*Bam!*
"Sir War Saint!" Everyone near him couldn't help but shout. The Great Guardian, Rea, Felix… Even Ava screamed, never expecting the War Saint to die like this.
They wanted to think it wasn't real. They wanted to deny it. After all, Theo had said that the War Saint was to control the headquarters after completing his task on the frontline. They thought the War Saint would survive and eventually return to the headquarters.
Unfortunately, this one slam flattened him. The blow was so hard that the ground around it cracked, almost turning into a crater. The dust was kicked into the air, causing them to be unable to see the corpse of the War Saint.
They all had the same thought. The War Saint fell in battle.
But to their surprise, the War Saint suddenly came out of the cloud of dust, jumped into the air and kicked the King Class Monster's jaw.
"!!!" Everyone couldn't believe it. They thought they were staring at a ghost, but the War Saint was actually still alive.
He was even smiling as if everything had gone according to the plan.
And what happened next allowed them to finally understand why the War Saint managed to keep his life.
Suddenly, an arrow created by a concentrated Magic Power pierced through the jaw and created a hole through the monster's head, killing the King Class Monster.
"!!!" They all turned around, following the direction of the arrow. But even without them looking at her, they had already known the person who released that arrow. After all, there was only one person who had that kind of ability.
On the east side of the battle, specifically, the battlefield next to Rea's former position, Ruth was seen in her stance after releasing that arrow.
Yes, Ruth shot the paw using her invisible arrow, causing the paw to miss its target. The invisible arrow was extremely useful since it was hard to find, but the impact was pretty weak.
That was why even though Leonardo managed to survive, the giant paw still ended up hitting his left arm and flattening it. This was the only reason why the monster thought Leonardo had died.
But that shot was enough to change the situation on this battlefield.
After killing the King Class Monster, Leonardo should have looked at Ruth to give his thanks for saving his life.
Yet, Leonardo actually turned his head not to Ruth but to someone in the red line, Theodore Griffith.
"You brat, you truly can't bear to see your grandfather die, huh. I guess dying because of old age is the only death I can get with you in this world." Leonardo smirked.
Yes. Everything that happened was because of Theo. Theo's influence allowed Rea to use him with her embodiment power, giving her the strength to kill multiple King Class Monsters.
But if not for the second preparation Theo had, Leonardo would die.
And that second preparation was none other than Ruth.
Ruth looked at the shocked faces of all the people around Leonardo. She jumped back to regain her position so that the King Class Monsters that surrounded her couldn't kill her.
During that time, she couldn't help but recall the time when Theo called her. Theo had given personal messages to each of the members after all.
"Ruth. To be honest, I don't have any words that can be used to somehow allow you to grow before or during the battle."
Ruth was taken aback, thinking Theo's ability must have its limit. Normally, Theo would be able to give her a lot of knowledge that would be useful for her growth, but this time, Theo looked helplessly.
Theo smiled, continuing, "It's not that I don't want you to grow. However, your current growth is already at its peak. My words might be able to stimulate you, but the current you need a long training to consolidate your strength as well as progress.
"Unless you reach enlightenment, it's impossible to get a huge growth over a short period of time."
"Is that so?" Ruth looked a bit disappointed. The others had been called before her, so she knew they had got something from Theo due to their expressions.
But Theo actually pointed at her with confidence. "But it doesn't mean that you are not important. In fact, your role is one of the most important. Instead of words to let you grow, I'm going to give you a task."
"A task?" Ruth frowned. On the one hand, she was a bit sad that she didn't get anything good from Theo. On the other hand, it seemed that she was the only one who received a task from Theo, meaning she was different from others. She was special.
"Your task is simple. Do you know why I put you near Rea?"
Ruth tilted her head in confusion. She tried her best to find the answer, but the only thing she could think of was the similarity of her position with Felix's. In the end, she shook her head so that Theo didn't think of her being love-struck with Felix.
Theo smiled. "It's because the west side has Felix. So, you're going to balance it in the east. If the situation starts to get worse, the only way to resolve it is to have my grandfather do something reckless, which is completely different from what he has done in his entire life. That's why the enemies will surely be taken aback.
"However, the fact that he's being reckless means he's exposed to a lot of risk and has a high possibility of dying.
"That's your task. I want you to protect him. With your skill, it shouldn't be that hard to help him even from that far, right?"
"Y-yeah." Ruth nodded, but she was still confused. They had been told that this battle was so dangerous that even his survival couldn't be guaranteed. So, it was weird for Theo to do all this so that they could survive.
Theo understood the contradiction, but he continued, "As you already know, I'm not a hero. I'm just a selfish person. The reason why I want to save humanity is because we need them to continue living in this world.
"As for why I want my grandfather to survive… It's pretty simple. He has done so much for me… for his country… and for humanity. That's why I want to let him rest. I want him to let him retire peacefully. That's why this is not an order but a personal request."
Theo lowered his head with a serious expression. "Please help my grandfather."
When Ruth remembered this, she couldn't help but smile. "I have fulfilled the promise, Theo."
