Mage Manual

Ash thought he would feel wronged, resentful, and angry. He had every reason to feel wronged; the End-time Five had independently arranged his fate, treating him as a vessel for resurrection and forcing him into a deadly battle with the End-time Snake.

At first, Ash thought this was an unavoidable end-times disaster, but now he was told that all of this could have been unrelated to him. He ended up in this situation purely because... the End-time Five chose him.

There’s always an Ash who must suffer, so let’s make him suffer.

This disaster was brought by them. If they had gone to other world lines, if they had not chosen me, if...

However, Ash’s heart was not filled with these feelings of resentment. He glanced at the red-haired Death Mad, gritted his teeth, and climbed desperately upwards, shouting, "So what’s the plan next!?"

"Plan?"

"After we escape Hell, do we kill this new snake or trap it in Hell? There must be a direction!"

"Aren’t you afraid that once we leave Hell, we will—"

"Didn’t you just say you wouldn’t let me die?" Ash said irritably. "Moreover, now only I can serve as your bonds container. Without me, can you four Supremes still overlap Void Wings to transcend Eight-winged? Before, they wanted to split me because they wanted to believe the Devouring World Snake was truly dead. Now that a new snake has appeared, my death means they’d lose their last trump card. Although they are madly crazy, they’re not fools. They won’t be so shortsighted!"

"There’s an exit above," Ash looked up toward the end of the chain, where the grey-white Hell ceiling had a small hole letting light in. "This chain... Who knows what trouble they’ve stirred up in my absence... Hurry up and go!"

Death Mad stared at him in a daze, suddenly burst into laughter, eyeing him with amusement, "I thought you’d explode in anger since you’re the type who blames others rather than reflects on yourself..."

"Of course, I want to complain about why you brought me such trouble, conducting experiments on me. I’ve never seen anyone mistreat their past self like this..." Ash said. "But if I avoid the suffering you bring, wouldn’t I also avoid the joy you bring?"

"Sonia, Lissdia, Youlan Weiser, Vishi... though there were many bumps along the way, countless conflicts, not a single trouble-free moment, constantly keeping me on edge..."

"Yet adventuring with them was indeed the happiest time of my life." He smiled slightly, "If it weren’t for you, I would never have met them. Even if I did meet them, forming the current relationship would be impossible. At least... if I hadn’t known Sonia from the beginning, I think it’d be really hard for me to end up with her."

"Although I’ve wanted to say it for a long time, I never found the chance."

Ash looked back at Death Mad amid the melting hell, chased by the White Snake, at this moment of imminent danger, he winked at her and laughed, "Death Mad, thank you. Please convey my thanks to the others too."

Death Mad looked up at him as the light streamed down from Heaven, bathing Ash as if he were... a very sacred Lalafell?

But truly, he loves them, loves them enough to fear nothing, whether entering Hell alone or being forgotten by everyone, whether having to die or bearing a disaster that doesn’t belong to him. As long as he thinks of them, he can smile foolishly... He is truly the biggest love-struck fool, incurable, unsalvageable.

Though he still couldn’t help Sonia eliminate other rivals, she would surely twist and turn, feeling wronged and heartbroken because of this trash can’s crawling Lalafell. But... she would surely also create many beautiful things with him that could overshadow the sadness.

"Almost there!" Ash said excitedly looking at the not far entrance to Hell. "Let’s quickly go out and seal Hell; maybe we can buy some time!"

Buzz——

Just then, the White Snake seemed to realize its prey was about to escape, quickly opened its mouth and let out an ear-piercing roar that shook Hell, a soundwave storm sweeping towards the two of them!

Ash and Death Mad’s colors rapidly faded, almost turning gray in an instant, but as Death Mad fiercely burned Source Crystal, their skin returned to normal colors.

But the chain they were holding wasn’t so lucky, accelerating its melting from bottom to top, falling into the snake’s mouth like slop. Once Death Mad noticed this, the chain she grabbed had already melted, immediately expanding her Holy Domain to block the fading sound wave for Ash and prevent the upper chain from continuing to melt!

It’s over, Death Mad thought, this is the end, this is the end of the road.

Well then, accompanying him on the last stretch, I have fulfilled my responsibility, and now it’s time for the mission she should’ve accomplished ever since witnessing the end-time. They’ve escaped too long, deceiving themselves too long, which is why the Devouring World Snake has swelled to an irreparable extent.

They no longer have a tomorrow. No matter where they escape, they will be pursued by the Devouring World Snake; their cause will be reduced to ashes, those they care about will turn to dust, the landscapes they love will fade in color... They are the true curse, the true calamity.

Is there anything that belongs to tomorrow? Is there any future worth looking forward to tomorrow?