The Strongest Curse Master

"Senior, that’s not possible. Elinor is too straight-laced to pull something like that," her father said, rubbing his chin in deep thought. "I was so disappointed in her that I threw her into the C.I.B., believing she was hopeless. But if what you’re saying is true… I might have to reconsider my plans for her."

He paused and narrowed his eyes, asking, "Who did Elinor supposedly kill?"

"The mutated rust worm that was occupying that kid Beyton’s body," Atticus replied without hesitation. He didn’t even need to check the surveillance tapes—though, even if he had, he wouldn’t have found a shred of evidence. Dame Wasp had already taken care of that.

Thanks to the chaos, slipping into the local C.I.B. branch servers had been almost too easy for her. Truth be told, the curse tools and cores that Doctor Druid had scavenged weren’t even the biggest haul of the night. The real prize? The classified data Dame Wasp had extracted from those servers.

Elinor’s dad stiffened. "Wait… when did they get Sir Beyton?" His voice carried genuine shock. He just got back from the void and had no idea what was going on.

However, the reason for his shock was that he had quietly supported Beyton on more than one occasion, using him as a counterweight to Matthews and her ever-growing influence in the C.I.B.

Atticus barely spared him a glance as he warned him, "Brace yourself. Knowing Matthews, she won’t hesitate—sractch that, she’ll definitely drag you and the McSuile family into this shit show to cover her ass." With that, he sank back onto his stool, looking like an old watchman, yawning as if he had all the time in the world.

Elinor’s dad frowned. Watching Atticus lounge around while the chaos was still far from being concluded, he finally asked, "You’re not gonna deal with those Curselings?"

"The president only tasked me to guard the holding cells of this branch. What happens outside?" Atticus shrugged, shameless as ever. "Not my department. But if you’re so concerned about it, maybe you should go help."

He said it so casually, even though the eighth underground floor was still in complete disarray—and, more importantly, someone had infiltrated the third underground floor and assassinated an inmate.

"Nah, I’m too exhausted, and it’s not worth it," Elinor’s dad said falling to the ground and sprawling. He then asked Atticus, "Are you sure it was Elinor?" He still couldn’t believe that Elinor would steal from her superior and kill an inmate yet to be proven guilty. That was not the daughter he remembered.

"She’s the only girl I know with a hundred eyes. If someone was disguising themselves as her, believe me, I’d know," Atticus said confidently—completely unaware that he had, in fact, mistaken an imposter for Elinor McSuile.

Not that it would have made a difference. With his ego, even if the imposter themself came forward to correct him, he’d still shamelessly insist he was right.

"Forget it," Atticus went on, shaking his head. "I saw her curse spell—they’ve advanced considerably. Looks like putting off blind tier climbing and focusing on mastering her curse spells to hone the abilities of her innate curse tool and arts is finally paying off."

He recalled the mutated rust worm that the Mortal-Tier following Elinor had been carrying on his back. Her curse spell on it had been too strong even for him to break. It was the source of his confidence that he ran into the real Elinor McSuile and not an imposter.

Elinor’s father scoffed. Then, shaking his head, he remarked, "Curse spells alone aren’t enough. They don’t help much in combat."

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To him, all the time his daughter spent perfecting her curse spells was a waste. Instead of honing what she already had, she should have been mastering new arts and pushing to advance her tier. By his mid-twenties, he had already been preparing to break through to Ocean-Tier. It wasn’t anywhere near Crimson Eyes’ level of achievement, but it still cemented him as a genius, even by the current standards.

"Tsk." Atticus clicked his tongue in irritation, deciding not to bother. He wasn’t about to waste his breath on a pointless argument with a stubborn person.

Executing curse spells took time and ingredients, but when used properly, they were lethal.

Take the one Elinor had used on the mutant rust worm—now that it was under her spell, she could track it anywhere in the world. Not that she’d need to. Her curse had already stripped it of its abilities, leaving it completely powerless and in pain.

"Any news on your father?" Atticus asked, shifting the topic.

"Same old. Why do you ask?" Elinor’s dad narrowed his eyes. Atticus wouldn’t bring up something that sensitive—that top-secret—unless he knew something. Or unless something was very wrong.

"The Cyclops was here," Atticus said, his tone grave. "Came looking for the princess after hearing the Sole Ring was found in this area."

He figured it was better to tell him now before it was too late, considering he just got out of the void. Though, in his opinion, the McSuiles had brought this on themselves. Greed had a way of coming back to bite.

Elinor’s dad stiffened. Then, as the weight of those words sank in, he sat up straight on his ass.

"…What happened?" he asked, his voice low, the seriousness of the situation settling over him like a cold shadow.

"I have no idea. He had left before I had the chance to even meet him," Atticus said in a grim tone, knowing that only one reason could have caused the Cyclops to turn on his heels so quickly: he got what he came for—clues on the whereabouts of the Sole princess. Considering what he found, it could be both good and bad news for the McSuile family.

"It seems a lot has happened while I was stuck in the void," Elinor’s dad said, getting to his feet, planning to return home to catch up before it was too late for them.