Chapter 108
Meanwhile, Zavi fell back into the tension consuming his thoughts as he never expected that woman to know every move and plan he made, as if she herself had been watching him all this time, or more precisely, knew exactly what was inside his head!
'I don't know, I don't understand how she does that. But what keeps making me curious is this—does Forn's incident of turning into that winged creature have something to do with that bitch? Or more precisely, with the fifth-level evil spirit, Mastering?'
Zavi kept thinking about the strange incidents that had happened ever since he tried to uncover the truth behind that world itself, as though some unseen force refused to let him delve deeper into the supernatural.
'She never wants to answer my questions. She knows my identity, and she even knows that I... like women who wear glasses. So who exactly is she?'
Zavi fell silent for a moment before his mouth slowly opened wide as he finally came up with a possibility regarding the true identity of that woman, and it certainly was not Aurora Chevalya.
'Could she be... Sylvia?' Zavi thought with a sharp look in his eyes. 'The woman who always came to visit me in prison once or twice every month?'
He was not entirely sure, but considering how similar that mysterious woman's way of speaking was to Sylvia's, Zavi wanted to learn more and force her to reveal the truth once he met her again.
On the other hand, Aaron merely observed Zavi, who sat hunched over with his left arm resting on top of both thighs.
'I don't know what he's planning. But looking at it more carefully, could this have something to do with the "Summoning" of the fifth-level evil spirit, Mastering?' Aaron thought with his expressionless face as he stared intensely at Zavi's back.
"Actitus," Aaron said with a sigh. Seeing no response from him, Aaron immediately continued, "He seems to know your daily life very well. Am I right about that?"
Zavi immediately straightened his body. For a brief moment, his eyes caught sight of the raging snowstorm ahead before he glanced toward Aaron with a gloomy face.
"I don't know," he answered weakly.
'This changing situation is making me feel like a living corpse myself. I don't know, I don't understand what that woman wants. But judging from the way she acts, she definitely has hidden intentions that could allow her to take advantage of my existence.'
Zavi became confused by her once again, trying not to think about it anymore even though it was something important regarding his existence in this world.
He let out a sigh to calm his thoughts as he rested his head against the chair.
"Hey, Aaron. Can you leave me alone for a while?" Zavi said weakly as his eyes slowly closed, his face tilted toward the café ceiling.
Aaron immediately stood up without asking for a clear reason. But he understood that being alone amidst thoughts that continued to rage endlessly was sometimes the best way to calm oneself.
He promptly walked steadily toward his right side, specifically toward the left side of the café, heading for a round table with a pair of chairs.
Once he arrived there, Aaron pulled one chair closer until it sat beside the other. His eyes swept across the surroundings with his usual blank expression as he lay down facing directly toward Zavi, keeping watch for any lurking danger.
The night passed quickly like dust swept away by the wind. Meanwhile, the snowstorm raged even more violently than the previous night, leaving the streets deserted with nothing but freezing air and piles of snow covering the roads, including the street lamps.
Somewhere on the western side of Minehold, specifically in Kenotalle, one of the largest regions and ranked third within Minehold, stood a house with a chimney releasing black smoke mixed with heat. Inside were two people; a woman around her fifties, and a man with a calm face sitting opposite her.
They were Ren and his mother, Mei.
On the soft white sofa, tension and panic weighed heavily on Mei's shoulders as she stared at her son's face full of hope.
"I'll look for him, Mother," Ren said calmly, "so don't worry, and it seems Isabelle is worried about him too." He signaled with his eyes toward the staircase right beside the neatly arranged bookshelf.
Mei immediately turned around, seeing a shadowy silhouette standing on the second floor with a restless gaze before she looked back at Ren.
"You know, Zavi has always been careless. He can't take care of himself and always gets involved in other people's problems."
Ren remained silent as he looked at his mother and thought.
'You're completely wrong, Mother. He's changed now, at least for the moment. On the other hand, I'm still thinking about the information Karl gave me back then, about Zavi's death being hunted, and about Karl's disappearance without any news. I still haven't heard anything from them.'
"For now," Ren said with a sigh. "Just stay quiet, Mother, and I warn you not to ever report this to the authorities." Ren raised his index finger with a sharp gaze.
