Chapter 107
'Damn it. Is he traumatized by that too?' Zavi thought as he stared at the raging snowstorm ahead of them.
After being trapped in the earlier tension for far too long, Zavi cleared his throat twice as he checked the pocket of his jacket, making sure the pistol he had found was still in his possession.
After that, he glanced at Aaron and said, "Looks like the previous worlds overlapped with each other, huh?"
Aaron gave a small nod, his expression still tense while his breathing caught slightly as he said,
"You know what I'm thinking, right?"
Zavi quickly swallowed hard as he remembered the strange sensation violently raging through his mind the previous morning.
'Damn it. If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have continued talking about it. Is it true that simply speaking about Them can make someone end up like this? But now that I think about it again, becoming a Receiver can apparently avoid death by mentioning Them.'
Zavi truly thought it through carefully as he turned around and walked toward the wooden bench in front of a shop that had closed early for the beginning of the year.
Seeing Zavi's movements, Aaron immediately approached him, and eventually sat down on Zavi's right side with his right leg resting over his left thigh.
'This guy... wants to keep talking again? Damn it, looks like he still hasn't learned after almost getting himself killed.'
Aaron frowned as he slowly massaged his forehead.
"So," he said with one hand resting on the bench handle. "You still want to talk more, don't you?" he asked with a tired expression.
Zavi let out a sigh and answered hesitantly,
"Yeah, but not about that anymore. I've seriously had enough."
'Yeah, this is my fault, and his too for bringing it up. Bastard, damn bastard,' Zavi cursed inwardly.
"What do you want to talk about?" Aaron asked as he lowered his leg, leaned forward slightly, and crossed both arms over his mouth.
"I don't know what to say," Zavi replied with a sigh. "What month did you arrive in Moran?" he asked, trying to confirm something regarding the destruction incident at Eaurealis Castle.
Aaron looked hesitant as he thought while touching his chin. But eventually, he figured out how to answer the question properly.
"I arrived in Forgenate around mid-June. At the end of June, I moved to Tezny, specifically Nivana, and by late July I decided to head to Hava and stayed there for a few days. Then I moved to Niki at the end of August until the demon horse incident nearly destroyed the entirety of Moran."
'So that's how it was. He stayed there for several months and used the city's chaotic situation to move freely while also avoiding pursuit from... if I'm not mistaken, the Soas Repena Order?'
Zavi let out a long sigh as he thought about how Aaron's life stood on the edge between death and loneliness itself. He once asked him about the purpose of his life while they were walking through Street No. 12 Capa in Forgenate.
Strangely enough, Aaron only answered with his usual indifferent tone. "I'll do whatever I want. That's all, nothing more."
Hearing that answer, Zavi felt somewhat impressed by Aaron's mindset while facing the fact that he was being hunted by secret organizations like the Soas Repena Order and bounty hunters. He did not see them as a problem. He did not care about their existence. He would kill them if they blocked his path. He was trying to find a friend.
Aaron quickly added as Zavi seriously observed everything he was saying;
"As for why I was in Niki, I've already told you and those other two before. But I'll ask you one thing before you start asking more questions."
Zavi seriously considered Aaron's statement before briefly replying, "Yeah."
Seeing Zavi's body language urging him to continue, Aaron finally revealed the thoughts that had been tormenting him lately.
"About that," he said hesitantly, "you've met a level three evil spirit, Nammeridya, and a level five evil spirit... M-Mastering, right?"
It was the first time Aaron had spoken with a stutter. His entire body shivered intensely right after saying it, never once imagining that those two might come to him again, or worse, kill him.
Zavi's thoughts were dragged back to that crucial moment as he saw Aaron's pale face before turning his own away.
'The one he means is... her? How does he know about that?'
Zavi immediately stood up so abruptly that his chair jolted backward. He quickly glanced left and right as he felt the same strange sensation from when he was at the tower during the surveillance of the Finiscya sect.
Seeing Zavi's reaction, Aaron began trembling again because of the piercing, unsettling sensation floating within the very air he breathed, making his chest burn alongside the strange thin white mist appearing amidst the raging snowstorm.
'Is she coming?' Aaron thought in panic. He immediately stood up, rapidly glanced around, then looked at Zavi.
"Actitus, get over here," Aaron said in confusion, trying to use Zavi's presence so those two terrifying supernatural beings would not approach him.
