The Elusive Sorcerer

Chapter 178

'I am me, and he is him.'

Zavi himself had never considered Liam Tirarty to still be alive. In his mind, that unfortunate man had already died.

Being the same person, especially under circumstances like these, was incredibly difficult. He wanted to cry endlessly, but he remembered that his tears could no longer flow as freely as they once had.

He wanted to tell his story, yet there was no one he could lean on. He clung to the hope that accepting and enjoying his current situation was a hidden gift from both his creator and himself.

Zavi knew that every problem had a bright side, and that bright side was more than enough to keep him standing strong on the outside, even when his inner self shattered, fused back together, and shattered once again.

The cycle repeated itself, and he had no idea when it would end.

Realizing that his youth had ended far too quickly, he no longer felt young, and understood that his true adult life would begin from this very point onward.

'I just remembered that Zavi's birthday falls on November 5th, around the time I somehow entered that endless cycle after drinking the potion to regain control of this strange ability. Looking back on it, it feels like a ball swept away by the waves, vanishing in the blink of an eye and being forgotten just as quickly.'

Once again, Zavi did not complain. Considering there were countless people out there, no, more accurately, people whose lives were far more extreme than anything he had ever experienced.

'At least I'm still alive. That's already enough to make me happy and enjoy life before death eventually comes for me.'

A faint smile appeared on his gloomy face.

'Out there... right, I just remembered.'

Out there, Zavi knew that everyone carried equal measures of joy and sorrow.

No one could compare their problems or grief to another person's, even if that person was devastated by the loss of someone they loved or something equally painful.

He might not be strong enough to bear your burdens, and you might not be strong enough to bear his.

That was what had shaped Zavi Actitus into the person he was today. Deep in his heart, he wanted to become a better person and stop being haunted by his own past, both the past of Zavi Actitus and the past of Liam Tirarty.

Having grasped the essence of his life, he eagerly waited to carry out his plan as the seventh item was about to be announced.

The auctioneer's gaze swept across the hall as he raised his megaphone high into the air, just as a woman wearing a dress that exposed her shoulders and accentuated her figure stepped out from the left side of the stage.

"Alright, esteemed guests. I will now announce the seventh item... a doll."

The long build-up to reveal the actual item left both the customers and Zavi staring blankly for several seconds.

Murmurs from the second row filled the room almost instantly after the announcement of the seventh item.

"A doll? That sounds like a joke."

"Who's even going to buy something like that?"

"Giving it away for free and throwing it in the trash sounds like a better idea."

"Hahaha, this event is actually pretty funny."

"Don't joke around. Do I look like a child to you?"

A man from seat 111 shouted loudly, putting the auctioneer in an awkward position.

"I'm only following orders, nothing more," the auctioneer shouted back, but his voice was drowned out by their irritated murmurs.

Then a man suddenly raised his hand high, signaling a bid, causing the entire hall to fall silent.

The auctioneer immediately focused on him.

"40,000 Pace," the man said calmly with a smile.

For a moment, the customers were stunned to hear such a large bid for nothing more than a doll.

The customer sitting beside him also commented on the oddity.

"...Him again? Has he gone crazy?"

"Ah, I honestly don't know."

"Looking at his face, he seems different from before."

The man they were referring to was Zavi.

Evelina could only remain silent as she witnessed the murmurs and stares from the other customers.

Inside Room 3 on the upper floor.

Tiara suddenly rose from her seat, startling her maid, Nelly.

"That man... is he seriously trying to buy that thing?"

Mistakenly believing the item to be an artifact, Tiara, who was partially visible behind the curtains, raised her hand.

Everyone's attention, including the nobles in the front rows and those on the upper floor, shifted toward her.

"55,000 Pace?"

Zavi glanced to his left and stared at her strangely.

'That woman again? What does she want?'

He quickly raised his hand, not even giving the auctioneer time to react.

"70,000 Pace?"

The other customers immediately began paying attention to him, including the auctioneer and the three other people standing on the stage.

On the iron trolley, the doll stood gracefully, giving off an ordinary yet feminine impression that left the predominantly male audience baffled.

"He's seriously bidding that much for a doll?"

"Rich people don't really think about money, bro," another man replied.

That was incorrect. Zavi had no intention of buying the doll at all; he intended to steal it.

The bidding stopped at 70,000 Pace. Tiara did not dare bid any higher because she suspected it might be a trap, especially after taking the item he had wanted.

