The Elusive Sorcerer

Chapter 250

'I didn't believe it at first, but after looking at the calendar, that disbelief faded and was replaced by admiration for that mysterious ability.'

The Puppeteer Ability, at the fourth level, Fairy tale, changed Zavi's perspective of the world by one hundred and eighty degrees. Someone who wanted to search for demons out there simply to satisfy his desires, carrying out acts of revenge because of his status, was nothing more than childish thinking, and he was very aware of that idea.

After everything bad that had happened to him in his previous life, he had vowed that he did not want to experience the same thing, yet without realizing it, he had been foolish enough to repeat it.

After the festival, or more precisely, when he was dragged into the fairy tale world created by Loki Wesborn, Zavi saw several things that left him stunned, while his heart felt as though it had been cut a thousand times.

That pain left Zavi lost in thought for quite some time in the fairy tale world as he fought his enemy, until the enemy, who was none other than the author or the book itself, defeated him and brought him into a strange world filled with water.

From there, he gained something he had never received before, where the people he had once regarded as stepping stones toward his goal willingly became witnesses to his ritual for increasing his supernatural ability.

That made his pride as a man crumble, while simultaneously stripping away the meaning of living in a world where wickedness was commonplace.

Zavi knew that both the intelligent and the foolish would die. But what about someone who looked down on others? Would that person become immortal, or would he still die?

The answer was obvious: above the sky, there was still another sky.

People were allowed to be arrogant, but they had no right to regard another person's life as worthless, because everyone surely had one or more goals that kept them moving forward, writing page after page until the end of their lives.

Knowing this, Zavi, who had initially regarded them as stepping stones toward his life goal, now considered them fellow fugitives, or more precisely, friends.

Even inside prison, he had never had a friend because of his introverted nature and his inability to speak with someone for more than a minute, especially with the police.

Day after day, his life was like a film being played over and over again. Anyone watching it would surely become bored, especially Zavi, who was experiencing it himself.

Inside that stuffy, dark, cramped, and foul smelling place, he began socializing with the other prisoners. With that determination, he managed to find a prisoner twice his age, even older than his own mother.

Yet the universe seemed unwilling to let that meeting last any longer. The prisoner, a gray haired man with a thin mustache, was removed from his cell and confined to the hospital because his lung disease had flared up again.

Because the person he usually talked to had left the iron bars that had confined him for half a decade, he began correcting himself once more, as though he felt there was a mistake that needed to be fixed.

"Did that old man fall ill because he talked to me?"

That thought continued spinning in his head until he was almost thirty.

Unable to find anyone else to talk to, whenever he finally found someone, that person would fall ill and be transferred to a different cell.

"Damn, this is the third time. Is this a coincidence?"

There were no coincidences in this world, because everything had already been recorded by fate, in which everyone had their own share, and everyone had to change their own unfortunate fate. If someone considered their existence a curse upon others, then that person had surely lost their way.

That situation did not last long; a woman appeared, a figure who became the culprit behind a hopeful future, yet in the end, that future slipped beyond his reach.

She came to visit him, asking how he was doing and sharing that she herself was doing fine.

Zavi responded positively to the conversation, even though he did not utter a single word. From that situation, he gained the impression that what he had experienced had a positive side, despite the mental degradation that was eroding his soul.

"I heard that the prison sentence is going to be extended. Is that true?"

The question was thrown out just like that, without caring about the feelings of the person he was speaking to.

Zavi, who usually remained calm, could not stop himself from clenching his fists tightly, having absolutely no idea what was going through the woman's mind when she said that. However, after clearing his thoughts and observing the surrounding situation, he considered whether such an action would only make his condition inside the prison worse.

"...Why are you just staying silent? Are you sick?"

One question after another was thrown at him, making the turmoil in his chest grow hotter. Zavi slammed his hand against the table and stood up, staring at her for several seconds before turning around.

The guards watching his movements reacted, with some of them instinctively drawing pistols from their pockets, pointing the muzzles at Zavi and preparing to pull the triggers.

Zavi clicked his tongue repeatedly before calmly pointing his index finger toward the clock on his right without turning his head even slightly.

The guards' eyes shifted toward the clock, staring intently at it before nodding firmly yet hesitantly. One of them walked toward him with steady steps, handcuffed Zavi again, and took him back to his cell.

Once the two men had left the room, another guard approached the woman and said in his hoarse voice, "This meeting is over. Please consider leaving this place as soon as possible, or..."

"You're so noisy," the woman immediately stood up and responded curtly.

Then she turned around and walked toward the door with measured, rhythmic steps, leaving behind a silent and unpleasant impression on the guard's day.

Meanwhile, inside the cell, the monotonous cycle of life resumed. Rather than feeling sad, Zavi was actually happy to be free from the influence of that woman's nonsense.

Zavi himself had absolutely no idea why the woman had come to visit him, nor had he ever thought about asking her directly.

His deep sigh drew the attention of the other prisoners, and several of them reacted to Zavi's return from the visitation room.

"What's wrong, bro? Did you have another fight with your wife?" asked a thick mustached man beside him, intending to liven up the atmosphere with his sense of humor.

Zavi almost smiled instead of getting angry at the statement.

