Chapter 177 - 177: Goodbye, Brother

"You... really want to do it now?"

"Yes."

Back in Van’s room, Latanya’s hand was already holding the knob of the door, about to leave before Van told him that he wanted to kill Hercules here and now. There were already people clamoring outside, and yet Van still wanted to do this now?

"Do you have any more information I could use, Mister Hercules?"

"I am afraid not, Messenger," Hercules let out a sigh of disappointment as he shook his head, "I do hope that next time, it will be Lady Athena you will find; she has all the answers which you seek."

"Are you sure you can’t go through the Portal... through the Seraph’s Gate?"

"I am afraid not. Like at the edge of this world, I am unable to even make a dent on it."

"I see," Van let out a short breath before nodding.

"Goodbye then, brother."

"..." Latanya could not help but twitch her eyes as the two suddenly went into a conversation of their own, "Why are you saying your farewells, we don’t know yet if this is going to wo--"

"Enough talk, Witch! Let us do this!"

"..." Latanya could only let go of the doorknob as she sluggishly walked back to the center of the room. She then let out a deep breath as she activated her [Rot] Skill.

"I will be using my skill now and gradually increasing its level," Latanya quickly said, "I’ll focus it around your chest..." She then looked at Van, "...you know what to do then."

"Yes."

As soon as Van nodded, Latanya focused her eyes on Hercules’ bare chest.

[Rot, Ineffective!]

"..."

Latanya stepped closer as she stretched and cracked her neck.

[Rot, Ineffective!]

"Can you kneel down!?" Latanya could not help but raise her voice as she gestured for Hercules to stop looking down at her from the ceiling.

"Of course," Hercules nodded before swiftly kneeling on the floor, but even then, he was still a few inches taller than Latanya.

As soon as his legs were completely dropped to the floor, Latanya stretched her arm and placed it on Hercules’ chest.

"I will be increasing the level again, tell us if you feel any discomfort."

[Rot, Ineffective!]

Once again, seeing the same window pop out, Latanya was beginning to feel a bit irritated. And so, with a heavy breath, she increased the skill level by two-fold.

"..."

And finally, no windows popped out in front of her.

"Do you feel something now?"

"Nothing yet, I am afraid," Hercules let out a disappointing tone as he shook his head, "Perhaps you are truly incapable of damaging me. I did not expect much in the first place from--"

Before Hercules could finish what he was saying, a small drop of blood trailed from his nose.

"This is..." Hercules quickly touched the bottom of his nose, and as soon as he saw the color of blood adorning his fingers, a small smile crept onto his face.

"...It has been a while since I last saw my own blood trickling from me."

Seeing the smile on Hercules’ face, Latanya could not help but click her tongue as beads of sweat started to form from her face. In truth, she got agitated by Hercules’ words and activated her [Rot] skill at its maximum; with the intention of killing Hercules.

But to think it would only result in him drawing blood, others would have already been disintegrated into nothing.

However, soon, Hercules showed just that. The skin situation on his chest started to boil as if mud that sat on top of lava.

"If you’re going to do anything, do it now, Van!"

Van, who had his eyes closed the whole time, looked Hercules straight in the eyes as soon as Latanya’s words reached his ears.

"We’ve already said our goodbyes earlier, Brother," Hercules nodded, "Let us meet agai--"

Before Hercules could even finish what he was going to say, a gulp of blood burst out from his mouth; with Van disappearing from his spot.

And slowly, the life in Hercules’ blue but somewhat green eyes started to fade.

"...Thank you, brother."

"Hm." Van only hummed as he felt Hercules’ warm blood dripping on his shoulders. His arms, completely straight as they pierced through Hercules’ back. His fingers, however, were completely twisted into different directions... but still, he did not let out a howl of pain, not even a whisper.

Slowly, he could feel Hercules’ body getting heavier and heavier; as if a mountain weighing on him. And so, with the gentlest of his movements, Van slowly placed Hercules’ body on the floor.

"..."

"..."

