"Hold on, Messenger! I will get you back to the Witch so she could fix your arms!"

"We are nearly there, so just hold on tight!"

​​

"..."

Hercules was currently carrying Van with one hand, securing both of his broken arms carefully so that it would not fling about in the air. Hercules was supposed to say farewell to this world, but alas, the only thing that was now waving goodbye was Van's broken arms.

When Hercules heard a scream, he thought that he was already at the reaches of the Afterlife. But when he opened his eyes, he found himself stationary at the same spot he should have died; the screams of agony that he heard was not from the trillions of souls in the Afterlife, but from Van, whose arms were twisted disgustingly.

"Shouldn't your wounds be healed by now!?" Hercules said as he continued to run.

"W… what?"

"Even amongst the Olympians, you're healing ability is almost next to none."

"T… there's something like that?"

Van could not help but stutter as he felt his arms throbbing. If only he had the time, he would have brought some Crystals from the treasury so he had something to heal himself just in case something happens.

Truthfully, Van thought that his plan would work. Sure, when he did it to Solomon, there was a sort of resistance still, but ultimately, he died due to his brain being turned into mush.

But for Hercules… his head did not even budge a single millimeter. It was as if Van tried to shake a mountain.

"Why didn't you relax your head!?"

"I did!"

"How high are your STR and VIT?"

"My what?"

Hearing the confusion in Hercules's words, Van could not help but let out a slight groan. He forgot that Hercules wasn't a System Holder.

Seriously, what is going on in this world? Van thought. Ever since he entered the Pit, it was as if he learned more about the world than when he was outside.

People living inside the dungeon, super-powered humans created by the Circle, gods from another place… What next? Talking monsters?

Wait… that already happened.

"We are nearly there, Messenger. Hold on!"

"!!!"

Van could feel himself about to hurl as Hercules suddenly leaped into the air, going over the walls of the city and skipping the houses, lading straight on the terrace of Van's room.

"Who's that!?"

"Are you back, Van!?"

Nisha and Latanya, who were still arguing about Van's disappearance, quickly rushed to the terrace as they heard a loud noise.

"Van!"

The two wanted to approach Van as soon as they saw him. But alas, they could not as he was currently in the hands of Hercules.

"L… let go of him, you giant!" Nisha said as she drew her daggers. "Are you al--"

"Witch! Just the mortal we need!"

Before Nisha could finish her stutters, Hercules suddenly walked towards them. Latanya, who was the target of Hercules' stares, could not help but slightly step back.

"What do you want!?" She hollered.

"The Messenger is hurt. We require your powers to heal him, Witch."

Hercules then gently dropped Van to the floor of the terrace before backing away.

"What did you do to him!?"

Latanya quickly kneeled to check on Van, whose eyes were trembling uncontrollably from suddenly being lifted into the air without any warning.

"It is of his own doing," Hercules let out a short sigh, "But I suppose I share the fault."

"Tch," Latanya clicked her tongue as she saw Van's bones sticking out of his skin. Although she was still quite wary of Hercules, healing Van takes utmost priority.

It did not even take the blink of an eye for Van's arm to fully heal. Everyone present thought that it was just normal, as they were aware of how powerful Latanya's skills are. What they did not know, however, was that Latanya was currently holding her breath.

'...That was quite fast,' she thought. If she wanted to heal someone that fast, she would have to touch the wounds directly. But before her hands could even reach Van's arms, it was already healed.

Does Van also have a skill that makes Healing skills more effective? Latanya once again thought. But after a few seconds, she shook her head. That was of no importance right now.

"You alright, Van?" Nisha said as she approached Van and Latanya, her eyes staying on Hercules.

"Hm." Van only nodded his head and hummed.

"Where did this giant take you?"

"The end… of this Portal," Van said as he tried to catch his breath.

"...Where?"

"He took me where the Portal ends."

"You went to the edge!?" Latanya raised her voice.

"...You know of it?"

"Well, yes," Latanya shrugged her shoulders, "But I have never seen it once. The people from the City have barred anyone from straying far, even their own people."

"I… see," Van then let out a deep breath as he stood up, stretching his arms to check if his injuries were truly fully healed.

"Anyway, that is not important right now," Nisha muttered, "The leaders from the other Cities and your senate are already asking for you. You have been gone for quite a while and they require your presence. You need to address the--"

"...They are still alive?"

