Leave The Monster Alone

And then he was free of the water as the guardian stepped back to avoid a sharp blade. 

"Tch, it was worth a shot anyway but you had to go and expose me like this. I just wanted to have a little fun" Yun had attacked the guardian, his moment far too professional to be untrained.

The teen had transformed into a second, from the young child they had seen to a seasoned warrior who was going toe-to-toe with the water guardian and it was a magnificent scene to see the two duke it out with each other.

Well, it might have been if it was not for the fact that the party had been deceived by his innocent act and had followed him through to a very dangerous location in the middle of nowhere. 

Had the other wanted to kill them, they would have likely died by now without even having realised it..

That was the only reason the party had not decided to take any action on the other yet and had decided to let them fight it out amongst themselves. This was a prime opportunity to get a glimpse of the opponents fighting powers without risking their person.

And they were powerful which made Mark glad that they had stayed behind to witness this clash. Every time their weapon clashed, the immediate surrounding felt the shockwave, and it even extended to Mark's location.

He had to hold onto the tree to keep himself afloat for the time being.

"We need to stop them or they will end up destroying the whole forest. This is the only lead we have on Alan" Luna was right and Mark knew they were on a short period. But no normal weapon would be able to help them either which only left a few options to him.

"How good are you at sword fight?" his system storage blinked a few times which made Mark aware that it wanted to tell him something. He turned it on and had a look inside, only to be met with a familiar sight of a familiar weapon.

The sword was still there, having retreated into his storage when he had let it go.

Admittedly, Mark was bad with a sword and that was why he had bought the gun with everything he had. But Luna was not that hopeless with a blade in hand. At least he had not been in the original game's timeline.

"I do know how to wield a sword but I don't think a blade would be able to cut in through that fight" Luna was right. An ordinary blade might not be able to cut through but the one Mark had was not any ordinary blade.

And Luna gasped as soon as Mark drew the blade out, its A-grade ranking evident in its shine and cover. It was a beautiful weapon but useless in Mark's hands. It would be far better should Luna use it instead.

"Are you sure?" one look was all it took to convey his thoughts to the other and the other gripped the blade in his hand. The grip was right and bound just right to not let it loose, perfectly made for Luna's hand size and strength. 

It was evident that this weapon had been designed for Luna from the start but had somehow ended up with Mark when it should never have. But now it had returned to its rightful owner, the one who would be able to make full use of the weapon and take it to the new heights. 

It was finally in Luna's hands. 

"Where did you even get this weapon? It can channel my elemental powers well" Of course it did. It was the highest grade weapon and if Luna stopped repeating himself then it would be great. He should fight more and talk less if he wanted to find Alan under their time frame. 

"I'll take the Guardian and try to draw Yun out as well. Be careful to not get blown away" Luna did not need to tell Mark that since he was the most self-conscious of their batch. He would not take unnecessary risks without a satisfying result waiting for him. 

Mark saw both parties falter once Luna joined them. Despite them both being divine beasts and the top brass, they could not express their power fully without consequences but Luna did not have that limitation. It wasn't long before they were being overwhelmed by Luna and decided to come to a statement. 

"I do not want to fight you all but I cannot go against my orders either. I cannot allow entry for all of you since you are not strictly a divine beast or have something to do with them" The guardian looked directly at Mark when he said that, his blue eyes boring right into Mark's own. 

Ah, so Mark was the problem here? Well, it was alright because he could always stay back here and relax while the rest of the party did all the other work but he did not want to pressure the other party either. He wanted to be a part of it all as well.

"You won't allow him entry even if I asked you? That is a problem indeed" and it seemed like Mark was not the only one who did not want to stay back here at this time.

"Sorry, but orders came from the top. I have no intention of stopping you but I cannot go against them. My code would not allow me to" Mark was not sure he had heard the other right and his head moved with a swift motion toward the other.

The other did not show any indication of knowing the bomb he had cracked on Mark's head but Mark was sure he had heard right. This guardian knew that this world ran under the influence of a code and that this all was pre-determined.

Mark needed to investigate more.

With a silent look shared between Mark and Luna, it was decided that Mark would stay behind with the guardian while the rest of the party would look for Alan. Kuro had wanted to stay back but Mark had to convince her to go and rescue Alan since she could.

Her presence here would not benefit Mark in any way and it also looked like the guardian had a problem with divine beasts in general. Her being here would just complicate things even more so it was better if she did go in the rescue mission along with the others in the party.

"Just give me the passage and I will get out of your hair. If you don't want to be here then just quit" the other had a pained look on his face which only lasted a fraction of a second and Mark had to blink back his disbelief at that. 

Those eyes hardened the next second and water rose to form steps going high in the air where the base likely was and Mark had to hold back a groan of annoyance at the obvious location the other party had chosen to make their safety net.

Of course, it was the sky and not the sea.

There had to be a mechanism behind its location and mystery since it had never shown up in world scans or other technical scans in any timeline. It had remained a myth till the very end of the first game and the upcoming sequel.

Mark could not help remember the words the other female had said-

Mark hurriedly typed away at the screen to access the codes before they would be lost forever. The system had started to act strangely once Luna had left and his arm shone in a variety of coloured sequences. 

His hands were typing all on their own without any control from him and it was being able to keep up with the system. His fingers were aching as well, their speed, not something he was used to and the blank screen had too many words on them now.

"You are finally here at last. We were waiting for you so that we can finish this program. A shame though that you were the one chosen in the end, a shame indeed" the voice was directly in his ear, the physical mouth on Mark's ear blowing air inside his ear.

He wanted to turn around and look at the other once to confirm his suspicions but he could not move. His body was not in his control but his system's.

And he suddenly realised a very important fact about all this.

"Luna, it's a world run by a program. I'm sure you know what I am trying to say to you" the other seemed confused for a second before his eyes shown with understanding and he nodded back at him.

And Mark knew the other took his hint and knew what was being asked of him. It would not be easy to hack the base but it would be possible to do so. They would get so much precious information if they succeeded.