Meanwhile, in an abandoned building where the Griffith Family stayed in the past two months, the Mind Elder sat down on a single chair with a grim expression. "She has come…"
Just a few seconds after he said those words, a female in white armor appeared before him.
Valerie still used her usual armor that covered everything except her mouth.
"You're not going to launch a sneak attack?" Eric opened his eyes and looked at Valerie solemnly.
"It's impossible for me to ambush you." Valerie shook her head. Despite the hatred she showed this whole time, she was relatively calm when answering him.
"Buying time for your reinforcement? Not that I mind." Eric smiled because he knew the only reason why Valerie bothered to talk to him was to wait until Leonardo came.
Still, there was no way Eric planned to wait for that long. His lips curved as his words began to shift. "To think you completely suppressed your own child's talent. You truly fooled us. Not only did we believe that your son was useless, but you also forced us to retract any kind of surveillance on him because he was simply trash and not worth our time…
"He would have become a good soldier of the Griffith Family if he was raised properly from the start."
"The moment he brought to the family would be the moment he died!" Valerie gritted his teeth.
"Killed him? No way. I would only manipulate his mind to be the perfect soldier and leader of the Griffith Family. He didn't need any attachment to any other family members. He only needed to believe that the Griffith Family was the number one and everything else was unnecessary.
"With his talent, I do not doubt that Theodore Griffith could elevate the Griffith Family's status to a new peak, even surpassing that of the ancestor."
"That's what I mean by killing him. He's nothing but a robot that will be controlled by you!" Valerie clenched her fists as anger started filling her heart.
"You're an outsider, so you don't know anything about the true heart of the Griffith Family. If you truly care about the family, you will do anything to protect it." Eric shook his head. "But well, by fooling us, I guess you have truly learned from the last time. Who was his name again? Owen?"
A white-colored spear made completely of Magic Power appeared on her hand as she pointed it at Eric. "You don't deserve to call his name."
"What are you saying? You were the one who killed your own son!" Eric smirked.
While gritting her teeth, Valerie leaped forward and waved her spear down.
Eric formed a long blade on top of him and blocked the spear effortlessly.
Clink.
Even though they didn't use their power yet, a shock wave was produced upon contact, blowing away all the dust in the area.
"You're angry because it's true!" Eric snorted.
"No. You were the one who killed my son." Valerie used all her strength to push him back. However, Eric Griffith still had enough power to contain her strength.
"I only manipulated his mind right before he was born. You were actually the one who didn't want such a child."
The memory that happened thirty years ago was still fresh in her mind. This memory had haunted her for thirty years.
At that time, her pregnancy was already over eight months. There were only two weeks left before the baby was born.
But at that time, Eric Griffith stormed their house even though Ray had chosen to stay away from the Griffith Family. Eric suppressed both of them.
Ray's strength was barely a Mythical Rank Expert, while Valerie was still a Supreme Rank Expert, so they stood no chance against Eric Griffith.
Back then, Eric Griffith used his power and turned the soon-to-be-born baby into his puppet.
Her face of horror was still planted directly in Ray's mind, and her feeling was still stuck in her heart.
If she gave birth to her son, Owen would become the puppet of the Griffith Family. Yet, she didn't have the heart to do abortion as well.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Owen actually died inside her belly because he couldn't withstand the immense power from the Memory Manipulation.
At the same time, if Valerie went back with Eric to the Griffith Family, she could still save Owen, albeit her son would become a complete puppet.
After that miscarriage, she developed a huge trauma in her heart, and her reproductive organ was damaged as well.
As if trying to heal herself, she adopted Edward as her and Ray's son. Obviously, Edward was never placed highly in the Griffith Family's eyes because he was just a random person picked from the street. That was why he had been safe this whole time.
But twenty years ago, Edward's company had gradually healed her mind and heart as she decided to heal her body and get another son, which was Theo.
Because of Owen's case, Eric chose to watch over him first because he couldn't afford to have Theo die like Owen.
It was then Valerie and Ray realized Theo's talent. If Eric knew this, he wouldn't hesitate to attack them again. Bringing more Mythical Rank Experts if necessary.
At the same time, if they fled from Thersland or got some help, it would mean Theo was something special, resulting in Eric coming at them before they could do anything.
For the sake of protecting Theo as well as avenging her first son, Valerie and Ray decided to come up with this plan.
As long as the Griffith Family lost interest in Theo, the kid should be able to live without any worry in the future when he had grown up.
Recalling all this memory increased the hatred in Valerie's heart as she finally released her Magic Power. "And everything happened because of your Griffith Family's prophecy!"
"I thought Owen was that child. To think the real one is this Theo… I have truly mistaken. I should have known you're that stubborn. But I will still say this… You were the one who killed your son, and you will soon be the reason why your sons die!" Eric laughed uncontrollably.
"You won't get Theo!"
"I said sons!" Eric smirked. "Do you think I don't send anyone to your other son, Edward? I'm going to mutilate him right before your eyes!"