Chapter 64: The Spirit World

Chapter 64: The Spirit World

After returning to the real world, Klein extinguished the candle, put away the remaining items, and carefully inspected the situation inside the warehouse.

What made him feel fortunate was that the seawater vortex Kalvetua had created had thoroughly cleaned the place once. All that remained were the rainwater sprayed later, some charred marks left by lightning, a small amount of ash, and the furrows Klein’s feet had plowed through the ground.

The traces are easy enough to handle. In a moment, I will have Danitz “wash” this place with fireballs and disguise it as infighting between pirates… Klein nodded almost imperceptibly. He took out one of his few remaining paper figurines and snapped his forearm, flicking his wrist.

The paper figurine flew out, ignited on its own, and turned into black ash.

After doing all this, Klein walked toward the door. The farther he went, the more deeply he frowned.

The soles of his leather boots were gone. The rest of them were tattered as well. His clothes and trousers were similarly covered in tears, wet stains, and scorched marks.

All of this had been unavoidable under the circumstances, and none of it was something a Paper Figurine Substitute could bear for him. The tearing had come from the vast suction of the seawater vortex. The soaked feeling came from Kalvetua’s rainstorm. The charred marks were signs that, in the gaps between Klein’s uses of Paper Figurine Substitute, a small amount of lightning had struck him. Even now, after everything had calmed down, faint spasms caused by the electric shock still lingered in his right forearm.

“This outfit cost me eight pounds and six soli… I will have to buy another full set… I divined danger and made preparations, but I did not expect Kalvetua to be stronger and more frenzied than I imagined… I hope there will be some harvest later.” Klein shook his head silently, restrained his expression, endured the pain, and arrived behind the door panel blocking the exit. He bent his finger and knocked three times.

Danitz had remained rather uneasy. Hearing the sound, he hesitated for two seconds before moving the door panel away.

Discovering that Gehrman Sparrow had returned to his cold and restrained state and no longer emanated hunger and madness that made one’s spirit tremble, Danitz quietly let out a breath. He peered inside and casually asked, “It’s over?”

“No.” Klein drew up the corners of his mouth into a refined smile.

Not over? Danitz was startled.

“What—what else are you going to do?”

Klein maintained the smile that hid madness within it.

“There is still cleaning to do.

“That is courtesy.”

Cleaning… Danitz froze, then lifted his right hand and pointed at himself.

“Me?”

Klein’s smile widened.

“Or me?”

Then I will be eaten by Creeping Hunger! Danitz laughed dryly twice.

“How should I clean?”

“Use fireballs,” Klein replied concisely.

As a part-time pirate, Danitz understood Gehrman Sparrow’s meaning without much effort. He moved past the other man and walked into the warehouse.

During this process, he muttered to himself in confusion.

“The captain said Creeping Hunger has to devour one living person every day. But Gehrman Sparrow satisfies it only after battles. Normally, he does not care about it at all. And—and what happened just now also counted as a battle. Gehrman Sparrow even used Steel Maviti’s ice power, but afterward he did not ‘feed’ it… Strange… What secret is hidden here?

“Some kind of seal? He—or rather, the organization behind him—can actually seal Creeping Hunger?”

While Danitz “cleaned” the warehouse, Klein stood outside and looked at the dark clouds layered heavily in the sky, naturally anticipating what would come next.

The iron cigarette case stained with the gray fog’s aura has already been sent over. Now I only need to wait for Kalvetua, this false Sea God, to collapse and die by himself… I hope the Beyonders from the Church of Storms and the kingdom’s military either have…