Sorcerer’s Handbook

“”Wow, quite the grand setup for just an angel.””

“At the end of the passageway was a resplendent underground palace. The fleeting murals seemed to depict myths from an unknown era, and upon closer inspection, the dazzling dome was made of massive golden bones, the remains of some mythological creature.”

“In the center of the palace lay a colossal stone coffin large enough for a giant. Neither of the two could reach the lid due to their height.”

“”I remember Belldates are usually short,” Ashe remarked. “Although I know the Gospel broke reproductive isolation long ago, can giants really have children with humans? The software might be compatible, but the hardware isn’t.””

“The cloaked man ignored Ashe, fixating on the stone coffin while his hands moved in unknown gestures. Soon, a massive dark green wraith rose from the coffin, with chains of nothingness extending from its body, binding it to the palace. It seemed both imprisoned by the palace and protected by it.”

“The wraith spoke, “Are you the sorcerers who have passed my trials and are qualified to inherit my path of the Malicious Angel?””

“Ashe replied, “It’s just him. I prefer the living over corpses.””

“The cloaked man responded, “Great predecessor, Malicious Angel Belldate, I will inherit your glory and carry it forward. Entrust everything to me.””

“The wraith asked, “To confirm your qualification, my legacy will invade your soul in an extremely brutal manner, potentially causing your soul to collapse. Are you sure you want to inherit this path?””

“The cloaked man replied, “I have never experienced soul collapse. Bring it on.””

“The wraith laughed heartily and entered the cloaked man’s body. The cloaked man shuddered as pitch-black smoke emanated from him. The smoke solidified into monstrous beasts with hideous fangs, savagely tearing at the cloaked man’s soul.”

“The wraith continued, “My path of the Malicious Angel is created by referencing the billions of malicious spirits in hell. Being bitten by these spirits is equivalent to experiencing hell firsthand. As the spirits devour you, you can directly absorb their knowledge. Open your mind and do not resist.””

“The cloaked man asked, “So, this is what death feels like?””

“The wraith responded, “Exactly. Just like a person who falls into hell after death and is stripped of all emotions, the Malicious Soul will devour the target’s soul, leaving only pure knowledge and memories, which I can then easily inherit. With the power of the Malicious Souls, I have slain countless exotic land Angels and plundered their lifelong wealth.””

“The cloaked man queried, “So, my emotions are being eaten too?””

“The wraith confirmed, “Yes, you should feel it by now. Your soul is being torn apart bit by bit, your emotions stripped away piece by piece. As the immense pain overwhelms your sanity, you become more and more alien to yourself… If you can’t hold on, your soul will be completely shattered!””

“The cloaked man’s body trembled, and he suddenly dropped to his knees, seemingly unable to bear it any longer. The black mist monsters gradually devoured his body—first his fingers, then his arms, torso, internal organs, neck… Eventually, the black mist monsters completely entangled the cloaked man, leaving only a human-shaped figure.”

“However, at that moment, the cloaked man let out a maniacal laugh.”

“”Ha ha ha, what a fool! You actually endured to the end, not knowing this was never an inheritance ritual but a Corrosion Ritual! All my earlier arrangements were just to filter out souls resilient enough to withstand the Corrosion Ritual! Now, I have completely corroded his soul and successfully reborn! I am finally free from hell!””

“”And you,” the black mist cloaked man pointed at Ashe, “will become the first Malicious Soul after my rebirth!””

“”Wow, how terrifying,” Ashe shrugged. “Harvey, save me.””

“The black mist cloaked man paused for a moment, and the next second, another voice emerged from his mouth, “Indeed, the moment I saw your remnant soul emerge from the coffin, I knew there was something wrong with your so-called inheritance, Belldate.””

“”A necromancer like you, who would rather struggle endlessly to cling to life, could never leave a true legacy. You don’t even dare to face death; you’re not a genuine necromancer.””

“”How dare you!” the black mist figure snarled. “Why are you still alive? Your emotions should have been completely devoured by the Malicious Souls, and your consciousness should have dissipated. How can you still resist?!””

“Harvey replied, “Because I am a necromancer, and you are a dead soul.””

“”Although I respect you, Malicious Angel, you are a relic from 900 years ago. You actually thought you could use necromantic Divine Interventions from 900 years ago against me. I don’t know whether you underestimate the passage of time or the entire Necromancy Sect.””

“”Your necromantic Divine Interventions were indeed unparalleled in their time, but they have become outdated relics now. From the moment you said you would invade my soul, I began transforming my living body into a corpse prison, and yet you didn’t even notice.””

“”You thought you could corrode my soul, not realizing you were willingly entering the coffin I prepared for you.””

“”The dead should serve the living, not the other way around. Angel who should have fallen into hell 900 years ago, please rest in peace within my body.””

“The black mist suddenly contracted into the cloak and then burst into dark green flames. The green flames did not ignite anything but eventually formed a pair of handcuffs that clasped the cloaked man’s hands.”

“”What’s the harvest?””

“”Everything.” Harvey placed his hand on the stone coffin. “The most precious treasure is this.””

“The massive stone coffin suddenly dissipated into a plume of light smoke, which then coalesced into a gray-haired old butler in a black suit standing behind Harvey. The figure appeared ethereal, with a gaunt face, dim eyes, and cracked skin.”

