"My… my mother… is dead."

"What!?"

​​

Even with the numerous Prisoners in the vicinity, Eugene's voice still drowned the air as he rushed towards the bloodied Van. He did not even mind the threatening looks that the Prisoners were giving him.

"Where's your mother!?"

"Someone… someone killed her," Van's hand then slowly raised towards a certain house, his fingers flapping as it trembled uncontrollably, "In… in there."

"What!?" Eugene was about to rush towards the house to check, but before he could do so, Van grabbed his hand.

"N...no! Please don't let anyone see her… she… she's not wearing anything!"

"You heathens!"

Hearing Van's words, Eugene's voice once again echoed throughout the air as he scanned the Prisoners around him, "Did you rape his mother and kill her!?"

The Prisoners looked at each other in confusion. A mother? Did they have something like that in the Encampment? They knew Boss and her house could get a bit intense, but there's never been a case of someone getting pregnant.

Even Boss herself could not help but squint her eyes as she looked at the trembling Van. She wasn't here herself, but based on Reed's report…

...This boy is a ruthless killer. His trembling now was quite unexpected. And a mother? Where in the world did that come from!?

"C… chief! Let's leave this place immediately!"

"..." The Local Chief sighed as he shook his head in disappointment, "I thought this place would change with time… but now with my old age, I know now that this place will forever be the land of evil. Let's leave this abominable place!"

"B… but the food?" One of the Locals asked.

"Leave it there! It has already been contaminated by the air of these barbarians!"

"Yes!"

The Local nodded before scoffing at the Prisoners near him. In truth, this sizable amount of ration would not even make a dent in their food supply. With the wildlife, farms, and other monster population on their side of the Wall, they never found themselves worrying about food.

And so, the Locals left the Encampment as quickly as they came. Eugene stayed by Van's side at all times, trying to shield him from the other Prisoners.

Boss' frown still remained as her eyes did not wander off from Van as he passed by her. But then, she raised an eyebrow as she saw Van smiling at her, with his hands slightly hiding his face.

...Just what is this boy planning? Boss thought. Did he just do all of these things to escape the Encampment?

All of the Prisoners present in the exchange all let out their snarls as they watched the Locals leave.

"Don't come back here!"

"Thank you for the food, you suckers!"

"Next time bring women too!"

"Beautiful men are also welcomed, kakaka!"

While the Prisoners let out their slurs and cackles, Boss' frown returned to her face. Something was amiss, she thought. And finally, after deliberating it for a few seconds, she looked at the house that Van pointed to, where his "mother" is supposed to be.

She slowly made her way there, with the Prisoners quickly making her a path. However, she found that she was not alone in her idea. The two leaders of her Encampment, Rick, and Grant were already there.

As soon as they saw Boss approaching, Grant let out a laugh, his earrings jingling in the air. "You might want to take a look at this, Boss."

"...What's going on?"

Grant and Rick quickly moved to the side for Boss to enter the house. And so, she did… and what she found there immediately put a smile on her face.

"This… is the mother?"

***

"Are you okay, kid? What happened to your mother might seem harsh now. But I am sure she is more at peace now than she was ali-- I am sure she's happier."

The Local caravan was marching back to the Wall. And although their steps were hurried, their eyes remained vigilant as they were still in Prisoner territory.

"Where is your father?" And Eugene has been asking many questions about Van ever since they left the Encampment.

"I… don't know." Van shook his head in response, "My mother only told me not to ask questions about him."

"Tch. Those barbarians probably raped her," one of Eugene's men spat on the ground as he let out his disdain.

"We must find a way to fully close the gates of hell or they will keep on coming!"

Van's ears perked up as soon as he heard the Local's words. Gates of hell? Were they talking about the Portal?

"Chief is there really no way to close the gate!? I already miss my family back in the city!"

"Fool! Stop bothering the chief with these nonsensical questions!" Eugene lightly hit one of his men in the back of the head, "You knew full well when you signed up to be in the Wall that you will never return back to your families!"

Hearing his people bicker, the Chief could only let out a sigh, "Our village is tasked to guard the Wall, that is all you need to know. Our ancestors have tried to do so, but if you kill them, more will just come. Peace has been our people's best option against them."

