Mage Manual
Chapter 657 - 519: God Slayer Ash

Chapter 657: Chapter 519: God Slayer Ash

Five Wings.

The graceful and brilliant figure was so radiant, so pure, that it dazzled the eyes and commanded such reverence that onlookers dare not lift their heads. The sky above was crumbling, spilling forth black mud, and the earth beneath had overturned, unleashing a sea of blood. It was the only light in this world, clinging to the collapsing heavens and patching up the shattered Earth Abyss.

A Demigod Angel?

No, it was a Five Winged Divine Being, and Igula was acutely aware of this fact—although he had never seen an angel, and both angels and divine beings were unimaginable non-human entities to humans, but one thing was certain from the legends and myths: angels transcended human nature as mages, while divine beings were simply personalized rules.

Whoever saw this entity that painted the world with colors would not think it retained any humanity. After all, you wouldn’t think the sun reaching out its tongue to lick you just because it was particularly hot today, and Igula, watching it stand in this world at its end, felt like he was watching the sun rise from a grave.

What were its rules? What did it really want? And what was happening to this world?

More importantly—what did it have to do with me?

Igula’s last question was soon answered.

Hiss!

A sword pierced its chest; it let out a silent scream, but this did little to halt the atrocity—in a ruined monument, black snake-like Sword Light swept across its wings, transforming into harsh black steel chains that tightly bound its body like a slave!

And at the other end of the chain was a man in a dark red coat and a mask.

He was... slaying a Divine Being!

As a mage, hunting the Five Winged!

This appearance was quite familiar, but this man seemed so strange to Igula that he hardly recognized him. The God Slayer stared down at the Divine Being he had captured, his pupils revealing a horrifying and chilling hatred.

He was not known as an "evil Cult Leader" or the "Source of Chaos" that would Destroy the World, but the deviation from Igula’s acquaintance was too great; it was as if he was seeing someone familiar dressed as a warrior, yet styled as a dancer—an unsettling dissonance.

He would never associate that person with such vile Professions, treating it instead as a mere joke.

But this was different.

This avenger-like Godslayer rioter gave Igula an illusion, as if this was a hidden possibility of that person.

The God Slayer suddenly turned his head, focusing his gaze on Igula. His look less hateful, more chilling, he let the Divine Being remain nailed to the stone, walking towards Igula dragging the chain. With each step he took, the chain tightened, and the Divine Being’s wails seemed to stretch further.

He approached Igula, then reached out his left hand to him. Unexpectedly, Igula felt no fear, not because he thought this man would not harm him, but because it felt like a release.

It was like eating an awful buffet, and now someone was finally pulling him away.

*

"Hmm?"

Igula opened his eyes to see Ash touching his head, a warm green glow flickering in his palm. At the other end of the bath, Harvey was enjoying a bath and devouring some delicacies; with each bite, a green life energy flared around his body, and the delicacies quickly disappeared into his mouth, while around him lay over a dozen empty dishes and still another dozen filled with various meats.

"...How long did I sleep?"

"Just over ten minutes," Ash retracted his hand and smiled, "This is the first time I’ve seen you sleep so soundly. We are in a bathhouse in a foreign land, yet you seemed as if you were home."

"I wouldn’t be able to sleep so soundly even under the Blood Moon," Igula paused, "and besides, I don’t have a home."

"You already have one, as long as someone is thinking of you, you have a place to return to," Ash said. "Are you too tired? But Liss intended to send you away from the Gospel, she must have given you some time to rest, right?"

Igula gave him a sidelong glance, "I used the ’Rusted Crow’s Seven-colored Tail Feather’, and after exploring the Distant Realm for a while, I ultimately must die—I can’t enter the Void Realm now."

"But you can still sleep."

"Leaving the Gospel for another unknown journey, do you think we don’t need to prepare? Liss provided us with a fast shopping route, my Space Card is stuffed with emergency supplies, I thought I wouldn’t need them... Don’t expect anything from Harvey’s Space Card, the Coffin takes up most of the space."

"But Harvey told me he dozed off for a while. There was plenty of time."

