I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

Uh.

They were really fighting, and quite intensely at that, after all, it was a battle between top legends... but for some reason, it looked more or less like kindergarten kids squabbling—at most, middle class, no more.

Chapter 429 The Resurrection of the Victims

Amber prayed.

She didn't know who she was praying to, but the sound of her prayer in her heart must have been incredibly sincere.

Because she was praying for Duke, praying that his plans would really go smoothly.

When Amber witnessed Duke destroying the floating city, she didn't experience much emotional fluctuation. No matter how earth-shattering Duke's actions were, Amber could understand them. She believed that Duke was capable of anything—even if he hadn't told her about this "small detail" beforehand, or that he was planning to destroy the floating city.

Amber's confidence in the Duke lock is always unwavering.

However, she had little confidence in herself.

Amber and the others had been keeping a close eye on Duke's actions.

The moment Duke collapsed due to the backlash from the gods, Amber grabbed Cecil's hand, with Little Black, who later found them, on her head, and used spatial magic to rush to the place where Duke's divine body collapsed. His divine body did not turn into a large pile of blood and flesh, but into basic elements, with not a trace of flesh and blood to be seen or touched.

Amber and the others also cannot see Duke's soul.

The price of defying the divine and the believers was far too high; Duke's body and soul were completely destroyed in an instant.

If she fails, then Duke will be gone forever, and they will lose Duke forever.

The thought of it made Amber feel breathless. Her inferiority complex made her hands tremble uncontrollably, but at that moment, she remembered Duke.

Amber recalled the image of Duke kissing her fingers and asking her with a smile if she would share her fate with him.

For Amber, time seemed to have suddenly stopped. The flow of time in the world slowed down dramatically. She could see the people of the floating city falling, yet they seemed to be suspended in the air.

Amber began to recall the past few months, working backwards from her time with Duke.

From their time together in this parallel world, to escaping the pursuit of the floating city, to the Babel Tower, the turtle soup, and the witch's game, from a brief separation to the moment of parting with Sleeping Beauty, from tender entanglement to a kiss in the air, from confession to confession to the endless cycle of Cinderella's world, from the Candy Castle all the way back, they finally arrived at the end of her memory.

At the entrance to the game of "Statues," Amber saw the wicked man who had deceived her sisters, and this scoundrel also saw the hostess witch's amber eyes and the maid outfit she was wearing.

That was Amber's first encounter with Duke.

These past few months have felt like a dream.

Sometimes it's a nightmare, one that can wake her from her dream and startle her awake. But most of the time, however, this long dream is a sweet, beautiful dream, because she and he are in it.

Amber suddenly stopped being nervous.

She didn't believe in herself.

But Duke believed in her.

She, however, believed in the man who believed in her.

"Sister Cecil, please keep an eye on the area and don't let anyone approach." Amber slowly exhaled, raised her hands to pick up the little black cat on her head, and let it obediently jump onto Cecil's head. Then she asked Cecil to protect her: "I'm going to start resurrecting Duke."

“No problem, with me here, no one can get in your way.” Cecil nodded with utmost seriousness, though she was also somewhat nervous, clenching her fists tightly as she awaited a miracle. At the same time, to fulfill Amber's instructions, she unhesitatingly used her legendary destiny: “I want this place to be undisturbed by anyone!”

Then, a dazzling holy light enveloped the nearby airspace, gently sending away anyone who tried to approach (or who accidentally flew nearby due to freefall). Cecil, having done all this, did not lower her guard. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and glared at Howard and Lohena, who had finished their battle in the distance—if they tried to get closer, she would likely fight them to the death.

Of course, these two top legends didn't care much about them, after all, they had no idea that they were resurrecting Duke—even if they did know, they probably wouldn't care, especially Howard... He finally made peace with Faker, and now he's going to interfere and stop Duke's resurrection? He's not crazy, why would he do something so thankless?

For them, dealing with the aftermath of the floating city was the most crucial matter at hand.

