Mage Manual

Diya felt she was a very, very bad girl.

The instant she learned that Ash was temporarily unable to operate magic power, her first reaction was not worry, not sadness, not anger at her helplessness, but... genuine delight. She even had to let Liss, who truly worried about Ash, take over her body; otherwise, neither of them could hide the smile in their eyes.

Diya couldn’t believe she was so bad, but seeing Ash truly become a cripple, she realized that she’d waited for this day for a long time... as if a massive iceberg suddenly collapsed, and the dark tide hidden within swallowed the entire world... those evil thoughts she dared not imagine, devilish ideas she dared not touch, disguised as colorful bubbles, popped in her mind until they polluted her pure heart into twisted hues.

The codename "Witch" was bestowed upon her by Ash; while Diya didn’t dislike it, she didn’t feel it fit her either, since she bore no malice towards anyone. But she was wrong; it wasn’t that she bore no malice, she simply had no opportunity.

Do you hear the sound of bubbles bursting? That’s the witches cheering.

She had been waiting for the day her status with Ash would reverse.

Yes, although she was Empress Yisu, possessing the divine Gospel, ruling both earthly and heavenly power, able to drive the state machinery with a single command. Yet when she was with Ash, it was always Ash who educated her, always Ash to whom she must adhere, always ignoring her needs.

Ash is the knight who protects the princess, she is the princess who gains knights’ allegiance, but in their emotional relationship, she is a humble Empress, submissive to Ash, who is her supreme ruler in all respects.

Because Diya herself knows very well, Ash cannot abandon the Sword Maiden, cannot give up the Silver Lamp, and even he does not want to leave Vishi, but he can abandon Diya—because before lovers, Ash first became family with her. He can accept reverting back to a family relationship with the witch, but Diya cannot accept only receiving Ash’s familial affection.

The one who falls in love first, loses first; the one who desires more becomes humbler.

Thus, Diya dares not have superfluous thoughts, she even needs to give more than others, carefully, to maintain her current lover’s identity. The Sword Maiden can get angry, the Silver Lamp can overstep boundaries, Vishi can make excessive jokes, these she cannot do; she fears Ash will again treat her as a child in his process of caring for her... but she is no longer a child.

She is now an adult who has learned to hide hatred and malice.

"I can feel your cursed wound."

Diya’s soul body pressed close to Ash’s body outline, slender fingers drew small circles on him, she said gently, "Hurts, doesn’t it? When I touched it before, it hurt so much I wanted to cry."

"Once you get used to it, it’s alright," Ash calmly replied, "If someone must endure it, I am the best choice; as the leader, one should bear the greatest responsibility."

"So, Witch, you win." He sighed, "But let go of me first, tonight really isn’t suitable, another day, alright? I’m not refusing, just want to choose another time, and this position is just too strange—"

"No."

Diya kissed Ash, her hands wandering freely over his body, reaching the most torrid area, her ten fingers playing a rhythm, each stroke echoing Ash’s most sensitive heartstrings. Ash felt himself sinking again, squeezing out the angry fire with his last rationality: "If you keep misbehaving, I’ll really get angry!"

Yet Diya not only didn’t retreat, but instead took even more, venturing beyond the lips and exploring fiercely over every part of him. When Ash was about to be defeated, she kissed the corner of Ash’s mouth, her hands continued, whispered, "Did you know, though I can’t heal your curse, I can expand your wound."

"What... do you mean?"

"Meaning, as long as I wish," the witch lightly bit Ash’s earlobe, "I can make you completely a cripple."

"Forever unable to operate magic power, forever just bullied by me."

Ash struggled to calm his breath, shook his head and said, "You wouldn’t do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I know you, witch, you’re a—"

"Good child?" Diya tilted her head, giggled, "Do you really know me? Do you know that I hate you?"

Ash was startled.

"I hate you, Ash. As much as I love you, that’s how much I hate you." She gently rubbed Ash’s cheek, "I’m not joking, I really thought about whether to utterly cripple you. Ever since the day you couldn’t operate magic power, I’ve been thinking about bullying you this way... I was actually a bit worried you’d get angry, but now I’ve found the angrier you get, the more excited I become."

"This kind of powerless rage that you can’t resist or escape, I really... like it too much."

"Because I hate you, Ash. Just like everyone wants to maintain a teammate relationship with you to enhance the team’s overall combat power, but I’m still doing everything possible to be your witch, everyone must hope you step into the supreme, but only I desire to see you fall into dust, become as weak and pathetic as Lalafe."

