"Oww..."

Valon lightly rubbed his back as he came out of a wooden house. He was no longer feeling the painful sting from his right arm but the aftermath of the battle he had with the feathered monarch was still apparent. There was no actual pain but the lingering and irritating sensations of numbness were present in his entire body.

As he left the building, he was greeted by the bustling atmosphere of Harpy Village. He could see humans and harpies talking to each other and doing various things. It was a huge change of scenery compared to how it was before. He then finally met up with his companions. He spotted Luka and Alice having a chat with the Queen Harpy before they greeted her with a formal farewell.

"Oh, uhhh... hey, Valon," Luka initiated. "How... how are you?"

"Just fine," Valon answered with a tired tone. "Barely slept last night and even if I'm not really in pain anymore, my entire body just feels exhausted."

"Oh, umm... then are you sure you can join us? We can always postpone—"

"Don't worry, I can manage myself. But... I don't think I'd be able to help you fight monsters for now. I'm sorry... I know I'm asking for a lot but..."

"N-no, it's okay!" Luka quickly stated. "I understand... I... just... uhh... well..."

"Look, it's alright. Let's not dwell on recent events too much and instead focus on our next task," Valon immediately stated, not wanting to prolong the unwanted conversation. "Where are we heading now?"

Upon hearing the question, Luka pulled out a map from his bag as he pondered for their next destination.

"Hmm... from what I can see, it looks like we are about to head to Iliasport."

Valon widened his eyes in surprise but he quickly suppressed his shock, trying to remain calm. His mental state was in an undesired condition and any more unpleasant factors might bring him to his breaking point.

The technician kept his emotions in check as he tried to process the hero's response. He silently admitted to himself that it was getting more difficult to not just outright tell Luka what he was supposed to do but he needed to remain in his objective—the bigger picture that was keeping the existential secret in the dark. For as long as he was traveling with them, he needed to make sure that things happened the way they did in the game.

"Are you sure?" Valon asked, trying to sound calm. "Iliasport is very far away from here."

"Then wouldn't it be wise to start heading there now?" Alice argued.

"I mean that... maybe there are other places nearby we can go to first before fully committing to a long trek."

"Hmm... I don't think there is—wait a minute, there is one place that I remember!" Luka announced. "I can recall that one shopkeeper in Iliasburg telling me about a hidden settlement near Ilias Village called Enrika."

"I remember him saying that too," Alice responded, siding another short contemplative glance at Valon.

Valon could practically feel that signature analytic stare coming from the lamia. He knew that he could reason his way out of this one as he could argue that he knew about the existence of the village. He, however, was just too exhausted to care too much about the issue. If Alice was going to interrogate him then he'd find a good response but if not, then he'd remain silent.

"Hmm... this village isn't mentioned in my guidebook," Alice stated. "Maybe there's a new specialty food to be discovered..."

"Anyway, let's see what's there," Luka said, ignoring the lamia's perpetual gluttony. "Thanks for reminding me Valon."

"Uhhh... I didn't really remind you, though..." Valon replied casually. "I just thought that since the journey to Iliasport is kinda long, we might as well visit someplace nearby first, but now that you mention it, I don't really know what that place would be. And I wasn't with you when you were shopping at Iliasburg."

"Oh yeah..." Luka acknowledged before turning to the road ahead. "Well, then let's get going."

If he was being honest, Valon was already feeling uncomfortable the moment he stepped out of that house earlier. After everything that happened ever since he and Luka fought the Queen Harpy, things were bound to go extremely awkward amongst each other.

And he was absolutely right.

The atmosphere around the group while they were walking down the road was so thick that one could cut it with a knife. It was just dead silence after some time of walking through the trees. The only noises that were audible were the rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds, and the various sounds they made as they walked on the rocky pavement.

Valon was evidently trailing behind the group as he always did. He didn't need to look ahead to know that Luka was occasionally glancing at him and at Alice. Alice noticed this, raising a brow from the fake hero's antics. The lamia's mind was on somewhere else as well but seeing as how uneventful their current journey was, she figured she'd be the one to at least make it slightly more bearable.

"So, Valon, do you know this village?"

Valon knew that her question was most likely from plain curiosity but he couldn't help but feel that she was constantly trying to put him on the edge with the way she worded her inquiries. It wasn't that she was always suspecting that he was hiding something but with how he indirectly gave Luka the direction he was supposed to go, her interrogations weren't out of the equation.

"I've only heard about it from various merchants. Other than that, no clue," Valon answered nonchalantly. "Whatever it is though, I hope I can find my brother there. But if not, I'll just have to keep looking."

The mere mention of his brother made the oppressing silence worse. Alice said nothing after that and Luka seemed more melancholic than usual. Valon would've taken the hero's current expression into account like all the other times he felt strangely sad if not for the fact that he already knew why.

Before he was able to contemplate to himself further, he heard Alice comment something about an unusual monster. Upon hearing this, Valon immediately hid behind a giant bush. From the foliage, he could see a dark-skinned woman walking towards Luka. She had white hair, was barely dressed with green pieces of clothing on her body, and a scabbard around her waist. But the most notable feature she had was her pointy ears.

A Dark Elf...

Valon carefully watched the dark elf approach Luka. She began talking to him, warning him that he was not allowed to proceed any further. The dark elf then unsheathed the sword from her scabbard, pointing it menacingly towards her opponent when he refused her demand.

At this point, it was virtually his instincts that forced him to hide whenever Luka was about to fight a monster. It was a necessary precaution to avoid interference. But this time, he wasn't so sure anymore. He had grown doubtful of every little action and decision that he made and he felt like it only kept getting worse.

The technician observed the hero as he fought against the Dark Elf Fencer. Based on his previous observations, there were moments where Luka seemed a little off ever since his battle against the Bee Girl. It looked like he was distracted and he wasn't utilizing his evasive capabilities during battle, which was weird as Valon was sure that Alice had taught him that when they trained together the first time they set up camp.

But even if he knew exactly the reason why Luka was acting that way, he surely didn't want him to stay like that. The technician had already acknowledged the idea that not fighting the Four Bandits somewhat made Luka more vulnerable against his opponents if he took the game's leveling system into serious consideration. There was also no excuse for Luka to be holding back because of Angel Halo.

But what am I supposed to do? Do I really just keep observing him and then what? Fight alongside him whenever there's a boss? I need to remain a low profile here. But how in the freaking hell do I keep that up while also trying not to get Luka raped?!

He thought he was doing a good job with that but his recent encounter with the Queen Harpy proved otherwise. And with the hero's definite 'predicament,' Valon found it difficult to think of a practical solution. Plus, he wasn't sure how long Luka's luck would last. With the hero's transparent free will and lack of video game barriers, it would only be a matter of time before something bad happens to him.

He continued to observe the battle between the hero and the elf and it appeared that Luka was actually winning. It was a bit of a surprise that Luka was performing well, especially because of his behavior lately. But this was certainly welcoming.

He could see him still getting harassed here and there but he was holding his own against his opponent. The technician didn't know if Alice talked to him about his problems or if something happened to him last night that he wasn't aware of. Whatever it was, perhaps it was a good time to completely believe in him again and that he could fight his opponents just fine without outside assistance like how it was supposed to be in the game.

But is it really a good idea to just... keep my distance further?