"W… what?" Nisha could not help but blink a couple of times as she saw the shocked expression on Van's face.

"I thought you would have killed all of them by now," Van let out a sigh, "Keeping them alive would only lead to more troubles in the future."

"What are you saying?" Nisha furrowed her eyebrows, "What's with you and killing people? We need them alive, they still have a lot of followers within their own City."

"Just replace them and get their seat, isn't that how it works here?"

"Are you sure?" Latanya placed her hand on her chin as she heard Van's words.

"Wait… are you two serious?" Nisha could not help but look at Van and Latanya back and forth, "Isn't there a more diplomatic way of solving this instead of just killing anyone that stands in your… Ugh! I am starting to sound like Gil!"

"..."

"I'll tell them you're awake now and will be meeting them shortly. That should stop them from making noise for a while," Nisha said, slightly groaning in frustration as she headed for the door, "You sure you don't need any back up?" She muttered glancing at Hercules.

"It's alright. He is… a friend."

"..." Already? Nisha thought. For a guy who lived in the slums, Van sure does befriend people quite fast, Nisha thought before nodding and leaving the room.

The guards who were watching the door outside quickly fixed themselves, looking at each other as Nisha left the room.

"Are they… finally done?"

"How long was that? Our new President sure does have quite a stamina."

"I should probably follow her just in case the other leaders try anything funny," Latanya let out a long and deep sigh as she too headed for the door, "Are you sure you can be left alone with this… giant?"

Van quickly nodded in response. But before Latanya could fully leave the room, Van called her.

"Wait, Miss Latanya. Please come back inside."

"T… they are not done!?" The guards once again looked at each other as they saw the door closing, with Latanya still inside.

"...What is it?" She was used to being the one giving orders. She thought that she would hate it if someone else would be giving her orders, but for some reason, she doesn't seem to mind if it was Van.

"Are you able to use your Skills on him?"

"...Him?" Latanya could not help but furrow her eyebrows as she looked at Hercules, "He doesn't seem to be injured."

"No, your other Skills," Van shook his head.

"My other skills?"

"The one you used when you melted the intruder from this City back in the Encampment."

"You mean my [Rot] Skill?"

"Is that what it's called?" Van slightly raised an eyebrow. That doesn't sound like a healing skill at all. Isn't Latanya more like a Unique-type rather than a Mage-type, then? "Are you able to use it just enough to make Mister Hercules weaker?"

"...Why?"

"We need to weaken him enough so I can finish him off."

Hearing Van's words, Latanya's mind could not help but be filled with confusion. I thought he was your friend? She thought. So why does he want to kill him now?

"Why--"

"This…"

Before Latanya could even say anything, a thunderous noise echoed throughout Van's room as Hercules suddenly clapped his hands, "This is a genius plan, Messenger!"

"...Is anyone going to fill me in on what's happening?" Latanya could not help but twitch her eyes as her ears almost bled.

"Mister Hercules wants to die so I am helping him," Van answered bluntly.

"...What? Why?"

"Because he wants to die. He is also my brother, apparently."

"...What?"

Latanya quickly looked back and forth, her head turning upwards to look at Hercules, then down towards Van. "...Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Hearing Latanya's disbelief, Van could not help but let out a sigh, "Take a seat, I will tell you all the details."

"Is it alright to tell him all of this, Messenger?"

"It is fine, she is one of the people I can trust here. I know things about her, it is only fair that she knows some things about me as well."

"I see," Hercules let out a short breath, "I did not expect to hear those words from you, brother. It would seem that this place has changed you. It is… a good change."

It took almost half an hour for Van to tell Hercules' story to Latanya. Of course, Van still omitted the parts where he could send the souls of those he killed to the Afterlife; only saying that Hercules wanted to die at the hands of his brother.

It took almost half an hour, only for Latanya to slightly back away, looking at Van as if he had finally lost the very little sanity he had left in him.

"...You expect me to believe any of this?" She said before letting out a long sigh, "Even for you Van, this lie is a bit of a stretch."

"It matters not whether you believe my story, Witch," Hercules replied, "What matters is whether you will assist us brothers in our endeavor."

"Sure."

"What?"

"You think I would pass the chance to kill the very person that destroyed the Wall?" Latanya stood up from her seat, a wide smile slowly creeping on her face as she looked Hercules straight in the eyes, "I will be happy to assist Van…

...to kill you in the most colorful of ways possible."