<h4>Chapter 495 - Avarice</h4>


    While Theo was still confused with Ava''s condition, a shadow emerged next to him.


    "!!!" Theo raised his spear and waved it to the one beside him, trying to avoid getting killed.


    However, the shadow simply ced her hand on Theo''s wrist and stopped his movement.


    "Stop. I mean no harm. Look at me first." The shadow let out a female''s voice, but when Theo looked down, he found the hand was not human''s.


    It was at that time, he understood that the one who spoke earlier was none other than a monster. And for such a monster toe, Theo gulped down and raised his vision, finding Ava in her other form.


    "Ava?" Theo drew a gasp and came to a realization. "No, you are not Ava. You are…"


    "I am her mother." The rabbit nodded her head and nced at Theo. "So, can you exin to me what''s happening to my kid?"


    Theo recognized the seven stars on her back and recognized the rabbit before him as Ava''s mother.


    "That…" Theo scratched the back of his head, wondering how to exin it. He contemted for a moment, searching for the right words. "To be honest, I have no idea as well. She suddenly sniffed out something and started cing her foot on the ground, collecting dirt or something? After that, she swallowed it and became engrossed to the point she ignored me.


    "She continued for half an hour and this happened after she stopped." Theo pointed at Ava''s current condition and the lightning barrier.


    The rabbit looked down and exined, "This is evolution. If I am not wrong, you, humans, have ssified us into a few sses. Normal, Rare, General, King, and World sses, right?"


    "Yes."


    "When I first evolved from Normal ss to Rare ss, the process was only sleeping. The next day, I realized my mind became clearer and I seemed to be able to connect the human speeches when I fought them.


    "After a long while, I somehow learned theirnguage, albeit only the basic conversation. Then, two decadester, I evolved once again to the General ss.


    "The process was simr to this. Unlike her lightning barrier, my body was illuminated by the moonlight. It took a long process, but after that day, my mind became even clearer. Well, I couldn''t tell you what kind of things I gained back then, but you get the idea." Ava''s mother sighed.


    "I have felt my power being used by my daughter less than a month ago, so I guess you have seen this form, right?"


    Theo admitted it without hesitation. He also had another concern, "Then, will Ava be like you?"


    His answer came in the form of transformation. Her body reverted to a small white rabbit and looked up to Theo, "I have the ability to transform freely. Considering everything has been very simr, I believe she will also possess this ability."


    "I see." Theo nodded mysteriously.


    "Either way, I need to bring my daughter away for a while until she finishes her evolution. It may take days or even weeks, so she will be better in my ce. I assume you can agree with me, right?" She narrowed her eyes, looking at Theo.


    "I understand." Although it was a bit sad to get separated from Ava, she would be safer to go with her mother.


    She then sniffed around and said, "I guess the thing she swallowed earlier was someone''s ashes, probably a Supreme Rank Expert… No, to make her evolve so suddenly, it muste from a Mythical Rank Expert? I rushed to this ce after getting the information about a great fight, but I was still toote."


    "I believe it was a Mythical Rank Expert." Theo corrected her ording to the information provided by his master.


    "As expected. You should know we get stronger by eating others, right?"


    Theo connected the dots for everything and came to a realization. "Yes. I can understand everything right now. Thank you for your exnation."


    "Good. If everything went ording to the n, she would guide you to your brother, but I guess she couldn''t."


    Theo hesitated for a second. "Can I know something from you?"


    "I guess I owe you some exnation. Let''s talk for a bit. After that, I will bring her back."


    "Thank you."


    The rabbit waved her foot and asked, "What do you want to know?"


    "I guess I need to introduce myself first. I am Theodore Griffith."


    "You can call me Avarice. I am Ava''s mother as well as this Great Krosian in''s Guardian."


    "Great Krosian in''s Guardian?" Theo tilted his head in confusion. He never heard that name from the map, thinking she mighte from an area that had yet to be explored. Or Theo thought they were talking about the same ce but a different name.


    "The Great Krosian in stretches two hundred miles to our right and five hundred miles to our left."


    "!!!" Theo opened his mouth in shock and couldn''t help butment, "Doesn''t that include Ark City and Art Beats Castle?"


    "That''s what you humans call your home… But yes." She nodded. "I am the Guardian who maintains this ce order, making sure any living creatures in this area don''t create something that can destroy this world."


    "…" Theo took a step back and looked at the rabbit. "Guardian?"


    "Yes. Conflicts are normal everywhere, so I won''t do anything to stop them. However, if humans or some other creatures try to disrupt the entire order, I may need to act as soon as I receive the message from what you call General ss Monsters andmand them to restore the orders."


    "Just like the case a hundred years ago when you humans tried to send some sort of machine to the sky. I used my power to have the moonlight melt it." The rabbit nodded.


    "The moonlight to melt it? A hundred years ago?" Theo furrowed his eyebrows and came to a realization. "Satelite!"


    "So that''s the machine''s name." She nodded.


    However, Theo also caught another unique piece of information from her words and realized something big.


    The information dumbstruck him as he took a few steps back and drew a long gasp. "You canmand General ss Monsters… You are—"


    The rabbit smiled, nodded her head, and said solemnly. "Well, I guess you people have another way to call me. If I am not wrong, my other name that is well-known to humans is… The Queen of Monsters."


    "!!!"