The Elusive Sorcerer

Chapter 143

Chavez had returned to its normal routine, leaving the incident behind for the future and refusing to continue mourning past tragedies.

The death of the businessman Hover had slipped out of the news cycle within two days.

Ignoring others and refusing to concern oneself with other people's affairs was one of the principles embraced by the lower and middle classes of Chavez.

Never gathering together or greeting one another, yet expecting others to care about them? This mentality had caused the people of Chavez to refocus on their own lives.

The place known as Tapaks became even more bleak and unsettling that morning when the local church of Vazay Yarandrela in Chavez ordered the area closed to the public because remnants of powerful, fiery, and wrathful spirituality still lingered beneath a large hill not far from the valley that overlooked the vast Xinahiru Forest.

They believed those lingering traces of spirituality belonged to supernatural beings, and church representatives identified signs of a battle between two opposing sides that had resulted in the deaths of six people. The church was currently investigating the mastermind behind it.

Wounds were visible on all six victims, and the church's forensic team discovered two or three bullets lodged in their hearts and skulls.

Realizing the danger of allowing such murders to go unresolved in Chavez, Father Darwin immediately dispatched church members to report the horrifying news to the authorities for further action.

Day after day, the authorities, who normally dealt with death investigations, found themselves overwhelmed as the search continued until the early hours of Wednesday the 22nd.

James Moriarty became the talk of the newspapers, not because he was praised as a savior like before, but because of his criminal actions that destroyed Tapaks and killed six people, including the businessman Hover.

The people of Chavez, including high-ranking officials and security personnel, searched for a man named "James Moriarty," yet found not the slightest trace of the person they were looking for.

Still in the Tapaks region, inside a cave, the four of them looked bewildered, each pacing around while muttering to themselves.

After the incident, Zavi decided to entrust Hana with both carrying and safeguarding the exorcism fan artifact, Hoisline. A Category "The World" artifact.

The spoils of theft weren't a bad gift after all. Hana initially refused, but since the artifact called Hoisline looked like an ordinary folding fan adorned with beads along its sides, Mine encouraged Hana to accept it as a reward for her previous hard work.

Having done absolutely nothing for three days after the battle aside from recovering physically and mentally, Zavi stood at the cave entrance for a long time, gazing up at the beautiful sky while listening carefully to nature's song. The cool morning breeze calmed his heart and mind, as though helping him leave behind the troubles he was facing.

That comforting feeling suddenly reminded him of his existence in this world.

'Who am I really? Why did I choose to keep living in this world while leaving my problems behind on Earth? Hah, I haven't even apologized to Mom and those foolish older sisters if I'm really not a murderer!'

After spending a long time in thought, though feeling no regret over those painful memories, Zavi walked several steps away from where he stood and toward a bush, creating his clone and leaving it standing motionless.

Zavi's goal was simple. Yesterday morning, he had spotted a coconut tree near the Suket River, a few hundred meters away from the cave.

Upon arriving at the coconut tree with its perfectly straight trunk, Zavi made his clone display a nervous expression because of the tree's height and the dangerous terrain beneath it. A few seconds later, he ordered the clone to climb the tree and collect four coconuts before rolling them back one by one to where Zavi was waiting.

After receiving the four coconuts from his clone, Zavi handed one to each of the three others.

"You've all tried drinking these before, right?"

"..."

The three of them showed no reaction as soft sunlight filtered through the cave's cracks, accompanied by the rhythmic sound of dripping water.

Only after saying it did Zavi realize he had no idea how to open the coconuts.

'I just remembered I don't have a machete to crack these open.'

Zavi stared at them, his lips twitching awkwardly. Trying to remain calm, he finally found a solution when his body suddenly froze.

A bear without skin, flesh, or blood appeared.

Only a grayish-white aura flowed together to form its body.

The bear moved according to Zavi's command, stripping away the coconut husks one by one before biting into the tops and creating perfect openings.

'Turns out that bear is pretty smart...'

Zavi immediately grabbed a coconut and walked away from them, drinking the coconut water while enjoying the refreshing forest breeze of the morning.

10:00 a.m. Wednesday the 22nd.

Although drinking coconut water without a straw was difficult and left his shirt and coat soaked, Zavi managed to finish the liquid, leaving only the flesh inside.

The moment he had been waiting for.

Cracking open the coconut and eating the flesh as a late-morning meal.

With the help of the spectral bear, Zavi split the coconut perfectly in half and spent ten minutes finishing the meat.

The other three had been quietly enjoying their coconuts the entire time, and their behavior was beginning to irritate him.

He let out a long sigh.

"Sirius," Zavi said calmly. "Are you still thinking about that creature...?"

"The jinn," Aaron replied, his lips tightening. "That's what the creature is called."

'I'm becoming more convinced that this place resembles the Earth where I used to live...'

The sense of familiarity pierced Zavi's thoughts, prompting him to sit beside Aaron and add,

"A jinn, huh? I'll remember the name."

