'A curse user, right in the middle of town. Just great,' Ace internally groaned, blaming his luck. Today was officially not his day. First, he stumbled into a curse array and an unknown curse guild at the winery. Then, he nearly ran into members of the S.S.S. at the highway-side resort. If that wasn't bad enough, he barely escaped a berserk curse slave in the woods. Now, all he wanted was to enjoy a hearty meal and bank some fat, but no—a curse user had to come to find him.
It was as if he was wearing a giant neon sign that said "Curse Magnet!"
To make things worse, this was the second time Dame Wasp's cybernetic senses had failed him today. Ace clenched his jaw, silently controlling himself from contacting her to ask what was going on, and Dame Wasp, who was sharing his sense, did not contact him either. There was a reason why they were holding back.
First, they wanted to keep curse activity to a minimum to gauge what kind of threat they were dealing with. Second, they were in a crowded place—if a fight broke out here, it would result in too many casualties, not to mention exposing Ace's identity as a curse user.
Dame Wasp was trying her best to figure this out quickly. Their priority was that they would be able to neutralize the curse user without any collateral damage, but their opponent's curse skill wasn't making it easy by petrifying Ace's body.
Ace mentally cursed his helpless situation. He was confident that he could save himself but that would be taking the easy way out in his current situation. Even though it was hard, he had to make sure there were no casualties and his identity as a curse user wasn't revealed to the world. Whatever this woman was planning, he knew she wasn't here to make small talk.
"Your skin is just flawless for someone from the countryside. I couldn't help myself," the curse user purred, her voice low and flirtatious.
Her smirk deepened as her eyes roamed over Ace, scanning him from head to toe like she was evaluating a prize. Ace's body remained frozen, but his thoughts churned, 'Flawless skin? Really? That's your opening line?'
However, listening to her words, Ace felt a slight wave of relief wash over him. From what she said, it seemed the female curse user hadn't realized he was a curse user too. Her comments hinted that this wasn't some premeditated attack but more of a crime of opportunity—a spur-of-the-moment thing. That wasn't surprising; many curse users treated the mortal world like their personal playground, taking whatever caught their eye.
Despite that small relief, Ace still knew nothing about her, aside from her gratingly smug voice and her hourglass figure. He couldn't even get a clear look at her face because his frozen eyes were locked onto her cleavage—more specifically, the pendant nestled between her curves. It had to be her curse tool, Ace guessed.
"My, my, you really are the whole package—beauty and brawn," she cooed, her gaze slowly raking over him like she was inspecting merchandise. Her attention lingered on his toned forearms, his triceps, and his biceps, a gleam of satisfaction in her eyes. Before he could process her words, she reached out and ran her fingers along his arm, testing his muscles.
Ace's stomach churned in disgust. Her touch felt slimy, even though it wasn't physically so. His thoughts hardened, praying Danny wouldn't show up and stumble into this mess. He didn't even want to imagine what this creepy curse user might do to his cousin for intruding on her fun time.
"It's just too perfect," she murmured, pinching a bit of his skin as if she were testing the quality of the fabric.
Ace's internal alarms went into overdrive when she followed up with a comment that sent an icy shiver down his spine.
"I can't wait to wear your skin. I have to add it to my collection."
Ace's mind reeled. Skin? Collection? Suddenly, everything clicked. He had been dead wrong. This wasn't some casual encounter or a random act of lust. She didn't care about him as a fuck boy—she was after his skin.
The realization only made things worse. If she was this unhinged, there was no telling what she might do if Danny showed up. Ace's panic deepened, but his body remained frozen, utterly at her mercy.
Amid Ace's growing panic, the curse user leaned in close, her lips brushing dangerously near his ear. The cloying scent of her pungent perfume filled his nostrils, making him want to recoil—but, of course, he couldn't. His body was frozen, his muscles unresponsive, leaving him completely at her mercy.
She whispered something in a language he couldn't recognize: "@#$%^&!" The sound of the unfamiliar words sent a chill down his spine.
Before Ace could even try to process what she had said, she straightened up and began to walk away. To his horror, his body followed. He wasn't walking by choice—his limbs moved on their own, compelled by some unseen force. She had not only petrified him but also taken control of his body entirely.
'Great,' Ace thought bitterly, 'this just got worse. Not only can she freeze people, but she can make them her puppets too.'
As he unwillingly trailed behind her, his thoughts raced. This was not an enemy to take lightly. Still, he felt a small sense of relief—they were leaving the crowded area. If Danny showed up now, at least he wouldn't stumble into this mess.
The curse user led Ace to a parking lot on a secluded adjacent street. As they moved deeper into the lot, Ace's mind sharpened with a singular focus. This was his chance. Away from the crowd and prying eyes, he could finally act. He had held back all this time to keep his identity as a curse user secret and to avoid harming innocent bystanders. But now, he planned to take her out swiftly, before she even realized what hit her.
Just as Ace was preparing to make his move, a sudden motion caught his eye. From the corner of his vision, he spotted a figure stepping out of a Chrysler.
"Excuse me, ma'am!" a woman's voice called out.
The curse user ignored the interruption, continuing toward her car as if the voice didn't exist. Ace followed helplessly, his feet still moving under her control.
"Excuse me, ma'am!" the voice called out again, louder this time.
The curse user sighed in annoyance but didn't bother to look back. "Go away while I'm still in a good mood," she said dismissively, her tone cold and commanding.
Ace's heart sank. He silently willed the woman to back off, to leave before she got herself hurt. But she didn't.
Instead, to both his and the curse user's surprise, the woman—an alluring middle-aged figure with an air of authority—suddenly appeared right in front of them, as if she had teleported.
"Please, show me your curse ID," the woman demanded extending her left hand out, her voice calm but firm, as though she had done this a thousand times before. Ace felt the woman was familiar but he could not recall where he had seen her.