For the first time in Van's life, his heart skipped a beat for a woman.
"Hermes?" The colossal green-haired woman once again focused her eyes on Van. And after a few seconds, she let out a short sigh, "No… Not Hermes. It is quite peculiar, you smell like him. I thought you were here to send me back. It's… a good thing you're not Hermes."
"I… am," Van's tone was slightly sedated.
"Hm? You are Hermes?"
"No," Van quickly shook his head, "I am here to send you to the Afterlife.
"!!!"
Charles's eye opened wide as soon as he heard Van's words, "Did… did you just threaten a god!?"
'...Are we supposed to be doing something here, Angie?' Charlotte thought repeatedly before Angela answered her back.
'No idea. Let's just watch what will happen for now.'
'If a fight happens, will we be able to defeat her?'
'Are you stupid? Absolutely not.'
'But I heard from Evangeline that Van managed to kill one already,' Charlotte continued to whisper in her mind, her eyes, however, were locked on the colossal green-haired woman.
'You mean the one called Hercules? He is a god, but not completely. And based on the information I got from master, he was already extremely weakened when it happened. It's a bit complicated, really. I thought master Evangeline already told you everything?'
'I didn't dig too deep that much. Who knows if what that woman is saying is true.'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})'Master doesn't lie.'
'Who cares.'
"Send me to the Afterlife?" The colossal green-haired woman once again held a curious expression in her eyes, "So you truly are Hermes? You are aware of the plan."
"I only know it because mister Hercules told me," Van's tone was almost monotonous as he tried to calm the weird raging beating in his heart. He had felt something like this with Victoria, and in a way, towards Latanya. But neither made him feel this heavy.
"Hercules… so you have sent him to the Afterlife?" Once again, the colossal woman leaned closer, this time, her lips were directly right in front of Van's face.
"Y… yes, he told me to do it," Van could not help but notice that her lips were almost the same size as him.
Wait, why was that the first thing he noticed? Van awkwardly looked to the side as soon as he noticed his… weird thoughts.
Angela, who noticed that something was happening with Van, could not help but squint her eyes. But she didn't really say anything as it really wasn't the time to do so.
"So you really are Hermes!"
"No," Van quickly shook his head, "Mister Hercules also said that, but I have no recollection of being this… Hermes person. I am surely not him."
Although Van had visions of seeing Hermes, it also included some other mysterious individuals. Maybe if he only had visions of Hermes, then he might have actually believed it himself.
"I truly do not get it. Only Hermes should be capable of sending us to the Afterlife since he is the only psychopomp," the green-haired woman slightly squinted her eyes, "So who are you if not Hermes?"
"...Then I guess I am a new psychopomp," Van answered casually.
"Is something like that possible? Only the bearer of… Wait, the deaths that I have been feeling since I woke up, was it your doing? Did you send the souls of the children to the Afterlife?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"...Children? What children?"
"The children… oh," the woman had a perplexed expression on her face, but after a few seconds of seemingly pondering, she opened her mouth slightly and let out a hum. Afterward, the ground beneath Van and the others' feet started to tremble.
"What's happening!?" Charlotte was about to rush towards the colossal green-haired woman, but she was stopped by Angela before he could do so. As for Charles…
...Charles was no longer to be seen.
'What are you doing!? Are you trying to commit suicide?' Angela screamed in Charlotte's mind.
"But--"
The ground continued to tremble, with the rustle of the leaves whispering like an unending noise. Charlotte was completely on the edge, not knowing what to do in this kind of situation.
She only started to slightly calm down as soon as she noticed that the colossal green-haired woman was smaller than she was a few seconds ago. The branches and the roots that were covering her body also retracted, leaving only the leaves to block her precious parts.
The woman continued to grow smaller until finally, she was only as tall as Charlotte.
"I am deeply sorry for not introducing myself. I keep glossing over the fact that you are not Hermes, or at least you say so."
Artemis, now the size of a normal human, slowly started to walk towards the three.