"Call me when you’re done," Latanya let out a long and deep breath as she turned around. This was the first time he was ever seeing Van with that kind of expression. He had told him the story about his father, but even then, his expression remained stoic.

historical

Latanya was about to grab the knob of the door, but once again, something made her stop-- a bright light.

A bright light suddenly drowned and covered the whole room, making the previously dimmed space glow into a golden gleam.

"W... what the fuck is that!?" Latanya could not help but stick her back onto the wall as soon as she turned around.

"...You can see it, Miss Latanya?"

"O... of course, I can see it! How could I not!?"

Unlike the previous Souls that Van had collected, the soul that emerged from Hercules was completely different.

It wasn’t a flame, nor was it even anything else. It was still Hercules... or perhaps it was better to say that it was an exact replica of his body. It was translucent, but the light that trailed on its silhouette almost followed one’s eyes.

But most important of all...

"...You did it, brother."

Hercules’ soul could talk, "Now please, send me to the Afterlife."

"Send... what?" Latanya could not help but gulp. For some reason, her whole body was cold; almost shivering. This was probably the first time she ever felt like this... it was not necessarily fear, but close.

Van, who was looking at Latanya’s shivering bosom... body, could not help but let out a sigh. He made sure to omit the parts where he could send Souls of those he killed to the Afterlife, but in the end, all his efforts were in vain.

"You can talk?" Van then focused his attention on Hercules.

"Of course, I am a god. My soul will forever be alive... until it is forgotten. We can not leave our bodies, you see."

"..." That is true, Van thought. He tried to quickly collect Hercules’ soul as soon as it emerged from his body, but the only thing that he got was a window popping out in front of him.

[Unable to collect a God Soul]

If Van still wanted proof that Hercules’ words were true... then he would be a fool. Of course, there might still be some parts of it that were lies, but now... he knew the fact that Hercules truly was a god, or at least that is what his System is saying.

"Brother, please do it quickly," Hercules interrupted Van’s thoughts, "Death is quite uncomfortable."

"Where do you want to be sent?"

"It doesn’t matter," Hercules shook his head, "As a god, I could freely travel within the different destinations of the Afterlife."

"...Goodbye then, Mister Hercules."

He still had many questions, but still... If there were others out there like Hercules, then it felt like it was his goal to meet them.

"...Are you not going to call me brother?" Hercules let out a small smile.

"My name is Evans," Van shook his head, "I was born in the slums."

Hearing Van’s words, Hercules only let out another smile, "...Maybe some other time, then."

And with that, Van clicked the last choice that his System had given him. This would be the first time that he would be sending someone to [Elysium], it was quite fitting that it would be a God Soul.

And as soon as he did that, as if ember, Hercules’ translucent body slowly flickered and glimmered.

As if ashes being swept by wind, Hercules’ soul slowly dispersed, starting from the top of his head.

"Thank you again, brother." Hercules then let out another smile. The smile, however, quickly disappeared as his eyes soon disappeared.

"W... wait, where did you send me, brother?"

"Hm?" Van quickly furrowed his eyebrows, "Elysium."

"W... where is this place!?" The head of Hercules’ soul was already half gone, but still, his hands waved in the air in panic. "No... you... you’re--!"

Before Hercules could finish his words, his mouth was blown by the wind of the earth.

His arms flailed and flailed... until nothing of him was left. Only his body to remind the world that he ever existed.

"...What was that?" Van muttered, "We did ask him first if he was sure, right?"

Van looked at Latanya, whose dark skin almost seemed pale as she continued to tremble in place, "Miss Latanya, are you al--"

"!!!"

"Gah!"

"Van!?"

Latanya completely woke up from her stupor as she saw Van suddenly dropping to the ground.

"Gah!" Van continued to scream, his eyes, somewhat turning red and the veins on his skin started to pop out. His hair, which was previously flowing straight down on his face, also started to rise.

"W... what is happening to you!?"

Van started thumping on his chest as it felt like he was being burned from the inside. His eyes, however, were still wide open despite the pain.

[New Active Skill Gained: Rage of Hercules]