The hero told him so himself and Valon already analyzed that problem since the time he assisted him in his battle against the Slug Girl. He had already been scrutinizing earlier about better alternatives to lessen his interference. One problem that conflicted with his idea, though, was the absurd amount of uncertainty.

Valon clenched his fists. He perfectly understood what Luka told him yesterday and he knew what that problem would bring. But he didn't do anything about it and none of his plans resolved nor alleviated anything. He wasn't mad about what Luka told him, in fact, he was glad that he told him what was bothering him.

From the foliage, Valon watched as Luka finally sealed the Dark Elf Fencer with Angel Halo. The elf reduced to a size of a miniature person that could fit in one's palms, before running away deep into the woods.

Maybe, I'll just put my faith in him again.

Valon had previously given such thought. Since that is how he developed into one of the most powerful fighters in the game, Luka was more than capable of conquering his opponents without assistance from anyone. He already had Angel Halo and the Monster Lord with him, who periodically taught him new techniques.

Due to how different real Luka was from his video game counterpart, the technician first had second thoughts about the proposal. He was also genuinely concerned about the possibility of him failing. He resorted to not interfere in his battles and that he would only just observe close by and make sure everything was according to the story.

But there were certain times when things went wrong which led to Valon interfering so that he could salvage the situation, which didn't always bring good results. And if anything, it just added more problems. If he didn't do anything, though, Luka might no longer be on a journey towards the Monster Lord's Castle. If he wasn't close by to observe Luka, he wouldn't be there to help him in case things went wrong.

Then again, Valon did leave Luka when they were in the Irina Mountains. He was with Alice, sure, but she wouldn't help him fight the monsters there.

Though, I guess it was luck that they didn't encounter any monsters back then. Wait a minute...

Valon remembered that his original plan when they were in the Irina Mountains was to observe Luka from far away with the use of a recon orb. He wanted to find a way to monitor the hero's quest without being so close to him to avoid direct interference.

Why didn't I do that when I was in Happiness Village? Oh wait, I had to fix things...

The plan didn't go so well either as he had to compromise to investigate the signal that he picked up from one of the caves. He ended up going on an adventure by himself without his companions and even if he was left heavily injured, he still managed to come back to the group.

The technician eventually had something forming in his mind. He looked back at Luka through the bushes and noticed that there was another monster coming his way. He contemplated on his recent victory against the Dark Elf Fencer as well as that time back at the Irina Mountains. If he was right to assume that the hero, despite still feeling troubled from recent events, was no longer as distracted as he once was during battle, then this might mean he could give his idea another shot.

Well, I don't have to just sit here in hiding and observe him closely while he fights.

He still had doubts about all of this but it was better than not doing anything. He carefully stood up while still maintaining his absence from the group. He looked at the hero who was fighting an elf with peculiar tentacles one last time, countless thoughts bombarding his mind about how much of a terrible idea this all was. With a tired sigh and an uncertain look, the technician went deeper into the woods.

In the meantime, the hero had his eyes focused on his opponent. She had light blue skin and a horrifying set of tentacles underneath her black dress. He had just recently gotten out of her tentacle bind. He was feeling the exhaustion but he could also observe the fatigue rising from his opponent. He prepared Angel Halo and charged at the Dark Elf Mage.

"I got you now," Luka exclaimed while he readied his blade. "Demon Decapitation!"

The aspiring hero lunged at his opponent, performing a swift and clean cut towards her neck. The attack left the dark elf surprised as she felt all of her energy leaving out of her body. Shortly after, her body disappeared and was replaced with a tiny version of her on the ground. She was flabbergasted by the idea that she was sealed by powerful magic before running away to the grove ahead.

Luka watched the tiny monster flee as he wiped a sweat forming on his forehead. He had just successfully defeated two dark elves that prevented him from going forward. It was certainly a tiresome battle as the second elf arrived almost immediately the moment he sealed the first one.

"Another Dark Elf..." Alice suddenly said, appearing near the hero. "They don't usually hang out in groups like that."

"Besides, I thought there weren't too many Dark Elves to start with?"

Alice proceeded to explain how Dark Elves were once pure but would eventually become corrupted. Luka listened intently but when Alice suggested that they should get a move on, he noticed something was wrong.

"Wait a minute, where's Valon?"

"He's probably still hiding," Alice responded. "Though he usually shows himself first before I do so it is unusual that he hasn't appeared yet."

Luka called out to his companion, searching behind the bushes nearby. Alice found it peculiar as well that the technician hadn't shown up yet. She was aware that the young man did the same thing she did whenever Luka was fighting monster girls. Though unlike her, he did occasionally help the hero in the middle of the battle rather than merely observing.

The lamia followed the fake hero as they continued searching amongst the trees and bushes. Luka kept calling his companion's name, hoping he'd find them in case he had gotten himself lost. But after a while of searching, the technician was still nowhere to be found.

"Where did he go?" Luka asked worriedly. "He just... disappeared. Did he somehow get lost?"

"I saw him hide behind those bushes earlier," Alice remarked, pointing to a huge foliage near the spot where Luka fought the dark elves.

"Then where is he? He couldn't have just... leave us like that, did he?"

Luka was feeling anxious. His companion suddenly went missing and he had no idea where he could've gotten. It was possible that the technician had simply wandered off deeper into the grove but there was this aching feeling that was telling him a different story. Valon could've left them or worse, he could be—

"Hey."

Behind the tall bushes came the technician who was dusting his shoulder pads. Luka immediately felt relieved the moment he saw his other companion safe and unharmed.

"Valon!" Luka exclaimed. "We thought we lost you. We kept calling you a while ago but you weren't showing up."

"Indeed," Alice closed her eyes in agreement. "Just where did you go?"

"Oh, I was looking for the direction of the secret village," Valon replied wearily. "I didn't want to just wait for Luka to finish his fight while I just do nothing but watch so I went on ahead and tried to find where it is. Luckily, I was able to spot a hidden passage over here, which didn't take me too long to find."

Luka was just glad that his companion was alright as he followed him in the direction of the hidden passage in the grove. Alice eyed the technician with slight suspicion before following them. Weird things were happening around her left and right. First was the technician's confusing behavior and now the peculiar presence of Dark Elves near the fake hero's home village.

The lamia shook her head from the growing headache that suddenly manifested itself from thinking too much. She secretly appreciated the welcoming enigma in their journey but her educated speculations would have to wait as she was more excited to see if the hidden village of Enrika had exquisite delicacies.


The adventurers finally reached their destination. Upon arrival at the hidden village, they were first greeted by the strange atmosphere hanging in the air around them. It felt eerie but somehow carried a peaceful aura that pervaded their senses. The technician noticed how small it was but saying the entire village was strange was a complete understatement.

It... looks... almost like a normal town but... weird, even by the game's standards. Somehow, even if I've been in this world for four days now, just seeing the game's environment in actuality is still very surprising. And now I'm in Enrika, not sure how I feel about this place but... 'mysterious' doesn't even begin to describe it.

That was kind of a lie as Valon was horrified in his mind. He knew that Enrika was one of the first places that the protagonists would visit in the game but it was also one of the places he wanted to avoid visiting as much as possible.

"So it's like that..." Alice remarked. "Those Dark Elves from before make sense now too."

"What do you mean?" Luka asked before suddenly noticing a person approaching them. "Hmm?"

