The Elusive Sorcerer

Chapter 130

Time passed quickly, from the break of dawn until around eight at night.

Date 17. Friday.

The cries of mammals rang sharply as if carried by the wind itself. Meanwhile, the friction of tree branches swaying in the wind and the sound of snow falling onto leaves and soil made the atmosphere feel as though the world had come alive again as they walked through it.

Along the narrow forest trail lined with acacia trees, the scent of wet earth clung to every step.

Meanwhile, Zavi groaned softly as he slowly massaged his temples.

'I don't know how that person could know the name 'Jack the Ripper', and the actions he carried out are exactly the same as the ones I knew on Earth.'

He paused for a moment before continuing his thoughts.

'A coincidence...? No... it feels like that person came from the same era as the Earth I lived in... or maybe people simply made up those stories based on his actions?'

After drowning in confusion for too long, Zavi lifted his bamboo hat with his thumb as unease gripped his mind.

The moment he realized Aaron had taken a shortcut through the forest toward Semilir, a feeling of anxiety made him overthink the possibility of that figure appearing and launching a silent attack.

"Hey, Aaron," Zavi called out while quickening his pace.

Aaron immediately stopped walking, then turned around and asked in confusion;

"What is it? Do you want to talk to satisfy your curiosity?"

Zavi shook his head and replied, "No. It's just that I feel like that creature is watching us while we're walking through this forest path."

Aaron raised the lantern with its bright orange glow high into the air and spoke in a deep, confident voice:

"Chalog, huh? The creature you're talking about doesn't exist around the outskirts of Xinahiru Forest."

'At least for now,' Aaron added inwardly while carrying the gas lantern as usual.

"Are you sure?" Zavi tried to make certain as his narrowed eyes swept across the surroundings.

Aaron nodded and said deeply, "Yeah. If they appear, I'll handle it."

"You're really overthinking something so simple," Aaron muttered before turning around and continuing his steps after realizing Mine and Hana were also watching him from up ahead.

Zavi looked right and left once more while letting out a sigh.

'A silent-type enemy isn't something that can be underestimated. But it seems like I just got a good idea for when that creature appears.'

Zavi immediately followed after Aaron and fell back into thought.

'Fighting them alone back then almost cost me my life for the first time. Yeah, even though I nearly died three times in this world, that incident really was the worst compared to the other two."

He lowered his head and moved his legs unsteadily as though he could once again feel what he had experienced back then.

The despair of death approaching and the anger born from that pain.

As Aaron passed him indifferently, Mine adjusted her lantern when she saw Aaron's shadow seemingly slicing across the acacia trees beside them.

While waiting for Zavi to catch up, Hana quickly approached him and asked about his sudden stop.

"Were you worrying about something or just having a casual chat?" Hana asked enthusiastically.

Zavi continued walking past her before replying in a restrained tone, "Don't think too much about it. You should be worrying about yourself instead."

Without realizing it, Hana's fingers trembled as they gripped the edge of her coat while she carefully stared at Zavi's back. At the same time, she noticed Mine approaching her and glancing at Zavi warily.

"What is it?" Mine asked while lifting the lantern so its light directly illuminated her friend's face.

Hana quickly raised her right hand to block the blinding light and answered in a muffled voice:

"That man is really strange, and somehow it only makes me more interested in him."

Mine glanced behind her once more before staring at Hana seriously while holding the lantern as usual, then spoke in a sharp, deep voice,

"We've stayed by their side for so long, yet it still feels like we only met a few hours ago..."

"Maybe because you're too shy to show your real innocence."

Hana patted Mine's shoulder with her cold hand before continuing her walk, not wanting to be left behind by the two of them in the silent forest surrounded by the roars of beasts that squeezed at her mind.

Mine, aware of her desire to keep hiding her true feelings, pretending to have a firm personality while erasing her feminine side, found herself recalling Hana's earlier words.

Her jaw stiffened, followed by her fingers tugging at her pants until the fabric pressed tightly against her thighs.

'I don't want this to keep going either, and I also have to protect you, idiot. I don't want to lose you, and you're the only person I've ever known in my life who's close to me.'

After trying to calm her thoughts, she only realized it when the cold air seemed to gently brush against the back of her neck while piercing into her mind.

She hurriedly swallowed before running toward them so she wouldn't be left behind in the middle of this forest.

The journey continued without rest because resting inside the forest, even if it was only near the outskirts, was still dangerous.

