The Strongest Curse Master

Jaince's attack was fast—too fast for anyone to react. But instead of meeting flesh, her fist slammed into a boulder, shattering it into a cloud of dirt and dust. Ace was nowhere in sight. Everyone froze, shocked by Janice's sudden aggression. But she didn't care. Ignoring their stares, she quickly scanned the area as she reached for her earring to take out one of her tracking curse tools—only for a sudden, overwhelming force to slam into her cursed armor. A devastating impact tore through her side, piercing a hole in her hip, sending an electric current through her body, paralyzing her, before launching her backward. She hit the ground hard, blood pooling beneath her, as she realized she couldn't control her rampaging curse energy. A moment later, Ace appeared beside her, crouching down as he pressed a recovery talisman to her wound. His voice was calm, almost amused. "It's cute that you actually thought you could beat me." Emi was hiding at the solar power plant with the rail rifle, Dame Wasp in its power chamber, while Doctor Druid was hiding underground. Ace wouldn't just walk into what looked like a war zone without proper preparation. That included both a game plan and an escape plan. Also, Matthews and Janice seriously underestimating him helped. "You shot me," Janice groaned, her breath shaky, but she didn't protest Ace's help. Seeing her like this Ace sighed, his expression softened as he informed her making a request of her, "You don't have to carry this burden for me. I'll handle it myself. Just focus on protecting my family." He understood what she had tried to do—defeat him so the target on his back would shift to her instead. But that wasn't how this was going to play out as trying to bring the spotlight on Beyton and 9Ks he had shone the spotlight on himself. Honestly, he had no idea that the Samsara Cult was behind all this. Had he known he would have played it out differently, more subtle and discreetly. Whether he liked it or not, Ace was now on the stage. He might as well use this opportunity to send a message—if anyone came for him, they'd better be prepared to lose everything. Janice scoffed as she pushed herself back onto her feet now that her wound had fully healed, "Not only did you wreck my curse tool set, but now you want me to protect your family for free? Damn, you're shameless and greedy. My opinion of you couldn't possibly get any lower." Ace barely reacted, instead turning toward Elinor. "How about I make it up to you?" he said before casually dropping, "Elinor, I took the liberty of making you Lilith's legal guardian. You don't mind, do you?" "What?!" Elinor's eyes widened in shock before narrowing in suspicion. "…I mean, I don't mind, I was planning on that but how the hell did you pull that off so fast?" Ace shrugged. "Turns out paperwork moves a lot faster through the clogged pipes of government when it's got the McSuile surname attached to it." That wasn't the full truth, of course. He'd had to grease a lot of palms to make this happen so quickly, but without the weight of the McSuile name, no amount of money would've gotten people to cooperate. Then, without missing a beat, he turned to Matthews, informing her, "According to the C.I.B. code on minor curse users, Section 13, Annex D, as Lilith's legal guardian, Elinor has agreed to compensate the families of the agents affected by her temporary insanity—at ten times the amount the C.I.B. is offering." "I am?" Elinor asked in surprise as Ace let his words sink in before adding, "That comes out to about 97.78 billion dollars, but let's round it up to 100 billion. The extra can go to the C.I.B.'s welfare fund as a show of goodwill." Silence fell over the room. "Say what now?!" Elinor blurted out, her eyes widening in shock learning she would have to pay a hundred billion dollars just to keep Lilith with her and out of prison. Sure, no amount of money could truly make up for what those families had lost, but that didn't change the fact that she simply didn't have that kind of cash. They said she had taken down a Void-tier Curseling, but its curse core was only worth a few billion—not a hundred. And knowing her father, he'd probably find a way to keep her from getting her share of it anyway. Ace, however, seemed completely unfazed. He met her gaze and said coolly, "Don't worry. I'm giving you the money in exchange for protecting my family." At that, he glanced over at Janice, who nodded in agreement. Sonia, meanwhile, was staring at Ace like he'd just grown a second head, her mind was in disarray, 'He had a hundred billion dollars in liquid cash just lying around?! And he is throwing it at the McSuile family like it was pocket change?' Before anyone else could react, Matthews snapped. "No!" she shrieked, her voice shaking with barely contained fury. "She doesn't just get to pay her way out of this claiming temporary insanity! She has to repent! She should spend the rest of her life paying for her sins!" Her hysteria filled the curse barrier. The idea that the murderer who had slaughtered her agents in cold blood could just throw money at the grieving families and walk away scot-free—she wouldn't accept that. She couldn't accept that. "EAD Matthews," Elinor said firmly, meeting her gaze head-on. "I lost my friends and colleagues last night too. I'm not planning to let her walk away from what she's done. She will spend the rest of her life making up for it—but not locked away in some 5x4 cell. She'll atone out in the world, with her own blood and sweat. Trust me, I'll make sure she grows into someone who dedicates her life to those she's hurt and make this world a better place." She gave Lilith's tiny hand a reassuring squeeze, then added, "But at the end of the day, she's just a misguided child—a product of her unfortunate circumstances, things beyond her control. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive her and see eye to eye with me on this." Lilith's gaze flickered anxiously between Elinor and Matthews. Matthews stood rigid, her breathing uneven as she glared at Elinor, then at Lilith. Her red-rimmed eyes burned with fury—then, suddenly, they filled with tears. But before a single drop could roll down her cheeks, she shot up into the sky, breaking through the cursed barrier array and vanishing into the clouds. A beat of silence followed before Elinor broke it with a sigh and glancing around she asked, "Sooo... was that a yes?"