Modern World Warlock-Chapter 257: Identifying the Curse

After the Omega Team had given their report to Camille at the Jade Palace and accepted Sami into their group, the handler told the warlock that the Kappa Team had located all of the hostages listed in the document that Trinity obtained from their database.

However, the list had the names of people who had been dead for years, so the handler wasn't sure what to do with those.

The warlock explained that the dead hostages were most likely being kept in soulstones, similar to what he did with the demons' souls, which meant that the only way to save them would be to take them from Netherius.

"Mhmm, I suspected it would be something like that…" Camille muttered.

Still, the handler wanted to know if they could at least save the ones who were still alive, and they could worry about the dead later.

"Well… I would have to look at the curse that was placed on them first," Dante commented.

Camille revealed that all of the people who were on the hostage list were family and friends of the Azure Rebels' members, and they were told they couldn't leave their cities or act any differently.

"The cartel wanted the Azure Rebels to keep working with efficiency, so if they kept all of the hostages away from them, the rebels would've most likely declined their offer…" Camille said.

For that reason, the cartel simply placed a curse on them and told them to keep living their lives as usual.

"That… could be a problem, right? I mean, if they see one of the hostages talking with someone from our group, they would get killed!" Zac interjected.

"Yes, that's why I wanted to know if it could be possible to cure them all in one session…" Camille replied.

"Again, I would need to see the curse first," said the warlock.

Fortunately, one hostage whose job required him to travel to Novis for a few days had already been contacted by the Kappa Team.

The plan was to bring the individual to the Jade Palace to study the curse, and if they figured they could cleanse it with ease, they would contact all of the other hostages.

It was a risky move as the hostages were most likely being watched by the cartel, but Camille was confident that her teams could get the job done without their enemies finding out.

Two days after their meeting, Dante was called to the laboratory at the Jade Palace, where he was introduced to a man, seemingly in his 30s, who was the husband of a female scientist for the Azure Rebels.

His name was Dino, and while he didn't work directly with the mafia, his job was somewhat related to it.

Dino traveled to Novis once a month to deliver packages sent to tech companies, mainly from other companies owned by the Azure Rebels.

While the man was working at his shop in the city of Ventis one day, he received a visitor, who happened to be Neil, the leader of the Kappa Team, in disguise.

When Neil asked Dino if he was aware of the curse that was holding him hostage, the man got nervous and implored Neil to leave him alone, fearful that he would be lit up in flames next.

However, after Neil was able to convince the man that the Jade Dragons could potentially heal the curse, Dino agreed to the terms.

Since Dino had to travel to Novis for his job, it wasn't out of character for him to leave the city. If any other hostage tried the same, they would most likely get retribution from the cartel in an instant.

Now, in the present, Dino had finally arrived at Novis and was taken to the Jade Palace, where he met Dante, the man who could supposedly heal the curse.

As the warlock scrutinized the man, he could see his flow of energy had been tampered with, asking the man to get closer to him.

Dino nervously took a few steps forward, and when Dante placed his hand on his neck, he closed his eyes with fear. However, the warlock wasn't hurting him in any way.

Instead, after Dante used two fingers and wiped the side of Dino's neck, a black tattoo materialized on it with strange engravings and a malevolent aura oozing from it.

"Huh… So, it was hidden. I suppose having a neck tattoo out of nowhere could catch unwanted attention…" Camille commented.

The warlock recognized the energy flowing from the curse to be that of Netherius, so he knew that his warlock powers wouldn't be able to cleanse it.

Dino was taken aback momentarily when he heard that, as the man had been hopeful of the Jade Dragons. Still, Dante wasn't done talking.

"I could cleanse it if I do 'that…'" Dante said to Camille.

The handler squinted for a second, unsure of what the warlock meant, but after a brief silence, her eyes widened in realization.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to put you in that position," the handler said to Dante, prompting him to shake his head in denial.

"No need for apologies. This is what she would do anyways…" Dante replied.

Dino was confused at their conversation, unaware of what they were planning. However, he did understand the part where Dante said he could cleanse the curse, and that was enough for Dino to make him hopeful again.

Nonetheless, the cleansing couldn't be done at that moment, as it could alert Netherius and activate the others in retaliation.

While the news made Dino lower his head somberly again, Camille's plan was running smoothly.

"All we need to do is gather all of the cursed people in one place and cleanse them all together. That way, even if Netherius notices and activates the curse, nobody will have it…" Camille elaborated.

The Kappa Team was sent back to the north so they could locate and contact the other cursed individuals, giving them a time and place where they needed to meet in order to survive.