"I know you are busy with your mortal affairs and I hate to intrude on your toils. But it is time for you to do your job…

...There's a message I wish sent."

​​

Van could only stand still; watching as Hercules slowly approached him. He could run, but there was a chance that Hercules might just be able to catch up to him. He seems calm now, but he did kill Reed just because he started spying on him.

If Van was right, then this man is as strong as Charlotte… or maybe even stronger. He truly did not want to antagonize someone like that.

"Stop right there!"

"!!!"

Van's flickering thoughts were then disrupted as someone suddenly jumped in front of him. The silhouette's ash-grey hair reflecting the moonlight, almost reflecting a silver glitter through his eyes.

"...Miss Nisha?"

The sound of Nisha's breaths was loud, and one could hear the fear in it. It did not help that her whole body was trembling even as she pointed her daggers towards Hercules, causing the spare knives she had hanging on her waist to chatter.

"Why… are you here?" Van could not help but ask.

"...I figured you would… need a guard," Nisha stuttered as her trembling eyes did not leave Hercules, "the… other guards here are incompetent."

She has actually already strayed off another intruder earlier-- one of the people from the other Cities. She was able to quickly dispatch him and gave him to the guards, but to think that the second intruder she would be meeting was… this monster.

"Be still your hand, citizen," Hercules stopped his advance as he looked at Nisha, "I am not here to cause harm. If that was my intention, then I would have done so already."

"D… don't take another step!"

"It's alright, Miss Nisha," Van then stepped forward, lowering Nisha's trembling hand as he looked her straight in the eyes, "You can go, thank you."

"But--"

"I can always run," Van said with a sigh, "But please tell Gil and the others to hide--"

"There is no need for that."

Before Van could finish his words, Hercules turned around, "We are not staying here."

"...We?"

"Yes," Hercules nodded, "I wish to show you something-- the end of this world."

"...The end?" Van could not help but slightly tilt his head to the side.

"Yes, please follow me." Hercules then said before leaping from the terrace and landing on top of a roof of a nearby establishment.

"..." Van could only let out a small breath as he stepped forward.

"Wait, are you really going with him?"

"Not like we have any choice, Miss Nisha."

"Then at least let me come with--"

Before Nisha could even finish her words, Van turned into a golden blur and disappeared from his spot. She tried to chase him, but the only thing she could grasp was the specks of dust in the air that Van left as he continued to run.

"Tch… What kind of leader just leaves like that." Nisha could only click her tongue as she jumped down from a house, "...I should at least notify the others."

***

Van's eyes were almost closed as he stared at Hercules' back. This was the first time that he was ever chasing someone since he got his System. With his SP now, he could probably run for hours, and he would still have some left to spare.

But still, he was careful in using them. The last time he became confident, he was almost eaten by human spiders.

With his increasing levels, Van was now comfortable with using his speed even without his [Time Perception]. Although that just counts whenever he was running in a straight line, like what they were doing now. If they needed to avoid something or turn, he quickly turns on his [Time Perception] skill.

The two have rested once in a while, but they immediately take off again after a few minutes. Van wanted to ask what Hercules wanted to show him, but he kept saying that they were nearly there… and have been telling so for 4 hours now.

They should already be quite a distance away from the City now… would he even make it back? What if he gets lost on the way back? He could remember the sceneries they passed through, but since some of them looked the same, there was a high chance that he would probably get lost.

Numerous scenarios entered Van's mind. But those thoughts dispersed as soon as they reached their destination, all that was left was awe, enough to reflect on his eyes.

Van didn't need to ask if they were there, as there was no longer a road to run to. It was what Hercules said earlier, that he wanted to show him the end of the world.

...And it truly was the end of the world.

Van's jaw could not help but slightly open as he stared at the vast darkness in front of him. It was similar to the darkness in his earliest dreams. But this was probably the first time he was seeing something so full of splendor in person.

Darkness as far as his eyes could reach, but there were also glitters; Bright glitters of different colors, littered across the seemingly endless darkness.

"...Stars?" A whisper could not help but escape his mouth.

"Move back, messenger."

Van turned his head towards Hercules, only to see him with his fist closed, ready to strike at any moment.

"!!!"

Van quickly moved back, and as soon as he did so, Hercules released his fist, punching through the empty space and creating a skirt of wind around his arm. It felt as if the very air itself rippled as a thundering noise pierced Van's ears.

No… the air itself truly was rippling, or at least a very thin sheet of it at the edge of the world. It looked like a soft blanket, waving through the air and covering the very earth they were standing on.

Van quickly forgot about the fact that he thought he was going to die from Hercules' fist as he stared at this invisible blanket.

"This is…" Curious, Van slowly placed his hand on the edge, and immediately, he felt as if something was stopping his hand from moving further and going through the edge.

"We are trapped in this world," Hercules then said as he let out a long and deep sigh, "...No, I am."

"..."

"Your people can go through the Seraph's Gate as you please," Hercules continued as he too placed his palm on the invisible barrier, "But we can only go through it in certain conditions, and only once."

The Seraph's Gate? Is he mentioning the Portal?

"..." Van then stepped back, removing his hand from the invisible barrier of the world as he looked Hercules straight in the eyes. Although Van still had no idea of Hercules' true identity; if he truly can not leave this place, then there was only one thing that Van could think of--

"...You wish for me to send a message to someone outside?"

"No."

"Hm?" Van could only express his confusion as he saw Hercules' shaking his head, "Then what exactly do you want from me, Mister Hercules?"

"..."

"I am your message…"

"...What was that?"

"...Send me back to my world…

...my home."