Sorcerer’s Handbook - Chapter 405: Frostfire

The forest is burning, hell is flowing, the Sea of Knowledge is boiling, and the Golden Flow is drying up… The fortress garden, built with the endless wealth of Belldate, has turned into a lackluster firework.

Yvaren leaned against the railing of the front garden, gazing at the standoff below. The moment Qenna captured Annan, the Pact with the Funeral Firm was completely dissolved—she was a shelter, not a protector.

The Funeral Firm no longer needed to gather 6000 bell points, and she had no responsibilities towards it.

A very profitable deal indeed. The seeds of domination were silently planted in five Sanctuary sorcerers and sixty-three elite sorcerers, and all she paid was millions worth of assets and a few newly made friends.

She actually liked them.

Banjeet was an ageless youth, mature and steady under his youthful appearance, with azure hair similar to Yvaren’s, making her feel a sense of kinship when with him;

Lise was as beautiful as Yvaren herself had been in her childhood, with white hair as smooth as silk and cheeks as tender as eggs, so cute that one couldn’t resist the urge to take a bite;

Harvey, though odd in character and dark in complexion, exuded a whirlpool-like aura of destruction, as if he would drag everything around him into madness. She really wanted to observe his end up close;

Ashe—Yvaren couldn’t help but smile at the thought of him. It was hard to describe him with a few labels; she only knew that being with him was interesting. If Harvey was a vortex of destruction, Ashe was the opposite. She wondered why they could stay together… If possible, Yvaren really wanted to keep him around.

And then, there was Annan.

They were once sisters who talked heart-to-heart in the night, confidants who shared secrets, even rivals in love… In Yvaren’s otherwise unremarkable life, the adventures with Annan were one of the few bright spots.

“I’m going to lose friends,” Yvaren shrugged, gazing at the distant standoff with a calm heart.

When you dominate the will of millions, you won’t be swayed by the joys and sorrows of one.

Belldate dominates all, Belldate possesses nothing.

Miracle: Slash Me!

Ashe’s phantom flickered and shattered, successfully initiating the Slash Me Miracle. However, he continued to lie lazily on the lawn, not even moving a fingertip.

Even though he had forcefully triggered the Slash Me Miracle through spirit resonance, the disruptions in spellforce, nerve blockades, and sensory suppression remained unaffected. It wasn’t that the Miracle was ineffective; it was Ashe who was lacking. A Sanctuary Miracle doesn’t necessarily crush a golden sorcerer. If Ashe had understood the details of this binding Miracle, he could have used the Slash Me Miracle to purify it.

The essence of the Slash Me Miracle is to slash away foreign objects from the body. It’s usually practical, as most foreign objects are visible or directly perceptible.

But this time was different. Lady Qenna’s bullets were fierce and covert. Ashe didn’t even know what was suppressing him. The Slash Me Miracle, therefore, aimlessly slashed at his fingernail as a perfunctory gesture.

If the Slash Me Miracle incorporated other spirits capable of examining the body and soul, its purification strength would be even greater… Ashe suddenly realized the direction for improving the Slash Me Miracle, but it was meaningless at this moment.

Bang!

A Sanctuary barrier appeared around Qenna, blocking a frost bullet.

She looked with surprise at the young butler, who stood up covered in frost and snow, and uncertainly said, “Able to break my soul-locking bullet’s suppression… could it be the Miracle ‘Frozen Age’?”

“As expected of Lady Qenna, you saw through it as the ‘Frozen Age’ Miracle at a glance.”

The young butler nodded as the frost and snow fell from his body.

“But it’s slightly different from the original. ‘Frozen Age’ fixes the body’s time by consuming the soul’s lifespan, thus generating frost spellforce. However, my soul can no longer afford such waste. Fortunately, my body is already in this form, so I made a slight modification…”

“Now this Miracle should be called ‘Melt’.”

As the frost and snow melted away, Banjeet’s voice changed from the crisp sound of a young boy to the magnetic tone of a young man. A tall, handsome, blue-haired butler appeared before everyone, holding dual frost pistols, aiming at his former master.

“During the melting period, I possess Sanctuary-level combat power,” Banjeet said. “Madam, please release the young lady.”

“Your appearance has matured, and so has your arrogance?” Qenna laughed. “Someone who hasn’t even been to the Distant Sky Domain doesn’t understand what Sanctuary truly is… But, we’ve known each other for years. This is the first time I’ve seen you so determined, Banjeet, so I’ll give you a chance.”

“If you can take Annan from me, I’ll let you all go.”

Bang, Bang, Bang!

Frost blossomed everywhere as bullets unleashed icy rivers, swirling around the matriarch like a whirlpool.

