Mr. Ace and Anastasia chased the assassin across the rooftops, but the gap between them and their target only grew wider.
I need to think of something… I can't activate Playtime in mid-air, Mr. Ace scanned the surroundings, eyes narrowing as they locked onto a nearby building. Without hesitation, he launched his hook and veered off-course.
"Where are you going?!" Anastasia shouted, but got no response. She gritted her teeth and refocused on the chase.
Meanwhile, ahead on the rooftops, Anastasia was now alone, still pursuing the assassin. A thought crossed her mind—Where did Mr. Ace go?
But there was no time to wonder. The enemy was getting away.
As the assassin turned and saw only Anastasia, he quickly regained his balance and lunged at her. She had never fought in mid-air, let alone wielded a sword in such a battle. Her mind raced, unsure of what to do.
The assassin charged, and instinctively, she dodged, barely avoiding his blade. He didn't hesitate, swinging again, this time landing a blow to her head. She gritted her teeth, quickly launching a hook to another building to escape the strike.
Focus, I can't keep dodging like this, she thought, heart pounding. I haven't trained for this, but I have to fight.
She launched back at him, sword raised high. As she swung down, the assassin skillfully dodged, stepping to the side just in time.
Anastasia's grip tightened. She wasn't giving up. She adjusted, waiting for the next opening. This time, when the assassin lunged, she sidestepped and struck with precision, her sword grazing his side.
The assassin faltered for a moment, and that was enough. Anastasia saw her chance. With a quick, decisive motion, she slashed again, this time landing a clean strike that knocked him off balance. He stumbled back, his sword slipping from his grip.
She stood firm, sword raised, her breath heavy but controlled. She had done it—she had won.
As she looked around, she saw Mr. Ace calmly walking toward her, dragging three bodies behind him.
She was ready to yell at him for leaving her in such a dangerous fight—but the words froze in her throat when she saw the bloodied figures trailing behind him.
When he stopped beside her, she asked, "Who are these guys? Why are you dragging them?"
Mr. Ace glanced at her, then spoke flatly, "They're the terrorists who bombed Petrogard."
"What?!" Her eyes widened in disbelief. But almost instantly, her expression changed—her patriotism burning through. She stepped toward the bodies, glaring.
"How dare you bomb my motherland?!"
But as she got closer, she noticed the state they were in. Their faces were crushed, beaten beyond recognition. Blood trailed from their mouths, their teeth shattered.
She flinched and stepped back. "What... happened to them? Who did this?"
Mr. Ace stayed quiet for a moment, then answered coldly, "Me"
"But why? We can't answer violence with more violence," she said, her voice tense. "It'll just make us like them. There would be no difference."
Mr. Ace sighed.
"I don't care if it makes me like them. I'm an assassin. There's already no difference."
She frowned. "Then how are we supposed to get intel from them now?"
"You don't need to worry about that," he said calmly. "I already got everything I needed."
She stared at him, trying to process it all, but one question wouldn't leave her mind.
"Then how did you even find them in the first place?"
Mr. Ace scratched his head, glancing off to the side.
He didn't answer immediately.
In his mind, the memory replayed.
After he changed paths during the chase, he hadn't just gone off randomly. His real intent was to activate The Playtime by slamming into the building. But then—he saw them.
Foreign men in blue uniforms, not military or civilian. Each had a black lion and sword symbol on their shoulders. They were inside that building. He had hidden, listening quietly.
One was packing weapons into a bag.
"Did you wrap up the extra bombs?" he asked another who was reloading a rifle.
"Already."
Another man stood by the window, looking over Petrogard with a spyglass.
Then the last one lit a cigarette, glancing around nervously.
"Let's move already before it's too late," he had said. "They're going to blow this whole state with missiles."
Mr. Ace blinked, pulling himself back to the present.
