The group had been walking down these tunnels for a while, yet they hadn't encountered a single monster. They'd seen tracks throughout the tunnels but nothing else. As Naofumi scanned around the tunnel, his vision went pitch black.

"What happened? Who put out the torches? Ugh!" A piercing pain shot through his back. As he tried to figure out what was happening, he heard Momon's voice behind him.

"You know. I didn't think it'd be so easy to fool you. All it took was some fancy gear and a show of strength, and you accepted me without a second thought. Now, I can kill you in a place no one will ever find you." Naofumi tried looking behind him, but he still couldn't see a thing.

'The old guy was right. He followed us here so he could kill me!'

They were stuck in this tunnel, with Momon blocking their only exits. He was probably blocking their vision with a magical item. He felt several more pains piercing his back as he began to panic.

The pain, however, made him realize how strange the situation was.

'Wait, why would Momon mess with me like this? He's not one to gloat. If he wanted to kill me, he'd cleave me in two and be done with it. He wouldn't announce himself just to watch me squirm; that would give me an opportunity to block or escape.' Naofumi tried clearing his head, and as he did, he heard the witch's voice.

"Don't listen to the voices! They're meant to confuse you!" Naofumi turned to where he heard the witch's voice along with the scurrying of monsters around them.

"What are we supposed to do? We can't fight them blind!" He could hear her agreement before starting her chant.

"I am one who commands the origin of power. I have read and deciphered a law of nature. May the power of nature free our sight! Fast Anti-blind!"

Naofumi saw over a dozen small monsters flying and running around them as soon as the spell took effect.

"Mr. Naofumi! Are you alright?" He looked back, surprised to see Raphtalia and Filo already freed from the monsters' voice illusion.

"Yeah, let's go!" As they charged forward, Naofumi noticed Momon dispatching a group that ambushed from behind.

'Yeah, he's not the type to announce himself before attacking.' He smirked as he went to block one of the monsters targeting Raphtalia.

The monsters around them were easy foes once their illusions were broken. There were many, but their attacks were weak and had no real way of dealing solid damage, wholly reliant on their ambush strategy.

Sensing their defeat, the few remaining monsters ran/flew in various directions. After ensuring there wasn't a second wave, Naofumi turned the rest of the party.

"Is everyone alright?" Everyone nodded as he noticed Momon standing in the back, stomping on one of the monsters' heads, finishing it.

"Hey, Momon. I assume you didn't break a sweat-?" Naofumi stopped suddenly as he looked around, disgusted by the scene in front of him.

Over a dozen monster corpses were littered around the room, horribly mutilated. He had seen Momon fight before; it was terrifyingly efficient with no movement wasted, but this… it was the work of a butcher. Some were not even dead, just bleeding on the ground, unable to move.

"…" Momon remained silent as he stared at the monsters around him. As one of them twitched, he crushed its head, killing it instantly.

Naofumi had never been afraid of Momon during their time together. He was intimidated and shocked, sure, but never fearful. But looking at Momon's back now, Naofumi felt something was incredibly wrong.

"Hey, Momon, you alright?" Momon turned his entire body to face Naofumi.

His armor and blades were covered in blood, and guts hanging from his armor showed off his sloppy work with the monsters. The terrible feeling intensified as Momon locked eyes with him, but it vanished before it became overwhelming. When it did, Momon looked away, his head lowered.

"I… I'm fine. Just got caught off guard, is all." He avoided eye contact as he reassured Naofumi. He turned around and began walking back the way they came.

"I'll make sure they are no more following from behind. It will only take a moment."

Before Naofumi could say anything in response, a hand gripped his shoulder. The witch looked up to him and shook her head. The group stayed quiet until Momon was farther into the tunnels. Once he was gone, Naofumi scowled at the witch.

"What was that for? Why did you want him to leave?"

"Shield Hero, I believe he needs some time alone. You must have heard them too, right? The voices." He scoffed.

"Yeah? They said some unnerving things, so what?" She shook her head.

"Not everyone can shake them off easily. Some people require more time."

"What exactly did those monsters do to us? What did they do to Momon? He's not someone who would go berserk just because of some monsters." The witch sighed as she glanced at one of the defeated monsters.

"Voice Gengars. They ambush adventures by making them hear the last thing they want to hear from the last person they want to hear it from. Some types can also cause blindness, which makes the illusions of others even more effective. Most of the time, people hear the voices of their companions to incite in-fighting and distrust. Other times, it's someone they've lost. Family, friends, or even lovers…" She had a mile-long stare before focusing back on Naofumi.

