Once Yuki was far enough away, Ace drew in a slow breath and let it out, ready to fight. Even so, he still couldn't sense where Torvex was hiding.
"System, switch your output from text to voice and tell me where he's hiding."
["Understood, Host. Inside the cake shop to your left, four stores from your current position."]
"Inside a shop? Smart. I can't just wreck someone's store," Ace said right before five more knives came flying at him.
He blocked them all with fragments of the Thousand Demon Dagger, then asked the system, "What happened to the people here?"
"[They're asleep on the floor. The shopkeepers and customers were most likely moved into the shops before you arrived. This was prepared in advance."]
"How did he know I'd come here?" Ace asked, dodging and blocking another wave of blades.
["He used a prediction device to map where you were most likely to go, and prepared traps in every possible location."]
"You mean there are other places where people are asleep too?"
["Yes, Host."]
"This assassin is pretty dedicated. Tell me if there's anyone inside," Ace said as he sprinted toward Torvex's hiding spot.
Knives kept shooting at him from impossible angles. Ace moved without stopping, turning and swatting every blade aside.
When he reached the cake shop, it was empty.
"System, where is he?"
["He already moved to another shop, three stores from here."]
"Tell me if he moves again."
Ace ran toward the next location. Torvex's knives shot out from behind shelves and tight corners, but Ace handled all of them as he went.
Right when he was about to reach the shop, the system spoke again.
["Host, he just moved. Two more stores ahead."]
"System, predict where he'll go next. I'll grab him the moment he moves," Ace said, already changing direction.
Another knife appeared behind him from a different shop. Without turning, Ace flicked his hand. Two dagger fragments shot back and knocked it away.
["He'll move to the candy shop four stores to the right, Host."]
Ace activated his dual core. His strength and speed jumped fourfold. He shot toward the candy shop and launched several dagger fragments inside.
The blades hit something camouflaged. Ace rushed forward and struck, but a swarm of knives came at him again.
He rotated his wrist. The dagger fragments curved sharply, spinning in sync with his fingers. They slammed into Torvex's knives and sent them into the walls.
Ace formed a laser pistol in his hand and fired. The camouflaged figure dodged, but couldn't avoid the dagger shards that clipped him and tore away his disguise.
Torvex's true form appeared. A lean humanoid with six arms, four eyes, purple skin, no nose, and a build similar to a Tetramand only thinner and more assassin-like.
"System, why does he look like a stealth Tetramand?"
["That's just how his species is, Host. Similar to how Devilukes resemble humans with differences."]
They stared at each other for a moment before Ace charged and Torvex hurled more blades. Ace dodged, blocked, and struck. Torvex parried, but his weak physique couldn't handle close combat.
He recalled the knives scattered on the ground, sending them at Ace again. Ace sidestepped and closed in, forcing Torvex into melee. Torvex kept slipping away, relying on his speed, but Ace didn't give him a chance to retreat and hide again.
'He's fast and good at evasion… System, how do I pin him down? A net gun or chains won't be fast enough.'
["You can use your cursed technique, Host."]
'I can't. I'm using aura right now. If I use both at once, my aura could destabilize and I'll lose speed.'
["You can use a binding vow, Host."]
'Oh. Right.'
Binding Vow:
AKASHI ACE CAN USE HIS CURSED TECHNIQUE WHILE USING AURA.
IN EXCHANGE, HE WILL CONSUME A LARGE AMOUNT OF AURA.
Ace lifted his left hand a little.
Thin cursed threads floated from his fingertip to his sword, like soft black mist. His aura kept them steady. When Ace swung and Torvex dodged, the threads shot off the blade and stuck to Torvex's body. They were so thin that Torvex didn't notice.
Ace tugged.
The threads became visible. Torvex looked down and panicked at the sight of dozens of lines stuck to him.
'W–when did these latch onto me!?'
He called his knives to cut them, but the blades passed straight through.
"Sorry, but I'm the only one who can touch those," Ace said as he tightened the threads. Torvex's body locked up. Even so, he kept commanding his knives to attack.
Ace saw the swarm coming from every direction. Torvex may have been trapped, but his telekinetic control still worked.
The blades hit Ace, Then bounced off like they'd struck steel.
"What?!"
"You must be disappointed," Ace said, lifting his left hand and showing the Solomon Ring on his middle finger. "From the start, I didn't need to worry about your knives."
Torvex's struggles grew weaker as Ace conjured thick chains and bound him.
