Sacred Number Eleven

He suddenly recalled his impulse yesterday to advance to Shadow Fiend.

If it weren't for his sudden inspiration yesterday, which led him to upgrade Shadow Fiend to Night Fiend on impulse... Shadow Fiend's power alone might not have been enough to scare Emma away.

Moreover, a Shadow Fiend who is close to advancing and is too tired and exhausted may even fall asleep right there when Iver is being mind-controlled by Emma. In the end, when Iver transforms into Emma's form, it may be completely unaware and know nothing.

—This development is far too unfortunate for the people involved. Just thinking about it makes Iver feel a chill run down his spine.

Yesterday, halfway through his promotion to Shadow Fiend, Iver wondered if he had been too hasty and his preparations too hasty.

If Iver were acting cautiously as usual, he should have prayed to the Candle Master a few days in advance, deciding which Tarot Card to use to seal the Shadow Fiend. Then he would have prepared the cards and stockpiled mana. His mana shortage problem was also easy to solve... Iver only needed to invest his Free Experience into the Demon Scholar a day in advance to further increase his level.

You don't even need to pull it much.

He was only six mana points short to begin with—and the Book of Law could provide five Colorless Mana at the time, so creating the base for the Great Sin Card in advance would save four mana points. Even if Iver didn't miss a single level, as long as he created the Great Sin Card in advance, he would still have enough mana in the end.

As it turned out, he didn't have enough, and he was just a little short.

—If he hadn't suddenly remembered the golden Path Trait that the Twin Mirrors had given him, he might have lost an arm on the spot.

But if he hadn't advanced yesterday, he would be completely unable to resist Emma's mind control today; and Shadow Fiend just happened to have entered the evolutionary state after receiving his last nurturing yesterday morning.

It's all such a coincidence.

And they were all just a little bit off.

He almost got kidnapped by Emma, he almost helped Shadow Fiend complete his evolution, he almost lost an arm...

If we say that the Path Trait are determined by the Twin Mirrors.

So who's left? And why is the Shepherding Method that Iver obtained so effective against both Shadow Demons and Succubi of the Fifth Level?

Why were neither Meg nor Emma, these two top-tier powerhouses from Avalon and Star Antimony, aware of the existence of the Shepherding Method? Why had neither the Shadow Demon, who possessed all the memories of the Child of the Moon Bead, nor the world-renowned elf Yanis, heard of the Art of Shepherding?

As early as the First Level, Iver was able to influence Shadow Demons through the Shepherding Method; during his Promotion Ritual in the Dream Realm, he even used the Shepherding Method to evolve the Iron Hook Demon into the Deformed Limb Demon, and then transferred his own consciousness into the Deformed Limb Demon's body...

Now, at the Third Level, one can even bewitch succubi, who are most skilled at bewitching minds—even if these succubi haven't hatched yet.

Iver still remembered the way she looked at him.

The moment she left Emma, she was stunned and heartbroken, as if she had truly fallen in love.

Previously, Iver had intentionally or unintentionally overlooked the unique aspects of the Art of Shepherding.

Now, amidst the tranquility brought by the "Fire Worship" technique... or rather, under the influence of the Candle Master's power, Iver calmly pondered and finally realized that something was amiss.

Suddenly, a sentence echoed in Iver's mind:

My Sacred Number is 11, which is the number of those who belong to us.

Those were the words spoken in the hallucination by the "Sacred Entity" summoned by Jacob.

Is the Sacred Number eleven?

There are only nine paths in this world, and no matter how the Nine Pillar Gods change, the Sacred Number remains the same. This is because those are the names of nine great rivers, the fundamental origin of the numbers "1" to "9," and the reason why natural numbers possess sacredness.

Even if you include the non-existent number "0," there's only ten, so where does the eleven come from? That's why Iver only remembered what was said at the time, but didn't interpret it later. Because such vague riddles, almost like prophecies, can be interpreted in many ways, and forcing an interpretation could easily mislead one's investigation.

At that very moment, Iver, who was preoccupied with the Shepherding Method, suddenly realized something very simple that he had subconsciously overlooked: 3 + 8 = 11.

—The Sacred Number of the candle-bearer is three, while the Sacred Number of the Serpent Father is eight!

The Shepherding Method requires a balance between the Path of Dedication and the Path of Transcendence, with neither too much nor too little, and both at the same level.

The Shepherd initially shepherded demons who Path of Transcendence, and in the end, he even dragged the Fallen Angel into the Material Realm...

So, who else wants to drag the Fallen Angel into the Material Realm? — The Ring Angel!

And that Sacred Entity is a fragment of the Ring Angel...

"The number of those who belong to us..."

Iver murmured, "The 'people' who belong to 'us'...we are plural, while people are singular."

"That person... isn't he the Shepherd?"

While the powers within the Grimoire represent lost techniques, power cannot arise from nothing. All extraordinary powers in this world, in their ultimate source, originate from the nine rivers of the Dream Realm ...

