"...Kill them all."

"W… what? Wait, no!"

​​

Gil tried to get up, but it would seem that the injury in his head has paralyzed half of his body.

Van's words were like whispers from all the pain and grunts that filled the air, but even then, Nisha and Cynthia could hear his voice so clearly as if he was just standing beside them.

And then, the two of them, for some reason, turned their heads upwards exactly at the same time; as if looking at something only they could see.

"..." Nisha slightly furrowed her eyebrows, while Cynthia let out the widest smile she has ever made in her life.

"Haha! I knew it would be interesting by your side!" Cynthia then once again let out a shrilling cackle as she weaved her way through the other Prisoners, stabbing them in the back, or pushing them towards another enemy's attack to kill them.

"..." Nisha's eyebrows were still furrowed, however, after glancing at Van for a few seconds, she went back to the battle.

"I see you're finally giving orders, eh boy!?" Latanya, who had been overseeing the battle, could not help but leap to Van's side as she continued healing those who were injured. She could not really join the battle personally as she didn't trust the strength of her temporary comrades.

"..."

"We… we can still stop this."

"...Should I heal your pet?" Latanya slightly furrowed her eyebrows in disgust as she looked at the bleeding Gil.

"Just barely, don't let him join the battle or he would just get himself killed."

"...You're ordering me now as well? Getting cheeky there, brat." Latanya did not even need to look or approach the wounded in order to heal them as she placed all of her attention towards Van, "...I sort of like being the one ordered around."

"..." Van could only keep his mouth shut as Latanya's coquettish chuckle slightly drowned the sound of the battlefield for him; like a sweet voice isolated in the Relic Graveyard-- a treasure that awaited for him to pluck.

"!!!" Van quickly shook his head as he turned away. Staying near Latanya was bad for his health… is this the puberty that they keep talking about in the Academy? But… he was already 16 years old.

"Oho, getting shy?" Once again, Latanya giggled, "You seem to be showing a lot of emotions late--"

"Tch," before Latanya could finish her words, Van's surroundings suddenly became sluggish as his eyes brightened up with the golden sparks that were coming out of it. He would become crazy if he listens to Latanya any further.

And so, he placed his attention elsewhere and the first thing he noticed was the people that were still moving quite fast despite his [Time Perception] Skill being on.

Reed, Nisha, Rick, and some other people whose names he didn't know were still moving quite well, relatively, that is. The other ones, though, might as well just be standing still.

Van then looked at a certain spot that had been catching his attention since earlier, where people had been seemingly floating in the air with their guts hanging out from their open stomachs.

There was only one Prisoner Van knew that was capable of that kind of destruction-- Solomon.

And he was right. He rushed towards the floating men, only to see Solomon's gigantic body towering over the others, using what seemed to be a Local as a sort of club and using him… it to crush and mangle people, throwing them into the air with such force that their bones instantly stick out of their bodies, tearing their flesh.

The corpse he was using as a club, of course, was worse of all. It was just a bag of mangled flesh now. But of course, Van didn't really care about the others, he just looked at Solomon's fat but chiseled stomach.

Slowly, a smile crept onto Van's face. Seeing as Latanya chose Solomon as one of her guards, he should be worth a lot of EXP.

And so, with that thought, he quickly leaped into the air, using his [Air Step] as he reached the level of Solomon's head, using it to push himself straight towards his unguarded face. It has been a while since he last used this move but… it should be the most effective one.

He opened up his palms, his thumbs locked on towards Solomon's two soft eyes.

"!!!"

"...Oh," Van could feel his body slightly wave in the air as Solomon shook his body, it was quite a disorienting feeling as Solomon panicked and rammed the other Prisoners to the side. It would seem that even with Solomon's huge body, he could still be fast if he wanted to.

There was another problem-- Solomon wasn't dropping to the ground.

"Tch," Van could not help but click his tongue as he placed both his feet on Solomon's shoulder. Van gritted his teeth, trying to gather every ounce of his strength to pull Solomon's head from his body. But alas, no matter how much force he exerted, he couldn't.

Just how high is this giant's VIT? He thought. Van could feel his throat tightening as nausea slowly crawled through his head. It also didn't help that he had to dodge his huge hands as well. It has been a while since he felt something like this and he truly did not like it; he must kill this monster fast.

Should… he pull out his throat? No, that would be too risky. What if he suddenly closes his mouth? Even if Latanya could heal it, it would take him out of the battle.

"..." But then, a sudden idea entered Van's mind. He remembered the details of his father's death. Sarah said his brain turned into a mush… if he really did kill his father, then there was only one way that he could have done it…

Once again, a smile slowly crept onto his face, even with nausea filling his entire body, the thought of what he was about to do danced in his mind. And so, with a heavy breath, he started racking Solomon's huge head back and forth; the sparks that were coming out of his body slowly crawling to his arms.

He looked silly, he thought. But those that were seeing him in real-time were thinking the opposite. He looked like a ghost, a small ghost that crawled through Solomon's head and started chewing on it.

They could only hold their breaths as they saw Solomon's huge head turning into a blur, with blood trailing down his neck. And soon, in only a few seconds, Solomon's gigantic body dropped to the ground.

Just like that, the one who was cleaving through the other Prisoners and Locals as if they were just blades of grass on the ground fell from the hands of the smallest Prisoner in the Pit.

"..."

Those who were near them, those who saw everything that happened, could only stop fighting as they slowly backed away when Van suddenly started laughing.

"D… demon!" One of the men whispered as Van's ominous peals of laughter entered his ears, it was as if he truly was a Ghost of the Battlefield.

Those around Van were hardened warriors and criminals, but still, they could not help but feel a slight fear. For Van, however, there was only the feeling of euphoria as he stared at the Orange Soul floating on top of Solomon's body.

If he knew that he could gain this many Souls in the Pit… then he would have entered this place even earlier. He then looked at all the EXP around him, and once again, laughter rose from his mouth.

It was time for a harvest.