Chapter 260 – Undo

Chapter 260

Before dawn broke, the five of them finally gathered to discuss the operation they would carry out in a few minutes.

"So... what's the plan? I thought Aaron was going to capture that creature as part of our preparations?" Zavi began, his voice rising slightly as his eyes glanced toward Aaron, who was standing at the edge of the guard post.

Aaron chuckled.

"I personally have no desire to look after someone who might get possessed by a demon."

Hearing the slight sarcasm in his words, Zavi couldn't help chuckling inwardly. As for their earlier conversation, to be honest, he hadn't given it much thought. In fact, he should have thanked Zuhen.

'I know it won't be easy, but what's wrong with digging up some important information about those three artifacts? Oh, did that woman manage to bring her suitcase safely?'

After thinking for a moment, Zavi shifted his gaze to the left, where three people were sitting inside a guard post hut outside the village.

Their prolonged silence made the atmosphere around the hut grow increasingly heavy as each of them became lost in their own thoughts. Unwilling to let the silence drag on any longer, Zavi finally cleared his throat and turned his attention to the role he had just created.

"It would be quite amusing if that demon caught you, wouldn't it?" Zavi said, looking at Aaron.

Hearing that, Aaron turned his body slightly, observing Zavi's figure standing on the narrow path covered with dry grass.

As the cold night wind blew once more, seeping into their pores and penetrating deeper until it reached their bones, they immediately reacted by shifting their gazes toward the dense trees to the left of the guard post.

For a moment, their minds went blank again. Not long afterward, a sense of unease began creeping into their thoughts.

'What was that? What... what exactly just happened?'

Zuhen nearly rose from his seat and immediately stepped onto the path as the strange feeling once again shook him to his core.

"What time is it now?" he asked, his eyes fixed intently on Zavi.

Zavi responded by brushing off his trousers, then his tailcoat, before reaching into his coat pocket and taking out his pocket watch.

Click.

His gaze immediately settled on the second hand for quite some time.

"Ten to twelve," Zavi said, turning the face of the watch toward them.

Celvira sighed.

"What about the plan? I thought you were going to discuss it again, but now you're just sitting here in silence?"

Unable to understand what went on inside the minds of humans like them, Celvira, as an evil spirit, was thoroughly fed up with the situation around her.

Moreover, having entered into a contract with Zavi, she could no longer move as freely as she had in previous years. Celvira had to ask Zavi for permission before leaving, and she also had to obey his orders, unless her contractor agreed to fulfill her wishes.

Her one and only desire was to travel to the island of Arum and defeat another supernatural being, the fourth-level evil spirit, Overoliridya, whose existence posed a threat to her.

Furthermore, Celvira had no idea whether there were other beings of her kind out there who intended to do the same. There was one important thing she had never forgotten: a figure whose existence far surpassed her own was watching her every move, every second.

Acting cautiously and obeying a human who had a connection to the entity Celvira feared was one of the most brilliant ideas she had ever come up with.

As for the contract, Celvira was deeply uncertain whether the fifth-level evil spirit, Mastering, would ruin her plans or whether the opposite would happen.

Seeing Zavi return to his usual attitude of letting go of all his thoughts, Celvira immediately became alert to the situation around her.

'Is there something you want to discuss?'

'No,' Zavi replied inwardly, slightly startled by the voice that had suddenly entered his head.

'Then why are you making so much noise?' Celvira asked inwardly, puzzled.

"I don't know what to do. Besides, where did you put that suitcase? It's practically my spare life, you know!"

"A spare life? What do you mean?"

'You foolish evil spirit! I'll teach you properly. So, if you want to find out, listen carefully.'

'Fine,' Celvira replied indifferently.

Meanwhile, from the outside, Aaron observed the drastic change in Zavi's behavior and found himself staring silently at Celvira.

"What exactly is he doing? Why does he keep staring at that creature?"

Of course, Aaron knew who Celvira really was. No matter how much spirituality she used to conceal her true nature as an evil spirit, Aaron would still be able to uncover the truth through his Extraction ability.

However, had Zavi not considered this more carefully when he introduced Celvira to them as an old friend? Or was there another plan behind his actions?

As the atmosphere around them fell silent once more, Zavi didn't want to miss this opportunity to speak with Celvira.

"It's in that place," Celvira replied after giving it some careful thought.

"All right, then," Zavi said with a sigh.

Celvira turned her face away, her dark brown eyes catching a point of light in the endless darkness of the forest before her.

"Actually, I wanted to discuss this with you, but the timing wasn't right. Things are different now. There's something I want to ask you. Is that all right?"

There was no response, and Zavi's curiosity eventually prompted him to speak frankly.

"I'm still trying to figure out whether that thing, uh, that artifact is dangerous or not. What do you think?"

