Extra's Curse: Servants Of Will

Just as the words left from his mouth, the envelope made of pure paper vibrated slightly and glowed greyish from the edges, faint energy flickered like smoke.

With that the envelope settled, and now it felt a bit heavier than before.

Ibaan wasted no time on opening the envelope, there was another black pure paper inside it, he brought it outside in bid hands feeling the strange touch. There was something written on it in golden coloured letters that were visible to his eyes.

"Dear Bastard 11, you are specially invited in hidden organisations The Bastard. By special we literally mean special, though no one gets invited and wielding an official Bastard name would be a world for the minor members.

Coming to the points you must remember:

There will be meetings where you will discuss ongoing matters around the world. You may ask for help or take side missions if needed.

There will be important mission assignments given directly by the Great Lord himself—Bastard 00.

You must be respectful to every member of the Bastards. Respect is absolute.

Do not pry into the mysteries of the Great Lord.

You must feed the poor.

You must not bring shame to the name of the Bastards.

As for how the meetings will be held, it is simple. You will receive an intel message through the Bastards' ring that is given to you with this invitation. After that, you must go to the assigned location, where you will meet the members of the Bastards inside the mysterious palace of the Bastards.

Or

You must change your belief to the Bastard and the Great Lord, and pray to Him every Sunday morning before falling asleep. Also, make sure to wear a mask before every meeting.

For prayer, speak these epithets:

"He Who Walks Beneath the Starless Sky

The One Who Was, Who Is, and Who Will Be

Great Lord of the Cosmos — Holis"

That is all.

Waiting to meet you.

~ Bastard 01

As he finally finished reading the invitation, Ibaan felt both fascinated and confused. The faction had a higher being as its leader?

Only beings above angels—supreme angels, deities, or something even higher—could exist at that level, having a prayer epithet name.

That thought alone made his heart tremble.

The invitation asked him to change his belief, and not only that—the epithet felt familiar to him, yet he could not recall where he had heard it before.

Still, he felt no hesitation. He even thought of changing his belief to the Bastard at once.

He did not feel like a traitor to the Exalted, nor did he care about punishment or the consequences of his choice.

He did not think of them at all.

How could he forget the fear he once felt, and the one who had helped cleanse the corruption that lived inside his soul? It was the same Ibaan—Shon Eriil—whose heart had once softened for the Exalted.

However, Ibaan quickly placed the invitation letter back into the envelope and carefully slid it into the drawer of the table.

After that, he picked up the Bastards' card once more—the card that now belonged to him.

He wondered what use this card had. What was he supposed to do with it?

Just then, by mistake, the card slipped slightly to the right. He caught it with his finger, and to his surprise, similar sharp cards slipped out to the left as the original slid right.

His brows furrowed.

How ironic.

Were there more cards inside it?

Probably not. He glanced at the side of the card. There were no other cards visible. It was just as thin as before, with not even enough space where other copies could have been hidden.

Still, just to check whether his guess was right or wrong, he let the original card slide further down.

As it moved, more cards appeared in his hands. Soon, they formed almost half a circle.

His mind snapped into focus.

The cards were so sharp that they could cut through anything. It was clear now—the other cards were nothing but weapons.

He sighed and slid the card back. As expected, the other cards vanished into nothing.

He placed the card in the drawer as well. He would deal with it later. First, he needed to change his clothes, eat something outside, buy warmer clothes for Bain, get Bain a haircut, make a fake identity card, and rent an apartment in Raj City.

After that, he closed the window, keeping the cold wind from entering. The chill lessened compared to when the window was open, though it was still cold.

He opened the wardrobe and took out a long coat, neckwear, a muffler, and a pair of warm black trousers.

Just before he could put them on, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw an incoming call.

It was none other than Ibaan's wife, Selpe.

He picked up the call at once, without wasting time to think or react.

"Hellooo! Where are you, IBAAN?"

"Are you okay? Why didn't you answer the call? Do you know how worried I was?

Tell me."

Selpe's careful, shaky, worried voice flooded his ears. How could she be this worried if she had no interest in him? The thought made him pause for a moment, but he pushed it away at once.

After a brief silence, Ibaan spoke in his disguised tone. He chuckled.

"Calm down, Selpe. I'm fine. I was just in Dead Eye's realm."

"Thank God! But this long? I'm sure it wouldn't take this much time," she said.

"I'll tell you later!"

"Okay. I'll be coming back tomorrow. And you know what? You can stay here with me. I got the permission."

'Wait, what?'

She was coming back tomorrow?

"O-oh, alright. I'll be waiting. See you. I have some work to do right now—let's talk later."

Ibaan ended the call at once. If she was coming back tomorrow, that meant he had to finish all his work today.