+1 extra chapter because you surpassed the goal
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"Master of curses?" The phrase made Kaito open his eyes in surprise. He knew that a supernatural world existed in this world, but there was a difference between ordinary ghosts and things like Sukuna.
However, Kaito was not the only one surprised.
Makima also turned around and looked at him in shock.
'I... just answered instinctively. That was not a simple mistake, it was an instinct in my genes to respond to someone superior.'
"You have become stronger", she said with a smile at Kaito, although her gaze did not match the smile.
"I know, that is why I came, I want to raise my rank", Kaito replied, pretending not to notice what had just happened.
"Your rank, huh? I already imagined it, I will update it immediately", she said while typing on her computer.
"Can you tell me exactly what level you are?" As she said this, she looked Kaito in the eyes, and her eyes spun once again, this time more intensely than before, while in her mind she added something to the phrase she had just said. 'Of demon', she thought, completing it.
"Level 31", Kaito replied without breaking eye contact, with a smile.
'As expected, it did not work', Makima thought.
"Arghhh" Out of nowhere, she grabbed her head with a groan of pain.
"What is wrong?"
"I it is nothing, just a sudden headache", Makima said before quickly changing the subject. "Alright, it is done", she said, pretending everything was normal.
"Do I not need to take any tests?"
"Do not worry, I trust you", Makima said.
Kaito did not believe her for a second. He was certain he had been tested several times since entering that place, but on the surface he pretended otherwise.
"Thank you very much, it is an honor that you trust me so much, even though we have only met a couple of times."
"I usually have good intuition about who to trust", she replied before changing the topic. "Do you intend to become an affiliate?"
"Affiliate, huh?"
Kaito had already learned about that beforehand. Affiliates were those Lords who were under the government's command. Besides using Lords as a resource, one of their purposes was to show the general population that the bad lord was free, and the good lord was with the government.
However, it was in Kaito's plans to become one. After all, what better way to learn about the government's plans than by being part of it?
"Of course, what do I have to do?" Kaito nodded.
"It is easy, complete an E rank mission."
"Just that?" Kaito asked, confused.
"Just that", she nodded.
"Alright, is there a solo one?" Kaito asked without pressing further.
"No. Normally, starting from E rank, missions are done in groups, unless your rank is higher than the mission's. If you are interested, there was a mission for only two people, and the one who took it is still waiting for a partner. It is the only mission with fewer than five people available."
"Alright, contact them", Kaito replied after thinking about it for a moment. Then he took the opportunity to ask about what came before, pretending he did not care much. "What is a master of curses?"
"Classified information", Makima replied, bringing a finger to her lips.
"Does it have anything to do with spirits?"
Makima looked at him in confusion for a few seconds before speaking. "What would a master of curses have to do with spirits?"
'She is not lying', Kaito thought. He instinctively knew when Makima was lying. It might sound strange, but that would be a sign of disrespect, and Kaito would notice. It was the natural difference between demon ranks.
'I suppose it is normal. No one would think that someone called a master of curses has anything to do with spirits or something like that.
Then, a master of curses must just be a title, and uses curses in the traditional sense.'
"And what is he doing here? I have not heard of him."
"He usually does not leave the United States regardless of the reason."
"But he is here, is not he?" Kaito asked, not understanding.
"Precisely because he would never leave, he left this time. They want to make sure he does not prev..." Suddenly, Makima fell silent and looked at Kaito with a strange expression, somewhere between surprise, amusement, and frustration. "Lord Kaito, I am going to ask you to stop asking me questions, or I will have to call the superiors."
Seeing that he could not get any more information out of her, Kaito left to wait for his partner.
---
"Is that him?" a somewhat disdainful female voice sounded while Kaito was sitting in the waiting area, playing with a handheld console.
Upon hearing the voice and feeling the gaze, he stored the console in his inventory before approaching.