Ahead of the group was a lone woman walking out of the interior of the village. She had light blond hair, deep blue eyes, and was wearing a distinct green attire. She held a stoic expression complemented by a mystifying aura that surrounded her entirety. Valon didn't visibly show it but he suddenly felt an oppressing air of intimidation emanating from the woman.

Micaela... I finally meet her, another major character in the game that I absolutely did not want to see in person.

The technician knew exactly who this individual was. Micaela, the first seraph of Ilias, who was also Luka's aunt. She belonged in the first rank of the Hierarchy of Angels and was an excellent strategist and warrior. Valon also knew that she was capable of performing that one move that dealt the most amount of damage against Ilias in the final battle—the Sword of the Heavens.

If he was already terrified of Alice when he first met her, it paled in comparison to when he saw the first seraph approach the group. She was way more powerful than almost any of the characters in the game with some exceptions to a few individuals and Ilias herself. There was absolutely no way he would be able to do anything if he somehow needed to defend himself against her if that was somehow possible.

The most dangerous thing he could encounter at this exact moment was if he appeared suspicious to her, which probably wouldn't be difficult for someone as powerful and experienced as Micaela. The mere thought of her finding him out and his intentions made his blood run severely cold. He would technically pose a threat as he had extremely vital information about their world that may or may not affect everyone in it.

The technician was slightly glad that he was behind the group as Micaela proceeded to talk to Luka. He already knew what they were talking about so he didn't bother listening too much. He had nothing to say anyway and Luka should be the one who'd do the most talking as he remembered that Alice never spoke to the first seraph either.

He wanted to avoid going to this place as much as possible. The only reason why he even bothered giving Luka the hint that they should go here was that the effects of interference or anything that would change the storyline were more terrifying than whatever the first seraph could throw at him.

Valon then heard the woman comment on Luka's ring. He observed their ongoing conversation as the first seraph's expression suddenly changed. Her stoic demeanor shifted to a smile as she talked to the young hero.

Seeing this, though, changed Valon's demeanor as well. The technician glanced at the hero's ring and then back at the first seraph and suddenly, he felt this strange anger rising within him. Clenching his fists, he tried to remain calm. He didn't fully understand it but he had a feeling why.

The woman finally introduced her name to the group and claimed that he knew the hero's parents. Her smile disappeared and her expression changed back to her usual serious expression, telling the group to turn back and that when the time was right, she'd be able to talk to them again some more. Luka acknowledged this and greeted the woman a farewell.

Micaela smiled and wished the young hero luck in his battles, which upon hearing her say this, made Valon angrier than before. The first seraph merely stared at the disguised lamia as she watched Luka walk back to his companions. Her attention diverted to the man behind them when she heard Luka speak to him.

"Uhh... Valon, you okay there?"

Valon didn't hear the hero's words immediately but he finally got out of his stupor when he noticed Luka's concerned look.

"Huh? Oh, uhhh... yeah I'm fine," Valon answered, lightly shaking his head from the recent daze. "Why'd you ask?"

"You're more occupied in your thoughts than usual," Alice stated. "Then you're also clenching your fists pretty hard there."

Valon was surprised before promptly looking at his hands. He quickly unclenched his fists as he noticed that there were small curved marks on his gloves.

"Huh, I guess I was. I didn't notice..."

The technician felt that he was coming back to reality again, realizing how long he was standing there in front of his companions. He momentarily stared at his hands then reflexively, he glanced at the blond woman who met his gaze in return. Valon was surprised at the eye contact before shaking his head as he quickly looked away.

"We're done here, right?" Valon asked before walking out of the village. "Then let's get moving."

Luka just shrugged at the man's behavior, thinking that since they had nothing else to do, they might as well leave straight away. Alice and from where she stood, Micaela, however, was able to perceive the man's strangely aggressive tone. The disguised lamia eventually followed suit, leaving the village of Enrika behind them.

Micaela watched the group depart back to the grove. She wasn't expecting those kinds of visitors but she felt an odd sense of satisfaction that she was able to meet that purple-haired boy. She instantly recognized the ring he was wearing and she couldn't hold off a smile after seeing how much he had grown.

Suddenly, she had a rather repulsive thought in her head that she quickly dismissed. Bringing her back to her senses, she also thought of the woman who was with him. She didn't know why that woman was traveling with the boy and she felt strangely antagonistic about it for some reason.

She commented to herself that her disguise was quite powerful but still noticeable. She would've dealt with her easily but the boy didn't seem to mind her company and they seemed like they knew each other very well. The disguised monster also wasn't interested in causing harm and she preferred it that way to avoid unnecessary confrontations.

But the weirdest one was that man behind them. She noticed how distant he was from the group and she swiftly recognized his feeling of fear. It may look innocent, especially with the company they might have had before entering the village. But she had a small suspicion that he was afraid of her for a different reason, which perhaps because he knew something about her or the village.

She would've been more wary of him if it wasn't for his fear suddenly turning into anger. In mere moments of her silently observing him while talking to Luka, she felt this uncanny hostility emanating from him. It wasn't as bizarre as one would expect originating from magic but rather a speculative reading of emotions that tend to hide from others.

But whatever it was, she didn't pay too much mind to it. It was certainly a surprise but it wasn't her business to know why people suddenly get mad. What she did notice was how peculiar the man's clothes were. She had never seen those pieces of clothing before and adding that to his already unusual aura for a human, Micaela was just left wondering in her mind.

"Hmm... what a strange man..."


Valon was slightly relieved that he didn't have to spend another hellish minute in that place. If the eerie atmosphere wasn't enough, there was also the fact that he was in close contact with another major character in the game who happened to be one of the most powerful characters as well. Then there was this... growing anger inside of him.

She forbade us from entering then all of a sudden "oh hello Luka I finally recognize you because of the ring but I won't tell you that you're my nephew because I just can't yet!" And then she just made us leave! I mean I get that she's trying to find the right time to tell Luka everything because Ilias is watching and all that but... she could've at least... grrghhh...

Valon dismissed his storming thoughts with a shake of his head. After a lengthy conversation between the hero and the lamia about what they thought of Enrika, the group finally reached an open field outside the bounds of the grove. Valon turned towards his companions as he watched Luka pull out his map.

"Now that we visited Enrika, shall we head to Iliasport?"

"Yeah, sure," Valon replied.

"Alright then, let's go," Luka declared loudly to the group.

"Hmm... if it's a port town, there should be a lot of foreign delicacies gathered from all over," Alice stated with enthusiasm. "I'm getting excited! Best get a move on now."

"Right, right..."

Luka sighed, slightly amused by the lamia's constant gluttony. He wondered if Alice thought the world existed only to feed her. He also wondered how she had never gotten fat from how much she was eating. It was most likely her monster physiology or her incredibly fast metabolism.

The hero turned towards his other companion who was silent as ever, still locked away in his thoughts. He had a tired expression on his face and just earlier, he seemed to be in a bad mood with how clenched his fists were. There was still an awkward atmosphere between them after what happened yesterday. He was about to ask him what was wrong when he saw him jump behind a boulder.

Luka was confused until he remembered why his companions would suddenly disappear out of sight. He looked back ahead and noticed a monster girl approaching him.

"A traveler? Unbaptized too, you look delicious," the monster smiled as she licked her lips salaciously. "I'll suck everything out of you!"

From the boulder that barely covered him, Valon observed the incoming battle. Luka prepared himself, Angel Halo at the ready. His opponent, a Leech Girl, was also set to violate the aspiring hero. Luka stared at the Leech Girl with slight uncertainty. He performed a short breathing exercise before charging at his opponent.

