JACKAL AMONG SNAKES - Chapter 630: Royal Regalia

[MATURE CONTENT]Arella is an angel.Well, she used to be an angel. A real, bona fide, halo-wearing, wing-flapping celestial being. That was until one tiny whoopsie where she unfortunately burns a pair of wings at a banquet happens.Fine!There was more than one tiny whoopsie.Fast forward a few hours later, and Arella found herself booted from the pearly gates with nothing but her wings and an eviction notice.Her family called it a “vacation.” Ha! A vacation, in the human realm of all places!One hundred years later, Arella calls it her new life. Turns out, living among humans isn’t half bad—especially when you can turn invisibly smug at their lack of ability to fly. Early retirement has never been so blissful. That is, until the heavens smack her face with a message: Arella’s back on duty. And her new job? Marry. The. Demon. King.Wait, what?!Marrying the Demon King isn’t exactly on Arella’s bucket list, especially when demons and angels have been sworn enemies for eons. But orders are orders. So, off she goes, wings drooping and attitude cranked to full sass, to meet her new husband—a devilishly handsome demon who seems unnervingly smitten with her.Not to mention the heat that surges within her the moment she lays her eyes on him. Cue in dinner dates, fiery arguments (literally), and a series of catastrophes involving Arella purposefully setting a demon's hair ablaze with her holy fire.But as Arella settles into this bizarre celestial-demonic union, she uncovers a sinister plot that threatens not just her marriage but their entire reality. Turns out, angels and demons might have to join forces to stop a threat that neither side can handle alone. And Arella? She might just be the unexpected key to saving everyone.Armed with nothing but her quick wit, trusty angelic powers, and a painfully doting husband who may or may not leave her love notes carved into rock when she is angry, Arella must navigate battles, betrayals, and the occasional marital spat to protect their world. After all, nothing says “happily ever after” like saving existence itself, .... right?Right?One fallen angel. One absolutely smitten demon king. And a whole lot of chaos.

Eric Maddox, a 70-year-old American retired football coach once hailed for his tactical brilliance, now forgotten by time—closes his eyes for what he believes is a normal nap in his quiet Florida retirement home.But when he opens them, he's not staring at ceiling tiles, instead, he's on a touchline.Wearing boots in the rain.With players running on the pitch, fans jeering behind barriers, and the smell of cheap turf pellets in the air.“What the hell is this?”He’s twenty-five again, but it’s not Earth. It’s a world where football reigns supreme. A world where the sport is religion, its practitioners, deities in cleats. Coaches are revered, players are worshipped, and even the kit man gets treated like royalty.But there's one catch: none of it is familiar. The clubs, the players, the leagues, the competitions, and even the currency—they're all different. Alien. Like waking up in a dream where the rules are the same, but the language is foreign.As if that wasn’t enough, the body he’s now in? A youth coach with a laughable win record, a looming divorce, and a measly fifty thousand in the bank that his ex-wife is fighting tooth and nail to take. All of it.Just when the spiral seems inevitable, a monotone chime pierces the noise.[Initiating Golden Finger…][…45%… 75%… 100%][System Integration Complete.][Welcome, host. You are now bound to the Pro Manager System. Objective: Dominate the Football World. A new era begins]From washed-up has-been to chosen one of destiny, Eric Maddox is about to trade arthritis pills for tactical boards, and shuffleboard for Prestigious Cup glory.Because in this world, tactics are power.And on this touchline, he’s about to become a god.

Mystery is the nourishment that keeps me from being ordinary.

It has been 20 years since he came to a world similar to the modern European background. With his early wisdom, Fei Lin learned a skill and finally became a decent person.

Originally thought that he would marry a wife and have children and live this life in a dull way, but found that there is another world under the shadow of the world.

In that world, there are occultists who practice esoteric techniques and master extraordinary powers.

It is weird to spy on humans in the dark and feed on humans.

There are evil god believers who worship the evil god, please the evil god through bloody sacrifices, and exchange power from the evil god.

There is an evil god who wanders outside the world, peeps at the world, and only infiltrates the power of scales and claws, which is enough to cause people to fall.

With the mystery as nourishment, he is no longer ordinary after 20 years of ordinary.

- Description from novelbuddy

In humanity’s final war against the Demon Lord, the strongest heroes fell—not by the enemy’s hand, but by their own, twisted into madness by a cruel illusion. Betrayal. Bloodshed. Despair… and then, silence.Only one person remained: Riley—the weakest warrior of them all. Powerless. Ignored. Forgotten.But he saw through the Demon Lord’s deception. The tyrant was on the brink of death—so weak even a fly could’ve finished him off.And Riley did just that, drawing every last ounce of strength to bite off the demon’s head.Victory? Not quite. A final, desperate strike from the Demon Lord pierced him from behind, killing him instantly.But fate wasn’t done with him yet.Riley awoke ten years in the past—when the online game [Apocalypse] was launched. Before demons descended. Before monsters overran the world.And this time, he wasn’t starting from nothing. He had a decade of experience—and a second chance.Even more shocking, he didn’t awaken his old D-rank Strength Boost talent. This time, he received something far more terrifying: an SSS-Rank Gluttony talent!He could now devour anything—monsters, items, talents, even traits—and gain their power.Ding![You have devoured: Iron Fang Wolf][Acquired: +4 Strength, +2 Agility, Skill: Bite (F-rank)][You have devoured: Goblin ShamanAcquired: +8 Intelligence, Skill: Mana Bolt (E-rank), Talent: Minor Spellcasting Efficiency][You have devoured: Flaming Salamander Drake][Acquired: +22 Endurance, Trait: Dragon’s Resilience, Skill: Flame Breath (C-rank)]Now, there is no demon, no god, no monster who will stand in his way. He will devour everything—and save the world.But the power of Gluttony was a double edged sword. If he wasn’t careful… he could be the one getting consumed.