The Strongest Curse Master

16:23, Great Canyon, Area 007, C.I.B. secret underground base, Base Wulfric.

"You sure this vent isn't rigged? You won't trigger an alarm using it, right?" Ace asked Dame Wasp, standing in the vast shadows of the Great Canyon, stretching under the sun. Thanks to the cursed clout, he wasn't worried about being discovered by C.I.B. personnel.

"Master, leave it to me and just wait for my signal," Dame Wasp assured him before entering the vent in her 1/100th form—stealthed and with her curse concealment art active. To the curse arrays and sensors, she was just another lucky insect that had somehow slipped past the vent's bug traps and filters. As a reward, it would get to die of starvation.

[Master, I'm in. The substitution talismans are in place.] Dame Wasp reported to Ace without him having to wait long. She had not only completed the task but executed it with impressive speed and precision.

The surface vent in question was one of dozens connected to the ventilation system of the C.I.B.'s underground base, Base Wulfric, in Area 007, located at the heart of the Great Canyon. These vents were left unguarded because they were already protected by a multitude of layers of curse array formations.

The number and quality of these formations were mind-bending enough to deter anyone foolish enough to even think about breaking in. Unfortunately for the C.I.B., Dame Wasp wasn't one of those fools. Not only had she hacked into the local network of the secret base using Apache's radio system, but she had also managed to map the entire base using its surveillance system and identify a weakness in its trillion-dollar security.

Well, the gaps Dame Wasp found in the array couldn't exactly be considered weaknesses—not unless paired with the unique combination of skills they had at their disposal. Normally, Ace wouldn't agree to such a risky plan, but right now, he was so furious that he gave Dame Wasp free rein.

After making her way through the vent, Dame Wasp reached one of the old record rooms in the secret base, located within a mile of her master. These rooms rarely saw any foot traffic unless someone needed to sift through old case files for reference or other rare reasons.

Finding a secluded corner away from all surveillance, Dame Wasp summoned the cursed toy box and released Emi. Emi nodded in acknowledgment before taking out a red rock from the Great Canyon—one that matched their master's weight. She then pasted a substitution talisman onto the rock, paired with the one Ace carried.

Receiving Dame Wasp's signal, Ace activated the talisman and soon swapped places with the rock.

[Good job, girls,] Ace praised his toy summons, having made it into the secret base without triggering any arrays or sensors.

Looking around at the rows upon rows of large steel cabinets under the dim lights of the high-ceilinged storage room, he took a deep breath. So much history and so many secrets were stored here—it was almost overwhelming to realize what they had accomplished.

Embracing the momentary sense of achievement, Ace glanced at his two toy summons. But he didn't let it go to his head—he knew that this victory would mean nothing if they couldn't get back out undetected.

[Lead the way,] Ace said to Dame Wasp, deciding to sit back and follow the lead of his toy summons. Their character profiles boasted extensive experience in infiltrating places where they didn't belong—or weren't welcome—which was a stark contrast to his own lack of experience.

[Master, it will be riskier if we move as a group. Emi and I will return to our toy space and guide you through sense sharing,] Dame Wasp informed him before she and Emi returned to their respective toy spaces.

Soon, Dame Wasp linked her senses to her master's and began guiding Ace to the nearest locker room. Thanks to the cursed clout, Ace was able to move through the base undetected, though he still had to steer clear of personnel. One could never be too cautious; you never knew who might be capable of what. Fortunately, with Dame Wasp tapped into the base's surveillance system, navigating safely wasn't difficult.

Upon reaching an empty locker room, Ace rummaged through the lockers until he found a high-ranking officer's uniform that fit him reasonably well. He cleansed it with a cleansing talisman before putting it on. While he had plenty of skills that would allow him to sneak through the base undetected, Dame Wasp—learning from her master—believed in being prepared for unforeseen complications.