Pretending not to know, despite already being aware that jinn were often depicted in many forms on Earth and were said to watch over both humanity's good and evil deeds, Zavi saw this as the perfect opportunity to gather information from them for free.

He still wasn't entirely certain, but using people to achieve his goals was the only idea he had clung to up until now.

"What's the difference between a jinn and a Recipestele?" Zavi asked, his gaze sweeping across the cave interior.

Mine let out a long sigh and answered quietly,

"Different ranks, but they're still part of the same category..."

"So which one is stronger... a Recipestele or a jinn?"

Mine had expected that question.

"Devils, Recipestele, jinn, Devils, Angels of the Fallen, also known as Jakharot," Mine answered with another sigh.

'Huh, there are a lot of ranks... Should I ask about the ones I still don't know? This seems like the perfect opportunity to liven things up!'

Zavi muttered to himself while nodding with his eyes closed as though he were seriously considering it.

"Evil spirits have ranks too. Do you know about those?" Zavi asked, sitting upright.

Aaron, whose gloomy expression had remained unchanged until now, suddenly turned pale as he stood up while holding his breath.

Wiping sweat from his forehead, Aaron said weakly,

"I think nature is calling me..."

After saying that, Aaron hurried outside and stopped on a slightly elevated path behind the bushes beside the cave.

Knowing exactly what that meant, Zavi shook his head before calling out,

"Tell me what the two of you know!"

Hana blinked repeatedly as she watched Mine stroke her chin while studying Zavi carefully.

"Why did you do that instead of answering his question?"

Mine stretched her arms and blinked again.

"Oh? I just remembered something unfortunate that happened around here..."

"Remembered what?" Hana asked, trying to figure out what was on her mind.

"You know... They say not far from this cave, near the river running through that damp valley, there was a battle several years ago. And if we're heading to Semilir, we're supposed to pass through there..."

Hana suddenly remembered where they were.

"This is bad. Are we going to run into, and even worse, fight a Chalog-type curse?"

The two of them recalled the rumors about how terrifying it had been when people aboard a train died because of a Chalog while passing through that valley along the Kodan Minehold-to-Semilir route.

Zavi's eyes widened upon learning there was a Chalog-type Curse not far from the cave. Even though it was still some distance away, the information instantly put him on guard.

'Shouldn't death-types and curses not exist in Norn because of the climate or something like that?'

Zavi felt confused as he remembered Mr. Ulriech's past and the horrific death of someone close to him: a body turned dark purple, nearly unrecognizable, so badly decayed that the internal organs rotted within seconds after death, requiring immediate burial in a deep grave before the stench could spread.

Zavi swallowed hard as he unconsciously lowered his bamboo hat.

"We'll pass through that valley," Zavi said, doing his best to remain calm and maintain his role as a renowned assassin.

To Zavi, the statement sounded ridiculous.

To the two women, however, they could hardly believe the courage of the famous assassin who still intended to travel through such a place despite the danger to his life.

"I'll follow you and your brother without asking any further questions," they murmured in unison as they suddenly stood up and bowed, holding the edges of their dark blue coats.

"Thank you for your dedication to the two of us..."

Since he still hadn't gotten what he wanted, Zavi quickly continued, unwilling to let the opportunity slip away.

"So, do either of you, or rather, Mine, know the ranks of evil spirits?"

Hearing that, Mine sat down and crossed her legs, unconcerned about getting her clothes dirty, something that did nothing to diminish her beauty.

"I know a little because Munien told me."

"Your Recipestele?" Zavi asked, making sure he understood.

Mine nodded and replied uncertainly,

"I vaguely remember something about evil spirits. But if I'm not mistaken, there's Rank One, then Rank Two, Immeridya, and Rank Three, Nammeridya."

Zavi blinked, instantly recalling an incident from late October of the previous year.

'Nammeridya, Celvira, right? I'm still curious about Moreira's disappearance back then, and I've been searching everywhere during my journey to repay her loyalty for staying beside me while I was unconscious for nearly two months. As for Celvira, she's the same as a Rank Five evil spirit, Mastering. Her existence is everywhere, hidden behind countless identities.'

Zavi stared at them briefly as they stared back before sinking deeper into thought.

'Sylvia Faiza Huwaina, my classmate back then, wasn't a Rank Five evil spirit, Mastering. Wait... hold on. Something's wrong.'

Suddenly, Zavi realized a fact he had never once considered before.

'Could it be that she...'

Zavi abruptly stood up as fear seized his mind.

"Lamena, what's wrong?" they asked in unison. Hana and Mine grabbed his shoulders and shook him, trying to bring him back from his sudden trance.

Zavi immediately shook his head and looked at Hana and Mine, cold sweat covering his face.

The confidence he had been so proud of moments earlier vanished instantly.

'I know. I know. I know. I know. I know...'

Even though his chest felt like it was burning after realizing that shocking truth, Zavi refused to think about that evil spirit woman any longer as he sank deeper into his thoughts, biting his lower lip.

'I'm... I'm really going to kill you. Just wait. I'll make you regret it...!'

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