The Sorcerer's Handbook

"Enough."

Quinna pushed the dazed Ashe aside, her fingernails lightly grazing her lips as she spoke with absolute clarity. "I don't know any Ashe Heath. The only thing I know is that I will not allow you to take my family member, Ashe Senheiser!"

Light turned to the other leaders. "Is that your stance as well?"

The bespectacled man spoke up, reinforcing her words. "The Six-Emblem acts as one. Our interests are aligned, and the Senheiser family will never take actions that harm the collective. Her position reflects the will of all eight million citizens of Vanmura."

Light's expression hardened. "Good. Cliose, consider our contract void."

Cliose couldn't help but widen her eyes, glancing at Deadshot Light in shock as he began stripping off his official uniform. "Ah? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, I no longer care about my share of the reward," Light replied coldly. "All I care about is capturing Ashe Heath. Do that, and you will secure the top spot on the National Red Hats Ranking."

"But why wouldn't you—"

Before Cliose could finish her sentence, Light answered with action. The Sacred Realm sniper raised his rifle and aimed it straight at Ashe behind the rows of numbered gaming pods. Multiple spirits swarmed and floated along the length of the barrel.

A violent chill crawled up Ashe's spine, freezing every corner of his body. Even with his Savage Instincts screaming at full alert, he couldn't move a single muscle. The very air around him seemed to solidify into a concrete wall, locking him firmly in Quinna's embrace.

Miracle, Target Lock!

To fix a target immovably in place before firing. This was the power of Target Lock!

Bang!

Even with the hyper-reflexes of the Six-Emblem leaders, they still failed to stop the Sacred Realm bullets. It ruthlessly tore through two gaming pods, blasting gaping holes straight through the Senheiser family members inside. The bullets finally ground to a halt right before the third pod, spinning furiously against an invisible, six-layered barrier that safely bled away their immense kinetic energy.

If the leaders hadn't summoned the Gospel barrier in the nick of time, anyone caught in the sniper's line of sight would have been instantly obliterated.

Ashe, suddenly regaining his ability to move, looked up to see that all traces of playfulness had vanished from Quinna's eyes. She stepped forward with her Book of Gospel materializing in her hand, her voice dropping to a freezing register that barely concealed her rage. "Do you even comprehend what you have just done? How dare you commit murder right in front of us, targeting innocent members of the Senheiser family?"

Light remained entirely detached, showing no emotion despite the carnage he had just wrought. "More will die next. Ashe must be taken. I will spare no effort and no cost. Well... It's not as if I have much left to lose anyway. I have already forfeited my status as a Red Hat. Soon enough, I will become their target instead."

Then, the Sacred Realm sniper uttered words no ordinary Red Hat would ever dare speak aloud, "Cliose, and the rest of you, fight with everything you have, even if it's only for the Gospel Ranking. I will handle any collateral damage in your way."

The moment Ashe glanced toward him, Light closed his eyes. Ashe couldn't make direct eye contact with the Sacred Realm sorcerer, but he could feel the absolute, terrifying determination radiating from the man. Light had burned his bridges. He had left himself no path for retreat.

Just like that, Ashe had become a marked target for a madman through no fault of his own. Surprisingly, he felt very little resentment. After all, he had started his life in this world as a death-row cult leader. He was long used to the volatile highs and lows of fate.

Ever since the Woven Festival, his Everlasting Walker profession had been wreaking absolute havoc on his life. First, he had stumbled into infamy on the Art Ranking. Then, he had encountered the remorseless Empress Hero in the Virtual World. Compared to those two apocalyptic disasters, being targeted by a single Sacred Realm sorcerer felt like nothing more than dessert after a heavy meal.

Strangely, while a normal person facing such repeated malice might grow bitter or swear revenge on the cosmos, Ashe felt entirely numb to it. He silently helped Iger to his feet, patting the Fraudster's chest with the Sword of Joy to heal his broken ribs.

Iger hacked up a mouthful of stagnant blood, wheezing, "Be gentle!"

Ashe snapped irritably. "What, do I need to carry you like a princess, too?"

Then he looked toward the battlefield. "Quinna, we'll leave without getting in your way! Pankey, move!"

"Not a chance!"

With a piercing whistle from Light, the Red Hats scattered instantly, diving for cover to launch a coordinated assault on the indigenous leaders, but invisible walls blocked every single path.

