"If I destroy this place…

...will you be able to survive?"

Van had thought that he would finally be able to accomplish his self-made mission without any mishaps; but alas, everything that can go wrong will go wrong.

He absolutely had no idea what the small metal thing he was holding could actually do, but since they pointed it at him, then it must be something incredible. Although he was itching to test it on the General, he still quite needed him.

It just looked like a small metal instrument; similar to the guns that Van had seen before he was transported into the future. This one was too small, however-- and the end of it was some kind of needle.

Whatever this thing could do, they must have thought that it would be enough to stop him. They have seen what he can do and judging by the way the General was talking, they have some sort of technology that could read his Energy levels, whatever that could mean.

Well, he needed the General… but it doesn't mean he needed the others.

And so, without even letting anyone else speak, streaks of lightning suddenly emerged in Van's eyes as he ran towards one of the individuals wearing a white dress; and without even any slight hesitation, slowly stabbed the gun's needle end through his leg, before taking the man's gun and returning behind the General.

And as soon as he returned to his normal speed, a scream quickly filled the entire room.

"N… no!"

Everyone turned to look at the screaming man, only to see him writhing on the floor; blood profusely bleeding from all the holes in his body. And if there wasn't a hole, a part of his skin would violently rip open so that blood could flow through it.

And just like that, the screams stopped as soon as they came.

"...Oh," Van then breathed out as he stared at the corpse, whose white gown was now entirely drowned in red; and even now, everyone watched in horror as the man's flesh continued to melt-- almost making a puddle that completely froze everyone in the room as it reached their feet,

"I thought you were only trying to catch me," Van then lightly pushed the gun on the General's neck, "This doesn't look like you wanted me alive, General."

"No!" The General quickly bellowed as his body once again stiffened up from feeling the cold touch on his neck. If he wasn't completely alarmed before, he was now, "The… neutralizer is set in a dosage that would be enough to incapacitate a being that has your Energy Level. But… but if it is injected to someone who has a normal constitution… it would be enough to burn their flesh away."

"...So this is called a neutralizer," Van whispered as he looked at the gun in his hand, before turning his attention towards the puddle of blood on the floor. There was a Soul hovering above it, but it was too small for Van to even bother taking it.

But this Energy Level they keep on mentioning-- does it also have something to do with how powerful someone's Soul is?

The technology of this world… would truly help the 10th Realm to improve. And with Athena's wisdom, then there was a possibility for it to further improve.

The only problem is-- the leaders of this world seem to only care about their own greed. Of course, he hasn't met all of them; but if this General whose neck he was holding is to be the standard… then it was looking quite dire.

Well, there was one other person in the room with a somewhat credible authority…

"Captain Ameera."

"Y… Yes!?"

"Can you call whoever is in charge from here?"

"You mean… the Common Council?" Ameera took in a small gulp as she turned to look at the other people in the room, "I… I could, but--"

"Good."

"W--"

And before Ameera could even say another word, several thuds whispered in her ears. She did not even need to look towards the sources of the noise to know that it came from the individuals wearing a white gown. She could somewhat see several silhouettes of what seemed to be some sort of sphere rolling on the floor; her eyes, however, did not want to have anything to do with that.

The General, however, had a full view of what happened. Almost all at the same time, his men's heads fell from their shoulders.

He had heard the report that the alien behind him was fast; extremely fast. But they were currently in an enclosed room, he thought that Van would not have sufficient room to even accelerate and use his speed.

But alas, the reality which often disappoints has completely turned to the realms of impossibility.

"I have one more question, Captain Ameera."

"W… what? What?" Ameera could only stand frozen in her spot as her eyes tried their best not to move. As a part of the military, she had killed people before. But since it was always in long distances and often shooting at their ships, she has never truly seen someone dying up close… especially not like this.

"Do you need the General to contact this Common Council?"

"I--"

"She needs me!"

And before Ameera could even answer, the General let out a bellow, "You can't call them without my call sign and signature! You need me!"

"..." But even with the General's cries, Van only let out a short but deep sigh before turning his attention back to Ameera, "Is that true?"