Amber withdrew her gaze from Cecil; the radiant artifact wielding the legendary destiny was worthy of her trust. She then focused entirely on the artifact in her hand.

It was a tool that Duke gave her before he left. It looked like a remote control, but Duke called it a "cheating tool".

【Item Name: Cheating Tool】

[Item Description: "Invincible! Dazzling! Like a shooting star! The strongest player in gold! Hyperion!"]

[Item Effect: Allows you to choose one of the following cheat modes: invincibility, invincibility, instant kill, teleportation, unlimited money, resurrection, or unlimited mana. The effect will last for three seconds and then end.]

Amber closed her eyes and began to pray once more. She did not pray to any god, for it was the power of the gods that had killed her lover… She prayed to a god who belonged only to her.

Duke.

"Rise again."

She whispered the cheat mode she had chosen.

……

Cheating items are those Duke obtains through the Star Map system. Unless specifically mentioned in the system's item description (such as the Mythical Armor series), these items can be used by anyone. This is how Duke generously gives favor gifts to his "harem" to increase their affection, and it's also how he obtains cheating items through lotteries.

He had already tested the cheat item with the envoy when he handed it to Amber. Amber could use all the other cheat modes with the cheat item, so presumably the "resurrection" cheat would also work.

Among all the cheat modes for cheat items, the cost of the "revive" cheat mode can be said to be the lightest, or it can be said to be the heaviest.

The lightest effect is because, compared to the prolonged weakness that comes with instant kill, it at least doesn't affect the user's physical and mental health. The heaviest effect is because the prolonged weakness from instant kill is only a physical or spiritual weakness, which can even be resolved. However, the side effect of resurrection is "shared fate," and this mysterious shared fate cannot be easily resolved.

That's why Duke asked Amber:

"Amber, are you willing to share the rest of your life with me?"

His words were exactly as they appeared; there was no implied meaning or subtext, like a marriage proposal... I guess so.

But relying solely on cheat tools is not enough, because the backlash from the gods is far too severe. If he dies too quickly and too thoroughly, leaving not even a trace behind... even if Amber arrives to revive him immediately, it might be too late.

Duke's resurrection of Ida was also based on the mute's divine half-body; the remnants of the mute's human half-body had always existed within the mute's body. If Duke's divine form and body were destroyed, even the most miraculous cheat codes wouldn't be enough. And when he devised this plan, he had no idea how utterly annihilated he would be by defying societal norms.

Did Duke miscalculate?

Of course not, he still has room for error.

【Item Name: Nine-Lives Cat】

[Item Description: Cats have nine lives, but you never know how many they have left, do you?]

[Item Effect: Nine Lives.]

This thing helped Duke survive being devoured by Talia, and he's only used it once in a long time, which means... he has at least eight more lives to die!

In the most optimistic scenario, Duke wouldn't even need Amber to use as a cheat item to revive him; he would have been resurrected by the Nine Lives Cat first. Of course, the current situation is clearly not so optimistic. The backlash from the gods is much more difficult to deal with than Duke imagined. His soul keeps dying, while the Nine Lives Cat painstakingly helps him recover... only to instantly die again.

Because he died too quickly and the Nine Lives Cat's soul repair speed was very slow, his soul never took shape and remained as some impure fragments of power in the air, so neither Amber nor Cecil could sense him.

Duke went through a painful struggle, and in the midst of this, he found his own savior.

Amber picked up the cheat device and whispered the words of redemption to him:

"Rise again."

So, just as the power of the divine backlash and the number of Nine Lives Cat attempts were about to be exhausted, the cheat item took the initiative to bind Amber's fate to Duke's.

His soul gradually took shape before the amber and finally returned to normal.

Duke opened his eyes and saw Amber with her cheeks puffed out and her eyes glistening with tears, as well as Guangbao, who was also about to cry, and Xiao Hei on her head.

His soul, not yet fully formed, scratched his head. The side effects of the Nine Lives Cat were still visible on his soul—a pair of black cat ears and a cat tail. He touched his cat ears, his expression becoming somewhat subtle, but he casually said:

“Amber, Cecil, I’m back.”

