The Strongest Curse Master-Chapter 259: Chapter I.B. Attacked

"Where’s Mrs. Martins? Is she too ashamed—" Before Ace could finish, Man Hunter cut him off, her tone sharp, "Madam EAD is busy with the investigation and sent me in her place." She took a step closer, voice lowering with a hint of warning, "Also, regardless of your personal relationship with the acting EAD, I’d advise you to speak formally when addressing or talking about her. Unless you want to be charged with disorderly conduct."

Ace didn’t bother responding. Instead, he pulled out the employment contract and handed it over. Man Hunter skimmed through it, then arched a brow, "Trainee, you forgot to sign it."

Ace smirked, his tone dripping with mock politeness. "Tell your esteemed acting EAD that if she wants my signature, she should be a little more sincere with her offer." He folded his arms. "These hidden clauses? Her clever wordplay? Not fooling anyone."

Man Hunter’s frown deepened, but she didn’t argue. Instead, she nodded, tucked the contract away, and quietly moved to a corner of the lobby. Her presence seemed to vanish, but Ace knew she was still there—monitoring him while silently relaying his refusal to Matthews.

Not giving her another thought, Ace turned to Janice, "Did you get Ratri’s Edge?"

Janice nodded, pulling a scope from her left earring and passed it to him saying, "Yeah. And here—the Leprechaun Scope is yours now."

Ace took the scope, casually flicked a cleansing talisman over it, then kissed it before summoning his Rail Rifle. With a practiced ease, he mounted the scope onto the adjustable rail, then ran a hand over the rifle’s sleek frame, admiring its beauty.

From the side, Lola watched with thinly veiled envy. She wanted to own a gun too. But her parents would never allow it until she was of age. Even though she’d gained unimaginable powers, she still found comfort hiding in her innate tool—the one thing that connected her to her past. It made her feel safe, even if it also made her feel like a glorified mascot, half-assing her job.

After returning the rifle to Emi in the Toybox, Ace turned to the group informing, "I’m heading home. What about you guys?"

As everyone started figuring out their own plans, he glanced at Lola, "Need a lift?"

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Lola instinctively turned to Janice for permission, but before she could say anything, Janice made an executive decision, "Fine. We’re crashing at Ace’s place tonight. Let’s surprise Mandy."

Though she said we, everyone knew she really meant herself. Evil Eyes and Delores had no choice but to follow—being her bodyguards, it wasn’t like they could just refuse. Sonia, on the other hand, would probably need clearance from Matthews.

Just as Ace was about to wrap things up, Elinor suddenly spoke up, "Senior, you can’t leave yet. Even if you’re holding out for better terms from the C.I.B., you still need to register."

Her words slowed everything. Sonia looked at Evil Eyes bewildered. "Jeez, how dense is she?"

Evil Eyes sighed, then turned to her with a warning, "Unless you want to be puking eyeballs for the rest of your life, tone it down."

He knew Sonia was underestimating Elinor because of her scatterbrained tendencies, but despite her clumsiness, she was still a direct-line descendant of the McSuiles. That wasn’t something to take lightly.

Janice, meanwhile, just shook her head informing her cousin, "Eli… he’s not even eighteen yet."

Elinor froze, "Wait… what? Are you serious?"

Her mind raced, trying to process how someone that young had the power to order EAD Matthews around. And now that she thought about it… his closeness with Delores—it was kind of creepy.

A wave of realization hit her. She replayed everything she’d said up until now… and suddenly felt sober. Without another word, she squatted down and buried her head in her knees. Then—

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted from several floors below, shaking the entire C.I.B. building. The walls trembled violently, but just as the barrier activated, stabilizing everything—it vanished. As if it had never been there in the first place.

Panic swept through the entire C.I.B. building. Were they under attack? In the lobby, Lola yelled, "Everyone, get into my Dinosaur Haven—hurry!" Enjoy exclusive chapters from novelbuddy

Not a single person moved. Man Hunter, choosing to follow Bureau protocol despite the confusion, snapped, "Bart, lead the civilians to the bunker."

Bart nodded sharply and signaled to the crowd. "Everyone, stay calm and follow me to the basement bunker."

Sonia, however, scoffed, "Hey, dumbass, the explosion came from the basement."

Ignoring Bart, she rushed off, following Delores, Evil Eyes, Ace, and Janice toward the glass walls to assess the situation outside. The moment they looked down, their blood ran cold. The entire street was on fire and chaos. C.I.B. agents were fighting each other—killing each other.

At first, it looked like pure chaos, but on closer inspection, they noticed something chilling: One group moved with precision, like a well-organized unit. The other? They looked lost, confused, and fighting back purely on instinct, not knowing whom to help and whom to fight.

Ace didn’t waste time. He turned away from the window, summoning his Leprechaun Rail Rifle and power cables. Finding an outlet, he plugged in. Returning to the window, he slammed the butt of his rifle into the glass, shattering it.

Just as he knelt down and took aim—Man Hunter’s voice cut through the tension like a whip, "What the fuck do you think you’re doing?"

Ace didn’t even flinch as he answered her, "Trying to save lives." Seeing that Man Hunter still didn’t move, his voice dropped a level, colder now. "I know my rights. I don’t mind shooting through you." And he meant it.

With the Leprechaun Scope, he didn’t even need a direct line of sight. The scope let him see through obstacles—even ones made of curse energy—as long as they were close like Man Hunter was right now.

"I’d take his words seriously," Sonia said, leaning against the shattered window as if this weren’t a life-or-death situation. "He’s already taken down five Sky-Tiers with that rifle last evening alone. I doubt an Ocean Tier would be much harder."

She was helping her future senior, while the others? They just wanted to watch Man Hunter make a fool of herself.

Man Hunter’s jaw tightened, but she eventually stepped aside. Her gaze flicked to Janice, Delores, and Evil Eyes—only to find them staring at her in disappointment.

That stung. ’What the hell did I do to deserve this kind of hate?’ she thought. ’I’m just following orders. Just doing my damn job.’

Breaking the tense silence, Sonia glanced at Man Hunter and asked, "Shouldn’t you be down there?"

Meanwhile, Ace was locked in on his rifle, scanning for the true culprit through the scope while Dame Wasp charged the rifle’s power chamber.

Man Hunter exhaled, her fingers flexing at her sides, but she shook her head. "No. If I go down there, it’ll just add to the chaos," she admitted, though everything in her wanted to jump in and help her colleagues. Still, she followed the damn protocol, "The task force will be here soon. They’re trained for this kind of situation."

But the way she said it? Like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else.