"U… Ugh…"

Van found himself blinking numerous times, his head almost seemed as if it had already become one with the world-- too heavy to lift up. But still, he managed to get up and sit himself up from what seemed to be a bed.

​​

His body and legs also felt heavy, but this time, the reason was clear for Van to see. Half of Latanya's torso was lying on top of his legs. She was… naked. In fact, both of them weren't wearing any clothes.

"..."

Van looked around, realizing that he was inside an unfamiliar room.

"U… uhn…" Latanya then let out a loud yawn as she slowly got up, stretching her arms upwards, her bountiful bosom fully showcasing themselves a few inches in front of Van's face.

"..." Van only looked away as he let out a long and deep sigh, "What… what happened?" He muttered as he held his head.

"Let's just say you completely ravaged me," Latanya quickly replied with a giggle as her fingers slowly made their way on Van's lips, "What do you say we do it now?"

"...I already told you no." Van let out another sigh.

"What will it take for you to give in?" Latanya slightly scoffed, "We're already both naked, and yet you still manage to remain… civil. You refused my advance last time as well."

Latanya then let out a sigh of her own as she got up from the bed, quickly wearing the robes that were sprawled on the floor. "Don't worry, nothing happened between us," she muttered, "I needed to stay with you since your body was completely… falling apart."

"...What?"

"Even after you lost consciousness, your SP was being continuously drained for some reason…

...to the point that your HP was being consumed already."

"How… how did that happen?" Van could not help but groan as certain memories started to flood his mind.

"I told you, you ravaged me."

"..."

"It's the truth," Latanya let out a small chuckle, "But not in the way I wanted, though. You completely went mad, as if a wild beast that was let out of its cage."

"...I don't remember that. The last thing I remember was sending mister Hercules to the Afterlife."

"It happened after his… soul completely vanished," Latanya muttered.

"Hm…" Van then closed his eyes as he concentrated on trying to remember what happened. He remembered Hercules being somewhat dissatisfied… did he actually have second thoughts at the end? Maybe he regretted dying after all.

But Van did send him to the best and most glorious place… or at least according to what his System says.

Elysium was supposed to be the place for only those who have done great deeds in the world… So why was Hercules so dissatisfied?

"!!!"

Van quickly opened his System Window, but to his utmost disappointment, his Lv. remained the same. It would seem that God Souls do not bring EXP, but instead…

[Active Skills

Rage of Hercules Lv. 1 | SP Consumption: 30 per Second

Basic Info: Increase your STR by 70%. However, you will lose control of your actions and will attack anyone that stands in your view, whether friend or foe. Can not be deactivated until SP reaches 0. After SP turns 0, you will instantly lose consciousness.]

"...What?" Van's smile was short-lived. He was about to let out the widest smile he had ever made in his life as he saw the increase in STR, however, as soon as he read the rest of the info, the only thing that came out of his mouth was the twitching of his eyes.

Wasn't this Skill basically asking for death? No… wait…

Van's eyes then widened as he realized something-- if it wasn't for Latanya, then he would have definitely died by now. This Skill… seems to be something to be used as a last resort.

Rage of Hercules… the name alone was enough to send a shiver down one's spine. But rage… was Hercules really that mad that Van had killed him? But he was the one that wanted to do it in the first place.

Did Hercules actually have second thoughts at the very last second as a Soul?

...No. Remembering it now even clearer, Hercules was not dissatisfied, he was confused. He even asked Van where he sent him.

'I… did send him to the best place, right?' Van thought as he opened up his System and checked on the info about the 3 parts of the Afterlife, and true enough, the System showed him the wide fields and the beautiful foliage of the Elysium.

"..."

So what was wrong then? Van thought. Did Hercules want to be sent to the Fields of Punishment so he could exercise? Was that it?

"...You're lost in your own world again, Van."

"Miss Latanya…"

Van, whose thoughts were disrupted by Latanya, quickly turned his attention towards her, "Did you remember mister Hercules' last words?"

"...How would I know?" Latanya let out a long and deep sigh, "For some reason, my whole body was frozen with fear as I saw his… wait!"

"Hm?"

Latanya quickly opened her palm and pointed it towards Van, "...So you have relations with gods!?"

"...I guess?" Van could only shrug his shoulders. In truth, he was as clueless as Latanya even though he held a System that seemed to be gifted by the gods themselves. Hercules mentioned someone-- Athena.

Maybe he should focus on trying to find her as soon as he was out of the Pit, Van thought. Hercules seemed confident that this Athena person knew everything about Van, and so, it wouldn't hurt to try and search for her.

"Fufufu."

Van's thoughts were once again disrupted by Latanya, "It would seem that you were sent to this place for a purpose, Van."

"..."

"Expect me to always be by your side from now on… to learn the truth about the world we live in," Latanya said, her eyes driven by curiosity, "...or maybe at least until we do it."

"..."

Fortunately, Van did not need to respond as a knock tapped on the door of the room.

"Van, are you okay now?"

"Yes, come in." Van quickly said.

"Oka-- What the heck!?"

Gil, who just opened the door, quickly slammed it closed as he saw that Latanya was inside the room, half-naked; and Van fully naked.

"You two… did it again!?" He hollered.

"...We never did it," Van could not help but sigh as he told Gil that it was fine to enter the room.

It took a few seconds for Gil to slowly open the door, but after a while, he let out a sigh of his own. Whether Van and Latanya did the deed or not was of no importance right now, he thought.

"The leaders of the other minor cities are once again running amok in the plaza, Van," Gil reported, "They're spreading fake news about you being a monster to the common populace."

Hearing Gil's words, Van could only let out a sigh.

"Let's go," he said as he took off the blanket that barely covered his body, revealing his naked body, "Call Cynthia and the rest of the group."

"...Perhaps you should get dressed first, Van?"

"..."

"..."

"Where are my clothes?"