Chapter 776: Noncompliantly Complaint
The Sentinels began to close in on Arthur’s ship, attempting to override its controls with some kind of interference signal to force the doors open, but as expected, it failed.
The ship alerted Arthur to the attempt, and he sighed, dragging a hand down his face.
He could easily kill this lot and be on his merry way, but he really didn’t want to spark an unnecessary conflict, especially since he could sense multiple Deity Realm existences on the planet to his right.
’Besides, if they take me to some high-level facility, I might actually gain access to more useful information. The Seed Engine Key is reacting more intensely, but oddly, it’s also taking longer to determine the precise direction...’
With that idea forming in his mind, Arthur sighed and then spoke.
[Fine, I’ll comply. Lead the way.]
The leader of the gods surrounding the ship looked ready to bark another order, likely to demand Arthur open the ship’s doors, but Arthur cut in before he could.
[And don’t try forcing the doors. You really don’t want to find out which is faster between my ship’s mounted cannons and yours...]
It was a blatant threat, and the effect was immediate. The surrounding gods, who had been listening to the exchange, instinctively backed off in visible apprehension.
The leader clearly wanted to say something, but stopped when he noticed how rattled his men were, especially those who had tried using the interference signal. The way the ship’s cannons turned to them exactly, blinking with red lights had evidently made an impression.
Clicking his tongue in frustration, he chose to remain silent.
Arthur, unfazed by the man’s irritation, asked calmly,
[Which planet are we landing on? Left or right?]
The man said nothing, prompting Arthur to sigh and speak again.
[If you don’t answer, I’ll just resume my journey.]
The ship’s engine began to rev, its rear boosters glowing brightly, and seeing this, one of the others quickly shouted,
[Right! No, left! Your left!]
[Why, thank you.]
Arthur switched off the comms and instructed the AI to steer toward the left planet, landing in a desert located on the largest continent.
Naturally, this wasn’t the landing zone they had in mind for him, but since Arthur had cut communication, he didn’t hear any objections.
Once the ship powered down, he stepped out without the slightest concern for the many weapons pointed at him. A few of the gods seemed surprised by how young he appeared, but he ignored their expressions and turned toward the ship, placing a hand on it.
Before their eyes, the entire spacecraft vanished in a flash of light, drawing surprised outcries from the surrounding gods.
[YOU!! WHAT DID YOU DO?]
"I put my spaceship in my subspace. What about it?"
Arthur turned back to the leader with a look that practically said, are you blind? Seeing this, the man fumed and barked,
[BRING IT OUT!]
"Why?"
[WHAT DO YOU MEAN...WHY...!]
The man pointed his gun at Arthur, powering it up as he shouted,
[IT’S TO BE SEIZED. BRING OUT THE SHIP!]
Arthur stared at him in silence, already beginning to lose his patience.
Just as he considered abandoning his initial plan, another group of gods flew over, one of them radiating the aura of a Superior Transcendent.
At his arrival, all the armoured Sentinels immediately dropped to their knees.
The Superior Transcendent’s gaze met Arthur’s, who stood calmly with his hands still in his pockets, a frown forming on his face as he asked,
"What’s going on here?"
Before the leader of the squad surrounding Arthur could speak, Arthur answered first.
"Your men want to interrogate me because I can move across planets. They also want to seize my ship."
One of the other newcomers opened his mouth to shout, but before he could get a word out, Arthur, not in the mood to deal with whatever was coming next, froze him in time and continued speaking.
"I don’t know how things are handled around here, but you really shouldn’t use aggression when dealing with the young-looking guy who has access to the technology you consider forbidden and isn’t flinching even with twenty plasma cannons pointed at him."
Arthur’s gaze shifted to the squad leader still standing before him.
"Think that through carefully."
Then he turned back to the one floating above, who had just noticed that all his subordinates were frozen mid-air, their mouths open as if they had been about to speak.
"They said I should follow for interrogation. I complied and landed. So, can we get this over with?"
The man turned back to Arthur without a word, various thoughts crossing his mind. Eventually, he addressed the Sentinels on the ground.
"Take him to Sector 2."
A few of the Sentinels gasped in surprise, and even the squad leader looked up in disbelief, but the man’s tone brooked no argument. They simply nodded and moved to obey.
Arthur released the frozen soldiers, but none of them resumed what they had been trying to say earlier. Though their bodies had been frozen, their minds had remained fully aware, and now they all understood just how dangerous Arthur truly was to be able to freeze them all in an instant without so much as lifting a finger.
The man in the air also told them not to say anything before departing with them.
