The Strongest Curse Master

[ —Status Screen—

Ace: Rose, get me a casualty report for that building.

Dame Wasp: Accessing street cameras now, Master.

Dame Wasp: Master, when all the glass shattered, security personnel mistook it for an earthquake and rushed outside for open ground. But the streets were already covered in glass pieces and other civilians, so they didn’t make it far before the attack.

Dame Wasp: I can’t give an exact death toll, but there are many injured, some gravely. Nothing that immediate medical attention can’t fix, but the situation is serious.

Ace: Estimate the death count later. Locate all the injured—I’ll tend to them personally.]

"CIRCLE BACK!" Ace yelled at Delores, guilt twisting in his gut.

This was his fault. His greed had turned the battle into an uncontrolled disaster. If he hadn’t acted out of greed, the destruction would have been contained to the immediate area around the C.I.B. headquarters, as it was the Curselings’ primary and sole target. His greed attracted the disaster over to where it had no business.

But Delores ignored him, pressing forward without hesitation. She couldn’t believe how stubborn he was—even now, after seeing firsthand what a Void-tier Curseling could do. Therefore, she did not bother to talk to him and did what she thought was best for them.

"Delores, there are too many casualties down there. I can help them," Ace insisted, realizing she might have misunderstood his intentions. His voice was urgent, pleading. "I swear, I’m not scheming anything. This isn’t a trick. People will die if they don’t get immediate medical attention."

"No," Delores shot back without a second thought. "We were lucky to escape the first time—I’m not risking it again."

She wasn’t about to turn back and taunt the Void-tier Curseling, practically daring death itself.

"Damn it, Delores!" Ace snapped, frustration boiling over. "Why can’t you just do what I ask for once?"

For a split second, in his frustration, he almost blamed her for the casualties. However, deep down, he knew that it was neither of their fault. The world was just fucked up that way.

"You dare to ask me that after what just happened?" Delores snapped at Ace with a voice laced with utter disbelief. She could not believe he did not learn his lesson despite the incident a couple minutes earlier.

"I take full responsibility for what happened back there," Ace admitted with a firm tone. "But if you had just listened to me—if you’d followed my instructions and helped me prepare to hunt the Void-tier Curseling—it never would have targeted that building. Things could have gone a lot differently."

He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "I’m not trying to point fingers. I’m just trying to get you to trust my judgment. We can save lives, Delores. We can spare many families from losing their one’s tonight, not to mention their future hardship."

His grip tightened around her arms as she held him in her embrace as they flew out of the city at breakneck speed.

However, Delores still didn’t respond. Ace sighed a little disappointed, but he wasn’t ready to give up. So, pleaded, "At least hear me out."

"Fine," she relented with an exasperated sigh. Truthfully, she was just tired of hearing him whine. Given her personality and age, Delores cared about very few things, but the lives and families of some random mortals weren’t on that list.

Without wasting another word, Ace pulled out a set of invisible and presence-erasing talismans, activating them on himself, planning to give Delores a demonstration, such that she understood he knew what he was doing.

Delores’s eyes widened in shock. She could feel him in her arms, but to her other senses—her sight, her smell—he was completely gone. She had seen him do something similar while hunting the S.S.S.

"We can use these to get in, help the injured mortals, and slip away without being noticed," Ace explained with an unwavering tone. "I know these talismans won’t fool a Void-tier Curseling, but I doubt it’ll waste any more attention on us. And even if it does, we have displacement talismans. They’ll teleport us to a predetermined location within a mile instantly."

"I’ve covered all our bases. Trust me, Delores. That way, we both get to sleep in peace tonight," Ace continued to assure her, feeling the shift in Delores, not through words, but through the subtle changes in her grip and body language.

"Alright," she agreed, almost too easily. Ace blinked in surprise, clearly taken aback. He hadn’t expected her to cave so quickly.

Delores gave in not because of his foolproof plan but because of that last thing he’d said.

Moments like this reminded Delores of Ace’s actual age. As much as he acted mature and wise though mostly reckless and overconfident, there was still a part of him—some flicker of innocence—that she wanted to protect, even if just for a little while longer.

But before Ace could say anything, another roar split through the air.

It wasn’t as intense as before, since they were nearly out of the city, but there was something different about it. It wasn’t the same commanding, oppressive sound; instead, the roar sounded more like a pained cry. Both of them heard the difference.

"What the hell?" Ace muttered, eyes narrowing.

Delores slowed, turning back toward the skyline. Given the sheer size of the Void-tier Curseling, it didn’t take much effort to see what was happening.

"Wait… isn’t that Elinor’s signature curse spell?" Delores asked, astonished.

Ace’s eyes widened as he took in the sight. The entire body of the Void-tier Curseling was covered in massive, grotesque red eyes with slit pupils. Blood poured from them as the creature plummeted, seemingly unable to use its abilities anymore.

"How the hell is that even possible?" Delores muttered in disbelief, adding, "I saw her leave earlier."

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Ace’s breath hitched as realization hit him. "Damn!" he cursed in excitement. "It got infected by her curse when it ate the mutant rust worm that she had cursed earlier!"