Devouring World Dragon.

Chapter 209 Snake Transformation

Inside an underground church in London, England.

The original cross symbol has long been removed and replaced with a large number of snake-themed sculptures and patterns. The church makes no attempt to conceal its worship and fanatical faith in snakes, and is filled with pagan beliefs that are different from those of the world.

Since the events of that night, all the Hermitage monks who did not believe in the Father of the Serpent have been purged. What remains are the old monks who insist on believing in "the serpent and the truth." They continue to take over the various smaller factions under the Hermitage while eliminating any remaining old forces.

And all of this happened under the watchful gaze of that chilling serpent sculpture…

At the foot of the great serpent sculpture, numerous elderly monks prostrated themselves, murmuring prayers. The former servants of God, the Secret Order, had become complete believers at the serpent's feet. Just as Uberto had said, both Uberto himself and the Secret Order were too close to the truth.

It is not people who are chasing knowledge, but knowledge that is chasing people. Its pursuit is ruthless and merciless, just like an eagle chasing a rabbit on the ground.

At this moment, the Hermitage has been overtaken by that once-forgotten knowledge, which has been reborn through the bodies of mortals, just as numerous vultures gather on the corpses, gnawing at the flesh with their claws and beaks, their greedy forms resembling a gluttonous feast.

In the past, hermits rejected many supernatural powers, regarding them as "flaws of creation, things that should not exist." Each old monk was just an ordinary mortal, ruling over many small forces according to human rules. But now, these old monks are covered in snake scales and have the characteristics of wild beasts, making no attempt to conceal their supernatural abilities.

"The divine child who bears the burden of destiny has returned to Earth, and soon, our Lord will awaken from that ancient slumber."

The leading old monk spread his scale-covered arms, raised his head, and celebrated the gradual advancement of destiny.

The many old monks behind him were equally delighted. They opened their mouths wide, revealing mouths full of sharp teeth, and then, without prior arrangement, bowed down to the giant serpent sculpture in front of them, singing in a low, nauseating, and strange voice.

"C-GNAIIH-OG! PH'NILGH'RI-N'GHFT-OR! SYHA'H-FHTAGN-THROD, H'NYTH-STELL'BSNA-OOBOSHU! YA-YAR-HAI-THARANAK!"

Our Father, the power that transcends all darkness, the near-eternal slumber is about to end, your servants await your return, our time is about to begin…

The chanting resonated throughout the underground church, making the ancient building hum.

……

"Roberts, there's something I want to ask you... Have you ever thought about it...?"

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Near the window of the UFO, Wendy, who had suddenly called Roberts over, paused for a moment. With her back to Roberts, she spoke hesitantly. Gazing at the azure planet below, her eyes flickered, a certain light shining in them. She stammered, unable to utter a word.

This fashionable woman, who is already thirty years old but still single, seems to have defied the effects of time, looking as youthful as someone in their early twenties.

With her back to Roberts, only half of her profile was visible. The deep space and the azure planet beneath her seemed less beautiful than that half of her profile.

Roberts knew exactly what answer she wanted, but he also knew he couldn't give her any promises. Even if he wanted to refuse, she, being perceptive, would quietly change the subject before he could refuse, preventing him from doing so, and then continue to look forward to the day he would agree.

"Wendy, I..."

He opened his mouth to speak, but based on past experience, whenever he was about to decisively refuse, a cheerful voice would inevitably ring out, deliberately changing the subject and not giving him a chance to refuse.

but……

No.

Right in front of him, the slender figure with her back to him didn't speak this time, but quietly awaited his answer.

But Roberts' keen observation could see that the figure behind her was clenching her hands tightly, her fingers gripping so tightly that they almost left white marks... She was very nervous, and she even had to turn her back to Roberts in order to barely maintain her composure.

The unattainable beauty in the eyes of ordinary people, the highly sought-after sex queen, is just like that little girl who was only 8 years old when she was in front of Roberts, with her head down, just clenching her hands, and not daring to say a word.

Roberts paused for a moment, but then spoke.

"Wendy, I'm sorry, I've only ever loved Betty in my life. In my eyes, you'll always be like a little sister to me."

After so many years, Roberts finally said those words, as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart, bringing a sense of relief. But this was followed by worry for Wendy; he didn't want to hurt Wendy, whom he regarded as a sister.

But to everyone's surprise, Wendy simply lowered her head, showing no sadness. She just bit her lower lip, as if she had already anticipated all of this, and then murmured something.

"So... have you ever had any feelings for me... even just occasionally... even just a little bit...?"

