369 Chapter 368

Leon told Darya everything that happened since the very first moment that they met. Darya spent the entire time looking to the ground without moving an inch, in the end, she didn't even flinch when Leon mentioned that Donan erased her memories... many times.

"I see... it makes sense," Darya said.

"How so?" Leon asked.

"Grandfather said many things when he was about to die..." Darya said. "I'm sorry... he said that many times. He was feeling guilty to the point where he couldn't even look at me in the eye. He probably also erased the memories of anyone who knew about my job at the research center. Just to make sure I would inherit his position one day..."

Leon frowned, he couldn't imagine that his beating could have changed Donan all that much. Maybe if he had some preaching skill or the 'Talk no Jutsu' from Naruto… but he didn't. It was impossible to know if it was due to remorse or if it Darya was that capable, but both options were possible.

"Anyway, it looks like you didn't even try to rescue me," Darya said. "You dislike my company that much, or was I really useless."

"… I knew that he would erase your memories and treat you well after that," Leon said. "Once, I confirmed that there was nothing I could do… you looked quite happy too. My path would be hard, and I didn't know if I would succeed or not. So, I decided not to involve you any further."

"That is true. I was quite happy, but still…" Darya bit her lips. "I can't blame you… What should I do now? Everything around me is based on lies, and everything I worked for is based on those lies…"

"Just keep doing your best," Leon said. "It looks like Donan regretted his actions… until now, you didn't regret assuming his place. So, why should you abandon everything you worked for in the last ten years?"

"It is so easy to solve a problem when you aren't related to it…" Darya looked away. "Even if I do that, the doubts in my mind will never disappear… I will go with you."

"Ha-ha, very funny…" Leon said. "You aren't going anywhere, much less with me. I'm going to face a troublesome enemy, and I don't want your help."

"I can't stay in this world anymore, but I can't just abandon it either…" Darya said. "I will kill the thing that threatens my world… this will be the last thing I will do for this planet."

"You may think that you remember about this, but the reality is far worse," Leon said. "I'm far stronger than you now, and I don't know if I can survive an encounter with that, much less win."

"Hah, you are dreaming if you think that I only stayed inside a room giving orders these last twenty years," Darya said.

"If you can't escape even from this, then you can't even protect yourself from the monster I'm going to fight," Leon declared. "You can explore other planets as you wanted before, but I'm not going to let you die by following me. Unless you want to get stuck on a sphere of steel, you should step back and think things through."

"Kuh! Fine! If you don't want to, then I don't want to follow you either," Darya looked away, annoyed. "I will follow my own path… now stop using your Telekinesis."

It looked like Leon made Darya quite mad. Still, he couldn't back down… the next battle wouldn't be like the others, so he couldn't risk the life of a friend. Although she had powerful items, some things couldn't be overcome by power or skills alone. Besides, Lion���s Pride wouldn't work if Darya helps him… to keep her safe and to fight with all his power, Leon had to fight alone.

Before leaving, Darya looked at Leon as if she was furious and disappointed. Although she wasn't acting like before the moment, her memories were erased for the last time, that still made Leon feel a bit hurt. Once Darya disappeared in the distance, Leon let out a long sigh and then calmed down his nerves. His next battle would take a lot from him, and he couldn't waste his energy before and due to his apprehension.

After calming down, Leon confirmed that for some reason, there was no lich nearby. Still… Leon didn't drop his guard and proceeded with caution. After walking for half an hour, he didn't find anything, only the roots of an ancient undead trent.

"I don't know if his minions are here, but why he didn't make the boss return? Probably because this dungeon can't be used both ways like that… Miebos isn't on the third stage of assimilation, after all.��

It didn't take long before Leon finally found the boss. As expected, the creature was sleeping or meditating; it was hard to know. Regardless, Leon already knew how to deal with that. So he shot several Steel Spears and then used Thunder Ray to fry the undead trent. Leon was in a hurry, even though Thunder Ray was powerful enough to prevent the monsters even from speaking, he also used Flamethrower…