Chapter 20: Curse Investigation Bureau (CIB)

‘You were correct, master,’ Dame Wasp acknowledged while reviewing the Steal Song Society’s previous night’s chat.

‘…’ Ace remained silent, unable to respond, as he had never felt so wrong about being right.

As Ace had guessed, after he destroyed Gloria’s phone, the Steal Song Society created a team of six curse masters to catch Gloria’s murderer to protect their society’s secret. 

‘This is bad,’ Ace mused, before deciding to continue reading the rest of the chat. After a long silence, the next conversation sparked at 6:15 a.m. this morning,

[Bot3: @Everyone, Danger Alert! Danger Alert! Danger Alert! @Bane1 is asking for help.] 

[Bane1: @Everyone, Guys, it’s a trap. The whole neighborhood is crawling with CIB] 

[Bane1: @MainGirl, @Aztec, @MadamThree, @EchoEcho, Did any of you arrive yet? 

As soon as I arrived, I ran into two CIB curse masters. They would not listen to reason and just wanted me to cooperate. What kind of dumbass do they take me for to willingly surrenders my innate curse tool to them? So, I ran for my life.] 

[Aztec: @Bane1, What is your status now?]

[Bane1: @Aztec, For now, I am safe. But I need help getting out of here. Where are you at?] 

[Aztec: @Bane1, I am still two hours drive from there. I will not be coming. Get out of there as soon as possible.]

[Aztec: @MainGirl, @Loki, @MadamThree, @EchoEcho, Change of plans. Lay low until I contact our contacts in CIB and figure out some details.]

[Bane1: @Aztec, At least a dozen CIB curse masters are monitoring this neighborhood. I need help getting out of here.]

[Aztec: @Bane1, Than, you hang tight. Once I know the details. I will make some arrangements.] 

[Bane1: @Aztec, I am hiding underground using my innate curse tool’s ability. So they cannot find me. But send rescue at the earliest. I will keep you guys updated.] 

[MainGirl: @Bane1, You’re using the phone I distributed, right? Because they are hard to track even for CIB] 

[Bane1: @MainGirl, Yes, I am. But I regret not spending more time mastering ‘Curse Shroud Art.’ Then could not have been so easily spotted by those CIB goons.] 

[Aztec: @Bane1, I will get back to you once I get to the bottom of this.] 

[MadamThree: Guys, do you think this is a trap set by the newbie killer? Is the newbie killer working for CIB? What did the newbie do to piss off CIB this much?] 

[MainGirl: @MadamThree, Don’t speculate until you know something because it will only lead to chaos. But the Newbie Killer is likely part of CIB based on what Bane1 said.]

The conversation continued for another hour or so. It was nothing but speculation about Gloria’s murder, the identity of Gloria’s killer, and the reason CIB was monitoring the neighborhood. 

‘Master,’ Dame Wasp began after thoroughly reviewing the entire chat, ‘It appears that the CIB is using the mountain lions to search for Bane1 without alarming the residents.’

‘Yes,’ Ace concurred, then added, ‘It seems we are facing a more significant threat than we initially anticipated.’

Steal Song Society was bad, but CIB was the worst. Because, unlike Steal Song Society, they had access to the entire nation’s resources and license to kill those they deemed as threats to the country and its democracy. The worst part was that, as a secret agency, they only answered to the president. If they declare someone as a terrorist, death would be a boon for that person. 

‘The situation has spiraled out of control. I can only pray that I don’t get discovered. Hopefully, my current mastery of ‘Curse Shroud Arts’ is enough,’ Ace mused, knowing that as the situation was now, he was powerless to do anything but wait in hiding. 

‘Master, the chat group is lively once more. Aztec appears to have some news,’ Dame Wasp relayed to Ace as the Steal Song Society’s chat group resumed their conversation.

[Aztec: @Everyone, Our contacts in the CIB have reported that they possess limited insight into the situation unfolding in that neighborhood, as a different branch is spearheading the operation. However, they have stated that it involves the illegal recruitment of high school children as Curse Masters and their subsequent killings for their innate curse tools. They said a senior official’s relative goes to school in that neighborhood.]

[MainGirl: @Loki, Isn’t that Ria’s M.O.? Did the newbie target someone she shouldn’t have?]

[MountainOfSwords: How many times have we warned you guys not to target children and women? Target homeless and old. Nobody cares about them.] 

[Bane1: So the newbie kicked the beehive, and now I am paying for it.] 

[Aztec: @Loki, What was Ria doing in that neighborhood? Shouldn’t you be vetting her targets for her?] 

[Loki: @Aztec, I spoke with Ria a few minutes before her murder. She said she had recruited a student who managed to refine his curse core and innate curse tool on his first try. She felt that his innate curse tool might be a storage-type curse tool. So she wouldn’t share his details with me.] 

[EchoEcho: @Loki, No wonder you volunteered to investigate the newbie’s death alone. You were planning to harvest the newbie’s crop. So, cold-hearted. Just the way I like it.]

[Aztec: @Loki, When were you planning to share this information with us? Things could have turned out far worse for us if Ria’s killer had not rashly destroyed her phone to protect his/her identity.] 

[Loki: @Aztec, Any of you would have done the same in my position. It is a storage-type curse tool for godsakes.] 

[Bane1: A storage-type curse tool user. No wonder the CIB is so active.] 

[Aztec: @Loki, that student is related to CIB. This means you morons not only lost one of us but handed the CIB a storage-type curse tool user.] 

[Bane1: @Aztec, What about me? Somebody get me out of here?] 

[Aztec: @MountainOfSwords, Master, can I leave this to you?] 

[MountainOfSwords: @Aztec, Sure. By the way, who is heading the CIB operation in that neighborhood? Is it someone I know?] 

[Aztec: @MountainOfSwords, It’s the Crimson-eyed Curse master.]

[MountainOfSwords: Crimson-eyes, I heard of that lad. But never had the fortune of crossing my sword with him. Let’s see if all the hype is true.] 

[Bane1: Crimson-eyes! He must have already found me. Since he hasn’t caught me yet, does that mean he is using me as bait?] 

[Aztec: @Bane1, Which is why I am sending Master MountainOfSwords.] 

[MountainOfSwords: @Bane1, Kid, don’t run around. When you hear my signal, show yourself and leave the rest to me.] 

[Bane1: @MountainOfSwords, Master, what’s the signal?] 

[MountainOfSwords: You will know when you hear it.] 

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