Read Novel Full Chapter 446: The New Ace [II]
Chapter 446: The New Ace [II]
The balcony was huge, extending out well over the edge of the building. There was enough space for an outdoor lounge setup — three sleek couches around an obsidian table.
Since it was the rainy season, the night air was cool and misty outside.
There were only six of us present, sitting in a half-circle overlooking the sprawling Academy City.
The Tower of Apex was visible from here as it was from mostly everywhere in the Ascent Isles.
It looked like an iridescent spear piercing the clouds, its peak lost in the swirling gray fog that promised a heavy downpour before dawn.
I took my spot on the edge of the furthest sleek couch, right next to Michael and Ray, setting my glass of rum down on the table. The polished surface reflected the shifting neon lights of the cityscape below.
Juliana had intentionally chosen the couch opposite mine and was now scrolling through her phone.
If she was still bothered by what happened in the kitchen, she was doing an incredible job of burying it under a layer of pure standoffish nonchalance.
Everyone else already seemed to be engaged in a conversation that had most definitely gone off the rails somewhere along the way.
“—I’m just saying, if you’re going to spend that much money on imported steak sliders, you shouldn’t let people who are clearly coping with post-traumatic stress chew on them like bubblegum,” Alexia was saying, her sightless eyes fixed somewhere in the direction of the city lights. She was lazily spinning an empty plastic cup on the obsidian table with one finger. “It’s an insult to the cow’s bloodline!”
Ray snorted, plunging back into the cushions and stretching his legs out. “I think the cow would be honored to know its final sacrifice went toward funding the palate of the future ruling class, Alex. Besides, I didn’t see you complaining when you were three sliders deep before the music even started.”
“That was different,” she sniffed, her finger tapping the plastic cup to a halt. “I was eating out of spite. It’s a very valid emotional response.”
“Spite against who? The cow?” I chimed in, taking a sip from my glass.
“Against you!” she spat.
It was an effort not to spit the drink out. “Me?!”
“Yes, you! It’s because of you I had to socialize!” she barked, turning her head to point an accusatory finger at me… which missed my chest and was aimed squarely at Michael’s nose instead.
“Hey, I was in the same boat!” I threw my hands up, offended. “And I had to actually try to recruit them! You and Michael were just eating and drinking while talking about the Wilds like it was summer camp!”
“Huh?!” Alexia flinched, indignant. “Do you have any idea how many courtship proposals I had to shoot down because people think I’d be a great addition to their family’s breeding program?”
“Oh, I’m really sorry for your inconvenience, little Miss Popular,” I mocked, matching her tone beat for beat. “I’m sure it was truly exhausting being treated like a priceless commodity. Do you want a medal or should I ask Ray to get you another spite-slider?”
“This was the worst party ever,” Michael cut in. He was sobbing while munching down on a large jar of cookies, and judging by their glittery glaze, they were obviously edibles.
I was willing to bet nobody had told him that.
My only question was: people get happy when they take those things, so why was he leaking tears into the chocolate chips?
“Seconded,” Alexia slumped a bit as if deflating. “I saw so many obscene things. And I can’t even see!”
“Agreed,” I nodded solemnly, remembering a few such instances.
“What!?” Ray looked between us with an expression of profound betrayal. Then he singled me out, “I thought at least you would appreciate the effort, Sam! Do you know how much money I spent on those expensive drugs and drinks? And this is the appreciation I get? Slander and disrespect in my own house?!”
“Those expensive drugs and drinks are precisely why people were vomiting glitter while talking to me by the end of the party!” I countered.
Ray tsk’ed in response. “Bro. Don’t you know why every good deal negotiation happens over booze? Because a compromised liver makes for a compromised judgment. You’re welcome, by the way.”
Okay, I actually had no riposte ready for that.
“Staying with Vince so much has rubbed off on you,” I grumbled, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “But still, next time give a little heads-up before you invite us into a biohazard zone.”
Michael guffawed. Loudly. And he didn’t stop.
He started laughing so hard he almost choked on a half-chewed cookie, then hastily wiped at his leaking eye. “Vince! Where is Vince?”
Ray looked torn between amusement and mild concern, eyeing the jar in Michael’s lap before taking it away from him. “You should slow down on these, bud. And I don’t know. I DM’ed him a couple of times. Called him. Sent him my address. But he’s just not answering. I’m kinda starting to worry.”
“Probably he still hasn’t left his hometown,” Kang joined in with a shrug from the far end of the couches.
