While Elinor and Doctor Druid kept Lilith engaged, Apex Ace’s mind was racing—piecing together the puzzle of when Lilith became a Curse Slave using what she had revealed so far.
If he could understand her better, maybe—just maybe—they could all walk away from this without becoming child murderers.
The age of a second grader was usually around seven or eight years old. Lilith was eight now, which meant she would have been seven when she fell ill and dropped out of school. That meant…
It had taken her less than a year to become a Curse Slave. That was fast. Amazingly fast. But the shocking part wasn’t how little time it took for her to become a curse slave but under what circumstances she had achieved it.
As a sick seven- or eight-year-old kid, Lilith managed to pull off something that even the C.I.B.’s best, hand-picked agents had failed to do. Now, that was just amazing.
Either Lilith had a willpower so monstrous that she had beaten the odds through sheer determination…Or she’d had a shortcut. A shortcut that her daddy dearest had given her.
Apex Ace’s gut told him it was the latter. He believed Lance T. Willith had chosen to become a Mutated Rust Worm for his daughter.
There were countless Curse Slave arts out there in the ’World of Curses’ and the mortal world, considering how heavily governments had funded the Curse Slave Project across multiple nations.
And as the last surviving branch of the Immortal Sect, it would not be surprising if the Samsara Cult had an curse slave art that could help a sentient Curseling or a Curse Spirit to willingly become a mortal’s Curseling partner, allowing them to forge a Curse Core in their chosen mortal’s heart, permanently bonding them together with a life bond.
Something similar to what Apex Ace and Emi had done with Lyla, transforming her into a curse slave in less than a couple of hours without her knowledge.
Lilith’s father must have used that kind of Curse Slave art to turn her into a Curse Slave and willingly became his daughter’s Curseling partner, her eternal guardian. Ultimately, he saved her life at the expense of his own.
Apex Ace figured Lilith probably didn’t know about it since she was so young and kind of misguided; plus, parents usually keep the sacrifices they make for their children secret from their kids.
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However, seeing how Lilith’s father’s human soul was deteriorating from overusing his emotions to recover curse energy, which he most likely expended to create his daughter’s curse core not wanting her to undergo the gruesome process, but Apex Ace was also convinced that whatever Curse Slave art Lance had used wasn’t without its flaws.
Maybe that was why he hadn’t been able to protect Lilith from the Samsara Cult’s influence.
In under a year—maybe even less—they had turned an innocent little girl who chased butterflies into a cold-blooded killer with total disregard for human life—she stacked corpses into a throne like she was playing with Legos.
Ace didn’t believe this was the life Lance had envisioned for his daughter when he gave up his own.
But during the time Lilith spent in the cult, while Lance had instinctively protected her physically—just like he was doing now—nonetheless, he had failed her mentally.
Maybe he never even considered that possibility when he made the decision to save her. Or maybe… whoever introduced him to the Samsara Cult had maliciously kept that detail from him.
Ace would know for sure once Dame Wasp finished running Lilith and her father’s names through all the school databases in the country. But one thing was certain—the desperation to save his daughter had driven Lance to join the Samsara Cult.
Before Ace could think any further, a sharp, angry voice yanked him back to the present.
"No! Why don’t you guys listen to me?! Just stop talking and make Death earn my father’s and my souls!"
It was Lilith. Her sudden outburst gave everyone present a glimpse of the darkness lurking inside her. Just a mere glimpse of it could shake anyone to their core… and weak-hearted ones? It could put them to eternal sleep.
But despite all that rage, she just threw a tantrum and didn’t attack them. She was still just a kid. But no one should ever forget her darkness.
"Lilith!" Apex Ace’s voice thundered through the space, cutting through her tantrum like a blade. Doctor Druid and Elinor flinched, eyes widening as they turned to him, wondering, ’Has he lost his damn mind?’
After all, the last people who had been mean to Lilith were killed by her. Neither Elinor nor Doctor Druid wanted to use force against her, let alone fight or kill her.
Meanwhile, Lilith shot Apex a dangerous glare, her fingers twitching as if she were moments away from acting on some intrusive thoughts that entered her mind after seeing Ace yell at her.
However, before she could act on those thoughts, Apex Ace spoke again, asking, "Do you remember Noah and Sophia? Your friends from school?"
Lilith’s eyes widened in shock, recalling her two best friends. She answered him with a shaky voice, "Yes… I do."
"They miss you, Lilith. They’ve been worried about you. The last time they saw you, you were really sick." Apex paused, watching her reaction before continuing. "Sophia was so sad that you couldn’t come to her birthday party. And Noah? He’s really hoping you’ll be able to make it to his birthday party next week."
Lilith’s expression flickered, her usual stubbornness momentarily softened.
Apex wasn’t making this up. Dame Wasp had finally tracked down the primary school Lilith had attended. Using her picture, she combed through school photos and the social media of parents with kids in Lilith’s class.
Lilith had shown up in a lot of pictures with Noah and Sophia.
Then, Dame Wasp accessed chat logs between their parents, piecing together what she could about their friendship. From what she gathered, Lilith, Noah, and Sophia weren’t just classmates; they grew up together, and they had been inseparable.