Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2829: The Curse Haunting Corey

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky blossom city, unknown

”Justice may be delayed, but it will always be upheld—regardless of who you are, where you are, or what you possess. An eye for an eye, blood for blood.”

”Aah!”

Ever since she regained the memories of her fifth and sixth reincarnations, Corey had been haunted by the same vision. Each time she closed her eyes, a cactus devil’s head loomed before her, its barbed silhouette twitching as it announced those same words. Without fail, she would jolt awake moments later—gasping for breath, drenched in sweat—cursing in her mind, ”Damn it, leave me alone, you barbed wretch!”

”Again?”

”Yeah. Somehow, his face keeps getting more hideous each time.”

”That’s not possible. You’re just too scared.”

”Nobody asked you, Agony. Go back to wailing in the corner.”

”How long are you going to keep punishing me?”

”Just go already...”

Park checked on Corey, knowing she’d just endured the recurring nightmare again. Agony—her nosy, ever-present roommate—immediately chimed in, grating on Corey’s nerves as usual. Corey, for her part, couldn’t stand her.

”Hey, Park. We need to do something about this curse.”

”Corey, curses aren’t my strong suit. We’ll have to rely on the memories of Princess Corey Stuart—she dabbled in them. But the ceiling of her world was too low for us to handle an unranked curse like this one. We need to research in the Infinity Library.”

”Or you could talk to Wyatt. He juices up on thousand plus unranked curses to leap frog and kill devils and demigods. Every time I see him, I get goosebumps—even though I don’t have any.”

”For the last time, nobody asked, Agony. Don’t make me repeat myself. Go back to your corner.”

Corey had had enough of the cursed nightmares that struck every time she closed her eyes, stealing her sleep and leaving her frayed. She was determined to do something about it, but she had no idea how curses worked—let alone how to use or break one.

So she turned to Park for help. But Park had always believed curses were a coward’s path, something to be shunned, not studied. She knew next to nothing about them—at least until she saw the way their best friend wielded them. The memory still unsettled her; she couldn’t fathom why anyone would willingly endure that kind of torment for power.

And yet, here they were—forced to consider the very thing she despised, nudged in that direction by Agony, who, as usual, struggled to follow even the simplest command from her master/friend, depending on how generous Corey felt.

”Hey, why are you being mean? I’m just trying to help. Regardless of what I did or didn’t do, the three of us are the same. You don’t have to be so harsh.”

”Samsara Flame, what the fuck are you doing? Take this bitch away. Lock her up in the False Haven. Put her through hell—teach her the meaning of her name.”

”Fuck you, Corey. I will survive all your torture and someday it’ll be my turn, and then—Aahhh!”

”Corey, I hate to agree with her, but I think Agony’s right. We should get help from Wyatt before it’s too late.”

”No. I’d rather go through everything the Infinity Library has on curses before asking Wyatt for help. We can’t keep depending on him. With the combined memories and experiences of all my reincarnations, I refuse to believe I can’t find a way to fix this curse.”

Seeing that Agony failed to show even a shred of gratitude for her mercy, Corey snapped. She immediately invoked her mutated title demon core, letting Agony taste the full weight of her wrath. Samsara flames coiled around Agony and dragged her away as she screamed and swore vengeance, promising to make Corey pay for everything she had endured.

Corey ignored the wails without a second glance. She and Park resumed their discussion, quickly arriving at the same conclusion: if they wanted to get rid of the curse fast, they would have to seek help from their best friend. But Corey refused.

She didn’t want to depend on him anymore. Not this time. She wanted to solve it herself—to prove that she was just as capable, that she didn’t have to run to him whenever things went wrong. It wasn’t just about catching up anymore; she wanted to stand beside him as an equal... or, if she could, surpass him.

She was tired of the pattern—of making a mess and having him step in to fix it every single time. No more. This was a new Corey. And she would handle her own problems.

”Speaking of your reincarnation memories... you never went through all of mine? Why’s that? Not to brag, but I’m something of a curse savant.”

”Stop lying, Agony. I hardly believe your memories have anything worth contributing, it will only make me more enraged at you. After all, you were a spoiled little princess who relied on Lil’ Baem to do your dirty work and maintain your place in Belphergor’s faction’s pecking order. And how the fuck are you back already? It hasn’t even been a breath.”

”What can I say? I’m Agony. A life of agony is like a cold bath on a hot summer afternoon.”

Agony returned from the False Haven before even a breath had passed. The nightmare Corey had ordered the Samsara Flame to inflict was nothing more than a replay of Agony’s life in the Dark Realm—hardly punishment by her standards.

That was when Corey began to understand what Park and their best friend had been trying to tell her. Given the life Agony had lived, she didn’t see herself as cruel at all. In her eyes, she had been good and generous—especially to Lil’ Baem.

And now, from Agony’s perspective, Corey was punishing her for that very ’kindness’ toward their baby snake, Lil’ Baem.

For the first time, Corey felt the urge to go through Agony’s entire set of memories—something Park had strictly forbidden, warning that even as a third party, she wouldn’t come out the same after living through them.

In the end, Corey chose not to delve into them. But that choice came with a price. She had to forgive Agony. After all, she was the product of her surroundings and upbringing.