Qenna grabbed Annan by the nape of her neck like a kitten. Even while carrying someone, she easily evaded and scattered Banjeet’s attacks.

Bullets flew wildly, Miracles overflowed, and Ashe, on the edge of the battlefield, was nearly caught in the crossfire of this golden sorcerer versus Sanctuary sorcerer clash. Suddenly, he felt himself being dragged backward. Even though he couldn’t see who it was, the small hands and the grunting effort could only belong to one person.

Ashe focused all his attention on his mouth.

Slash Me!

Slash Me!

Slash Me!

After three consecutive uses of the Slash Me Miracle, Ashe finally managed to slightly loosen the restrictions on his tongue and throat, whispering, “Run…”

“Mm-hmm!” Lise nodded vigorously. “Lise will get Dad out of here soon!”

“You run…”

“I’m going, Dad, stop pushing!”

“Put me down…” Ashe said softly. “Then run to the main house, let Yvaren protect you… You’ve never appeared at the Weaving Festival, as long as you’re not there, no one will catch you…”

“Yvaren is a bad woman, how could I go to her!?”

“Yvaren… Annan said… she’s not inherently bad. At least, without a conflict of interest, she won’t mind taking care of you… you’re so adorable…”

Lise sniffled. “Lise is so adorable, how could you bear to abandon Lise?”

“We… will pretend to be captured by Qenna… and then come back for you soon…”

“Then Lise will get captured too!”

“What if? I saw other Family members, and Red Hats… what if we are forced apart… I don’t want to worry about you kicking off your blanket in a strange cell at night…”

“I won’t…” Lise desperately dragged Ashe to a more concealed spot. “I won’t be separated from Dad!”

“When I first met you, you were much smarter and decisive than now,” Ashe’s voice seemed to carry a hint of a smile. “The first night we met, you came to me and said… you wanted to pretend to be my daughter.”

“It’s all Dad’s fault!” Lise wiped the snot and tears from her face. “Being with you has made Lise dumber!”

“Is that so… well, there’s nothing to be done then.” Ashe sighed softly. “Put me down.”

“I won’t—”

“I mean, you don’t have to run anymore… we can’t escape.”

Just then, a wraith suddenly appeared, picking up the necromancer. An eerie, floating laughter echoed through the scene. “I thought I’d come back empty-handed, but it turns out Senhaeser thoughtfully left us some prey. Well then, Mercury will gladly accept this gift—”

“How dare you!?”

Though Qenna and Banjeet immediately redirected their fire, the wraith was incredibly fast, lifting Harvey and instantly appearing above Ashe.

At this moment, Lise decisively stood in front of Ashe, her small frame as resolute as a fortress.

But Ashe wasn’t looking at Lise. Instead, he locked eyes with the necromancer held by Mercury. For some reason, the Cult Leader suddenly recalled a scene from the Family Ranking, his lips moved slightly, and he softly said:

“Harvey, save me.”

Clang!

The coffin, ignored by everyone until now, suddenly shot out seven chains, swiftly binding the wraith and dragging it into the coffin! At the same time, a figure leaped out of the coffin, snatching the necromancer from the wraith’s grasp!

Despite being a Sanctuary sorcerer, the wraith shook off the chains mid-air, revealing the figure of a young man in a pitch-black robe, staring at Harvey with astonishment.

Harvey, now held by Alice, had turned into a mist, enveloping the elegantly dressed girl like armor, until the two merged into one, life and death intertwined!

Fwoosh!

A ghostly green flame ignited the mist around Alice, turning her into a torch. But the flame did not harm Alice in the slightest; instead, the nearby grass quickly withered and decayed!

“Maintaining good relationships really pays off,” Alice suddenly turned to look at Ashe, her mouth producing Harvey’s voice. “You see, Lise only saved you.”

Ashe’s eyes widened, and Lise was also stunned. “You… Uncle Harvey…”

“No wonder you’re the madman who can inherit the Angelic Heritage…” Mercury, the young man, said. “Is this necromantic Miracle something you created from the mist spirit? How defiant, how sinister, to merge the living with the dead!”

Before he finished speaking, he transformed back into a wraith, rushing over with the intent to capture the necromancer in one strike!

Alice-Harvey displayed a stiff smile.

“This body, though cold with Frostfire, still yearns for the moment of its demise.”

Boom!

With a roar, the eerie fire exploded within, the vast spellforce burning away all life around them. The necromancer’s barrier, centered on the coffin, actually withstood an attack from a Sanctuary sorcerer!

“Tonight is a good night for someone to die,” Harvey said. “Maybe it’s finally my turn.”