Chapter 394 - 393: New Discovery
"Take me to your planet."
"W… what?"
Van was still a bit wary that the people surrounding him could be the World Eaters, but seeing as they were still civil enough to actually talk to him, then the chances of them being the ones who destroyed Evangeline's universe was turning slim.
And from Van's mind, the World Eaters seem to be beings of immense pride-- he doubts that they would even talk to him.
"I… I am afraid we need to hold you here for a few more hours," Ameera's voice then hummed from her ship, "If you need any--"
"That's fine. I am the one visiting unannounced."
"I… I see."
This time, Van was going to at least try Athena's guide to meeting new races. Especially since the race in front of him seemed promising-- not to mention they had cars that seemed to be able to freely roam the harsh environments of space; something that would truly benefit the people of the 10th Realm.
"..."
"..."
"What can we call you, visitor?"
Van did not really notice the awkward silence lingering in the darkness, as he had nothing but it as his companion for a full year now. Ameera and the others, however, were completely tensed as they just continued to watch Van's every action.
"You can call me Van-- my people call me King Evans."
"...King?"
Once again, Ameera could hear the clamoring whispers of her men echoing through her speakers,
"You… are a King?"
"I suppose," Van only shrugged his shoulders as he continued to examine the mysterious floating ship in front of him. He truly wanted to see what was inside but was refraining from doing so as he did not want to be seen as a country bumpkin.
He remembered Sarah's expression back when he thought that her car was going to eat him, and he truly did not want to leave that kind of impression.
And so, once again, another bout of awkward silence lingered in space as Ameera seemed to be reporting something to whoever was in charge of the whole operation. But finally, after a few more moments, the ships around him started to move.
"I… It's just protocol, but we need to stop by the nearest headquarters before we can take you to our planet, King Evans," Ameera then breathed out as she tried her best to make eye contact with Van.
"Another ship will be here so you can ri--"
"No need, how far is the headquarters?"
"...Sorry?"
"How far is this headquarters you speak of?"
"A… Approximately 14,000km from our position."
"Then please lead the way, Captain Ameera."
"...Sorry?" Once again, Ameera could only scratch her ear, trying to see if there was something wrong with her speakers as her eyes stared at Van.
"You don't have to worry, I can run there."
"...Run?" Ameera was questioning everything right now, even asking her men to see if they were all hearing the same thing. This alien in front of them… will run all the way to their headquarters?
"How… fast can you run, King Evans?" Ameera then finally asked due to the endless urging of her men.
"If I can't keep up with your ships, then please slow down," Van then said as he started stretching his legs. He had been running endlessly for probably an entire year now, so he did not really need to warm up.
Captain Ameera seemed to still be confused as to what was happening as she once again turned on her intercom and started discussing things with her men. If it turns out that the alien can't follow them, then it would take a while for them to find someone as small as him again in this large desert known as space.
But after a few more minutes of discussing, her and her men's curiosity got the best of them.
"We… will just start slow and gradually increase our maximum speed. Please do signal us if you can no longer keep up, King Evans."
"No problem," Van then said as he kneeled on the empty space beneath him… as if he was just about to run on track, "Let's fucking do this."
"Oh…" Ameera could not help but slightly let out a stuttered breath as she really did not expect Van's vernacular to be… so normal; human, even. And if she heard it clearly, there was also a tone of excitement in his voice.
Although she did say that they'll gradually increase their speed, they would actually be surrounding Van in a sphere-- a discovery like this was something to be treated with care, after all.
"Then… we're starting now," Ameera then ordered her men to get into position, expertly circling Van in all directions, "Shifting into smooth acceleration in 3…"
Van shook his feet as trickles of golden lightning started to emerge from them.
"2…"
"1. Ready for--"
And before Ameera could finish her words, she saw a streak of lightning flash by her.
"...What was that?" Ameera then breathed out as she asked a question she already knew the answer to. And before anyone could answer her rhetorical question, the serpent-like trickles of lightning slowly made their way back to them; with the alien now once again floating in front of her window.
"Smooth acceleration, right… right," Van then clumsily said as he returned to the center of the formation, "Let's start again, I'll try to follow your speed this time."
"...Right," Ameera could only nod her head as her ship began to move.
"Starting at 100km/h."
"200 kilometers per hour, 300, 400, F… five hundred."
