Mercury Snake? The Angel King loyal to the True Creator?
That Will Auceptin, Alan's unborn child, was most likely evading His pursuit before!
Thinking about it this way, the True Creator's forces in Backlund clearly weren't limited to just Mr. A and his subordinates. It's just that the two Mercury Snakes were locked in a struggle for the Sequence 0 spot, which had completely occupied the Angel King's attention, leaving Him unable to handle other matters...
At that thought, Klein couldn't help but feel a little lucky. After all, he had once boldly shown off in front of Mr. A from the Aurora Order and used that opportunity to digest the Magician potion... Not getting caught by the big boss behind the scenes was truly the Goddess's protection!
At this moment, the Tarot members snapped out of their shock from Mr. Tower's revelations. "Justice" Audrey even asked on behalf of "Sun," "What is the Mercury Snake? Is it the name of a potion?"
Upon hearing this, Ebner was just about to respond when a "tok tok tok" knocking sound echoed... It was the sign that Mr. Fool was about to speak.
The Tarot members immediately straightened up, casting their eyes toward the powerful and mysterious figure at the head of the long bronze table, hidden behind the grey fog.
Fool withdrew his finger from tapping the edge of the table and chuckled lightly as he spoke, "The Mercury Snake, also known as the Snake of Fate, is Sequence 1 of the Monster pathway... Heh, to think He was just a step away from going further."
Sequence 1 of the Monster pathway? The names "Mercury Snake" and "Snake of Fate" are so evocative! I wonder what the name of Sequence 1 for the Spectator pathway is... maybe something dragon-related? "Justice" Audrey's mind immediately began to make various connections.
At the same time, "Hanged Man" Alger, while marveling at having learned another Sequence 1 name, was thinking on a deeper level. For instance... what exactly did Mr. Fool mean by "just a step away from going further"?
The "He" in Mr. Fool's words must be the Mercury Snake mentioned by Mr. Tower, that Angel King loyal to the True Creator!
And I can now confirm that Mr. Fool and the True Creator are mortal enemies... So, could it be that this Angel King's attempt to go further was stopped by Mr. Fool or one of His followers?
I remember the Monster pathway was originally controlled by the School of Life, but they've recently descended into chaos... could that be connected to all this?
Could it be that the Angel King ambushed the upper echelons of the School of Life to seize something that could help Him advance, and in desperation they turned to Mr. Fool and received His protection?
Caught in a flood of thoughts, "Hanged Man" Alger turned his body slightly and lowered his head again to look toward the head of the long bronze table.
Only this time, he didn't dare look directly. He could only glance at the edges, hoping to see if anything had changed, if Mr. Fool had gained a greater ability to influence reality.
But Fool remained as always, mysterious and unreadable to Alger...
He suddenly gave a self-deprecating chuckle and bowed his head even lower. I actually dared to hope I could peer into a great being capable of foiling an Angel King's schemes? Looks like after taking down a minor pirate group backed by the Secret Order, I've gotten a bit too full of myself...
The rest of the Tarot members, after the brief surprise of learning a Sequence 1 title, each gradually understood the deeper implication in Mr. Fool's words.
Mr. Fool not only knew the Angel King who painted murals in the True Creator's temple, He had even thwarted that being's plot in the recent past!
Only Ebner managed to hold back his urge to complain, preventing himself from reacting too strongly, though he still couldn't help but mutter internally, Klein's talent for squeezing himself into every major scene is getting more and more polished... even this turned into his moment to shine?
"Sun" Derrick, when Mr. Fool knocked on the table earlier, had assumed He would take the chance to explain how to break free from the fate loop. But once the initial excitement faded, he realized that the great being didn't continue on the topic, and inevitably felt a bit disappointed.
Still, he quickly adjusted his attitude and thought, No, I can't always rely on Mr. Fool... The fact that He acknowledged Mr. Tower's guess about the Angel King is already a huge hint. The rest is up to me... maybe this is a test!
With newfound clarity, Derrick thought for a moment, then turned to look at Ebner. "Mr. Tower, what do you think is the key to escaping the fate loop?"
As for what the "fate loop" was, he could already guess from the name and his own past experiences.
Ebner thought it over but didn't answer directly. Instead, he threw the question back to Alger. After all, this world had far too many unexpected "butterflies" now. He couldn't guarantee that the original solution from the novel would still work to break the fate loop. He needed to witness the situation personally before making a judgment...
