Everyone was taken aback upon hearing the "hermit's" reminder.
Even Klein, the "Fool" who initially warned everyone, was wondering to himself: "The Witch Cult" was involved in this matter?
The next second, he suddenly thought of the lady wearing the gemstone ring.
Klein felt that this woman was both familiar and dangerous!
It was she who killed Talim, the noble riding instructor, with a curse.
Moreover, this woman appears to be Prince Edsack's lover.
"Justice," Audrey asked, "Mr. Hermit, what does 'the saintess of the Witch Cult' mean?"
"Based on some information I've gathered before," Odis said, "the Holy Maiden of the 'Witch Cult' is at least Sequence 3!"
Everyone held their breath briefly. In this era where angels rarely appeared, Sequence 3 meant the top combat power of this era.
The appearance of a "saint" from the "Witch Cult" in Backlund was certainly not for shopping or leisure.
"The Magician" Fors then asked, "Is the tragedy that Mr. 'World' spoke of related to the 'Witch Cult'?"
"I don't know." Odis smiled. "There are too few clues right now, and it's impossible to guess their plans."
Things became even more confusing, and the other members had a bad feeling, but they didn't know where the disaster was coming from.
Klein thought to himself: This guy's information network is really impressive. With his cooperation, this matter has indeed raised everyone's awareness.
However, "if you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way," so he manipulated "the world" to raise its head and look sincerely at the head of the mottled long table: "Respected Mr. Fool, your followers in Backlund must have noticed something, right?"
All eyes immediately turned to the long bronze table behind.
Klein leaned back slightly and said casually, "Edessa Augustus."
Audrey's mind was immediately filled with doubt: Prince Edsac? What danger could he be in? And this matter had even caught the attention of Mr. Fool! This meant that Prince Edsac must be involved in something very serious!
Fors frowned as well: Augustus… judging from the surname, he's a member of the royal family. I vaguely remember him as a prince. What dangerous thing is he up to?
The Fool's reminder brought silence to the hall. After a dozen seconds, no one wanted to continue the conversation, and Klein brought the gathering to a close.
...
Back in the real world, Odis stared at the ceiling for a while, lost in thought: "What was bound to happen has finally happened."
He got up and prepared a "gifting ceremony," and received the reward for this tarot gathering: £650.
After giving a perfunctory thank you to "The Fool," Odis began preparing for her next move.
Around 4:30 p.m., Odis recited the title of the "Mysterious Queen": "Holy Spirit who pursues knowledge..."
"I'm going to the East District at 10 PM tonight to draw a magic circle. Please provide some protection and conceal my movements."
A few seconds later, Odis saw the holy figure of the "Mysterious Queen" again in her mind: "Yes."
On this day, Odis ate dinner early, then wrote several letters, but did not send them, and then waited for the time agreed upon with the "mysterious queen".
...
In the land forsaken by God, in the ruins of a city that once believed in the "true creator".
The sixth exploration of Silver City began. Derrick, recalling the discussions at the Tarot meeting, carefully followed the group through the mottled walls and into the half-collapsed temple.
Here, Derrick saw the murals on the wall again. Because of the "Hermit's" reminder, he carefully examined the murals and found the parts that corresponded to the "Hermit's" information.
He first saw a huge, pitch-black cross with a shadow hanging upside down on it, the shape of which was difficult to discern.
Behind the shadows lay a desolate and lifeless plain.
In the plains, a long procession walked, their destination the cross and the upside-down figure.
In this procession, some members were still kneeling on the ground in devout prayer, while others had already stood up and were walking forward against the strong wind.
This is the great retreat that Mr. "The Hermit" was talking about!
Derrick thought to himself: It's hard to imagine that these people came here from the outside world!
In his view, this was incomprehensible. After all, the outside world was so wonderful, why would anyone come to the "forsaken land" to suffer?
