"Ace, you're not part of S.S.S., right?" Matthews suddenly asked, locking eyes with him.
Ace narrowed his gaze. "Seriously? What kind of question is that?" he scoffed. "I killed three of their Sky-Tier members together with you guys—shouldn't that have earned me some trust and goodwill by now?" His tone was sharp, edged with clear irritation. He understood why Matthews was asking, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
He knew how this looked.
First, he told them there were only a few S.S.S. members at Highway Resort. Then, when it turned out there were a hell of a lot more, he suddenly had an explanation.
Yeah, he could see why they'd think he set them up. But it was still annoying as hell.
"It's because of that goodwill that I'm asking nicely," Matthews said, voice cool, her meaning clear. "Instead of questioning you in a dark cell."
Ace forced himself to stay calm. He wasn't about to let his mouth dig him into a hole he couldn't climb out of.
"No, I'm not a member of S.S.S.," he answered evenly. "I only learned this information afterward." He let the words settle before adding, "Or is this your way of trying to back out of our deal?" Yep, he went and did it again.
Matthews didn't answer. She just stared at him, unreadable, before asking, "Then how did you find out? You've been with us the entire time."
Ace smirked, without going into details he answered, "I have my ways." He could tell she didn't like that answer, but it was the only one she was getting.
"Look, if I wanted to set you guys up, I wouldn't hire someone else to do it." His smirk widened slightly, confidence lacing his voice as he informed with a deep tone, "I'd do it myself."
He wasn't just confident, he was certain, with enough time to prepare, he was damn sure none of them would even see him coming.
Matthews' gaze hardened as she studied Ace, but after a tense moment, she turned away to make a few calls.
Meanwhile, Ace turned to Delores and smirked, "If she goes back on our deal, I'm holding you responsible." Delores barely reacted. Without a word, she kicked him clean off her board.
Ace hit the resort's pool face-first, sending water surging in all directions. The sudden impact startled the guests enjoying a peaceful swim, their relaxation instantly shattered by panicked screams and cries, "Ahhh!"
Hearing the commotion, Ace surfaced, shaking the water from his hair. He spotted a group of familiar faces among the screaming guests and smirked.
"Angel delivery service! Which one of you ordered an angel?" he quipped, shooting them a playful grin.
The panic melted into laughter among the girls, they were none other than members of the Oracle Dolls. A few of them giggled, while one of them, dove into the pool and swam straight toward him.
Reaching him, she grabbed his wrist, checking his pulse and looking into his eyes with concern. "Are you okay? You fell from—"
Abby paused, tilting her head back to scan the area. But there was nothing—no platform, no diving board, no infrastructure above the pool that someone could have jumped from.
Her brows furrowed, and she asked in wonder, "Wait… where did you fall from, exactly?"
"From heaven," Ace's smirk deepened, smoothly pulling Abby into his arms adding, "Just for you."
Abby froze, caught off guard.
Ace had never met her in person before—only through video calls—but up close, she was something else. Flawless skin, a top-tier body… He had definitely underestimated what was hiding under those layers of hers.
As he shamelessly checked her out, Abby finally snapped out of it and started struggling in his grasp. Ace chuckled, letting her go as he raised his hands in surrender.
"My bad, my bad," he said, still grinning. "I was just messing around. But hey, if you're still mad, let me make it up to you—dinner's on me. You and your friends. Of course, I will not be joining you."
Ace had only pulled that stunt and misbehaved with Abby to throw her off track—he had no idea how to explain where he had actually fallen from.
"No, that won't be necessary," Abby blurted, rejecting his offer of dinner as she hurried to the edge of the pool, scrambling out like a startled little mermaid. She didn't even wait for a response.
Shaking his head, Ace swam to the opposite side, deliberately avoiding Emily and the other Oracle Dolls. Just knowing they were safe, enjoying their vacation, was enough of a relief for him.
Grabbing a towel and dodging the resort staff who were now looking for him, Ace slipped away and vanished into the nearby woods. He didn't get far before Delores appeared in front of him, floating on her board, with her signature subtle grin.
"Dry yourself properly," she said warning him, "Unless you like freezing your ass off. The ride ahead's gonna be chilly."
Ace grinned saying, "I'm not worried. You can keep me warm."
With that, he jumped onto her board, landing smoothly. Without missing a beat, he pulled out a cleansing talisman and activated it, instantly drying and cleaning himself and his clothes.
Delores eyed the yellow paper curiously. "What are those things you keep using? They seem pretty damn handy for consumable curse tools."
To her, all the talismans looked the same—just different variations of yellow paper. She was surprised that a single curse tool could have so many practical uses.
Instead of answering, Ace handed her a cleansing talisman instructing, "Here. Pour a little bit of your curse energy into it."
Delores cautiously did as instructed, channeling a tiny amount of her curse energy into the talisman. The moment it activated, a refreshing, gentle energy washed over her entire body, cleansing her instantly.
Delores' eyes widened in pleasant surprise. She felt she needed a stash of these as consumable cusrse tools like these would be a lifesaver during long missions, where finding a proper place to bathe was more hassle than it was worth.