I quickly opened my tablet and analyzed the blue trails to get to the answer: Cherenkov radiation. Which further pieced together my suspicions.
"Oh no! It's coming! I need to stop it... Or else it will kill us!"
The fairy chanted multiple hymns, activating two spells. One enabled us to see the enemy using magic sense, and the other spell that created an energy-field so large that it would block anyone and anything from entering.
The enemy that caused these troubles was actually a small bullet that was thrusting towards us with a speed greater than that of light.
We were puzzled as we saw this bullet break all logic, defying the very laws of physics and increasing its speed the more the energy-field attempted to stop it.
A shattering sound was heard as the field broke and the bullet rushed towards us; my heartbeat rose, fluctuating its rate and hindering me from forming any thoughts. The fairy hid behind my back in an attempt to shield itself. Its buzzing sound was overridden by the bullet's sonic boom.
Alyssa was the only one among us who seemed thrilled about this situation, her eyes shined and face formed a smile as this bullet approached us. Her hands prepared to reverse time if the situation so demanded.
[How in the world can she enjoy this?]
However, we were lucky as the bullet barely passed through the gap between Alyssa and me. But the shockwave it created while passing by us was huge enough to push us apart.
I quickly got a hold of myself against these high-pressure waves; placing my right hand on the ground, augmenting my grip, I balanced my body and got back up. Only to find Alyssa fell on the ground and the fairy nowhere around.
Breathing in the dust that arose from the ground, I walked past the strong winds caused by the nearby bullet and helped Alyssa get back up.
Soon, the fairy appeared as well, falling from the sky with eyes that were rolling upwards and wings that wouldn't buzz. Alyssa caught the falling fairy on her palm and poked its face, responding to which it jumped up straight and thanked Alyssa.
The fairy chanted those spells again to help us visualize the bullet, and what seemed like a lucky miss turned into horror as the bullet changed its direction mid-air and came towards us, once again.
The fairy set up the energy-field again, this time with a stronger grade of magic. And he suggested we flee while he kept this monstrous bullet engaged.
But this time, unlike the previous one, I was used to this bullet's threat; my heart was calmer and I could think straight.
Augmenting my brain areas, I increased its processing speed and analyzed the entire problem within milliseconds. I felt a bolt of electricity travel through my cortex before finally arriving at a range of hypotheses, which needed testing.
"Slightly change the angle of the energy-field. Don't push it against us, instead, push it from an angle." I commanded after my deep but quick thought.
The fairy couldn't digest what he just heard.
"Absurdity! If I did that, won't it make it easier for the monster to reach us?" the Fairy spoke, ringing in my ears.
"My prince, is there a reason why you said that?" Alyssa's face lit with curiosity.
"Yes, there is. I have many hypotheses that I need to test." I said.
"For testing something!! You are risking our lives to test something!?" Fairy asked.
"That sounds like the perfect risk! Do as he says: push it from an angle." Alyssa said while the smile in her face widened.
He couldn't really say no to the Ice-Queen's daughter, so reluctantly he attempted at changing the angle of his energy-field.
Earlier it was pushing the bullet away from us, but now it is pushing it at an angle to us. What was expected was for the bullet to increase in speed and dash towards us since the resistance had decreased, but what occurred was something that yet again defied all logic.
The bullet also changed its angle and direction to constantly keep opposing the energy-field, instead of sticking to its original direction. This was a bizarre finding and dropped the jaws of the fairy, while Alyssa maintained her composure, and I expected it.
"Keep changing the angle gradually, until a point comes when you are pushing the bullet towards us." I continued with my directions, and the Fairy followed reluctantly.
This time even Alyssa was skeptical about what I uttered but stayed quiet to observe the results. And just like before, the bullet again changed its direction. Now, even while pushing it towards us using the energy-field from its behind, it didn't bother coming at us. It only bothered to push back the field.
Eventually, its force exceeded that of the field's resistance, and the field shattered, however, unlike the previous time, we were safe. For the bullet was rushing away from us, eventually disappearing from the magic sense's radius.