At that moment, Derrick noticed that at the very front of the line was a tall, thin man with silver hair that reached his vest.
The man had gentle features, his head was lowered, and he had layers of radiant wings behind him.
Angel!
Derrick stopped before the angel and saw at the angel's feet a winding, shimmering river.
The river kept turning and winding, eventually returning to its source!
Derrick remarked: "This matches the information provided by Mr. Hermit again. This angel must be Ouro, the Angel of Fate, and this river represents the cycle."
However, the "Hermit" also pointed out that the key to breaking free from this cycle lies with the little boy.
After observing the murals, the exploration team arrived at the back of the temple, in a hall with an altar.
On the altar here, there is an inverted cross, and on the cross, a blurry statue of a figure with only a pair of eerie eyes visible.
Soon, they found Jack, a blond boy, huddled in the shadows.
The other person weakly kept saying, "Help me, help me..."
While Chief Colin was still pondering how to handle the situation, Derrick asked, "How can we save you?"
The little boy, Jack, looked excited: "Help me! Take me home!"
Derrick asked, both curious and fearful, "Where is your home?"
Colin gave Derrick a deep look, then listened quietly to their conversation.
The little boy, Jack, weakly raised his hand and said, "My home is in Enmat Port."
Derrick was taken aback at first, because he had never heard of this place name at the Tarot meeting.
But then he realized: judging from the word "port," Jack doesn't belong here! He's probably from outside!
For a moment, joy spread across Derrick's face, but he quickly concealed his excitement and looked around at his companions.
Fortunately, although his companions were all very alert, they were still somewhat unaware of the little boy's appearance and did not notice Derrick's expression.
Then, Derrick looked at the chief, who seemed oblivious to his earlier reaction... as if...
"This isn't the time to think about that," Derrick said, taking a deep breath before asking, "How did you, or all of you, get here?"
Jack looked on with a nostalgic expression: "My father and I first traveled by boat, then met up with his companions and continued on the boat. After a very, very big storm, the rest of us went ashore and followed the direction that the Lord's gaze was looking in, and we came all the way here."
Follow the direction indicated by the Lord's gaze?
Chief Colin looked at the statue on the altar, trying to discern where it was gazing.
The other members of the exploration team also roughly realized that if the little boy wasn't a monster, he was likely from the outside world.
Colin was now almost certain that if they could reverse the process by which Jack and his crew got here, they could find the beach and their landing point.
He quickly realized that the statue was looking in the opposite direction: the ruins of the "Giant's Court"!
Colin's pupils suddenly contracted; that place had once been inhabited by the ancient god "King of Giants," Ormir.
He couldn't help but wonder: How did they get through there?
But after a brief moment of excitement, Colin quickly calmed down and continued to watch Derrick and the little boy's interaction.
At this moment, Derrick noticed that there seemed to be liquid seeping from the boy's clothes around his abdomen.
He asked cautiously, "Are you hurt?"
Jack lowered his head: "It has some unsightly growths..."
As he spoke, he pulled open his shirt, revealing his abdomen.
There, embedded are two eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
After a brief moment of surprise, Derrick immediately realized that the face looked very much like the angel in the mural!
really!
Sure enough, the clue was on this little boy!
He immediately whispered to Chief Colin, "Your Excellency, the face on his abdomen looks very much like the angel in the mural."
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
Colin paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "This makes some connections to my mind."
He said, "We studied that mural for a long time and finally found some clues in some ancient books."
"When the God of the Creator of all things, the God of the All-Knowing and All-Powerful God, looks down upon this world, He is surrounded by many angels. Among them, there are eight leaders of all the angels, who are called the 'Kings of Angels'."
"The King of Angels?" Derrick's tone was a mixture of doubt and delight!
The "King of Angels" mentioned by Mr. "The Hermit"!
Colin continued, "The figure in the mural looks a lot like one of the 'Kings of Angels,' who is called the 'Angel of Fate,' the 'Tail-Eating' Urolius."
