Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!-Chapter 87: Sneaking Into the Enemy’s Place (2)

The Range Falcon quickly surged forward in a straight line, heading toward the other side, the "outside" of the enemy's zone. However, that was a grand total of 7 AU away from our current location—a distance we couldn't easily cover without hyperspace travel.

If we just flew straight ahead using the fusion generator's output and factoring in the ship's mass, the maximum speed we could reach would be close to 500 km/s. But even at that speed, it would take us approximately 14 galactic days to cross 7 AU.

A simple issue of speed… We wouldn't have decided on this plan if we didn't have a way to solve it, right?

"Activate the warp modules!"

Right! The Range Falcon was now equipped with a short-range warp module! With it, we could rapidly maneuver through space without relying on outdated sublight travel!

Of course, warping blindly into an unknown location was out of the question.

With our radar's 0.5 AU range, the safest approach was to take warp jumps of no more than 0.5 AU at a time. It wasn't slow by any means, considering that a warp cycle could be performed once every few minutes.

At this rate, the 7 AU journey ahead of us would be completed in under 15 minutes!

"Warp modules activated. Radar scan complete. Empty location selected for transit!" Eva announced, taking over what was usually Percy's task.

Since we were manually controlling almost everything except life support and barriers, Percy wouldn't be speaking anytime soon—unless I assigned it a specific task, of course.

"B-Biological scan finished... There are a few unidentified life signs about 0.1 AU away, but… we should be far enough from them," Cassandra added, analyzing the various scanner's data output.

"A living creature…?"

I raised a brow, recalling something from before—but quickly shut the thought down before it could take shape. Right. No benefit in remembering that. Best to forget…

"Warp preparations complete! Please warp immediately, you slowpoke!!!"

Eva urged, her face still slightly pale—but for a completely different reason this time. She must have recalled that "mysterious figure" we had encountered long ago, causing her to enter a mild panic.

I didn't delay, of course. As soon as the preparations were complete, I activated the warp.

The ship flashed, bending the laws of space, and instantly crossed a distance of 0.5 AU.

The moment the warp ended, the ship's lights dimmed.

"Energy levels down to 10%. Ship is entering energy-saving mode," Cassandra quickly relayed, explaining the anomaly. "Initiating biological scan…"

Eva and I swallowed hard, waiting for her report.

Seconds ticked by before she parted her lips to bring us the news.

"…No signs of life detected within a 0.5 AU radius!"

"Haaa…"

With her confirmation, all three of us let out a collective sigh of relief.

If, by some chance, those weird, squiggly creatures had been close to our warp exit point… there was no telling what I would do. One thing was certain—it wouldn't end peacefully.

"Alright, stay put for the next three minutes," I instructed, quickly shifting our focus. "Prepare for the next warp. We'll move as soon as the Warp Drive finishes its cooldown."

Technically, the Warp Drive only required a one-minute cooldown. The real issue wasn't the drive itself, but the energy needed to activate it.

With only half the output of a Dark Energy Repulsion Engine, and considering our ship's capacitors were unable to store excess electricity without the presence of Dark Energy, recharging the system took time—hence, the three-minute delay.

Under normal circumstances, it would take even longer. However, since there were no immediate threats, we could conserve energy by shutting down the thrusters, speeding up the recharge process.

After a few moments of silence, I couldn't resist breaking it.

"Cassandra, about the key…"

"Yes?"

She lifted her head from the console, her royal blue eyes meeting mine.

Her features were striking—angelic, even. So different from the cold, dignified queen-like version of herself back in the game.

For a few seconds, I found myself mesmerized before quickly clearing my throat.

"I noticed that after each use, the rift is getting more and more unstable. After a few more times, I fear it might reach the point of causing cardiac arrest."

Of course, this was just my theory for now. After all, the current "symptoms" were more akin to severe seasickness.

However, as a gamer, I couldn't shake off the feeling that this overpowered item—this key that allowed us to freely enter and exit a parallel universe—wasn't going to come without consequences.

"R-Really?!"

Cassandra jumped up, standing at attention. "How many times is that? What should we do? Will it be useless at that point?!" she continued, nearly panicking.

"Relax." I waved my hands, trying to calm her down. "For now, it's just a hypothesis. But I noticed something—the last time we used the key, a few hours ago, the intensity was the same as when we first used it."

