Chapter 435 (2/2)

Apparently, Ace wasn’t the only one annoyed with the order, because when he returned to the fire, Thea was stomping towards the Ghosthound. Instantly, Ace’s mood lifted. It wasn’t often that Thea was willing to stand up to anyone, let alone the Ghosthound, due to her inherent kindness, and the fact that she was still basically a child. It was hard to overcome that belief that your elders were your betters.

So now, to see her moving so directly to challenge Randidly…

‘Show me your certainty, Randidly,’ Ace thought, eyes gleaming. ‘Show me if you are prepared to bear responsibility.’

“Why did we pull back?” Thea asked, her voice sharp as she pointed at Randidly.

Randidly, bless his heart, seemed confused, and tilted his head to the side as the girl approached him.

“Why didn’t we kill them all?” Thea repeated, “They… they sacrifice their young for strength. They are despicable, and we are stronger. So why-”

“...I guess you are right about the Heretic part. I wasn’t even thinking about the possibility they could rush back and have children to sacrifice for their own strength. Maybe… I didn’t want to believe it. That’s my mistake.” Randidly’s eyes were large and green, like a freshly mowed lawn. “But… isn’t this too easy? These opponents… They are weak. Why bother with them? They do not seem like the type to flee, so if they return to base, they will probably gather up more of their kind to fight.

“If we are going to wipe them away… isn’t doing it once that much simpler?”

Thea opened her mouth, then closed it. Then she flushed, turned on her heel, and rushed away, going over to rub her giant bear mount.

Ace grinned. Very nicely played Randidly, although you probably don’t think of it as playing. The ‘these opponents are too weak for me to even bother’ card. But, when it comes to you… perhaps…

Within a few seconds, Rose had returned to the circle of firelight, looking extremely calm. Ace immediately felt a sense of relief, then stifled that feeling. Emotions weren’t part of the plan. With his easy grin on his face, he walked over towards Rose.

When he arrived, very casually, the two chatted about nothing and walked over to the side, and erected a tent. Ace knew that everyone, especially Randidly, wondered whether the two of them were involved. So Rose had suggested that they use this method when they wanted some time to talk alone, without suspicions. Because they would be too busy considering the social implications of their meeting, rather than any other… ulterior motives.

“Did you watch the fight?” Ace asked, immediately after they had set up the tent and entered it.

Rose shot him a disapproving look, then laid down her Sound Ward Skill. Only then did she speak. “...I did. It is as you suspect. Across the board… he probably has a dozen Runic or Ancient Skills and at least one that is Legendary. Because of their… substance… it’s hard for me to figure out what each one does, but they all are general boosts towards combat abilities. Just in different manners.”

“Perfect.” Ace said, his eyes gleaming. “This is perfect. Only with a true monster, can a hero arise…!”

Pursing her lips, Rose gave him a look. “Now you are going the hero route? I suspect it’s too late for that.”

“It’s just a narrative arc shape. I don’t actually intend to be a hero… In fact, I might be the traitor, in this case.” Ace said, grinning.

There was a pause, and then Rose said timidly, “Do you… truly intend to do something before we finish the Raid Dungeon? If something goes wrong-”

“It won’t,” Ace said simply, looking up at the sky. He could see it now, feel the dripping blood from his wounds, feel the broken ground, since the shock Randidly felt, to be beaten by him… even now, he was savoring it, although Ace didn’t know how long it would take. “I don’t mind waiting. I’m not endangering our whole Zone for the sake of a point of pride. But sometimes.... you can’t even control yourself.”

Rose’s frown darkened, and Ace chuckled softly, leaning back on the sleeping bag he brought. Instead of correcting her mistaken impression that he simply had weak willpower, he said nothing. But Dauntless opened his eyes and stared intently at those strange threads of binding that Aratta had been working on him.

Then, amused, Dauntless closed his eyes. After all, tomorrow would be a long day.