'Damn you! How dare you toy with me!'

Tiara hissed through clenched teeth while thinking. She sat with her body slightly hunched, one hand covering part of her face, leaving only her eyes visible.

The auctioneer informed Zavi that the doll would be delivered to him once the auction ended.

Zavi nodded, and a few seconds later, the customers began discussing the eighth item.

"I wonder what the eighth item is."

"Well, I have no idea," someone replied in a rough, hoarse voice.

"It'd be nice if we could get a hint," a female customer complained.

"Business is business."

Meanwhile, among the men seated from 420 to 430, one of them raised a question similar to the one from earlier.

"Continuing the story sounds interesting," muttered the man sitting in seat 422.

The man beside him, a friend of his, nodded, followed by the gazes of the other eight men.

"What is the story about?" asked the man in seat 424, feeling pressured by their attitudes.

"War," replied the man in seat 428 calmly.

The people seated in the front row from 420 to 427 turned around toward the man sitting in the same row as Zavi.

"War, you say?" asked the man in seat 421.

"Yes, of course," answered the man in seat 428.

"What's your name?" asked the man in seat 426. "A story about war really stirs my youthful soul."

"That's quite the joke," the man in seat 428 replied firmly.

Seeing everyone looking at him, the man finally revealed the secret behind that great war.

"...Do you all know that there's a clearly endless hole in western GreyHeaven?"

'I know about that, but what does it have to do with war?'

After a moment of thought, the man in seat 425, who came from GreyHeaven Province, glanced at him and asked, "Are you from there?"

"No," he replied quietly. "At least, I only know about that hole through word of mouth."

No one reacted, prompting the man in seat 424 to say, "Speaking of war, it reminds me of how the gods descended into the human world to fight and drive away destructive creatures like Oyters, Dragons, Vampires, and Giants. Even their existence today feels like the tale of nine figures, each with their own title."

Interested in the discussion, the man in seat 425 adjusted the glasses hanging from his neck and asked, "How many of you still remember those nine mysterious mythical figures?"

The men in seats 422 and 423 exchanged glances and answered almost simultaneously.

"The Banishing Naraka and White Foggy Night."

"Oh? That's quite a lot," said the man in seat 426. "I think I only remember Heaven of the Inevitable Descent because the people around here live very close to that myth."

The man in seat 429 tried to think logically.

"How can nine real figures become myths, especially when their disappearances are also considered real, and each of them is remembered by different groups and individuals?"

Only now did he realize, or rather, notice the inconsistency in the memories of his youth. Those nine mysterious figures were both real and mythical, yet they had also existed during an earlier era: the era of the Tailed Stars, when they fought one another, and some of them drove away the chaos of that age.

Furthermore, the history before Calendar Year 1 was completely hidden from people like them, and they knew absolutely nothing about it.

"Yes, the stories are very different," replied the man in seat 426. "I know that, or rather, this world has been strange since before we were born."

All of them swallowed nervously and stared straight ahead, unwilling to continue the conversation.

Meanwhile, Evelina glanced at Zavi and asked quietly, "Is Moriarty really sure he wants to buy that doll?"

'Why would a man as ruthless as him buy a doll? Could it be for the woman he mentioned?'

Thinking about Alisa, the woman Zavi had mentioned, Evelina found herself pondering several aspects of James Moriarty's background.

Without looking up, Zavi replied, "Of course. It's for you."

Evelina, who had been calm until then, suddenly felt awkward as those words pierced her thoughts again and again.

"...For me?"

Zavi smiled and answered softly, "Of course."

Evelina had misunderstood him. At first, she had deeply distrusted James Moriarty because she knew how indifferent he was. Yet in reality, there was a gentle side hidden behind that cold face and detached gaze.

The awkward silence did not last long because the auctioneer soon announced the eighth item.

"Alright, the eighth item has arrived."

He glanced at the woman, signaling for her to remove the cover and reveal the item.

Meanwhile, the auctioneer raised his megaphone high and announced, "This is the eighth item... a shining crystal ball artifact capable of foretelling a person's fate. It originally belonged to a famous fortune teller four hundred years ago, passed through several owners, and eventually found its way to the Ountakana Auction."

The customers appeared excited since the starting price had yet to be revealed.

Several seconds after the atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze, the auctioneer finally ended the suspense.