Now that her master was camouflaged as one of the enemy, Dame Wasp led Ace to the nearest armory to equip her master and brethren. With her guidance, it didn't take long for Ace to reach the armory using the cursed clout. However, unlike the records room or locker room, the armory was heavily manned.

There were at least four guards, while a dozen personnel were busy maintaining the cursed gadgets stored in the room. It was clear they were in the right place—but at the wrong time. This presented a major obstacle in Ace's plan to arm himself and his toy summons with state-of-the-art cursed gadgets.

However, it seemed this particular armory wasn't Dame Wasp's true target.

'Master, hide in that trolley's shadow—quick!' Dame Wasp urged, having spotted an opening.

Ace's stomach twisted with stress and adrenaline, but he chose to follow Dame Wasp's lead without thinking about it, which made it easier.

'Master, the elevator shaft is empty. The elevator is on the lower floors. Quickly enter it and hide by the service ladder before it moves up,' Dame Wasp instructed.

Ace couldn't see a thing past the elevator door, but he followed her directions blindly, folding the shadow he was hiding in and leaping into the elevator shaft. Soon, he found the service ladder right next to the shadow he was piggybacking. Grabbing it, he heard Dame Wasp's next order, 'Master, use the curse concealment arts and keep descending until I tell you to stop.'

'Rose, where exactly are we headed?' Ace asked. Even though he'd committed to following her blindly, not knowing her end goal still made him uneasy. After all, they were infiltrating one of the most heavily guarded secret government bases in the country. If they were caught, execution would be a mercy.

'I'm taking you to where the real weapons are kept—not those toys you just saw,' Dame Wasp replied, her tone tinged with excitement. Despite the gravity of their situation, her enthusiasm was contagious—and it sent a surge of adrenaline through Ace's veins. Her confidence had a way of making the impossible feel just a little more possible.

'Lead the way, my captain!' Ace joked, sliding down the ladder within the wide and deep elevator shaft until Dame Wasp ordered him to stop.

'Master, access that vent beside you. Crawl into it while maintaining curse concealment arts. That vent only has curse sensors—it doesn't detect anything except curse energy. Our mastery of curse concealment is enough to bypass it without triggering an alarm,' Dame Wasp explained, clarifying why he needed to suppress his curse energy. The vent was dark and shadowless, and any attempt to use shadows was pointless due to the array of curse sensors embedded throughout.

Ace figured the vent must lead to—or pass near—a highly sensitive location within the base, considering the extreme security measures despite being located within the base.

'Master, take a right turn. Soon, you'll reach a vent opening that leads into the arms room where our targets are stored,' Dame Wasp informed him, relieved that her master had made it through the hardest part. She'd been concerned that the personnel stationed in the armory near the elevator might notice him or sense something unusual.

But this was a calculated risk. The elevators were the only way to reach the lower floors—there were no regular or emergency stairs. The elevators themselves were a type of cursed gadget, highly invasive in how they examined their passengers. That was why she'd instructed Ace to use curse concealment while navigating the shaft—she didn't want him triggering any of the sensors on a passing elevator.

Within the base, personnel had no privacy—not even the privacy of their own minds. Certain sections of the facility monitored mental waves, allowing experts to interpret what individuals were thinking to ensure they weren't under any form of control. The base's security was extreme, and it had to be, considering the curse world was filled with countless unpredictable abilities for which no amount of preparation ever seemed enough.

Stealthily dropping into the room, Ace summoned Dame Wasp to illuminate the area with her skills, as it was pitch dark. When the light revealed rows upon rows of gun-shaped curse gadgets and various weapons and armor-type curse gadgets, blood rushed to Ace's head with excitement. Armed with these, and with a little preparation, even a mortal could stand a chance against a high-tier curse user.

What astonished him most was the sheer volume—it was enough to arm a small army.

With a wide grin, Ace summoned all his toy summons: 'Come out, Emi, DD, Specwork, Specorc, Specarc, Specroll.'