Moreover, he was more interested in the gear-covered book Derrick mentioned—one that was not affected by the fate loop.
After pretending to hesitate for a few seconds, he looked at Alger beside him and asked, "I remember you mentioned after the Damir monster siege incident that you were ordered to hunt down an Aurora Order 'Listener' at sea. Was his goal for going out to sea to search for the True Creator's sanctuary?"
"Hanged Man" Alger was momentarily stunned by the question. He cast a curious glance at "Tower," then answered in a deep voice, "Yes, I also noticed the coincidence in this matter... That Listener also brought his child along, and the child's age is very close to the Jack that 'Sun' described."
This information could only be found within the Church of Storms. While it wasn't exactly classified, no outsiders would go out of their way to look into it... How did Mr. Tower know? Could it be that the Church has an informant working for Tower? Alger pondered this with some unease.
On the other side, before Ebner could reply, "Sun" Derrick asked in surprise, "You mean that Jack came to the area around Silver City from your world?"
After a brief pause, an unexpected hint of joy bloomed in his heart.
Because that meant the area where Silver City was located wasn't completely sealed off. There was still a chance to connect with the normal world where Hanged Man and Justice lived!
"I can only say it's possible." Hanged Man responded vaguely at first, then offered some advice—like suggesting that "Sun" try to casually mention Sunia Sea, the Loen Kingdom, and port cities in front of the boy... Of course, he soon shifted the conversation to subtly coax out more specific information.
That was exactly why Ebner had redirected the question to Hanged Man. As the "honest" and "reliable" Mr. Tower, he couldn't risk giving off the impression of deceiving a child, especially in front of the female members of the Tarot Club—aside from Justice, the rest were people he personally knew...
Besides, behavior like manipulating, deceiving, or taking advantage of a "student" might not suit the role of a Mysticism Magister.
After listening to Hanged Man's words, "Sun" Derrick quickly caught on and immediately sought Mr. Fool's permission. Once granted, he manifested scenes from memory—highlighting the important moments of their exploration in fragmented images—and offered brief explanations as needed for Hanged Man, Tower, Judgment, Justice, Magician, Temperance, and World to see.
The gloomy, oppressive style, the ever-present sense of crisis, and the eerie developments captivated Justice Audrey and Magician Fors, both unconsciously leaning forward in their seats.
Judgment and Temperance, though not outwardly expressive, didn't share the romantic ideas of the other two women. They simply thought the place was far too dangerous. If it had been them, they'd have pulled out long ago.
World—Klein—while quietly marveling at how Silver City managed to endure under such conditions, also carefully calculated his spiritual consumption. After all, the Tarot Club had only just begun. He didn't want to end the meeting before even getting a chance to read Roselle's diary.
Good thing I'm already a Faceless. My spirituality now is far beyond what it used to be. Otherwise, I might not have been able to bear the drain... Even so, I can't let 'Sun' freely project endless images... Thank goodness he's never seen a movie. If he started projecting frame by frame to make a motion picture, I'd be overwhelmed already.
Leaving Klein's inner thoughts aside, Ebner focused his attention on the brass gear book that "Sun" first obtained when encountering the little boy and asked Derrick to enlarge its image after finishing his explanation.
"This book has a very 'Steam' Church feel to it," said Magician Fors, a follower of the God of Steam and Machinery, as she was the first to speak.
"But judging by the wear on its surface... this brass gear book must be at least a few centuries old..." Judgment Hugh frowned.
"What's the problem with that?" Magician Fors asked in confusion.
"The God of Steam and Machinery only acquired that title, and the gear only became one of His symbols, during the Roselle era about a century ago." Justice Audrey explained a few things to her from the other side.
I see... Fors suddenly felt a little guilty, since she'd never properly read the Codex of Steam and Machinery. Her belief seemed more like a lifestyle habit than true faith.
"The God of Steam and Machinery was originally known as the God of Craftsmen... To find a symbol introduced in the Roselle era on an artifact from centuries ago really is odd... Of course, it's also possible that the book isn't actually as old as it looks. After all, the environment in the Forsaken Land is quite different from the outside world..." Hanged Man Alger explained and speculated at once. Then, recalling the task "Tower" had entrusted "Sun" with at the last Tarot meeting, he turned and asked, "Mr. Tower, do you happen to know the origin of this book?"
(End of Chapter)