The Elusive Sorcerer

Chapter 241

Amid the sea of people crowding the city square, something was hiding, watching them like the angel of death.

Above that sea of people, the moonlight hung in the dark blue sky, the stars shimmering with their faint light, while not a single breeze blew that night.

The strange occurrences that usually happened so often, especially at night, seemed to have vanished on the night the cultural festival was held.

The process of putting on the costumes took nearly ten minutes after the change of events, adjusted according to the wearers' comfort so that the event would not come to an abrupt halt. Knowing this, the visitors waited patiently with high anticipation, aware that even a minute spent wearing the costume made their bodies feel different, as though they were someone who had just awakened from months of sleep.

During their free time, some visitors chatted with those closest to them, some expressing their thoughts while waiting for the event to begin.

"It is as if there is some kind of magic making an event this large run so smoothly!"

"Do you want trouble to come your way?"

"No. It is just strange. Somehow, I have gotten used to things like this," the man replied with a bitter laugh.

"Someone as strange as you is strangely still alive to this day." The man shook his head for several seconds.

"So, what do you want?" Another man, wearing a flat cap, suddenly spoke in a deep, hoarse voice.

"Oh, so you are here after all." The brown-haired man was surprised, noticing the oddity of his friend, both in his appearance and in the situation around him.

The man beside him slightly opened his mouth, nudged the man's body, and whispered, "Did he bring his girlfriend? I thought he didn't have one."

They looked like idiots discussing something sensitive right in front of the person they were talking about.

"Just ask him directly. By the way, how did he manage to find a beautiful girl like that? Makes me jealous."

The man expressed what was on his mind; he had never dated anyone before, let alone spoken to a woman he had met.

Because of that, he realized how antisocial he was, hoping that one day he could change and speak to people other than his acquaintances so he could get a girlfriend like his friend.

After that important conversation ended, they both cleared their throats almost simultaneously, as though sharing the same thought. Not wanting to disturb their friend's date, the two men agreed to leave. Before doing so, however, they exchanged a signal by raising both eyebrows, hoping their friend's plan would go smoothly.

The woman was confused as she stared at the raised corners of the man's lips beside her. She said almost nothing after the two men left, and her expression suddenly became strange.

"Are they coworkers or college friends?" the woman asked, her dark brown eyes filled with curiosity.

The man lowered his head slightly, stared at the woman for two seconds, then let out a short sigh.

"You could say that," he replied weakly.

‘Damn them. Don't you know that she is my sister? What kind of idiot brings his girlfriend to a cultural festival? Well, looking along the street, there are actually quite a few people doing the same thing.’

After thinking for a moment, the man smiled, realizing that the friend he had always considered a bastard apparently still had a kind and understanding side hidden within him, despite his irritating attitude.

The man remained silent, then suddenly smiled unconsciously and spoke in a deep, hoarse voice.

"So, are we going to meet your friend? To be honest, I want to go over to them."

There was no response, and the atmosphere suddenly fell silent. Seeing his sister's eyes fixed on the crowd around them, the man quickly added;

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, I heard you. Do whatever you want," the woman said, her voice sounding almost raised.

"All right, then." After saying that, the man left the beautiful woman, his sister, alone in the middle of the crowd without hesitation.

After walking several meters from his previous location, the man's steps stopped, his eyes fixed on the crowd of vendors along the roadside. After seeing his two friends there, whether by coincidence or not, the man intended to approach them, wanting to discuss something rather important regarding the organization of this festival.

....

Elsewhere, Zavi and the others had gathered together. After waiting for quite some time, the host and several city officials simultaneously stepped onto the stage.

Filled with curiosity, they wondered why the mayor had gone to the trouble of stepping onto the main stage. Did he want to appear hardworking, or was he simply looking for popularity?

Since there was no clear evidence, and they were afraid it would be considered slander, they could say nothing and simply waited for what the mayor had to say.

"Ahem, ahem. May I have the attention of our esteemed visitors. May the gods and goddesses bless everyone gathered here, save us from all danger, ease the burdens of our lives, and soon grant what we desire."

Everyone present lowered their heads and murmured in their hearts, offering praises to the gods and goddesses.

Zavi did the same, whether because of his memories or his own willingness.

‘Mother of all mothers, savior of the souls of lost humans, may endless praise be bestowed upon you.’

After offering his praise to Goddess Yarandrela, Zavi slowly raised his head and opened his eyes. His gaze returned to normal, but a painful memory suddenly flashed through his mind.

‘Zavi, huh? If I remember correctly, he prayed to the goddess five days before his death. I don't remember the details very clearly, because until now, my memories only stretch from Thursday the 10th to Friday the 19th. Strange, but real.’

His thoughts paused for a moment when Zavi glanced at Celvira's expressionless face before continuing his thoughts.

‘I met that woman and Moreira, woke up from a nightmare, and it turned out to be my memories from Earth.’

He mourned it, but felt no regret as a smile, a sign of resilience in accepting that cruel fate, appeared on his tired and almost pale face.

‘I just remembered that those ten people, despite their frightening appearances, were thrown into prison for deeds even lower than mine; stealing while carrying sharp weapons and homemade pistols. After entering that cramped and suffocating cell, they were surprised by a teenager who was infamous for a crime far more serious than theirs; murder. Although not everyone in that cell was a thief, some were involved in a case of assaulting a female passerby, an argument that ended in murder, as well as debt-related problems. Things like that happened often, so I was not surprised at all when I never expected to end up sharing a cell with them.’

Without realizing it, Zavi was venting to himself. Not stopping there, he also ignored the fact that a fifth-level evil spirit, Mastering, was writing a message out of pity for his dark and lonely past, as deep as an abyss.