Huh, I don't think he did breathing exercises before learning meditation, or maybe he did and I'm just dumb.

As the fight occurred, Valon saw that Luka was performing decently well. He still staggered and got hit from time to time but unlike before, he was actually trying to avoid his opponent's attacks. He would occasionally sidestep away from her, but not too far as his opponent was relatively slow. Though the hero himself was not agile or quick so he was left vulnerable to some attacks, but it was definitely an improvement.

Hmm... maybe Alice did talk to him yesterday.

Valon decided that he would proceed with his idea. If Luka could take care of himself now like he hoped he would, then he could focus on other things and lessen the amount of interference. He would have fewer problems to deal with as he traveled with Luka and Alice and he would have more time actually figuring out a plan for his primary mission.

Apart from finding his brother, he still needed to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of the other members of the Delta Cosmoknights, if he could, and upgrade his gear. The easiest thing he could do right now was fixing and enhancing his equipment.

He considered that perhaps, tinkering with his gadgets in the open when his companions could see him was a bad idea. He knew that perfectly well but if it compensated for no longer getting involved too much in Luka's battles, then it was a risk he was willing to take. He wished he could find a better solution but the only other idea he could think of was leaving the group.

An idea that was getting more tempting as time went on.

The technician proceeded to place down his bag as he searched for something to work with. While he was looking through his stuff, he noticed three bottles that were filled with clear liquid. He stared at them, remembering how he asked the Queen Harpy right after she left if he could have some of the healing elixir.

I didn't expect her to give me three whole bottles, for free as well.

Valon sighed, not knowing what to think, but he was thankful for the monarch's generosity. He felt like he didn't deserve it but in his current state, he needed everything he could get his hands on that would help him in this journey.

He grabbed a small bunch of scrap metal in his bag and placed them on the grass. He then activated his new gauntlets. He opened the compartment inside his gauntlet, revealing the interior of the barrel blaster attached inside. He removed a shell-shaped object inside the barrel as he reached for a screwdriver, before using it on the device.

What he didn't expect was for the battle to be over as he heard Alice insulting Luka about his pathetic attacks. Valon quickly organized the scrap metal and placed it in the bag before coming out of his hiding spot.

"Oh, you're done," Valon stated as he continued to tinker with one of his gauntlets using a screwdriver. "Sorry, I'm in the middle of fixing this. But I guess I can just do that later."

When Valon noticed that his companions were just staring at him weirdly, he quickly spoke up again.

"Uhh... don't we have to get going? Iliasport is still far away."

"Yes, of course," Luka responded as he led the group further down the large path.

The group followed the road until the skies darkened. The moon was already up but they were only halfway towards Iliasport. They decided to camp for the night and wait for the next day to continue their journey. Luka was about to set up the campfire but Valon beat him to it. The technician told him that the hero should just prepare tonight's dinner while he continued working on his repairs.

The group was finally eating their meals. Luka and Alice were facing each other while Valon was a little away from the camp, still busy with his work. The technician told them that he needed space to work and would appreciate being left alone for now. Luka was concerned for his companion's mood lately but he reluctantly agreed to leave him be.

But the hero decided that he'd at least try to lighten the atmosphere by telling his companions a story about how Heinrich defeated the Monster Lord 500 years ago. Valon didn't want to be impolite as he listened intently, even though he already knew how the story really went.

And right as he expected it, Alice admonished Luka for not being delicate about the subject matter. Alice then went on to explain how the Monster Lord during Heinrich's time was a cruel leader and that her defeat was due to her savage acts.

"You're right," Luka agreed with the lamia's points. "I wonder how the current Monster Lord is?"

Valon temporarily stopped working on his device, glancing at his companions. He already knew where this conversation was going. Luka was making assumptions about the Monster Lord with Alice only looking at him weirdly while giving out vague answers. Deciding it was wise to just let his companions talk to themselves, he went back to tweaking his gauntlets.

"What do you think, Valon?" Luka asked before quickly apologizing. "Oh, sorry, I forgot you're busy with that..."

"Yeah, maybe later? I need my utmost concentration on this."

Valon didn't mean to sound harsh but he wasn't feeling it now at all. He absolutely had no intentions of answering Luka's question, it was the last thing he wanted to do. He already suspected earlier that Luka might ask him about the Monster Lord and if he wasn't careful, he might end up screwing everything he worked hard for up to this point. He knew Alice was already suspicious of every little thing he did and said and he didn't need to give her a reason to use her hypnosis magic on him.

"Oh, uhh... alright," Luka replied apologetically.

"Let's leave him be for now," Alice said to the hero, standing up from her position. "Alright, it's time for more training. Seeing your pathetic fights earlier made me disappointed."

The lamia continued to insult the hero as she led him to a wide area away from the camp, leaving Valon alone with his devices. He felt like he'd been sighing a lot. With the alone time gifted to him, he maximized this opportunity to repair his equipment. He unloaded the interior of the shell inside the barrel blaster and arranged the cords inside.

He temporarily set aside in fixing his gauntlets as he activated his M.A.D. He browsed through the interface, checking if everything was in optimal condition. He proceeded to perform another self-scan and then inspected the broken grappling module. He then activated his helmet, checking if it sustained damage. Finally, he carefully examined his laser rifle and noticed that it was now fully charged.

Still not efficient to use but at least it's in working condition.

As Valon went back to fixing and upgrading his gauntlets and their interior, he spotted the duo returning to the camp. It had been more than an hour since they practiced. The technician wasn't sure if everything that they did was accurate to the time spent in the game but he wasn't completely interested in finding out.

"Hey, Valon. Uhhh... looks like you're not done. It's already late but it's fine if you want to keep working on that..." Luka stammered with his words. "Look, I don't really want to interrupt your work but I just... I want to talk with you if that's okay?"

"Let me guess..." Valon sighed as he momentarily stopped what he was doing. "Is this about what you told me yesterday?"

"O-oh, uhh... well..."

"Look, I'm not holding what you told me yesterday against you. If I'm being honest I completely understand what you feel."

Oh, you have no idea.

"But that's not really what's bothering me. It's just a combination of a lot of things that's happening all at the same time. And I did mention earlier that I barely got any sleep and how tired I feel today."

"Then—"

"Look, it's fine really. Don't feel guilty about what you said yesterday and you certainly don't need to apologize. You're not at fault and you didn't do anything wrong to me. I admit I'm not in the best of moods right now, but don't worry about it, okay?"

Luka nodded. He didn't need to say anything aloud to acknowledge the man's words and if he needed space to sort out his problematic feelings, he had no reason to not let him do so.

"Do you dislike your home?" Alice suddenly asked, catching the man off-guard.

"Huh?"

Where the hell did that come from?

"Earlier, when we left Harpy Village, you felt uncomfortable when Luka told us that we were heading to Iliasport. You asked if he was certain that there were no other places to go to, and then he remembered that there was a village that the shopkeeper told us about," Alice explained. "Then when we were at Enrika, you were shivering intensely while clenching your fists a few minutes before we left. Though, I surmised that you were mad there for a completely different reason."

Valon had no idea what to say. On one hand, he didn't know if her answer was utterly ridiculous or not. Iliasport wasn't even his real home and he didn't dislike the place at all, but at the same time, the idea of disliking his real home had a gray area to it. He liked Omicron and was already desperate enough to just get his brother out of this world and back to home base. But for his home planet as a whole, that was a different story.

