Chapter 23: The Handmaid Angel

At least this meant Ronald was safe now.

I collapsed onto the ground, trying to catch my breath.

To the kid, the whole vibe got even creepier.

I opened my mouth, unsure of what to say for a moment. After all, I wasn't much older than Ronald's son.

Ronald woke up just in time.

He was exhausted and a bit out of it, taking a few minutes to gather himself.

"Dennis?" He looked at me like he'd just dodged a bullet.

"Ronald, we're good for now."

I gave a bitter smile. I came here today to help him find the Malifact hidden in his house, but I didn't expect to have a near-death experience.

Thinking about it, the Malifact in his house was definitely not an everyday item.

Ronald caught sight of his son and the recent events flooded back. Unable to contain himself, he shouted, "Who told you to come back? Didn't we agree you'd wait for my call before returning!"

His son looked hurt, replying, "I forgot my homework, so I came back to get it."

I gestured dismissively, "Just grab your stuff and go. Listen for your dad's call next time."

The boy gave Ronald and me a suspicious look, grabbed his homework, and quickly left.

Ronald had fully recovered and handed me the Sunstrike, "Just now... it felt like I was in a hell full of demons..."

He trailed off, the memory too terrifying to continue.

I got it. As a materialist, he probably never thought he'd run into something like this.

"Ronald, think about it. Have you come across anything strange or any weird people recently?" I inquired, "Specifically, anyone who might bear a grudge against you or be in competition with you."

Ronald frowned, thinking hard, then shook his head slightly, "Dennis, you know my family pretty well. My dad's been strict with me since I was a kid, and I haven't pissed anyone off."

"As for competitors, I'm known for being unambitious and friendly to everyone. I really can't think of anyone who'd hate me this much."

Hearing this, I fell silent too.

Even though we haven't known each other long, I haven't heard anything bad about the Clark family.

I fiddled with the Sunstrike in my hand, thinking there was no way I could search Ronald's entire house to find that Malifact!

When Mars and Neptune aligned earlier, that Malifact must have shown its Sinwaft, but now the moment's passed, and I couldn't see it anymore.

I stood in the living room, scanning the surroundings.

A family photo of Ronald's family was on the antique shelf.

His wife looked super happy, smiling like it was spring. However, her eyes seemed off—overly crescent-shaped from smiling, but to an exaggerated degree! I took a few steps closer to get a better look and noticed she had a small black mole on the outer side of each inner eyelid. They were almost perfectly symmetrical in shape, size, and position.

It seemed like these two black moles were pulling her eyelid muscles slightly, making them look like crescent moons when she smiled.

In Novaria's astrology, moles in this spot were called "sorrow moles" or "tear moles." It was believed that a black mole here signified a life marked by loneliness and sorrow. But having "tear moles" in both eyes, and so symmetrically, was something I'd never heard of.

In the divination astrology Lorenzo taught me, there was a term for such a face.

It was called Malignant Star-Eyed.

Legend had it, one of Satan's maid angels, while traveling through the human world, saw people exchanging their starving children with others and then eating them out of hunger. The final nutrients of those devoured children condensed into tears, accumulating in the inner corners of their eye sockets.

The maid angel was furious and used her power to capture those people, torturing them endlessly.

But they said to the maid angel, "You are Satan's maid, you should know that all the evils in the world, like hunger and hatred, are created by Satan, and you, like him, are the culprits of all this!"

This revelation drove the maid angel into a frenzy, convinced that she was truly responsible.

So, she gathered her power into tears, resurrected the eaten children, and turned herself into a statue, with two black moles on her inner eyelids, blaming herself for being blinded by darkness.

And that's the origin story of Malignant Star-Eyed.

According to divination astrology, it was believed that such eyes were incapable of discerning between good and evil. Individuals with such eyes would be influenced by demons to unknowingly commit acts that harmed the world.

I turned to Ronald, "Ronald, what does your wife do for work?"

Ronald said, "Oh, she works at a private museum, handling historical artifacts and foreign cultural exchanges for many years."

Cultural exchanges?

That was a new one for me.

I asked again, "Ronald, since your wife loves history and culture, is she into antiques?"

Ronald frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Yes, but not just any antiques. She likes very exquisite items with cultural elements. Over the years, she's collected many items from various countries."

I got curious, "Ronald, can I take a look?"

"Of course." Ronald seemed to catch on to my intention, gestured for me to follow, and got up to walk inside.

We passed through their bedroom to enter a small balcony with a small door on the east side. Ronald took out a key to open it and turned on the light inside. What I saw was an amazing room.