So...

—Was the * Shepherd's Secret Covenant * written by the Ring Angel?

Even if only one Grimoire can exist within a single language system, Yanis and Emma should not be completely unaware of this.

Unless the copy I received is a unique, one-of-a-kind copy...

Or rather, from the very beginning only "Sacred Entity" were able to use the Shepherding Method!

And if that's really the case—

Then, regarding the other statement, Iver seemed to understand why there had only been one "Shepherd" for so many years.

If the very first Shepherd was also a "Sacred Entity"...

"I am the intoxicating serpent who gives knowledge, joy, and glory! To worship me, you must drink wine and drink the elixir of prophecy that I have told you until you are drunk."

If we consider "knowledge," "happiness," and "glory" as the enhanced power, euphoria, and evolution of the Phantoms' rank and essence, then this seems to refer to the Shepherding Method.

But after reading this far, Iver fell into deep thought again.

If wine represents blood corrupted by Shepherding Method, His prophet refers to His grandfather Jacob, and intoxication refers to the intoxicated state of the demon after receiving shepherding...

... And what was that secret medicine? Although he destroyed the book after reading it once, Iver remembered it clearly—this part was not mentioned in the Shepherd's Secret Covenant.

If that's the case, Iver also understood... why he suddenly had a strong urge to advance to Shadow Fiend yesterday.

—Even though Emma herself might not know it, she is indeed related to her!

Emma is the demonology mentor of the Giant King and the mastermind behind the Noble Red, so she is very likely the master of the Eye Demon Lord. She is a member of the ""Rosy Cross" Society," which is the superior organization of the "Rosy Cross" Society Noble Red.

The Eye Demon is the one who informed the Giant King of the existence of the "Sacred Entity," and the Noble Red entered Glass Island initially for this very purpose.

Without a doubt, it was Emma who initially issued the order to find the "Sacred Entity" in Avalon! The "Sacred Entity" should be a fragment of the Ring Angel, who were also the creators of the Ring Angel Ouroboros Ring Ritual. Emma was a participant and victim of the first generation of the Ouroboros Ring Ritual, while the Eye Demon was precisely a survivor and beneficiary of the first generation of the Ouroboros Ring Ritual; if the Fallen Angel lost their Celestial positions, then the beneficiary would be the Ring Angel Path of Transcendence of Heaven; he also indeed took over the Demon Scholar left behind by the Fallen Angel, arranging the advancement of the Great Sin Scholar and the Great Beast Master onto this career path...

Everything is connected.

The impulse that surged in Iver's heart yesterday might have been the survival instinct of the "Sacred Entity" not wanting to be caught by Emma, or it might have been self-preservation after sensing hostility. That's why Shadow Fiend advanced so hastily... yet just right.

Before he had thought all this through, Iver had developed a strong desire to kill Emma —he hadn't even considered sealing the succubus into Great Sin Beast, but instead turned her into Phantom Demon Card.

That means she doesn't even have the chance to return to the Dream Realm and be resurrected.

Now, Iver has figured it all out. And his mindset hasn't changed.

There's just one more thing.

He wanted to find Emma and get to the bottom of things: what exactly was the Ouroboros Ring Ritual, where did the ""Rosy Cross" Society" come from, why were they summoning the Fallen Angel to the mortal realm, and what were they after...?

How did they, who had no connection to the upper realms, learn that "the Sacred Entity is on Glass Island"?

"The Shepherd's Secret Covenant..."

Iver murmured the name.

This Grimoire brought about the initial change for Iver, leading him down a completely different path from the original Iver.

"You shall celebrate my death, you shall sing my holy song. You shall hold a celebration, you shall raise your scepter high..."

Iver murmured the secret words from the "Pastoral Secrets".

Whose death? Whose holiness?

Is it Iver's, the Shepherd's... or the Ouroboros Ring? — Or perhaps, the Fallen Angel '? Born from death, and born from death.

The Ouroboros Ring, the fallen god.

Use the tangible to nourish the intangible, and use the intangible to nourish the tangible... thus achieving a perpetual cycle.

cycle...

"... Ha, I should have thought of that sooner."

Iver's lips curled up slightly.

He removed his hand from the extinguished candlelight. His injuries had fully healed, and his eyes were bright and confident.

The crow hopped around nervously and landed on Iver's shoulder.

He extended a finger and gently tapped the crow's head, letting out a soft hum.

"I had been wondering before whether I should use the power of the Shepherding Method, which I don't know where it comes from, casually... Now it seems that there is no need to hesitate."

The relationship between the Ring Angel and himself was a hidden danger that Iver could never eradicate.

With this potential problem, it doesn't matter whether he uses Shepherding Method or not.

Combining similar terms means yes.

A pale purple flame ignited in the depths of Iver's eyes as he murmured, "To not seize what Heaven has given is to suffer the consequences..."

"I will accept your kindness with equanimity."

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