Lucy stood still, the Italian mule unconscious at her feet. Across from her, the Chinese smuggler gripped his gun, eyes darting. But instead of pulling the trigger, his knees buckled, and he collapsed like his strings had been cut.
Arlo edged closer to Lucy, instinct kicking in. A dozen Korean gangsters stormed the hallway, guns drawn, all aiming directly at them. He shifted sideways until his shoulder brushed hers. Stay close—less chance of getting turned into Swiss cheese.
The leader stepped forward, lips curling into a smirk. He barked in Korean, "Kill them. Take the pouch."
Then he turned his back and started walking away, as if the fight was already won.The goons advanced, boots thudding against the tiles. Arlo's muscles tensed a bit. She got this their is no way those mobs can do anything to her any way. But before they could rush in, something invisible shimmered in front of them like an unseen wall. The first gangster hit it and staggered back.
Lucy raised her hand slightly. Every weapon in the room jerked upward, ripped from its owner's grip. Guns clattered against the ceiling, sticking there as if glued by invisible tar. The gangsters froze, wide-eyed.
The steel frames of the weapons melted, dripping into black sludge that sizzled against the plaster overhead. That broke the silence. The Koreans roared and charged with fists and blades.
Lucy didn't flinch. Every blow that came near her was redirected with a flick of her wrist, bodies thrown into walls, limbs twisted by invisible pressure. She fought with the calm precision of someone solving equations. One by one, the men hit the ground in groaning heaps until only the leader remained at the end of the hall. But before he could run, Lucy froze him in place. His arm locked stiff, his eyes bulging in terror. She pried the briefcase from his grip without touching him and turned, walking back toward Arlo.
Arlo had stayed near the Italian mule, watching her work. Like watching a raid boss fight while you're the support class. Doesn't matter how good I am—right now, she's carrying the whole run.
Lucy handed him the case. "Open it."
Arlo knelt, flipped the latches, and revealed the inside. Four slots. Three filled. One still empty. Lucy crouched over the Italian's limp body, her nail sharpening unnaturally into a scalpel. Without hesitation, she dug into his belly wound and pulled free the last shimmering blue packet. She dropped it into the case with the others. "The full set. Let's go."
She snapped the case shut and stood. Arlo closed it, then frowned. "If you keep doing everything on your own, I'm basically useless here."
Lucy turned to him, voice calm. "No. You're not."
Arlo joked and smiled "What for exactly? Other than tagging along to watch you break reality in real-time?" She leaned close without warning and kissed him lightly. Her lips were cold, but the action was deliberate. Arlo blinked, caught off guard."You're still clinging to your humanity," he said softly when she pulled back. "Even though it's slipping away."
Lucy's mouth curved into the faintest smile. "A reminder to myself." She straightened, gaze steady. "Shall we go?"
Arlo thoughtfully smiled, shook his head slightly, and followed as they walked out of the blood-stained corridor together. Just keep moving forward.
...
[Sorbonne University: Paris - DAY]
At the Sorbonne University, daylight streamed into a lecture hall piled with books. A cluster of scientists surrounded Professor Norman as he paced mid-discussion. His phone buzzed. He answered. "Hello?"
"Professor Norman," Lucy's voice carried through the line.
Norman's eyes lit up. He covered the receiver, whispering excitedly to his colleagues, "It's her. It's her!" Then back into the phone: "You're in Paris?"
"Yes. I was delayed. Please forgive me." she replied
"No, no! No problem!" Norman nearly tripped over himself. "I'm not at the hotel. I'm at the University. I gathered a few colleagues—top men in the field. Completely trustworthy."
"Good thinking," Lucy replied."Do you think you could join us here?"
"With pleasure," Lucy's voice said.At that moment, the door opened. Lucy and Arlo stepped in. Norman's jaw dropped. "It's… a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise," Lucy said.
Arlo extended a hand. "Arlo Leeroy."
Norman shook it quickly. "Nice to meet you. Let me introduce—"
"I know everyone," Lucy interrupted.
The scientists murmured, unsettled. Norman cleared his throat, pressing on. "As I mentioned, Miss Lucy has somehow unlocked unexplored zones of the brain…"
One skeptical professor crossed his arms. "Can you give us a sample?"
Lucy's eyes flicked to him. She raised her hand, connecting with his nervous system. The man convulsed, tears spilling down his cheeks as if his emotions were forcibly unlatched.
Arlo winced. "Lucy, let the poor guy go."
