Chapter 383: Jailed, Again

Van had met countless of different species in his short life. The Olympians from another universe, but he was related to them; the Aesir, giants, elves, and dwarves-- but they were technically evolved from the humans of his planet.. not to mention they are basically inferior versions of himself since they have the blood of Hermes flowing through their veins.

And so, with this new discovery of another planet-- this was supposed to be a moment of great thrill and elation as the species of totally different planets meet and interact for the first time.

But Van..

Van just had to be naked for this fateful encounter. And now, with a net being thrown over him.. it felt more like he was some kind of feral animal being captured by curious natives.

"Do not try to resist, naked mage!"

"Naked.. mage?"

As soon as Van heard the words of what seemed to be a soldier of this tiny village, he quickly looked down. If it wasn't for his unusually long hair that reached almost to his knees, then a lot more would have probably been exposed. That didn't matter, however, as the most important bit of him was out for everyone to see.

"W.. what are you doing!?"

"Please, relax," Van then said as roots started to emerge from the ground, crawling across his body to cover his remaining dignity. Due to his excitement, he completely forgot that the clothes he had been previously wearing were not enough to withstand the speeds he was going to, and as he entered this planet, whatever was left of it completely disintegrated into nothing.

...Perhaps not the best first impression to give to this new strange planet.

...Strange? Is that really the right word for it, though? No matter how much Van tried to scan the area, everything just seemed similar to his Old World, the time before Hermes's explosion changed everything. Even the people looked like normal human beings; albeit lacking in a variety of skin colors.

"I truly apologize for surprising everyone," Van then said as he turned towards the crowd of citizens, who some had their hands covering the eyes of their children, "I had a very long trip, so I wasn't aware of what I was do-- .."

And before he could finish his words, he felt a slight tickle clicking on his neck. He turned around, only to see one of the soldiers with his spear trying to penetrate his neck.

"Die, filthy mage!"

Even though it was evident that he did not even leave a scratch on Van, the soldier once again tried to penetrate his neck.

"..." Van only squinted his eyes as he stared the male soldier straight in the eyes. At this point, the soldier's voice filled with unabashed rage had more chances to hurt Van. The people of this world keep calling him a mage.. so that must mean people with special abilities also exist here.

That was good, that means he did not waste time going here. He would have been truly disappointed if this planet only had normal humans, as they wouldn't be able to help with the battle against the World Eaters, or even defend themselves for that matter.

This was quite troubling, however. The people were all looking at him with eyes of fear. Whatever mages are in this world, they probably didn't have a good reputation.

"You.. what are you!?"

The soldier who tried to pierce him on the neck slowly backed away, his trembling words, heard by everyone even as they released shocked gasps of their own.historical

"As I was saying.." Van could only let out a sigh as he raised both his hands in the air, causing a trickling clanging sound as the metal net covering him started hitting each other, "I didn't come here to hurt anyone nor did I come here to cause any trouble. I came from a faraway land and just needed a place to rest my head--"

"Off with his head!"

"Filthy mage!"

"Heretic!"

"Burn him! Burn!"

And before he could once again finish his words, the townspeople that were watching from the side all started to clamor. Their words that roared through the air were accompanied by stones that were aimed towards Van.

"..." And at this moment, Van's curiosity of whether or not the people of this world had Souls for him to absorb danced in his mind. However, as soon as he remembered that he knew nothing about this beautiful planet he was on, his thoughts soon calmed down.

He was an uninvited and unwanted visitor; the worse he could do was antagonize the locals of this world even further.

"Alright, I am not going to do anything," Van then said as he sat on the ground, "But I would like to meet whoever is in charge here."

"The only thing you will be meeting is the brunt of my spear!"

"..."

Van's head slightly budged a few millimeters from one of the soldiers suddenly hitting him with the blunt side of the spear. After that, there was a few seconds of awkward silence as Van and the soldier looked each other in the eyes.

Was he.. expecting Van to faint? It truly would be quite embarrassing if he didn't faint after saying that line.

And so, with Van's consideration at its highest; he let out a short but deep sigh and dropped to the ground. He was a full-fledged adult in his twenties now, he just needed to wait for the right opportunity to meet the right people. So for now, the best thing to do is to go with the flow and not allow his patience to thin out.

"Finally, the brat is down."

"Where do you think this boy came from? What's a little man like this doing playing with magic?"

"Probably the son of a heretic."

"Tch, these mages are getting younger and younger. How old do you think this boy is, 15?"

"..." So for now, the best thing to do is to go with the flow and not allow his patience to thin out.

And without any hesitation or pause, the soldiers quickly pulled him away; dragging him by the metal net that wrapped around his whole body. The townspeople once again started throwing rocks and all sorts of things at him, but since the most they could do was tickle him, he just let it pass-- he was an adult now, after all.

The soldiers truly did not waste any time, as he was thrown over a carriage; fully barred with an iron cage.

"Bring him to Colchester, they will know what to do with them..

...and don't forget the reward, we're going to have a feast tonight."

Good-- Van though. It was the right decision to play along. Wherever they were bringing him, there was sure to be more information to be gathered.

And so-- that was the story of how Van once again ended up in prison. But this time, a more normal prison; damp, grimy, and filled with a nasty smell one would get used to after a few hours.

"The name's Van.. and I'm not a mage."

"Oho, he finally speaks, and is that an accent I hear? Where you from, lad?"

"Far away."

"Far away? Are you an immigrant?"

"Well, something like that."

"Very secretive, I see."

The chuckles of the man calling himself Arthur echoed through the dark hallways of the prison. "You should probably tell your life story to someone soon, lad. And I'm probably the best recipient since I happen to be a good listener."

"...Right."

"I guess you're quite lucky as well, you don't have to spend a whole lot of time in this shit hole."

"What do you mean?" Van then squinted his eyes as he tried to get a better look at Arthur, and in some weird way, he sort of looked like Gerald with his blonde hair.

"Well, your kind is about to be executed come morning," Arthur said with a sigh, "Don't tell me you weren't informed? Is that why you're so calm? And here I thought you were just brave for your age."

"Executed? You mean all the.. mages locked up in this dungeon?"

"Well, yeah," Arthur said with a roll of his lips, "It's practically a main event for the sorry people of this town."

"How many mages are here?"

"No idea, probably 10?"

"Why are they being executed?"

"Fuck if I know. It's been like that since I was born. Mages are the spawn of the devil. Wait, why don't you know this?"

"Mages.. are the norm in my world."

"What? Which country did you say you were from again?"

"...Faraway."

"That's not a country," Arthur then said as his sighs reached the ends of the hallway, "Hey, I'm just saying.. you won't get a chance to tell your story tomorrow since you'll be dead."

"This execution, will someone of authority be there?"

"I guess. The King's brother will be there, that fucking cocksucker. Admittedly not the best face to see at last moments of your life."

"King.. the King of this country or the world?"

"...You are one weird fella, mage," Arthur once again let out a sigh as he heard Van's confusing words. He had met a lot of mages in his life, and none were this clueless. He was doubting at first whether or not this long-haired young man in front of him was lying about being an immigrant, but since he was adamant in being ignorant.. it would seem he really was from another country.

"I am talking about our very own King..

....King Uther Pendragon."