"Where did you suddenly disappear into, Van?"

Gil slightly flinched as Van appeared out of nowhere beside him. He was going to follow him earlier, but he disappeared before he could do so.

​​

"Oh, I just washed my face." Van said as he shook his hair, "Do you guys believe in ghosts?"

"...What's with the weird questions lately?" Nisha, who was throwing stones through the Portal, could not help but scoff as she heard Van's questions.

"No, I saw a woman floating on top of the lake while I was washing my face."

"...What?" Nisha almost tripped and went beyond the Portal. She then looked at Van straight in the eyes before letting out a long and deep sigh, "I am going to sleep. You really should brush up your lying skills, you're getting rusty… no, you're getting ridiculous."

"Goodnight, boss." Cynthia also waved her hand as she pushed her husband inside their house, giggling coquettishly as they closed and barred their door.

"..."

Van and Gil looked at each other as they were suddenly left alone outside.

"...Did you really see a ghost, Van?"

"Yes. Floating on top of the water and staring at me."

"R… really? What did she look like?" Gil crossed his arms as he felt a certain chill crawl up his arms like a thousand worms. "Remind me not to wash up at night," he said, his voice trembling from the cold only he could feel.

The two talked to each other for a couple more minutes before Gil started yawning and walking back to his house, "Well, it's getting late. Have a goodnight, Van. You should probably get some sleep too before the ghost returns."

"Hm," Van nodded as he too got up. However, before he could enter his house, a scream pierced his ears from behind.

"Brat!"

"!!!"

Van immediately moved to the side and turned around, only to see a huge disc made of earth shooting where he previously was. If it was not for his superspeed, he would have surely lost his head there and then.

...It would seem that his night was not over yet. He then stopped all of his skills, with the earth disc completely going through his door and splitting it into two.

"What was that!?"

A banging sound quickly echoed through the air as Nisha slammed her door open and ran towards Van's side, still tying up the bandana on her head. Gil, who just got inside his house, also rushed outside to see what was happening.

"Tch," Nisha quickly drew her daggers as she looked at the dozen men surrounding them in an arch, led by Grant. "...What do you want?" She furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at Van's now broken door.

"Your little boss killed another 6 of my men!" Grant roared as he summoned another earth disc from the ground.

"...What?" Both Nisha and Gil then slowly looked towards Van, who just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I was washing my face. I even saw a ghost, remember?"

"Who would believe something like that!?" The spinning earth disc floating on top of Grant's palms rotated even faster, "Ever since you've arrived here, you have done nothing but killed more and more of my men!"

With Grant's ever-growing voice, the Prisoners once again gathered to the center to see what the commotion is all about. Cynthia and her husband have also come out of the house, their clothes disheveled and their breaths panting as they join Van and the others.

"Hehe… I knew it. Things are bound to happen when we're on your side," Cynthia licked her lips as she looked at the dozen men staring at them with hostility in their eyes. Her body couldn't stop shivering from imagining all the blood that will drown her body tonight, "We get to kill again, darling."

"You're right, hehehe." Both Cynthia and her husband let out a menacing laugh that echoed throughout the whole Encampment.

"...Despite what they are saying, I didn't really kill your men," Van let out a sigh as he shook his head.

"Tch, still playing innocent!? I knew you killed them!"

"...No one is innocent here, maybe except Gil."

"Stop blabbering nonsense! Someone saw you walking to the direction where their bodies were found!"

"Of course I walked there, I wanted to wash my face."

"The lake is in the other direction!"

"...Oh," Van squinted his eyes he placed his hand on his chin.

"That's it!" Grant could not help but grit his teeth as the earth disc on top of his palm started whistling, "This ends now you brat!"

"Enough!"

However, before he could even throw his projectile, a feminine voice filled with authority reverberated in the air. Grant could only click his tongue and throw the earth disc to the ground as he looked at the woman approaching them.

"Boss, are you coming to the boy's rescue again!?"

"No, no such thing," Boss shook her head as she let out a long and deep sigh, "But I do have a witness who saw everything."

As soon as she said that, Reed, who was following her from behind, stepped forward.

"...Your pet dog?"

Reed only furrowed his eyebrows as he heard Grant's insults, afterward, he cleared his throat and moved to the center of the altercation, "I saw your men blocked Mr. Van's path, and according to their words, they wanted to present his head to you."

"...See?" Van pointed his finger towards Reed as he nodded in satisfaction.

"See!? What do you mean see!? The only thing I see here is that you confessed to killing them!"

"No, I didn't."

"Why are you still lying even though you already got caught!"

"T--"

"Enough, enough." Before the two could continue their ridiculous argument, Boss once again let out a long and loud sigh. "You guys go home and solve this tomorrow morning."

