Learning that Elinor had led Ace and the gang to the VIP dining hall, Matthews wasted no ti—she bolted straight for the ergency stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. The stairwell had been purposefully designed with long quarter landings, creating open gaps in the center. Without hesitation, Matthews stepped into the empty space and launched herself upward, flying straight to the floor where the VIP dining hall was located, fully prepared to legally make Ace her bitch tonight.
Monts after she disappeared, the ergency stairwell door creaked open again. This ti, it was Sir Beyton. He hurriedly flew up the stairs with a stormy look on his face. His subordinates had been spooked by so unknown teenager. And considering that said teenager had managed to waltz into the VIP dining hall and sit down for a al like he owned the place, Beyton had no choice but to take the situation very seriously.
…
"What the fuck is going on here?!" Matthews roared as she stord into the dining hall and arrived at Ace's table, only to be t with the bizarre sight of Lola and Sonia pinning Ace down, stuffing the snout of a roasted hatchling pig down his throat.
Ace gagged, struggling against them, but they were relentless.
It all started when he had made the fatal mistake of calling the dish disgusting—and, by extension, them disgusting for eating it. Even though he'd quickly backpedaled, claiming that's not what he ant to say, it just ca out wrong!, neither Lola nor Sonia was in a forgiving mood.
Ace had been confident in his stats and the passive effect of his Apex Earring, but damn, these two were strong. Especially Lola—her grip felt like he was being crushed by an elephant. Must be her curse tool, he thought bitterly.
At the sound of Matthews' furious voice, both Lola and Sonia imdiately released Ace and scrambled back to their seats, sitting up straight at the dining table like nothing had happened. anwhile, Ace spit the snout out to the side without care but he could not help but lick the grease on his lips.
Across the table, Elinor—very drunk—let out a loud, disappointed hiccup, "Aw, co on! It was just starting to get fun—hic."
Matthews shot her a murderous glare, but seeing how wasted she was, she held back planning to deal with her later when she was sober.
"Go easy on her. She's going through her rebellious phase," Delores said, unable to stop herself from defending her niece. Life was rough—hopefully, she'd find her way soon.
Matthews scoffed. "The C.I.B. isn't running a charity for the rejects of your family," she shot back, irritation clear in her voice. Then, turning to Ace, she slid an employnt contract across the table and ordered, "Sign it, so I can file it while I'm still in charge of this shithole."
Ace didn't even glance at it. Instead, he casually sent the contract to Da Wasp's toy space, waiting for her opinion, despite Matthews' impatient glare. She had no choice but to wait.
Just then, Ace's gaze landed on the Congressman, the Mayor, and the Police Commissioner. He watched as they all suddenly put their cutlery down, stood up, and turned toward the entrance with an air of rigid respect.
A second later, an old man entered the room. The mont he stepped inside, the three n instantly slightly bowed to greet him, but he waved them off, clearly in a hurry. The Congressman, catching on, quickly turned and pointed straight at Ace's table.
Sir Beyton, who had been storming in, ready to deal with the dipshit that had spooked his subordinates, visibly slowed down when he saw who were at the boy's table.
EAD Matthews. The McSuile family direct-line descendants.
For a split second, Beyton hesitated. He had planned to deal with this swiftly, but now? Now, he had to think it through.
Ace, on the other hand, didn't hesitate at all. Completely ignoring the tension, he locked eyes with Beyton, smirked—and then casually waved at him.
Beyton narrowed his eyes.
Then Ace's raised hand shifted—his fingers curling into a thumbs-up. And before Beyton could make sense of it, Ace pressed down on his thumb, like he was pushing a detonator, and silently mouthed: Boom!
Beyton barely had ti to tilt his head in confusion when—BOOM! Three massive, yet perfectly contained explosions erupted right next to him simultaneously.
Blood, Gore, and Smoke covered half of Beyton while he stood there, frozen, as it finally hit him—what the boy had been trying to say.
The Congressman, the Mayor, and the Police Commissioner—all three of them—had exploded, triggering the sprinklers.
Beyton, still in shock, slowly turned his hand to the side, his fingers trembling. A bloody ss greeted him—bits of flesh and bone raining from the ceiling, splatting onto the floor.
anwhile, the staff and other patrons in the VIP dining hall barely flinched, let alone panicked. Sure, they were shocked, but not alard. Instead, they all turned to stare at Beyton, suspicion heavy in their gazes. Had he finally snapped? Had he crossed the line?
Beyton ignored them. His breaths ca shaky, but his eyes hardened as he slowly turned to Ace. Their gazes t. And there it was—that wide sneer stretched across the boy's lips. Sothing inside Beyton snapped.
"You—what have you done?!" he bellowed, launching himself forward with blinding speed.
Matthews, still struggling to process what the hell just happened—who the fuck would dare to kill mortals inside C.I.B. headquarters?!—could barely react as Beyton blurred past her, aiming straight for Ace.
Honestly, she wasn't to bla. The entire thing was too shocking. Even Delores and Evil Eyes hadn't been able to react to Beyton's aggression.
Blowing people up inside C.I.B. headquarters? That wasn't just unexpected. That was insane.
But just as Beyton closed in—Ace, now holding what looked like a dark rag, suddenly vanished from his seat. A fraction of a second later, he reappeared at the far end of the dining table, completely untouched.
Beyton tried to stop seeing his target vanish. He really did. But the montum was a bitch. His body rocketed forward, unable to halt in ti—And with a bone-shaking crash, he smashed through the glass wall, flying a full thirty feet outside the building.
The mont he breached the periter, the building's defensive array activated. A glowing curse-energy barrier slamd into place, locking him out—while the rest of them remained securely inside.
Ace strolled leisurely to the edge of the shattered glass wall, hands in his pockets, his steps unhurried—casual, like he had all the ti in the world.
Outside, Beyton hovered just beyond the barrier, his body tense, his frustration growing. He couldn't get back in.
Their eyes locked once more. And just like before, Ace's lips stretched into that sa infuriating grin but wider. He wasn't done. He slowly raised both arms and folded them into a double flip-off.
Seeing this, Beyton snapped. With a furious snarl, he slamd his fists against the protective barrier, the force of it causing faint ripples to spread across its surface. It was useless and made things worse for himself. Also, his wild, rage-fueled pounding only made him look pathetic to the staff and other patrons solidifying their suspicions about him losing it.
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