"People react in different ways. Judging by Momon's reaction, he may have heard the voice of someone he's lost before realizing it was an illusion, turning his sorrow into anger. I've seen many people rage at what these monsters have made them hear. We should just be thankful he could control himself enough not to lash out against us." Naofumi gazed down the tunnel in thought.

Since they met, Momon had always exuded confidence and stoicism. Even with his dominant arm corrupted by negative energy and facing a monster that could've killed them all, he never faltered. Because of that, it was easy to forget that there was a person behind that indomitable presence.

"Hah, right when I think I have him figured out..." He turned to Raphtalia and Filo.

"You two still doing okay?" They both seemed a bit unnerved, but they nodded.

"Master, you still need Filo, right? You won't abandon me."

"Yeah, I guess. I still need to get my money's worth out of you." She lit up as he said so.

"Yay! Master still needs me." As Filo started bouncing around happily, Raphtalia approached him, concerned.

"Mr. Naofumi is Momon alright?"

"He's fine. Whatever he's going through is none of our business, so leave him be. He'll sort himself out. Besides, I need your help collecting these monsters before he comes back."

"I… okay." She seemed conflicted, but, in the end, she agreed.

As they began collecting the monster parts, Raphtalia couldn't help but look back to where Momon left. The voice gengar parts proved to be of little use, only giving Naofumi a megaphone ability that he doubted would be useful.

Just as they were finishing up, they saw Momon returning from the tunnel's entrance. While he was gone, it seemed he cleaned off most of the gore on his gear. Naofumi raised his hand, signaling him over.

"Anything down there?" Momon shook his head.

"No, it's all clear. We should get the crystals and leave. This place is proving to be more trouble than it's worth." Naofumi smirked.

"Ha, I couldn't agree more. Everyone ready?" The group nodded and continued down the tunnels.

Moving forward, the group encountered little resistance. The tunnels ahead only had the same variations of voice gengars they had already encountered and were prepared for. They continued all the way down until they reached an opening with crystals they were looking for growing all around them. However, the group was too focused on the beast guarding the way to the crystals to appreciate the crystal's magnificence.

"Of course, there's a dungeon boss." Naofumi mumbled under his breath as he prepared for battle.

At the center stood a Nue, a type of chimera with multiple creature parts: a monkey head, tiger legs, snake tail, and tanuki body. It eyed the group cautiously, ready to respond to any attack. Before Naofumi could come up with a plan of attack, Filo and Raphtalia rushed on the offensive.

"Don't just charge in like that!" He rushed forward to catch up to them.

"I'll support you from behind." The witch raised her staff and began chanting.

Before he could catch up with them, Filo and Raphtalia were already trading blows with the Nue. Filo distracted it by clawing at its eyes and face, dodging the reckless swipes it made at her, while Raphtalia dodged in and out of its range, slicing at its snake tail and heels. The Nue screeched in irritation as it tried pouncing on Filo.

"No, you don't!" It may have been quick, but Naofumi was able to get there in time.

Naofumi jumped in, blocking the attack, as a pain shot through his shoulder. The Nue's eyes glowed as electricity crackled from its chest. Naofumi tried pushing it off, but its weight made it impossible.

"Dammit!" Naofumi wasn't sure if he could take the hit.

"Get away from master!" Filo kicked the Nue square in the face just as its glow peaked.

The kick gave Naofumi just enough space to jump back as the electricity from the Nue's chest burst forth, covering its entire body in an electrical field. Raphtalia, seeing its ability ended, rushed in and sliced its snake tail right off.

"Kyukiiiiii!"

The Nue's tail stub flailed as it made mad swipes towards Raphtalia. But when it turned to face her, its footing was completely off and fell on its side.

"Perfect. I am the source of all my power. Head my words and understand them. Burn him! Zweite Fire Place!"

The witch's spell flew directly at the collapsed Nue and hit with great effectiveness. The flames from the spell engulfed its entire body. Naofumi hoped it would stay down, but as the flames began to falter, it screeched in rage.

"Kyukiiii!" It stood back up, shaking off the dying flames.

"Mr. Naofumi, can you hold it in place again? It's almost down; we just need an opening!"

