"Magician! You're bleeding all over!"

In the darkness, someone helped up the black-haired Magician. "Healing troops, come quickly—"

The black-haired Magician immediately said, "No need. I must fulfill the Magician's final mission. I am here precisely for this reason; life or death is trivial!"

Breaking free from others, the black-haired Magician slowly walked forward. Red Hood and two others seemed to push past the Federal Watchers, letting the Magician complete the last step.

Good. Ren Suo found his current manipulation quite satisfactory, even with ease—Flame Skin Breath hadn't even been used yet.

Ren Suo hadn't expected the Sacred Spine Sword to be so powerful, but the cost was also extremely high: Health Points slowly declined at a rate of 1.5%, and there was no way to heal. However, he wouldn't bleed to death. This was far more severe than the Eye Forbidden Technique, Skin Forbidden Technique, and Hand Forbidden Technique—after all, if the boss still didn't die after using the Sacred Spine Sword, just being touched would mean his own death.

However, what he gained in return was the Sacred Spine Sword, capable of dealing massive damage to the target, ignoring their Defense, nearly securing victory in one move!

This was the real trump card; once used, it was either you die or I live.

The black-haired Magician continued to move forward slowly, and soon, the silhouette of a Princess appeared on screen—she was kneeling on the ground, hands covering her face, crying.

Extending a kind left hand, the black-haired Magician gently touched her head, letting green and white light fill the screen, flickering through a series of memories:

"She is the Princess of the Kingdom. Since a young age, she possessed gem-like beautiful eyes."

"As the Queen Consort, referred to as the Kingdom's most beautiful woman, yet the Queen Consort knew that once the Princess grew up, she would surely become even more beautiful than herself."

"Childish Jealousy ignited a murderous intent in the Queen Consort; however, when she looked at the Princess, that intent was suppressed."

"Aside from a small part of Mother's Love, a more significant reason was that the Queen Consort, looking at the Princess, saw the beautiful reflection of herself in the Princess's eyes."

"The Princess's eyes reflected the Queen Consort's Beauty better than any Mirror in the world."

"Although the Queen Consort was jealous, she couldn't bear to part with the Princess, this 'Mirror'."

"But as the Princess grew day by day, the Queen Consort's inner turmoil also accumulated—what she feared was about to come true."

"At that moment, the Holy Grail of Desire appeared before the Queen Consort. With only one eye as the price, the Queen Consort achieved her goal—and it wasn't even her own eye."

"Later, the Princess disappeared, and in the Queen Consort's bedroom, there appeared a Magic Mirror that could speak."

"'Who is the most beautiful person in the world?' 'It is the Queen Consort reflected in these eyes.' Such conversations went on for a long time."

"The Queen Consort was always very careful not to let others enter her bedroom. But one day, two Maids placed a fruit basket in her bedroom and talked about what they saw outside: a Hunter with perfect aim, a Witch living in the forest..."

"Finally, the Princess began to doubt. She wanted to see the outside world, but her mother, the Queen Consort, never allowed her to leave. She wanted to see her own appearance because she couldn't understand why her mother, the Queen Consort, always looked at her but never cared for her."

"She didn't even know she had become a Mirror. Then, the Holy Grail of Desire appeared before her."

"As the price for the other eye, the apple in the fruit basket turned into a Mirror, and the Princess saw the figure of a monster."

"The Princess regretted losing her eyes because, at that moment, she couldn't even cry..."

"Then, the Mirror shone, and the apples reflected in it suddenly grew hands, feet, and mirrors, becoming her warriors."

"The time for revenge had come."

"As usual, the Queen Consort looked into the Princess's eyes, but reflected in the Mirror was a shrunken, senile, wrinkled old woman dressed in a black robe, with pus oozing from her eyes, face full of scars, a hooked nose, and no teeth—a Witch."