On the other side, he was irritated at himself for unnecessarily letting his emotions out in the open like that again, but he was too tired to mentally beat himself up. He didn't fully understand why he was even mad when he was at Enrika in the first place. There was a reason he was aware of but he hadn't fully processed it in his mind yet.

"You don't like going back to Iliasport?" Luka inquired.

"What, no, I don't dislike Iliasport, I just... I knew Enrika was the one place that's close that we haven't been to yet so I wanted us to check that place first before we head to Iliasport."

"While I understand that it was close to where we were, why didn't you just say that outright before, though? It looked like you were purposely dropping a hint of that place without actually saying its name earlier."

"Because I was unsure where it was. I didn't want to just put you all in a wild goose chase like with what happened in the Irina Mountains. I knew it was just nearby but I didn't know its exact location because there were no paths that lead there from what I recall."

"So that's why you tried to look for a path to Enrika when Luka was still busy with the Dark Elves," Alice remarked. "And I'm assuming since you didn't bother searching the village thoroughly when that Micaela woman prohibited us from entering, there were no readings detected by your M.A.D., yes?"

I am increasingly getting scared of how quickly she can piece information.

"Yeah... that..."

"Is that why you felt mad when we were there?" Luka asked for confirmation. "Because you didn't find your brother in that place?"

"I guess... maybe..."

Valon was thankful that Luka somehow unconsciously made a good vindication as to why he felt angry when he was at Enrika. The best part was that it wasn't a complete lie. It was increasingly getting more stressful the longer he searched for his brother without a clue about his current state or his exact whereabouts.

And it may be part of the reason behind his mood swings in front of the first seraph.

Valon reflexively clutched his head from the sudden throbbing pain. The entire day's worth of stress was getting to him like a hard slap in the face. He rubbed his forehead before turning to his companions.

"I'm just... having another bad day. Don't pay mind to it too much, I'll be fine. It'll probably disappear in an hour or two. But you did say it was late, so why don't you go rest for the night," Valon replied, finally forming a small smile. "Don't worry about me, I'll doze off once I finish tweaking this thing. I'm almost done anyway."

Both Luka and Alice wanted to say something but eventually, they left the man alone to his work. Luka laid down in his sleeping bag while Alice slithered up a nearby tree. The hero badly wanted to hold a conversation with the technician about a matter of importance. Even if Valon told him he was alright with what he told him during their battle against the Queen Harpy, he couldn't help but feel that he may have hurt the man's feelings.

The Monster Lord also wanted to ask Valon about something too but she knew that it wasn't the appropriate time. She glanced at the hero, knowing full well what the problem between the two men was. She had talked to the hero about it way back when they were in the Irina Mountains. She knew the problem was... baffling in a way, but she didn't want to include herself too much about the issue, especially if both parties involved could resolve it themselves.

Valon continued working on his gauntlets, making occasional glances at the glimmering light of the moon. It looked beautiful in the starry night sky but no matter how pleasing it looked, it did nothing to improve his mood.


It was early noon and the group found themselves in a muggy forest. It was denser than the one near Enrika. Valon was no stranger to vast woodlands as he had his fair share of missions back home. However, just as he was yesterday, he was still feeling gloomy. He slept well last night but it barely helped his current state of mind.

"In these kinds of places, a lot of tropical monsters are likely to appear," Alice remarked. "Watch where you're going."

Valon didn't need to hear that warning as he swiftly jumped behind the nearby bushes. He peeked through the foliage and just in time, Luka was standing face to face with a Rafflesia Girl. Unlike the other monsters he fought, there were two feminine figures instead of just one, though Valon remembered that they still counted as one monster based on the game.

The technician observed the fight with Luka first performing a high-speed lunge with his sword. The Rafflesia Girl groaned from the pain but they attacked back with her petals. Luka moaned from the pleasure attack but with a brief shake of his head, he was once again on the offensive with a quick slash of his weapon.

The first battle where he gets to use Thunder Thrust, at least he has more than one special move now.

Out of curiosity, Valon wondered if the hero could just conveniently use Demon Decapitation and Thunder Thrust without worrying about SP consumption. So far, though, the hero didn't seem to be doing that. But he wasn't sure if it was because SP was a real thing or merely a metaphorical representation of his energy to perform special moves.

It really felt different seeing a video game character move freely without the boundaries and other elements from games such as health bars, mana bars, and other UIs that limit players from doing various things.

Metagaming thoughts aside, Valon temporarily stopped his observation as he reached for the shell-shaped objects inside his bag. He had two of them. The two shells consisted of miniature actuators inside that trigger a steady rope coil to be released in the air. The technician figured that the coil was too small which was one of the reasons why it was extremely difficult to hold the Queen Harpy in place when she was bound.

As Valon proceeded to modify the rope shells, his mind wandered off to his idea to just eagerly wait for the hero to finish fighting. He promised himself that he would put big faith in him and let him handle his battles alone. He wouldn't interfere by fighting alongside him or shouting at him for a clue on how to deal with the monster like what he did during his fight with the first three monster girls in the game.

He would still observe his battles, perhaps giving subtle clues and hints from time to time without risking his presence from the monsters. But he didn't have a concrete way to do that yet. He couldn't just warn Luka about his next opponents and what they do as that would arouse suspicion.

But now that he was in deep contemplation again, is this really what he would always do every time Luka was busy fighting a monster girl? If it was, honestly, it would've been better to just do his mission alone. That way he wouldn't have to worry about Alice's constant inquisition. He also wouldn't have to act parasitic towards Luka.

If he did continue being with them while waiting for the right time to leave, just how long would he keep this up? He was already aware of how much he was in conflict to just hide and watch due to the uncertainty that every battle Luka had would bring. The more he watched and anticipated the worse, the more he'd become anxious and give in to fear. Which would lead to him eventually involving himself in Luka's battles.

And if he didn't do anything, what would happen if Luka somehow lost? The possibility was highly probable, no matter how much the hero improved in combat. The enemies would be stronger as he traveled further away from his home village. And given the circumstances that the hero experienced in his previous battles, things were bound to go wrong. He had already interfered with his battles against Granberia and the Queen Harpy.

No matter how many times he pondered in his head, it always went to one answer. The same thing that he had already known but didn't fully acknowledge—a paradox. The more he stayed with the hero, the more he had the chance to give in to desperation and help him, but not helping him when necessary might make the hero lose a battle.

He was trying to avoid interfering so that he could help the main characters progress like they did in the game but at the same time, he was interfering in their journey to make sure that they do follow the storyline in the original game. It felt stupidly oxymoronic.

Valon suddenly heard a cry nearby. He stopped tinkering with his gadgets before peeking through the bushes to see what was going on. He recognized that the voice belonged to Luka, witnessing him being pulled by the Rafflesia's vines. Amidst his observation, he widened his eyes in shock after realizing a crucial matter that he foolishly forgot.

But his dumbfounded expression failed in comparison to his reaction after hearing something behind him.

"Oh my, what do we have here?" came a feminine voice that felt dangerously close. "A defenseless man just waiting to be eaten?"

Valon slowly turned his head around, spotting the source of the voice. She was a bloodcurdling alien-like creature with a green body, three sinister red eyes poking out of its membrane, an atrocious red appendage with its exposed private organ, and numerous purple tentacles stretching out of her. She had a malicious smile on her face, eying the technician with dangerous intent.