She did. The man slumped back into his chair, sobbing. Lucy scanned the room. "Anyone else?"
Then her head snapped toward the door. "There are men coming. Arlo, secure the room. I need focus."
"On it," Arlo said. He handed her the case. Before leaving, he leaned close and kissed her cheek. "That one's from me. Might be the last time we meet." His grin was confident, but his eyes hard.
Arlo called out Link and Kage as he strode out.
Behind him, Lucy murmured with a half-smile, "Maybe you're right."
***
Arlo stepped into the hallway, his boots echoing against the polished floor. Link and Kage padded at his side like trained shadows. He glanced down at them. "Intruders are coming. I give the permission to use lethal force and attack with extreme prejudice." Both Pokémon gave firm nods, eyes sharp with anticipation.
The faint staccato of gunfire rattled the distance. Arlo exhaled and smiled. Showtime. He kept his pace steady as they advanced toward the university entrance. The air was already tight with tension.
Arlo's footsteps echoed against the marble floor, steady and deliberate. Link and Kage moved ahead, slipping into the shadows of the university corridors. He watched them vanish into position before muttering, "You know what to do." Both gave a subtle nod before disappearing. That left him alone, walking calmly toward the front entrance.
Outside, the Korean mobsters spilled into view—two dozen strong, rifles and pistols at the ready. The leader, a scarred man in a tailored suit, stepped forward. Arlo reached inside his coat, fingers brushing the pit viper revolver on one side and a neat stack of tarot cards on the other.
He called out in fluent Korean, "Stop." The mob boss sneered, "Get out of my way."
Arlo's smile didn't waver. "You can't come in. Step further, and you all die here."
The man let out a laugh, gesturing behind him. "I have an army. You are alone."
Arlo tilted his head, voice razor calm. "Alone? You and what army?"
...
While the boss smirked, Link made his move in the east wing. The Pokémon hurled slabs of jagged stone with Rock Throw , shattering windows and skulls in equal measure. The ambushed squad screamed as rocks pinned them against the walls, bones crunching under the force. Arlo could almost hear the chaos echoing down the halls. Good boy. Clear the flank.
On the west side, Kage prowled the dim stairwell. His shadow blended with the railing, a white blade flashing as he executed Cut . One gangster dropped before he could scream, throat opened cleanly. Another spun too late, only to take a claw across the chest. Kage vanished again, his presence marked only by the wet sound of steel through flesh.
...
Back at the main entrance, the boss strutted forward, oblivious to his numbers dropping like flies. His arrogance made Arlo chuckle under his breath. Clueless. He doesn't even realize he's already lost half his men.
Arlo waited until Link and Kage returned to position, crouched behind the remaining mobsters. He spoke one word in Korean, sharp and final: "Now."
The ambush was surgical. Rocks smashed into ribcages, white blade ripped through spines. The mobsters panicked, firing wildly in every direction.
The mob boss's smirk evaporated when Link and Kage cut down his flank. Shock flickered across his face, then hardened into rage. He snarled an order in Korean, "Kill him! Tear him apart!" But Arlo was already moving. His pit viper cleared its holster in a blink, muzzle flashing as two goons fell before they even realized the order had been given. He pivoted smoothly, squeezing off shots left and right, every bullet precise, every body dropping like dominoes.
At the same time, his free hand flicked open. Tarot cards shimmered in his grip, glowing with the eerie edge of [Paper Dagger]. They stiffened mid-air, then scattered like a storm of glass shards. Heads split. Throats opened. Blood painted the floor in grotesque patterns.By the time the echo of gunfire faded, the mobsters were no more than broken piles across the entrance. Arlo stepped forward, pit viper low at his side, cutting through the carnage with calm footsteps. His coat brushed against the bodies as if this was routine.
The hallway became a slaughterhouse. Muzzle flashes lit the carnage for seconds before silence swallowed it again. Arlo stepped forward, pit viper still warm, boots splashing in blood. Link and Kage emerged behind him, their eyes glowing with feral calm.He stopped directly in front of the boss, locking eyes with him. The man's confidence was gone, replaced by raw panic.
Arlo's voice was cold, deliberate, every word in flawless Korean. "Be a better person in your next life."
The mob boss tried to speak—words of bargaining, excuses, promises—but they stumbled out uselessly. His eyes darted, searching for mercy. Instead, he found Arlo's smile. Calm. Unshaken. That smile was worse than a gun barrel; it told him he had misjudged everything.
Regret twisted across his features. He understood now. He hadn't crossed a man—he'd stepped into the path of a monster.
