"..."

Even though his presence was the one that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, the confusion and surprise in Charles's face were probably the most prominent between all of them. Van and the others weren't expecting Charles to suddenly pop up out of nowhere, but Charles truly did not expect to see Van again this soon, not to mention he was now with his daughter… and Gerald.

Also, the fact that Van was still standing here could only mean one thing-- the assassins that they had tasked to kill him as soon as he landed in Muspelheim were not successful.

"What… is the meaning of this?" Charles then quickly turned his head towards Gerald as soon as he woke up from his stupor.

"We were trying to pass through the River and failing, what's there to explain?" Gerald shrugged his shoulders.

"That's not what I wanted to ask. Why are you with… him?"

"Why not?" Gerald furrowed his eyebrows as he answered Charles's question, "Right now, we both have something we need from each other. So I do not really see why I would not be with him, Charles."

"You both need something you need from each other? Should you really be doing something like this when you know we're so near to accomplishing the plan we've been working for for a hundred years?"

"You are near," Gerald quickly replied, "I have already left your little merry band of cultists. What you and my brother will be doing now is seriously none of my concern."

"But what about all the pain and suffering the gods have cost us!?"

"My only suffering is Xinyan's current condition-- and the gods did not do that to her, Charles. If you're here to destroy the Muspelheim's Rivers, no one is going to stop you; we can't use it anyway."

Hearing Gerald's words, Van's face slightly twitched. Van could use the River if he wished to, but he truly did not want to separate from his child for now. His goal of finding the others was completely overshadowed by the fact that he had found Vanya.

Besides, the Harvey that was living in this world was no longer the same one he knew-- there was no point in bridging ties that do not want to be connected. Surprisingly, he was not really holding a grudge against Harvey for having sent people to kill him-- he could understand why from hearing their story. He was not seeking revenge, but if they wish to continue to bother him…

"That's not--"

Before Charles could continue to argue with Gerald, he could not help but stop as he felt his mouth suddenly getting lighter; it was then followed by a warm sensation, slowly filling up the insides of his mouth.

Charles quickly wiped his mouth as soon as he felt this, and se he looked at his hand, he found that it was completely covered in blood.

"W… whath?" His speech then slightly became disfigured as blood continued to spew from his mouth.

"Take it as a warning, Charles."

And as he was completely confused as to what just happened, Van then suddenly walked towards him, with his hand stretched and palm wide open.

"T… tjats!?"

And as soon as he saw the small objects sitting on top of Van's palm, he quickly placed his fingers in his own mouth.

Teeth, there were 5 teeth on Van's palm; with a hint of blood still fresh on it. And as the pain that Charles was feeling gave away-- it was without a doubt his. There was also the fact that he could literally feel the new void inside his mouth.

Forget seeing it, he did not even feel Van plucking his teeth from him until his gums started bleeding. Realizing the kind of speed needed to do something like that, Charles could not help but slightly shudder as he backed away; his pained moans, whispering through the air.

"I do not care what kind of war you start, but do not involve me and my family," Van then said, followed by the minute sound of Charles's teeth dropping on the ground one by one.

"Hey, I thought that was our deal," Gerald blinked a couple of times as soon as he heard Van's words.

"It still is. I know he is not going to tell Harvey what I said anyway," Van glance at Gerald before turning his attention back to Charles, "Also, your mother is buried at the place where we last met."

"...Buried?"

It was as if the pain that was dancing inside Charles's mouth instantly vanished as his eyes completely widened in shock. It wasn't only him, even Gerald had a hint of surprise on his face; he did not even know that Charlotte was alive. If he did, then he would have definitely challenged her to see how strong he had truly become.

But now, from what Van is saying, then there was no chance of that from ever happening.

"What do you mean buried?" Charles breathed heavily.

"She died," Van's words were sharp to the point of almost lowering the temperature of Muspelheim, "She died calling for her family, calling for you."

"...How? The last time we talked she was still--"

"She died right after. I told her you knew where she was for a hundred years and her mind just started deteriorating. I know you know of her condition."

Charles kept his mouth shut as he stared to the side, his eyes completely frozen. But after a few seconds, he took in a long and deep breath as he shook his head, "Thank you for burying her, Van. But that does not change the fact that--"

"You know I am the son of Hermes, a god, right?" Van did not let Charles finish his words.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I assume that since you know all of that about me, you also know about my most special Skill."

"What are you-- No." Upon realizing what Van was getting at, Charles's eyes once again could not help but widen, "You didn't…"

"She asked me to," Van said as his eyes did not leave Charles for even a second, "She died in my arms, Charles."

Van then took in a long and deep breath as he looked at his hands, "If you won't tell Harvey to ignore me, then just warn him to tread lightly… and tell him to pray that we will never meet again, or I will do to him what he did to Artemis."

Gerald's whistle rang through the air as Van left the Gates of the River just like that. Vanya also glared at Charles, her eyes not leaving him for even a second as she walked away.

And as soon as they were left alone, Charles quickly stretched his hands towards Gerald. But before his fingertips could reach him, he suddenly moved to the side, completely avoiding his hand.

"What do you think you're doing? Are you thinking of taking me to my brother?"

"Evans is dangerous, Gerald! We must plan to eliminate him as soon as possible, we can't do it without you!"

"...Didn't you just listen to what I said? I don't care."

"Then what about your brother? Evans just threatened to kill your brother, are you just going to let that slide?"

"I need Van more than my brother at this time, Charles," Gerald let out a small smirk, "If you could gain a favor from Latanya, then I would gladly join back to your merry group."

"That's…"

"You can't," Gerald then let out a sigh as he too, turned to leave, "Listen to the boy, Charles. You already have the Aesir on your list, I suggest not adding someone who has the title of the Devourer of the Gods to your list."

"You… know about that?"

"I'm not as stupid as my brother," Gerald took one final glance at Charles before stepping out of the River Gates, "I hear a lot of things. Also, I kind of killed all of your people here in Muspelheim…

...I hope you don't mind."

"W… what?"

Hearing Gerald's fading voice, Charles could only blink his eyes a couple of times. He was here to plant bombs and destroy the access point of the gods from and to Muspelheim, but he almost went back there and then to quickly report everything that just happened.

If Van had truly absorbed Charlotte… wouldn't that mean that the information he had about his strength…

...was completely irrelevant? Even before being sent to this world, Charles had already known of Van's ability to be able to absorb the 'souls' of those he killed. His mother, the last he checked, was at most level 2000.

Wouldn't that mean that the only person that would even have the chance of fighting against him in his group… was Gerald?

But right now, Gerald is on his side. As soon as he thought of that, Charles began to quickly plant the bombs on the Gate, before disappearing out of thin air. He did not even confirm if the bombs he planted detonated as he teleported to a different location.

And no, he was not back in Midgard. Gerald had told him of his goal, which means that if he was able to achieve that goal more efficiently than Van, then there was a chance that Gerald would once again go back to their side.

And so, Charles took it upon himself to go into a little mission-- to try and seek an audience with Latanya Boss. Van and Gerald were still several Realms away from Vanaheim, so if he could convince her to heal Xinyan, then he would have the bargaining power of ordering Gerald…

...to kill Van