As she spoke, she looked down and saw her own hands. Her slender fingers had unconsciously intertwined, and she asked in a slightly uncertain voice. The rejections of the past ten years had eroded her confidence. In truth, she had long since accepted this reality, but a trace of resentment still lingered in her heart.

Just a little bit is fine; she doesn't want to compete with Betty for anything, but really, just a little bit is enough...

With his back to Roberts, but behind him...

There was no response.

My heart sank little by little into darkness, gradually sinking into despair.

Looking at that inexplicably sorrowful figure, Roberts felt a pang of pity. He knew the best course of action at that moment was to deny it outright, but he couldn't deceive himself and Wendy. After a long while, he nodded.

"...Yes, I have."

In an instant, the slender figure in front of him seemed to freeze. Roberts couldn't see her face clearly, but he could sense that she was going through a violent emotional change.

Suddenly, tiny, shimmering objects appeared before Roberts. These crystalline specks, clear as glass and like pearls, floated within the tiny, gravity-defying flying saucer. And the source of that shimmering light was…

"Wendy, you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Roberts stopped talking.

Wendy turned her head away from him.

Before the azure planet behind her, her face, usually so expressive, now held a few tears welling in her eyes. The tears didn't fall, but lingered on her bright eyes, which held an unprecedented joy.

"I'm so happy, Roberts, I'm really happy."

Her voice was choked with emotion, and although her eyes were filled with tears, her face showed only genuine joy and happiness.

Humans are such wondrous creatures; when they are furious, they wear a smile on their face; yet when they are truly overjoyed, their faces are often stained with tears.

"Roberts, I'm so happy. I keep telling myself I should laugh and not cry in front of you, but for some reason my eyes won't listen to me and I can't help but want to cry... Roberts, am I really useless?"

"Wendy, I..."

Just as he was about to say something, that soft body hugged him tightly, and his lips were gently sealed with hers. He instinctively tried to push her away, but suddenly found himself weak and powerless, and that feeling of weakness came from her lips.

"Wendy, you..."

But before he could finish speaking, a soft, sweet female voice rang in his ears.

"It's okay... Don't feel guilty, it's all my fault, you did nothing wrong... Just think of it as a dream... Roberts, you're the only person I've ever loved..."

Inside this spaceship, designed specifically for invading Earth, there was an extremely spacious interior, large enough to accommodate a dozen Atlanteans, not to mention humans whose height was less than that of the Atlanteans. No one was aware of what was happening in this small compartment.

During that time, Roberts was in a state between dreaming and waking, as if embraced by gentle clouds, finally able to relax. In her hazy state, she heard a voice murmuring something...

"I'm sorry, Betty... I'm sorry, Roberts... I'm so glad, Roberts..."

Goodbye, Roberts.

……

A few days later, on the flying saucer that was about to return to the sky.

"Bang!"

A furious fist slammed into Uberto's head, sending the frail young man flying. With a loud thud, the young man's body crashed into the equipment, and blood gushed out.

The disheveled young man barely managed to support himself on the metal floor. Before he could even stand up, feeling dizzy and disoriented, a large, thick hand gripped his collar. The clenched, furious fist rapidly enlarged in front of him, spreading into a huge shadow...

"Bang!"

It was a similar sensation again. A tremendous force slammed into my facial bones, causing them to groan. My head hit the metal floor directly, accompanied by excruciating pain and a dizzying world. Saliva uncontrollably poured from my mouth, and everything before my eyes seemed to go black, making it almost impossible to see anything.

"Dad...please stop hitting me!"

"Cough...cough cough..."

He collapsed to the ground, his vision blurred, and he vaguely heard the panicked voice of a young girl.

For some reason, the fist didn't land on him again. He coughed a few times, spitting out blood from his throat. Uberto forced his eyes open, his vision filled with blood red, but he could still see Roberts, who was full of anger but was being desperately blocked by her daughter.

"Joan, get out of my way! This guy actually pushed Wendy into the sea... He killed Wendy..."

Amidst the angry and desperate voices, Joan tried her best to dissuade him.

"Cough... Heh, if we hadn't taken her down, we would have been the ones who just died."

However, Uberto, who was lying on the ground in excruciating pain and covered in wounds, glanced at Roberts, struggled to sit up, and said unsteadily.

"Roberts, use your brain. That woman probably already gave some signs a while ago. Even if she kept it a secret from you, she must have revealed something."

"A sign? What sign?"

Roberts, who was already furious to the extreme, barely managed to suppress his anger with reason and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth.

