"You…

...are not the Psychopomp."

​​

The temperature of the Portal lowered almost instantly. The leaves' luscious green hue quickly faded as some of them fell to the ground, while some withered hanging. The wildlife, as well as the handful of monsters that surrounded them also started letting out their roars. Their cries, almost deafening.

The peace that resided in the Portal ever since Van and the others stepped inside quickly waned, with only the light of the sun prevailing; but even that, now seemed ominous.

"Hermes took the responsibility for the longest time, and I have never seen him once ignoring the Souls of the other beings-- human or not," Artemis's cold tone made Van shiver. The weird infatuation that he previously held was no more, and all that remained was a somewhat crippling fear, "I do not know how it is in your universe. But here, in ours, every creature has a Soul, even the smallest one."

"That… seems impossible," Van muttered.

"Impossible; because even with all your powers, you still can not grasp the powers that we have," the warmth in Artemis's voice was completely gone, replaced by a sort of irked tone, "Hermes was chosen the Psychopomp for a reason. He could travel from one end of the galaxy to the other in the time it would take for you mortals to take a single breath. Where there is death, he is there. From the largest of cyclops to the smallest of insects; he leaves none to walk lost and alone.

There is no time when Hermes rests, for when he does, then that only means that there are no lives left to redeem. You, Evans… you are definitely not Hermes, you are not his reincarnation, you might not even be a psychopomp."

While Artemis was delivering her short speech, Angela was already thinking of ways to get Van and Charlotte out of here. If only Charlotte's stupid son didn't suddenly leave them, then he could have taken Van out. She could not really copy Charles's Skill, as the previous times she did so, she was unsuccessful in controlling it and thus leading to disaster.

And based on the shift of Artemis's tone, they needed to get the fuck out of this place soon.

"You said that you have sent little Hercules to the Afterlife," Artemis continued, "Now I am curious as to where you really sent him. Tell me, Evans…

...Where did you send my kin?"

"I… I sent him to Elysium," Van could not help but slightly stutter as Artemis glared at him, "It's the place where the greatest of men and the heroes go."

"Send him how? Did you escort him personally there?"

"...No," Van wanted to lie. He had been lying to people all his life. But now, for some reason, he was not able to do so.

"Then that further proves that you are not a Psychopomp. One must travel through the Afterlife himself if one wishes to send a Soul. I have told you, Hermes is the busiest amongst us… and perhaps quite possibly the strongest.

You question who you are… Now I question the same-- who and what are you, Evans?"

Instead of looking at Van, Artemis turned her head towards the only one that might possibly know-- Angela. And as soon as she did so, razor-sharp roots shot out from the ground beneath Angela's feet, piercing them before she could even react. The only thing she could do was slightly wince in pain as the roots wriggle through her skin and bones.

"Angie!" Charlotte quickly rushed to remove the roots, but as soon as she removed one, another would emerge from the ground, "Stop this at once!"

Realizing that nothing would change, she decided to rush towards Artemis instead. The veins on her skin almost solidified as she put everything in one single blow; strong enough that her foot destroyed anything behind it when she pushed forward. This was a blow stronger than what she did earlier when she cleared a Portal without even entering it.

Van had to move to the side, covering Angela as she slightly writhed in pain. "Just run, boy! Leave us old people behind!" Angela screamed.

"No!" Van, however, covered her even tighter as he braced for the impact of Charlotte's punch. He almost felt himself fly as deafening thunder silenced everything in the Portal, almost whispering a whistle in his ears.

1 second.

3 seconds.

5 seconds.

It took a whole 15 seconds before everything calmed down. And as soon as Van opened his eyes, it was as if he was in a whole different ecosystem. The luscious trees, the crying animals, and even the whole terrain was different.

From a rainforest littered with wildlife to a desert almost resembling a Deadzone. But there was one thing that remained almost unchanged-- Artemis.

Charlotte still had her arms stretched, the veins covering her entire body still erect. Her fist, however, was trembling as Artemis's hand wrapped around it.

Charlotte quickly pulled her fist away as she leaped back to where Van and Angela were.

"Miss Charlotte… your… your fist."

Van blinked a couple of times as he saw the skin of Charlotte's knuckles chafed; to the point that her bones were showing.