He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, staring intently at the massive holographic projector that Ray had set up in the center of the deck. It was showing the finale between my sister and Kaelron Vire.
Thalia was being pushed back.
Her opponent was constantly raining down an unending salvo of concentrated light beams on her from the dark sky above the Grand Coliseum before spamming what I guessed were gravity debuffs.
It looked like heaven itself was throwing radiant lances at her while the scorched earth was trying to anchor her in place.
She wouldn’t lose, right?
“No one would blame him for taking a few days after all the shit we went through,” Kang continued, his eyes not leaving the glowing projection. “And he might not even have bought a new phone yet.”
“I guess,” Ray muttered unconvincingly.
Honestly, I missed Vince too.
He was the only one I think could’ve dealt with Casey and her absolute trainwreck of a personality.
…Sure, yeah, I missed him as well.
But if there was anyone who could’ve helped me persuade that stubborn bitch, it was Vincent Cleverly.
But, oh well, it didn’t matter anymore.
Now I had her as my enemy. And gods knew how eagerly I was waiting to bash her arrogant face in. I was itching for it. I was dying for it.
At first I thought after a good night or two of sleep, the urge to do something violent would pass.
However, even as drunk as I was right now, the last words she said to me were ringing in my head, clawing away at my pride again and again.
Snow doesn’t fight to reach the top. It just falls, and still ends up above everything else.
Ugh.
But you know what? I think I had finally made some peace with her delusion. No, actually, I was now rooting for her.
I wanted her to join my sister’s faction, make her name, and shoot through their ranks. I wanted her to succeed. I was banking on it.
Why the sudden change of heart, you ask? Because I had instructed Ivan to get acquainted with her.
While he had already joined my sister’s camp, he wouldn’t immediately be able to infiltrate the inner circle of Thalia and Alice.
Sliding into Casey’s orbit, though? Considerably easier. They were both from the North. Ivan could also introduce her to his unsuspecting friends, giving her a few allies.
And if Casey succeeded in backing her words, she could then deliver Ivan right to the center of the royals’ strategy table.
If she failed? Then I’d only have to worry about the other generic trash in their lineup. It was a win-win scenario.
While I was leisurely admiring the strategic brilliance of my own machinations, Alexia and Ray had started a topic that would soon leave Kang sweating bullets.
“This place is very nice, by the way,” the blind girl remarked. “If we ignore the paranoid bunker vibe of the building. I especially like that there is no unnecessary furniture or stairs. The seamless open layout is incredible. Back at the Villa, I keep bumping into things. How much is the rent?”
“Rent?” Ray scoffed like the idea was beneath him. “I bought the place outright. And hired renovators. It was ready before I even moved in yesterday.”
“A property in Ascent?” Alexia whistled. “I knew you were rich but this is Samael-level rich. There are two bedrooms here, right?”
“Yup,” Ray replied in a tone that suggested he liked where this talk was headed. “No roommates. And for some reason, I always seem to make extra breakfast. So it’d be such a shame if that extra food went to waste.”
He was flashing her a creepy, wide smile. But of course she didn’t notice that visual detail. Probably for the better.
Kang, on the other hand, had lost interest in the ongoing match. His eyes were flitting between the two of them, nervous like a man sitting on a live grenade.
Before he could grab a chance to say something, Alexia replied in a thoughtful tone, “You know, Michael’s always crying about how he wants to leave one room vacant in case Lily ever wants to move in. So if I move in here, I won’t have to listen to his late-night weeping anymore. Can I?”
“Of course!” Ray’s reply was so fast you’d think it was pre-programmed. “I can even help carry your luggage tomorrow, if you want!”
Kang looked like he was about to swallow his own tongue. “Wait, mistress—”
BOOOOM—!!
But the poor guy was cut off by the sound of a deafening, bone-shaking explosion. It came from the projector speakers, rattling the crystal glasses on the table and immediately killing the conversation.
We all instinctively jerked toward the holographic projector, our party squabbles forgotten in the face of the sudden shift in the scene that had transpired in the arena.
A replay showed that Thalia had deflected a bolt of natural lightning directly from the sky, grounding the electrical arc with her bare blade to blast away Kaelron in a split-second opening that left him entirely exposed.
The smoke clearing in the Grand Coliseum revealed a spectacle that silenced even the screaming crowd.
Kaelron Vire was on his knees. Unconscious.
His flawless streak wasn’t so flawless anymore.
Thalia Kaizer Theosbane had won the Ace Tournament.
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