‘Ah, come to think of it, the tattooed man and that other man weren't actually that bad. From that point onward, I chose to be alone, and strangely enough, that habit stuck with me until one of them, the white-haired man who first talked about my presence in the prison, died of a stroke he had suffered from for a long time.

‘From that day on, I lost someone who used to entertain me, even if it wasn't every day. Ah, now that I think about it, that man made absolutely no sense whenever I talked to him, as if his brain were computer software from an ancient era. Does all of this have something to do with my transmigration? Why can't I remember Zavi Actitus's important memories? Is all of this merely an illusion?’

Repeatedly, the fifth-level evil spirit, Mastering, sent messages through the dense fog, forming strings of words in the Talazze Vana language, but Zavi ignored them, focusing on his own problems.

‘Several months have passed since that incident. Back then, I almost went insane, but somehow, the memories I had hidden away awakened and saved my life. I also want to thank Moreira Lounge; if he hadn't touched that pocket watch, I certainly would never have escaped and become a Receiver of the Prisoner.’

Zavi's eyes widened. He remained silent for quite some time, as though something was troubling his mind. His steps slowed before his body and mind stopped functioning.

"What the hell is that?" He hurriedly glanced at Celvira, who calmly walked past him.

"Wait a moment," Zavi finally said, his voice filled with an uneasy feeling.

Celvira obeyed. She turned around, stared at him for two seconds, then asked in her usual firm tone.

"What is it? Why did you suddenly tell me to stop?"

Zavi almost furrowed his brow.

"Act like a proper lady for once," Zavi muttered, his tone resembling that of an old man struggling to speak.

Celvira let out a long breath. Her rough expression vanished, replaced by the gentleness of her sincere smile. Several people passing by, including those who had been standing there for some time, looked at the two of them, imagining a man trying to calm down his sulking girlfriend.

Feeling strange about the looks and whispers around him, Zavi finally continued walking, searching for a secluded place where he could reveal what was on his mind.

As far as the eye could see beneath the dark blue sky, two airships had been quietly hovering not far from the city square for quite some time. They were not there merely to show off while watching the festival from above, nor were they there to monitor the sea of people below. There was an important matter that had to be resolved tonight.

Even the envoys sent by the Nagreitta Church and Auneron Cathedral were unaware of the magnificent airships hanging in the sky.

Inside the main cabin, several people gathered before a military-clad man with a purple-patterned coat at the bottom, sitting in a chair with one hand supporting his cheek.

"We have been here for quite some time," one crew member said anxiously.

"We will follow your orders. Give us the command, Master," the man continued firmly and clearly.

The Master, a brown-haired man with amber eyes that added to the handsome appearance of his face, straightened his hand and looked at the several people standing before him, ready to await his command.

"...If that organization is really here, just deal with its members. Leave their captain to me."

They all belonged to one of the famous hunter organizations in the Kingdom of Norn, known as SeiaofFire. Their presence here was solely to find an opening after learning that several core members of the Eistender hunter organization had become involved in a three-way battle as protectors of ordinary humans.

Not only that, they had openly deployed two airships to weaken their combat strength and stand by in case the situation worsened.

"You can go down now. It is time for us to hunt some unruly prey," the Master said as he rose from his seat.

They nodded in unison, their voices echoing around the Master's shoulders for several seconds. After they left the main cabin, the Master descended the stairs and approached the three men who had guided them to this place.

"What about the tracking? Is everything going according to plan?"

A white-mustached man lifted the front of his hat with his thumb, then spoke in a restrained, heavy voice,

"For now, their location remains unknown. Meanwhile, the person we sent there has not reported anything."

"I see." The Master lowered his head slightly, gazing at the dark sky from several miles above the ground before turning around and leaving them.

A few steps later, the Master half-turned and spoke firmly:

"I have a feeling that 'they' have already found that target."

The three men felt the hair on the backs of their necks stand on end before one of them, a man with a slash across his eye, spoke,

"Were they killed by someone or by several people?"

The Master turned around completely, looked at the three men, and clapped once. The sound of the clap silenced the atmosphere, while simultaneously serving as an order for a woman to bring him a chair.

After the swivel chair arrived, the Master immediately sat down, crossed his legs, and leaned his body slightly forward.

"Order the others to search for that person. If my suspicion is correct, then that 'man' will surely come here to do the same thing."

Three major organizations were in the same place, hiding from one another and preparing to hunt. That was what occupied the Master's mind. Although it was merely a suspicion, the Master had great faith in his instincts.

As the people sent down from the airships set foot on the ground, the first thing they felt was a strange sensation that made their bodies stop instantly.

Each of them turned around, staring in confusion, wanting to speak but finding that their mouths refused to open.

This left the squad confused, hoping that another squad would find and rescue them.

Not far from there, five men surrounded a man who was leaning weakly against the wall of a building. The stab wound did not bleed at all, yet the dying man tried to speak as he looked at the five people before him, all wearing the same clothing.

"...I knew you would be here too," the man said between ragged breaths.

Those words became the man's final passage toward death as one of them stabbed him through the heart, then roughly and swiftly pulled out the sword.

Before death truly reached him, the man jerked violently and let out an unpleasant sound, his mouth gushing blood like a faucet releasing a torrent of water.

Blood soaked into clothes that had previously been invisible in the darkness, transforming like a lamp as the man lost consciousness. His head then drooped to the right, as though the corpse were mourning himself and his three companions who had left this world several minutes earlier.

The last man was dead. The five men expressed their displeasure as they each turned away, leaving the four corpses behind in the silent, dimly lit alley.

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