"The starting bid for this crystal ball artifact is 50,000 Pace. Its quality is beyond question," the auctioneer continued.

Bids immediately filled every corner of the hall.

"55,000 Pace?"

"60,000 Pace?"

"Oh? Not bad. Anyone willing to go higher?" the auctioneer pointed to his right.

"75,000 Pace?"

"80,000 Pace?"

"90,000 Pace?"

The auctioneer simply stood there in silence as several customers desperately wanted the crystal ball artifact.

"95,000?"

From seat 112, a man asked the person beside him, "Is that artifact genuine?"

The man beside him shook his head and answered quietly, "Who knows? But what surprises me is whether that artifact thief organization is really going to attack this place."

The man in seat 112 looked shocked and asked for confirmation.

"How do you know that?"

"Nobles were talking about it during the break earlier," he replied quietly.

Receiving no reaction, he added:

"Ghost Skull Syndicate."

An artifact-stealing organization with no fewer than fifty members and more than a dozen core members.

"I'm not entirely sure, but that's what they said. For now, I just hope they can handle it if those rumors turn out to be true."

Only after seeing the man's pupils tremble did he realize it was something he probably should not have asked, while momentarily forgetting how to breathe properly.

The auction continued, the conversation ended, and the bidding reached its peak.

The price climbed to 500,000 Pace.

The auctioneer barely had time to speak as he focused on the bidders.

The customers continued raising their bids little by little.

Meanwhile, inside Room 3 on the upper floor.

Tiara remained seated, unable to relax. Her anxiety was obvious. Sweat continued to gather on her face as she kept biting the tip of her index finger.

'That man... why isn't he bidding? Is it fake, or is he trying to lure me in?'

She had come to the auction in search of something important, among other objectives, but now her attention had been completely diverted by Zavi's actions.

'Ah, waiting for you and placing a higher bid than yours sounds like a good idea.'

Seeing the determined look in her mistress's eyes, the maid named Nelly smiled faintly.

Then Tiara rose from her seat and carefully observed Zavi Actitus from above. He remained completely still and showed no reaction whatsoever to the crystal ball artifact.

The bidding continued, while Evelina waited for Zavi after receiving one of his instructions.

Outside, the clone disguised as Arsène Lupin, dressed similarly to Zavi, moved through the corridors in search of the vault where the auction items were stored.

Zavi had manipulated the clone so that it would not perfectly imitate him. That part was easy, but stabilizing it was extremely difficult. As a result, he ran from one corridor to another, passing guards along the way, and eventually found the vault, which was surprisingly located above the auction hall itself.

He was shocked. It had taken fifteen minutes to find the vault when it should have taken only two minutes, or at least a single minute of walking.

The large room was guarded by several people. Zavi deliberately tried to catch them off guard, or more accurately, he intended to use one of his deception techniques.

After five minutes of investigation, he disguised himself as the person responsible for retrieving the auction items, just as the ninth item was being announced.

"Open the door," he said calmly as he walked toward it.

Twenty guards watched him carefully, sensing that something was wrong.

"...Alright, just wait a moment," said the guard standing in front of him.

He then signaled to his companion to open the vault door immediately.

Although they appeared calm and showed no obvious suspicion, one of them noticed something after seeing the change in his expression and raised his rifle.

Because the basic Prisoner Ability could not perfectly imitate another person, Zavi's identity was finally exposed.

"What can I do..."

He shrugged slightly as he turned around, then raised both hands.

From there, as they slowly approached with their rifles still aimed at him, Zavi summoned ten foxes, detonated them as a distraction, and rushed forward, attacking five guards one after another.

Thud... Thud...

He stopped once more, summoned additional foxes, and detonated them as another diversion, using the smoke from the explosions to his advantage. All twenty guards were brought down within minutes.

Now only one obstacle remained: escaping with all the stolen goods.

'But how?'

Zavi knew this theft could not be accomplished alone. It certainly was not as easy as he had imagined beforehand.

All he could do was enter the vault, watch for traps, and search for the things he wanted to take.

Only after identifying the artifacts through spiritual contact with his hand did Zavi take two unidentified stolen artifacts and slip them into the pocket of his suit.

The moment he stepped outside, he was startled by the arrival of five people. They were clearly not guards and stood not far from the bodies of the guards he had previously defeated.

"Who are you?"

The moment that question left one of their mouths, Zavi was faced with two choices:

Fight or run?