Even though the four of them carried weapons, and two among them were Receivers, for the sake of not wasting the spirituality within their bodies, the two of them insisted on reaching Semilir before sunrise.

Hana and Mine, who initially disagreed with the insane plan, ultimately had no choice but to follow the orders of the person they had admired all this time.

Even before entering a secret organization like 'Intersection Society', they had eagerly awaited that destiny, and unexpectedly fate seemed to side with them, granting the wish they had long desired.

Even in difficult circumstances, the hope the two of them had waited for all this time would never be wasted.

Once they arrived before a settlement where the streetlights shone brightly through the trees and creeping vines, their exhausted faces brightened because this was the place they had longed for to rest.

It was neither a village nor a city, but the area felt as though it had been specially built by a ruler or noble, even though most of the district-sized territory, comparable to Chapena District, was dominated by lower-class residents, with only a few nobles living there because of its breathtaking scenery and the peaceful river flow that seemed to lift the burdens of the world from one's mind.

That was exactly what they felt when they slipped into the area with Aaron's help until the four of them finally stood in an alley illuminated faintly by streetlights, mingling among people hanging around even though the sun had yet to rise.

5:45 AM.

"Crazy, I just realized you could drag all of us into this place without the guards outside noticing, including those three." Mine sounded amazed as she pointed toward the corner of the alley, talking about the way Aaron used his Exorcist ability, the second-stage Extraction, with incredible efficiency.

Even though she had once experienced the sensation of sitting atop clouds back then, she could still vaguely see the shadow that had actually carried them all the way to Minehold.

However, Aaron considered the method ridiculous because he often failed due to his lack of mastery over it.

'Yeah. I know it's a simple method: using shadows to release Extraction, creating a replica world formed by a veil of shadows within a hundred meters from where I'm standing. I've never used this before because the replica can fail, it requires intense concentration, and even the slightest mistake would make me lose all five senses for several seconds, maybe even minutes.'

His brow furrowed slightly as he continued thinking.

'Besides, this is my first time using it, and I got the information from Aaron Kwok.'

He chuckled softly because he couldn't imagine how terrifying it would feel to lose all five senses for several minutes, or even several seconds.

After muttering to himself, Aaron glanced toward Zavi, who was deep in thought amid the conversation of the three people standing to his left in the alley corner, their voices rumbling like thunder.

The serious expression hidden beneath the bamboo hat and his curiosity pushed Aaron to seek information from them.

Not long after Aaron considered that possibility, his brows furrowed slightly as he noticed Zavi, who had previously been standing beside him, now steadily walking toward the three men.

Aaron glanced to his right, realizing that keeping Mine and Hana safe was the right decision as he understood Zavi's intention from the way he walked away without looking back.

Meanwhile, in the alley corner illuminated dimly by the streetlight from the corridor ahead, still connected to the main road, the three men chatted while expressing their thoughts, their legs swinging as they sat atop stacked wooden crates.

"Pretty bad, huh? One important person's negligence ended up causing casualties," commented a man wearing a top hat.

A man with straight black hair and brown eyes hidden beneath the dim corridor light spoke in a weary voice:

"Even my wife heard from people that those creatures have occupied one of the large mansions in southern Chavez."

A man sitting higher than his two companions, dressed in a classic tailcoat over a white shirt, immediately voiced his thoughts.

"There are around five of them living inside that mansion, right?"

The two nodded, and seeing their reactions through the limited visibility, the man named Nison quickly added;

"Is there any expert who can drive away the tension the people of Chavez have been feeling lately?"

Completely absorbed in their conversation, the three of them failed to realize that a stranger had overheard several of their important discussions.

Zavi could now hear their conversation clearly and understood why there were so many guards outside and why unregistered people weren't allowed to enter Chavez, forcing Aaron to use illegal means to sneak them in.

'Pretty smart of you, Aaron.'

Zavi resumed walking, and his calm cough immediately brought their conversation to a sudden halt.

The man in the top hat instantly jumped down from his seat, approached Zavi, and spoke in his heavy voice;

"Who are you? Why... why are you here?"

His two companions reacted immediately, jumping down from where they sat before walking over and standing beside the man in the top hat.

"Who am I?" Zavi repeated in a tone as though he were confused.

Then he chuckled softly before his gaze sharpened and he spoke in a restrained voice;

"... My name is James Moriarty."