Again.

Van was once again put in the same position he was some time ago when he first met Athena and Dionysus. And once again, he asked the same question.

"Did… you kill them?"

And once again, Dionysus answered with a no. But seeing as Gerald was still able to stay awake and was even standing on his own two feet, the thing he put in their drinks was not poison; or if it was, the toxicity was not that lethal, at least not enough to kill even Queen Nori, who could be considered the most normal of them.

He knew Hermes was immune to all kinds of poison, and with the addition of the Passive Skill he got from Dionysus when he absorbed his God Soul; his physiology was practically immune to any outside influence-- poison or mind control.

And now, he finally had the chance to test out one of them due to Dionysus altering their drinks.

"What… is this?" Gerald's voice once again whispered through the air as he slightly struggled to get up. The fire giants were blocking his path, but even weakened, he was able to approach Dionysus. The four fire giants looked like they weighed paper, as they seemed to not even be offering any resistance to each of Gerald's steps.

Seeing this, Dionysus could not help but slightly whistle in awe, "I made sure that the amount I used would be enough to make even Artemis's child asleep, but to think that a human is able to stay awake even so… you System Holders truly are a different breed."

"Shut… the fuck up!" Gerald then stomped his foot on the ground, causing a huge crack to almost instantly crawl through the floor, slithering its way to the wall as it slowly opened up the tavern to the outside.

"Hold him," Dionysus then raised his hand. And as soon as he did so, the other fire giants that were quietly watching the situation unfold all rushed towards Gerald, trying to pin him down to the ground.

"I see you have another companion with an abnormal strength," Dionysus then let out a sigh as he watched the fire giants being thrown around like cotton, shooting through the air and making holes all over the place.

"Why… are you doing this, Dionysus?"

"Isn't it obvious, King Vanny?" Dionysus then trotted his way back to his seat, letting himself fall onto it; almost causing the whole of Muspelheim to tremble as his fats jiggled extremely.

"I have betrayed you, and the rest of the Olympians," Dionysus took a long and deep breath as he looked Van straight in the eyes, "Sorry about that."

"Betray? What's there to betray?" As soon as Van heard Dionysus's words, the remaining hint of warmth on his face slowly faded, replaced only by his eyes which glared at Dionysus like a stranger, "The only Olympian I see here is you."

"Then I suppose it's quite poetic, then?" Dionysus let out a small chuckle, causing a snort to come out of his nose, "I guess I am betraying myself."

"Why?"

"Because I have made myself friends with the Aesir," Dionysus said, "You are right, King Vanny. The Olympians are no more; Athena is out there, searching for something that does not want to be found, Artemis is dead. While you… you do not even consider yourself as one of us."

"..."

"The Seraph's gates are also gone-- the only connection we had left to Olympus and to the other Olympians. You have to understand, King Vanny. I have been here for 5000 years, and the only faction that is worthy of my services are the Aesir. The Vanir are okay, but they tend not to let me do as I wish. Latanya… the big-tittied weapon has changed throughout the years-- she is no longer as fun as before."

"You serve the Aesir?"

The only Aesir Van had seen so far was a skeleton, back in Gerald's cave. For them to get Dionysus on their side, just how much influence and power do they truly have in the 9 Realms? He had been here for months, and yet he had not even felt their presence even once.

"Muspelheim is with the Aesir," Dionysus continued, "And with the River being destroyed, and you being here-- I just could not help but make the connection that you may have something to do with it, King Vanny-- or at least someone in your group is."

Dionysus then turned his attention back to Gerald, who was still busy fending off the countless Fire Giants that were trying to stomp him to death.

"I am afraid you're mistaken, Dionysus," Van then let out a long and deep sigh, "We were just here to see the sights. Gerald is a part of my group."

"Oh, and what about her?" Dionysus then pointed towards Queen Nori, who was still lying on the floor completely unconscious even with all the noise that Gerald and the fire giants were making, "Isn't she the Queen of the Frost giants? Jotunheim was the first to lose their connection to the other Realms… surely, it's too much of a coincidence for her to be here when our Gate exploded."

"...That one is actually really a coincidence," Van let out a sigh, "The only reason she is here is because of me."

"Then--"

"I am getting tired of answering your questions, Dionysus."

A golden light lightly flickered around Van's eyes as he took a step forward, "If you truly are no longer part of the Olympians, then we do not have any connections to each other…

...I will not hesitate to kill you if you do not let us go."

"That's quite cold, King Vanny," Dionysus took a sip of his wine, "Perhaps you should spend more time in Muspelheim to cool it down."

"Look, Dionysus. I don't care about this little war you have against whatever enemy you're facing," Van once again let out a short but deep sigh, "Just let us go and we will be on our way back to the Branch. Muspelheim would be better off without us."

"I am afraid I need at least one of you so that I can have someone to give to the Aesir, King Vanny."

Dionysus once again raised his hand, causing all of the giants that were trying to stomp Gerald to death to back away.

"..."

Van's eyes could not help but travel across the floor as the whole fiery tavern began to tremble. And from the rhythmic drumming coming from the outside, it would seem that there were hundreds, if not thousands of fire giants waiting for them once they stepped out of the tavern.

Suffice to say, throughout the whole act of Dionysus serving them with festivities, he was in fact waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Perhaps even when they got out of the Gates of Muspelheim, they were already being watched-- and that is why Dionysus was in this city in the first place.

With this thought, another long and deep sigh escaped from Van's mouth. It would seem that Dionysus had truly aligned himself with the Aesir.

"Dionysus. Do you really want me as the enemy of the Aesir?" Van then said as he made his way towards his daughter, gently arranging herself to a more comfortable position.

"Can the Aesir really afford another enemy… especially someone like me?"

Van then stretched his hands to the side, completely exposing himself to the fire giants-- showing that he did not even fear them a single bit.

"..." Dionysus furrowed his eyebrows as he looked Van straight in the eyes. Van truly does have a point. Van's only connection to the explosion was that he was here; perhaps a wrong place, wrong time type of situation.

The only thing that Dionysus knew from the Aesir was that they had a hidden and unknown enemy slowly surfacing from the depths. As for their identity, Dionysus was still in the dark. They have only made themselves known for a few years…

Someone of Van's caliber would surely catch the eye of the Aesir; seeing as they don't even know him proves that he hasn't even been here for a year.

"...Fi--"

"I've changed my mind."

Dionysus was going to order his troops to retreat, but before he could utter a word, a small smile suddenly crawled through Van's face, "I wonder what I would get from you if I kill you again?"

"...What?"

"The Aesir will surely be under my tail sooner or later," Van continued as his eyes once again lit up, "Might as well show them who they will be facing if they continue to do so."

"Finally!"

A loud explosion then thundered through the air as Gerald hit himself in the face, "Thanks for stalling time for me to recover, Van."

"...I wasn't really waiting for you to recov--"

"Alright!" Gerald then leaped beside Van, cracking his knuckles as his eyes scanned the fire giants that were inside the tavern, "Shall we have a contest on who will kill more giants?"

"...Sure," Van let out a small breath as he too scanned the fire giants that were surrounding them.

"There are more outside," Gerald then placed his back on Van's, "Approximately 962 of them, by the number of steps I am hearing."

"...You can count them?"

"You can't? Pft."

"..." Van could not help but slightly raise an eyebrow from Gerald's words. More and more, he was starting to remind him of Charlotte, except a little bit more crazy.

"Wait, King Vanny… what are you doing?"

"For once…" Van then muttered as he let out a smile,

"...I am going to have some fun."