"It's been a long time since I last had a delicious treat..." the monster girl smirked as she licked her lips.

The technician quickly reacted, narrowly avoiding the monster girl's tentacles by sidestepping to his right.

Why is the Roper Girl here? She shouldn't be here yet when Luka is still fighting the Rafflesia Girl!

Valon was confused about how the Roper Girl found him. Another concerning matter was that he was confronted by a monster Luka was supposed to fight but the hero was still dealing with the other monster.

He was immensely upset that he found himself in another situation where he'd have to fight a monster girl when he was actively trying to avoid them for Luka to deal with. The technician glanced back at the hero and was disheartened to see that he was still struggling out of the Rafflesia Girl's binds.

Before Valon could think more, he found himself avoiding another tentacle grab from the Roper Girl. He rolled to the ground to evade another attack as he tried to figure out a course of action. The best solution he could think of right now was to buy the hero some time again considering his hiding spot was compromised. That would mean that he needed to defend himself for an indefinite amount of time until the hero was done with the Rafflesia Girl.

Ducking from a triple tentacle grab, he quickly reached for his belt to find something to defend himself with. He thought of using his mini-bombs but then remembered that Luka was still fighting the other monster. It would cause a commotion and might distract Luka from his ongoing battle. He also didn't want to let Luka know about his circumstance yet so it was best to avoid not making too many loud sounds.

Though I'm not sure if I was already making a lot of noise during all this... but goddammit! Why did you have to appear now?!

The technician quickly activated his exoshield and his gauntlets, blocking a tentacle attack. He then punched another one of her tentacles, readying himself for the upcoming onslaught.

"Oh, we have a feisty one here," the Roper Girl smiled salaciously. "If that's how you wanna play, then fine by me~"

The Roper Girl lunged several of her tentacles towards the technician. The technician then activated his collapsible helmet and with his gauntlets at ready, he used them to deal with her assault. He punched multiple of her tentacles with decent reaction time. Left and right, he pushed her attacks away with relative ease. Some tentacles were too fast, leaving Valon with blocking instead.

Other times, he was lucky to parry and if he really had no choice, he'd completely avoid her attacks by sidestepping, diving, or rolling away. It remained like this for a while, both combatants at a standoff as they both gave their efforts for their own reasons. Valon was careful in mobilizing himself, choosing his spots carefully whenever he settled for an attack or evasion as he was still trying to remain hidden from Luka.

Even if he had his exoshield on and would definitely protect him from getting hit, he didn't want to risk being trapped by the Roper Girl's tentacles. His helmet's motion sensor also helped in avoiding her attacks but he still needed to be fast enough to react accordingly. He thought of getting near the monster once and just punching her in the face to knock her cold but it was incredibly risky to get close. Unlike Luka, his gauntlets had far less reach than a sword like Angel Halo.

Everything seemed to be going well until he heard Luka screaming to someone to let go of him. Valon felt alarmed as dozens of horrible scenarios flashed through his mind. Temporarily forgetting about his opponent, he ran past the Roper Girl's tentacles as he attempted to check how Luka was doing. The technician was also getting worried about why the hero was taking too long against the Rafflesia Girl, remembering that the aforementioned monster wasn't a hard opponent to fight in the game.

He looked in the hero's direction and felt a sense of dread when the Rafflesia Girl's vines were still binding Luka. Perhaps he was bound again because there was no way he was trapped in her vines for that long. Valon failed to notice a blinking circle through his helmet's interface when he felt something gripping his foot.

"Caught you~," the Roper Girl said in a singsong voice. "But since you like playing rough, let me play with you this time!"

Despite his exoshield's protection, it didn't stop the Roper Girl from grabbing him as it only stopped direct kinetic hits. Valon was carried through the air before slamming on the ground. He tried to compose himself, still feeling the impact of the fall. He saw a tree in front of him and without wasting any time, he attempted to climb it and use the tree's trunk as leverage to avoid her next attack.

He was successful in dodging one of her tentacles but because he was more focused on positioning himself off the trunk, he wasn't able to react fast. He jumped as high as he could to reach a nearby branch but it was slightly out of his reach. Then another tentacle grabbed him, this time, throwing him further in the air. Valon's scream ceased once he fell on the ground again. The height was higher this time as he felt a strong pain in his back.

"V-Valon?"

The technician couldn't process what was in front of him. He tried to stand up but soon found himself confined. He tried to struggle his arms but it was difficult to move. He felt himself being dragged towards something and then he was face to face with his captor. Through his helmet visor, he could see the Roper Girl's sadistic smile.

Her smile was instantly replaced with a frown when she realized that something was preventing her from directly touching the man's clothes. She noticed that from the spots where her tentacles were in contact with the man, there was a strange transparent blue layering on him.

"What is this?!" the Roper Girl exclaimed.

Valon was grateful that the exoshield was doing its job and despite the monster's best efforts, she couldn't break the energy barrier. She did, however, tighten her tentacles' grasp on him. Valon immediately found it difficult to breathe.

He tried to reach for his belt but it was deep within the Roper Girl's tentacles. He also attempted to use the shield burst module in his M.A.D. but he could no longer move his arms. The technician couldn't hold back a pained yell from the intense pressure he was experiencing from her tentacles.

"Get off of him!" Luka declared desperately as he struggled with all his might from the Rafflesia Girl's vines, breaking out of her binds.

Luka slashed through the vines with his weapon, performing one final attack that ultimately sealed the Rafflesia Girl. He then ran towards Valon and the Roper Girl. He positioned his blade before performing a Thunder Trust on the monster. The hero's attack forced the monster to retreat her tentacles, releasing the technician from her grasp.

"Valon!" Luka called to the technician who was lying on the ground. "Valon, are you okay?"

The hero couldn't see his face very well at first because of the helmet he was wearing. Eventually, he managed to see the man's face through the visor. He had his eyes closed but was breathing heavily, no doubt from feeling his chest intensely tighten from the monster's tentacles.

Luka was relieved that he was alright but he was too focused on his companion to notice the Roper Girl eying her new meal malevolently. And as fast as he sealed that Rafflesia Girl the moment he broke free of her binds, the hero found himself bound by the Roper Girl's tentacles in an instant.

"Ooohhh, another human? You look cuter and wayyyy more appetizing, fufufufu~"

Satisfied with her catch, she wasted no time dragging the hero to her sticky body. She unzipped his pants, pushing his member inside of her genitals. Luka moaned and screamed from the intense pleasure he felt from the insertion. He could also feel her digestive enzymes all over her sticky body, making the experience more pleasurable.

"Oh, you like that, hmm?" the Roper Girl laughed mockingly. "Here, let me make you feel all better before I eat you~"

The hero tried to struggle but he was firmly stuck to her body and the tentacles made it more difficult to move. Luka's moans were getting louder as he felt more of her enzymes and her genitals tightening around his member. Luka tried to slash the monster off of him with Angel Halo but her tentacle grabbed it and threw it away before he got the chance to move his hands.

Amidst the unsightly harassment, the technician finally gained his bearings. He sat up from the ground, clutching his back from the pain as he tried to process everything that had happened. He was defending himself against the Roper Girl to buy Luka time to finish dealing with the other monster as he wanted Luka to fight the Roper Girl afterwards.

