The Strongest Curse Master

Chapter 475: Chaos Descending

"Ace, your uncle’s tangerine orchard is under attack," Dee3 announced, summoning a screen, mid-air, that showed a towering robot armed to the teeth unleashing fire and missiles at an army of insect curse corpses.The moment I saw the image, my eyes widened in horror. Lyra and Mandy were equally terrified. Dee3 went on, "Somehow those insect curse corpses can move around the estate’s array without triggering it—ah, it seems Janice granted them clearance by tagging them as Lilith’s pets."

"They’re Lilith’s curse corpses," I said under my breath. I pulled out a wad of talismans and thrust them into Dee3’s hands and instructed, "Dee3, set up multiple demolition rooms in your dungeon—each one with explosives strong enough to vaporize a void-tier curse master. And place one of these talismans in each room. The rest of you stay put. I’ve got this under control."

At the same time, I summoned Emi in my form, equipping my Apex Earring, and wearing her family’s ninja uniform. She appeared beside me for only a heartbeat before vanishing, leaving behind a large rock of equal weight. In the next moment, she materialized in my uncle’s tangerine orchard, and I linked to her senses through Sense Share Skill.

As she sprinted toward the house, she saw it completely encased by Lilith’s insect curse corpses, forming a dome as they slowly sank the entire structure into the earth.

"Master, it looks like Lilith is protecting the house from that thing. Its curse energy matches the curse droids we fought in the city after stealing Mr. Birdie’s remains," Emi reported, connecting the dots. "I think he tracked us here and used the funeral as cover to enter the estate. Should we engage the enemy?"

"No. That thing is only a puppet. Let Lilith deal with it," I said, refusing to let her confront the massive curse construct. "We need to track down the puppet master. They have to be close—there’s no way they would let that thing enter the array. This won’t end until we take them down." I paused, frowning. "And why isn’t anyone reacting to this disturbance?"

At the same time, I summoned my Toybox beside Emi and released Specroll, sending it to help track the master controlling the giant curse robot.

...

"Dee3, open the door! I need to check on my family!" Lyra shouted, panic twisting her voice. She summoned Fumetsu and Fujin, fully prepared to blast her way out of Dee3’s dungeon if that was what it took to make sure her loved ones were safe.

"Lyra, calm down," Mandy pleaded, more frightened by Lyra’s spiraling hysteria than by what she had seen on the screen. She turned toward her cousin desperately. "Ace, a little help here. Ace!"

But Ace stood motionless—eyes vacant, expression hollow—as if his soul had slipped free and left nothing behind. Mandy’s heart dropped. "Ace, are you okay?" she asked, voice trembling as the feeling of losing control over the situation tightened around her chest like a vice.

"Dee3, now!" Lyra demanded, pushing harder. Dee3 hesitated, her posture stiff with conflicting instructions, and answered in a small, uncertain voice, "Ace told us to stay put."

"He also said he has everything under control. If that’s true, then it shouldn’t be a problem for me to check on my family. Now hurry—open the door," Lyra insisted, pressing Dee3 even harder as desperation tightened her tone.

"I... guess that’s okay," Dee3 murmured, still unsure but complying anyway. The moment the door opened, Lyra shot through it with her curse incarnations, and Mandy sprinted after her, leaving behind her cousin as Lyra’s situation worried her the most.

"Thunder, finish arranging demolition rooms and install the talismans. No slacking—it’s life and death," Dee3 ordered her cyborg elephant before taking off to follow Lyra and Mandy. Though she couldn’t stop them, she would do her best to ensure their safety.

...

"Target confirmed. Permission to commence Operation Magpie," one of the guests murmured into a tiny intercom after spotting Lyra, Mandy, and Dee3 rushing out of Dee3’s house and heading toward the Lander house.

"Commence Operation Magpie," Sir Ulysses ordered through his intercom, his figure fading subtly from the crowd.

"It’s a go!"

"Roger that!"

"Affirmative!"

"Roger that!"

.

.

...

"Something’s wrong on the far side of the estate," one of the McSuile guards posted near the open end of the array reported.

"Are you sure it’s not just one of these idiots letting their curse energy run wild?" the other guard grumbled, though both were already moving in that direction.

"Either way, that’s where the kids’ house is. We need to make sure nothing’s happened. Mortals live there—they should know better than to flare their curse energy anywhere near them," the first guard said as they hurried forward.

He tried connecting with the guards assigned to protect the kids’ house, but received nothing in return. His expression hardened, and he shot a sharp hand signal to his partner to pick up the pace to measure the situation, to respond appropriately.

...

Janice and Matthews both turned toward Lander House at the same moment, their eyes narrowing as they spotted smoke rising into the sky. They exchanged a single sharp nod and prepared to rush over. But before they could move, a loud commotion rippled through the crowd, pulling their attention back—just in time to see Lyra, Mandy, and Dee3 sprinting out of the house and racing toward the Lander estate.

"Shit!" Matthews barked, immediately breaking into a run as she ordered every officer on duty to form a protective formation around Dee3 without hindering her advance.

"What’s happening?" Janice demanded, contacting the curse masters she had handpicked to guard the Lander house. To her growing dread, not a single one responded. She was about to trigger the alarm and alert the elders on standby when a sharp, crystalline crack split the air above her.

She looked up—just in time to see the ruler-class curse array formation covering the estate shatter like a glass mirror, its fragments cascading downward in a glittering rain.

Next in the stand, she felt a multiple suffocating curse energy pressing down on her, making it difficult for her to breathe. It wasn’t just her but everyone else too. Janice looked around to find four void-tier curse masters slowly descending from the sky.