Arlo didn't blink. Didn't waver. He simply raised the pit viper, pressed the barrel against the man's forehead, and pulled the trigger.The shot cracked like a gavel. The boss toppled backwards, lifeless, joining the sea of corpses that had once been his army.
Arlo exhaled slowly, holstering his weapon. His eyes swept across the ruined hallway. The acrid smell of gunpowder mingled with iron and smoke. To him, it wasn't triumph. Just another cleanup. One-sided massacre. Almost mechanical. They never stood a chance. He rolled his shoulders, loosening the tension in his body, then whistled softly. From the shadows, Link padded forward, claws still dusted with stone debris. Kage emerged a heartbeat later, shaking blood from his talons. Both Pokémon stared up at him, silent but waiting.
"Good work guys," Arlo said, voice steady. "We're done here. Let's get back."
The three of them walked away from the carnage in perfect sync. Behind them lay nothing but silence, broken glass, and cooling bodies. Ahead of them, something far more dangerous: Lucy, who was even now bending reality in ways Arlo could barely understand. He felt the weight of it in his chest, but his face stayed calm, that same faint smile in place. The mob thought they were monsters. They had no idea what kind of nightmare they'd stumbled into.
Just as they returned, Arlo's eyes widened—Lucy was already in the middle of the hall, her body pulsing with strange energy as she absorbed matter around her. Arlo stopped in his tracks, his Pokémon tense at his side. Right on time. Whatever's coming next, she's already two steps ahead.
***
The Laboratory was silent, the kind of silence that made the air heavy. Every scientist stared, jaws slack, at the empty pile of Lucy's clothes on the floor. No body. No trace of her except for what she had left behind.
Arlo thought, I was right this was before it was he last time I will see her
One professor muttered, almost to himself, "The computer…"
On the desk, a sleek black USB drive materialized out of thin air, humming with faint static. Nobody dared touch it. Norman's hands trembled as he stared at it. He hesitated, like a man afraid the object might bite him. Arlo stepped forward. "Take it," he said flatly.
The weight of Arlo's tone left no room for debate. Norman swallowed hard and picked it up. The instant he did, the massive supercomputer behind him groaned, metal twisting before it collapsed into dust. The scientists staggered back, shielding themselves.
Arlo stood his ground. He looked at Norman, then at the room of stunned men. His voice carried like a closing statement: "Life was given to us a billion years ago. Now you know what to do with it."
Before anyone could speak, he turned and walked out, Link and Kage flanking him. The scientists called after him—questions, pleas, desperate voices—but Arlo didn't slow. I'm not here to babysit this scientist their adults. Lucy gave them their homework. Whether they pass or fail, that's on them. He slipped two luxury balls from his belt, recalled Link and Kage in a flash of red light, and tucked them back into his coat. "Time to leave," he muttered. His voice sounded tired even to himself.
...
The corridors were chaos. Firefighters, medics, and officials swarmed the building, barking orders and rushing in. Arlo kept his pace casual, his coat collar pulled high. To them, he was just another bystander slipping through the cracks.
Outside, he found a bench beneath a row of trees. He sat, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, letting his body pretend it was tired even though adrenaline still pulsed through him. Then his HUD flickered.
A new message. Sender: Lucy. The words were simple. I know what you are now.
Arlo's stomach tightened. Before he could react, SYSTEM warnings flooded his vision.
[Warning: BrainLink compromised. Intruder detected.]
Then, just as fast, the alerts vanished. Then the BrainLink normalized. He blinked, and there she was—Lucy—sitting beside him on the bench. Not in flesh, but in his HUD.
"So you know who I am?" Arlo asked carefully.
Lucy smiled, her voice calm. "Yes. You don't belong to this universe. You're from outside it."
Arlo smiled despite the knot in his chest. "Yeah. Nailed it. But how did you access my BrainLink?"
"Simple," Lucy replied. "That message I sent you—once you opened it, I had access. Your defenses folded like paper"
Arlo's jaw clenched. Shock and unease crawled under his skin. Still, he forced a smile. "You know, you're one terrifying woman."
"You should upgrade your BrainLink," Lucy said, almost playfully.
Arlo narrowed his eyes. "And the SYSTEM? How did you overpower it?"
Lucy's face darkened. "I did not really overpower it, I just simply block it. When I became one with the universe, I felt it. The Entity you call SYSTEM. It connected to me. Not malicious, but terrifying. Alive, Arlo. It doesn't follow rules—it judges, it watches, it uses."