Uberto, who struggled even to stand up, glanced at him.

"Roberts, the entire Presbyterian Order has gone mad, everyone's gone mad. They've gotten too close to the truth, but why do you think Wendy, as the Guardian of the Presbyterian Order, will be completely unaffected?"

"I told you, don't trust Wendy too much, because even if she doesn't want to harm us, she herself is a time bomb, and she might change one day. Wendy has already been infected, and she is transforming step by step. She knew this a long time ago, so she told Joan and me about it."

"Right now, on this flying saucer, everyone except you knows this—both Joan and I do! Roberts, Wendy is the only one keeping this from you; she doesn't want you to know. If I hadn't pushed her into the sea in time, the three of us would be dead by now!"

The sudden sound startled Roberts, and his steps became unsteady. Joan quickly helped her father up, but Roberts was oblivious, just staring at Joan and muttering blankly.

"Joan...is this true?"

Joan didn't speak, but simply lowered her head silently, which was tantamount to acquiescence.

If it were just Uberto saying this, Roberts could dismiss it as nonsense, but if even his own daughter was saying it, Roberts couldn't help but believe it.

Despite the pain, Uberto managed to catch his breath and then earnestly spoke to Roberts.

"Roberts, think about it carefully. In the past few months of our collaboration, have I ever harmed you? I've always been helping you."

"I didn't want to push Wendy into the sea either. We originally planned to tell you later, as she still had some time before her real transformation. But recently, for some reason, perhaps due to some kind of stimulus, her transformation suddenly accelerated. She probably didn't even realize it herself. I had no choice but to do this..."

Roberts didn't hear any of that at the moment, but he noticed one sentence in particular.

"...For some reason, perhaps due to some kind of stimulus, her rate of change suddenly accelerated..."

Goodbye, Roberts.

In a daze, he heard that hazy female voice again, and he vaguely guessed the reason, but his mind went blank.

After a moment of silence, Roberts spoke in a hoarse voice.

"What kind of mutation are you referring to?"

Uberto, slightly out of breath, then answered.

"Snake-like transformation. The body gradually shows snake-like characteristics, grows scales, sharpens teeth, deforms bones, and eventually grows a snake tail, making it look like a snake that walks upright like a human."

"The female sculpture we retrieved from the moon contains something inside that is the root of all these problems. It seals away some mystical secrets, and the more you try to pursue those secrets, the more you will be eroded by them and eventually 'turned into a snake.'"

"You should still be able to find some runes on that sculpture. Those are ancient sorcerers' attempts to seal the statue with the help of the gods. Symbols of gods from various religions are on that statue, but as for the effect... well, you've seen it."

Roberts turned to look at him and said expressionlessly.

"I watched Wendy grow up when she was eight years old. I know everything about her. How did she become the Guardian of the Secret Order? She couldn't possibly have done that."

"Have you ever considered that... she was actually the Guardian of the Order before she was eight years old?"

Uberto stared coldly at Roberts and said, word by word.

"She's been hiding her secrets from you; she knows more than you do."

"What exactly is the Guardian of the Secret Order?"

Roberts stared at Uberto with an icy expression. His face was devoid of emotion, but those who knew him well knew that the more extremely indifferent and composed he appeared, the more it proved that the anger in his heart was approaching its limit.

"...a secret you can't know yet."

Uberto paused for a moment, then spoke.

Roberts clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead. Suddenly, he stepped forward, grabbed Uberto's collar, and forced him against the metal wall.

"Bang!"

Uberto was slammed hard against the metal wall, his feet dangling in the air, his body unable to muster any strength.

Before him, a faint flame flickered in Roberts' pupils, one of the few supernatural powers he possessed, which would appear in his pupils when he was angry.

"Secret, secret, Wendy's dead, and you're still telling me secrets???"

Roberts's disheveled hair made him look like an angry male lion, making Uberto feel threatened by death.

"Hiccup... Roberts, some secrets are better left unknown... Neither Wendy nor I... want you to know this secret; it will only put you and Joan in danger..."

Uberto was struggling to breathe due to the pressure of the force, and he spoke with difficulty.

Roberts remained silent for a long time, his anger seemingly beginning to subside. But then, suddenly, his gaze fell on Uberto's wrist, and he paused, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

Uberto followed his gaze, and then his pupils contracted slightly.

On his wrist, several transparent snake scales were clearly visible; they weren't large, but they were particularly noticeable...

Finally, this self-proclaimed genius, who hailed himself as a Leonardo da Vinci, began what he called "snakeification."

(End of this chapter)