Naofumi really didn't want to risk it, but he knew they needed to finish it off quickly before it could have an opportunity to hit one of the others.

"Yeah, okay." Naofumi switched to his Chimera Viper Shield and ran before the Nue.

"Hey, over here!"

The Nue's hateful gaze locked on Naofumi as it charged at him the same as before. However, when its attack landed, a viper appeared from the shield and lodged its fangs into its neck, locking it in place.

"Now!"

Filo and Raphtalia charged in, slicing and kicking the pinned Nue. Realizing its position, the Nue slammed into Naofumi with even more force while they assaulted it. However, it was not enough as Raphtalia landed the fatal blow to its chest. The viper retreated back into Naofumi's shield right as she made the killing blow.

"We did it!" Filo jumped up in excitement as the witch approached the Nue's body with surprise.

"A beast of the west being in this region is unheard of." Naofumi looked over to her with confusion.

"Wait, this thing isn't native here?"

"No, not at all. If I were to guess, it was most likely purchased young by one of the local lords from a foreign country to be groomed and trained as a trophy. It must've escaped before being properly trained and became wild again." Naofumi rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, figures it would be some rich guy trying to impress everyone. Whatever the case, I'm just surprised we didn't get seriously injured by that thing. I thought that we were gonna be under-leveled for that thing. Speaking of…" Naofumi turned around to face Momon.

"I guess we didn't need you here after all." He smirked, proud that Momon didn't step in to kill it for them. However, Momon stared into the distance, unaware anyone was speaking to him.

"Momon, you were watching us fight, weren't you?" Raphtalia walked towards them, cleaning her blade. Her question shook him from his stupor as he focused on them.

"Hmm, oh, yes, I was. Yes, you all did very well." He looked back at the wall of crystals before shaking his head.

"I apologize; being on the road all day has taken its toll on my old body. I think it'd be best for me to return to the wagon and rest. Unless you need me here?" Naofumi waved him away.

"Nah, we got it from here. We'll spend some time collecting materials and head back ourselves." Momon gave an appreciative nod and began walking back.

"Alright, which of these ores is the one we're looking for, witch?"

As Naofumi gathered the materials from the Nue, crystals, and other ores in the room, Raphtalia couldn't help but watch as Momon walked further into the dark tunnel.

To Naofumi's irritation, what was supposed to be a one-day journey turned into two. They left the ruins' tunnels fairly late after collecting as much material as they could from them and had to camp on the road.

The night proceeded as usual, everyone doing their own thing. Raphtalia spent most of the time studying magic with Naofumi. The witch assisted them but went to sleep before they were finished. Naofumi stretched as he gave a long sigh.

"I think we're done for tonight." Raphtalia looked up from her book and nodded.

"Okay, I'll get my gear ready for watch."

"Oh, no. Momon has just been resting in the wagon ever since we left the ruins. He can take your shift tonight. Here." He reached into a bag beside him, pulled out some jerky, and tossed it to her.

"He missed the meal I made earlier. So, give him some of that to help tie him over until breakfast. I'm gonna do a quick check on our supplies and turn in for the night." He gave a small wave as he went to check on their supplies.

"Good night…" He gave a nod as he walked away. Raphtalia looked at the bundle of jerky and sighed as she walked towards the wagon.

Momon had been isolating himself ever since they left the ruins. She and the witch tried talking to him several times, but he always acted like his usual self. If he had his armor on, she probably wouldn't have thought much of it. However, she quickly realized he was terrible at hiding his emotions without his helmet.

His smiles were always forced and quick to vanish once interactions ended, with his attention always seeming elsewhere. She wanted to help but didn't know how.

She approached the wagon, parting the fabric that hid what was inside. As she stepped inside, she saw Momon caressing a ring between his fingers, completely oblivious to her presence.

"Hey. You doing okay?" Momon jumped at her question before quickly stashing the ring in his pocket.

"Oh! Yeah, I'm fine." Raphtalia gave him a sympathetic smile before climbing into the wagon and sitting across from him. She held out the jerky to him.

"Here, Naofumi wanted you to take the first watch tonight and thought you'd like something to tide you over, considering you haven't eaten tonight." He grabbed the jerky with a smile.

"Oh, thank you, but I've already eaten, so I'm good." Raphtalia chuckled slightly.

"You know, you're the most experienced warrior I've ever met, and yet… without your helmet, you're a terrible liar." Momon was about to say something but then went quiet.

