Chapter 256: Visit

"Let me do it…

...this is a welcome greeting."

"Such a weird greeting. This truly is an interesting universe."

"...It's not always like this."

The bow on Artemis's hand suddenly disappeared into thin air as soon as she heard Charlotte's words of assurance. Van, on the other hand, was a bit on edge as the meteor did not slow down its ascent, determined to blast them off the sky; and seeing as it was even bigger than the already colossal bronze bird they were riding, being blown off would probably the best outcome if it hits them.

Van tightened his grip on the almost iron-like threads of the stymphalian's feather as the big block of earth shot closer and closer towards them. If Charlotte was going to do something, then she better do it now, Van thought.

Fortunately, before Van could even voice out this thought, Charlotte leaped from the head of the stymphalian, slightly pushing it to the side as she rushed towards the oncoming meteor from the ground.

"Still not tired of these games!?" Charlotte roared as the creases of her muscles once again from her still tattered suit, "Take your gift back, Salim!"

And with another final roar, Charlotte clasped both her hands together and smashed them towards the meteor. From Van and Artemis's view, it seemed like the meteor was momentarily flattened and squished. But after what seemed like a millisecond, a deafening thunder filled the skies, almost pushing out the clouds as well as the giant stymphalian away.

And the meteor, that once threatened to blast them off the sky, was the one that was blown to smithereens as pieces of it went back to the ground. Due to the force and the shockwave of her strike, Charlotte also shot towards the sky, then gently landing back on top of the stymphalian's head after.

"Land it there," Charlotte then pointed towards what seemed to be a very large crevice. Artemis clicked her tongue a couple of times, and as she did so, the colossal stymphalian slowly descended to the direction where Charlotte was pointing.

"That's… Egypt?" Van stretched his neck to look at where they were landing, only to see a land that seemed to be below sea level. No, as the stymphalian continued to lower its flight, it would seem that really was the case. Although Van could not see the end of the land due to its size, the whole of Egypt seemed to be on a crevice, with some parts of the ocean acting as a waterfall.

Van's eyes could not help but wander as he almost felt suffocated from the sudden change of atmosphere. From the heat of Africa to the somewhat chilly but humid climate of Egypt; Van was slightly taken aback by the scenery, just what kind of adversity did this country face to become something like this?

"You guys stare here for a while."

As soon as they landed, Charlotte asked Van and Artemis to stay on the stymphalian before she jumped off by herself. And as soon as she did so, she was surrounded by more than a dozen people, all pointing what seemed like metal rods towards her.

"Guns?" Van had seen these things before after the base of the Resistance fell on top of them. Although he was sure that Charlotte wouldn't be hurt by one of them, pointing a weapon towards her only meant one thing-- aggression. He was about to jump down, but Charlotte gestured to him not to do so before he could even do anything.

"Are all of these necessary, Salim?" Charlotte calmly said as she looked in a certain direction. And suddenly, one of the towers, or at least it seemed like one, moved. Its shape changed, wriggling into a form that somewhat resembled a human-- a golem.

"Talos?" Artemis murmured. But after a while, she just let out a big sigh and shook her head. Van, on the other hand, was slightly on edge. Were these people truly not hostile? Should he kill them as soon as they move in a certain way? With the new powers that he gained from absorbing Artemis's Soul, he could probably do it without even using his speed. Come to think of it, he still hasn't really thoroughly checked what else he could do now, as unlike with Hercules, the one he got from Artemis was a [Passive Skill] similar to [Gift of Hermes].

Van then quickly shook his head as he found himself lost in thought. It would seem that lately, he found himself doing it more and more. Was it because of the increase of INT? But doesn't that just increase the System Holder's capacity to use his Skills better?

"Charlotte Gates."

Finally, Van's continuous thoughts were disrupted by the coarse but somewhat coquettish voice coming from the golem, "Why have you come to this country again?"

"I'm just visiting an old friend, am I not allowed to do that?"

