Sorcerer’s Handbook

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Ashe and Vesser's attacks landed on Vichy, instantly triggering his Sanctuary and Defensive Miracle, setting off dozens of explosions-yet not a single blow could harm Vichy's originals.

However, despite such stringent defenses, Vichy was still pierced through by dove's staff, shattering all his protections!

Even a resurrected Demigod, a reborn one with countless trump cards, a specter who dominated an entire era, a Seer who even the Divine Sovereign dreaded-none could withstand the wrath of a deity!

They couldn't even dodge!

Perhaps at his peak, the Specter Seer could withstand a deity's might, but Vichy was only a sanctuary sorcerer now. Before a deity's full-force strike, he was hardly any stronger than Ashe and Vesser!

Under the tense gazes of the two, dove's staff ran straight through Vichy's head, stabbing out from the back of his skull! Ashe stared in shock, a surge of intense satisfaction striking his pituitary gland, making him want to pop open champagne and celebrate on the spot.

"No blood," Vesser suddenly said.

Though his head was pierced, not a drop of blood flowed from Vichy. Ashe knew something was wrong; with a thought, sword light swept across Vichy's body like a brush!

Vichy instantly dissipated, leaving only his voice echoing throughout: "You really… were just a little bit short… of killing the great Mr. Vichy. Seems I must… take this a little more seriously… Sorry, I'll excuse myself for now."

Vesser scanned around, bullets flying to scatter the fog, her face extremely grim. "Can't see… Not just Vichy, I can't see Fire Cat either! How did he dodge dove's attack?"

"It's the fog."

Ashe glanced at the now much thinner mist and said, "The fog is probably somehow linked to his originals, so he can keep spawning phantoms within it. Dove did hit him just now, but the head isn't his vital point-he used the fog to distribute all the damage and escaped with Fire Cat!"

"He can only use this trick two or three times at most. Once the fog disperses, he can't pull it off again!"

Thinking it through, even Ashe had a god-tier life-saving skill like Three-Second Cicada Lurk. It'd be strange if Vichy didn't have his own survival trump cards.

"But he's hidden now," Vesser gritted her teeth. "Come to think of it, I opened the eighteenth layer, and I can control its Fog Gate. That's why I knew the moment you entered. But I have no idea when Vichy came in… We may never find him."

Vichy, this monster in human form, had wronged many and acknowledged few, never repaying kindness and always holding grudges-a true scoundrel. According to the Specter Handbook, he'd escaped pursuit over a hundred times. Though he always eventually slaughtered those who hunted him, his whole life had been a fugitive's. His experience at running was unmatched by Ashe and Vesser combined. If he really wanted to hide, the two of them would almost never find him.

Moreover, as soon as Vichy completed Fire Cat's change of allegiance, he could leave the eighteenth layer. He hinted Fire Cat hadn't accepted him as master yet, but who knew if that was true?

Ashe felt as if he were living Tamashi's life-facing someone he couldn't catch or defeat, but who was shameless and had endless ways to survive. It was infuriating and stifling, as if all his strength was punching into cotton.

Thinking about it, Ashe felt he could never compare to Tamashi. Tamashi could chase Mercury Trojan Horse for two years and keep his mind as clear as still water. If Ashe hunted Vichy for two years, he'd probably end up even more despicable than Vichy.

But they no longer had the luxury to ponder how to hunt Vichy in the future.

With Vichy in hiding, the vast eighteenth layer of the Silent Spiral was left with only two mortals and two gods.

Ashe and Vesser gripped their weapons, nervously watching dove and Bluebird. The two deities had reverted to the forms of a boy and girl, and without spellforce or Source Crystals, any display of divine might would consume their own energy.

Just now, to seal the breach, all three deities had used their originals to unleash their divine power. Ashe guessed that deities might all start out child-sized, much like the Dreamwake Foxling they created, only growing and gaining independent spellcasting ability as time passed and they were nurtured.

Yet even as children, deities were not something a legendary sorcerer could withstand. With Vichy's interference just now, who knew if these deities had learned the crucial lesson that "sorcerers must be eliminated first," and were planning to poke their brains too.

But the two deities seemed unconcerned with their presence. The boy dove looked at the girl Bluebird and asked, "Can we still do it?"

Bluebird shook her head. "We can't."

The boy dove nodded. "People will definitely die."

"They will definitely die."

"Too many dead, the Chasm Sovereign lives, that's not good."

"Not good."

"So they can't die."

"That's right, they can't die. They must become the Chasm Sovereign's burden."

"But they will definitely die."

"Yes, they will definitely die, but they can't die."

The boy dove glanced at the fissure, then at Bluebird. "Apart from the ending of death meaning entry to hell, can we do the other outcome?"

Bluebird thought for a long while before nodding. "We can."

Ashe and Vesser had been eavesdropping, thinking the deities had another solution. But dove and Bluebird were adamant: they could not plug the leak-everyone in Senlo would die. Yet the deities had not given up; they would not let the people of Senlo die.

When they heard "the outcome of death, other than entering hell," Ashe and Vesser were first bewildered, then their faces went pale with horror. Especially Vesser, who instantly leveled her Assault Gun at the deities: "Stop them!"

But as Bluebird pondered, a blue veil shrouded the two deities. All attacks from the sorcerers fell upon the veil, but apart from making Bluebird a year younger, it had no effect!

After Bluebird agreed, she walked in front of dove and turned around, letting dove embrace her from behind, his arms threading through her armpits. What should have been a beautiful scene was, in truth, the preparation procedure for unleashing a divine intervention of destruction!

As Vesser watched in near despair, Bluebird's color began to spread onto dove, and as if faded by white, the blue turned green upon dove!

The boy dove raised his staff and struck the ground.

In that instant, the entire world seemed to tremble.

Rustle rustle rustle…

The wind rose.

Ink green sand and stones, centered on the two deities, began to swirl into a storm. In just ten seconds, the Ink Green Storm grew into a tornado that pierced the heavens, filling the fissure and climbing ever higher!

Vesser emptied every magazine in a frenzy, even throwing her Assault Gun into the storm. The gun was swiftly polluted into a green crystal, then shredded to pieces. Still unresigned, she struggled, but Ashe grabbed her and pulled her away, retreating from the direct reach of the Ink Green Storm.

Looking up, they saw the fissure no longer rained down people.

Instead, glimmering green crystals fell.

These green crystals weren't sucked into the earth's fissure but scattered onto the eighteenth layer. One landed right beside them. Ashe bent down, and as he picked up the green crystal, his fingertips trembled.

He looked at the ashen-faced Silver Lantern, and without asking, knew his own face must be even paler. In that moment, Ashe even began to pray for Igor and the others-but not that they survived, rather, that they'd died earlier!

Otherwise…

Ashe brought the green crystal to his ear, Vesser leaning in as well. They held their breath, listening intently for any sound inside.

"Hurt…" From within the green crystal came a faint but unmistakable human-like voice.

Vesser seemed to lose all her strength, collapsing limply to the ground. Ashe clamped a hand over his mouth, but couldn't hold it in, and vomited with a retch.

Yet as soon as he finished, Ashe pulled Vesser back, for the Ink Green Storm was sweeping toward them. He noticed the green crystal he'd just picked up was now caught in the storm as well, further fueling its strength! Even the flames conjured by Fire Cat were sucked into the maelstrom, becoming a blazing inferno that lit up the whole world!

Watching the ever-expanding Ink Green Storm, Ashe asked: "Silver Lantern, is this the future you'd rather kill everyone to prevent?"

"This isn't the future," Vesser said weakly. "This is a curse."