CHAPTER 723: MALICIOUS OVERTIME

The dove withdrew his cane, as if he still wished to strike Ashe again. The tip of the cane erupted with multiple spirits, which, like devout disciples on a pilgrimage, transformed into wisps of smoke, entwining around the cane. Layer upon layer, their accumulated sharpness gathered at the tip of his palm, slicing the surrounding air into billowing waves of cloud, the ultimate power condensing to the brink of explosion.

If his previous stab was like the silent drizzle of spring, then the next would be a summer thunderstorm-whatever it touched would be reduced to dust!

The first thrust pierced Ashe’s brain; the second would destroy Ashe’s body!

Yet in the next instant, the dove dispersed the cane’s violent force, abandoning the attack.

Because Vesser had rushed over and snatched Ashe away.

The plump Round Cicada also appeared behind Ashe’s head. It took a deep breath, swelling its abdomen, and let out a peculiar “puli puli” call, as if singing underwater. At the same time, Ashe’s head returned to normal, his briefly interrupted consciousness returning to its loyal body, and light once more flickered in his eyes.

“You died just now!” Vesser let out a sigh of relief.

“I died just now.” Ashe was somewhat shaken, but more so bewildered.

There was no time for a retrospective of his life, no chance to leave a final message. His battle experience, of which he was so proud, and the Sanctuary he trusted without question, had not bought him even a second to react.

If anything, he was like an elite character in a video game: powerful, Advanced, with many passive skills, capable of handling any opponent. Yet the dove’s attack was like a sudden power cut to the computer-he didn’t even feel pain before losing everything.

Fortunately, he had the Round Cicada. Fortunately, he had reached an understanding with the Round Cicada: if he suffered a fatal attack, the Round Cicada would automatically cast “Three-Second Cicada Lurk,” returning him to his state three seconds earlier!

Otherwise, he would truly be dead!

“Hurry!” Vesser summoned another Fog Gate and directly pushed Ashe through. Ashe knew now was no time for hesitation-each breath could mean the difference between life and death. Without a moment’s pause, he dashed toward the Fog Gate leading to the upper level.

Puff.

The sound of a flame igniting passed through their eardrums. Although the eighteenth layer of Silent Spiral was bathed in scorching sunlight, the sand glowing warmly wherever the eye could see, Ashe and Vesser both felt themselves illuminated by fire.

It was not just their clothes or skin lit up-every bone, every drop of blood, every organ, even their souls, were painted with a color not their own by the fire’s light.

When Ashe reached out to the Fog Gate, he found he couldn’t even extend a fingertip into it. He knew Silver Lantern would never trip him up, but he felt an inexplicable barrier-he could not enter the Fog Gate.

Because the color was wrong.

On the other side of the Fog Gate, there was no trace of the fire’s color.

Suddenly, Ashe recalled a game he often played: walking only on tiles of a certain color when strolling down the street.

Now, he felt trapped by a similar restriction.

He turned his head and saw the passionate girl Fire Cat’s hair blazing just like her personality. Every strand transformed into fire, and with each breath, a spirit was born from the flames, only to merge back in and fuel the fire anew. Though her flames were small, not particularly bright, they reigned above all other light-even the sun had to bow before them!

The same thought echoed in the sorcerers’ minds: Fire Cat Demi-God, also known as Knowing Guard Fire.

“Know the endless dark, guard the finite light, thus is the Knowing Guard Fire.” Even in battle, Fire Cat wore a radiant, youthful smile. “I declare, no one is allowed to leave this place.”

To know the endless dark and guard the finite light meant that darkness was infinite, but whatever area she illuminated, she could protect-Fire Cat, or rather the Knowing Guard Fire deity, had an effect that directly prevented all targets within her light from leaving!

Unlike the dove’s pure violence, Fire Cat’s effect was one of restriction!

Yet compared to the dove, Fire Cat’s effect truly drove them to desperation!

Both Vesser and Ashe knew the Fog Gate was not their only escape route, for Ashe still possessed a trophy coveted even by the Divine Sovereign-the Wishflux Celestium!

Within Ashe’s soul lay the Heart of Wishes Command. Even if Senlo exploded the next second, he could instantly flee with his body to the Wishflux Celestium, living freely through the seasons, reigning supreme in the Celestium!