"Wa- was this what you wanted to test?" Alyssa's face was brighter than ever.
"Whew! That was just luck... bare luck," the Forest-fairy said after a deep sigh.
His heart had stopped from the terror he faced. He wiped off his sweat and took heavy breaths, and he seemed relaxed, now that the so-called-monster was not near our vicinity.
"No, it wasn't luck. I anticipated this beforehand. I think I know what this monster is, or I must say... what this bullet is made of," I spoke.
"As we already noticed, this bullet is not an ordinary one. It increased its speed the more you tried to oppose it. And now, even after pushing it towards us, it didn't bother to come at us, instead, rushed away from us. Suggesting only one thing, " I paused briefly, distracted by Alyssa's beautifully delightful expression.
"Tachyon. Tachyons are the only objects which accelerate when attempting to stop it and decelerate when attempting to accelerate it, constantly changing its direction and maintaining its motion against the opposing force," I continued, after creating enough suspense in the air.
"Spectacular. I wasn't aware that you are this well versed in physics, hmm you aren't an imbecile as you seem to be! So tachyon, eh? I never fathomed their existence: weren't they supposed to be theoretical?" Alyssa asked with her fingers touching her lower lip.
[Indeed tachyons are theoretical, but B.E.R.N large Hadron Collider from my kingdom is close to making a real tachyon. Which, I, of course, cannot say to Alyssa since it is a highly classified secret and one of our trump cards. But if Bezereck is this close at making a Tachyon, it's easy to imagine planet UU3 already in possession of those.]
"Yes, they were theoretical. But everything that occurred here supports their evidence, even the fact that they traveled faster than the speed of light and produced those blue trails," I explained.
"In fact, the bullet doesn't have to be made of tachyons, coating the surface with tiny amounts will work just fine," I said, ending my small lecture.
Of course, everything went above the fairy's head and he just nodded to whatever I said, however, that wasn't the case with Alyssa. She was more than convinced and impressed by all that I said.
"Aha! Then there is a solution to this mess. If it is only a tiny amount, then accelerating that bullet will be enough to diffuse its coat," Alyssa spoke, rubbing her hands together.
"Exactly, Princess. Your planet has an amplifying-chamber if I am not wrong?"
"Indeed, we have!" she exclaimed.
Alyssa sent one of her guards to immediately bring an amplifying-chamber, and another to inform this to the Queen after failing to call her again.
I augmented several of my areas in the frontal and prefrontal cortex and dived deep into the core of the problem, looking at all possible solutions to finally come up with one crazy idea.
My moment of peace got interrupted by the chuf-chuf sound of a large drone's rotating blades as it brought down an amplifying-chamber (AC) from a training center in Landsort. The huge, cuboid, AC landed on the grounds of the Shura forest and released from the drone's magnetic hold. Zenarium: a metal that contains all radiations, made up its walls.
It evoked my sentimental longing towards the early days of childhood, as I recalled the days spent in it to awaken my tic powers.
I had already discussed the plan with Alyssa, now all that was left was to fill the fairy in. The obnoxious little fairy was buzzing around the AC; his eyes rolled outwards, and his face made a drowsy smile, as if in a state of ecstasy.
"Dragon-Ore is what I sense, pleasure is what's intense; thence, flence, whence?" the fairy uttered in his musical tone.
[You do know that you aren't making any sense?]
[Did I just rhyme there? Ohh Gawd!]
That stupid act stopped, as Alyssa restrained him and rubbed his cheeks to wake him from the trance-like state he had sulked into.
"I apologize, My Prince, for this embarrassing behavior from the Forest Spirit; they get attracted to Dragon-Ore. The immense energy from Ore directly feeds the Spirits, giving them pleasure," Alyssa stated as the fairy promptly woke up and buzzed around her again.
"Hey, fairy, stop wasting time! We need to discuss our plan with you before proceeding with it, " I said.
"Fairy? Does a Bezereckian monkey dare to insult me? Respectful Forest Spirit is what I am; of the highest ranks I reside." the Spirit raised his voice and flew straight at me, buzzing right close to my face. With his arms at his waist and chin jutting outwards.
