The Strongest Curse Master

"Congratulations, Matthews. You hit the lottery again. Funny how things worked out for you, first with the Crimson-eyes and now with this innate curse master. It seems you have your ticket to the capital in the bag," One of the two Sky-tier from C. I. B. remarked, holding the orb held by the curse terrorist group's leader previously. Within it, four curse terrorists that almost took the entire town hostage could be seen with their hands tied behind their backs by the curse suppression cuffs.

"Marcus, you know if I go to the capital, you guys are coming with me. After all, without you guys, I will be useless," Matthews made small talk with a wide smile, despite knowing that even with the merits she will earn from Lola combined with the ones she gained from the Crimson Eyes weren't enough for her to be called to the capital, not to mention her recent mishaps trying to recruit Ace.

"You know you can count on us anytime. That is, as long as we don't think we are holding you back," Marcus said before he and his partner left with the captured cursed terrorists. After all, their job would only be complete after they had them locked away in their secured facility in an undisclosed location.

Matthews' wide smile vanished once Marcus and his partner were out of their sight, only for Sugarmite to ask, "Ma'am, how do you want me to handle him?"

"Leave him be," Matthews answered with a long sigh, knowing that even if Marcus was gone, another power-hungry asshole would take his place. Keeping him around meant less work for her as she had him figured out, and his small tricks were of no threat to her.

"You have it tough, Mrs. Martin. But you aren't alone, that is what matters, right? After all, the way I see it, only the ambitious ones seem to hold power, and the good ones seem to be happy where they are, helping people, doing their duty," I commented, knowing that Marcus was no different from Matthews or Beyton. Sonia would know, after all, these three, along with their comrades slaughtered her father's guild members and used her to force him into being a turncoat.

"Young man, it's not up to me to decide who gets to keep the loot. Since the C.I.B. was involved, we take the entire loot, no questions asked. If you feel it's unfair, take it up with our president, i.e., if you get to meet him," Matthews helplessly explained, knowing that the boy was dissatisfied that he didn't get to keep any of the loot from the curse terrorists and Marcus took it all with him to deposit at their C.I.B. headquarters.

"You think I won't?" I asked Matthews if she was challenging me. Seeing her shake her head sideways, I let it slide, asking, "Where was this rule when the Samsara cult attacked your C.I.B. branch?"

"It was an emergency. But if you want to help the C.I.B. uphold the law and collect the loot it failed to, be my guest," Matthews said nonchalantly, feeling Ace was being too greedy for someone who seemed to be hiding a money printer in his home, as the Curse Terrorists didn't have much loot.

"You're shameless," I said, listening to Matthews demand I voluntarily hand over my loot from the Samsara cult incident to the C.I.B. if I cared about rules so much.

"Ace, you can't speak to my mother like that!" Ava had had enough of Ace disrespecting her mother; if this continued, she wouldn't blame her mother for not agreeing to her marriage with him.

"Hahaha," I laughed, eyeing Ava's beet-red face. It was cute enough to irk my sadistic side. So, I challenged, "How I speak to your mother is not up to you? Besides, what are you going to do about it, cry to your mommy?"

"I will fucking kill you," Ava dashed at me using her light constructs as steps, fueled by rage. However, her mother blocked her path and warned me, "Ace, come after as much as you want, but if you involve my daughter, I won't sit back."

"Whatever," I said, turning to head home while Dee3 tagged along, whom Janice followed.

"Ace, are you short on money?" Dee3 asked, seeing me kick up a fuss over the distribution of the loot.

"Haha, the day he is short on money, then the world economy would have collapsed," Janice joked, finding Dee3's concern funny.

"No, I'm in urgent need of a curse core or innate curse tool that belonged to a curse caster," I answered honestly, hoping either of them had one that they could sell to me. I regretted not killing the curse-caster terrorist when I had the chance. The risk seemed too huge at that time, but now, the regret seemed too huge to carry. It would crush me if in the future I wasn't prepared for the threats named curse casters.

"I don't have one, nor have I had the chance to use one in my crafting, as they are considered a priceless resource even in the 'World of Curses' market. But if it's you, I think you can afford one if you ever manage to track one down," Janice informed, knowing that Ace was checking with them if they had a curse core or innate curse tool of a curse caster.

Unfortunately for him, they were rarer than curse casters. The minute they appear in the market or auction, they are sold at an heaven-shattering price. Honestly, she was willing to give up her entire net worth to get a chance to use one in her curse crafting. It was part of her crafting bucket list.

"I don't either, but I know where you can find one," Dee3 hesitantly added.

"Where?" Janice and I ask in unison.

"You want one too?" Dee3 asked Janice, feeling troubled as her source only had one curse core belonging to a curse slave who was a curse caster too.