The Sorcerer's Handbook

It was 9:30 p.m. on the night of May 19th.

The 72nd floor of the Senheiser building, usually a quiet virtual entertainment area visited only by introverted gamers, was now packed with a swarm of socially significant monsters.

”Edifiel, Phillip, Bosch, Beers, Sotein...”

Light lifted the brim of his red hat, revealing messy crimson hair and an eye etched with a Miracle mark. There was a glint of madness in his laughter. ”To meet all the leaders of the Six-Emblem at once... even Legendary sorcerers probably don’t get this kind of treatment.”

”Indeed,” the man in the trench coat said. ”The last time all six leaders met... was ages ago.”

The ponytailed woman sighed. ”That must have been hundreds of years ago. How is it that nothing ever happened under the previous leaders, and now it all lands on me the moment I take over?”

The laid-back man in the fisherman’s hat chuckled. ”Isn’t that a good thing? Beers, you’ve only recently become a leader, haven’t you? As for me... after decades in charge, a little chaos like this actually feels refreshing.”

”Or perhaps it’s just noise,” the bespectacled man said, casually combing through his bangs. ”Let’s focus on resolving this quickly without bringing any harm to the Senheiser family.”

Pankey stared at the men and women before him. For a moment, his bitter resentment toward Iger was entirely suppressed, replaced by sheer awe at witnessing legends firsthand. The leaders of the Six-Emblem families!

They were the ones who steered Vanmura, represented eight million citizens, and carried a thousand-year-old legacy on their shoulders. Even within the vast expanse of the Gospel Kingdom, individuals of this caliber were a force to be feared. They weren’t just nobles; they were sovereigns in their own right.

To any outsider with an understanding of the true reality of Vanmura, the power of the Six-Emblem leaders was second only to Empress Isa. While their influence faded beyond the city borders, Vanmura remained the largest producer of Mermaid Weed in the Gospel Kingdom, consistently dominating production rankings year after year.

Even if the six families were split apart, any single family’s output surpassed that of ordinary secondary cities and could rival first-tier metropolises. Because all resources were centralized under the Six-Emblem families, the leaders could freely mobilize their family’s collective production power. In short, a single leader wielded the strength of an entire empire.

Thus, the figures standing before Pankey were not just leaders; they were the living embodiments of their bloodlines, walking extensions of the city itself. Every gesture carried the weight of a million family members. This was no hyperbole. They possessed the genuine, terrifying capability to convert vast family resources directly into raw power.

Whoosh!

With the crisp rustle of turning pages, five Books of Gospel materialized before the leaders. For a minor agency like Annan’s, the Book of Gospel was a cold, conservative advisory tool. But in front of these leaders, whose accumulated Gospel Points numbered in the millions, its capabilities expanded beyond ordinary imagination.

Sacred Realm!

Two Sacred Realms instantly expanded, throwing up a protective barrier over the Red Hat members. Aside from the dense, stormy ripples cascading across the barrier, no actual attacks were visible. Yet even from that alone, it was clear that no ordinary sorcerer could withstand the Gospel’s power. Here, money truly was power.

Cliose’s face darkened. Tears of sheer frustration welled at the corners of her eyes as she bit her lip. ”Light... it looks like we’re going to fail this time.”

Light summoned his own Book of Gospel, his expression grim. ”We cannot fail. Leaders, I reiterate. We are only here to capture the imperial fugitive, Ashe Heath. We have absolutely no intention of encroaching upon Vanmura. Once Ashe is apprehended, we will leave immediately. We did not cause the white mist to thin, and we will formally apologize afterward for any procedural violations... No, please accept my deepest apologies, leaders. I beg your forgiveness for our recklessness.”

He suddenly lowered his head and bowed deeply. ”According to information from the Woven Festival, Ashe Heath is intrinsically linked to the apocalyptic events of the next fifty years. He cannot be left at large. I am willing to hand over all of the gains from this operation to the Six-Emblem families of Vanmura. We can disregard everything else, but Ashe Heath must be brought in for interrogation!”

The man in the trench coat scoffed. ”Do you think Vanmura is a public restroom, where you can just come and go as you please?”

The bespectacled man said, ”Wait. Senheiser, where do you stand on this? The Six Emblems of Vanmura act as one. But to confront a Sacred Realm sorcerer over an outsider and risk offending the Isa Imperial Family goes completely against our family principles.”

Hearing this, Ashe nervously glanced at Quinna, only to find her looking back at him with a deep, contemplative expression.

This is bad.

Honestly, if they were anywhere else, Ashe knew Quinna would never risk protecting an imperial fugitive, especially one who supposedly held the keys to the apocalypse.

Quinna had a contract with Annan that theoretically obligated her to protect them. Failing to do so would result in severe penalties within the Virtual World. However, this was technically Nona standing in front of them. Ashe wasn’t entirely sure if the system’s contract would recognize Quinna logging in from a ”backup host.”

