At this moment, realization finally dawned on Ace; he understood why the house members were behaving so suspiciously towards Elria.
’She is quite...um...unique...’ Ace thought at that moment as he looked towards Elria and then couldn’t help but glance at Winter, who was fuming with rage and humiliation.
Ace was now very curious about how Winter, of all the house members, ended up recruiting a troublemaker like Elria. Furthermore, Ace also guessed the meaning behind Elria’s previous words and felt wronged, as he had been misunderstood as a womanizer.
But at that moment, something unexpected happened, in the blink of an eye, Noa suddenly vanished from her seat and reappeared behind Elria. There was no movement, no intent, or even Qi fluctuation. Noa was like a ghost.
"You are too disrespectful. Since you want to die, I’ll fulfil your wish and correct the mistake made by your master!" Noa’s icy voice suddenly sounded, and the confident Elria felt a chill down her neck as a sense of death washed over her body.
’This bitch really wants to kill me!’ Elria thought at this moment as her heart palpitated.
None of the House Members or Thief Acolytes had expected Noa to want to kill Elria, and the most terrifying thing was that no one could detect Noa’s movement. The thief acolytes, other than Thomas, now realized why Noa was titled as ’Thief Assassin’ and ranked right after Ace.
Even the mischievous twins, Anna and Annie, gulped dryly since they had only heard about Noa’s deeds back in the guild, but they had never come in contact with her because she was reclusive.
Truth be told, Anna and Annie were abducted by Noa at Thomas’s recommendation. If Thomas hadn’t noticed them, they would’ve been killed by Noa and buried with their guild.
Furthermore, when Noa recruited them, she offered them only two choices: either die or join her, and the sisters made the obvious choice. Their decision wasn’t just based on the mystical powers of the Thief House, but because they truly feared Noa.
Now, Noa had taken it upon herself to punish Elria because she was being disrespectful to Ace, and she also didn’t like the way Elria spoke with everyone. She hadn’t said anything before, as it wasn’t her business, but the moment Elria crossed the line, she took decisive action without hesitation.
Ace quickly reacted just when Noa’s hand, which was covered in a pitch-black spirit Qi, was about to touch Elria’s neck.
Noa’s hand was grabbed by Ace’s at that moment, and Elria trembled as if she had just been kissed by death, and broke into a cold sweat.
’C-crazy...bitch...’ She instantly felt fear towards this unreasonable woman and no longer dare to take her as mere cold beauty.
Noa’s eyes quivered slightly when Ace’s firm grip held her hand, and her heart fluttered. But the killing intent in her heart had vanished instantly as she looked at Ace.
Ace smiled wryly before he let go of her hand and gently said, "Since it was her first offense, there’s no need to kill her over something ."
Then he glanced at Elria, and his voice turned impassive and cold, "Miss Elria, I appreciate your enthusiasm and your candid personality, but please refrain from future comments when we are in official meetings. You can do whatever you want when there are no meetings or important matters at hand; I won’t stop you or interfere. Is that understood?"
Elria’s expression changed multiple times, and she felt wronged and indignant, but she knew she had overstepped her boundary. As a Thief Acolyte, not even a House Member, her antics wouldn’t work in her favor, nor would her status in the Illustrative Feral Monastery.
In fact, she had already felt it long ago that these people didn’t care about the Illustrative Feral Monastery at all because, for them, the powers like the Illustrative Feral Monastery were just targets of theft.
She had also witnessed Winter’s abilities after becoming her Thief Acolyte. According to Winter, she still wasn’t a match for the House Leader when it came to the Art of Thieving or cultivation talent.
She might be reckless and put up a façade of fearlessness, but in truth, she hides her real self deep within her heart.
"I just wanted to be friends..." Elria muttered with indignation before she nodded her head. She didn’t dare to look behind, "Yes, sir, I won’t do it again."
But Elria didn’t forget to shoot a resentful glare at Winter, who didn’t even step in to help her, and felt aggrieved, ’I’ll deal with you later!’
