Ace's voice boomed through the quiet morning, reverberating off the walls of his and Emilia's dorm room. The heavy drapes barely filtered the sun's rising light, and Emilia, still nestled beneath her bed sheets, stirred groggily as the insistent shout pierced her dreams.
"Hey. Heeey! Wake up already!" said Ace, his voice, a mix of playful annoyance and urgency, cut through the tranquility of her deep sleep as he then pinched her cheeks.
"Ahhh! Stop it! Stop it! I'm getting up!" Emilia grumbled, her voice thick with sleep and irritation.
She stretched languidly as she yawned, her movements graceful yet slightly clumsy as she tried to shake off the remnants of her slumber.
Ace, wearing his own sportswear made up of a sleek hooded sweater, smooth jogging trousers and black-red sneakers, had been standing next to the bed with a disdained expression, raising an eyebrow at her sloppy posture.
"Talk about being defenseless," his tone was condescending, his eyes holding a hint of complete indifference.
Completely embarrassed, Emilia quickly put back her disheveled pajamas properly, shooting him a glance.
"Pervert," she muttered under her breath, Ace's brows twitching as he heard her clearly.
He observed the embarrassed Emilia, the buttons on her shirt revealing a flash of a delicate lacy as an expression of mild annoyance hidden behind a dark smile appeared on his face.
"Do me a favor and just get ready, okay?" he retorted with an annoyed and impatient tone.
After dressing in her own sportswear which consisted of a black T-shirt, white shorts with black athletic leggings, and comfy light blue sport shoes, they went for a little jogging session together.
Almost an hour later after running side by side along the academy's empty open routes, Ace and Emilia exchanged in a heated yet playful conversation while catching their breath.
"I'm so tired," said Emilia, the sound of her voice ragged under her deep breaths as she dropped on the ground.
Ace glanced at Emilia, looking down on her with an aloof and condescending expression. "It's almost been two months and you're still so weak."
Hearing his words, Emilia immediately spoke up as if pouting, her tone sarcastic and annoyed. "Well excuse me for not having monstrous stamina."
Taking out a towel and a bottle of water and then handing them to her, Ace apologized for his earlier comment, his expression still stiff. "Sorry. Didn't mean to make you upset."
Emilia, her eyes glinting with dissatisfaction and surprise, took the items while avoiding Ace's gaze. "S-sure."
Ace observed her with keen interest for a short while as she wiped off her sweat and then gulped down the bottle of water. His gaze then wandered towards the opulent and liberating area, the morning breeze feeling cool and fresh on his heated skin.
As the silence continued, Ace cut through it like a knife, noting that Emilia seemed to have rested and cooled down enough.
"Okay. Rest is over. Time to go onto our next session."
"Uuuugh~," Emilia groaned defeatedly, her expression the same as a complaining child who didn't want to do as they were told.
"Can't we just skip it?" she asked awkwardly, a glimmer of hope in her eyes before being shot down by Ace's immediate "No."
'Of course. I should've known better,' she thought, handing over the items she was using to Ace who then kept them in his shadow once more.
After Emilia rose from the ground, Ace jumped backwards, creating distance between them, and with a gesture of his hand, he then beckoned her to come at him.
As Emilia straightened her posture, she dashed towards Ace, reducing the distance between them. 'Ready or not, here I come!'
Ace's gaze hardened as she regarded the approaching Emilia with a mix of curiosity and approval. 'Let's see what she's got.'
'There!' Emilia's eyes widened as mana gathered in her arm.
With a swift arm motion, magic circles appeared on both sides of Ace, charging up what seemed to be the same attack.
High pressurized water shot out from the circles, not leaving room for any time to defend as Ace's gaze sharpened with focus.
He disappeared instantly before Emilia's attack reached him.
"Nice try," Ace said, preparing to grapple with Emilia from behind.
"I'm not done yet!" Emilia, with a swift and mastered rotating motion, evaded Ace's hand before proceeding with a kick that he immediately blocked.
"Guess I underestimated you, huh?" Ace said as Emilia quickly created distance between them.
"I had a good teacher," Emilia said, her tone casual yet anxious while her eyes searched for opening as she readjusted her posture.
"Thanks for the compliment," Ace smiled lightly, his cold gaze becoming serious once again. "Now come."
Emilia nodded as she then leaped towards Ace and confronted him in a hands-to-hands match, throwing punches and palm strikes as if she was a trained martial artist.
In contrast, Ace blocked and redirected each and every one of her moves with the graceful expertise of a martial master, their showdown extending into a fast and shifting dance of technique and control.
Ace glanced at her as he closed distance between them, grabbing her arm that was going in for a punch while also tackling her leg which inevitably made her lose her balance.
"Game over," he said as he shoved her onto the ground with immense force, locking her arm as if trying to break it.
"I-I yield," Emilia said, using her other free arm to tap on the ground, indicating that she had given up.
"Nice try." Ace began, releasing her and turning his back on her. "You've definitely improved compared to when we first started our sessions."
Ace's gaze grew serious once again as Emilia appeared behind him, trying to land a hit. "But you're still too naïve."
"It's true that any means towards victory is good to take, even if it is extreme. But…" he evaded the strike and tackled her leg once more, making her lose balance again as she almost fell down face first.
"In a real battle, you'd already be dead," Ace held her falling body by the waist, their faces growing close as he held hers like a puffy fish with that cold gaze of his. "If you can't finish off your opponent, then it's already game over. You'll die instantly."
"Y-yes," Emilia said as Ace released his hold on her while his eyes grew even colder and his expression became distant, steely and resolute. "The ends justify the means. You should use every tool at your disposal no matter what it is or who your opponent is. Even if it includes toying with their feelings or the lives of others. At least, that's what I would do."
Emilia's heart skipped a beat at the intensity of his gaze, the atmosphere around them growing darker despite the sun being in the sky.
"And in my case?" Emilia asked, her voice shaking as her mind became enchanted by Ace's gaze. "What about me? I'm also a tool in your eyes, right? What would you do in that case?"
Ace's lips curved into a sly and unsettling smirk as he stepped closer, wrapping his hands around her neck. "Could it be that you've forgotten? You told me to break you and use you however I wish. Frankly, breaking you at this point would just be a waste. I'll help you with your revenge. That I promise. And in exchange, I'll use you until you're no longer useful to me. That was our deal, right?"
He tilted his head, his smiling face completely contradictory to the cold and distant look in his eyes. A facial paradox that couldn't be explained no matter how you tried to look at it.
Emilia held her breath, meeting his gaze with a mixture of fear and determination while she tried to hide her trembling. "Yes, that's true. I don't care what you do to me as long as I can get my revenge."
"Well, good to know you still haven't forgotten our deal," Ace unhanded her, his back facing her as Emilia released a sigh of relief. "We'll be partners until you achieve your revenge. I'll support you in any way I can, and in turn, you'll help me whenever I require it. A win-win situation as one might say."
"But still…" he stopped momentarily, a feeling of dissatisfaction in his chest as he slowly turned his head around, looking at her with a more serene and serious expression that surprised her.
"Even if I'm not in the position to be saying this, you should try and act a little more normal. I believe it's okay to take it easy once in a while. Just have fun like any other ordinary girl. You look much cuter that way. At least that's what I think."