The Strongest Curse Master-Chapter 327: Brewing Storm

"I knew he had his eyes on those Apaches, but I didn't think he'd be so blatant about stealing one," Matthews muttered as she reviewed the videos and images sent by the agents assigned to guard the Apaches. She did not appear to be all that surprised to learn that it hadn't even been long, and one of the Apaches was already stolen in daylight. The prime suspect was Ace Lander.

"Given the current situation, I don't think he needs to be discreet," Special Agent-in-Charge Sugarmite said. "He knows we need him and that we won't make a move against him until this is all settled. He's taking full advantage of that. Still, it's a very reckless move. But from what I've learned about him so far, he's not just daring—he's also meticulous. So there has to be a good reason for his boldness. I wonder what it is."

"He wants my recommendation for the National Asset Program," Matthews revealed, her gaze drifting toward the county prison where her daughter was being introduced to a cruel reality of the real society.

Sugarmite nodded in understanding and then asked, "So, what do you think he used to modify the stolen Apache? A curse tool or a curse spirit?"

"My bet's on a curse tool," Matthews replied. "He's got an arsenal of bizarre curse tools—so unusual that even the Cyclops took notice, starting with that rifle of his," She added, recalling the deal between Ace and Cyclops.

"Is he a curse crafter? Folks up in the capital have been searching for C.I.B.'s Aurelian Eyes for over a decade now. They'd be more than happy to recruit a young and talented curse crafter even if not of Aurelian Eyes calibre," Sugarmite said, knowing that even introducing someone remotely capable of curse crafting would earn them a good amount of merit—regardless of whether they were on par with the Aurelian Eyes.

"That's why I called you here. Your mission is to gather everything there is to know about him. If he farted in class a decade ago, I want it in your report," Matthews instructed. "You can use Agent True Seer, Agent Man Hunter, and their team. Be discreet because I still plan to recruit him."

In light of the Samsara Cult incident, Operation 9K—which Matthews had assigned to Sugarmite after Beyton's detainment—had now been taken over by higher-ups in the capital. With Sugarmite's hands now free, Matthews had decided to assign her to investigate Ace, to uncover the mystery surrounding both him and his unusual capabilities.

"I'll get to it then. What about Agent Hundred Eyes? I heard she's close to the target," Sugarmite asked, already mentally preparing to dive into the assignment. She knew Matthews didn't literally want every time Ace farted logged in the report—it was just her way of emphasizing how thorough the investigation needed to be. Subtly, it was a reminder that they were also looking for anything they could use to potentially incriminate him.

"No, don't disturb her. I've recommended her for the National Asset Program. She needs all the time she can get to prepare for the trials," Matthews said, advising Sugarmite to leave Elinor be. Sugarmite nodded in understanding. After all, if a C.I.B. agent became a national asset, it would benefit them all—even if the agent in question was a McSuile.

"Good. Now let's head to the airport," Matthews said, stepping out of the passenger seat of the C.I.B.'s standard-issue SUV curse gadget.

"Airport?" Sugarmite asked, confused, as she got out of the driver's seat and locked the car.

"That little shit most likely stole the Apache to go pick up his elder sister," Matthews replied. "If we hurry, we might catch him at the airport."

"Wait… he voluntarily left the protection of the McSuile family?" Sugarmite asked in shock. She couldn't understand why Ace would risk his life to personally pick up his sister when he could have easily arranged for someone from the McSuile family—or even the C.I.B.—to handle it.

Ace was one of the most logical and calculating curse criminals she had ever come across, but this move lacked all logic. In doing so, he was not only putting himself but also his sister at risk. It didn't make sense.

"When it comes to family, he loses all sense of logic—which I think is both his strength and weakness. But this time, it works in our favor. After all, what good is bait if you don't throw it into the lake? Let's just hope the descendant of the Overlords makes a move," Matthews said, confident that the news of Ace leaving his estate and Janice McSuile's protection had already spread to the cult members via the various forces of the country's curse community.

"I don't know what's more shocking—the entire curse community using a kid as bait or that a descendant of the Overlords is still alive," Sugarmite muttered, struggling to reconcile her role in the morally gray events her job now entailed.

Matthews shook her head, unfazed by Sugarmite's crisis of conscience. Grabbing her by the wrist, and she launched them both into the sky toward the airport, calling out, "Hold on tight!"

…

"What do you mean we have no way to contact the cult members?" a curse master shouted in disbelief, after learning from his subordinate that they couldn't pass on the information that Ace had left the estate to pick up his sister alone to the cult elders and their factions.

"Sir, our most reliable and fast channels to contact the cult members were those two camps. Now that both have been bombed, we've lost the ability to monitor them or feed them updates. We tried leaking information to the captured cult members, pretending it was a clumsy mistake, but they're too cautious now—they're not falling for it," the curse user reported grimly, explaining that the attacks on the two cult outposts on the outskirts of Ace's town had effectively cut off all communication with the cult.

"Wait, I know this is on short notice, but there have to be other contacts, right?" an old curse master asked the staff eagerly.

"There are, but due to the limited time, we were not able to build trust to a satisfactory level. Also, we can't depend on them to relay the information to the cult elders asap. They're all being cautious and skeptical about the information they receive, especially with the entire country's curse community working to purge the cult. We're concerned that by the time the information reaches the cult elders and they make a move, Ace will already be home safely," the staff explained, emphasizing that the remaining cult contacts were too wary to respond quickly for fear of falling into a trap.

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"Damn it," another elderly curse master cursed aloud.

"I guess it's up to the cult elders now," the first curse master said with a sigh. Then, turning to the staff and other elders, he instructed, "Go and make arrangements near the airport and along the routes leading back to town. If the cult elders show themselves, great. And if one of them turns out to be the Overlords' descendant, then we've hit the jackpot."

"Yes, Master," the staff and elders replied in unison, hurrying to carry out his orders.

…

"Damn it, Delores! How could you let him go alone?" Janice shouted, storming out of her temporary workshop the moment she heard that Ace had left the estate alone to pick up his sister from the airport.

"I thought we agreed we were only doing what we were paid to do—protect the Landers," Delores replied, confused and beginning to wonder if Janice was experiencing memory issues.

"Ace is a Lander too," Janice said, clearly in disbelief.

"Well, he's our employer. He specifically hired us to protect the other Landers," Delores argued, thinking Janice was overreacting. If Ace chose to go alone, it wasn't their place to interfere. The incident last night had already proven that. So, Janice trying to decide for Ace baffled her.

Janice glared at Delores, but before she could respond, Elinor chimed in, "Ace's elder sister is a Lander. We need to go protect her." Her tone was dead serious. After all, she was the one who had accepted the payment from Ace, and she felt it was her duty to protect the Landers.

"That I agree with. Do you need a lift?" Delores asked, summoning her innate curse tool, ready to send Elinor to the city airport. As for herself, she knew Ace needed her to stay and protect the estate.

"No, she's not going anywhere. She'll be killed on sight," Janice said, rushing to grab Elinor's waist before she could jump onto Delores's board.

Yes, Elinor's curse spells were unparalleled, but her tier made her an easy target. She wasn't equipped for a battle of this scale.

"Why?" Elinor asked, frowning in doubt.

Janice shook her head and replied, "Asking why only proves me right."

"If Ace can go, so can I," Elinor said, easily breaking free from her cousin's grasp and leaping onto Delores's innate curse tool. After all, she was a Knight-tier curse-caster, while Janice was merely a Mortal-tier curse-crafter.