The Derose Family Secret Technique

On the way to the town...

“Hey, Uncle, can you tell me about my mom? I don’t fully remember my past,” Roman said.

“Okay, I’ll tell you everything.”

Uncle Goro told the story of Lyra’s life. She was a quiet person. Even so, she loved her family very much. She was always kind to her younger siblings and her older brother.

She was born with a weak constitution, but she had mastered Inner Power, a technique passed down from her ancestors. She advanced the technique into a defensive one by strengthening the muscles and bones so that her body became as strong as a rock.

However, she died young. At that time, Roman was four years old. She had a rare, incurable disease. The cause of her death was the overuse of her Inner Power.

She wanted to be able to practice martial arts like Satria. However, her body was weak. She got tired easily, but she used her Inner Power to strengthen her body so that she could keep training. On the other hand, due to overusing the technique, she got a rare disease that could not be cured. Eventually, she succumbed to her disease at the age of twenty-six.

“Mom was incredible. Even though her body was weak, she looked for ways to keep her body strong. Amazingly, she could develop Inner Power into a defensive technique. I’m very proud to be his son,” Roman said.

“One more thing. Not only could she heal herself, but she could also heal others. I remember that Mom once healed a wound on Roman’s leg. She touched it with water and in a matter of seconds his wound healed.”

“Is that true? She could do that? It’s Inner Power’s most advanced form. She wrote it in the book. Actually, there’s one form that is the most difficult out of all Inner Power forms.”

“What is it, Uncle?” Roman asked.

“You channel your Inner Power to destroy anything you touch. My father could do it. He would lightly touch a rock and it would fall apart.”

“Wow, so this technique has two purposes, huh? It can heal and hurt people,” Roman said.

“Exactly!!”

“So, this technique is extremely dangerous if learned by evil people,” Roman said.

“But I believe in you two. Surely you can master it and use it wisely.”

“Of course. Once I master this technique, the Earth will definitely be safe. I’ll protect all living beings on Earth!!” Roman said.

“Don’t be too cocky just yet, Roman. You’re still much weaker than me,” Julia said.

“You do know who defeated Satyr, right?”

“You used Inner Power several times so you could keep fighting. You should also train your body to become stronger so that you don’t completely rely on it. Don’t you know the consequences of using it too much?”

“Yes, I know. I’ll continue training to become stronger!”

A few days later...

“Hey, stupid little brother! Get up, it’s morning already. We’ve arrived.”

“Whoa, this is really close to Satyr’s castle. Whoa, I can see the tall building over there. So, is this where you live, Uncle? If I had known, I would’ve stopped by to eat.”

“Yes, Roman. This is indeed close to where you fought him. Let’s go inside.”

“Whoa, this place is completely different from Shinra’s house, but this classic atmosphere makes me feel at home. Is that a picture of Mom and Dad?” Roman asked.

“Yes, that’s right. I kept it after your father died.”

“Whoa, they really are a perfect match, huh?” Roman said, staring at the photo.

Then, the three of them cleaned and tidied up the tavern.

In the Sacred Hawk Kingdom...

Torou was going to go to Satyr’s castle. He wanted to check if there was a communication device used by Satyr to relay information to Zhargun.

“Torou-sensei!” Shinra shouted from his room’s window on the second floor, calling Torou who was walking out of the castle.

“What is it, Shinra?”

“Where are you going, Sensei?”

“I’m going to the town. I’m going to Satyr’s castle. Maybe I can find a way to communicate with Zhargun.”

The town? Julia is there. “I’m coming along because I’m your student. I have to protect my sensei,” Shinra said, getting ready.

He came down from his room and made his way to Torou.

Just admit you want to meet Julia. Such a lovesick boy. Torou thought.

“Hey, Shinra, where are you going in such a hurry?” Kong asked. He was sitting in the main hall.

“I want to go to the town with Torou-sensei! Kong, you and the Torto guard the castle, okay? I’m going away for a few weeks to investigate Satyr’s castle!” Shinra answered, catching up to Torou.

