466 Tail-devourer (2/2)

It wasn't painted nor was it made of gems. They were real eyes, a real nose, and a real mouth in the purest sense of the word. Furthermore, they didn't seem to belong to one particular face but that of three people.

All of a sudden, Derrick imagined a scene in which Jack had used the remnants of his companions after eating them—their eyes, nose, and mouth—to form a strange face on his chest.

The face was gentle and indifferent, giving Derrick an inexplicable feeling of familiarity.

It took only a second or two for Derrick to figure out the reason for the familiarity.

The face was very much like the angel in the mural above them—the silver-haired angel with his feet over the circular river!

Sure enough, the reason we keep repeating the exploration is because of 'Him!' A thought struck Derrick, and he blurted out a single word, as though he was going to blurt the incantation to extricate himself from the predicament.

”Rose Redemption!” he solemnly shouted.

Jack raised his head and stared at him, his mouth slowly grinning wide before reaching his ears.

”I'm so hungry…

”So hungry…”

… Derrick froze as he saw a fierce battle ensue.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself sitting by the bonfire in the campsite again.

Rose Redemption isn't the incantation… He began to reflect deeply.

The seventh exploration soon began. Derrick, who had made an attempt, no longer behaved strangely, but he proactively sought to investigate the Rose Redemption mural.

As usual, the exploratory team entered the underground hall with the altar and the deity statue. They found the obviously strange little boy, Jack.

After a similar conversation, Derrick once again saw the human face that had been pieced together with the facial features of other people.

Now experienced, he didn't take any actions which could agitate the boy. He lowered his voice and said to Demon Hunter Colin, ”Your Excellency, the face on his chest is very similar to the angel in the mural above us. It's the angel with silver hair whose feet are above a river that is connected from mouth to source. Yes, the mural which is labeled 'Rose Redemption' at the corner.”

Colin was taken aback at first before he frowned.

As he paid attention and consoled Jack, he sized up Derrick from the corner of his eye.

After a few seconds of silence, he said with a suppressed voice, ”Due to you mentioning this matter, you made me think of certain things.”

Without waiting for Derrick to ask, he continued, ”We've been studying this mural for a very long period of time and only believe that it depicts an angel leading a group of ascetics on a pilgrimage. And perhaps this group's name is Rose Redemption.

”The river, that runs from source to mouth, represents a cycle, and our interpretation of it is that this pilgrimage takes place over and over again.

”And now it may be that it is used to identify the angel.

”That's the idea you gave me, as Amon used to hide in your body.”

”Why?” Derrick was at a loss.

Demon Hunter Colin stared at Jack and said, ”The worm left behind by Amon had the symbol of time, and a circular river is often related to fate. Putting the two together, it reminded me of a few books that mentioned something that I'm unsure of their credibility.

”When the Lord that created everything, the omnipotent and omniscient God, cast his attention on this world, 'He' had many angels around him. Among them were leaders of the angels, 'Kings of Angels' that were closest to being a god. There were a total of eight of them, and some of 'Their' names have already been lost to history. There are still records of others, perhaps simple or detailed.

”Legend has it that the sons of god were among these eight Kings of Angels.

”Among them, two Kings of Angels had the titles 'Angel of Time' and 'Angel of Fate.'”

Derrick was immediately enlightened as he asked for confirmation, ”You believe that Amon is the Angel of Time and that the mural is depicting the Angel of Fate?”

”I can't be sure for now. Only the title Angel of Time has been passed down. As for the Angel of Fate, the records are relatively detailed…” Colin suddenly took a deep breath.

Immediately, he solemnly said, ”Angel of Fate, Tail-devourer Ouroboros.”

…

In the evening, within the Odora family's underground structure.

Emlyn White looked at the iron-black coffin and said to the ancient Sanguine inside, ”Lord Nibbs, I accept the Ancestor's mission!”

Nibbs replied in his aged voice, ”Very good.

”When do you want to begin? Do you have any wishes that remain unfulfilled?”

”…”

Upon hearing Lord Nibbs asking about his last wishes, Emlyn White's calves went limp, and he almost regretted it.

He stiffened his neck and said, ”There's no need!

”We can begin now.”