Mage Manual

Chapter 1670 - 1231: You Truly Deserve to Die

In the shattered cloud city, Death Mad sat on the wreckage, lazily crossing her legs. The secrets hidden under her short skirt were barely visible in the gaps of her crossed thighs, and she held a half-burned cigarette between her fingers. Every time she appeared, she was dressed to the nines, giving off the first impression of an urban beauty living in a luxurious penthouse, always with a chauffeur, frequenting high-end places, dazzling like a splendid rose that required meticulous care.

Yet in such a desolate ruin, she did not seem out of place at all. Even in the face of a world crumbling around her, she remained as calm and serene as ever, a composure that lent her an ethereal, smoky illusion—it was fitting, as she was inherently a Phantom, a bundle of memories.

She was like a beam of starlight projected from a distant future across light-years, where the star had long since extinguished, and the beauty Ash beheld was merely the light from a now-destroyed past.

However, upon hearing Ash’s question, Death Mad glanced at him sideways. Her tranquil, lake-like face suddenly rippled, her blood-red eyes becoming animated, just like a lonely beam of starlight encountering a supernova about to explode, suddenly interested in witnessing how bright it could become.

She took a slow drag on her cigarette, exhaling leisurely. Ash was anxious, but dared not push her, only able to stare fixedly at her from the side, as if he had the ability to cast spells with his gaze like the Uroboros.

"I don’t know," Death Mad replied with an unexpected answer.

"How can you not know?" Ash was stunned. "Weren’t you fighting alongside Uroboros from the downstream to the upstream of the Flowing Gold River? You are the ones who know Uroboros best!"

"Though you are correct, I truly do not know."

Death Mad pointed towards the distant Uroboros:

"Do you really think the Uroboros now is the complete World Snake that devours worlds?"

Ash hesitated, quickly understanding what Death Mad meant: "Level Six of Hell was swallowed by Uroboros, so the Uroboros appearing in Fantasy Hell is...?"

"One-tenth? One-seventh? I’m not sure," Death Mad said. "You could understand it as this Uroboros being merely the digestive system of the World Snake, maybe with a bit of an immune system, but definitely not the main body devouring civilizations and consuming all beings."

"If it were the complete Uroboros, resurrecting all the mages throughout history would not even be enough to fill the gap between its teeth, and you wouldn’t have a chance to face its true form. The power it can utilize depends on the extent to which it has infested the world. When it can wield its full power, it would mean the world has been completely digested."

"This situation is unprecedented... Nearly all Uroboros invasions start by devouring from the first layer of the Void Realm. The lower levels’ importance far exceeds your imagination, as the Void Realm can never relinquish the Sea of Knowledge. You could compare it to a person being bitten on the torso by a snake, even if the venom spreads throughout the body, they must endure it."

"But Level Six of Hell is different; it is the least significant layer in the Void Realm sequence, far less important than Ruby Mountain or Seven Heavens. After Uroboros devoured Level Six of Hell, everyone forgot this layer even existed, partly due to Uroboros’ ’name devour’ characteristic, and partly because the Void Realm offered little resistance, readily abandoning Level Six of Hell. If Uroboros consumed the Sea of Knowledge, at most, people would gradually forget related knowledge over time, but never immediately forget it completely."

"If we say the first four levels are the torso of the Void Realm, then Level Six of Hell and Seven Heavens are merely its limbs," Death Mad stated. "When the torso is bitten, one must endure it, but when the limbs are bitten, they can be amputated."

Ash suddenly recalled something: "Is that why the Observer guided Uroboros to devour Hell? To minimize the harm?"

"Perhaps," Death Mad laughed coldly. "But it’s definitely not out of goodwill. He likely wanted to test the Void Realm’s performance in different statuses... It just so happened that this time it yielded rather favorable results."

"It’s also possible he truly was trying to save the world—"

Suddenly, Death Mad extended the tip of the cigarette toward his face. Ash flinched, unsure what he said to upset her, but he didn’t dodge, allowing the hot cigarette tip to come close to his face.

However, Death Mad merely lifted her finger and tapped his forehead.

"Our world has long been destroyed," she tilted her head, revealing an ethereal, smoky smile once more, "what can we still save? What does this world have to do with us? Balloons we couldn’t get in our childhood, would we still want them after growing up?"

Ash looked at her, shaking his head: "But you obviously care if Sonia catches the balloon, don’t you? There are two kinds of people caught in the rain, one wishes to knock away others’ umbrellas so everyone gets wet together, the other wants to hold up an umbrella for others. Seeing others living happily makes you feel a little warm too, I think you—"

"Then the Observer and Vishi must be the former," Death Mad interrupted him, taking a deep drag on her cigarette, "Stop talking, I don’t want to discuss this with you."

Ash blinked, "Are you the kind of person who feels shy when praised for your virtues? Unlike Sonia—"

Death Mad grabbed his hand and pressed the cigarette firmly into his palm. He had no idea what brand she was smoking, but it actually left a faint red mark on Ash’s soul body’s fire-proof and water-resistant palm. This was indeed different from Sonia; compared to eloquent Sonia, Death Mad preferred to express her stance with action, Ash thought.