“Ashe exclaimed, “Even after all these years, Belldate still managed to preserve a deity?””

“”But only this one deity,” Harvey corrected. “If there were more, I couldn’t handle it. Even this one is a tremendous challenge; wielding a deity’s power with a mortal body is no simple task.””

“”With this deity and the path of the Malicious Souls, we can finally advance our plan.””

“Ashe raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about this? You can still back out now.””

“Harvey countered, “If I back out now, would you let me off? You’ve invested so much in me, helped me through Belldate’s numerous trials. It’s not your style to not reclaim your investment with interest.””

“Ashe responded, “Haha, now that you possess the Malicious Soul path of Angelic Heritage, I might not be able to defeat you.””

“”Stop these pointless tests, Ashe Heath.” Harvey strode back along the corridor, the hall crumbling inch by inch behind him. “But you, don’t try to stop me at the last moment. I don’t want to fight you; you’re troublesome, and… I really don’t want to.””

“Ashe queried, “According to our plan, you need to mass-produce a legion of half-dead necromancers. I remember that’s the project you hate the most. Are you ready to break your bottom line and change your principles?””

“Harvey shook his head. “No, I won’t break my bottom line, nor do I need to change my principles. The dead should serve the living, a belief I have never wavered from.””

“”It’s because I love life that I joined your plan. But to retaliate against this half-dead world, we can only become half-dead ourselves.””

“”I won’t provide you with a legion of apathetic necromancers. The Necromancy Sect is not about creating death, but about ushering in new life. So, I will provide you with a group of necromancers who fight for survival, including myself—I will be their banner.””

“Harvey walked past Ashe and said, “Let’s go. It’s time to burn the Kingdom of Gospel to ashes.””

The footage ended.

Everyone was slow to recover their senses.

Countless questions bubbled in their minds like foam, and for a moment, no one knew which to ask first. Lise was the first to speak up: “What is a deity? Is it like the lake goddesses in fairy tales?”

“Don’t ask me, I don’t know either!”

Annan touched her amethyst earring to Calm Mind, also overwhelmed by the flood of information. “How could I know the details of a heritage treasure that even angels value—”

“Oh, a deity is just an advanced form of a spirit.”

Everyone looked at Ashe, who pointed to the Gospel Book. “I just asked the Gospel Book, and it answered, ‘There are countless Four-winged Spirits, but only one Five-winged deity.’ It seems that when a spirit condenses its fifth wing, it grows into an intelligent deity. The deity in the footage chose to follow Harvey of its own accord.”

The Gospel Book actually answered such a question?

While the others were merely surprised, Annan was astonished—after all, the Dolan Family had tried for generations to extract more knowledge from the Gospel Book but had never unearthed secrets beyond the fifth wing. Could it be that the Dolan Family’s inquiry method was wrong? Was Ashe just that lucky?

However, everyone immediately accepted this explanation.

Not just because of the Gospel Book’s endorsement, but because numerous corroborative pieces of information flooded their minds!

“Speaking of which, the Beloved Church once mentioned that the Blood Moon Sovereign had countless deities under his command…” Igor muttered. “Back then, I wondered if the Blood Moon Sovereign feared the deities conspiring against him, or if there might be sect conflicts among the deities… But if deities are the evolved forms of spirits, that makes sense.”

“The Divine Sovereign is not the lord of all gods, but the lord of deities,” Annan clapped her hands lightly, suddenly enlightened. “So that’s what the ancient texts meant! I used to think it was just a redundant statement!”

Lise looked down at her hand mirror, murmuring softly to herself, “Deity incarnations…”

Ashe also looked down at Lise. “Hmm? Did you notice a foreshadowing we missed before? Care to share?”

“No,” Lise shook her head and pointed at the Gospel Book. “Dad, it seems like you and Uncle Harvey made some pretty serious criminal declarations in there. Are you sure you won’t get me into trouble?”

Ashe was silent for a moment before he said, “Lise, I’m going to teach you a secret.”

“Hmm? What secret?” Lise blinked.

“Listen carefully. In my experience, the first thing you should do after entering prison is to find someone like your Aunt Bukin and beat them up. That way, you’ll smoothly integrate into prison life.”

Lise was flabbergasted. “Pre-prison education?!”

Igor lightly scoffed, “If I hadn’t struck up a conversation with you back then…”

“You’d still be in Shattered Lake Prison, enjoying the state’s steady meals.”

Igor chuckled, “Yes, you’re right. How could the steady meals of Shattered Lake compare to the makeshift biscuits we eat while being on the run and enemies of the world with you?”

Ashe kept nodding, wearing a ‘you’re welcome’ expression, but Igor didn’t pay any heed to his teasing. The Con Artist munched on his biscuits, staring at the Gospel Book’s screen, his brows furrowed with an inexplicable worry.

Suddenly, Banjeet spoke up, “Although this footage will make our reputation in the Kingdom of Gospel plummet to rock bottom, it’s not necessarily all bad.”

Annan’s eyes sparkled, “You mean…”

“The Future Ranking hasn’t announced Harvey’s reward yet,” Igor said calmly. “Harvey’s reward must be in this footage, which means…”

Everyone looked at the Gospel Book, their eyes full of eager anticipation.

Could it be that the Gospel will reward Harvey with a deity?!