The cafeteria buzzed lazily under early morning light, but at one table… it was a feeding frenzy.

Samuel and Danny tore through their breakfast like two bottomless black holes. After a jungle marathon and hell-level sparring, their metabolism was on overdrive. Plates stacked. Eggs vanished. Toast turned to crumbs. They weren't eating—they were recovering.

Beside them, Agent Jim devoured his own meal with the grace of a freight train, happily chiming in between bites about One Piece, excitedly debating Gear transformations and Haki tiers with the boys.

Across the room, agents watched in disbelief.

"I think Jim finally found people from his home planet," Agent Michael muttered, sipping his black coffee.

"Did he just say 'Gear Fifth'?" Agent Zack frowned. "Are they discussing cars now?"

Angela, overhearing their antics mid-bite, shook her head. "I don't even want to know. Anyway, I'll be leaving soon. The third month since the last murder is ticking—if I'm right, 16th murder might drop anytime. I only came back to pick up Agent Jones and restock from Supply. But I've gotta admit…" Her eyes drifted toward the boys. "Meeting those two weirdos was a surprise."

Jones piped up, eyebrow raised. "What are we doing with those two next, anyway? You think Chief Vick's actually assigning them field cases?"

Nick's voice slid in, cool and composed: "They're assigned to the evidence room. Effective immediately."

Jones choked on his drink. "The… evidence room? Is Chief out of his mind?"

Everyone leaned in.

"Don't speak so loud!" Jones whispered, glancing toward the boys. "You know how many agents fell into misfortune or illness just working inside that room? The curse artifacts practically hum. That place eats people alive."

Angela crossed her arms. "I strongly oppose this. The negative energy in there is off the charts."

Nick kept sipping. "Relax. It's temporary. And i suggested it."

Michael narrowed his eyes. "Let me guess—still mad about them messing up with you yesterday?"

Nick smiled faintly. "Do you really think the Chief would allow my personal grudges to dictate official assignments? He approved it. Besides… they seem immune to demon energy. This could be useful."

Angela didn't buy it—but before she could argue further, she suddenly stood and marched across the cafeteria.

Danny had just polished off his third plate when Agent Angela appeared before him, arms crossed, face carved from stone.

"Recruit Samuel. Recruit Danny. Listen to me—"

"Yes, Aunty," Danny replied with a beaming smile.

Jim slowly stopped chewing.

Samuel immediately smacked his friend on the back of the head. "Dude! How many times has the beautiful sister told us—call her Agent! And stop calling every woman elderly woman 'Aunty. You are not kid anymore!'"

He turned to Angela, who was now staring daggers through him.

"…Uh. Apologies, Agent Angela."

Behind her, several agents struggled to contain their laughter.

Angela took a deep breath. Collected herself. Then stabbed a dagger into the table with a solid thunk.

"Two things," she said icily. "One: Talk to Chief Vick. Decline the evidence room assignment. No one who works there ever walks out unaffected. That place is a cage of cursed artifacts—and some of them aren't sleeping. Two…"

Her eyes narrowed like a hawk sighting prey.

"If either of you calls me anything besides Agent one more time…"

She retrieved her dagger and disappeared with a sharp pivot, leaving the scent of fury in her wake.

Jim exhaled slowly. "Well… that went well."

Samuel slumped. "What? I did call her beautiful sister."

Zack arched a brow. "Yeah. Followed immediately by 'elderly ladies.' You suicidal, rookie?"

Jones strolled by, chuckling. "He's got a death wish, all right. Still—Angela's right. Evidence room duty isn't a joke. You should talk to the Chief."

As Jones, Michael, and Zack exited, Nick remained behind, arms folded, glaring at the boys with thinly veiled disdain. Then he too walked out.

Samuel buried his face into his hands. "I used to be a smooth talker. Damn, now I'm just suicidal with dialogue."

Jim leaned over, voice serious. "Listen, that room's cursed. Literally. Don't go. I'll try to have you reassigned to one of my open cases instead."

Danny patted his shoulder. "Appreciate it, brother. But we visited the evidence room yesterday."

Jim blinked. "What?"

Samuel leaned in, calm. "There's demon remnants in there. Cursed items, negative aura everywhere. But for us?"

Danny grinned. "It's not a curse vault."

Samuel finished: "It's a treasure trove."

Danny rose from his seat, grabbing his final burger and motioning to the door. "Iced coffee for the road?"

Samuel reached for his bag. "Skip it. I bought Himalayan Salt Soda for both of us."

Quickly Danny grab one can from the bag and passed one over to Jim. "Here. Drink this before your next mission brother."

Jim looked at it warily.

Samuel added, "It'll mask our aura from you. Just in case any demons try to track your scent from due to hanging around us. We have strong aura that demon's hate it. Think of it as Enforcer-grade cologne."

With a laugh and a nod, the boys walked out—headed toward the evidence room.

Jim remained at the table, slowly turning the soda bottle in his hand.

He blinked.

"…These kids really something! Interesting fellows."

Elsewhere – Chief Vick's Office

Agent Angela stood at attention, her expression rigid with concern.

"Chief… are you sure about this?" she asked carefully. "That room is a danger zone. You know how dense the negative aura's gotten over the years."

Vick said nothing, letting her words settle like dust in the silence.

Angela continued, her tone sharpening. "It was only thanks to that person years ago that we managed to bind the energy inside the room at all. Without her seal, the corruption would've bled through this whole facility. Since then, we've just… kept adding all cursed objects and anything too unstable or too dangerous to that room for the last three years."

She stepped closer. "We didn't cleanse it. We contained it. You really want to send those two rookies in there for duties?"

A small smile touched Vick's lips.

Without a word, he opened his desk drawer and retrieved a fractured stone statue—the same broken figurine that had haunted his first case. Its surface was cracked and veined with a lingering shadow that once pulsed like a warning.

Angela's eyes widened. "That's from your first case… You've kept that cursed thing on your desk all these years…"

He nodded, rotating it between his fingers.

"It always hummed with spite. No exorcism ever worked. We tried neutral fields, anti-magic seals—nothing."

She keep looking at him for explanation.

Vick raised the statue high—then released it.

CRACK—

It shattered on the floor.

Dust rolled across the tile like smoke from an old fire. The oppressive energy that once radiated from it was gone.

"Samuel just try to touch it," Vick said. "It was broken even before he touches it. Split into two pieces. The curse unraveled even before direct contact."

Angela stared at the crumbled remnants.

"Are they for real" she whispered.

Vick leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled.

"We shouldn't be worrying about those boys in the evidence room."

He paused—eyes hard as obsidian.

"We should be worrying about that room. What kind of mess they going to stir up!"

To Be Continue.