Winter was gloating over Elria’s misfortune, but Elria had misunderstood Winter because even Winter hadn’t expected Noa to move directly to kill and wasn’t able to react in time.
By the time she wanted to interfere, it would’ve been too late, and only Ace was able to react in time. Winter secretly sighed in relief and threw Noa a sharp glare, but didn’t say anything since now Elria won’t dare to be so reckless and spout nonsense.
Noa gave Elria an icy cold glare before she returned to her seat as if nothing had happened. Thomas was smiling bitterly as he knew too well how extreme Noa could be when it came to the matters of Thief House or Ace specifically.
Ace also returned to the seat, and with this, the matter was over, but those Thief Acolytes were now afraid of Noa, while the House Members had their thoughts.
Eva and Alina were pleased with Noa’s reaction since they also found Elria’s behavior in this serious meeting unacceptable. Freya merely smiled, and no one knew what she was thinking. Zaria seemed to be whispering something in Leah’s ears with a thoughtful look in her eyes.
Nonetheless, the introduction proceeded smoothly after this minor disruption. When it was Freya’s turn, she introduced herself and her Evil Thief Acolytes briefly.
Freya’s acolytes were rather peculiar, including Aliya, whom the House members knew; there were also two masked women clad in black. Even Aliya was dressed like them.
Their names were Ruth and Ember. Those two masked women didn’t speak much and only paid their respect to Ace. Freya didn’t force them to reveal their face or discuss their race or background.
Ace didn’t force them either if they want to hide their faces. Even Noa always wears a mask, and he has yet to reveal his face to these acolytes as well. Furthermore, Ace had already guessed that those women most likely belonged to the Sea of Secrets, and since they could capture Freya’s attention, they should be extraordinary.
Then it was Alina’s turn, and since she had yet to meet the qualification to unlock her Celestial Thief Acolytes, she only had Lillian by her side, whom she brought with the living space ring. Nonetheless, Lillian was only loyal to Alina, and as her maid and childhood best friend, Lillian’s spot as her acolyte was set in stone.
Last but not least, Zaria curtly introduced herself as the lowest-ranking member of the Thief House, followed by Leah, her sister. She also hinted that she already had her other two Thief Acolytes candidates, but for private reasons, they can’t meet with others yet.
Ace knew who Zaria was talking about; it was Eleanor and Ravencrown, whom he had captured and was now detained in the Thief’s Space. Zaria had already decided to make them her acolytes, and all that was left was convincing them, especially convincing the stubborn Ravencrown.
Then Ace finally introduced Cyrus and Chuchu as his personal companions, and the introduction ended. Now, including Ace, there were twenty-three people present in the hall of Thief’s House.
Ace felt slightly emotional as he had never expected to have so many companions one day.
Still, he didn’t let it show. He had Eva brief others about the Abyss Mission Series and the Abyss of Wandering Souls, including the Evernight Council’s structure and their current status with House Members and Thief Acolytes.
Eva didn’t hold back and started to tell them about the Abyss of Wandering Souls’ three Strata, and the Obsidian Myriad Kingdom of Evernight Council.
The House Members and Abyssal Thief Acolytes were composed. Still, newcomers were shocked when they heard about their current locations because all of them belonged to Mortal Ascension Heaven, or two of them were from Mortal Sky Heaven.
As for those who didn’t understand, they also paid attention and finally got the gist of this place. They all looked at Ace with newfound respect and apprehension because he could come and go in such a mystical realm, which not even the most powerful beings of Heaven can intrude.
Once Eva had finished the introduction, Ace explained the contents of the First Mission of the Abyss Mission Series to everyone and gave them time to absorb the information.
The Thief Acolytes silently communicated with their superiors, and the latter answered to the best of their abilities.
Ace didn’t stop them, as he knew this was a lot to process, and silently waited for them. He knew from here on out, they were going to be operating in the Abyss of Wandering Souls!