"I don’t want you to become the supreme of magic, I just want an Ash perpetually bullied by me. A knight powerless to protect even himself, wouldn’t he just be the Empress’s captive?"

Diya looked down at Ash from above, her black and white hair falling onto Ash’s face, "If you’re completely ruined, won’t I be able to keep you tied to the bed forever?"

"Witches aren’t good kids," she gently caressed Ash’s cheek with the back of her hand, "They are, instead, very evil bad kids."

Ash was silent for a moment, then sighed after a long pause.

"I have wronged you, Witch."

Diya only felt a buzzing in her head, an inexplicable fury suddenly burning through her belly. Her carefully planned revenge was thrown to the back of her mind in an instant. She cupped the back of Ash’s head and kissed him, wanting to vent all her grievances, biting and licking indiscriminately. When she came to her senses again, she was already in tears, tasting the salty flavor of them on her lips.

Even though Ash was the one tied up now, it was she who ended up crying. She had thought tonight she could rise above him, but those who submit are forever submissive, and those who are favored always remain fearless.

"You knew, you actually knew, you knew everything!" Diya’s voice carried a faint sob: "Then why do I always have to force you when I want to be intimate with you? Why can’t you take the initiative a bit? Don’t you know I want to kiss and hug you too?"

"You take the initiative with the Sword Maiden, with the Silver Lamp, with Vishi; I suspect you’ll even take the initiative with Felix, but you never do with me! I’m a girl too, I want to be reserved, I want to have a sweet relationship with my lover!"

"Yes, yes, I know, I understand, you don’t want to lead Liss astray! But why, why just because you care about Liss, do I not get to have what they have? Just because I became your family first, you don’t treat me as a lover?"

"I really hate you so much..." She lightly bit Ash’s lip and murmured: "When the Sword Maiden is upset, you’ll comfort her; when the Silver Lamp teases you, you’ll respond to her; you even don’t shy away from intimate contact with Vishi... But with me, if I don’t force it, you won’t respond to anything!"

"It’s not only the Sword Maiden who feels wronged, who gets jealous, who gets envious." Diya sobbed: "These days I’ve felt so wronged it’s about to burst."

"Sometimes I feel so sad that words fail me, emotions escape me, expressions vanish, and I’m left staring blankly alone until suddenly my nose tingles, eyes water, thinking I’ve done nothing right, wondering if it’s my fault."

Ash softly replied: "You haven’t done anything wrong, it’s all my fault."

Diya’s tears fell large onto Ash’s face, she whimpered and cursed: "So you forced me to become a wicked Empress, you forced me to hate you, you forced me to use such cowardly and shameless methods! If I truly ruined you, that too would be your fault! It’s all your fault!"

"I have no sense of security at all..." The witch lay in Ash’s arms, sobbing quietly: "You don’t show me any affection at all..."

At some point, Ash’s bound hands quietly came free. He held the witch’s waist and softly spoke: "The one I cherish most is you, Lissdia Yisu."

"I don’t believe it, you won’t even be intimate with me..."

"It’s like I’m willing to give you everything, but if you want ice cream, I still won’t allow it." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"But I’m no longer a child," Diya raised her head, tears in her eyes, looking at Ash: "Ordinary ice cream can no longer satisfy me."

"Only scorching ice cream can quell Her Majesty’s fury." She wiped away the traces of tears and, holding Ash, commanded imperiously: "If it’s not delicious enough, I might truly ruin you."

"As you wish," Ash held her slender waist and softly spoke: "My Her Majesty."

By this point, Ash was unable to refuse. Even if the next moment he would be cut down by the Sword Maiden, he couldn’t let the Witch down.

However, as Diya calmed her emotions a bit, she leaned over to bite Ash’s ear and whispered: "Actually, I wanted to report some progress to you tonight?"

"Report progress?"

"I’ve made tremendous progress in Magic Power cultivation recently," she boasted proudly: "I’ve constructed a new Wonder ’Witch Domain,’ which is a Heavenly Wonder based on Fairy Tale Divine Being, within this domain I can materialize tangible sister avatars to fight alongside me."

"My Witch is the most formidable." Ash was pleased.

"The really impressive part comes next." Diya’s voice had a hint of shyness: "The briefing ends here, now it’s time for a demonstration."

"Demonstration?" Ash was taken aback, then a sudden rush of excitement shattered his rational defenses.

"The Witch Domain already covers this bed. Although limited by the environment and unable to make much noise, I can only materialize one sister at most," Diya softly bit her lip, speaking gently: "But that’s okay, we can form pairs of two and take turns demonstrating."

"First, it’s me and the Black Butler."