Chapter 453 - Sacrifice
They were speechless by Theo's last sentence.
The thought about cursing these monsters floated in their mind for a few seconds until they heard Theo shouting, "Let's go."
Since it seemed to be the only way to escape, Phyrill's group charged forward, trying to break through the numerous enemies.
Obviously, the Chimera Wolves reacted accordingly.
With its leader in front of them, they just rammed everything they had against the humans.
Clink.
Bam.
Clang…
Various noises like explosions, clashing weapons and screaming filled the battlefield as Phyrill's group became the primary target of these wolves.
The mummies also didn't leave them alone.
The blue-bandaged mummy raised his hand, summoning more bandages to catch them.
"Argh."
"No."
"It's cold!"
The bandages caught many injured people, especially from the independent groups.
"…" Theo furrowed his eyebrows as the group might not be able to withstand their onslaughts until the escape path was ready.
Arriving at the same conclusion, Phyrill's assistant, Aso, called Theo out loud. "Young Master's friend!"
Theo couldn't help but glance at him.
Aso turned out to be moving to their right, which was the mummies' direction. With a sword in his hand, he said, "I will take care of the blue mummy. You will open an escape path."
Theo furrowed his eyebrows. Before he replied to him, Aso already ran straight toward the blue-bandaged mummy.
"Your opponents are me," shouted Aso while slashing a mummy into two. He glared at the blue-bandaged mummy and pointed his sword at his neck. "Don't think you can catch us here."
The mummy seemed to be offended by Aso's words and raised his hands, summoning more bandages.
Aso harrumphed and swung his sword from the left, releasing a white-colored light that went through the bandages and cut them. "Light Sword."
"Hmph. I won't let you pass." Aso raised his sword.
Theo took a deep breath and summoned his Magic Bullets. "Ellen. Blast them."
The Magic Bullets stopped the wolves' advance for two seconds. In the meantime, Ellen formed a small ice cube on top of the wolves.
"Ice Field."
The ice cube fell on the ground and exploded, spreading the cold wind and ice in a thirty feet radius and blowing away several wolves.
"No need to kill," Theo shouted and pointed at the small circle Ellen created. "form a wall there."
"…" Phyrill subordinates understood his instruction and quickly spread around the ice circle, stopping all wolves around it.
"Let's go. The escape path is almost done." Theo shouted and sent more people. "Kill the last three wolves on the way with everything you've got."
"Understood." Phyrill's subordinates instinctively acknowledged Theo's order as if it was Phyrill's.
They headed straight to the last three wolves. They even let the wolves bite them first just to deliver the killing blow.
"It's narrow, but the escape path is completed. Let's go." One of them shouted.
Listening to him, Theo and Ellen went through it while Phyrill called his assistant first. "Aso, we're done here. Let's go."
"Got it." Aso turned around and leaped toward Phyrill before stumbling to the ground. "What?"
Aso widened his eyes and looked down, finding a bandage circling his shoes.
At the same time, the mummy struck his back with all his might.
Bam.
"Ah…" Aso rolled a few times on the ground and tried to get back up, only to find his knees stuck on a corpse, refusing to go up.
His body stopped when it reached the top, facing Phyrill instead of the mummy.
He soon felt the mummy's presence on his back, knowing the mummy was going to kill him.
"Ah!" Phyrill noticed his condition and glanced at him. The best option he had was to go through the escape path, but Phyrill's body turned around and instinctively ran back to Aso. He even said, "We're going back."
Aso looked at Phyrill with a smile, knowing that he wouldn't be fast enough to reach him. "Young Master, it's fine…"
In the last moment, he couldn't help but close his eyes, remembering the day he started serving Phyrill.
It was fifteen years ago when the family head asked him to take care of Phyrill.
The memory was still vivid as if it had just passed. Back then, the master said, "Aso, can you take care of Phyrill for me?"
"Master? I… I don't have any talent."
"No, I don't need someone strong. I only want someone to be there the whole time for him. His physique is extremely weak, but he always wants to do everything like a normal child.
"I will spend as much time with him as possible, but someone needs to be there all the time. Aso, you have that cheerful and protective aura with you and I have seen you taking care of everything in the house. That's why I want you to take care of Phyrill for me when I'm not there.
"Watch him until he reaches the point where his weak body won't become a problem anymore."
"But Master, I can't do much for him. I can't even protect him."
"I will handle his protection. I just want you to be there for him."
"…" Aso realized that the conversation would just return to this point and his master seemed to have no intention of backing down. Aso decided to accept the task. "I will do my best."
After that, Aso experienced many things.
In his first year, he learned Phyrill was as energetic as other people. However, he always ended up in the last place with no one beside him due to his weak body.
Yet, when he approached him, Phyrill continued to smile.
In his third year, Phyrill performed something he called a miracle. Despite his weak body, Phyrill endured the training that made him pass out almost every night due to exhaustion.
Even with all the hard medical treatments, Phyrill never gave up.
In his fifth year, Phyrill had grown far stronger than the average kid. His perseverance paid off.
In his tenth year, Phyrill became one of the best in the entire school and only a few people of his generation could handle him.
And most importantly, in his fifteenth year, Phyrill, the one who had a weak body and endured so many medical treatments, stood in the biggest competition on the planet and claimed third place.
His happiness couldn't be described anymore. At the same time, he always remembered one certain phrase Phyrill always told him.
His baby face, his teen face, his adult face… All of his faces flashed in his mind, saying one exact phrase. "Aso, watch me."
Yes. He had been watching his progress this whole time. Because he had been watching him all these years, he couldn't help but feel gratified by the progress he had made.
In his last moment, there was one thing he wanted to say.
With a smile on his face and the mummy's bandage on his back, Aso put on the gentlest smile he ever made and said with tears in the corner of his eyes. "Young Master… May fortune bless you with its presence. I'm sorry, but Aso can't watch you grow up anymore."
