Mage Manual-Chapter 557 - 452: Armored Saint and Gospel List

So fast.

Pedestrians rushed past rapidly from both sides, neon lights stretched into bands of light, the wind swooping down upon them as Liss leaned on Ash’s shoulder like a little girl clutching her doll.

The speed was so quick, it was like falling.

In fact, Liss hadn’t really thought it through; she only realized that she needed to find an opportunity to be alone with Ash, so she commanded Ash to take her away. But when Ash picked her up, she stopped thinking altogether, her mood bubbling like a soda pop that burst open—just like a child who likes relying on adults, bold even in mischief.

When they stopped, she heard Ash say, "Two... oh, quick, Liss, grab it!"

Liss turned her head and saw they had run to an ice cream shop, where the server had already prepared one plain cone and another loaded with plain + milk + honeydew melon + chocolate + vanilla + pineapple flavors for them. She carefully took the super-sized cone, only eating the chocolate ice cream balls.

"Do you want to walk by yourself?" Ash took the plain cone and said, "Honestly, you’re not exactly light..."

"No, I’m already tired from a day at Joy World!"

"Alright then."

Eating the chocolate balls, Liss felt sweet inside, but soon she felt down again—Ash was being so nice because he was about to send her away.

If it had been any other time she made such a request, even if Ash wouldn’t refuse, he would probably just summon a Substitute to carry her.

Ash didn’t walk far before reaching a nearby underground river, surrounded by ordinary strolling locals who were not in any disguise, probably natives who had lived there since childhood. They might rarely see the sky even once a year, but it didn’t matter, not everyone needs to live in the light.

Ash and Liss sat on a bench facing the underground river, eating their cones. Even though rivers in the Underground City sounded like sewers, this river had no odor—in fact, there was no fishy smell at all, and the breeze was refreshing as if massaging their noses; there was no night sky, but the luminescent bacteria on the ceiling served as a substitute. The glowing river flowed endlessly, rippling reflections of the gradually calming Underground City, as if everyone’s dreams were flowing within.

Liss initially waited for Ash to speak, but as Ash kept staring blankly and didn’t talk, she also found it hard to start a conversation.

However, they had long been in a relationship where ’even without topics, just being together is comfortable’—although Ash was like this with everyone, Liss only felt this natural with Ash—so Liss also hugged her knees and crouched on the bench, looking down at her handheld mirror.

Her sisters had been urging her for a long time.

Black Butler: "Would acting cute work? Ash seems like someone who’s easy to handle..."

White Queen: "He’s simple but not foolish, acting cute might make him accommodate us in other matters, but it definitely won’t sway him in crucial decisions."

Black Butler: "Maybe a strong enough act could create a Miracle, let me try..."

White Queen: "It’s useless whether it’s you or even me, and besides, acting cute is a behavior of the weak seeking favor, like ice cream... Ah, my vanilla is melting... Usually, ice cream can melt his heart, but when faced with danger, his first reaction is to protect the ice cream! The more we act cute and weak, the less he wants us to stay!"

Red Death Cultist: "Then we should be more assertive, let me do it, I’ll grab his collar and say ’if you dare to abandon me I’ll hate you for life.’"

White Queen: "Isn’t that still acting cute?"

Diya: "We can’t really conquer Ash, maybe we should change our approach, try to start with Banjee? Banjee definitely wouldn’t want Hanna to be in danger, if we can convince him to return before the last day, Ash and Hanna , no matter how reluctantly, will have to accept the outcome..."

White Queen: "But wouldn’t that make little Ash angry?"

Red Death Cultist: "Yeah, right."

Black Butler: "And Hanna might also ask us to stay in the Underground City, we couldn’t participate in the action either."

Diya: "Ugh..."

While her sisters discussed and ate ice cream, Liss finally couldn’t resist voicing her own doubt: "Why do we actually have to stick with the plan? It’s clearly so dangerous, shouldn’t we be trying to prevent dad from joining instead?"

The discussion came to an abrupt halt, and after a brief silence, Diya finally responded, "Speaking of which, we seem to have never told you, little witch, why we wanted to participate in the Weaving Festival and why we desired the Divine Lord’s wish."

"Because those are stories from before you were ’born’."

...