The technician widened his eyes in horror as even if he got what he wanted, the outcome was the opposite of what he hoped for. Luka was now fighting the Roper Girl but instead of actually fighting her, he was mercilessly being violated by her. Valon would've considered letting Luka be since he was confident that he could struggle out of her grasp but it appeared that he was completely under the monster's mercy.

His mind then started to play tricks with him when he unexpectedly saw a ghastly vision of a completely different scenario in front of him. Instead of the hero being bound by the monster, it was a young boy who was slowly being approached by a winged creature. It had sharp claws and teeth and was wailing incomprehensibly but the young boy was too petrified to move.

"H-help... me..."

In a swift montage of images flashing through the technician's mind, he felt himself haunted by their dreadful depictions. His past memories he never wanted to see again consisted of blood and death. Then his more recent evocations of his actions, how he caused nothing but affliction towards the hero. His half-baked plans, his unnecessary interventions, and his actions that almost got the hero killed.

Those Dark Elves earlier...

He left Luka to fend for himself from the first two opponents that would've actually killed him. It was somewhat understandable if it were monsters such as the Slime Girl or the Slug Girl who was only interested in feeding. But those Dark Elves he fought before entering Enrika would not hesitate in actually murdering the young hero.

And because of what he did; interfering in the hero's battles, the storyline was changing. He caused damage to property in Iliasburg, Amira didn't appear to help Luka, the Four Bandits were nowhere to be found, the harpies from Harpy Village had gone missing, Alice was constantly suspicious of his actions, and now simple events being misplaced such as the Roper Girl immediately appearing even before Luka defeated the Rafflesia Girl were starting to happen.

All of them were his fault.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"Oh, are you close? Then let me put more—"

The Roper Girl wasn't able to finish her statement when she felt all of her energy leaving her. Before she could say anything as to what happened, she felt her physical body disappearing until all that was left of her was a tiny tentacle lying on the ground. The tentacle tried to process what happened and when it saw what caused its current misfortune, it quickly slithered away.

Luka fell down to the ground when he realized that he was no longer being held by the monster's tentacles anymore. He was panting for air as he tried to calm himself from the Roper Girl's torment. He was over the edge at the last minute, but he was grateful that he didn't have to endure it any longer. Once the hero steadied his breathing, he stood up and quickly put on his pants before processing his surroundings.

He didn't know how the monster disappeared but he was thankful for the outside assistance. It didn't take him long to see his savior. He saw his back against him, still wearing a piece of headwear. He also noticed that on his hand was Angel Halo, gripped tightly between the man's fingers.

"Valon!"

The man heard the boy's call, quickly turning to face him. Through his visor, he could see the hero alive and well. He felt relieved but his current state of mind was in complete anarchy. His anxiety levels peaked when he realized he was holding Angel Halo. Panicking, he quickly dropped the ridiculous sword on the ground. Luka immediately grew concerned about the man's actions.

"Valon, are you okay?"

Valon didn't hear him. His focus was on his mind's recent montage of horror. The deplorable things he did, and the poor decisions he made, overwhelmed him alongside his conflicting ideas about interfering and not interfering at the same time.

"I... I... I can't... do this..."

"Huh? What did you say?" Luka asked, not hearing what the man said as it came out as a soft whisper to him.

"I said I can't do this!" Valon suddenly snapped. "I can't! I can't do this anymore."

"H-huh? I don't understand... I—"

"None of this was supposed to happen! It was supposed to be a simple plan of not interfering but I couldn't even do that! Now look at what happened! You barely beat that Rafflesia Girl! And then that Roper Girl, for some reason, appeared out of nowhere and tried to rape you! Like all the other times you fought monster girls that should've been easy for you! But for some reason, you couldn't even... even—"

Valon realized that he was openly venting out his frustrations again. He looked at Luka who had a bewildered and worried expression. But the technician could also see that the hero felt hurt from what he said.

"I... ughhh..." Valon sighed, rubbing his temples in distress. "I'm venting out again. I'm sorry."

"N-no it's fine!" Luka reassured. "I understand if you're angry at me for—"

"No, Luka, it's not... I..." Valon struggled to form his words properly. "I wasn't... I'm not mad at you."

Valon noticed that Luka wasn't entirely convinced. It did feel like he was only trying to make him feel better but the truth was far from that. The technician finally reached his breaking point. His mind was nowhere near the course of logic and reason.

He glanced at the hero who was still silent, knowing that he was waiting for what he was going to say. Up to this point, Valon always held back on the things he'd say or do. He always tried to find a reasonable solution or explanation for events that occurred in their journey. Because as long as he was traveling with them, he vowed to keep his dangerous knowledge to himself.

Perhaps, if not revealing his secrets was his course of action, it was finally time to shift his plans while still maintaining his primary objective. The technician didn't know if what he was about to do was dumber than all of his other plans, but he no longer had a choice. With not much to lose except probably his life, he gave the biggest sigh he'd ever made before speaking again.

"Look, I meant what I said that I'm not mad at you. And I'm not just telling you this to make you feel better after practically screaming at you how you could've easily dealt those previous monsters you fought."

"O-oh... then why did you—"

"Because you were right."

"Huh?" Luka suddenly felt confused, raising a brow at the man's strange response. "What do you mean?"

"What you told me the other day. About how I always try to help you because you get yourself in troublesome situations. And because of that, you feel like you're weak because you can't handle things yourself. What happens is that, even if you mess up, there would be someone to save you at least. Because I'm always there."

Luka was left speechless, not knowing what to say. Valon, however, took this opportunity to continue his statement.

"But if I'm always there, you'll never learn how to be independent. You won't be able to learn how to handle things yourself if I'm always there to help you."

"What!? N-no, no, no! That's not..."

Now it was Luka who was struggling to form words. The hero knew that what he told him before had an effect on him, no matter how much the technician denied it. He was honest with his words but he didn't want it to appear like Valon was an obstacle for his learning process in combat.

"Valon, I-I'm sorry, I didn't really mean what I said that time. Err... I mean... well... okay maybe I did, but it wasn't to sound like you're a hindrance or that I'm jealous of you because of how weak I am compared to you," Luka stammered in his words. "Okay, maybe... I was jealous... but I didn't want to offend. I was just... upset at myself because I couldn't even fight monsters like you do. And I'm the one who promised to protect you because I wanted to be a hero but I'm... weak, I'm not as strong as you. I—"

"Luka, you're not weak. You're strong, you just don't know that yet. And I don't really mind that you're jealous but that's not really the issue."

"But isn't that why you were frustrated earlier? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings back then but you must have been offended by how I worded my thoughts. I... I wanted to talk to you about it yesterday and apologize if I made the wrong impression because I know that it's not your fault and I was simply jealous of what you can do. But I know I'm wrong to feel that way and I'm supposed to be thankful for the things you did. Instead, I let my envy get the better of me and now, I acknowledge that it's my fault so—"

Luka didn't finish his own statement when he felt moderate pressure on both of his shoulders. He looked in front of him and noticed the technician's serious face through the helmet visor. Valon had his hands on the hero's shoulders, kneeling beside him so that he could look at him directly in the eyes. Despite the technician's resolve, he was still anxious and uncertain about his current idea.

"Luka, listen. It's not your fault. You probably won't completely understand yet but... this is your journey."

Valon briefly closed his eyes, silently praying to the unknown beyond in hopes that he'd say his words carefully without revealing anything about his knowledge of the hero's world.

