[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-diary-of-a-dead-wizard":3,"chapter-diary-of-a-dead-wizard-diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-264":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Diary of a Dead Wizard",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1380785,1828,"Chapter 264: I Set That Fire","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-264",264,"\u003Cp>Saul backed away slowly, but he wasn't planning to leave just yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His current principle of action was simple: as long as the diary doesn't say no, then no one else gets to say no!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penny “watched” him retreat, but made no other move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as Saul reached the doorway, he suddenly flung his hand toward Penny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two black tendrils, slightly different in shape, shot out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One aimed at Penny’s head, the other at her shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the moment the tendrils touched her body, Penny suddenly vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along with her disappearance, the sound of rushing tides from outside also abruptly stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul wasn’t worried that he had attacked the real Penny—he hadn’t sensed any trace of a living person on her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Penny’s illusion disappeared, Little Algae braked hard and came to a stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the spell Frost Touch continued and smashed through the small cabinet where Penny’s illusion had stood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to the spell’s freezing property, the cabinet didn't scatter into debris. Instead, it froze in place, shattered but still intact in form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why didn’t you listen to me? Why did you have to come in here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, the voice of the old madman came from the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turning around, Saul saw the ragged figure of the madman sighing heavily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no trace of life on this person either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Another illusion?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having learned from before, Saul didn't waste magic to attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the fake Penny could talk, then this fake madman should be able to as well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He smiled, slowly approaching as he asked, “Did everyone who came into this town die?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man’s eyes filled with sorrow. “Yes. All dead. No one escaped.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who killed them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man froze for a moment, eyes going blank as if trying to recall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It was… the red tide…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The red tide again?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as those words left the madman’s lips, the sound of waves returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, it was noticeably closer than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul narrowed his eyes but still couldn’t see any attached soul on the old man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one who was supposed to have slaughtered the residents of Grind Sail Town was Mochi Mochi, but it seemed even he hadn’t known about the blood-red tide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did someone come after Mochi Mochi left and turn this dead land into a breeding ground for curses?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know where in town I might still find some Grinding Sound Fruit?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grinding Sound Fruit?” The old man repeated, “What’s Grinding Sound Fruit?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul frowned, “So this illusion only knows what happened before its death?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old madman’s eyes drifted again. Suddenly, he began urging Saul once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go. Leave. If you don’t go now, it’ll be too late.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul asked several other questions, but all the madman would say was for him to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Running out of patience, Saul asked coldly, “If there are no living people left here… then what are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The madman froze, his expression going hazy again. But this time, he didn’t recover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I told them not to deal with barbarians, not to…” he mumbled, swaying as he staggered away. “The whole village was destroyed… destroyed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His running posture was strange—one hand held behind his back as if carrying something, the other waving frantically like signaling for help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where is he going now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul frowned and gave chase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man seemed to hear his footsteps. He glanced back, his expression conflicted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, as if tripping on thin air despite being on level ground, he stumbled, barely managing to regain his footing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, he never looked back and quickly disappeared out of the alley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This guy… Saul’s suspicion deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This madman had always been mysterious—he’d evaded Little Algae’s detection, knew the secrets of Grind Sail Town, and kept vanishing and reappearing unpredictably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul had already found him strange before. Not quite mad, not quite sane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now even his illusion was just as weird.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul couldn’t resist following a few more steps out of the courtyard. But the moment he stepped outside, the madman was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it was possible his illusion had simply vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the moment the madman disappeared, the sound of crashing waves halted again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Illusions disappearing at random… that's normal, I guess.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With both the madman and Penny gone, Saul decided not to linger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little Algae, get me onto the roof.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Obediently, Little Algae lifted him onto the rooftop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This courtyard wasn’t particularly tall, but it was enough for Saul to see the nearby blocks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The house of a wizard apprentice has to be the most luxurious one. Saul spun in place, scanning the town for the grandest-looking building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the next moment, he froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a street nearby, he spotted a third person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Aunt Jenny—the one who seemed warm-hearted on the surface but was cold at her core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was huddled in the corner of an alley, clutching a black shadow tightly in her arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul could clearly hear her terrified voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Please… don’t do this!” Jenny was shaking her head desperately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is this the moment before she died?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Saul narrowed his eyes, he realized to his surprise—this Jenny didn’t seem to be an illusion, but a soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why didn’t I sense any soul nearby when I came through earlier\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is the curse over this town hiding the movements of the soul?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This curse is really strange. Is it just a curse… or something more aggressive?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul scanned the area cautiously, but didn’t spot any other souls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he was about to ignore Aunt Jenny, her wailing suddenly grew louder, filled with fury and despair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How could you be so cruel?! Jasmine is only twelve! Please! Let me take her place—let me be the sacrifice instead!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jasmine?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul remembered Jenny shouting in the crowd earlier that she didn’t have a daughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it be that after I left, someone came for a girl she was close to?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As that thought crossed his mind, Jenny’s agonized cry rang out again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No—!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without hesitation, Saul leapt directly from the rooftop to the alley where she was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just a few steps, he reached the crazed Aunt Jenny and noticed—this version of her was much younger than the one he'd seen before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was kneeling on the ground, staring blankly toward the alley’s entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black shadow she had been clutching was now gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in that instant, Saul understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This isn’t a vision of her death… it’s the most painful memory of her life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That Jasmine must have been her friend, or perhaps her sister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So while Jenny had no daughter, that didn’t mean she had no grief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul reached out toward the collapsed Jenny. As his arm moved, a nearly invisible phantom needle extended from his fingertips and pierced her soul form, injecting a bit of starlight energy into her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jenny wasn’t under his control, but that didn’t stop him from mimicking what he’d seen in the mental realm and giving her some power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an experiment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At worst, he’d lose a bit of soul energy. At best… he might get something unexpected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, this time, the result was a good one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dazed Jenny, staring into the alley, suddenly became much livelier after receiving Saul’s energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes slowly turned toward him, as if only now realizing he was there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you… who are you?” Jenny vaguely sensed that Saul had helped her. But when she looked at this gray-skinned boy, he felt strangely familiar—yet she couldn’t quite place him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know where Grinding Sound Fruit is usually stored in town? Or where those two wizard lords lived?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul didn’t bother with identities. He had no idea how long the energy he gave her would keep her lucid, so he got straight to the point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grinding Sound Fruit…” Jenny repeated, going hazy again the moment she heard the word. “It’s not a good thing. Don’t look for it. Don’t…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, she leaned in so close their noses nearly touched. Her face filled Saul’s vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll tell you a secret… I set that fire.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, she broke into a twisted smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more she laughed, the wider her mouth stretched—until it swallowed up the rest of her features. In the end, her entire face was nothing but a gaping maw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1381,"2026-06-05T22:22:08.872Z",1,"novelbin.me","7a2d915796d9a8a1bf5f19e94ce1f4a31f00e497b63394d8b4a3cf9995fafcdb","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-265","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-263",1037,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdiary-of-a-dead-wizard-cover.jpg"]