"Y… yes," Ameera stuttered, "Only the General has access to the comm line connected to the Common Council."

"I see," Van then once again sighed as he pushed the General to the side, causing him to tumble a few meters, "It seems you won't be joining your men, after all. Ameera, I'll let you handle contacting the ones in charge."

"...Me?"

"Yes," Van then said before walking towards Ameera and handing her the neutralizer, "And if the General tries anything funny, stab him with this."

"W… what!? I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"He… He's my superior. And it's wrong!"

"Wrong?" Van blinked a couple of times as he looked at the shrivelling general, "That man just endangered all the people of this Base Station of yours by trying to kill me. If anything, you should lock him up or whatever it is your version of punishing someone--"

"Ameera! Shoot him! Shoot him with the neutralizer!"

And before Van could finish his words, the General suddenly sat up and pointed towards him, "You have the neutralizer! Shoot him!"

"B… but that's…"

Ameera raised her hand by instinct as a superior commander ordered her to do so. Her target, however, only looked at her and sighed before casually sitting on one of the sofas inside the office.

"What are you doing!? You have a clear shot!"

Ameera's hands started trembling as they followed Van towards the sofa. If she knew that something like this was going to happen, then she should have just kept Van's existence a secret.

Van did not attack any of them until he was threatened-- he wasn't hostile until he had to be.

Why… Just why would the people in the Common Council even think of something like this? They haven't even met Van in person, and they were already thinking of using him as some sort of battery to power up their arsenal.

The Common Council… have made a mistake.

And as soon as she thought of this, she quickly lowered her hands. She was a captain of the Space Force, her duty was to ensure the people's safety. And right now, the best course of action to take was to follow the unknown entity in front of her.

"Stand up, General Mohammed," Ameera then firmly said after letting out a long and deep sigh, "You are hereby being charged with treason for endangering the lives of thousands of people."

"W… what!?" The General once again raised his voice, "What kind of insubordination is this!? You--"

And before the General could even finish his words, he felt a small breeze pass by him. He slowly turned his head, only to see a small syringe pierced through the floor next to him.

"General, please…

...just comply."

***

The Common Council was a group that was composed of individuals with the highest authority in each world-- a literal group of world leaders.

Van had allowed Ameera to be the one to talk to them and explain the situation. Van had only one demand-- to meet each of them face to face. And after a few hours of going back and forth; some of which might be bordering on using threats, all of them agreed.

However, they agreed on one condition; Van would be meeting each of them separately-- an insurance to prevent all the world leaders from dying at the same time.

Ameera has also been promoted on the spot, filling in a new position that was hastily created just to deal with Van-- Liaison to Entities Beyond the Barrier; LEBB for short, or glorified tour guide for long.

"Do you have family you will be leaving here, Captain?"

And now, Van and Ameera were inside a ship. It was different from the ship that Ameera was riding earlier; the interior was bigger-- allowing for one to walk around it. The ship's nose was also unusually long, almost like two swords on top of each other.

"...Family?" Ameera blinked a couple of times before answering with a short hum, "Oh… no. I was created from a Tube like most humans. What… about you, King Evans? Were you born from... a mother?"

"Well…" Van was about to answer, but furrowed his eyebrows before he could do so, "Now that you ask…

...I honestly don't know anymore."

***

"Eremiel."

Inside a room that seemed to breathe with every single movement from its dweller, a man whose hair was as close to silver was holding something in his palm; it seemed to be a miniature planet, but its presence was so weak that one could see through it.

However, as soon as light seeped from the outside as someone barged inside his room, the planet in his hand quickly exploded; turning into dust before completely withering away.

"What is it now, Irin!?" Eremiel screamed, his crimson eyes glowing before returning to its dull red color.

"I didn't even say why I am here and you're already mad," the woman called Irin could not help but let out a sigh, her crimson eyes also dimming as her eyes met with Eremiel, "And are you still trying to create a habitable planet with just your Spirit?"

"Yes, Irin," Eremiel scowled, "And I was so close."

"You call that close?" Irin replied with a smirk, "Anyway, so your anger is not put to waste…

....I'm here to report a problem."

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