A few minutes later, several hovercars arrived. The soldiers instructed Arthur to get in, and with that, they transported him to the place they referred to as ’Sector 2’.
◇ ◇ ◇
Upon arriving at the facility Arthur believed was ’Sector 2’, they escorted Arthur through its wide corridors and led him straight to an interrogation room.
Inside, he immediately noticed the dust gathering in the corners, a clear sign the space hadn’t been used in quite some time.
With a simple spell, Arthur cleaned the chair at the centre table and sat down, leaning back as he began expanding his cosmic spatial perception to map out the layout of the place.
After several minutes, a different set of Sentinels appeared, each one at the Superior Transcendent level, gathered in an adjacent room, separated from Arthur by a glass wall.
Among them, Arthur spotted the same man who had ordered his transfer here. After a brief discussion among themselves, one of the Sentinels entered the interrogation room.
"Hand over your weapons."
Arthur blinked at the demand, then shook his head.
"I’m a nice person, so I’ll let you know; you really don’t want me bringing out my weapons."
The man didn’t flinch at the warning, nor did he let himself be intimidated. He simply frowned and replied, his voice devoid of patience.
"And those things on your arms as well. Hand them over."
For a moment, Arthur stared at him in silence before shifting his gaze to the opaque glass wall where the other Transcendents stood. A quick scan revealed several more positioned around the interrogation room, and silently nodded in understanding.
’So they brought backup because they think I’m dangerous, huh? Alright then.
Celestia.’
[Yes, Master whose actions I find incomprehensible?]
’Pfft... Really?
If they try to touch you, just mess with them a little.’
[Very well, Master whose actions I find incomprehensible.]
Still chuckling at her response, Arthur removed the Cosmic Teleporter and the Stellar Guard, placing them on the table.
"Don’t touch them," he warned.
Then, he summoned Celestia and dropped the sword right in the middle of the table, the blade angled directly at the chair opposite him.
It was a clear provocation, since anyone trying to sit there would have to interact with it.
The man naturally noticed Arthur’s intent, and his brow twitched in annoyance. He was about to retort when a telepathic message from one of the Transcendents outside stopped him, likely a warning not to take the bait.
At this, the man silently curled his fingers into a fist and simply moved the entire table aside.
Crossing his arms, the man gave Arthur a scrutinizing gaze and demanded.
"State your name and planet of origin."
"Name’s Arthur, from planet Aeturn," Arthur answered honestly, watching as one of the Transcendents in the adjacent room turned to a computer, likely running a search for his planet.
’Good luck finding it when it doesn’t exist in this universe,’ he thought silently, keeping the amusement off his face as the questioning continued.
"Where did you get the interstellar travel technology?"
"I bought it."
"From where?"
"A company that sells spaceships."
"...and where is that company located?"
"On my home planet."
Arthur responded matter-of-factly, and the man fell silent for a moment. After a few seconds, he asked,
"And where were you going with it?"
"To look for something my dumbass great-grandfather forgot where he kept," Arthur replied.
"And what exactly is that something?"
At that, Arthur rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then shook his head.
"Not something I think you need to know," he said with a casual shrug.
His response made the man narrow his eyes, feeling that he’d finally caught onto something important.
"And who are you to decide we don’t need to know? Spill it. And the location too."
"How about no? Why should I share my family’s secrets with you?"
"Because that secret might cost you dearly if you don’t. Interstellar travel is forbidden. You’re already in a precarious position, and you still think you get to choose what not to say?"
"Precarious position, you say?" Arthur laughed and shook his head.
"I don’t see anything about my situation that’s precarious."
Arthur’s unbothered confidence made the man frown, and in response to the cold stare, Arthur simply yawned.
The man opened his mouth to speak, then stopped himself, turned on his heels, and exited the room. He stepped into the adjacent room, shutting the door behind him before addressing the one who had summoned him with a telepathic message.
"What is it?"
"We couldn’t find any record of the planet ’Aeturn.’ Either he’s lying, or that’s not the name listed for it in Central’s registry."
The man shifted his gaze to the one-way glass, watching Arthur effortlessly balancing his chair on a single leg while rocking it back and forth.
"Threaten him with a report to Central," he suggested.
"What? You want to contact Central?! That would blow back on us. They’ll say we let an intruder into our jurisdiction and failed to extract anything useful. We can’t risk that."
"Relax. I said threaten, not actually file a report."
After calming his agitated colleague, the man returned his focus to Arthur, who was still rocking his chair with a ridiculous level of control.
"We need to gather intel before escalating this to Central. But he doesn’t seem like the type who folds under pressure, so let’s shift tactics."
With that, he turned to the others and laid out his plan.
