Landing effortlessly on his feet, Ace caught the dark, rag-shaped cursed tool midair. Without sparing a glance at the still-celebrating Sonia, he sent the tool to Emi inside the cursed toy box to store it in her storage talisman. Then, under the stunned gaze of everyone in the room, he calmly pulled out a barrier talisman and a rail rifle without bothering to give them any form of explanation.
The atmosphere grew tense as with an indifferent expression, Ace pressed the talisman to the floor and activated it.
A golden light spread outward of the talisman, rapidly forming a glowing barrier that sealed the entire room—including the shattered walls—as if reconstructing them with pure energy.
Noticing Ace aiming the rifle-shaped cursed tool at her, Sonia's eyes narrowed. With a fierce glare, she bared her teeth, her fingernails extending into razor-sharp claws, ready to fight.
The others instinctively held their breath, assuming the worst—but no one moved to stop him. They all knew Ace would need more than that to kill Sonia. But Ace wasn't aiming for her.
The shot rang out, not at Sonia, but at the wall behind her where the golden light barrier was bulging inwards as if it was covering a dumped wall when the wall behind it appeared to be normal.
The golden light barrier wavered for a split second as the bullet punched clean through. At first, the wall appeared normal, but then—blood. Dark red liquid trickled from the bullet hole. Cracks spread across the surface before the entire section of the wall crumbled, revealing a gravely injured, overweight man pressed against the barrier, unconscious.
Gasps filled the room, seeing there was another intruder in the room. Both Matthews and Delores were not proud to learn this.
Ace's Mischief Bullet had found its mark. Thankfully, its effect was triggered allowing it to bypass the defenses of a Sky-tier curse master and mortally wounding him by temporarily sealing his ability to use curse energy.
Ace's gaze moved, his voice devoid of emotion. Addressing a dumbfounded Delores, he said, "He's all yours."
Delores blinked, staring at him in shock as realization dawned, finding the streak of light left in the wake of the bullet familiar. She could not help but whisper, "It was you… That night—it was you who helped me break free from the array formation."
Ace ignored her. His sharp gaze shifted to Mrs. Martins as he remarked, "Somebody subdues him now before he can use his curse energy again."
Taking the hint, Matthews flicked her wrist backward without even sparing the wounded intruder a glance. A dense arc of curse energy shot from her hand, slicing through the barrier with ease—before cleanly cutting the man in half. His body disintegrated into nothing, leaving behind a cement-brick-shaped cursed tool.
Before anyone else could react, Ace coolly stepped forward claiming it as his, "I'm keeping the curse tool. I did find him, after all."
But Sonia immediately scoffed opposing his claim, "The one who kills gets the curse tool—"
A sudden gunshot cut her off. Ace had fired the rail rifle without warning. The bullet landed squarely between Sonia's brows, forcing her head to snap back slightly. Unfortunately, the Mischief Bullet effect didn't trigger. Sonia's wound healed in an instant, the hole in her forehead closing up as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, the stray bullet continued its path, piercing straight through the ceiling.
Ace barely reacted. He had already accounted for this outcome. Unlike with a Sky-tier opponent, the bullet had met no resistance while passing through Sonia's head, meaning it would keep going. That's why he had angled his shot diagonally—to ensure it wouldn't hit any innocent bystanders.
Sonia, on the other hand, stood frozen. Then, as if something had just clicked, her eyes widened in realization.
"You… You were there—with the Emi Nakamura cosplayer!" she exclaimed, pointing at Ace, her expression a mix of shock and rage. "You were the sniper! The one who shot me!"
The memory had come rushing back, triggered by the bullet tearing through her head. Meanwhile, Ace was still holding his rifle and coldly stared at her while his expression was unreadable.
"I knew it!" Sonia shrieked, her voice sharp with accusation. "I was right when I smelled mountain mud and winery on your shoes—wait…It was you, wasn't it?"
She glared at Ace as if he were her mortal enemy, her chest rising and falling with each furious breath.
"You're at winery before you came to the mountain ranges, it had to be you. You were the one who ratted us out to the C.I.B.! They all died because of you!" Her voice cracked with hysteria. "No wonder I hated you the moment I laid eyes on you… Scratchifer has been trying to tell me this whole time, but I was too much of a fool to understand."
Her words trailed off as she clutched her head, groaning in frustration. Pain pulsed through her skull, memories of the Everhart Guild's downfall replaying in an endless, agonizing loop. Then, as if lost in her own world, she started mumbling to herself.
"Yes… I should kill him."
"But I promised Father…"
"No. I need to avenge them all."
"Father will understand why I have to kill him."
Then, after an eerily loud monologue, she suddenly threw her head back and screamed at the top of her lungs—
"I'LL KILL THAT MOTHERFUCKER!
But despite her bloodthirsty declaration, Sonia didn't lunge at Ace. Instead, she turned her head, fixing him with an eerily calm gaze. The Werefur head resting on her shoulder let out a deep, guttural grunt, its piercing stare locked onto him. At that moment, it was clear—Sonia and her Werefur were in complete sync. Only they knew what was going through each other's minds.
Matthews, watching intently, raised an eyebrow in surprise. She had expected Sonia to go wild, to attack Ace in blind fury. But instead, Sonia was stalking her prey—biding her time like a patient wolf waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Still, Matthews couldn't ignore the accusation hanging in the air. She turned to Ace, her voice laced with curiosity, "Are they right?"