"It is him", she said, looking at Kaito before introducing them. "Kaito, she is Nakano Nino, level 31. Nino, he is Takayama Kaito, also level 31. Now that you are together, I will send you the specific mission information and let you talk."
"So your name is Kaito? You do not look very strong. What abilities do you have?" Nino said, looking at Kaito as if scrutinizing him.
"Balanced", Kaito replied. He did not want to focus his abilities on a single point and rely only on that, since if at some point he needed to use abilities he was not supposed to have, it would be suspicious. So he decided to create an identity with balanced stats, basically a weaker version of himself, but with speed at the same level as the rest of his stats.
"I suppose that is fine. If you reached that level with balanced stats, you must use them intelligently, although I think you have little potential", Nino said. "As for me, you can consider me the perfect combat body. Reaction speed, reflexes, strength, speed, everything needed to fight", she explained proudly.
"How does that work? Did you raise your stats for that, or is it an ability?"
"Well, it is part of an ability, but it is hard to explain. It does not matter."
Seeing that Nino did not want to give many explanations, Kaito spoke about the mission.
"A cult of Lords in Nerima, did you read the information?"
"Yes. Apparently, a group of lunatics believes that spirits exist and they are worshipping one. Ha, as if spirits existed in the real world", Nino dismissed their beliefs.
'That is it!' However, for Kaito it was completely different. He wondered why he had to do a mission instead of controlled tests to become an affiliate, but now he understood.
The government wants them to come into contact with the supernatural world in order to join. It probably depends on how they act and how they take the revelation to decide whether they can become affiliates.
'If that is the case, then the spirit they believe in is definitely real', Kaito thought, confident in his theory.
"Hey, what are you thinking about so seriously?" Nino called his attention, curious.
"It is nothing. According to this, they only gather at midnight. Shall we meet there, or do you want to go straight there now?"
"There is no need. We will meet there. Do not be late, or there will be nothing left to do", Nino said, leaving the place.
After watching her leave, Kaito stayed for a while thinking about the mission.
The information said that Lords completely unrelated to each other and from different places came together out of nowhere and started acting like cultists, worshipping a spirit.
They did not try to hide, so neighbors who saw them near their meeting place reported them to the authorities, which escalated until it reached the guild.
However, Kaito was not foolish enough to think there was truly no connection between them.
Most likely, it had something to do with Gaia, although he was still not sure how.
---
Shakuji River, Nerima.
A river that runs completely through Nerima and nearby areas, with cherry trees on both sides, giving it a beautiful appearance when they bloom.
However, it was already mid May, so most of the cherry trees had already finished their blooming season, leaving less striking trees, but still beautiful.
Among those trees, a large column of smoke rose into the sky. It was not normal smoke, but red in color.
Nino was also able to detect that it was not real smoke, but some kind of magical phenomenon.
"Tsk, I am not going to wait", Nino said, and went straight to the place.
Unlike Kaito, Nino could not simply get there by running, at least not that fast.
So she went by car, driven by a personal chauffeur, and decided to wait nearby.
But when midnight was approaching and she saw people gathering by the riverbank and starting a strange ritual, she decided not to wait for Kaito and moved on her own.
When she arrived, she found a group of Lords gathered in a circle around a star inside a hexagon, with candles placed around it. From the star came the red smoke she had seen earlier.
"I thought it was something truly magical because of the smoke, but it seems it was just as I thought at the beginning, just a bunch of lunatics", she said with disdain.
Sensing her, one of them slowly turned his face without changing expression, clearly not surprised by her appearance.
"It seems we have an intruder", he said. His voice sounded hollow and raspy, as if it was not him speaking, but something inside him.
As they turned, Nino observed his face along with the rest, who turned at the same time and stared at her.
They all showed exactly the same expression, with completely black eyes, violet pupils, and black cracks spreading from them.
"Wow, maybe it really is something magical. I bet this would terrify Itsuki", Nino murmured.
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
(They don't reach 15 at this moment, since there is a marathon of my other fic because it is ending.)
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)