NOVPUBWithout hesitation, Ace gave it a thought and wished to enter the system space.
In a flash, his form shimmered and then he vanished from the spot only to reappear in the exact same spot a second later.
"What?" he muttered, blinking in disbelief.
This wasn't part of
the plan.
He had banked everything on the formation blinding the beast just long enough for him to slip away unnoticed.
If he vanished too early, the tiger might've hovered around the area, where he vanished.
Considering the other party was also headmaster Amon, he would definitely leave a trap at the exact position he vanished.
But if he vanished after the blast, the illusion of a panicked retreat would have bought him precious time.
All of it—his quick thinking, his precision, his gamble—rested on one critical assumption: that the system space would let him in.
And it actually failed? He didn't expected that!
Even more,
athe worst possible moment!
"Ace," the tiger called out, voice no longer wild or mocking—but eerily calm.
The calmness of someone who had been waiting for this exact failure. "You can't run away. Trust me."
Ace turned his head, frowning. That voice—it was Amon's. No doubt now.
"What do you want?" he asked sharply.
"Qiong Qi," came the reply. Smooth, unhesitating.
But Ace didn't buy it.
The only time Qiong Qi had appeared was at the palace gates. It had been unexpected, unplanned. He didn't even knew people would already be here.
There was no way Amon could know.
No way anyone could have predicted that.
Yet the more Ace thought, the colder his blood ran.
Because the tiger began to laugh.
Low at first. Then rising, splitting the air with a harsh, joyless rhythm.
"Ha ha ha ha ha…"
There was something wrong with the laugh. It wasn't like that of a the tiger anymore. It was something far more like... human.
And then, in front of his eyes, the beast shifted, the bones cracking, fur receding, and then a silhouette taking form.
Moments later, Headmaster Amon stood there in his true form, adjusting his monocle with gloved fingers, his long goatee meticulously combed between forefinger and thumb.
"Ace," he said, voice lined with amusement and menace, "you looked into the mirror... but never bothered to look past it."
He stepped forward, now only ten feet away, his presence felt oppressive and even commanding.
"I studied you," Amon continued. "You never studied me. That... was your first mistake."
Ace's eyes narrowed. Every word from Amon chilled the air more than the last.
"I know about the Divine Garden. I know what you do. And so... I prepared a trap. One designed with care. With patience and a bit of sacrifice."
"Sacrifice?" Ace snapped, jaw clenched. "Did you murdered humans?"
That was the pattern. That was the price someone had paid to trap him once before, Xiao Wuzi's formation had also claimed the life's of many.
And not just once, Xiao Wuzi had done it twice, one in the city. And the other, a whole village of man as the sacrifice.
But Amon smiled, soft and sinister.
"No, no, I didn't," he said. "It was you, you did."
Ace froze. "What are you talking about?"
The smile widened, but the eyes behind the monocle remained icy.
"Did you know," Amon said, "that if you had simply died in that village, if Xiao Wuzi had succeeded—none of these people would've needed to perish? This 'new batch of humans,' their blood... is on your hands."
Ace's heart thudded, the weight of the words pressing down like chains.
"Your existence itself," Amon said, stepping closer, "is the reason for their deaths. Their screams echo because you lived."
He paused, letting the silence twist like a knife.
"So go ahead. Be angry. Be clever. Try to run."
Amon leaned in, voice now a whisper, yet it carried like thunder.
"But never forget... the price of your survival will always be paid by others."
"Ace," Amon said, his tone cool and absolute, "the only way out… is if you hand me that Qiong Qi. And I'll help you hide your secret."
Ace's eyes narrowed. "Is this an illusion?" he asked, voice calm, but he already knew the answer.
It wasn't. No illusion. No trick.
But hey, when you're out of options, spouting nonsense felt like a valid survival tactic.
Amon chuckled, adjusting his monocle as if Ace had just told a decent joke. "You're a comedian, I see," he said with a smile—but the killing intent rolling off him was anything but amused.
Ace stood his ground. "Aren't you afraid the Qiong Qi will kill you?"
"Kill me?" Amon tilted his head, the smile widening. "That infant?"
Now that caught Ace off guard.
The last time Qiong Qi appeared—during the fight—it had shown an adult form, fierce and devastating.
Sure, it was a forced transformation, but still, no one knew it had a mini version hidden beneath all that terror.
Just as the thought crossed his mind—
"Tsk tsk," Amon cut in, wagging a finger. "When you first stepped into the floating palace, your precious little beast was crawling around in infant form. You're dumb."
Ace's went silent but his brain spun. What do I do? Hand over Qiong Qi?
"Yes," Amon replied instantly, "that's your only way out."
Ace's eyes snapped up. "How are you reading my thoughts?"
Amon shrugged with infuriating smugness. "I don't think I am," he said innocently, though the smirk said otherwise.
"But let's be honest—there's not much you can hide in my domain."
Then, adopting an exaggerated villainous voice, he added, "Oh right, yes yes! I'm one of those villains—you know, the cliché type who just loves revealing every dark secret before finishing the hero off. Tragic, really. But don't worry—no one's coming to save you."
Ace's face twitched. "Hey! I didn't even think of any of that just now! That's blasphemous of you! And frankly, kind of racist to assume I'd fall into the 'main character rescue' trope!"
Amon blinked.
Even the air paused.
"…Racist?" he echoed.
"Against protagonists," Ace said, folding his arms. "We have feelings too."