Furthermore, Quinna valued her family above all else. If she truly believed that harboring Ashe endangered the Senheiser family, she would view the contract as nothing more than a sunk cost she had to cut.

Trying to threaten Quinna with a legal contract was impossible. She was far too proud to be intimidated, and pushing her would only backfire. Ashe still vividly remembered the time she had narrowly grazed him with a bullet, simply because he had said something offensive.

Maybe I could try to win Quinna’s sympathy by convincing her that I’m crucial to Annan? No, that wouldn’t work either...

Suddenly, Ashe felt a tug at his pant leg. Glancing down, he saw Iger splayed on the ground, silently mouthing three words, ”Annan and Nona.”

The realization hit him. Ashe remembered Annan always mentioning how incredibly close she was to her aunt, Nona. Her entire journey to Vanmura had been fueled by the absolute certainty that she could count on Nona’s support, prompting her to bring her entire agency along to seek her protection.

However, her beloved aunt had been trapped under Quinna’s thumb, forcing them into an unwilling cooperation with the clan leader. Otherwise, they would have smoothly infiltrated Vanmura long ago. In Annan’s eyes, Nona was the perfect aunt, the kind who would always stand up for her niece, the only relative she could truly confide in, and the brightest light of her childhood.

The truth, however, was far more calculated. Nona carried a fragment of Quinna’s soul. When Quinna had been trapped in the dreamland, Nona was the very first backup body to activate. This only went to show that the bond between Quinna and Nona was infinitely stronger than the one between Quinna and Annan.

Ashe now recognized the two figures in the Senheiser Dream simulation as Quinna and Nona. Quinna sat on a throne, overseeing Vanmura, while Nona whispered beside her, embodying a textbook dynamic of the martial elder sister and the intellectual younger sister.

This meant the ”good Aunt Nona” in Annan’s perception was likely just a façade, a carefully orchestrated persona that Quinna had designed. According to educational theory, having Quinna play the strict disciplinarian while Nona played the gentle caregiver was indeed a flawless teaching method.

Quinna might not genuinely love Annan, but she certainly cared for her.

Ashe recalled their brief encounter in the elevator a few days ago, realizing that beneath the terrifying exterior, Quinna’s true nature was likely approachable, even kind.

So, my best strategy now...

Swallowing his terror, Ashe stepped forward and threw his arms around Quinna. ”Leader Quinna, I am Annan’s fiancé! I am going to marry into the Senheiser family!”

Ashe buried his face against her chest, too terrified to meet her gaze. ”Please... save me!”

He hadn’t yet mastered the art of lying with his eyes, and any slip in his facial expression would give him away. His only recourse was to rely on absolute, desperate body language to persuade her.

On the floor, Iger hacked up a mouthful of blood. His eyes bulged in sheer shock. He barely dared to breathe, terrified of doing anything that might ruin Ashe’s performance.

It was a suicidal gamble. They still hadn’t fully untangled the complex web of the mother-daughter relationship. If Ashe had guessed the wrong ”password,” this stunt would easily provoke Quinna’s deadly wrath.

The room fell into an agonizing silence. Everyone waited, breathless, for the response of the Senheiser family leader.

”Did you say you’re Annan’s fiancé?”

Is she doubting me? Does she think I’m lying? Am I reading the password completely wrong?

There was no turning back now. Ashe forced himself to nod against her. ”Yes... Do you disapprove?”

”No. I fully approve. In fact... this is wonderful.”

Quinna caught Ashe’s chin, forcing him to look up into her golden eyes. They sparkled with a dangerous blend of playfulness and anticipation, reminding Ashe of a half-sated fox eyeing its helpless prey. ”But from now on, you will call me Sister Quinna.”

Ashe blinked, utterly bewildered. ”Sister Quinna?”

”Good,” she murmured.

Noticing a smear of blood on his left cheek, Quinna tapped her own face. ”Blood.”

Instinctively, Ashe reached up to touch his right cheek. Quinna shook her head and leaned in closer.

Just as Ashe braced himself for her to wipe the blood away, he felt her slick, warm tongue brush across his skin, licking it clean.

A violent shiver ran down his spine. He nearly melted into a limp heap right then and there, held up only by Quinna’s gentle, firm embrace.

From his spot on the floor, Iger watched the entire interaction with wide, unblinking eyes. Compared to the agony of his broken ribs, this mind-bending scene shook the fraudster’s emotional defenses to their core. Iger’s thoughts ran wild. Ashe, what kind of cursed password did you just give her?Quinna’s attitude toward you is definitely not how someone treats their daughter’s fiancé!

Even as a native of the Blood Moon who had seen plenty of twisted family dramas, this was completely unlike anything he had ever experienced. Too weird... I have to see it again.