Mysterious Mask Woman

Before dawn, a room in the town of Fireplace Bay erupted in loud cheers. A balding man jumped up from his chair in excitement, almost hysterically shouting, "It's done! It's done!"

In front of him lay a ledger, piled high with dazzling exorcism tools.

Besides these were three bottles of Blocker. The Blocker had been drunk, leaving a sticky black line on the unkempt man's lips.

He gesticulated wildly, "The Curse is gone!"

The woman who entered upon hearing the commotion glanced at the man's state, a flicker of disgust in her eyes. She then skillfully concealed her emotions, sat opposite the man, crossed her legs, and asked, "You've worked hard. The higher-ups are very interested in this ledger. You're the expert on this, they want to hear your opinion."

"Ha! This is a trade secret. There aren't three people on the entire continent who can separate a Curse from its Cursed Object!"

The man puffed out his chest, feeling ecstatic. When he successfully extracted the Curse from the ledger, he felt like he had reached the pinnacle of his life. This was a technique even the Containment Bureau hadn't mastered. It was originally his research topic, but he, a genius, was unceremoniously kicked out by the previous Director for minor violations.

Now, look who's laughing last!

The Director who fired him was long dead, and he had finally made all his theories a reality.

Those fools didn't understand the greatness of this technology. If they could extract Curses, it would mean they could truly control the power of an Evil God!

The man could already envision his name written in history books, worshipped by countless future generations.

"Father of Cursed Objects, how do you like that title?"

The woman frowned, glancing at the man who was too excited to realize his surroundings. She explained, "We have no intention of prying into your trade secrets. We just want to know why the Cursed Object appeared and if such incidents will happen again."

The Conglomerate valued stability; a few Cursed Objects couldn't be allowed to ruin the entire industry.

"Ah, you mean that. It's an extremely rare event."

The man waved his hand, uninterested in the ledger's origins. "The essence of a Cursed Object's appearance stems from human obsession. Next time a similar situation arises, just kill those commoners before they learn the truth. However, if your superiors are interested in artificially creating Cursed Objects, we can establish long-term cooperation. When I worked in the Containment Bureau's research department, I conducted several experiments in this regard."

"I will relay your message to my superiors."

"Drip, drip."

The woman was about to say something more when she was interrupted by a sudden light sound.

This was... water?

Why was there the sound of water?

She looked up and saw a water droplet falling onto the balding man's head. Then, she saw the sky outside the window, shrouded in blood-red. Although Fireplace Bay was perpetually shrouded in darkness, such a sight was unheard of.

What terrified her even more was that she hadn't noticed when this anomaly had appeared.

The sound of water, the blood-red sky, all appeared suddenly, as if time had suddenly skipped while she was talking to the man.

A soul-chilling cold pulled her back to reality. Looking at the balding man again, he maintained his previous posture, as if about to explain the many benefits of Cursed Object research to her. But he could no longer make a sound.

The man had turned into an ice sculpture, and she hadn't noticed when it happened.

Another terrifying thought surfaced.

Although only a few seconds had passed, she felt like the man had been silent for a long time.

Then, her hand also felt a cold touch. Something fell on it, sending a shiver down her spine. Instinctively, she reached for her gun. The woman turned her head towards her waist, but her right hand, now an ice sculpture, stopped before it could reach the gun.

What kind of... magic was this?

This was the last thought remaining in her mind.

Then, even her thoughts froze.

"Hiss--! So cold, why is it suddenly so cold!?"

The Guard at the room's door shivered violently.

His colleague, also on duty, reflexively hugged his shoulders. This cold was unusual, far more bone-chilling than during their time in the Empire's northern campaigns. He was about to say something when he was interrupted by an unusual sight at their feet.

The two Guards exchanged glances, asking uncertainly, "Was the floor wet before?"

Just a moment ago, they could still hear the Cursed Object expert's incessant speech, but now, the entire corridor was silent, save for their own breathing.

The two confirmed the ominous premonition in their hearts. They drew their swords, mustered their courage, and pushed open the door.

The room was empty.

The Cursed Object expert and the envoy sent by the Conglomerate were gone, but water had indeed spread from the room. The floor was soaked, and melting ice shards could be seen receding at a visible speed.

Meanwhile, in Riverside Town, all was silent.

"Drip, drip."

Hearing a sudden sound beside her, the woman wearing a smiling Mask, guarding the mailbox, looked over.

The space in front of the Teleportation Magic Node distorted into a point, and a woman wearing a Swirl Mask emerged from the distorted space. "It's over already?"

The Smile Mask woman looked somewhat disappointed, muttering softly, "Tch, it went that smoothly."

With a gentle wave of her left hand, the Swirl Mask woman tossed the ledger and a glass jar containing an unknown lump of flesh towards her.

Holding the glass bottle, the Smile Mask woman suddenly found something interesting and her tone became excited. "Huh? What's with the style? Where did you get that bouquet? You didn't hold something like that to deal with the target, did you? Bought it from a magic item shop in Fireplace Bay? Looks quite convincing. Tell me, how much did it cost this time?"

"My boyfriend gave it to me. Do you have one?"

The answer, followed by a rhetorical question, was delivered in one go, with resounding force.

This strike landed a critical hit directly on the smiling Mask woman, freezing her expression and making it impossible for her to smile any longer. She roared in anger, "Where did you get a boyfriend? Even if you have one, so what? I can't even remember how many men I've dated. You and I are on completely different levels!"

"Did they ever send you flowers?"

The smiling Mask woman's eyes widened in disbelief. She stammered for a long time before finally managing to choke out, "Are you fucking kidding me! Are you sick?!"

This Witch's brain must be fried today. Why had her aggression suddenly become so intense?

She took another careful look at the Witch and realized the Witch's aggression wasn't just in her words. The visible pair of eyes seemed like they were about to spew fire.

Her momentum immediately faltered. She shrunk back, "Wait a minute, sis, have I offended you recently?"

"Were the suggestions you gave me before a lie?"

"Huh? What suggestions?"

"Tie him up, lock him in a cellar where no one can find him, and make it so that the only person he sees every day when he opens his eyes is me. Why wasn't he excited when he heard that? Instead, he looked completely disgusted?"

The Witch questioned her, along with... a threat, "If this ruins my image, you'll be eating Ice Arrows."