"But Boss, he has been killing my men one by one!"

"...And? What do you want to do? There are no laws against that here, in case you are forgetting--"

"Why are you showing such favoritism towards the boy!?" Before Boss could finish her words, Grant slightly stepped forward as he raised his voice, "Are you getting senile!?"

But as soon as he said his last words, the whole Encampment became quiet, with only the sudden whispers of the Prisoners chattering in the air.

Reed also took out both of his weapons from his hair. And Solomon, who was quietly standing behind Boss, started fuming from his nose as his loud grunts caused Grant's men to shiver where they stood.

However, before the two could do anything, Boss raised her hand to stop them. She then walked closer towards Grant, each of her steps causing Grant to flinch. "Why am I favoring the boy, you say?"

Grant could only look to the side as Boss' face was only a few inches away from his.

Once again, Van was shocked because of the fear that Grant was showing towards Boss. He thought that they were afraid of her because Reed and Solomon were always at her side, but that didn't seem to be the case.

What kind of healer was she, really? Van had already asked Cynthia and Nisha, but even they could not answer him.

"You ask why I favor him?"

Boss repeated her words as she breathed down on Grant's neck, "Van has not even been here a week, and not only did he provide all of you with more food that you will ever see in your pathetic lives, he also spat on the faces of the Locals."

"..."

"You and Rick have been here for years, playing your stupid games with no goal whatsoever but to piss each other off and play who has the biggest cock," Boss slowly raised her hand and grabbed Grant's whole face, "And you ask me why I am favoring the boy?"

"N… no, I--"

"If it were up to me, the boy should be the one handling all of you."

Grant could not help but stutter as he felt Boss' breaths crawling through his ear. He was about to say something, but before he could do so, a loud clap echoed through the air.

"!!!"

"Such a nice show you savages put up for me tonight," an unfamiliar voice entered their ears as a man came out of the darkness.

It was the guest of the Local Village, the officer that came from the City.

The Prisoners, who were previously at each other's throats, were now all looking at the stranger, their guards all raised.

"But sadly, I would have to cut your silly performance," the man said as he stretched his arms open, "It all must end, for it's time… for a Culling!"

"A… Culling?"

When the Prisoners heard the man's words, most looked at each other in confusion. Reed and Solomon, and even Rick, who had been quietly watching everything unfold from the side, tightened their guards as they scanned the vicinity carefully.

While Grant, who felt himself free from Boss' grasp, also summoned three earth discs from the ground. The only ones that did not move were those who held looks of confusion on their faces.

"A culling?" Boss raised an eyebrow as she slowly stepped forward, "I thought your Chief and I had an understanding…

...You don't attack us, we won't try to go over the Wall."

"Pft, you really think we would make a deal with you savages?" The man let out a tiny chuckle as he looked at Boss, "Enough talk…

...Everyone, kill them all!"

"!!!"

Various noises echoed through the air as the Prisoners all used their skills to shield themselves from what was about to come.

"..."

But even after half a minute, nothing came.

"E… everyone attack!" The man once again waved his hand in the air, but even then, no one stepped out.

"W… what?" The man could not help but gulp as he looked around him. But alas, the only thing that came was a burst of menacing laughter that reached the very depths of his bones.

"S… see?" Boss continued to burst out in laughter, holding her stomach as if she was trying her best to stop herself, "I told you…

...We had a deal."

***

"Chief, are you sure it's alright? We just betrayed someone from the City."

"Hm…" The Chief let out a sorrowful sigh as he looked at the man's back. They were currently hiding out in the forest, watching the man make a fool of himself. "This is the best choice I think we could have taken."

"But… isn't this the best time to attack them?" Eugene let out a short breath, "We're all here now. Let's attack while they are distracted by the man from the City."

Hearing Eugene's words, the Chief could not help but let out a sigh, "You really are a fool. But still, you are the next candidate to be Chief. So, I might as well tell you this now."

"...Chief?"

"The truth is, the barbarians inside the Wall are not the ones trapped…

...We are. We are the prisoners here."

"Huh?" Eugene could not help but let out a hum as the Chief's words confused him.

"We are surrounded by monsters on both sides. The savages, and the people from the City. I just chose the side of the monster that's already at our backs."

"...You mean the barbarians? But "I thought the reason why we're not attacking them is that more will just come and it would just be a waste of our resources?"

"...No," the Chief shook his head, "That might be the case a hundred years ago. But it is different now because of the one that leads them, Latanya Boss."

"...The dark-skinned woman?"

"Hm," the Chief nodded his head as he squinted his eyes to look at what was happening inside the Encampment, only to see that Boss was now looking in their direction.

"...She was the Chief before me."

"...What?"