Once again, Zavi couldn't help feeling curious when he noticed the slight frown on Celvira's otherwise indifferent face.

Zavi sighed and immediately turned around.

"I might not keep my promise if you continue acting like a statue."

Celvira immediately rolled her eyes and stared intensely at Zavi.

"I don't know," Celvira replied, her tone sounding reluctant.

"I see. In that case..."

Before Zavi could finish his sentence, Celvira hurriedly interrupted him and nearly rose from her seat.

"I swear. I really don't know anything about that. Weren't you the one who told me to gather information about the man you fought back then?"

"Yes, that's true. But aren't you an evil spirit capable of being anywhere at any given moment?"

"I can't do that, even though I can move around without being affected by time at all."

"Ugh, that's pretty terrifying. Strong but stupid. What's the difference?"

"What did you say?"

After hearing Zavi's remarks, Celvira became increasingly convinced that a human like him was deliberately trying to undermine her dignity as a third-level evil spirit, Nammeridya.

Moreover, there was a hidden motive behind their conversation, and Celvira knew exactly what it was.

"Don't look at me like that!"

"I'm not. Who said I was looking at you?" Celvira retorted, her gaze as sharp as a freshly sharpened blade.

"Then what about that? You're looking at me like that. Could it be that you took my joke too seriously?"

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Celvira asked in confusion.

"No," Zavi answered confidently.

"Then...?" Celvira narrowed her eyes.

The three of them were completely unaware of their conversation, as though an invisible barrier separated them from the world around them.

Ever since that incident, their minds had been in complete disarray, as if their bodies and souls were here while their thoughts drifted somewhere far away.

One other equally important matter was that they had a secondary objective: finding a man named Loki Wesborn.

Danger would continue to arise if someone possessing supernatural abilities beyond human comprehension was allowed to remain alive, especially when his identity was shrouded in such mystery.

Zavi chuckled and stole a brief glance at her expression.

"Just a casual conversation. Nothing more than that," Zavi answered seriously.

"So, what about our contract? Is it still going to continue?" Celvira asked, her expression turning wary.

Zavi chuckled, remained silent for two seconds, then answered, "Of course."

"Phew..."

"Does it really have to be that dramatic?"

Celvira raised an eyebrow. Gradually, her behavior was beginning to resemble that of a human.

"Did you just say something?"

"Just forget it," Zavi said firmly, turning his stiff neck.

Before deciding to leave to answer nature's call, Zavi decided to ask one other equally important question.

"Have you fulfilled the conditions required by the contract?"

Rather than answering immediately, Celvira pressed her lips tightly together, while her heartbeat slowed to a pace far more sluggish than usual.

...

Far from the forest on the outskirts of Havanuheta, in Chavez, along Wastad Street.

A neatly dressed man walked down a dark corridor, carrying a suitcase with measured steps. After a while, he finally stopped in front of a door adorned with intricate patterns and gold ornaments, staring at it for quite some time.

His initially serious expression turned hesitant, and his hand froze on the doorknob, as though a terrifying torture chamber lay behind it.

Knowing that someone had arrived, another man dressed in a similar manner immediately approached the door and opened it without hesitation.

Click.

"So, you came too, Friz," Claude Diston said, his voice slightly hoarse.

After receiving a warm welcome from his acquaintance, Friz finally stepped further into the room and took a seat at his host's request.

"So, can we get started?" Claude Diston asked, sitting cross-legged.

The man shifted uncomfortably in his seat before saying, "The sooner, the better."

Claude Diston chuckled.

"You're still the same as ever," he remarked with a slightly sarcastic tone.

Unwilling to spend any more time here than necessary, Friz immediately sat down like a businessman operating behind the scenes, meeting with another businessman.

"Is this still about James Moriarty?" Friz muttered, seeking confirmation.

"Yes. He came to that place back then..."

"Wait, you mean near Tapaks?" Friz interrupted after realizing something was amiss.

Claude Diston nodded.

"At first, he wasn't allowed to enter the building. There were many armed men guarding the place, but... He slaughtered every single one of them by himself. And what was even worse, the weapons they used to attack him turned into piles of ash."

"Are you sure about that?" Friz asked curiously.

"There's something else equally important. I suggest we abandon that plan altogether."

"But why?" Friz immediately asked, wanting to know the reason behind the cancellation.

"James Moriarty leaves alone anyone who doesn't provoke him, just like that unarmed guard back then," Claude explained, based on what he had learned from his subordinate who was present at the scene.

"Are you really exaggerating that man's capabilities to such an extent?"

"Suit yourself, but I've decided to back out of that plan," Claude Diston said as he prepared to stand up.

"Coward," Friz remarked, a sharp smirk curling across his lips as his confident eyes remained fixed on Claude Diston's figure, which had frozen in his seat.

"Then let us be the ones to catch you," added Friz with seriousness clearly visible on his face.