"My name is Artemis," Artemis was seemingly going to curtsy at first. But since she was lacking one arm, she chose to bow her head instead, causing her slightly unkempt but still silky green hair to brush across her shoulders, "'Tis an unexpected meeting, but a meeting still, new psychopomp.'
Once again, Van's heart could not help but skip a beat as the heavy feeling in his chest started to grow even wilder as the whole of Artemis was now right in front of him bearing a normal size. Well, she was still taller than him.
"And I see… these are your companions?" Artemis then turned her attention towards Angela and Charlotte, "Fascinating. I could feel the strength oozing from their bodies… They feel like demi-gods, but not quite the same. I could feel the same presence when I was still asleep, but there were too many of them that I thought they were just some sort of… insect."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})An insect? A System Holder was like an insect in her eyes?
"But not your companions. I sense great strength between the two," Artemis let out a small smile as she continued to scan Angela and Charlotte, "But… I also sense a Seraph's power. Quite the peculiar companion for someone tasked to be our psychopomp. Just what kind of plan did Athena make?"
"A Seraph? You mean those winged soldiers?"
"Yes, they were our enemies," Artemis let out a long and deep sigh, "But you do not have to worry. I am too tired of wars to even bother…
...of your presence," Artemis then turned her head towards Angela, looking at her straight in the eyes.
"Ms. Angela… a Seraph!?" Van could not help but raise his voice. But the one that seemed most affected by Artemis's words was Charlotte.
"What… does she mean by that, Angie?"
With all the eyes suddenly on her, Angela could only let out a long and deep breath. She looked at Artemis at first, seemingly annoyed. Afterward, she looked at Charlotte and Van.
"I am not a Seraph," Angela shook her head, "But what the Olympian is saying is not false either. I do have a Seraph's power within me."
"What? What are you saying, Angie!?" Charlotte grabbed Angela's shoulders as she looked her straight in the eyes, no longer even minding Artemis's overwhelming presence on her.
"That I am not a Seraph," Angela once again repeated, "Nor am I anything that the world dictates me to be-- I am just me."
"Since when then?" Charlotte lightly shook Angela, "Since when did you have this power!?"
"It is a long story. Something that I wish to be kept hidden," Angela said as she looked to the side.
"Really? You're doing this now? You know everything about me!"
"That's--"
"I believe it is inappropriate to discuss this here."
The conversation between the two was cut short as Artemis grabbed Charlotte's wrist, pulling it away from Angela's shoulder before letting it go.
Although it was such a simple action, the expression on Charlotte's face could almost not be painted as she slightly took a step back.
"Quite strong indeed. Maybe even stronger than Hercules was when he was just a demi-god," Artemis exclaimed, "But as I said, this is not the place for the two of you to argue. This is a place of peace, and signs of aggression will not and shall not be tolerated here."
Charlotte had no answer to Artemis's statement, or rather, her body wasn't allowing her to answer. What Artemis just did was something that only one person in the world could do-- Angela. But with Angela, Charlotte could still easily overpower her if she tried. But with Artemis… it was as if she was just a child. And now, slowly, it was starting to sink into Charlotte.
Olympians, Gods, Seraphs… the things that Evangeline told her might just actually be true. And slowly, fear started to build up inside her. Evangeline had told her many things, but there is one that was worrying her the most now-- The gods… there were many of them out there.
If they were to somehow find a way to pass through the Portal, then they would surely be able to destroy the world in just a single day.
Was this what Evangeline said when she said that she was trying to save the world? To allow Van to get stronger, while at the same time eliminating the threat of the Olympians?
"Please," Artemis then looked at Van, "Take your companions away. The three of you may leave and we will talk once all the fires of temper have gone."
"...What about you?" Van turned his attention away from Angela as soon as he heard Artemis's words, "Do... you not want to leave this place as well?"
"To be sent to the Afterlife?"
"Yes."
"No," Artemis shook her head, "As I have said, I am tired of war and battles. This… minuscule world may be a prison. But still…
...it is peaceful here."