"You can talk to me if you'd like. I might've never been a great adventurer like you, but… I know what it is like to lose people." Momon just stared at the floor.

The two of them sat in silence, neither willing to give. Eventually, Momon brought out the ring he had and continued to stare at it. Raphtalia looked at the ring with interest. The ring was simple in design, having a golden base and a red jewel inscribed with a symbol she could make out in the center.

Momon looked up to see her patiently waiting for him before sighing. His unoccupied hand lifted briefly as she felt magic surround them. Before she could question it, Momon spoke up.

"I loved my guildmates. They were my world. My life outside the guild was miserable, harsh, and cruel. They and the guild we built together were my oasis. But then they left, leaving me alone. For decades, I held onto hope that they would come back and we could once again feel the joys we once shared. I waited and waited, but that day never came."

Raphtalia was glad he finally felt comfortable enough to open up to her, but… Even with him opening up to her like this, all she could see in his eyes was an empty coldness.

No sadness.

No anger.

Nothing.

She couldn't understand it, but right now, all that mattered was helping him.

"What about your current family? The ones that are waiting for you in your home kingdom." He gave a bittersweet smile.

"I love them, but… my connection with them is complicated. They view me as a man without flaws. No matter what I do or how often I fail, they are unwilling to view themselves as my equals. I accepted it long ago and thought their relationship might fill the one I held for my guildmates." He shook his head.

"However, recent events have made me realize how wrong I was. Even with them at my side, the memories of my guildmates still haunt me." Momon looked down and rubbed the palm of his hand.

"I wish I could forget. Forget everything, so I stop feeling this way. But when I begin to, all I feel is guilt. How could I forget those who allowed me to be who I am today?"

The two went silent again.

…

Raphtalia eventually looked down and hesitatingly broke the silence.

"When... When I lost my parents and village, I lost everything. I… I was completely overwhelmed. I wished and prayed that it was all a nightmare. I looked desperately for my parents, telling myself they had escaped and survived the Wave and were looking for me, too. But, deep down, I knew I would never find them." Momon looked up to her.

"When I was eventually caught and put into slavery, my memories of them felt like a cruel mirror of my reality. I often dreamt of those times when everything was perfect, but they always ended the same way, with my parents dead and me alone." She began softly crying as she cupped her hand.

"Even after Mr. Naofumi showed care and concern for me, I still felt lost, wishing it was all a nightmare. That was until the day when I was forced to accept that my parents, friends, and home were gone." She wiped the tears from her eyes and met Momon's gaze.

"I still wish I could relive those moments, to live in the past, but I know they wouldn't want that for me, and neither would your guildmates." Momon turned away, but Raphtalia grabbed his hand, making him look up at her.

"True family would want you to move on and be happy with the family you made for yourself, even if they are not there with you. You do not have to forget them to move on, they are just another part of you. To forget the time, we spent with them would mean losing them for good." When she finished, tears began to fall from Momon's eyes.

Raphtalia looked into Momon's eyes, hoping to see that emptiness inside him give way.

But it never did.

Whenever it began to falter, it returned stronger than before. She saw glimpses of something beneath, but it was always suppressed before it could fully emerge. Momon pulled his hand away from her.

"If I knew for certain they would never return, maybe I could move on, but I don't…"

"However, obsessing over their return will only hurt me and risk losing the ones I already have. I never want them to feel the pain I felt. The pain of losing the only people you care about leaving. Even if I can't let go, I must continue for them." Momon looked down momentarily before looking back at Raphtalia with a sincere smile.

"Thank you. I haven't felt this… clarity in a long time." As quickly as the smile came, it disappeared, replaced by a look of regret.

"I truly wish we could speak like this more."

"If you want to talk, just let me know. I want to give you something back for everything you've done for us. And if that means helping you with this, I'd be more than happy to." He shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but this was just too much of a risk. If someone countered my spell or you escaped before I could erase this meeting, all my work would've been for nothing."

"Besides, any attachments with the living only end with my suffering. " Before she could express her utter confusion, Momon held his palm out to her.

"Now, [Sleep]"

An extreme drowsiness took over as she collapsed on the wagon floor. However, before she went unconscious, she heard Momon mutter something to himself while he wiped the tears from his cheek.

"But, as long as I am stuck in this world, I will ensure your survival. That, I can promise you." That was the last thing she heard before slipping into a deep sleep.