"It's alright," Charlotte, however, only shook her hand as it quickly healed. Although her tone was now calm, the weight in her heart was heavier than ever. Everything strength she had, she gave in that attack. But the only thing that Artemis seemed to have gotten was a broken finger.

"Truly fascinating," Artemis said as she looked at her own hand. But after just a breath, the broken finger adorning it healed, "Just how did the humans of your universe gain such powers without even as much as a speck of a god's blood inside you? As far as I could smell, only Evans has it, albeit truly a speck.

I grow more and more curious about your identity, Evans. But based on our conversations, only the one with the Seraph's feather knows what you truly are."

As soon as she said that, the trees that were already gone once again protrude from the ground in almost a blink of an eye.

"Just leave me here!" Angela shouted as she looked at Charlotte straight in the eyes, "Take the boy and go!"

"N--"

"No!" Van once again refused as he carried Angela before the roots could penetrate her flesh once again, "Why aren't you fighting back, Angela!?"

"Because there is no point in fighting a battle you can't win!" Angela once again raised her voice, "You may have survived a lot of things, but this scenario will not be one of them. Just leave me behind!"

Van could only grit his teeth as he saw Angela's expression. Even though she looked irritated, there was a certain shiver on her body as he carried him. Even with all of her bravado, Angela was scared.

The roots from the ground continued to grow and chase Van and Angela at an almost blinding speed. Van continued to run, while Charlotte did her best to mow down the roots that were endlessly growing.

They have been doing all of this, and yet Artemis has not even taken a single step from where she is standing.

Van was with two of the strongest System Holders in the world-- and yet they were still outmatched. Van had initially thought that the main reason Evangeline went through all the trouble of forcing Charlotte to aid him with the Exploration ahead of him was that she would be able to match the Olympians.

But now… he knew that was not the case. They were being played like children.

"I thought you seek peace, miss Artemis!?" Left without anything else to do, Van resorted to talking to her once more.

"I do," Artemis answered. But even as she focused her attention on Van, the roots continued to grow, "That is why I am doing this-- to know if your death will prevent unspeakable chaos in the future."

"Please, stop this, miss Artemis! I seek the same as you, to live in peace!" Van wanted to run towards the direction where the portal is, but Artemis was not allowing him to as his path was always being covered with thorns.

"But what if your peace ends up bringing chaos to everyone else? Your existence is not to be treated lightly. For whoever and whatever you may be, I at least know what you will be-- a god.

...And the birth of a new god always leads to one thing-- War."

"But--"

"Enough."

Artemis then waved her hand, and the roots that were ceaselessly growing grew no more, and the last of them was destroyed by Charlotte. Instead, the root emerged in front of Artemis.

It grew in an arc, in the shape of a bow.

"!!!"

"Run!"

Although Charlotte did not know what was going to happen next, she knew and felt enough that the next attack that Artemis would do will completely obliterate them. And without even saying a word, Artemis lifted the bow, and slowly, a string made of light emerged from one end, connecting to the next.

Artemis then opened her mouth, biting the string of light before pulling it back, and as soon as she did so, an arrow of light emerged.

"Oh… fuck!" Charlotte could not help but curse as she ran behind Van and Angela, trying to cover them from the oncoming attack, "What the fuck are you doing, Angie!? Do something!"

"I can't! Any attack I do would be futile!"

"Then tell the angry god what she needs to know or we're all going to die, even your master's child!"

"Fuck!" Charlotte once again screamed as a bright light started to cover the entire Portal. She then rushed towards Van and Angela, covering the two of them with her entire body, "If we survive this, I am going to fucking kill you, Angie!"

Van also gritted his teeth. He could probably escape the Portal now if he ran with all of his might, but that would mean leaving Charlotte and Angela behind-- that was something he will never do, not now.

"Miss Charlotte, Ms. Angela…" Van then whispered, "If I think about it, besides Andrea, you two are probably the closest thing I have for a mother…

...Thank you."

"Where did that suddenly come from!?" Charlotte screamed as she embedded her feet on the ground.

Angela, on the other hand, opened her eyes wide as soon as she heard Van's words. She let out a slight gasp before closing her mouth. But after a few seconds, her mouth once again moved.

"Evans is…" Angela hesitated once more, but when she saw Van's face, the resolve inside of her transformed into a blaze,

"...Evans is the child of Hermes and the Seraph!"