Mage Manual
Chapter 546 - 443: I Became a Substitute_2

Chapter 546: Chapter 443: I Became a Substitute_2

If one could judge their present self for the ’future crimes’ they might commit, wouldn’t Ash, himself, be the most deserving of death?

Ash didn’t see people in the "List of Heresy", only gods and toys.

Unfortunately, since his arrival in this time, his status constantly resembled that of a toy; thus, ’Gospel Ash’ appeared to him as if a laborer had degenerated into a saboteur.

...

Sensing Ash’s sullen mood, Hanna changed the subject, "Look, Nabistin is not far now."

Ash lifted his gaze and saw in the distance on the horizon, buildings flashing with blue arcs, a technologically advanced metropolis gradually coming into view.

"Does Nabistin only have one layer?"

"Nabistin has three layers."

"Ah?" Ash was startled, looking towards the clear sky above Nabistin, "But—"

"Ash, do you know why the technology for constructing second-layer cities was developed?" Hanna said, "It was because Empress Yisu wanted the Imperial City to apply the latest technological revolution."

"However, the reconstruction of the city was overly troublesome, and it was easier to start fresh. Nevertheless, the Yisu royals did not wish to relocate the Imperial City, hence a wildly imaginative project, Miracle, was born: they constructed a new city above the original location of the Imperial City. Once the new city was completed, they used Earth Magic to sink the old city underground and the new city descended to the ground, allowing the old and new imperial cities to exchange places."

"The technology for constructing second-layer cities also developed from this point, and it only came to full maturity in the past fifty years. Although the Imperial City cannot build a second layer that obscures the sun, it doesn’t matter. The Imperial City has undergone this exchange twice, so Nabistin has a total of three layers: bottom, middle, and surface."

"Nabistin has strict checks on outsiders, but this is just a requirement of the surface city," Hanna said, "While the bottom city is a chaotic area with not even a Red Hat to be seen. That is our destination tonight, the gathering place of countless criminals, dreamers, and the ambitious."

At that moment, the sky bridge began extending downwards to the road, and three paths emerged in front of Ash and his companions: the ground road, the second-layer tunnel, and the bottom-layer tunnel. Under Hanna’s direction, they all entered the bottom-layer tunnel, and soon the traffic increased. Trucks and Floating Cars were amongst them, and they remained inconspicuous.

After a long descent, they finally left the narrow tunnel, and the wide-open scene left them momentarily dazed.

Dozens of stories high buildings, huge virtual reality advertisements, buzzing delivery drones, crowded streams of vehicles entering the city... If it weren’t for the fluorescent mushrooms on the ceiling visible when looking up, Ash and the others would have thought they had arrived in some City of Eternal Night.

At the end of the incoming traffic, hanging above the toll bridge was a banner glowing with colorful lights.

"Welcome to the Hell closest to Heaven—Nabistin’s underground," Ash murmured softly.

...

...

After paying the entry fee, the Funeral Ceremony group smoothly entered the underground city. Since they were riding motorcycles, no one suspected them despite wearing full helmets.

"It’s that easy to get in?" Igula could hardly believe it, "Does Nabistin really not care?"

"They don’t care superficially; look, no one checks even if others are wearing hoods," Hanna explained. "But it’s probably intentional because Nabistin is the Imperial City, attracting the Gospel’s most resources and also destined to attract the most antisocial criminals... This place is the largest trash can of the Gospel."

"And here I thought Fidel was the lowest the Gospel could go," Ash commented.

"Fidel is merely backward, but this place is chaos," Hanna whispered in Ash’s ear. "Blood Moon must also have places where you manage unstable elements by gathering them together, right?"

Ash thought that was true, but Blood Moon was a prison+battlezone; the Gospel actually cultivated a whole underground city like breeding insects, and it was even right beneath the Imperial City’s rear end. Rather than a trash can, it was more like the Gospel’s septic tank... Hold on, this metaphor seemed to include him as well.

"So, you’re saying," Harvey suddenly spoke up, "that the Resonator from the ’List of Heresy’ is likely here as well?"

"Even if he’s not here now, he will come eventually," Hanna said. "There’s no place for them out there anymore."

It was at this moment that the surrounding traffic erupted into noise; many people got out of their cars and looked up, some shouting in panic, "Shadow of Plague!"

Ash and the others looked up and saw a silhouette standing on the bridge from which the banner hung—a person they all knew well—ranked fifth on the "List of Heresy," ’Shadow of Plague’ Roger Diel!

He was an ordinary Mage around twenty years old with delicate features. Before the apocalypse, he specialized in Poison Skill and shifted to the plague after the apocalypse. From his appearance alone, no one could predict he would one day create a virulent plague causing hundreds of thousands of deaths just to advance his faction realm and rise to Legendary status—an utterly inhumane criminal.

This person, famed in the future, stood there with a wooden expression atop the bridge and naturally pulled out a dagger to slice open his chest, withdrawing a throbbing black heart.

Something stirred in Ash’s mind as he recalled Roger’s actions from the "List of Heresy" after ’Gospel Ash’ appeared—

’After reflecting, Roger realized deeply that his existence was meaningless. Thus, under Ash’s gaze, he went to the sky bridge, cut out his heart, crushed it, and activated a ritual miracle he would master in the future, infecting himself with the brutal plague he created. His flesh, bones, and even his soul rapidly disintegrated. Like tears of remorse, these remnants on the ground spelled out a ’sin’...’

At this point, Roger had started to dissolve into liquid, etching corrosive traces on the roadway as the adjacent traffic hastily swerved to avoid it. When Roger completely dissolved into the air, everyone dared not approach, only able to observe the corrosion marks from afar.

"Sin..."

"It’s identical to the scene in ’List of Heresy’..."

"It has to be that man... Only he is possible!"

"He has come to Nabistin!"

"The future’s disaster, lord of apocalypse, the Source of Chaos with countless followers, the Undead Demon Ash Heath has already descended upon Nabistin!"

"He even made Roger repent, following the steps of the future list, made Roger kill himself!"

"Fate is woven yet stands firm as a rock! The Gospel has not erred; everything is already predestined!"

In the midst of the frenzied crowd, the members of the Funeral Ceremony, with their helmets still on, silently watched Ash; Ash could only spread his hands helplessly.

"Quite clearly," the Cult Leader spoke up, "I’ve become the Substitute."