"This is your adventure, your story. This was all supposed to be about you. About your... growth, your desires, your ambitions, you. This is about you. I've had a lot of... acquaintances whose experiences and goals were taken away from them. I don't want what happened to them, happen to you."

Valon was accurate that the hero in front of him was barely comprehending his explanation. But even so, he continued speaking.

"I only wanted to look for my brother. I didn't hope to join a grand expedition or quest that would change the course of the entire world. Truth is, I didn't want to join you or any group or party for assistance in my search. I was just... compromised because of my... struggles with monsters and other factors I hadn't fully considered the moment I embarked on this mission. That was why I figured that I would fare better against this world's elements when I'm in a group of people."

"You... never wanted to join?"

"It's not that I dislike your reason behind your quest. In fact, I admire it. You, someone from the countryside, took a noble oath and decided to travel around the world to help those in need and help humans and monsters to embrace the idea of coexistence. Not because you plainly wanted to be a hero or be recognized by others for your deeds but because you know and understand that coexistence is what we need right now to better our future and our relationships with one another as we keep living in this world together."

"Because constant strife and disagreements would eventually lead to our mutual destruction," Valon continued. "And you don't want that. But in order to make that dream come true, you have to fight for your ideals and prove to those who disagree with you that you have to strength to accomplish your goal. But how would you do that if I keep being an obstacle to your journey?"

"Huh? B-but, you're not an obstacle... you're..."

"Not part of this journey? I have been thinking for a while now and initially, I was against this idea because I also thought of myself as weak and vulnerable. But I understand what I have to do now," Valon breathed heavily before reaching out his hand to the hero. "Can I borrow the map?"

"Huh?" Luka's confused expression was heavily transparent, wondering why Valon out-of-nowhere just casually asked for the map.

"Look, let me just borrow the map. Don't worry, it won't take long. I'll be quick."

Still confused about what Valon was trying to tell him, he reluctantly agreed to give Valon the map from his bag. Valon grabbed the map and quickly scanned it. He reached for a pen from his belt, marking something on the hero's map before returning the piece of paper to him.

"I marked a location of the place you need to go to once you reach Iliasport. Long story short, there's an unnatural storm that's blocking the ships from crossing between Ilias Continent and Sentora. Rumors said that it was caused by a powerful youma but you can verify that for me."

"Huh? I don't understand," Luka stated as he glanced at the marked location on the map. "Why did you have to mark it on the map?"

"Because even if it's shown on the map, chances are you probably would have no reason to visit the place. It's basically a cave where Captain Selene's treasures can be found. Of course, you probably don't care about being rich but the storm that's blocking the sea is why you need to head to that cave. There's an object there called the "Poseidon's Bell" that can help you sail through the rough conditions of the waters. You can ask the people in the port for more information if you want to learn more about it."

"Okay... but why are you suddenly telling me about this?"

"Because like I said earlier, you have to learn how to handle this journey by yourself. But it's not just you who needs to learn how to be independent."

Luka felt despair rising through him, knowing full well what the man was implying.

"N-no... Valon, d-don't! We can still search for your brother together! I'm sorry if I offended you, okay? I didn't mean to! But please... don't—"

"Luka, it's okay. As I said earlier, I'm in no way mad at you. Know that I took no offense from the things you told me. And I don't want myself to look like that I secretly feel hurt right now and that this is just my way of sulking or guilt-tripping someone. But... I also need to learn how to deal with things myself. Looking for my brother by myself is a difficult challenge but if it would help me learn how to handle the world's danger by myself, then it's a risk I'm willing to take. I also can't always rely on you or Alice."

Valon tried his best to ignore the hero's sorrowful expression, determined to continue his statement.

"Honestly, Alice had the right idea. She isn't really gone whenever she disappears. I know that she's merely observing you but she hasn't completely abandoned you. Besides, she's the one helping you train because she knows that you have a lot to improve. And she wouldn't be able to insult you by judging your performance if she wasn't closely watching."

"Maybe if I was as dedicated to just observing you as she is, I'd probably not consider this idea. But I have no choice. And like I said earlier, you're not weak, Luka, you're strong. You've proven that every time you charged into battle, even if the odds were against you. But you won't be able to unlock your full potential if I'm holding you back." Valon said with a pained smile, suddenly recalling the times he saw his brother's image through Luka.

And I still don't know why I see him in you...

Before Valon could say more, he felt something clutching him tightly. Through his visor, never in his life did he expect to see what he was witnessing right now. Luka, the purple-haired boy he knew from an eroge video game, was hugging him while he had tears falling down his eyes.

"Please... Valon, d-don't leave me," Luka's words were reduced to whispers. "I... I'm really really sorry for what I said and I'm sorry if I'm still weak."

"N-no, Luka, you're not weak! I just... think that you'd become way stronger if I wasn't here traveling with you."

"T-that's not true! You... you've been helping me a lot with that already! You're helping me grow strong too! Your desire to save your brother no matter the cost has also inspired me to be more determined to fulfill my hopes and dreams! I... I know... I'm not super strong yet and I know I still have a long way to go, but please... give me a chance to prove myself! I'll train harder, I'll train to become stronger!"

Luka was stammering from the tears and the sadness he was feeling. Valon could feel the young boy's sorrow vanquishing his resolve and his defenses. He was now feeling more guilty than ever for making Luka cry and pour over his feelings just to make him stay. The technician was flabbergasted that a character he once played as, behind a monitor screen, was able to invoke real emotions within him.

"I'll become stronger, I promise! I... I-I don't know how l-long it w-w-would take... but please..." Luka whimpered, stuttering as he spoke. "Please... d-don't leave..."

"Please... d-don't leave..."

Valon gritted his teeth, fully conflicted in his mind. The image of his brother when they were still younger didn't help him at all. The hero's embrace and the sound of his sorrowful words were clawing through his conscience, demanding vengeance. The young hero was holding on to him desperately, eager to not let him go. He felt himself slowly breaking, doubting himself on what he was about to do.

The technician was vehement about following through with the plan of finally parting ways with the hero and his lamia companion. He also didn't like it but with everything that had happened so far, he had interfered long enough. Valon felt like the most cruel and wicked person in the world right now but despite the hero's best efforts to convince him to stay, the technician's resolve remained unwavering in the end.

"I'm sorry, Luka," Valon whispered audibly. "For everything."

Without warning, Valon pushed Luka off of him with the help of his gauntlets. He then quickly grabbed one of his flashbombs in his belt before slamming it to the ground. The bomb's impact caused a bright and disorienting explosion that distorted Luka's senses. Luka groaned from the overwhelming sensation, desperately trying to stabilize his composure.

After an excruciating period of time, Luka could finally perceive his surroundings properly again. He shook his head to fully compose himself as he quickly tried to look for his companion. But before him were nothing but trees, bushes, and rocks.

The technician was nowhere in sight.

The man who helped him in more ways than one disappeared.

The person who did his best to stay with him even if he wasn't always there finally vanished without a trace.

The one who he thought was his friend on this journey left him.

"Valon! Valon! Valonnnn!"

Luka screamed miserably, hoping that his former companion would change his mind somehow. But the technician never returned.

And with that, Valon Wakers was gone.


And that concludes this chapter. I actually have few of the future chapters planned out already, which I don't usually do because I suck at planning. I'm not done revisiting the original game which was what I was supposed to finish before writing another chapter but I got bored and eventually decided to write this.