Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 515 Dark Angel and Lovia

Luze recalled the attack on the ship that day.

"Now that I think about it, the Celestial Cult may have received a divine message from the Mother Tree, which is why they lured my crew away and left a hidden erosion within him, intending to slowly corrupt me during the voyage."

This kind of insidious, gradual pollution is terrifying because if the level is too low, it might not trigger the tides' automatic resistance; by the time one notices something is wrong, it's too late. But who could have imagined that the "dice of probability" would unexpectedly awaken and roll a 1, bringing misfortune and prematurely detonating this hidden bomb?
Lu Ze couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity and comicality—from this perspective, the misfortune brought by the dice was actually a kind of fortune?
Fate is a truly unpredictable thing.

"Is there anything else worth mentioning about the Mother Tree of Desire?" He collected his thoughts and continued to ask the Hermit.

"Have."

Cattleya frowned and thought for a moment before slowly saying, "The organization of the Mother Tree of Faith is the most unpopular. Not only the Church of the True God, but also evil god sects such as the Aurora Society and the Spirit Cult are resisting them. I have even heard that a saint from the Spirit Cult once personally took action and destroyed a stronghold of the Rose School in the Southern Continent."

In other words, although the righteous gods and the evil gods fight each other, neither of them likes the "Mother Tree of Desire" as a deity.

The people at the Tarot meeting digested this knowledge, and everyone gained something and made some guesses.

After a moment, Derrick, who had been silent all along, finally spoke, "During this time, our Silver City dispatched a small team to explore the area surrounding the Giants' Court."

His brief opening immediately attracted everyone's attention.

The events on the Sunia Sea, the fanatical cults, and the evil gods were not topics that the [Sun], trapped in the "Forsaken Land," could discuss, so he had remained silent until now.

"I followed the exploration team led by the 'Chief' to Afternoon Town. This is the only way to the 'Giant's Court,' and also the gateway separating myth and reality."

He omitted unnecessary details and focused on sharing what he saw and heard in the afternoon town, including the town's dark and desolate atmosphere and how he discovered an underground altar.

“I recognized three names and their corresponding titles on that altar: ‘Angel of Fate’ Urolius, ‘Red Angel’ Medici, and ‘Dark Angel’ Sasriel.”

"The Sun," Derrick said.

"Dark Angel" Sasriel?!

Upon hearing the last name and title, Luze's body twitched slightly. This was the third time he had heard this name; the first two times were from the three-in-one evil spirit of the "Red Angel." It had told Luze that this Angel King had a profound connection with the illusory tide within Luze.

"Mr. Temperance's reaction is a bit excessive. Has he heard the name 'Sassriel' somewhere before?"

[Justice] Audrey noticed Luze's subtle movements and secretly guessed what was going on in her mind.

Derrick, oblivious to Luzer's odd behavior, continued his narration. Their group entered the temple and encountered a praying figure. The figure repeatedly confessed, saying he had witnessed the betrayal of the angel kings, and that calamity had descended upon the earth, engulfing everything.
A chill ran down everyone's spine as they listened, as if through Derrick's description they were vaguely seeing a doomsday scenario from ancient times.

“I said, you all seem to know these three names.”

"The Moon," Emlyn couldn't help but ask, "Can someone explain this to me?"

He joined the Tarot Club after the New Year and didn't receive any relevant knowledge. While the Hermit, Cattleya, joined even later, she had a vague idea of ​​what was going on due to her own occult knowledge.

"That's a legend from Silver City."

[Justice] Audrey enthusiastically shared terms such as "Redemption Rose" and "Creator of the Silver City" with them, leaving the two stunned and deeply shocked.

"However, while we already knew about Urolius and Medici, this is the first time we've heard of Sasriel."

She said it intentionally or unintentionally, glancing at [Temperance] out of the corner of her eye.

However, the guidance of [Justice] failed to work. Lu Ze had no intention of sharing the secrets related to his cheat ability, but continued to urge [Sun], "Is there any other information?"

"The chief asked the man who the Angel Kings were, and when he mentioned the name of the fourth Angel King, he was suddenly engulfed by strange flames."

"The Sun," Derrick said regretfully.

They were silenced?

Lu Ze frowned and thought for a moment. "Are you still in Afternoon Town?"

He asked about the sun.

"It's still there. We've only just established a foothold and haven't fully explored it yet. The chief's idea is to completely clear the area and turn it into an advance camp."

"The Sun," Derrick replied.

This is the preliminary preparation for exploring the Giants' Court.

"Share any discoveries promptly."

Lu Ze said.

“Okay. Oh, right, Mr. Temperance, there’s one more thing.”

Derrick was about to agree when he immediately remembered what she had asked him to do earlier. "You told me to keep an eye on Elder Lovia and to tell you as soon as I notice anything. She has indeed been acting strangely these past few days; she even came to chat with me on her own initiative."

He was referring to Elder Lovia's question about whether he had successfully advanced in rank.

Lu Ze thought for a moment.

That "shepherd" guessed I was on the Ascension Sequence 4. Well, that's to be expected. However, as a follower of the true Creator, her behavior towards me was less hostile and more concerned.
There's something wrong with her!

Lu Ze looked at the sun.

"I remember you said that Lovia's previous state was extremely crazy?"

“Yes, Elder Lovia used to be very unstable. Her face was either crying or laughing, or she would mutter to herself. But ever since she went to the temple of the ‘Fallen Creator’, she has returned to normal.”

Lu Ze narrowed his eyes slightly.

Her unstable demeanor, alternating between crying and laughing, seemed to suggest that the unruly sheep within her were affecting her spirit. However, after believing in the true Creator, her spirituality stabilized, allowing her to suppress those sheep-like souls—this now seems to make sense.

Lu Ze, who had also been a "shepherd," secretly made his own deductions.

In other words, she might not have been a believer in the true Creator before exploring the temple? Was she not corrupted by the true Creator's murmurs during her "Listener" phase?
The "Forsaken Land" where Silver City is located is a special place, and such a thing might really happen.

Lu Ze was somewhat surprised by his own bold guess.

Just then, Alger, the Hanged Man, who had been listening in the dark, suddenly spoke up.

"Wait a minute, you mean, Lovia was with you?"

"Uh, yeah."

"And you still came here to attend the Tarot meeting, even though you were in the same camp as her?"

Alger's gaze grew increasingly deep, and his questioning words stunned [The Sun].

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The land forsaken by God, a temporary camp outside town in the afternoon.

Derrick lay in his assigned tent, eyes closed, seemingly asleep. The tent was dimly lit, a safety measure to ensure constant illumination and prevent the emergence of monsters in the darkness.

And in the long shadow cast by the Derrick lights, Lovia's head slowly emerged.

She watched Derrick silently, who was completely unsuspecting.

(End of this chapter)