Arlo felt his chest tighten. "Its goal. What is it?"
Lucy opened her mouth, but what came out was gibberish—distorted sound, scrambled words. She grimaced. "The SYSTEM stopped me. Even I can't override it. That makes it even more dangerous."
Arlo leaned back, eyes narrowing. So even she can't out-hack the damn thing. That means I've been dancing in its palm since day one.
"Thank you," Arlo said finally, his tone stripped of sarcasm. "For the warning."
Lucy smiled faintly. "Meeting you was a miracle. Your presence doesn't change my fate, but it proves fate isn't absolute. My end was to lose my humanity and dissolve into the universe. But because of you, I retained a piece of myself. I'm still Lucy… in some way."
Arlo studied her expression, memorizing it. "Will we meet again?"
"Yes," she said softly. She leaned forward, pressed her lips to his in one final kiss, and then her presence fractured, dissolving into particles of light.
Arlo's HUD flickered back online.
[BrainLink restored. Pioneer is online]
He stared at the message, jaw tight. Back to square one. But nothing's the same anymore.
Then he saw a series of notification appeared in his HUD. Arlo opened a holo-screen to look into the notification.
---
[Notification: Clown Potion Digestion Progress: 92%]
---
[Skill Level Up!]
[Paper Dagger Leveled Up to Level 9]
[Bodily Control Leveled Up to Level 9]
[Hand-to-Hand Combat Leveled Up to Level 9]
---
His understanding as clown though the acting method goes further, which mean that it won't belong before the potion is completely digested.
Now it is time to see the his rewards for completing the quest.
---
[Main Quest Complete: The Gift of Knowledge]
Remark: You have helped Lucy become what she is meant to be one with this universe.
Reward: 6,000 Credits, 7,000 EXP, CPH4 (1-Microdose)
Evaluation: S - Rank
---
[Hidden Quest 1 Complete: Save Lucy's Humanity]
Remark: You have keep what little of humanity Lucy have by becoming a significant part of the of her life in a short time and allowing her to gain an anchor that allows her transition to the next step of her evolution.
Reward: Fragment of Creation (1%)
---
[Experience : 13,615 (20,250) XP]
[Credits: 13,945]
---
Sure enough, a notification blinked into his HUD — but it wasn't the one he'd been bracing for.
He'd expected damage reports. Maybe a stern little system message. But instead a message with his relationship instead.
---
[Relationship Update: Lucy Miller - Status: Anchor Partner/Friend ]
---
Arlo blinked. Read it again. Then a third time, slower, as if the words might rearrange themselves into something that made more sense.
A relationship update. That's what it led with. Not a warning, not a flag, not even an acknowledgment that a woman had just spent the better part of an hour dismantling its architecture. Just — a relationship update. Neat. Categorized. Filed away like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Anchor Partner. He didn't even know that kind of relationship existed.
He dismissed the notification and leaned back on the bench, staring at the SYSTEM's restored interface humming quietly at the edge of his vision. So it reconnected. He wasn't surprised about that part — Lucy had pressed against its seams and found nothing to grip. The SYSTEM had simply waited her out and snapped back the moment she was gone.
But that it had spent that time watching them. Cataloguing. Deciding what she was to him before he'd had the chance to figure it out himself.
That said more than he wanted to know.
He rubbed his forehead. I'm a low-level Pioneer.Whatever the SYSTEM really is, that's for my future selves to problem with. For now? Is to get gud.
Arlo stood up, stretched, and opened the holo-screen with a swipe.
---
[Euro Multiverse: Universe-EA1214]
[Warning: Portal Transfer Imminent]
[Accept Transfer? Y/N]
---
A portal shimmered to life in front of him, its edges crackling with the familiar digital static of a jump gate.
Arlo turned once, looking back toward the university. "One Hell of a vacation," he muttered, half amused, half exhausted. Then he stepped through.
...
Meanwhile, not far from where the portal had closed, Lucy watched.
She stood at the alley's edge, half-swallowed by shadow, sirens carving her silhouette in red and blue. She didn't move when the officers arrived. Didn't flinch at the shouting. She only watched the empty space where Arlo had been, her expression soft around the edges — as if she was committing it to memory, saving it somewhere careful, the way you preserve a thing you know you'll want to return to.
When she was satisfied, she simply stopped being there.
No footsteps. No retreating shadow. One moment she was a still figure against the chaos, and the next the alley held nothing but flickering light and the smell of ozone
As if she had never existed.