But Fire Cat’s restriction sealed this path as well! Ashe immediately tried to activate the Heart of Wishes Command, which likewise tried to pull Ashe back to the Wishflux Celestium, but his body and soul felt as heavy as lead-completely immobile!

This lifeline that should never have failed was now useless. Divine power surpassed all; only deity could contend with deity. Even though Ashe’s Heart of Wishes Command was already a very Advanced teleportation Miracle, it was not fundamentally divine in nature. At best, it borrowed some power from the Wishing Pool-how could it possibly shake the Fire Cat’s professional-grade prison?

Vesser immediately shielded Ashe. Ashe, caring nothing for pride, all but hid behind her entirely. The three deities’ only concern was Silver Lantern; without her as a shield, Ashe would be obliterated in three seconds-using the Round Cicada’s remaining two “Three-Second Cicada Lurk” to delay.

“You’ve betrayed the Chasm Sovereign?!” Vesser expanded her Sanctuary, sheltering Ashe inside, and coldly demanded, “Are you no longer the deities of the Chasm Sovereign?”

“We have not betrayed the Chasm Sovereign,” the dove replied calmly. “Every command from the Chasm Sovereign, we have carried out to the letter, without the slightest neglect. We have fulfilled our duty, and remain loyal to our Lord, without a trace of betrayal in our thoughts.”

Fire Cat nodded vigorously. “Yeah, yeah, I’m the Knowing Guard Fire of the Chasm Sovereign, the administrator of the secret realm ‘Lighthouse.’ The Chasm Sovereign is my only master. How could I betray the Chasm Sovereign?”

Though deities were not incapable of lying, after all pretenses had been dropped and their expressions gave no hint of deceit, Ashe and Vesser were left confused. Vesser asked, “But by allowing the people of Senlo to remain in the Land of Senlo, aren’t you making them continue as a burden to the Chasm Sovereign, hastening his demise?”

“That’s right.” Fire Cat tilted her head. “Successor, your summary is spot on!”

“Yet you insist you haven’t betrayed him?” Ashe couldn’t help but speak. “You want the Chasm Sovereign dead!”

“No, no, we merely hope the Chasm Sovereign will die,” Fire Cat waved her hands. “We never thought of killing Him.”

The taciturn Bluebird suddenly said, “We only hope the Chasm Sovereign dies. We have not betrayed Him.”

Vesser furrowed her brows, seemingly still unable to comprehend the logic of this double standard. However, Ashe finally understood. He placed a hand on Vesser’s shoulder and said in a low voice, “They are not spirits but deities capable of self-awareness… Their relationship with the Chasm Sovereign is like yours with the Mercury Trojan Horse!”

If analyzed from the perspective of the relationship between spirits and sorcerers, it would be impossible to understand the actions of these three deities, as spirits and sorcerers share a mutual dependency. But if analyzed from the perspective of an employee, it becomes much clearer-you curse your boss every day, wishing they’d drown in a toilet, but that doesn’t mean you’ve betrayed them!

As long as you efficiently complete every task your boss assigns, you are a loyal employee. Gossiping about your boss behind their back, saying they make empty promises about raises, or reporting their embezzlement to the board-these clearly don’t count as betrayal.

The dove and his companions wished for the Chasm Sovereign’s demise, but they truly hadn’t disobeyed the Sovereign’s orders, nor had they likely attacked the Sovereign directly. They merely targeted the people of Senlo and Silver Lantern, preventing the people of Senlo from leaving the Kingdom and stopping Silver Lantern from gaining more Dream Master shares-actions harmful to the Chasm Sovereign, but the Sovereign never said they couldn’t do it!

If it wasn’t stated, then it was allowed!

It’s like when you complain about your boss being an idiot, knowing your words could harm their reputation and that of the company, but since your boss never said you couldn’t badmouth them, and you really want to vent, you do it. The dove and his companions are the same; they know they’re accelerating the Chasm Sovereign’s downfall, or rather, they avoid doing anything that doesn’t hasten the Sovereign’s demise.

One of the differences between deities and spirits is that deities are special beings with self-awareness and desires, while spirits are beings of instinct. Simply put, deities are at least as mature as elementary school children, while spirits are like infants under a year old.