Alyssa chuckled when he said that but controlled herself and maintained a poker face.
My face flushed and veins throbbed with boiling blood upon hearing that. He was aware that he was talking to a prince from Bezereck: one of the most powerful countries. And yet, he insulted me.
[If it wasn't for Alyssa I would have slapped this fairy off this planet. So, so, obnoxious.]
"Sorry," I said bluntly.
"Alright, Forest Spirit, back to the plan at hand. You see, tachyons move faster than the speed of light. So we won't be able to sense it in any way. Our main goal is to get the Tachyon bullet to the AC, then diffuse it. And for that we would need your help," I paused to take in air as the Forest Spirit's obnoxious buzzing was testing my limits.
"First of all, we would need your Magic sense to visualize the tachyon bullet. Then, once the bullet is inside the AC, we would accelerate it using the algorithms of AC. That acceleration would instantly diffuse the tachyon and dissipate them to light, " I continued.
"And that is when we would need your help again. For the bullet will still be moving close to the speed of light and has to be stopped using your energy-field. And this time it would act like any other ordinary bullet, so your field would work on it," I finished explaining my small plan, expecting the Spirit to ask some ridiculous doubt.
Contrary to what I expected, the Spirit didn't seem to have any doubts and seemed satisfied knowing that his part of the plan was simple. But, after discussing things further with Alyssa, the Spirit flew straight at me out of nowhere and buzzed close to my face.
"Mistake is what you are making; energy-field is what you will be breaking! The more we try to stop the monster, the stronger it becomes!"
[Huh? Huh??! Does he have some late tube light or what inside? Fuck, I can't handle this, this obnoxity is beyond my limits.]
My lips pressed against each other as I could no longer tolerate his annoying presence. Alyssa interrupted me and explained to the Spirit everything from the beginning. And he finally agreed to the plan.
After everything was set and ready, Alyssa approached me with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows.
"Prince, I liked your plan and all. But, how do we get the bullet inside the AC in the first place?" She asked.
"It's alright! I know a surefire way of knowing where the tachyon would go. More like, a way of manipulating the tachyon's direction. But, it's risky." I said, gaining back her attention.
"Continue. Stop chasing around the bush and come straight to the point, boy."
[Why 'boy' again?]
"The key is in your time-reversal tic, it will help us attract the tachyons. Tachyons are special and unlike us, who travel forwards in time: past to present; tachyons travel backward in time: present to past, " I explained.
"However, if a Tachyon is near your vicinity while you use your time-reversal tic, its time will get reversed, and it will then travel from past to present,"
Hearing me explain this made Alyssa's eyes grow wider, with slower but deeper breaths, and parting lips.
[If only I knew she was interested in such topics, I would have spammed her with those during the public display.]
The sweet fragrance from her breath intoxicated me, raising my heartbeat and putting me in a trance-like state for a short while. That was soon broken when she poked my forehead, tilting my head backward. I apologized to her and continued.
"So if you use your tic in their vicinity, you will become the present, and your immediate vicinity will become the past. Thus attracting the tachyons towards you." I concluded.
Her eyes narrowed, then widened at the realization of its beauty.
"I see, interesting. Using me as the bait to attract the tachyons. I had no idea that my powers had such effects, not time but affecting space as well. Hmm, it sounds all good in theory, but I am skeptical of its practical value. To be honest, I am not even sure if my tic works the way you described," she said, looking away from me.
"Yes, it might not work, but no harm in trying, right? It's worth a gamble," I said.
Alyssa took her sweet time thinking over it. Her heart raced, eyes widened, and face flushed with electrically charged blood running through her veins. She couldn't control her excitement assessing the risks our plan possessed. Her gambling instincts were screaming to take up this opportunity.
"Hmm. After an intense amount of thinking, I have finally decided that we should follow your plan. But, make sure to do your part well, boy~"
[Thinking? You mean more like fantasizing, lmao.]