'This is the best idea I have right now. I don't know whether the group I fought before managed to escape or not. And Herana's condition is still unknown even now.'
Ren was not thinking about Narissa Herana's condition at all, because his own physical condition was still extremely weak after continuously fighting the previous three people, one of whom was a Hollow.
Hearing that, Mei was immediately shocked.
"Why am I not allowed to report this to the authorities?"
"They can't even solve the death cases happening in Moran lately, let alone deal with the increasing number of deaths occurring every single day."
Ren thought while cursing them and himself as well because neither he nor his companions knew the truth behind those mysterious deaths yet, at least for now, and he also knew that several of those deaths were connected to "Ritual Victims" from groups that violated society's laws and norms.
"Of course they won't truly look for him," Ren answered calmly before standing up and taking a newspaper from a drawer a few meters away from the heater furnace with its steady flames.
After opening it and checking the contents, Ren turned around and sat back in his original seat with the newspaper spread wide open across the table decorated with red patterns resembling tree roots.
"Mother, you can look at this part of the newspaper," Ren said while pointing at one sentence on the upper left side.
Mei read it carefully before speaking to confirm, "Ah, this. I've heard about it before from the equipment merchant beside the stall where I sell things."
Ren silently stared at his mother sharply.
Then Mei continued, "If I'm not mistaken, out of the eleven kidnapped people including me, five of them died in horrifying and mysterious conditions, right?"
Without hesitation, Ren answered, "Yes, that's why they made it into this newspaper, Mother."
Ren fell silent for a moment as he looked at her with deep worry, afraid of losing someone close to him again.
"You know why I forbid you from going outside and from ever reporting this to the authorities, right?" Ren asked, seeking an answer from his mother.
Mei replied hesitantly, "But then, how am I supposed to sell things again and support our living expenses?"
"Father left enough savings to support us for a while, and you also have savings in the public bank too, right?"
Without waiting for his mother's answer, Ren immediately continued as if he did not want to lose that moment itself.
"Let me earn the money for now. Meanwhile, you and Isabelle shouldn't leave the house for the time being. I'm begging you with all my heart, please listen to your son this time."
Seeing Ren beg for the first time with a face full of hope, his eyes glistening as if tears were about to fall, Mei immediately sobbed while closing her eyes to keep the tears from flowing down her face, not wanting him to see them.
"Alright, I'll follow the advice you've given me, Ren," Mei answered softly between her sobs.
Ren immediately smiled upon realizing that his mother was willing to follow his advice. Then his sharp gaze shifted toward the stairs as he sensed someone's presence—Isabelle, who disappeared after the conversation ended.
On the other side, in the southern part of Minehold, specifically in Menotalle, there stood an abandoned house that had long been deserted and had witnessed every event upon the land where it was built. Inside were two people, including two supernatural creatures called Recipestele.
After the incident that befell the four of them, Felina forced herself to carry Zuhen's body despite her utterly exhausted physical condition until she finally reached this place.
Several days had already passed since they arrived at that quiet place rarely visited by others because the house was located within a filthy and rundown alley.
To survive day by day, she searched for money, never once thinking about washing dishes just to earn a piece of bread and something to drink in order to stay alive amidst a situation like this.
Even though she had been together with Zuhen since she was around fifteen years old, now at the age of twenty-one, Felina had always lived from the money Zuhen gave her. And despite Zuhen possessing a large amount of money from who-knows-where, with the jacket he wore still containing enough cash to support her for about a month, she never once thought about secretly taking it without his knowledge unless Zuhen himself gave it to her.
Watching Tell fly back and forth while clicking his tongue like a lizard, Felina immediately voiced her thoughts with overflowing anger.
"How long are you going to keep doing this?" she asked loudly and harshly.
Tell opened his mouth wide.
"Hah? Of course until Mudelk wakes up on his own, damn it."
"But at least be useful for once, you weird creature. Find that man, the one who might be able to wake him up."
Then Felina glanced toward her right side, seeing the other Recipestele floating silently with veins bulging across his forehead.
"How long are the two of you going to stand there frozen like statues...?" she shouted loudly, causing the air that had previously moved sluggishly to freeze as silence imprisoned their thoughts.