A long time ago, there were two babies. They opened their eyes for the first time in their incubators and saw each other, instantly bonding without the need for time to foster feelings. They would cry when separated, calm when holding each other’s hands, and their every smile and frown matched exactly, their identical appearances as if they were the last two little monsters of an extinct species.

Originally, there were many children like them, but the vast majority never had the chance to be born because they were already perfect without need for spares. By the age of three, they firmly remembered each other’s names: Lissdia and Nicole.

One calm afternoon, as usual, they chased each other around the garden, then a court maid came and told them they would be taken to new rooms. Thus, they were separated in bewilderment, torn apart crisply like a sheet of paper.

From then on, they never saw each other again.

Lissdia was confined in a tower on a small island in the lake, while Nicole was imprisoned in the most hidden basement of the Imperial Palace.

Crying, rebelling, throwing tantrums—all happened, but the maid taking care of Lissdia was her most beloved grandmother. Thus, no matter what, Lissdia would obediently eat and sleep, and being a naturally kind and gentle child, she never questioned when the maid told her "Princess Nina" was doing well. However, when standing by the window, she would try to look for any sign of Nina in the distant garden.

Perhaps the monotonous days passed quickly, or perhaps it was the power of miracles, but Lissdia soon grew into an elegant princess. Yet to her, it felt as though the separation from Nina had only happened yesterday.

It wasn’t until she overheard a conversation between the maid and the Empress outside the door or through her grandmother’s monologues at night that she discovered the truth about becoming an Armored Saint. It was then that the "Mask" Technique Spirit was born within her, completely letting go of her past to become a Mage of the Void Realm.

After meeting the Bronze Dragon on the Time Continent, she was even willing to face its trials for a chance to escape the tower.

...

Liss: "Why did Princess Nina have to be imprisoned in the basement? It sounds so sad... But Diya, it’s sad that you sisters were locked in the tower too. Luckily, I met Dad as soon as I was born."

Diya: "Because the Armored Saint is related to two lists. Naturally, one is the ’Gospel List,’ and the other is the one you heard about a few days ago... ’The List of the Unfavored.’"

"Becoming an Armored Saint in the Yisu royal family actually means using the power of the lists to obtain a Divine Being."

When Diya introduced the Armored Saints to the Observer Sword Maiden earlier, her description wasn’t wrong, but she omitted the most crucial link—after all, this is not only her secret but also her deep-seated bitterness she struggles to discuss.

"By becoming the first on the ’Gospel List,’ one can qualify to control the Divine Being ’Gospel’ and even become the embodiment of the Gospel. Though one cannot wield ’Gospel’s’ power entirely, it is enough to control mortals and turn the tide, bringing downfall to all dynasties that rebel against the First Gospel, while those supported by the First Gospel continue to flourish."

"The way to become the first on the ’Gospel List’, besides character, largely depends on appearance: the successive Empresses of Yisu and we all look identical. We didn’t know why before, but after seeing the original Gospel embodiment on the Time Continent, I realized this is also an exploitation of a ’loophole’ in the ’Gospel List’—the closer one appears to the original Gospel, the easier it is to be selected as the First Gospel."

"But that alone isn’t enough, because a mortal body cannot wield a Divine Being..."

Suddenly, the queen interrupted, "Let me tell you what comes next."

"No, please allow me to explain," said Diya. "It must be me who says this, because this is my... original sin."

"A mortal body cannot wield a Divine Being; a Divine Being erodes the soul of its embodiment every moment, hence, previous bearers of the First Gospel often only lived for ten years. This is also why many dynasties ultimately collapse—a forty-year period is enough to see the decline of a dynasty—if one wants to establish an eternal kingdom, then ensuring the First Gospel can rule for at least fifty years is essential, covering the gap between two Weaving Festivals."

"Then our ancestors came up with a very brilliant idea."

"If the lifespan isn’t enough, why not find a way to extend it? Not just lifespan, but all of fate."

At this point, Liss also recalled the features of the List of the Unfavored: "So, Princess Nina was imprisoned to get her onto the List of the Unfavored, to transfer her lifespan and everything to us?"

Diya: "Exactly."

Liss: "But 1 + 1 only equals 2, if we wield the Divine Being ’Gospel’ and can only live for 10 years, even with Princess Nina’s addition, it would only be 20 years!"

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