The Strongest Curse Master-Chapter 351: The Vanisher
For the Nastrond to use the same curse sensors that they rigged for their enemies would have been foolish, especially for a facility designed by individuals whose entire job was to prepare for the unknown. Surely, someone must have considered the possibility of "the Vanisher" being used against them. And indeed, they had. That's why they used curse sensors that were not rigged, rendering "the Vanisher" obsolete within the Nastrond.
However, Ace still stepped into the Nastrond with confidence, placing all his hopes on "the Vanisher." Because he trusted the racial ability of the royal Speclime, Specarc, to upgrade the Vanisher so that it could actively create backdoors into even unrigged curse sensors, allowing him to move through the Nastrond undetected, like a ghost.
How would the Vanisher know how to create a backdoor into these sensors? Thanks to the laziness of the so-called geniuses who designed them. They had used the same base design for both the rigged and genuine curse sensors. This meant the potential vulnerability—the place where a backdoor could be inserted—was already marked. The Vanisher simply had to follow that blueprint.
This might seem over the top, but for a Speclime, it was well within reach. They could simply upgrade the Vanisher to perform exactly as needed. Especially Specarc—its royal racial abilities Technomix and Upgrade, when used in combination, would allow it to enhance any gadget precisely to meet their requirement for the moment.
Upon being summoned, Specarc immediately transformed into a four-inch-long, quarter-centimeter-wide device shaped like a sleek black pen. Then, using its racial abilities, Technomix and Upgrade, it optimized the Vanisher for the mission at hand, perfectly.
Ace didn't need to check whether the Specarc Vanisher was working—he had already demonstrated it to Dee3 to assure her that he knew what he was doing. Dee3 had been so impressed by the versatility of his curse tool that she almost put her lab coat back on, but ultimately, she didn't. These days, she only wore it when treating her cyborg animals or rescuing other abandoned test subjects from Base Wulfric.
With the help of the Specarc Vanisher, Ace no longer wasted time hiding in the restroom. He used the Curse Clout's shadow-folding ability to trace the map Dee3 had provided and headed toward the room where the Overlords' descendant was being held.
Even with the Vanisher, Ace didn't dare grow complacent or take unnecessary risks. He stuck to his mission, minimizing contact with the curse sensors wherever possible.
It didn't take long for him to find the interrogation room. However, the Overlords' descendant wasn't alone. There were two other individuals in the room. Guards, maybe, Ace guessed as he slipped into a shadow within the room.
Upon entering, he was shocked to find Elinor standing watch over a 13-year-old handcuffed to a desk and attached to mind-reading apparatus, while a staff member analyzed graphs from the mind-reading apparatus.
As Ace tried to make sense of what Elinor was doing down here in Nastrond—with the Overlords' descendant, no less—her long hair suddenly shifted. Strands on her back sprouted numerous small red slits, which widened into crimson eyeballs. All at once, they turned in unison, staring directly at the shadow Ace was hiding in.
Ace snapped out of his thoughts when his eyes met the hundred creepy eyeballs on the back of Elinor's head. Her hair looked like a black curtain studded with monstrous red eyes. It was creepy—terrifying, even. The kind of sight that could haunt someone's nightmares for the rest of their life. He couldn't get used to seeing her use her innate curse tool.
"Ace!" Elinor shouted, then asked in disbelief, "Is that really you?"
Being called out by Elinor made Ace feel like his heart had leaped out of his mouth. Instead of responding, he immediately emerged from the shadows and knocked the staff member out cold. The man was just a Curse Slave—someone with expertise to operate the mind-reading apparatus. He was simply doing his job.
Then, Ace turned to Elinor and demanded, "What are you doing here? Didn't I pay you a hundred billion bucks to protect my family estate?"
Rather than answering her, Ace put her on trial. Caught off guard, Elinor froze, her brain scrambling to process the situation. After confirming that the staff member was merely unconscious and not seriously harmed, she locked eyes with Ace. Her guilt got the better of her rationality as she blurted out in disbelief, "I have no idea. I came here to meet my father and take my share of the void core, but somehow I ended up down here… guarding this asshole."
Ace raised an eyebrow when Elinor referred to the thirteen-year-old-looking prisoner as an asshole. As for her meeting her father—yes, they had discussed it, and she was supposed to confront him and take what was rightfully hers. But Ace hadn't expected her to act on it so soon. Still, he wasn't surprised that Elinor had not only failed to retrieve her share of the void core from her father but was now running errands for him instead, that too free of charge.
That's why Ace had suggested she simply destroy something her father valued, equal in worth to her share of the void core, without even meeting him. That way, he'd learn not to take what belonged to her. But apparently, despite all of Ace's hype, Elinor hadn't gone through with it.
Returning to the matter at hand, Ace asked, "How far have you gotten? Has this asshole given up the location of the Overlords' treasure?"
"Hey, shit shoveler! Who are you calling an asshole?" the thirteen-year-old snapped at Ace.
*Bang!* Before Ace could respond, Elinor grabbed the back of the boy's head and slammed it into the table. She leaned in and warned coldly, "Say one more word, and I'll make you vomit eyeballs for the rest of your miserable life."
Don't let appearances fool you—the twerp might look thirteen, but he was actually over a century old. He was the last descendant of the Overlords, the vile spawn of the most cursed bloodline to ever exist.