Cliose's twin pistols began to sing a deadly aria. Her bullets shattered the very ground beneath the leaders' feet in a split second. The entire floor crumbled into fine dust, sending the powerful family leaders plummeting into the open night sky alongside the raining debris.

At that exact moment, Light locked his sights on Ashe once more and unleashed another Miracle-infused bullet!

Bang!

The bullet had barely cleared the muzzle before it froze dead in midair, spinning furiously as if raging in impotent fury against an unseen force.

Up above, the five leaders did not fall. The ground beneath them had vanished, but they remained suspended, moving with fluid grace as if walking on solid terrain. It was the ultimate, arrogant display of their scorn for Gospel Points. They trampled the very concept of wealth beneath their boots, using their astronomical riches to pave a literal stairway to the heavens.

Quinna stepped forward with her Book of Gospel in hand. She asked calmly, "Do you have a personal grudge against him?"

"No. I'm actually quite familiar with him," Light replied evenly. "His gaming skills aren't great, but he's a decent person."

Quinna frowned. "Then why are you doing this? You won't even be allowed to remain a Red Hat after today."

"For the Gospel," he said simply.

Meanwhile, Ashe, Iger, and Pankey finally reached the 71st floor. They burst into the room only to find Harvey lying flat inside a coffin, with Alice just about to slide the lid shut.

"What on earth are you... nevermind, forget I asked," Ashe muttered, rubbing his temples.

When it came to the Necromancy Class, Harvey always took a bizarre pride in explaining his craft. He explained from inside the box, "This is another one of my Miracles. By temporarily turning myself into a corpse, I allow most of my Miracles to affect me directly. My combat strength doubles, at the very least."

"Then why didn't you use it earlier?" Iger asked, incredulous.

Harvey said noncommittally, "It requires some preparation, and it carries a minor side effect. I prefer to avoid it if I can."

"What kind of side effect?"

"If I maintain the state for too long, the temporary corpsification becomes a permanent one."

"Right," Pankey exhaled sharply, forcing down his rising anxiety. "We need to move. We have to save the Lady right now."

Iger pulled up the chat group on his interface. "Annan still hasn't sent a single message. It's not looking good. Maybe she's already—"

Click.

The young butler aimed his frost-infused twin pistols straight at the fraudster's face, fluidly disengaging the safety.

"Maybe we should hurry up and find her," Iger amended instantly, his face turning a shade paler, though he could always blame it on his cracked ribs. "Or it'll be too late!"

"My thoughts exactly," Pankey said, lowering his weapons.

Harvey shrugged, sighed, and climbed out of the coffin. "Fine, fine. I guess I won't turn into a corpse today."

"Wait," Ashe raised a hand, scanning the group. A sudden realization hit him. "Where is Lys?"

***

Meanwhile, in Room 5603 on the 56th floor of the Senheiser Building.

In the pitch-black room, a sudden noise shattered the silence.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

After three deliberate knocks, the green indicator light on the automatic door flashed to life. With a soft whoosh, the metal panel slid back into the frame.

Thud.

A pair of heavy, steel-toed boots stepped inside. Each footfall was mechanical and precise, moving from heel to sole to toe with a perfect shift of weight forward before taking the next step. The steps were uniform and terrifyingly crisp.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The intruder stopped directly in the center of the room. They neither turned on the lights nor uttered a sound.

Inside the wardrobe, the substitute clone clamped a hand tightly over Lys's mouth. It held the girl as rigid as concrete, forcibly suppressing her trembling to the absolute bare minimum.

After an agonizing stretch of time, the rhythmic thudding of the steel boots began to recede, followed by the distant hiss of the automatic door sealing shut. Only then did the substitute finally release her grip. The white-haired little girl collapsed backward into the hanging clothes, panting violently as the suffocating tension broke.

Once she caught her breath, Lys tried to stand, only to find her knees shaking. "Carry me to the mirror."

The substitute lifted Lys from the wardrobe and carried her over to the vanity. The Little Witch reached out and flipped on the desk lamp, desperate to consult her sisters to form a plan.

The moment the light flickered to life, Lys froze.

Reflected in the glass were herself, the substitute... and the towering silhouette of the Black Knight standing silently in the shadows behind them.