"What happened!?"

"Did anybody see what happened!?"

​​

"Fuck, no. I had my earphones on, so when I heard a sudden explosion I almost fell from my seat."

"Why isn't there a replay button on this thing!?"

"I saw like a light flash in my screen, but after that, the camera just shook."

"Bros, I saw what happened. It's crazy."

"I saw it too. What the fuck… I think Duma is dead."

"What!?"

The screen in front of the people of Africa was currently being drowned by words and letters as they all asked the same question,

"What just happened?"

And Adia too, along with Duma's team of Explorers were asking the same thing.

The ones most affected, however, were the team of people from the media. They brought about 4 different cameras of different sizes, but now, only one was pointed at the area where Van and Duma were previously standing at. The other three were busy wiping the blood suddenly showered on them, as well as on their cameras.

"I… I don't believe what I just witnessed everyone. I don't even know if we're allowed to air this, but by the order of the King, everything must be documented!"

The host almost stuttered, trying his best to announce the scenery that just presented itself to him.

"We… we will try if we can get a replay for those who are watching at home… but…

...I think Gold-rank Explorer Duma is dead!"

"Oh fuck!"

"Is it true? What happened!? Why is the host not telling us how it happened!?"

As soon as one of the commentators mentioned his words, the screen in front of everyone shifted, into the events of what happened a few seconds ago.

"We've already started a few seconds ago," the stream was showing Duma with his arms crossed, his tone completely relaxed, "I am just waiting for you to make the first mov--"

However, before Duma could finish his words, a loud explosion erupted, shaking the camera and making it hard for the people to see what happened.

The people were about to comment again, but before they could do so, the scene replayed again, this time a lot slower than the first.

The watchers were literally on the edges of their seats, not wanting to miss even a millisecond.

Some of them didn't even blink as a sudden golden flash of light almost erupted from their screens, and after that, all they could see was that the protege of the White Imvubu was gone. While Duma... Duma was in pieces.

His flesh floating in slow-motion, bursting into pieces all across the screen. And right in the center of it, was a golden blur.

But even with the video slowed down, it was hard to make out what the blur is-- a testament to how fast whatever the thing is was moving.

"That's the protege of the White Imvubu!"

"Are you fucking serious!?"

"No way. Did he just ram through Duma?"

"Is Duma really dead!? What the heck."

Once again, with them now seeing what happened, the screen was once again flooded by the comments of all the watchers.

And now, with the replay done, the screen went back to the current events happening, and all the people could see was Van trying to shake Duma's blood off his body.

And since the camera was close to him, they could even hear him letting out a long and deep sigh, clearly showing how frustrated he was that he was now covered in Duma's guts.

"You said just ram through him? I thought he was going to be as strong as you."

Even Van's voice showed how annoyed he was. If the people weren't aware of the context of what happened to him, they would have probably thought that he just stepped on shit with the way he was acting.

"Pft," Angela let out a giggle as she approached Van. She then raised her hand, causing a huge ball of water to suddenly splash throughout Van's whole body, afterwards, a gale of wind washed away all the water on Van's body, completely drying him in no time.

"You already knew what was going to happen, didn't you?" Van once again let out a sigh as he looked at Angela.

"...I suppose."

"Why didn't you tell me he was that weak? You're both Gold-rank Explorers and yet he didn't even blink when I got in front of him. I think we just borrowed this suit, I don't want to be the one paying for it."

Hearing Van's words once again caused Angela to let out a chuckle, "He actually has almost double your level," Angela lowered her voice, "But I already knew he was no match for you the first time we met him."

"Let's just go," Van could not help but shake his head as he made his way back to the truck, "We should probably leave this country as soon as possible."

"Hm," Angela then nodded, following Van to the truck. Surprisingly, Charlotte was already at the truck, even before the two. The camera crew as well as Duma's teammate, could only look at the three as they seem to just casually chat with each other as soon as they all got onto the truck

"Wait!"

One of Duma's teammates and the other Gold-rank adventurer, Kiama, jumped on the truck and stood in front of Angela, "I thought you were going to heal Duma!?"

"...Heal what?" Angela blinked a couple of times as she looked back towards where Duma was previously standing before Van mowed him down into pieces.