That meant there had to be a "cooldown" period for the key—likely a few days. Without waiting for that recovery time and using the key repeatedly, the rift it created would become more and more unstable.

"...In short, we can reset it if we don't use it for a while?" she summarized, her panic finally settling. "But how long should we wait?"

"I... am not sure."

Last time, we used it around three times, then let it rest for roughly three galactic days. If the pattern held, the number of uses might correspond to the number of days required for a full reset.

"That means we need to let the key rest for a month after this..."

Eva, who had been quietly listening, made the comment from the side. She was counting the number of times we'd used it in the past few hours, running a rough calculation based on the generalization we'd just made.

Honestly, I stopped keeping track after the tenth use, so I had no idea if that estimate was even accurate anymore.

Just as the conversation was getting serious, the console emitted a soft beep.

"Oh, the energy has finished charging." I blinked, surprised at how fast time had passed. "Then, let's go!"

After confirming that both girls were securely strapped into their seats, I activated the warp module without further delay.

The Range Falcon zipped through the void, traveling exactly 0.5 AU toward our target location—

"Huh...?"

—but for some reason, the world outside turned pitch black.

No, I mean, the cockpit's lights were still active, albeit dim from the warp energy drain. But beyond the ship's visors, nothing but an oppressive, absolute darkness stretched into infinity.

"What's going on?" Eva asked, her voice edged with confusion.

She glanced left and right, checking the monitors and radars for any abnormalities—but nothing appeared.

"A-Ar... Arthur..."

Cassandra's hesitant whisper reached my ears.

I turned toward her and found her sitting rigidly in her chair, her wide eyes locked onto the top-shield visor. Her entire body trembled.

"...?"

A strange, foreboding sensation crawled up my spine.

Before looking up, I double-checked the radars, sensors, and external feeds. As expected, they showed nothing. According to our instruments, we were alone.

But my instincts screamed otherwise.

"...Ah."

Eva, who had just followed Cassandra's gaze, suddenly froze.

Her expression went blank, but her face turned pale—an unnatural, almost sickly blue. Her entire body started shaking violently, as if in the grip of an uncontrollable seizure.

I exhaled sharply, realizing I couldn't put it off any longer.

Bracing myself, I slowly tilted my head upward, eyes squeezed shut.

Then, with mounting dread, I forced them open.

And there, in the void—

—it stared back at me.

A gigantic eye.

Red and black, with veins of crimson branching across its sickly white sclera, as if suffering from some horrific infection. The pupil was impossibly deep, darker than the abyss itself.

But that wasn't what made Eva and Cassandra freeze.

I focused, trying to comprehend the details.

The enormous, bloodshot eye. The backdrop of endless darkness. But... no.

The background—wasn't just darkness.

It was shifting. Moving.

Thousands—no, millions—of tiny, writhing hands. They looked like they were covered in some thin, rubbery membrane, twisting and clawing as if trying to break free.

I couldn't hear anything, but their agony was palpable.

"...!"

The massive eye twitched.

A subtle motion—but it nearly made my heart stop.

Because now, it wasn't just staring in our direction. It was staring directly at me. Through me.

Not at my body, nor even at my mind—but at something deeper. My soul. My everything. I could feel it peeling apart my very existence, layer by layer, as if examining the core of my being.

I couldn't blink. I couldn't move. It felt like even the slightest misstep would lead to... something. Something I didn't want to imagine.

With trembling fingers, I reached for the virtual keyboard, pressing key after key—trusting pure instinct to guide me.

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Finally, the wormhole protection system activated.

All external feeds were severed.

The visors went black.

The image of the monstrous eye vanished, replaced by an empty void.

For the next three minutes, silence reigned in the cockpit.

None of us spoke. None of us moved.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and, with slow, deliberate motions, reactivated the Warp Drive.

The Range Falcon surged forward, warping further—away. I repeated this countless times, losing track of time, or how many times we used the warp.

Only once we were certain we had left that space behind did I finally deactivate the wormhole protection modules.

The moment the visors returned to normal, I hesitated—then looked outside.

The eye was gone.

Nothing but stars greeted us.

I let out a shaky breath, shoulders slumping in relief.

Eva and Cassandra sat in complete silence.

No one said a word.

No one needed to.

At that moment, without exchanging a single thought—

—The three of us swore.

After this mission, we would never return to this place again.