Chapter 263 – Reason

Chapter 263

After carefully putting together such an elaborate plan, Afalan and his two companions finally managed to escape death and the fierce weather of the Caspian Sea.

Although the incident had taken place several months earlier, that indescribable moment remained vividly etched in his memory and recorded in his diary.

He was clearly the kind of man who documented all his work and daily activities in a notebook, a habit he had maintained for nearly twenty years while carrying out his inhumane deeds.

Sitting upright in a mahogany chair, his back straight as he faced his notebook, Afalan eagerly read through his own writing, as though searching for mistakes.

"That day, on Wednesday night, that fool managed to meet the woman and carry out his first operation as a diversion. It wasn't easy, but fortunately, they pulled it off. As the initiator, I couldn't move around freely because there were so many guards on patrol, not to mention those damn nobles passing through the upper deck."

"Moving from one cabin to another was difficult work, but I had no choice but to keep doing it. According to the information from that woman, there was a noblewoman named Quetheylia? That artifact could ward off calamity and steal other people's good fortune. I wanted that artifact desperately. After searching high and low, I finally got the chance to carry out a reckless search in the middle of the treacherous Caspian Sea at the client's request."

"The Caspian Sea, huh? As for the captains aboard the six different ships, I have no idea whether there might be a trap waiting for us once the artifact is found. Fortunately, I didn't dwell on it too much, since I'm a lucky man who happens to be unfortunate."

"Besides, the people there were far too friendly, but there was an advantage to their behavior as well. I didn't know how I was supposed to act, so I chose to take advantage of them to achieve my objective."

At the time, Afalan had almost given up because he still hadn't found the room where the artifact was kept. He didn't even know what the thing itself looked like.

It was rather ridiculous to search for an object without knowing what it actually looked like. However, Afalan had no intention of letting that foolishness drag on any longer, even if he had to sacrifice his sleep to find the artifact.

According to the information provided by his informant, Afalan had only been given a few clues about the artifact's appearance. A glowing blue sphere. A stone, although it couldn't really be called a stone because it was covered in a cold blue light. The ship itself.

"Yes... That's some crazy information. The ship itself, but which ship? I can only conclude that if the artifact is a ship, then it must be the one occupied by Captain Goswer. I don't know the names of the other five captains, but it's clear that she's close to a captain, a woman who is undoubtedly an important figure.

"Back to what happened that day, I met those two, and they told me that Raki had succeeded. At that moment, I felt as though I had stopped breathing as the information kept circling through my mind. I had no choice but to change the plan, and that meant causing chaos in that place.

"I want to record something important about what I did: destroying several sacred buildings throughout the world.

Afalan Norwich held his breath, his fingers trembling uncontrollably as he hesitated to turn to the next page. Taking a deep breath, he slowly exhaled before casually flipping to the following page.

"At the time, I met a man accompanied by his subordinates. None other than a man named Vabian Roca, Kharensya Zorca, and the others. I initially thought they were ordinary humans, but it turned out they weren't. The people of this world call them Hollows, and their contracted creatures are jinn. That reminded me of something, something whose horror I can still remember even now."

"Jinn are the third caste of demons among the lower ranks: Recipestele are second, Jinn are third, Devils are fourth, and Jakharot are fifth. Supposedly, no one in this world has ever managed to subdue one of them.

"If there are any, they must be people from ancient times who lived in a world filled with stars. This world is truly fascinating. That's what I thought at the time, especially regarding that woman. I still don't know what compelling reason made them reveal such important information to a man who was practically a nobody back then. They also said they would remain loyal to me, and even now, they have truly kept that promise. That's what I admire about their determination."

"They also offered to let me summon supernatural beings from the underworld to accompany me in carrying out such operations. At first, I refused, but everything changed when a man who, for some reason, seemed strangely familiar to me called out a name that shouldn't exist in this world."

"Jack. That was my real name, and somehow, that man called me by adding two words to it: Jack The Ripper. I was shocked. For a moment, I thought he was someone like me, someone from the modern world, Earth, who had been transported to a post-apocalyptic world. There is so much hidden history in this world, including the truth about the era of the Comet Stars, which supposedly had nine mysterious entities, each bearing their own title, who freed Earth from the Age of Chaos.

