Mc's POV

"You should try it. It's quite good," Selene said.

I shook my head.

"I'm full. Besides…"

I tapped my mask.

"I can't eat with this."

"Oh," Lars muttered.

His smile faded, and he looked a little disappointed.

Seeing him like that, Mira gave me a disapproving look.

Even Yuna spoke. "Lord of Shadows, it looks like he prepared it for everyone with all his heart. Even if you can't eat it now, you should at least take it."

I glanced at everyone, exasperated. Only to notice Lars look again.

He looked like a wet dog.

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I said, "I'll eat it later."

I placed one of the plates into the rune on my palm.

The food would stay fresh for a few days to weeks inside the inventory rune. It was a property of all spatial inventories.

After dinner—though I still had no idea why we were having dinner at three in the morning—I looked at Zephan.

"So, when should we start the mission?"

"We can move now," Zephan replied, walking up to us.

"Alright. I'll teleport us. Do you have the coordinates?"

Zephan nodded and handed me the location data.

I created several portals and we moved through to reach a street in Sheffield: Street 51.

As soon as we arrived, Ellyn and Denny were already waiting for us.

"We have good news and bad news," Ellyn said.

Our expressions tightened, realizing something had happened.

"Start with the good news," Zephan said.

"There's a Cursed Spirit here. We don't need to go back and find another mission where there is a Cursed Spirit," Ellyn explained.

"How did you find that out?" Mira asked.

"That's the bad news," Ellyn replied. "I was watching a possible target that the Cursed Spirit might go after. At exactly three a.m., she disappeared."

Ellyn described the woman.

Her name was Amelia.

She was in her late twenties, with long brown hair and soft features.

She was also pregnant at seven months.

Before she vanished, she had been hallucinating and claimed she was dreaming about someone chasing her.

Some other people who disappeared in this area had told their families about similar dreams before vanishing.

Zephan crossed his arms. "Alright. We'll keep monitoring and question more people until we find a way to enter the Cursed Spirit's domain. For now, let's split into teams of two."

"I'll take the night patrol," I said.

Zephan gave me a doubtful look. "Night team? The civilians will be asleep at this time. You won't be able to question anyone. All you can do is check if someone disappears. Are you sure about this?"

I nodded.

I knew why he was warning me.

Our performance in this mission would affect our evaluations and determine whether we passed the Cursed Spirit Hunter License test.

If it looked like I was picking easier jobs, it could hurt my chances.

Still, I had my reasons.

First, I couldn't go out during the daytime.

Second, questioning civilians required an Exorcist ID.

That ID wasn't just any normal badge.

It had special magic embedded in it.

It could disguise the badge as a badge an Interpol officer, or from the CBI, or any local police unit, making it easier to ask questions without raising suspicion.

It also carried something even more important: Memory Magic.

This magic allowed Exorcists to wipe a civilian's recent memories, up to five times a month.

Rank 3 or higher Exorcists, or those from major Hidden Clans, had stronger versions of it.

They could even erase memories from other Exorcists.

The number of uses could be increased by submitting reports to the Exorcist Union.

But overusing it could damage the civilian's mind permanently.

And if you knew how, you could also restore the erased memories.

It was delicate but essential magic.

I didn't have an Exorcist ID, which meant I couldn't question anyone without risking being caught as an illegal Exorcist.

That was another reason the night shift suited me better.

Zephan started assigning teams.

"Alan and Lars. Zephan and Calliope. Selene and Mira. Ellyn and Denny."

He looked around at us.

"Keep in mind that our goal is to find the entry conditions to the Cursed Spirit's domain, or it's body if it's the parasitic type," he said. "Now, Alan and Lars, you two can go ahead for night patrol of the area.

"Stay vigilant. We still don't know what type of Cursed Spirit we are facing."

I nodded.

I already knew the entry condition of the Cursed Spirit's domain.

But I decided to wait a few days before saying anything.

If I revealed it too soon, it would look suspicious that I knew something none of them did.

For now, it was better to observe.

…

Chameleon POV

A woman stepped out of the private pool, water sliding off her pale skin.

Her figure was slender, and a tattoo of several colorful flowers stretched across her back.

At first glance, they looked beautiful, but anyone who knew about flora would recognize them as poisonous flowers.

Her servants quickly wrapped a bathrobe around her shoulders and handed her a towel.

She dried her hands and sat down at a glass table near the pool.

A man entered, holding a black suitcase.

"The Relic is working now. Please check the information," he said, placing it on the table.

He opened the suitcase.

Inside was an old, worn-out notebook.

The woman reached for it.

As soon as her fingers touched the cover, the book began to change.

The brown, cracked surface turned smooth and black, and the pages became white and new.

On the cover appeared bold golden letters: [Book of Disasters].

She opened the first page. Lines began to form on the blank paper.

…

Exploration Log of Cursed Spirit [Area 51]

Date of Appearance: Unknown

Location: Street 51, Sheffield, England

Classification: Rank 3 Domain Type (Current classification)

The first civilian logs could not be documented due to lack of date and evidence.

.

First Official Exploration

Entrants: 10 (Eight Exorcists, Two Civilians)

Date of Entrance: August 2, 2003

Result: Complete annihilation of all team members and civilians.

Survivors: None

.

Second Official Exploration

Entrants: …

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