The two walked a bit farther away.
Theo's expression turned grim while Laust maintained his calm.
He never thought that Laust would come to him.
"I think we have walked far enough." Theo turned around and asked, "What do you want to ask?"
However, when he was about to see Laust, the latter already lowered his head.
He even added a 45-degree bow.
"Huh?" Theo widened his eyes, not expecting to see such action from Laust. "What are you doing?"
"I would like to apologize for everything I have done to you," said Laust while fully knowing that apology alone wasn't enough to settle everything.
This was proven by Theo's killing intent that came out naturally because of their grudges.
"I know that this is not enough for everything I have done to you. And telling you that everything was my father's order is also not the solution." Laust raised his head and looked him in the eyes. "That's why if you don't like me, you can beat me however you want. I have truly wronged you by directing all my inferiority complex and anger to you.
"As much as I hope that everything can be restored as if nothing has happened, I know that it's impossible." Laust took a deep breath. "This may be a huge request, but you can beat me however you want… I only ask you to avoid my bones and vitals, so I have no complications in the future.
"After returning, I have decided to take Shibuya Mami's offer and go to Japan. I would like to get stronger there to settle everything with my own household.
"Let me settle everything first. After that, you can break my bones or whatever you want… That's the least I can do for what I have done to you and for you who creates this opportunity for me. It's an opportunity that I may not have in my entire life." Laust clenched his fists and lowered his head once again. "That's why… I know how hard this is for you since I have seen the extreme case, which is myself. But… All I can say is… I would like to ask for your forgiveness."
People often ask themselves, "When people made a mistake in the past and had changed for the better, would you be able to forgive them?"
Many famous people in the world often did something horrible in the past, especially when they were young. But their current success usually reflected their change for the better. Petty people usually bothered them for something that didn't make sense and kept clinging to their past mistakes without even looking at their effort to change.
And Theo, who was involved directly in this mistake, suddenly needed to ask himself whether he could forgive Laust or not.
Theo gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He himself didn't wish to cling to the past. He even decided to know more from his brother first before dealing with Sihan. And Laust, who did the worst thing among his bullies, showed an extreme change.
When this happened, there was no calm or happiness reflected in his eyes. There was only rage.
'Why? Why did you need to change? Why are you trying to complicate the feeling in my heart?' Theo started panting while trying hard to suppress his anger.
Laust didn't raise his head because he knew Theo's anger.
Suddenly, a pain jolted his mind as Laust flew away, rolled on the ground, and coughed a few times.
"Gah." Laust panted a few times before Theo kicked him in the stomach a few times and stomped his chest, weak enough to avoid breaking his bones.
The rage reflected in his eyes was clear enough for Laust as he endured everything.
However, Theo ended up stopping after that stomp.
"Kh." Theo was fighting his rage too, which was apparent to Laust because he already fought such a thing after meeting Minotaur.
Although he didn't admit it, Theo had a special position in his heart. In fact, he had been thinking about Theo as his rival and somehow managed to move on and became stronger faster than clinging to that rage. That was why he felt guilty for what he had done and wanted to confront him.
He knew that apology was not enough since Theo surely had a deep enough grudge to the point he wanted to kill him. Yet, Laust wished to kill his own father, so he couldn't afford to die or be crippled for the time being.
When Theo stopped, Laust closed his eyes, preparing for another strike. Yet, Theo's voice echoed in his mind.
"I will stop here. I will require compensation to agree with your request." Theo turned around and walked away.
Laust struggled to get up, but he thanked Theo for everything. He beat him only at this level and with Theo agreeing to his plan, he didn't need to worry Theo for ruining his opportunity because he knew Theo had that capability.
He coughed a few times and used the wall to support his body.
Before Theo left, Laust shouted, "Since I'm going to Japan, you don't need to worry about me anymore. I won't be able to contact my family too. In other words, I won't be involved in this matter anymore."
He also remembered one thing. He wished to kill his own father, but the result of that action might be the decline of the entire family. Since the family was going to be ruined either way, Laust continued, "And… There won't be any retaliation from me for whatever you will do to my family."
Theo ignored him and walked away. His heart was already in a mess after everything that happened in this competition.
He needed to deal with Sihan's story that was hard to accept, the truth about the Griffith Family he had known and would know soon, and Laust's change.
If Laust remained like an asshole, there wouldn't be such a feeling in his heart because he knew he just needed to kill him in the future.
However, for the first time in his life, he hesitated whether to kill Laust or not. After all, he couldn't dismiss his change for the better.
Theo was never a person who would kill people for a slight grievance, so this situation truly made it hard for him.
Seeing his back, Laust tried to regain his composure while returning to the venue. His hand used the wall to support his body as he walked staggeringly.