Before he could finish speaking, the two witch girls pounced on him at the same time, pulling his soul into their arms. Although Duke's soul had just taken shape, it was already within their reach.

He smiled faintly, then gently stroked their heads with both hands. Although Duke, who was not yet proficient in controlling souls, would occasionally let his palms pass through their bodies, no one cared about this somewhat comical scene at the moment.

Duke comforted the girls and said softly:

"Alright, let's go home now, back to our own world."

Chapter 430 Die Again

Returning to another floating city in a parallel world is not difficult.

Even if Duke and the others can't find Ida and get her help, Amber can still lead them away from here. Before crossing parallel worlds, she couldn't travel between them, just like in the Babel Turtle Soup game, she could only move freely within the memory world, but couldn't leave the Turtle Soup game.

Parallel worlds are different from ordinary interdimensional travel.

But it is different now.

Amber used the Time Arcane a second time, allowing her future self to control her body. She also received the Gate of Truth's inheritance once more and even experienced the feeling of becoming a legend firsthand through the Mythical Armor. Although this parallel world journey wasn't long, Amber was undoubtedly the second most successful among them—the one who gained the most was undoubtedly Guangbao, who successfully became a legend beside her.

Now she can easily take Duke, Cecil, and Blackie back to another floating city.

However, Amber still had some concerns.

"Is it really okay to go back like this? We didn't complete the task Carol gave us, did we? Not only did we fail to bring the little prince back, but we also ruined Duke's health. Is the floating city really okay?" Amber asked worriedly while preparing to cast a spell. "Duke, will the floating city just explode when we go back?"

Cecil, who was standing guard nearby, tilted her head, somewhat confused. She had been sent to the parallel world by Ida a little earlier, before the Tree of Life had even grown. Naturally, Guangbao knew even less about what happened afterward. She asked, somewhat bewildered, "Why did it explode?"

Amber pulled her to her side and whispered a few words, briefly explaining the situation to Cecil. Her little face immediately scrunched up, and she exclaimed in alarm, "This won't do! Duke, we can't go back!"

It's understandable that Amber and Cecil were so nervous, after all, Duke didn't take the little prince back as Carol asked, but instead killed him and blew up the floating city in the parallel world.

“You don’t need to be so nervous, the situation isn’t that serious.” But compared to the nervous girls, Duke seemed much more relaxed, after all, he knew more than them—he had once spoken with Amber from the future through the Star Map System and learned some things about Carol from her, “Even if we do nothing, or even die in a parallel world and can’t go back, Carol won’t let the floating city be destroyed.”

"I see." Cecil immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then laughed heartily—she believed whatever Duke said. "Yes, Carol is a very capable person. Let's go back quickly then."

Amber glanced at her carefree older sister, Guangbao, and sighed helplessly. But since Duke had said such a thing, she would no longer worry and continued to prepare for traveling to the parallel world... Like Cecil, she also trusted Duke's judgment.

But in fact, things went even more smoothly than they had imagined, after all...

"Who said I didn't complete the task Carol assigned me?"

Duke didn't say this aloud, after all, he wasn't sure yet, and if he said it now, what if the situation was different from what he thought? But regarding the Little Prince, Duke was at least 70% certain.

The more crucial issue is what he's lacking right now.

Duke needs a body.

"Okay, I'm ready."

The busy Amber finally stopped what she was doing. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, smiled, and reached out her hand. She took Duke's hand with one hand and grabbed Cecil's collar with the other. Then she let Blackie hug her head and said happily, "Let's go home."

……

During his journey through parallel worlds, Duke was unable to remain conscious. He felt a moment of disorientation, in which time itself became blurred and ambiguous. He didn't know how much time had passed when the system's notification sounds rang out one after another, jolting Duke awake.

[Limited-time event: Beyond the Mirror.]

[Ended.]

[During the limited-time event, engaging in intimate interactions with the witch you've successfully befriended will give you a chance to obtain special items.]