"Tch. We should send an army inside the gates of hell. Maybe that will stop them!"

"Pft. You go first. My mother has told me that only devils live there!"

"..."

Van remained quiet as he listened in on the Locals. And so far, he learned one thing… they didn't know about the world outside and seem to have certain beliefs about it.

Although he was not really one to talk. He had no idea that people live like this in the Pit, and there were even these Locals born from it. Aside from their population, there really wasn't that much difference here from the outside world.

The Locals continued their conversation as they made their way through the forest path. Even the Chief has already assured them that no one will be attacking them, but the Locals were still completely on guard. They would remain so until they reach their side of the Wall.

Finally, after an hour or so, they finally reached the end of the forest path and the Wall was completely in view.

"...You?" And at the end of the forest path, was Reed. Calmly leaning on a tree as his eyes scanned the Locals one by one. However, as soon as he saw Van, his calm expression quickly disappeared.

Van, on the other hand, did not even spare him a glance.

Reed was tasked to see what was going on at the Wall during their trade and would report anything he deemed suspicious as soon as possible. But nothing seemed to be going on… until now, that is.

Should he report back to Boss? But since Van came from there, surely they already knew that he went with the Locals.

With Reed slightly fidgeting, the Locals all looked at him, ready to fight at any time. Reed didn't respond to their slight provocation, instead, his eyes did not leave Van for a second even as he got smaller and smaller from the distance.

In front of the Wall, Van could not help but look around. There didn't seem to be any opening or even a gate for them to pass through… just how are they getting to the other side?

He did not need to wait long, however. As his questions were quickly answered by the quaking Wall. The clouds of dust that were sticking on the Wall started trickling down bit by bit, but not enough to shower them with dirt.

And then, the part of the Wall that was in front of them started to open up into an arch.

"This…" Van could not help but let out a short whisper. It would seem that they were using a couple of Mage-type System Holders to guard the Wall. It makes sense, he thought. How else would they be able to build a Wall like this, almost as tall as a mountain?

But what if they ran out of Mage-types? Are all Locals… System Holders? Is something like that even possible?

"Do not be afraid, boy." The Chief stroked his beard as he looked at Van, "No one will harm you in the village, you no longer have to live in fear of those barbarians."

"...Hm," Van only nodded and smiled. As they were passing through the Wall, it would seem it was only as tall as a mountain, it was also as wide. One wouldn't really notice how thick it was from only looking at one side, but this was almost like a tunnel. It took them almost a minute to pass through, longer when you add the caravan.

And as soon as the sun once again basked their light, the Locals' faces began to relax. It was as if they have not felt the sunlight for years, with their sighs of relief echoing through the air.

"Finally, fresh air!"

"Ack, I thought I was going to become stiff!"

"Wait 'til you see our village, kid. There are other kids there your age. What's your name, by the way?" Eugene slightly chuckled as he turned his head towards Van.

"...Kid?"

Van, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"What!? Where is he!?"

Eugene and the rest of the Locals quickly look around. And as their eyes reached back towards the closing Wall, they saw a silhouette from afar.

Eugene squinted his eyes to see clearer, only to see Van, who was just beside them, back on the other side of the Wall. Even from afar, they could see his eyes which were looking at them with a lazy expression.

"What… what are you doing there!? Come ba--!"

Before Eugene could finish his words, the Wall completely closed on him.

"W… wait! Open the Wall, there's still one of us outside!" He tried to call the attention of the Mage-types on top of the Wall. But alas, they could not hear him.

"What… what just happened!?"

***

***

"This… is the mother?"

Back in the Encampment, the two leaders and Boss had their eyes glued towards the inside of the house that Van pointed to just earlier.

And just as expected from seeing Van entirely covered in blood earlier, the house was drowned in the color of red. Scattered on the bed, the walls, and the floor. It was as if the corpse burst into pieces, no… it definitely burst into pieces.

However, even with the bits and pieces scattered on the ground. The body clearly did not belong to a mother… It was not even a woman in the first place.

It was just a random male prisoner.