"A friend would have visited once or twice a year, I have not seen you for almost 5 decades," the golem then waved its hand, and as soon as it did so, the people that were pointing guns towards Charlotte retreated.

"I'm here now, right?"

"Unannounced."

Cracking sounds then drummed in the air as the golem slowly crumbled, starting from its face. But it didn't simply crumble, no. The remains of the golem started to tremble before they could even reach the ground; and without even a slight pause, they once again fixed to one another, cementing into what seemed like… a throne.

And sitting on that throne, was a man… or maybe it was a woman. Van couldn't really quite make it out from the distance. The individual then raised one of its legs, dramatically placing it on top of the other as it sat cross-legged.

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The features of the man reminded Van of Hercules. Skin, only slightly lighter than the Africans. His face, however, reminded Van more of the departed Reed. Feminine, but not quite as the chiseled chin, as well as the voice, gives it… him away.

"So that's your protege and the fiance of the Princess of Africa?" The feminine man, Salim, then flicked his finger towards Van.

"...You know him?"

"You're all over the internet, dear," Salim's throne then flew in front of Charlotte, "How else would I have known that you were the passengers of this… magnificent thing," Salim then looked at the colossal stymphalian, specifically at its bronze and luscious feathers.

"Hmph," Charlotte could not help but click her tongue from hearing Salim's words, "Is that why you sent that meteor as a greeting? If it was someone else, they would have died."

"Why do you think you're still alive?" Salim then flicked his long jet-black hair, almost hitting Charlotte's face with it, "If it was anyone else, then they wouldn't even know what hit them. No one enters my country unannounced and lives."

The friendly tone in Salim's voice was completely gone as he whispered into Charlotte's ears, "Be grateful I still treat you as a friend. If it wasn't for your son dropping here every now and then, I would have surely forgotten about you."

"Pft," Charlotte let out an arrogant chuckle. But after a few seconds, she blinked a couple of times and looked at Salim, "My son… visits you?"

"Every now and then," the cheerfulness in Salim's tone returned as he shrugged a shoulder, "Ah, yes. As a matter of fact, he was here just a few hours ago. He told me you were in trouble somewhere in Africa."

"Charles… was just here?" She was wondering where Charles suddenly disappeared into, to think he went here. In the first place, Charlotte didn't even know that Salim and her son were acquainted.

"Ho, you don't know? It seems that's one more thing I beat you at, being a responsible parent."

"Last time I checked, you had more than a dozen children."

"They're a hundred now, dear," Salim then finally stood up from his hovering throne, "And for the record, I know what each of them ate for breakfast."

Hearing Salim's sharp words slithering into her ears, Charlotte could only furrow her eyebrows as she couldn't really come up with a comeback. Instead, she just looked at Van and Artemis and told them that it was alright to come down.

Van was about to leap off, but before he could do so, a set of stairs suddenly emerged from the ground.

"How can I let a guest as special as you jump like a savage?" Salim said as he bowed his head, "Please."

"..." Van looked at Charlotte before proceeding to use the stairs that Salim made for him, "Artemis, let's go."

"Hm," Artemis then reached for the hand that Van offered her as the both of them descended down the stairs. Looking at this, Charlotte could not help but twitch an eye.

Why were these two leisurely going down like some kind of royalty, while she landed with guns aimed at her?

"Welcome to Egypt, Mr. Evans," Salim once again bowed his head towards Van, "I am General Salim Said. And like your… mentor, I was a Platinum-rank Explorer before I retired and decided to serve my country…

...I assume this is one of your mistresses?"

"Mis...tresses?" Van blinked a couple of times as he looked at where Salim was looking-- Artemis.

"Yes. You are the fiance of the Princess of a neighboring country, I would assume someone with your status will have… a lot of lovers."

"Well, that's not--"

"Ah, also…" Salim then raised a finger as a smile crept on his face, "Since you're in a very close relationship with a royalty of another country, shall we treat this…

...as a political visit?"

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