“Okay. Take care.”

“Let’s go!” Shinra said.

They rode on their horses. Three days later, they came across a Rhino.

“Hey, you’re Shinra, right?” the Rhino asked, approaching Shinra and Torou.

“Yes, that’s right. What is it?”

“I want to show you something. You would like to know this!” the Rhino said, walking into the forest.

Shinra and Torou followed him. A few moments later, they were astonished to see a large aircraft by the lake.

“Aircraft?! Whose is it?” Shinra said.

“I’m not so sure, but from its scent, it must belong to Satyr!” the Rhino said.

“Right. I detect a strong scent of Satyr around this aircraft!” Torou added.

“So what do we do, Torou-sensei? Shall we inspect the aircraft?”

“All right, come on!”

Shinra and Torou scanned the aircraft. No damage was found. It was very likely it could still be used. They looked around and found a hidden entrance.

“How do you open this door?” Shinra asked.

“I found this aircraft yesterday while foraging for food around here. I wanted to tell you, so I decided to head to the Sacred Hawk Kingdom today. It’s a coincidence that I met you.”

“It can’t be opened! There must be something around here!” Shinra said.

“Very well, for now we had better go to Satyr’s castle first. Maybe we can find something there,” Torou said.

“It seems there’s nothing we can do about it. I’m going to Satyr castle with Torou-sensei.”

“I’ll return to my place. But before that, I’ll look for leaves to cover this aircraft,” the Rhino said.

“Thank you for the information, Rhino!” Shinra said.

“Anytime. After all, it’s for the best, isn’t it? Humans and monsters can coexist.”

“Right!” Shinra gave the Rhino a high five and the Rhino smiled back.

The two of them resumed their journey to Satyr’s castle.

A few hours later...

“Very well, Shinra. We part here!”

“Why is that, Torou-sensei?”

“I know why you wanted to come with me. You wanted to meet Julia, right? It is all right. I will go to Satyr’s castle on my own. You can catch up later if you want,” Torou said, leaving Shinra.

Huh? How did he know? “All right, Sensei. I’ll catch up later, okay?” Shinra said.

He went to see Julia. Now, he was in front of the tavern where Julia lived.

“What should I say? ‘Hey, how are you, Julia?’ Ah, no, no. Maybe ‘Hello everyone.’ Ah, no. It’s stilted,” he said to himself.

Julia came from behind him. “Why don’t you just go inside? Instead of standing here like a madman talking to himself.”

She then walked past him and entered the tavern.

Huh? Since when is she behind me? He looked around. People were puzzled to see him talking to himself.

“Hey, Shinra! What are you doing here? It’s only been a few days since we left. You’ve already missed my sister, huh?” Roman said.

A frying pan hurled toward his head, thrown by Julia from inside the tavern.

“Ouch. Hey, shitty older sister!” Roman shouted.

Another frying pan hit his face.

The three of them then chatted inside. Shinra told them about Satyr’s aircraft outside the town’s border. Roman and Julia were curious.

“Is the aircraft functional?” Julia asked.

“I’ve investigated it with Torou-sensei, but we didn’t find anything useful. The door can’t be opened, either!”

“Just break the door!” Roman said.

“You want me to destroy your face?!” Julia snapped.

“You did it just now, though!”

“Now, where’s Torou?” Julia asked.

“He went to Satyr’s castle alone to check if there was anything he could use to communicate with Zhargun.”

“Why didn’t you come with him?” Julia asked.

“It’s obvious, right? He just wanted to meet you, Sis.”

A frying pan buzzed past Roman. He was able to evade it.

“It missed,” he teased. Julia lifted a large wooden bucket, getting ready to throw it at him.

“Hey, you want to destroy Uncle’s stuff?!”

“Tch. I want to go buy something. Take care of this shop, Roman!” Julia lowered the bucket and walked out of the tavern.

“Roger that.”