"Are we in heaven?" Sonia asked, her bare feet sinking into a white, fluffy floor that felt like clouds. She looked up, puzzled, to see a vast, cloudy blue sky. In the center of it all, an enormous cross gleamed like a miniature sun, illuminating the dreamlike space.
Ace snorted, commenting, "If you're here, I seriously doubt it." Then, as his gaze trailed over her naked body, he smirked and added, "Not that I'm complaining about the view."
Sonia's head snapped toward him, ready to shut him down, but the moment she caught his leering gaze and perverted grin, she became more self-conscious and felt her plus-sized bosom bounce around more than usual causing her to instinctively look down. A jolt of realization hit her—Scratchifer was missing…and she was completely naked.
"Scratchifer! Madam Scratchifer!" she called out, her voice firm. Not once did she make an effort to cover herself from Ace's stare.
Ace, thrown off by her boldness, quickly looked away losing interest. Her lack of shame took the fun out of it. There was a reason why nip slips and wardrobe malfunctions were such a hit with paparazzi—the thrill of capturing something forbidden. But Sonia? The moment Sonia stripped that thrill and the forbidden aspect away, she could not have been more cruel to Ace.
Losing interest in Sonia's vulgar body, Ace tilted his head back toward the sky. The cross suspended at the center of it looked familiar to him. A second later, it clicked. It was the same as the one on the pendant he'd gifted to Lola during the charity event. His brows furrowed, pondering, 'Was Lola's innate curse tool the pendant or the plush?'
Meanwhile, Sonia was spiraling. "Madam Scratchifer!" she yelled again, her voice climbing in pitch. No matter how many times she called, no response came. Panic tightened around her chest. Her brain was never her strongest asset, in distress it was stuck in a loop. Like a jammed tape recorder she kept repeating the same name over and over in a desperate attempt to summon her curseling.
Annoyed, Ace decided to do himself a favor and spelled it out for her, "If you haven't figured it out yet, we can't use curse energy in here. So stop yelling for your mutt and, for the love of all things decent, cover yourself. I don't know how much longer my eyes can handle your vulgarity."
Sonia's eyes narrowed before sternly warning him with a sharp voice, "Madam Scratchifer is not a mutt. And what the hell is that supposed to mean? Just a second ago, your eyes were glued to my body and you were practically drooling over me." She was brutally honest, reminding him that his eyes clearly hadn't found her body so vulgar earlier.
Before Ace could shoot back a retort, the cloud beneath Sonia suddenly shifted, rising and wrapping around her body. In an instant, it transformed into a fluffy white dinosaur onesie—eerily similar to Lola's dinosaur costume. Turns out the fluffy thing under there feet wasn't the cloud but cotton stuffing of the plush.
Then, Lola's voice echoed around them, filled with guilt, as she repeatedly apologized to Sonia, "I'm sorry, Sonia. I should've thought things through before sending you in here. I really am sorry."
Ace rolled his eyes. "Enough, Lola. She doesn't care—she's a nudist," he said sarcastically before getting to what actually mattered. "Anyway, why can't I use my curse energy in here?" He really hated the feeling of being truly alone with out his cursed toybox and toys.
Sonia had been ready to snap back at him, but his question made her pause as it mattered to her too. More importantly, she wanted to get a better read on Lola's abilities—especially since they might end up competing at the C.I.B. training camp. For someone who rarely used her brain, she had a knack for these little calculations.
Lola hesitated for a moment and pointing at the glowing cross hanging above them she explained, "It's a condition I had to set as anything with curse energy in here will be incinerated by the cross and turned into nourishment for it and the plush's curse core."
After a brief pause, she added, "But by adding this condition, I indirectly weakened the plush's swallowing ability, as when under this condition it can only swallow targets weaker than it or those that don't resist its ability."
"Does that mean that without that condition, you could swallow anyone—even a Void-Tier?" Sonia asked, dread creeping into her voice. She prayed that wasn't the case. If it was, her immortality might not be enough against Lola. Even if she somehow regenerated after being incinerated by the cross, she'd still be trapped in this space—where Lola had absolute control.
Lola nodded casually as if it were no big deal, saying, "Pretty much. But honestly, I could use some help swallowing, closing the gap in our strength."
Ace and Sonia exchanged a look. So that's why Janice could so confidently claim Lola would become the strongest curse master the Mortal World had ever made.
"I hate you," Sonia muttered, though her response was exaggerated she was being honest. Now it all made sense—why Matthews favored Lola so much. She was just too strong for a Mortal-Tier curse master. Sonia couldn't even imagine what she'd be capable of if she reached Void Tier. Then she turned to briefly look at Ace who actually killed a Sky-tier like popping a watermelon. It was then she knew that she could not keep her promise to her father—to top the C.I.B. agent training.
Lola simply bobbed her head in understanding, as if accepting Sonia's resentment was the most natural thing in the world.
Meanwhile, Ace was lost in thought, trying to work through a problem far more pressing—how to counter someone like Lola. If she could seal his curse energy so easily, was there a way to block it? Maybe some kind of toy that could resist her near-miraculous abilities?
His train of thought shattered as a searing heat engulfed his body. A sharp inhale was all he allowed himself before the pain became unbearable. His skin turned red-hot, and in an instant, his clothes burned away, reduced to nothing but ash.
Despite the agony, he remained unnervingly calm. "Lola," he said through clenched teeth, "what the hell is happening?"