Guiot's gaze became so fierce that the blood vessels within his eyes popped one after another. Pascal's sincere 'consolation' made him want to both vomit and skin him at the same time.
"Over my dead body." He said with a growl.
Guiot's imposing demeanor skyrocketed. In that moment, a barrier before him shattered, causing a dome radiating with beautiful light blue lights to surround both his and his family's bodies.
Pascal's eyes widened with shock. "Impose Barrier?! Impossible!"
Guiot roared. Before Pascal could react, his fore and middle fingers had pressed together tightly, forming a sharp point that tore across the skies and through Pascal's throat.
Pascal's guards were shocked into becoming no different from statues of ice. The change was so sudden that they didn't have time to react. From the very beginning, Pascal had looked down on Guiot. After all, his cultivation was higher. So, he hadn't treated the situation with any caution and had been less than two meters in from of him.
At the same time, Pascal's guards knew their young master's strength and hadn't been keen to protect him either. To make matters worse, just a few hours prior, Guiot had lost to Pascal handily!
The first reaction of the guards wasn't to seek revenge for their young master, but, rather, look for a direction to run in. No matter what they did, the Sai Clan would no doubt hunt them down. Staying here was not an option!
But who knew that at that moment, the sound of clapping would be heard before they could even decide on their next move.
A new figure made their presence known. Except this time, it approached from the sky above. Clearly even more brazen than Pascal himself.
When Guiot saw who it was, his expression became several times more solemn.
"I originally wanted to seek revenge on that little bastard by targeting that little whore he took to dinner yesterday. But, who knew that that little bitch would actually qualify and receive the protection of the Apostles.
"What a good show I've stumbled upon, though. It's truly lifted my mood considerably. I'm sure you mean quite a lot to him, right? Plus, I wonder what kind of reward that filthy rich Sai Clan will give me for catching the killer of their young master, hm?"
Guiot's expression changed. "I don't know him!"
He spoke through gritted teeth, his aura incomparably fiery.
"Ha! Who would believe your bullshit? Who feeds a Crown Grade Herb to a stranger? Do you take me for a fool?"
Seeing the situation going in this direction, Guiot no longer cared to negotiate with this demon.
"How could a black hearted person like you understand actions of kindness? You're no different from a humanoid beast!"
"What did you say to me?!"
The figure's qi infused roar shook the forest scape, piercing toward Guiot. The later could only watch on, grabbing the arms of his mom and little sister.
In that moment, he made the hardest decision he had ever had to make… It was better if he and his family died like this together than for his mother and little sister to live a life of humiliation without him…
Gisla looked toward her son with a complicated gaze that soon became gentle. She held onto his hand lightly as though reassuring him that he wasn't to blame.
Sephare was too young to truly understand her brother's decision, but she felt an instinctual calm in that moment. She knew that her big brother would only do what was best for her, so she had already resolved to not blame him.
The three closed their eyes, accepting their fate together.
However, who knew that the expected feeling of death wouldn't come?
By the time Guiot gained the confidence to open his eyes once more, he found fluttering white hair and broad back adorned in black standing before him.
"Host Minn." Ryu said with a faint disdain. "Not only are you still too noisy… it seems that you're more worthless than even I previously thought."
"You… You really survived?!" Host Minn's expression was a sight to behold.
Though many had the instinct that Ryu couldn't have died in such a foolish way, there were still others who clung onto a faint hope that this arrogant boy really would. It was no surprise that those like Host Minn and the stage judge were among those of such thoughts.
Of course, Ryu couldn't be bothered to care about the thoughts of such people. He had stayed in this region for two reasons. Firstly, he wanted to ensure that Melody would pass as he thought she would. Secondly, since he had decided to help Guiot, he would do so to the end.
Under normal circumstances, Ryu wouldn't care about Guiot's life and death. Back more than a year ago, he had watched a man be betrayed by his former lover and backstabbed to the point of death without flinching. Could he have helped that man? Yes. But he didn't care to put himself in danger for the sake of some higher moral ground.
The reason why he chose to help Guiot was mostly due to Byrine's brazen provocation and secondly due to his mother and little sister. As cold as Ryu pretended to be, he would always have a soft spot for family. The idea of a mother losing her son and a little girl losing her big brother all because some fool who overestimated himself wanted to provoke him filled him with a sense of revulsion.
At the same time, though, Ryu was aware that his method of helping Guiot placed a large target on his back. So, he couldn't very well wash his hands clean.
"… Why are you helping me…?" Guiot's brow furrowed tightly. "… I don't own anything of value to give you in return."
Ryu's only response was his spear. In an instant, his only remaining spear appeared, brandished with a single arm, he sent out a dozen strikes in the blink of an eye.