"I am more sensitive than those who can sleep on graves and disregard life so casually," the Swindler said irritably. "I can’t rest easy with them around."

He paused, then abruptly asked, "Why are you touching my hair?"

"Healing," Ash summoned the Healing Sword. "Did you have a good dream?"

Igula recalled a scene from his dream, although he had forgotten much, he still vividly remembered the hatred in the eyes of the God Slayer. Was it merely a dream, or the influence of the ’revelation’ Technique Spirit?

Prophetic Faction! Anyone who has experienced the Weaving Festival would surely yearn for Prophecy, Fate, and Truth among the Magic Factions, especially someone like Igula who possessed a Prophetic Faction Technique Spirit—it was like reading a detective novel where a character says ’I know who the murderer is’ and then dies immediately, and then the author dies too and there is no follow-up, that was Igula’s current mood.

More agonizing than not seeing the future is only seeing a little bit of it.

But if Igula had to choose, he would still pick the latter—seeking the bliss of ignorance was too simple for him; Emi, Anfeier, or even someone he picked randomly off the street would suffice, who could resist the feigned sincerity of the Swindler? Yet he was the kind of lunatic who preferred to wallow in confusion and seek genuine emotions amidst absurdity.

However, this dream was momentarily put aside; Igula looked around, raising his eyebrows involuntarily, "This place is the rear hall of the Tribulation Fire Temple, right?"

"Yes," Ash immersed himself in the bath, stretching languidly underwater, "We have about half an hour of rest left."

"Let me sort out our current situation," Igula quickly got into the groove, "Firstly, we were summoned here by the Tribulation Fire Temple as part of the First Gospel."

"It’s the First Gospel with two useless followers," Ash corrected.

Igula, slicing the water with his hand sending a splash in the Cult Leader’s face, continued, "That means the Tribulation Fire Temple firmly believes the First Gospel will help them, the reasons are many, perhaps it’s the orders of the Divine Lord Angel, or maybe it’s the inherent traits of the First Gospel... In any case, they have no doubts about our identity, which is an opportunity we could exploit. If used wisely, I could even take the assets of the Tribulation Fire Temple and leave legitimately."

"However, as soon as we arrived, the enemies of the Tribulation Fire Temple—the Four Pillars God Sect broke in. The Tribulation Fire Temple believes the First Gospel can solve the Four Pillars God Sect, so we immediately faced a challenge. Whether we like it or not, the Four Pillars God Sect is a problem we must solve, unless they are willing to listen to our explanation and give us a way out."

Ash splashed water on his face, saying, "Though I’d like to have expectations for the Four Pillars God Sect, considering Eternal Damnation has already taught me a lesson, it’s best to treat them as utterly evil villains."

"I may not place my hopes on others, but is your resume really of no use?" the Swindler complained. "Never mind not gaining trust in a branch office, why are you always confronted by peers wherever you go? Did you offend the four executive directors of your company?"

"The Four Pillars God Sect clearly came for the Tribulation Fire Temple, what does it have to do with me?" Ash also felt wronged, "You’ve seen the attitude of Eternal Damnation towards me; every branch of the Four Pillars God Sect is very protective of their own business, fearing others might steal it. They don’t welcome freelancers like me, and if I were to reveal my work history, I’d probably die even quicker."

Igula sighed. Although he was accustomed to handling emergencies, with the scale and grandeur of such chaotic Vortex, and no time to prepare, even the Swindler felt powerless.

He sunk into the bath, holding his breath for a while, then emerging to slick his hair back, saying, "I can’t believe you could say ’I want to take a bath’ at that moment."

On learning from the red-robed Priest that the Four Pillars God Sect had broken in, Ash remained unflustered in the face of danger, inquired how long the Holy Hall could hold, and upon receiving a minimal limit of 60 minutes, actually made a request to take a bath.

Perhaps it was Ash’s composure indeed bewildering, or perhaps given the First Gospel’s esteemed status, the Priests had no objections and quickly arranged a bath for them. Astonishingly, amidst the chaos, Ash and the others stole a moment to indulge in a bath.