If Ameera and her men were in a single room right now, they would probably be looking at each other in disbelief. If her superiors came to know of this, would they still allow Van to approach their headquarters… much less enter it?
"We… are approaching Mach speed," Ameera then muttered, "Are… you still okay, King Evans?"
"I'm alright. How fast can your ships go? This… is impressive," Van could no longer hide his excitement as he casually watched the ships propel themselves. The first flying vehicle he saw was when he was back in Egypt, and he was sure it was not able to reach this kind of speed.
"I… I think you are the more impressive one, King Evans," Ameera stuttered, "We are now approaching Mach 2…"
"Mach 3, 4… 7… 12… 17… T… t… twenty."
At Mach 21, Ameera decided to stop accelerating. If her assumption was right, then the golden lightning that encapsulated Van's entire body was the indicator of his speed-- and it didn't seem to have any signs of dimming even after reaching the speed they were in.
"Approaching Mach 21."
But after thinking about it for a few seconds, Ameera decided to once again increase their speed.
"M… Mach 30," Ameera then once again stuttered as their acceleration began to slow down, "I am afraid this is the fastest we can go without activating Hyperspeed, King Evans."
"...Hyperspeed?"
Hearing Ameera's words, Van could not help but let out an awe of admiration, "Your vehicles can still go faster?"
Why does he seem so impressed!?-- is what everyone was thinking right now. If there was anyone that had the right to express their bewilderment, it should be them, not him.
"Y...yes. Our ships are installed with Hyperspeed so we can cover distances between planets in just a single second, King Evans."
"In… just a single second?" Van's chest started to widen. As far as he knew, the only thing, or rather the only one capable of that feat was Hermes. But to think he was being surrounded by vehicles that were capable of achieving something like that… Athena would probably lose her mind if she comes to know of this.
"Can you use it now?" Van then said, the vibrations of his voice clearly showed his excitement.
"N… no," Ameera quickly replied, "We are already nearing our destination, and Hyperspeed needs a strict calculation since our ship could only move in a single, definite, and linear pattern, leaving us vulnerable to any--"
What was she doing!? Was she just explaining one of their weaknesses to an unknown entity!?
"I see… So it's like an arrow?"
"...An arrow?"
"Once you release it, you won't be able to actively change its directions."
"Y… yes, it's something like that," Ameera took in a small gulp, "Do… you not have something like this in your world?"
"No," Van explained, "We… have flying vehicles, but none capable of moving at this speed."
Of course not. If their species could already move and travel through space like him, then why would they even need ships?
That was something they needed to know-- if there were other beings capable of what he was doing back on his own planet. There were so many questions they needed to ask him-- but they needed to be very careful.
"Why… did you come to our galaxy, King Evans?"
"...I have a message."
"A… message?"
"Yes."
"Can… I ask the content of the message?"
"Are you in a position of power in your world?"
"I… I'm a captain?"
"Then no. It would be best if I talk straight to whoever the highest authority is in this place."
"I… I see."
And so, with that, another bout of silence lingered in the vast expanse of space. It took a few more minutes, but finally, they arrived at the headquarters.
"This is…" And as soon as they did so, Van could not help but let out another awe of admiration.
"What… a huge car."
"This… is a Base Station, King Evans."
Van's entire vision was currently filled with nothing but metal-- more metal than he had ever seen in his life. Even the Relic Graveyard could probably not compare.
A part of the so-called Base Station then opened up, almost like a giant mouth that wanted to devour Van whole. He was about to back away, but when he saw Ameera's and the other's ships floating towards it, he quickly but carefully also made his way inside.
"..." And from every corner his eyes landed on, there was almost nothing but metal. He could see a lot of people looking at him through glass windows, but he no longer minded if he looked like a country bumpkin-- anyone from his world would probably feel the same way.
There was a huge set of words plastered on the wall, and if Van's System was still working right, then he was currently in a place called a Docking Bay.
And then, slowly, the mouth of the Base Station closed; once again allowing normal sounds to whisper and sing in Van's ears. And as soon as the doors of the docking bay were completely closed, the people that were watching him from the glass windows all rushed down to his location, not even using the stairs as they floated down towards him.
But before he could be bombarded by the curious people, Ameera, who was now outside her ship, pulled her away and barricaded him from the other people.
"This…
....this is my discovery! Don't touch it!"