An hour later.
Valerie, cladded in white armor, laid down on the ground with bruises and blood flowing out of her mouth. There were some parts of the body broken from the fight.
Ray was in a worse situation than her as his right arm bent weirdly and his head was planted on the ground.
Leonardo, who caused all this, stood as if nothing had happened. He let out a long sigh and said, "I have gotten the gist of what's going on from your expressions and my point still stands.
"When you meet him, I bet with my life on the line that he will break down no matter how hard he tries to hide it. What you are doing is not wrong, but what you have done to Theo is wrong.
"He has been strong for too long… After knowing the truth, it's weird for the kid not to go insane or fall to the other path. In my whole life, I have been prioritizing my children as if maintaining the big War God Family.
"There were times I admitted defeat to save my children and I believe it's not wrong. I don't know how you made this decision, but I am just going to tell you… I am not on anybody's side. I am not on Theo's side or your side.
"Whatever your family… I don't think I should use this word anymore. Whatever you two do as his parents no longer concern me. Whatever Theo wishes to do against his parents is also not my concern.
"All I can say is, I will take care of Theo if he comes to me. I may not be able to replace his eighteen years of suffering, but I can at least give him some happy memories."
Leonardo closed his eyes and walked without looking back. "Everything has its purpose, including me beating you two up. Just like you don't want to tell me the reason for your choice, you will also need to understand everything I have done. If you don't like this one, then take revenge on me when you're stronger.
"After all, every action has a consequence. And what you have done is not an instant beating but long torture. Remember it." Leonardo sighed. "Farewell, kids."
Leonardo disappeared as the two couldn't move their bodies for a while, not because of their injuries, but due to his lesson.
…
Meanwhile, Theo was standing next to the pool, thinking about his offers.
Looking at the sky, he muttered, "The War God Family's offers don't give me much… Well, I think it's normal for Mythical Rank Experts. I mean, three billion Zils alone can give me around thirty B Rank Skills or two to three B Rank Skills per month.
"In three years, I will be able to save up to buy an A Rank skill. However, this amount can be achieved by joining the Starry Group. On the other hand, I think I can learn so much from the War God Family. The only problem is that… It feels like I am walking on a thread.
"If I make a small mistake, I will drop to the bottom of the cliff because the enemies I will face are undoubtedly smarter. They may even make themselves appear dumb while doing something in my back.
"I can somehow escape from them by getting three Individual Missions… Hmm, this is interesting." Theo narrowed his eyes as if thinking about something.
After a while, he said, "Well, the leveling facility is nice, but I don't think I need it that much. First of all, I need to pair up with someone to do that, so it's not that effective, considering I can level up much faster by going alone unless they're helping me defeat a far stronger monster. There's no way someone will do that; it's not like they're Alea or Ellen.
"In that case, I should negotiate this one since it's not usable for me." Theo smiled and recounted the offers. "Still, I am interested in going to another country. This way, I can learn their tradition and how they use their power. I mean, they have their own cultures, so they should have something unique.
"I will learn from them and increase my strength. And the War God Family seems to be more flexible for something like this.
"There's also the fact I need to stay for another ten years after becoming a Mythical Rank for the Star Group. I can understand their point since they can't claim I am their family like the War God Family, but reaching Mythical Rank alone will take a long time, and this feels like being bound to them.
"In the meantime, every achievement I make, they're going to take advantage of it seriously. They also said they wouldn't throw me into their business, but the possibility is there. They may even make an advertisement with me. I can negotiate to get more money, but I also need to put this into consideration for now.
"On the plus side, I can grow much faster in the Starry Group. I can even use all that money to go overseas to search for a unique way to utilize my own power.
"Hmm…" Theo pondered for a moment and drew a conclusion. "So, the War God Family basically offers me an average reward with more flexibility while the Star… or Starry Group provides me a vast amount of resources, but with a long contract and slightly annoying schedule. This is a hard choice.
"Well, in the War God Family, I may need to face a bigger ordeal since if they become my enemy, they will be an even stronger opponent than those in the Star Group. So, both offers are equal."
Theo began to think about his future. He realized he shouldn't see only the benefits from joining the contract but what he truly needed.
This thought made the offers even more complicated, but he believed he wouldn't regret the choice.
After a while, Theo sighed. "Well, it's not like I am forced to choose the contract immediately. There is still a month to wait for the contract while waiting for Ava… I will consider it carefully."