"She's not my wife," he said quietly, as though he did not want the other prisoners to hear their conversation.

"...What did you say? There's no way a woman would set aside time to visit someone like you once every two months. She even comes on Thursday, which isn't a visiting day, just to visit her husband."

The man fell silent, not waiting for an answer, but observing Zavi's expression as he sat in the corner of the cell near the drinking water area used by cell number 15.

"Why are you just sitting there?" the man asked as he sat beside him.

"You're too stupid," Zavi said quietly.

Those words made the man abandon his intention to sit beside him before asking with a furrowed brow, "What did you say?"

Zavi took the initiative to look up, staring wearily at the man's face with a faint smile on his lips.

"Obviously, what you're saying is nothing more than the nonsense spread by the police here," Zavi said firmly.

The other prisoners, their seniors in cell number 15, simultaneously turned toward them, with two of them approaching.

"He's here for a murder case, so what woman would want to have a husband like him?" explained a man wearing a head covering firmly, a gentle smile on his face.

Zavi felt a slight sense of relief in his heart, despite the previous unpleasant situation still haunting his thoughts.

'That man has a point. I don't want to talk to her simply because I don't want to remember that old man. He understood my condition. He was even one of the people who greeted me and asked why I was here in this cell. If it weren't for his presence, would I still have been able to survive until this moment? Then what happened to the others after they left this place? Have they found the decent lives they longed for and become better people than before? What about... can I become a better person than before and stop blaming fate all the time?'

Knock.

The sound of footsteps and the creaking of old iron could be heard moving through the corridor, followed by the click of a lock and the push of a gate.

Several prisoners from cells 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 simultaneously approached the iron bars to see it with their own eyes.

The presence of the guards at eight in the evening was a sign that they had made it through the day safely and without any problems, allowing them to receive their evening meals.

"Hey, why are you suddenly spacing out?" The man finally sat down and nudged his arm, intending to bring him back to reality.

Instead of the person being asked answering, the previous man replied generously, "Leave him alone. You could say your senior prisoner is lovesick."

The man turned around and sighed before calmly continuing, "He'll be back to normal soon."

The man was lost in thought over those words for quite some time, to the point that he did not realize he had not eaten his own food.

"I've only been here for one week, and I've already met someone as strange as him. I never thought I was someone who lived without any luck."

The man busied himself carefully observing Zavi's face while his mouth continued chewing bread filled with various kinds of jam.

....

At the rented house, they gathered in one room to discuss their journey to a major province such as Vinohoshi.

"I agree with Aaron. If something doesn't feel right, it's better to be honest about it," Zavi said while letting out a short breath.

'At this early hour, we'd better move to that place before it's too late. After that brief meeting, that unpleasant sensation is still lingering strongly in my mind, especially when it comes to the three of them.'

His gaze fell upon the three of them, while his thoughts continued dwelling on the problem he had experienced regarding his being dragged into the fairy tale world.

"I agree with you all, especially since this city... something isn't right," Zuhen called out loudly, occasionally glancing at Felina, who was sitting beside him.

Not knowing how to react, Celvira remained silent, still thinking about the unpleasant incident from two hours earlier.

"What time is it now?" Aaron muttered, directing the question at Zavi.

Zavi quickly slipped his hand into his trouser pocket, pulled out his pocket watch, and opened its cover. His eyes remained fixed for a moment on the moving second hand before he pressed the cover shut with his thumb and returned it to its place.

"It's twenty minutes to four," Zavi replied quietly.

"We'd better not rest in this place because it isn't safe anymore," Celvira suddenly called out.

Their eyes turned toward her and remained fixed on her for several seconds before they all nodded simultaneously and got up from their seats.

They returned to their respective rooms to prepare and collect their belongings before meeting in the central room on the ground floor. They left a letter and a telegram for the owner of the rented house at Aaron's suggestion, with Celvira carrying out the task on Zavi's orders.

After her brief departure, Celvira returned and waited for them to come out.

The air in the early morning was quite cold, forcing them to wear thick clothing, although their appearances remained unchanged from usual.

Wearing a black gothic style dress and a fedora on her head, Celvira led them with one destination in mind: the station, so they could head to Vinohoshi, specifically Tafox, that very early morning.

Although they knew the trains in this place were different from those in other cities, which usually operated at eight, Layana operated twenty four hours a day because of regional differences and the regulations established by that historic city.

Therefore, they took the initiative to leave the province in the early morning as well, regardless of how they would manage to rest peacefully.

Walking while carrying his brown suitcase, Zavi remained silent, wrestling with his own thoughts.

'Ah, what kind of ability does that man possess? I thought it would only be a few hours, but what the hell is this? More than six months? What? That's impossible.'

Trying to determine what ability it was and what level it belonged to, the corners of Zavi's lips rose little by little with every passing second, almost forming a faint grin.

Aaron, who noticed that madness, merely furrowed his brow and focused on the steps he was taking.

Since he had no belongings other than the money in his pocket and several talismans, Aaron took the initiative to quicken his pace and walk alongside Zuhen.

The two eventually began talking, allowing Zavi to sink into his own madness, while Felina, walking behind him, continued observing his movements, having absolutely no idea how to talk to him.

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