"Previously, in order to make the Queen Consort happy, the Princess had reflected such beautiful images of the Queen Consort in her pupils. Now that her heart was filled with hatred, the reflected image of the Queen Consort turned as hideous as a Witch... Or perhaps, her gaze had transformed the Queen Consort's appearance into the image she imagined."

"Even if the Queen Consort averted her gaze, the apple Mirrors surrounding her still reflected her hideous form."

"The Queen Consort vanished, and only a dead, ugly Witch remained in her bedroom."

"The Princess had completed her revenge, but at that moment, the lingering light from the Mirror flickered like tears. Despite having lost her eyes, she still longed to cry."

"Her heart was filled with grief; she didn't resent becoming a monster, but resented her mother, the Queen Consort, for not being willing to give her even a little bit of love... Even just a glance at her while looking in the Mirror would have satisfied the Princess."

"The daughter's Mirror had always been tracing the image of her mother, probably trying to fill the void of losing her."

A game hint appeared: "Snow White, Redemption successful."

The Princess dissolved into feathers and vanished on the spot, while Red Hood and her two companions silently departed, leaving behind the words, "We'll wait for you at the next level." Elaine wanted to say something but was pulled away by Red Hood and Lunpena—both of whom knew that Magicians who used Forbidden Techniques had the Ability to heal their side effects.

"Magician!"

The Watchers rushed over. Just like in the first level, they quickly laid the black-haired Magician flat on the ground, shouting, "A Transcendent with Healing Abilities, come here!" "Medic, medic!"

Caroline seemed to grip the black-haired Magician's hand tightly, biting her lip as she said, "Why didn't your Magician companions heal you? After all you've sacrificed, they just left you like this?"

The black-haired Magician replied, "This is the destiny of a Magician. Besides, I'm beyond saving; I understand this better than anyone. A person who has lost both eyes, whose hands are incapacitated, and whose spine has been extracted—what's the point of being saved?

"I've already passed my Force to my companions. They will carry on my will, letting my Force continue to flourish in other Magicians. Burning myself to ashes and dying on the battlefield is the conclusion I'm most satisfied with."

Caroline's voice trembled. "Why does the sacrifice have to be all yours? Your hands, your eyes, your spine... can't other people share a bit of it?"

"I'll save you! Our Federation possesses—"

"Which is more powerful?" the black-haired Magician interrupted. "Five invalids, or one dead person and four normal people?"

He continued, "Only I need to fall in battle..."

"No!" Caroline hugged the black-haired Magician, crying, "I... I finally fell for someone! I won't let you die! You saved me, you saved everyone here! Even if you're disabled, I'll take care of you for life."

The black-haired Magician said, "I don't understand what 'liking' means; we don't have such emotions. Just as the Demon-hunters of the East are born from destiny, we, the Mages Under the World Tree, are born from fate and die as dust—with neither love nor hate, Nameless and without family, but with a guardian's heart that never wavers.

"I'm sorry for letting you witness such a tragic sight. My companions left quickly because they didn't want their last memory of me to be this broken body…"

Caroline insisted, "No! You are handsome! You are very handsome..."

Suddenly, the black-haired Magician sighed and asked, "Is there any cola? I want Nuclear Cola."

"Here!" A Watcher quickly handed over a bottle of cola.

Ren Suo thought for a moment and realized that in his haste to craft the character's image, he had forgotten Magicians apparently can't drink cola—at least, he didn't have that option.

"Can you feed me?"

"Okay, drink slowly, take it easy." Caroline, holding back sobs, seemed to be pouring cola for the Magician. Then she suddenly broke into tears again, "The cola isn't going down! It's all coming out..."

"Yeah," the black-haired Magician said. "I'm unable to drink anymore..."

"I'm dying, but... there will be other Magicians, struggling elsewhere.

"The Mages Under the World Tree are never truly gone."

With eyes Hollow, fingers revealing bone, and his spine extracted, the Magician dissipated into light particles in the hall after leaving his final message.

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