Ace called Zastin to come pick him up.
"Human… how are you so strong?"
"Strong? I'm somewhere in the middle of the road. But if you're asking why… it's because I'm a genius. And lucky."
"Genius… you're pretty arrogant."
"I'm not arrogant. I'm being honest. Denying your own genius can sound like arrogance too."
After a while, Zastin arrived and took Torvex away.
---
Yuki POV
I ran as fast as I could, leaving Ace behind with the assassin. 'Why is a hitman after him?
Was Ace a legendary assassin who betrayed his guild and is now being hunted?! No, no, focus, Yuki! Deep breath… and exhale.'
"Okay. First call the police… No, they won't believe me. I should call Grandpa. Grandpa will believe me if I say someone's after me."
I called him and waited.
"Grandpa!"
"What's wrong, Yuki? Why are you panicking?"
"There's a hitman after me! My friend is holding him off right now!"
"Yuki, don't joke about something like that."
"I'm not joking! Please send someone! My friend's in danger!"
"Alright, I'll send people. Hide somewhere and wait."
"Okay! Hold on, Ace."
'Should I call my brother? No, he'll panic and jump into danger. Lala then. Lala needs to know Ace is in trouble.'
I called Lala.
"Lala! Ace is in danger! There's a hitman after him, but don't worry, I already called for help!"
"What?! I'm coming, Yuki!"
"No, don't come, it's dange—"
The call ended.
After a few minutes, Grandpa's men arrived.
"This way!" I pointed. They ran ahead with firearms. I tried to follow, but one of them stopped me.
"Miss Yuki, this is dangerous. Your friend may already be dead."
"Ace isn't dead! And I'm going too. Move!"
A motorcycle stopped nearby. A man was riding, with Lala behind him.
"Lala, don't come. It's dangerous."
"But if you're going, I'm going too," Lala said as the man added,
"We should move. No time to argue."
One guard stepped forward. "Sir, you shouldn't get involved."
"Stop wasting time," the man replied as they followed the others.
---
3rd POV
Ace was resting when a dozen armed men rushed up to him.
"Ace! Are you okay?!" Yuki ran past them and threw herself at him, hugging him tight.
"Ace!" Lala jumped into his arms as well.
"I'm fine, see? Not a scratch," Ace said, trying to calm them down.
"Ace, where's the hitman? Grandpa's men will handle it."
"He…"
Before Ace answered, Rintaro spoke up.
"Looks like you've already handled him. In that case, you kids should head home. We'll deal with the rest."
"Yeah, let's go," Ace said as he guided Yuki and Lala away.
---
Ace POV
While we walked, I saw Rintaro-san talking with the men yuki Grandpa sent.
"Yuki, who are those people?" I asked.
"They're from Grandpa. Anyway… do we need to go to the hospital?"
"No, I'm not that hurt."
"Then… who attacked you? And what does he want from you?"
I glanced at Lala.
"Ace, I think you should tell her," she said.
"You sure?"
She nodded.
"What are you two talking about?" Yuki asked.
"The one who attacked me wasn't a normal hitman. He was an alien."
"…Hahaha. Ace, please don't joke right now."
"I'm not joking. I told you he was an alien."
"I don't believe you."
"Lala, show her your tail."
Lala revealed her tail.
"Um… I didn't think you'd actually tell her this way."
"This is real," Ace said as he grabbed Lala's tail. "See? It's real. Go on, touch it."
"Oh! It is real! So Lala is an alien too?!"
"Yes. Sorry for hiding it," Lala said.
"I-it's fine, but I'm still confused."
"Then come to my house sometime. I'll explain everything there. For now, let's meet up with Masachika and Alisa. Lala, you coming?"
"Okay!"
We regrouped with Masachika and went home afterward.
Later that night, I was in the basement working on my third core. Fighting Torvex showed me my weakness: footwork. Torvex moved like water because of his legs. I already knew what technique I wanted to learn.
After finishing the third core, I lay on the floor, exhausted.
"System, give me information about the 36 Sky Steps."
[Host, I recommend the 24 Tempest Steps instead.]
"Isn't the 24 Tempest Steps an upgraded version of 36 Sky Steps? Shouldn't I start with the basics?"
[Normally yes, but you're already strong. The 36 Sky Steps won't help you much.]
(Author Note: 36 Sky Steps and 24 Tempest Steps are from the novel Ending Maker.)
"I see. Then let's do it."
I trained until two in the morning, then crashed into bed.