Chapter 300: Thank You for Losing

On the hospital's rooftop, a single female looked down, crying. She kept recalling what just happened an hour ago.

'It's not over yet.' She thought, facing Scarlet and Zara.

"Third Labour, Devouring Hydra." She sent a wave of hydra heads, trying to strike them both this time.

Zara placed her hand on the ground, summoning the same black hole that obliterated the hydra's heads.

Nine big tentacles emerged from the hole, caught the heads, and snapped them.

Scarlet, on the other hand, waved her sword once more. "Blood Blades."

All the blood that had been splattered all over the arena began to rise and turned into sharp knives.

Alea widened her eyes as she never expected to be attacked from all directions, considering the blood from Phyrill and Clark were in the mix.

"Fortitude." Alea formed a shield and charged to the side where there were fewer blood knives.

Unfortunately, Zara prevented her from escaping.

"Chaos Disruption."

"Splash Explosion." Alea decided to create an explosion above her head that blew away all the blood knives, but this was what Zara wanted.

In that instant, she closed their gap and approached her while swinging her sword.

"You're so boring." Zara smirked.

"What did you say?!" Alea frowned.

"You may have the courage to challenge everything, but by no means, you have the resolve to do it." Zara suddenly dropped her sword and grasped Alea's head before smashing her own forehead against her. "This is why you are boring unlike him!"

Alea and Zara thought of different people this whole time, but they both indeed fit the description. In Alea's head was Theo while Zara was thinking about Clark's sacrifice.

That headbutt was unexpected as both of their foreheads got cut and started bleeding.

"Wha—" Alea widened her eyes. She quickly used her sword to stab her, but Scarlet grasped her from behind, restraining both hands.

After that, Scarlet lifted them up to the air and threw them to the ground. "German Suplex."

"Gah!" The shock jolted Alea's mind as she struggled to move her sword and stabbed Zara.

However, Scarlet's hand was already around her neck and stopped the match.

"The United Kingdom wins!"

Remembering that scene made her blood boil. She hated herself for not even sticking up for so long and just got beaten by her opponents. Her thoughts were easily distracted as well.

She was a failure as a team leader.

Clenching her fists, she started gasping for air. She didn't know why but her heart felt like it was squeezed by someone.

Dropping to the ground, Alea looked left and right, finding no one.

"Why? I should have done it better. Why? Despite all that confidence…" Alea hit the floor multiple times.

Suddenly, the door was opened as a male's voice echoed in her ears. "So, this is where you are."

"Th…eo…" Alea stuttered and turned around with tears covering her cheeks. "I…I am sorry."

"What for?" Theo walked to her with a smile.

When he reached her, he sat down on the ground. "So, what do you want to say to me? Is it about the match? Is it about your loss? Is it because you suck?"

Alea gritted her teeth, not denying whatever he said.

"Since this is the first mental breakdown I have witnessed, I shall treat you a bit better. How about you calm down and talk to me?"

Alea looked Theo in the eyes, never seeing this side of Theo. She couldn't help but apologize again. "I am sorry. Everything was my fault. If I could defeat them, we would have gotten to the final. And right now… I just wasted the chance you had given to us."

"I see nothing wrong, so I don't know what you are talking about." Theo shook his head and replied with a calm tone.

"Did you hear me?" She rose and grabbed his shoulders. "I just wast—"

Theo suddenly put his finger on her mouth, silencing her.

"Let me tell you something. I came to Italy for a reason… I'm sure you already understand what I wanted, right?"

Alea looked down and nodded timidly.

"My goal has been achieved. I don't want to brag, but I am probably the hottest commodity for those who want to scout people here. But that also puts me in a difficult situation because I don't have any backing currently. What is this Griffith Family? I know nothing of them and they haven't appeared before me even once. Nella is an exception. That's why getting the gold medal will only upset people more than you can imagine.

"I mean, do you think Thersland can handle all the pressure from other countries if we win the gold? I'm sure you know they will pressure us to get me, right? And they will also say we are not supposed to be qualified for that one.

"If you don't stand out, you will be scrutinized or even bullied like me. At the same time, if you stand out too much, you will be criticized and pressured by those around you, whether it's pride, jealousy or whatever it is. That's why this world sucks." Theo sighed. "And you losing is actually working for me better in the long run. So, thank you for losing.

"Besides, if we lose, we get the spotlight while getting enough reward without being pressured by them." Theo winked, telling her that losing was actually the right thing to do. "I call this an absolute win."

"You…" Alea opened her mouth, but all words stuck on her throat. She was simply speechless.

"Anyway, no need to cry anymore." Theo smiled and handed a handkerchief. "Here, wipe those tears and snot of yours."

"There're only tears!" Alea quickly grabbed the handkerchief and covered her face in the pretense of wiping the tears. She was too embarrassed to show her face to Theo now that she had calmed down.

Seeing Alea was already fine, Theo rose from the ground and tried to settle everything with the rest of his teammates.

However, Alea suddenly reached his arm as if asking him not to leave her alone. She couldn't help but remember what Agata told her. Yet, no words came out from her mouth after that.