"That…" Kiama could not help but bite her lip. She could care less about Duma, but Duma was their leader, and without him, the responsibility would fall onto her. She didn't want to join this exploration in the first place, but now, it would seem that she would need to step up.

"Then just choose the Princess as your leader, she seems competent enough."

"Y… you're right!"

Kiama did not even wonder how Angela knew what she was thinking as she focused her attention on the Princess, whose expression was completely blank as she stared at the blood and guts that littered and showered the camera crew.

"P… Princess Adia, how would you like to lead our team? I can't think of a better person to lead us."

The other Silver-rank Explorer that they were with, as well as the people watching the stream, could not help but think that they were completely forgetting the fact that Duma just died. Duma, one of the Gold-rank Explorers of Africa… and his death was being treated as if something just minor.

But finally, someone with humanity started to speak up.

"Did… did you just kill Duma, Va-an?"

Adia stuttered as she slowly looked towards Van, her eyes trembling from what she just witnessed.

"Yes," Van answered without even blinking.

"W… why?"

"What do you mean why?" Van slightly furrowed his eyebrows, "He challenged me to a fight, Adia. I only did what he wished me to."

"But you didn't have to kill him…"

"I actually think I did, Ms. Adia," the tone of Van's voice slightly shifted as he heard Adia's words, "It wasn't my intention to do so, but I think now that it happened, I would probably do it again. Duma is a risk to this exploration."

"Ho…" Charlotte, who was listening in on the side, could not help but let out a slight hum. It would seem this boy is growing, she thought.

"...A risk?"

"Stopping us in the middle of nowhere just to impress you and fill up his ego? What if a monster suddenly popped out. You could have probably protected yourselves, but what about them?" Van pointed towards the camera crew.

"But this is a regulated area, most of the Portals have been cleared by Explo--"

"Nowhere is safe, Ms. Adia. I know you've lived a pampered life here, but from where I lived, you needed to be careful even when sleeping," Van was starting to get annoyed. He knew that he was overreacting, but for some reason, his heart was heavy.

"..." Adia, however, only looked to the side with a slight scoff, "Let's go. So Mr. Va-an here could go home already!"

"..."

The other people could only look at each other in silence as the truck once again began to move. The silence remained like this for hours until it reached their destination-- the entrance to the area they call the Darkzone.

"What… is this?"

"That's the Wall I told you about," Charlotte replied to Van's curiosity.

"That's… a wall?"

With Charlotte telling him before they left that there was another Wall they would be passing, he initially thought that it was the first line of defense of Africa against the monsters from the Darkzone.

But the thing in front of them wasn't a wall at all-- it was a dark cloud. A dark cloud that covered almost the entire horizon. The expressions of the other passengers quickly became tense, their sweats filling their suit as they got nearer and nearer to the cloud.

"We're passing through the wall!" The one driving the truck hollered, "Don't make any sudden movements and grab on the rail, we're not stopping until we're through!"

"Yes!"

Van quickly held onto the rail in the middle of the truck as he heard the driver's voice. However, he felt a slight tinge of pain in his arm as he did so. Van looked to the side, only to see Adia's hand grabbing tightly around his right arm, her mouth letting out short whimpers.

"..."

"We're passing through! Everyone…

...Close your eyes!"

***

"!!!"

The trees rustled, almost slipping apart as a small hill from somewhere in one of the Portals in the Darkzone started to tremble. But instead of running away, the inhabitants of the hills all ran towards the moving hill, the sparkle on their eyes brighter than the dimly lit skies above.

The hill continued to move, pushing away the trees and causing them to fall. But soon, from the remnants and the dirt of the hill that fell like ashes, rose a woman.

A woman of a gigantic size, whose hair was as green as the trees that used to cover the hills she woke up from. The woman then stood up, causing the whole forest around her to tremble as her gigantic weight centered on it, but still, the creatures around her did not falter, instead even bowing towards her presence.

Her eyes, as if reflecting the roundness of the earth itself. Her long and green hair, almost taking the shape of her body as every individual strand smoothly followed her silhouette, parting through the curves of her bosom.

She was almost perfect, but alas…

...one of her arms was missing.

"This scent...

...familiar."