He then began explaining everything to Anastasia, choosing his words carefully. He didn't mention anything about his power. Instead, he told her that after changing paths, he noticed strange men inside a building across the chase route. They weren't soldiers or locals—just people in blue uniforms with a black lion and sword symbol on the shoulder. Curious, he got closer and listened.
"They were talking about wrapping up weapons, reloading rifles, one was even looking at Petrogard with a spyglass," Mr. Ace explained.
Anastasia nodded slowly, eyes widening as he continued.
"Then one of them casually said it—they're going to blow this whole state with missiles."
She gasped.
Mr. Ace continued, voice steady but laced with coldness. "And right after I heard that, I bumped my head on the wall—yeah, stupid move—and before I knew it, I was right in front of the guy who lit the cigarette."
Anastasia blinked. "Wait, what?"
He smirked. "Okay, maybe I went straight up to confront them. No teleporting involved."
---
"AAA! What the fuck are you?!" the cigarette guy had screamed, nearly dropping his lighter. He backed off fast, picking up his rifle. The others followed, aiming at him in sync.
"A human, of course," Mr. Ace replied calmly. Somehow, his voice only made the shaken man more nervous.
"Who are you?" asked the man who had just finished reloading his rifle. His sharp gaze studied Mr. Ace, narrowing in recognition. "You're not normal. An assassin?"
Mr. Ace simply took off his black fedora and bowed slightly, extending one hand with flair.
"This nobody is called Mr. Ace."
The Four men tensed up.
Then, he tapped the floor lightly with his foot, took out a sleek black wand, and spun it between his fingers.
"A mad magician," he added with a grin.
"Mr. Ace?" the smoker said, confused. "What kind of stupid codename is that?"
"Mad Magician, huh?" the rifle man muttered. "You sound like an overconfident clown… or just a mindless idiot."
The one wrapping the bombs snorted. "What is this? A circus? What tricks can you perform, magician?"
Mr. Ace pretended to think deeply, then said, "I can fight with music."
All Four blinked.
"What?" the bomb-wrapper asked, raising an eyebrow. "What kind of magic is that?"
"This is my magic," Mr. Ace said, voice calm and proud. "I've had a thing for music since childhood. That's what makes me... a Tasteless Musician, too."
The calm one scoffed. "Tasteless? That doesn't even mean anything."
"It means I don't stick to one genre or era," Mr. Ace replied. "Whether it's modern or centuries-old, I don't care about the meaning or origin. I just enjoy it all."
Anastasia, hearing all this, could only stare at him in silence—half amazed, half unsure if he was serious.
Mr. Ace continued.
He started walking toward the four of them. They raised their rifles, grips tightening.
"Stop where you are, magician. We will not hesitate to shoot you down."
"Well, well." Mr. Ace stayed calm. He raised the wand, tapped it on his head, then swung it through the air. "With what?"
The one wrapping the bombs laughed. "With these rifl—wait, where the rifles gone?" He froze. All of their rifles had disappeared.
"Where the fuck did you send them?" the calm one asked, pulling out a knife.
"Who cares?" Mr. Ace sighed. "Now, I will entertain you with a song."
"What song?" asked the one with the spyglass, his eyes narrowing.
"Death… is no more." Mr. Ace swung the wand again.
"Whose death is no more?" the calm guy asked, now fully guarded, ready to attack.
"5… 4… 3…" Mr. Ace started counting.
All of them tensed up. A silent nod passed between them.
"…2… 1… 0."
"AAA, DIE!!" They all charged at him.
Mr. Ace swung his wand.
Time stopped.
After five seconds—
"AAAAAA!!"
All of them dropped to the ground.
"Of course, my death—it's no more. I'm untouchable."
---
Anastasia was stunned by his words, though a part of her still wondered if he was being serious.
Mr. Ace was about to say something—
---
"FIRE!!"
A missile came crashing down right where Mr. Ace stood.
"MR. ACE!!" Anastasia screamed.
BOOM!!!
The entire area erupted in flames and smoke. Dust and shockwaves swallowed everything.