Derrick struggled to contain his excitement: It matched perfectly! It matched exactly the information provided by Mr. "The Hermit"!
So the problem we need to solve now is how to use the clues from this little boy to break out of the current cycle.
Chief Colin continued, "This means we may have stepped into a river from which there is no way out, a river that is connected from beginning to end."
"Fortunately, this should only be some power left behind by that 'Angel of Fate'."
Derrick responded in his mind: It's not "possible," it's certain.
After Colin finished speaking, he thought for a moment, then took out a small, dark red metal bottle, unscrewed the cap, and drank the medicine inside.
His light blue eyes quickly faded to silver, reflecting the image of the little boy Jack.
Then Colin drew a straight sword and smeared it with golden grease.
Jack noticed Colin's actions, and his expression changed.
Before he could speak, Colin raised his hand, and a bright light descended, illuminating the hall. The little boy's shadow suddenly became very dense, churning like boiling water.
"The Demon Hunter" Colin lunged forward, plunging his straight sword into the shadow and embedding it deep into the ground.
After a piercing scream, the human face on his abdomen disappeared, leaving only an empty cavity where writhing internal organs could be seen.
At the same time, Derrick felt as if something around him had suddenly and silently shattered, and his spirituality realized that he had broken free from the "cycle".
...
Backlund, 66 Rose Street.
Around nine o'clock at night, Odis put on a cotton coat, a thick hat, and brought the necessary spiritual materials.
At exactly ten o'clock, Bernadette's voice came through the air: "I'll take you to the East District. Which street do you want to go to?"
"Black Palm Street." Odis had planned this all along.
This street is located on the westernmost side of the eastern district.
Then Odis added, "Please conceal my presence for now."
Bernadette grunted in response, and suddenly an antique full-length mirror appeared in front of Odis. The mirror's surface seemed to have been frosted, making it impossible to see Odis's reflection.
In the hazy mirror, it seems as if some shadows are moving around.
Odis thought to herself: Could this be the legendary "magic mirror"?
At that moment, Bernadette's voice rang out in the air: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, please take this gentleman to Black Palm Street."
Ripples immediately appeared on the mirror surface, as if it had suddenly turned into water.
Odis exclaimed, "Amazing magic, or rather, a magical 'reproduction'!"
After saying that, without Bernadette's guidance, he jumped into the mirror.
The mirror reflected a pitch-black world. Odis could sense that the space was vast, seemingly without boundaries, yet her vision was limited.
The darkness was extremely oppressive, as if many terrifying beasts were lurking within, and a few of them might rush out at any moment to devour Odis.
Moreover, his intuition quickly warned him, causing him to withdraw his gaze and abandon the idea of continuing to look into the distance.
Odis immediately made a judgment: This is the "world in the mirror"!
Before he could continue thinking, a powerful suction force suddenly came, and when Odis realized what was happening, he found himself back in the real world, in a mirror-like surface with ripples on the water.
This is a long, dirty, and dilapidated street, where many homeless people, like zombies, walk slowly.
Some were too exhausted to walk any further and had just sat down or lay down to rest when the patrolling police quickly spotted them and used sticks to make them stand up and walk again.
According to the newly enacted law, streets are public spaces, and their purpose is for walking. People can walk on the streets, but they cannot sleep there.
Some homeless people, despite being beaten, hurried on their way, but one homeless man never got up again.
In just a short while, he died in his winter slumber.
There was no first aid, no medical personnel, not even a towel to cover his face; only swearing police officers.
Odis watched all this quietly, then silently turned around, took out spiritual materials and a pen, and began to draw a magic circle.
At this moment, his body had become light, as if he had become a spirit. People around him could no longer see him, nor could they see the magic circle he had drawn.
Odis was painting a little slowly today. He suddenly began to question his plan: this place was like hell, and saving them was like forcing them to continue suffering in hell.