I remember my first time entering Flying Waters and fighting the Démineur, because there was something so childlike about their design that made me feel awful killing them. Then, a little later, I realised they remind me very vividly of Alicia herself.

The most obvious elements, to me, are their lack of vocalisation and the eyehole of its helmet giving the impression of a single eye looking at you – a reoccurring visual motif throughout the game calling back to Alicia’s remaining eye. They’re entirely quiet as far as I can tell, and even the white Nevron counterpart never speaks a word, unlike all the others of its kind. There’s also this ghost-like quality to their design with their floating bodies and long strands of kelp, particularly in the case of the white Nevron due to its colouration. Alicia, too, is likened to a ghost by Renoir when in ACT 3 he calls her “a living ghost”.

The most fascinating part for me, however, is the contrast between childlike innocence and destruction. The way they hold the floating mine is very reminiscent of a child holding onto a balloon, further emphasised by their smaller size compared to most other Nevrons. It’s a very charming and whimsical design element for a monster, but the mine is also a dangerous weapon capable of hurting not just the Expeditioners, but also the Nevron and its surrounding allies. Any strategy guide is going to tell you to destroy the mine as your first action, because that’s the Démineur’s weak point, and the following explosion will deal considerable fire damage to it and its allies standing directly beside it. There are definitely parallels to be seen between this and the way Alicia’s naivety (a quality frequently characterised as childlike) led to the fire that severely hurt her and her family members in the process.