Chapter 64: Fighting Poison with Poison.
“Ifrora!”
Aphrosia’s low growl wasn’t loud, but it echoed through the bizarre laboratory, startling a fish in a tank to flick its tail.
The pink heart mark on her forehead glowed like a badge of shame, the overpowering rose perfume making her cough. With her flushed face and golden hair puffed up in fury, she looked like an enraged canary, all dignity gone!
“Pfft!” Blazewing couldn’t hold it, pointing at the “new accessory” on Aphrosia’s forehead, laughing hysterically.
“Aphrosia! Shiny! Pretty! Like a sticker!” She clearly didn’t grasp the gravity, finding sparkly things fun.
Mistfeather nervously pointed at the mark, her ice-blue eyes full of worry. “Aphrosia… it’s still glowing… and the smell’s stronger!”
She sensed the heart wasn’t just decor—it was a precise tracking beacon, radiating Ifrora’s distinct, fiery magic.
“Who did this?” Jason, the hamster, asked urgently.
“Ifrora, you know, the genius miss of the Phoenix family…”
“Oh no, no, no!” Jason clutched his oversized chip, spinning despairingly on the sofa back, glasses askew. “A Phoenix tracking mark! If Boss finds out, I’m hamster-wheel toast! My cheese! My candy! Squeak, quick! Initiate Level-2 Purification Protocol! Top priority!”
Squeak, the gray hamster, dropped her candy, sliding under a floating workbench to a small interface, tiny claws tapping a micro-screen.
This tech was too out-of-place for this world. Was this transmigrator senior some big shot?!
Hum—
The lab’s soft lighting switched to cool blue. Tiny holes opened in the ceiling and walls, pouring silver light-dust like a waterfall, enveloping Aphrosia and the birds.
Zzzzt—
The dust sizzled on contact, like a potent cleaner dissolving stains. Aphrosia felt a cooling sensation on her forehead, the burning easing. She touched it—smooth!
“Phew…” She exhaled.
“Mark removal successful,” a gentle synthetic female voice announced. “Residual secondary tracking mark detected. Location: outer right calf. Energy type: Abyss Contract variant, mixed with Phoenix blood imprint. Level: high, partially activated. Recommendation: Seek church for holy light purification.”
“Right calf?” Aphrosia froze, recalling Starlight’s mention of a mark. She yanked up her delicate skirt and stockings.
On her pale calf, the once-faint, comical phoenix (not chicken) tattoo had transformed. Its eyes now held a miniature, ominously glowing red-pink heart, pulsing like a heartbeat, emitting faint but clear, sweet magic waves.
“What the hell is this?!” Aphrosia’s scalp tingled. No wonder Ifrora could track her! It was a 24/7 GPS-magic signal booster, pink heart edition!
Blazewing poked the raised metallic heart curiously. “Huh? Kinda cool? When’d you get such an ugly tattoo, Aphrosia? It even blinks!”
Mistfeather’s face was grave, her blue eyes wary with a hint of disgust. “Aphrosia… this is bad… weird vibes… and that pink… it’s strong…”
“That damn Pink Chicken…” Aphrosia gritted her teeth, swallowing her words.
Staring at the pulsing heart, rage surged. Her new twin blades, Frostwind Touch, hummed low, their blue glow quickening, trying to soothe the mark.
“No!” Jason squealed, leaping from the sofa to her feet, waving his paws. “Don’t stimulate it with star-key resonance! It’s a contract-imprint tracker mix—force could make it erupt or backfire! Boss said, for ‘sticky candy’ like this, either break the source contract or…”
His beady eyes glinted with a sly, human-like grin. “Or… cover it with something stickier! Jam its signal!”
“Stickier?” Aphrosia’s lips twitched, sensing trouble.
The system suggested holy light purification—maybe skip the hamster’s idea?
“Exactly!” Jason puffed his chest, pointing to a glowing green vending-machine-like cylinder. “Boss’s custom ‘Emergency Jamming Sticker Vault’! Handles tricky trackers, curses, even ex-girlfriend longing spells! Safe, effective, just… uh, styled to Boss’s taste.”
Aphrosia approached skeptically. Behind the machine’s transparent panel were gaudy stickers: a singing, dancing rainbow pony; a farting cartoon mole (green smoke effect); glowing “I’m an Idiot” text; and… a smug, pink-bow-wearing Q-version goblin head!
“…” Aphrosia was speechless. This unseen transmigrator senior’s taste matched their quirky snack stash.
“Which one?” Jason urged. “Hurry! The dust suppressed the signal, but that pink freak’s probably boosting output! She’s a Phoenix miss—magic like it’s free! How’d you piss her off?”
“Uh, maybe… I did something to upset her?”
Pink Chicken cared about her, but after blowing up her house, Aphrosia ghosted. Anyone would be mad, right?
As if on cue, the heart on her calf flared, pulsing faster, radiating smug magic.
“That one!” Aphrosia shut her eyes, pointing at the smug goblin sticker. At least it was… less tacky than a pink heart? And it screamed “mockery.”
“Got it! Goblin’s Scorn: Max Taunt Edition!” Jason tapped a magic screen.
A bizarre sticker appeared in Aphrosia’s hand.
Even if she was wrong, wasn’t Ifrora at fault too?
“Pink Chicken, once I’m done with this mess, brace for my revenge. You’ll love it…”