contract?

"So the real meaning of this clause is that once I capture you, you’ll obediently commit suicide without resistance," Denzel said lightly, joyfully as though singing, "Every clause has a trap beneath the surface, and I really struggled to hold back my laughter when you accepted all of them without any modifications. Sweetheart, you really are considerate."

"But you still have concerns."

Unfazed by the Empress’s mockery, Ash spoke calmly, "If all you needed was to capture me so I’d hand over the Soul Summoning Technique Spirit willingly, you wouldn’t be wasting all this time and energy chatting with me, but would instead come directly to flay and dismantle me."

The laughter from outside the Rain Curtain gradually ceased.

"Using an army to hunt me, using mockery to oppress me, using an army to intimidate me, using words to tease me, even I find it tiring just watching you. If you want to devour me, just come and peel me open, why bother with all this trouble, unless this series of actions somehow enhances the quality of my meat to marbled-level," Ash continued, "The only reason you try to wear down my will to resist is simple—to make me completely lose my ability to judge."

"If I’m not mistaken, when we finally break down hysterically, you’ll offer us quite a generous deal. Essentially, as long as I willingly die by your hand, you’ll spare my companions, and you won’t kill me completely, only taking the ’Soul Summoning’ Technique Spirit from my soul... right?"