Infants can be manipulated at will, but children have the ability to resist.

The dove and his companions are indeed exploiting loopholes, but the root cause is still the Chasm Sovereign of Senlo. If Ashe guessed correctly, the Sovereign doesn’t really care about the people of Senlo or their successors. The three deities’ attitude towards Silver Lantern was merely to convey the Sovereign’s message, akin to a messenger, not to ‘invite the young master back,’ which is why they dared to act against Silver Lantern.

Without specific orders, the dove and his companions wouldn’t restrain themselves. To put it bluntly, even if they slaughtered the Kingdom of Senlo, it wouldn’t matter much-like when your computer suddenly deletes your cherished study materials, would you smash the computer? Moreover, the dove and his companions are protecting the people of Senlo.

The most likely order left by the Chasm Sovereign was for the deities to protect the people of Senlo. But how could the Sovereign have known that one day, they would need to expel or even slaughter their own people to extend their own life?

The current situation is akin to the Sovereign’s company preparing for bankruptcy due to a lack of funds, yet still operating a high-cost project. If the project isn’t paused, the financial chain will completely break. The Sovereign can’t personally halt the project, and now Silver Lantern, the project leader, steps up to say she’s taking people to another company. The dove and the other two veteran employees forcibly keep Silver Lantern in place, refusing to let her end the project, insisting on continuing it-this is malicious overtime.

“But why do you wish for the Chasm Sovereign’s death?” Vesser asked as she shielded Ashe, retreating step by step.

The dove, Fire Cat, and Bluebird closed in, step by step, and the dove asked, “What is hatred?”

“It’s when you don’t want to be with them, breathing the same air, under the same sky.”

“Then we have no hatred for the Chasm Sovereign. We are quite happy to be with the Sovereign.”

“Then why do you wish for the Sovereign’s death?”

“Because we just wish for the Sovereign’s death.” Fire Cat was very puzzled. “Is a reason needed for this?”

“Yes,” Vesser asked. “Or is there something you want to do, but the Sovereign prevents you from doing it?”

Bluebird shook her head. “No.”

“Wait.” Ashe tasted the implication. “When did you start wishing for the Sovereign’s death?”

The deities exchanged glances and said, “From the beginning.”

“From the beginning of your Demi-Godhood, or from the beginning of your existence as deities?”

However, the deities’ answer surprised Ashe: “From the moment we became the Chasm Sovereign’s deities.”

“Isn’t it normal?” Fire Cat said. “Who wouldn’t wish for their master to die?”

“Having a master is not good,” the dove said. “All masters should die.”

“Die,” Bluebird nodded in agreement.

“I understand,” Vesser murmured. “They are all regicides. They normally follow all the sorcerer’s orders, but whenever they have the chance, they will constantly cause trouble for the sorcerer until they kill them!”

“There is no complicated reason; they simply cannot accept being tools of the Divine Sovereign from the moment of their birth!”

Ashe initially thought the dove and his companions had awakened self-awareness, thus rebelling against the Chasm Sovereign in a grand act of defiance, attempting to regain their freedom. Although the outcome was similar, the motivation was entirely different-they never considered their future after regaining freedom, nor did they fear the consequences once the Chasm Sovereign recovered.

They simply wanted their master to die.

Ashe and Vesser were unsure if these three were exceptions, but it was highly likely. After all, the Chasm Sovereign of Senlo couldn’t have only these three deities, yet only these three appeared, suggesting that the ‘Sovereign Die-Die Club’ only consisted of those who ascended from the earth to Celestium.

Other normal deities hadn’t joined the dove’s ranks.

Ashe had previously praised the ‘sorcerer→Demi-God→deity’ production chain for its merits, but now it seemed this production line had a problem with its yield rate.

They were once sorcerers, inheriting the glory of their Virtual Realm predecessors, existing to explore the Truth, bowing to no one; they were once Demi-Gods, bearing the faith of billions, existing to realize ideals, not to become tools of some Divine Sovereign.

Perhaps it was precisely the experiences of being sorcerers and Demi-Gods that made these ascended deities unable to accept being exploited by the Divine Sovereign, unable to accept being inferior beings. They wholeheartedly wished for flexible employment, and whoever made them work, they would bankrupt that company.