He did not know why, but it felt as though countless hidden eyes from every direction were watching him.
Zavi immediately turned around when Aaron called his name. Every step felt heavy as he visualized the face of that beautiful woman with the strange personality inside his mind.
'I'm still curious why... so she's actually a level five evil spirit, huh? No wonder Celvira acted strangely after that woman spoke to me, damn it,' Zavi thought with a brooding expression as he returned the chair to its original position and sat down while lowering his head.
Feeling uncomfortable and unwilling to do something foolish again, Aaron glanced at Zavi with a flat expression, though deep inside he unconsciously carried overwhelming fear.
"Something's wrong," Zavi muttered while swallowing hard. "You know what it is too, right, Aaron?" he asked, dragging Aaron into his nightmare.
The question hung in the air like fog.
Zavi glanced at Aaron with a clear answer in his eyes that he did not want to get any deeper into matters related to supernatural beings, including the nine mysterious figures that had become myths themselves.
"Don't be afraid." Zavi tried to calm Aaron down.
'I'm doing this on purpose so she'll show herself again,' Zavi added inwardly, recklessly dragging Aaron into danger even though he knew Aaron could help him search for what he wanted.
Aaron quickly swallowed as he said,
"You intentionally want to summon those two again? That's insane."
"Don't overthink it. I know the risks, but there's nothing wrong with trying, right?" Zavi glanced at Aaron with a bitter smile.
'When other people talk about her, she wants to appear. But when I talk about her, she doesn't show up. Damn you, impostor pretending to be Aurora Chevalya.'
Zavi was genuinely irritated with her, even though he knew Aurora could not possibly be an ordinary human. Based on what he knew from Zavi's memories, and nothing beyond that, she might even be capable of deceiving the very concept of the world itself.
He could not imagine how powerful that mysterious figure impersonating Aurora Chevalya truly was. Considering that even a level three evil spirit like Nammeridya already possessed enough power to bring an entire nation under its control, then what about a level five being like Mastering?
Finally, after thinking of a way to make that woman appear, Zavi looked toward Aaron with a pleading expression, though a sharp grin formed across his face, leaving Aaron unable to understand what he wanted.
'Does he want me to talk about those two again?'
But because his instincts told him to grant Zavi's request, Aaron immediately took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.
"Level five evil spirit, Mastering. Do you know about that?"
"Yeah, of course I do." Zavi gestured for Aaron to hurry up.
Seeing that, Aaron clicked his tongue and resigned himself to the terrible outcome waiting for him afterward.
"Do you know what a level five evil spirit, Mastering, actually is? Including how it managed to follow you?" Aaron asked while holding his breath.
"As for that... I don't know," Zavi answered calmly, waiting for Aaron to continue with an eager expression.
"How can you not know?" Aaron asked once again just to make sure.
"The answer's simple, because I don't know, damn it." Zavi ended up getting emotional while answering the question.
'How long is this going to keep going on?' Aaron thought as he fell silent for a moment to regain his composure.
"So, you met them by accident?"
Zavi slightly shrugged and answered,
"Yeah, I guess you could say that. Or maybe they were the ones who suddenly met me."
'Damn you. Showing up faster would've been better, you cursed woman.' Zavi irritably rubbed his face with his hand.
Unable to stand this act any longer, Zavi intended to end it and tell Aaron everything.
But then... the thin white mist Aaron had seen earlier flowed and thickened directly before them, forming a flat surface of a face with only a mouth remaining to speak.
"Damn you... I won't fall for your dirty tricks, Zavi, or rather, Salilfai Lamena."
The voice was flat, echoing, unmistakably feminine.
As the mist forming that flat-faced surface with only a mouth slowly faded away with time, Zavi's expression turned extremely serious as he realized that woman, or rather the level five evil spirit, knew about his hidden intentions.
"Looks like she's afraid of meeting you?" Aaron finally spoke in a relaxed tone after realizing that Zavi had somehow 'controlled' the will of that supernatural being, though it still retained freedom to move without Zavi's knowledge.
Zavi sighed.
"It's fine," he said, "but sorry for always dragging you straight into death itself."
The veins on Aaron's forehead bulged as he tightly gripped the bench handle and spoke with his eyes closed.
"I'll make you pay for this someday."
Zavi immediately raised both hands, signaling Aaron to calm down.
"Alright, alright. Looks like you're going to use me again just like before," Zavi said with a long sigh.