"The only thing I want is to die, or at the very least, return to my home, Earth. That's why I've been trying to find a way back to Earth without sacrificing anything. Even so, I managed to find a method. They said that destroying the mystical and sacred structures left behind by the gods and goddesses would serve as the key to my return to Earth.

"How ironic my fate is. I only realized it after discovering that my memories were scattered, to the point that I could barely even remember the original name of the body I inhabit. Beyond that, one thing keeps circling through my mind whenever my memories become fragmented, something that can happen at any moment: I cannot die, I cannot age, and I can only remember being around twenty years old when I first fell into this world."

"Armed with my wits and what little sanity I have left, I wander through this supernatural world, where both fools and clever people meet their deaths, with the sole exception of myself."

"Returning to Earth will be even more difficult. That's what I thought after receiving uncertain information from them, claiming that those sacred structures could be the key to my return to Earth. That was my initial thought, but after giving it careful consideration, I decided to search for artifacts instead, objects that are so rare in this world they surpass even gold and diamonds.

"And now, after achieving so many of my objectives, I can only hope that all of this will succeed. As for that woman, I intend to give her a counterfeit item and continue doing so whenever necessary. If need be, I'll kill them."

"The theft was quite dramatic because I encountered one of the captains aboard the same ship as me. The captain's name was Fennec Soneto, captain of the Helawars Amome Ansquers. For the first time, after seeing his appearance, I was reminded of someone who rekindled my fighting spirit.

"The battle began, not with weapons, but with time and wits. In the end, after using that stolen ability, I managed to find the object people referred to as an artifact. And just as I expected, when I made off with the artifact, the two ships that had been joined together separated, bringing yet another stroke of misfortune upon them as we escaped with the object."

Back in his chair, Afalan Norwich tapped the final blank line of that entry with his pen for several seconds, leaving a pool of ink and a mark on the page beneath it.

After doing so, he raised his hand and gently tapped his chin with the tip of his pen. Not long afterward, he turned around upon hearing the steady sound of approaching footsteps.

His gaze locked onto the door, watching it intently as he waited to see who was on the other side.

Then, a man he knew very well, Raki, appeared in the doorway before approaching him as he sat in the corner of the dimly lit room.

"I brought something. Would you like some?" Raki asked in an almost whisper.

What made Afalan wary yet equally curious about his presence was none other than his personality, which was remarkably similar to that of a real human.

"He really isn't like an ordinary puppet," Afalan remarked, rolling his pen between his fingers.

Raki raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something you want to talk about?" he asked, setting down a plate containing beautifully decorated dry biscuits.

Afalan stared at the snacks, recalling something familiar before asking, "Aren't these from that place?"

Raki immediately smiled.

"Yes, you're right. They're from the Kingdom of Yessaka, specifically Alang County."

Upon hearing this confirmation, Afalan Norwich didn't hesitate to pull out the bottommost biscuit from the stack and bring it straight to his mouth, finishing it in a single bite.

"Tasty, but rather dry."

Raki also took a biscuit, this time from the top of the stack, and finished it in one bite.

"This is why Tiwirs is considered one of the best and worst dry biscuits for one reason: its seller, who also invented it, created the biscuit to boost sales of his soda-based beverage company," Raki explained, sharing what he knew as he enjoyed the biscuits alongside Afalan.

Afalan discreetly licked the cream clinging to the tip of his index finger before saying, "I didn't know that. Did you make these especially for me?"

"Of course not." Raki picked up another biscuit, this time taking two at once. "I wanted to let you know because those two will be arriving here soon, sometime today before the day is over."

"Yes." Afalan's expression turned serious again as his gloomy gaze fell upon the rows of words and the dark punctuation marks. With a deep sigh, he closed the notebook.

He pushed his chair backward and tucked the notebook between his arm and waist, thinking of going outside for some fresh air. But before doing so, Afalan didn't forget to take one last biscuit before washing it down with his favorite refreshing drink, none other than coconut water.

But before he could get out of the dim and stifling room that suited him, his steps suddenly froze when Raki said something that shook his heart.

"Then, what about the ship?" he asked, seeking reassurance from he.

Instead of answering, Afalan put on a faint smile, then continued his steps to take something that was quite important to him at that moment.